Tag Archives: Disney World Travel Tips

Why We’re Purchasing Disney’s Memory Maker

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Selfie at Walt Disney World

Maybe selfies would be better if I had longer arms

Please note: The advance purchase price for Memory Maker has increased to $169 (from $149) since this post was originally published.

As you may be aware (it seems to be all I talk about lately) – The Fam and I are headed to Walt Disney World next month.  ADRs (Advance Dining Reservations) have been booked for a while, FastPass+ rides and attractions have been selected, touring plans have been meticulously mapped out.  Park tickets have been purchased – annual passes for Raymond and I, 6-day park-hoppers for the offspring.  Everything and everyone has been entered and linked in My Disney Experience.  All set.  Until Raymond said, “What about Memory Maker? Do we want that?”  Oh, Gosh, I’d overlooked it – completely forgot that PhotoPass had been replaced with the new Memory Maker program.

Great Disney Photographer in Epcot

Disney Photographer – a good one!

Did we want to fork over the advance purchase price of $149 (buy early and save $50, purchase at Walt Disney World, $199) for all the theme park photos we can gather?  That’s a pretty steep price.  The Disney photographers are variable in their photography skills – some are super awesome and some are just okay.  We’d have to take the time to have a big bunch of pictures taken for a decent chance of getting $149-worth of good pictures.  What’s the most I’ve spent on PhotoPass photos in the past?  About $50 – not counting the photo book I ordered for $75 for Father’s Day a few years back. So, back to the question at hand – to shell out some pretty substantial clams or not.

I actually didn’t hesitate.  YES!  We must have Memory Maker!  And do you want to know why I enthusiastically insisted we part with the cash immediately?  Ride photos (which we rarely buy) and PhotoPass pics are practically the only ones we have with ME in them!  No kidding.  I take nearly all the My Feet on Vacation at Walt Disney Worldpictures – there are literally thousands of pictures of Raymond, Megan, and Joseph.  Pictures of me? Yeah…not so many.  I’ve resorted in recent years to taking pictures of my feet and my shadow sometimes – proof that I was actually there.  Once in a while, someone will offer to take a picture, but not very often and I have been reduced, in a desperate moment, to taking the dreaded selfie – I never like the odd angles and how close up they are – I’m no spring chicken and those close-ups are NOT flattering.  Maybe my arms are just too short.  So – off we go next month to rack up hopefully a hundred pictures in which I will appear!  Me!  As seen on vacation with my family!  And that will be, as they say in a certain television commercial…Priceless.

My Feet Waiting for Winnie the Pooh

My Feet rode Winnie the Pooh

So what about YOU?  Who takes your Disney vacation photos?  I’d love to see one, so go share on Living a Disney Life’s Facebook page, okay? 

The Charm of Streetmosphere at Disney’s Hollywood Studios

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Citizens of Hollywood at Disney's Hollywood StudiosIf you need a reason to slow down and take in the sights at Disney’s Hollywood Studios, I’ve got a great one for you.  Instead of running (you know you do!) from Toy Story Midway Mania to Rock’n’ Roller Coaster to the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror to Star Tours, next time you find yourself in the Studios, take some time to stroll down Hollywood and Sunset Boulevards or stop altogether for a few minutes to take a look around…I did that one day not that long ago and the most amazing thing happened!

Cue Flashback Sequence Now…..

I was shopping (big surprise, that) in the stores that line Sunset Boulevard.  Raymond had gone off on an errand and was due back at anytime, so when I stepped out of the store, I looked down the street towards the Tower of Terror to see if I could spot him.  As I stood there, intently gazing off into the distance and searching the crowd, I heard a voice from the street right in front of me say, “Nice gams!  You ought to be in pictures!” – I’m sure I looked surprised.  The Talent Agent Jack Diamond at Disney's Hollywood Studiosaccented words were vintage 1940’s dialog and I wasn’t sure at first if they were addressed to me.  Nobody has EVER complimented me on my legs!  (Truth be told, I’m rather low to the ground due to unfortunately short limbs which are unremarkable at best.)  So, I turned my gaze to the two gentlemen standing in front of me – the more mature, taller of the two was, indeed, speaking directly to me.  Once he knew he’d gained my complete attention, he introduced himself and his companion.  They were, as they began to explain, a big-time Hollywood talent scout (Jack Diamond) and his protégé, a young actor (Bucky Greenhorn) trying to break into pictures.

They were charming and funny and had randomly chosen me to be at the center of their performance.  They made me smile and laugh – and feel very special as they told me their stories – this talent scout and would-be movie star.  Finally, after several minutes, they asked me who I was waiting for and I told them it was my husband, Raymond.  “Do you see him?” They Bucky Greehorn, Actor wannabee at Disney's Hollywood Studiosasked and yes, in fact – Raymond was headed our direction.  They wanted to know if he was the tall man with a mustache and was he a tennis player – laughing I said yes and no, golf.  Then they began to wave enthusiastically, calling out, “Raymond!  Yoo Hoo! Raymond!  Over here!”

There’s this look Raymond gets – I know it well after all these years.  It’s the look that says many things at once and reminds me of a look that Desi Arnaz used to give Lucy from time to time.  With a small, tight grin and a rueful shake of his head, Raymond gave me “the look” that day that wordlessly said, “What have you gotten yourself into now?  I can’t leave you alone for a minute!  Look at this – it’s hilarious!”  I get that look a lot and it always makes me laugh.  On that day, I’d landed right in the middle of one of the best, most magical, unexpected surprises in all of Walt Disney World – Streetmosphere a.k.a. Citizens of Hollywood.

The Citizens of Hollywood are a group of wandering street performers in Disney’s Hollywood Studios – their sole purpose is to entertain guests with impromptu skits and bits of fun.  Characters include stars/starlets, actors-in-training, talent agents/scouts, directors, gossip columnists and more.  This is Disney at its finest.  If these entertainers weren’t there, you’d never notice them missing, but oh, what a special touch of whimsy and unexpected charm they bring to the day for random strangers on the streets of Hollywood!

Have you ever experienced the Streetmosphere in Disney’s Hollywood Studios?  Who did you see?

 

5 Things to Do While Waiting for Disney’s Fantasmic to Start

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DSCN2620Fantasmic at Disney’s Hollywood Studios is an incredible evening show.  We think it’s a “must do” attraction and so do thousands of other people.  This show is very popular.  For good reason!  Characters galore, very special effects – lights, water, music, villains – it’s just super.  Might be a tad scary for little ones, but it’s unlike anything else at Walt Disney World and is worth the wait.  And wait you will!  The only real options now to avoid the 60 – 90 minutes usually required to arrive early enough to secure a seat are:

  • Book a Fantasmic Dinner Package – eat at select table service restaurant (Mama Melrose, Hollywood Brown Derby or the buffet at Hollywood and Vine) for lunch or dinner and receive a VIP pass for reserved seating at Fantasmic.  We’ve done this at Mama Melrose and were offered food choices from a special (abbreviated) menu.  You still need to arrive at least 30 minutes prior to show time.
  • Book a FastPass for Fantasmic.  A FastPass will get you into reserved seating like the dinner package will, but you’ll be using not just one of your three FastPasses of the day, but you’ll be using one of the “Tier 1” FastPasses.  Disney’s Hollywood Studios and Epcot have tiered FastPass systems which allow you to choose only ONE headline attraction with your FastPass choices at that park for the day.  At the Studios, if you burn your Tier 1 FastPass on Fantasmic Wait 1Fantasmic, you will be giving up a FastPass for one of these:  Toy Story Midway Mania, Rock’n’ Roller Coaster, or Beauty and the Beast – Live On Stage.  No WAY would we forfeit either Toy Story or Rock’n’ Roller Coaster for Fantasmic when we don’t much mind waiting in the theater for the show to start.

Can’t decide what to do?  Here are FIVE things to do while waiting for Fantasmic to start:

1.  Snack – Pick up some treats on your way to the theater (best choice) or hit the concession stand near the back of the theater (long lines).  I’ve read posts on message boards about people who make a festive picnic out of their wait-time in the Fantasmic Theater.  Our favorite counter service places in the Studios are not far from the theater down Sunset Blvd.

2.  Play games, look at pictures – Bring some small puzzle books or coloring books and a few crayons.  Play some games on your smartphone.  Review the pictures you took on your digital camera that day and share with the group.

3.  Bring along some glow accessories to share.  You know, like those glow sticks, necklaces, Fantasmic Wait 2and bracelets you can buy at the dollar store?  Buy up a few packages specifically for this purpose.  While waiting for the show to start, break those babies out, tell the people around you that you brought the glow-jewelry just for this purpose and start passing them out all around.  Makes your little corner of the World a little brighter AND you’re sharing and making new friends.  What could possibly be a better use for some spare time than that? (We’ve also done this with bubbles on our Disney Cruises for the Sail Away party – small party bubbles are really easy to pack and SO much fun to share!).  For $25 you can purchase a “Glow With the Show” earhat to wear, but that won’t give you anything to share with your new friends.

4.  People watch – check out the cool Disney shirts and pin-filled lanyards on your fellow Fantasmic Theater-mates.  You can also watch the people who DID spend $25 on a Glow With the Show earhat and see what all the hubbub’s about.  DSCN2615

5.  Our favorite…..Take the SAME picture of your family every time you’re waiting for Fantasmic to start!  Yep – we are the weird family with the strange Disney traditions (like the hat tradition in Epcot’s Norway Pavilion) and this one is just another in a long list.  So, why not.  You too can pick a pose and get busy with the photography – just repeat for every visit.

What’s your favorite way to kill time waiting for Fantasmic to start?

Go Disney! FastPass+ Reminders via Snail Mail

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FastPass+ Mailer EnvelopeWell, I’ve got to hand it to the folks at Disney.  They are doing absolutely everything imaginable to make sure people are well-informed about MyMagic+, My Disney Experience, and most importantly today, FastPass+.  One week shy of the date we’ll be able to begin making our FastPass+ selections, we received a reminder in the mail….snail mail.  Not a postcard, not a letter, but a snazzy little booklet delivered in (continuing the Incredibles theme) a Dash-adorned envelope.

We’ve already received the box with the booklet, magnet, and flash-drive – all those components working together to thoroughly explain every aspect of Disney’s new park-touring system.  The magnet was for posting important date reminders – 60 days out, we can make FastPass+ selections and begin online check-in.  The magnet even (nope, not kidding) gives the date of our first vacation day with a reminder to “Start your incredible vacation!”  We FastPass+ Reminder by Mailwatched the video on the flash-drive tell us how to use the My Disney Experience site and what to expect with Magic Bands.  We followed the directions for downloading the mobile app and combined all members of our travel party.

This latest redundant and costly mailing perplexes me.  I don’t understand why we couldn’t just be reminded via email like we are when we sail with Disney Cruise Line.  I’ve been hearing over and over about the expense of the entire MyMagic+/Magic Band program – this snail mail seems like overkill.  Expensive overkill.  If I’m not capable of receiving and reading email reminders, it’s highly doubtful I’ll be able to navigate aspects of the new system well since it’s very dependent on my ability to use technology successfully.

Don’t get me wrong, I appreciate the effort, but honestly, I’m starting to wonder if the Disney Company has doubts about the average American’s ability to use a computer, a smart phone, or the internet.  They seem overly concerned that we might not be able to remind ourselves of important pre-vacation planning dates on our calendars.  Are so many guests arriving FastPass+ Reminder Bookletunprepared and uninformed?  Are the numbers of guests that could have (should have) booked FastPass+ in advance of their arrival, but did not do so, in such unanticipated volume that there really are large numbers of needlessly unhappy visitors?  This worries me quite a bit.  I’m still hearing reports from the parks of very long lines at the FP+ kiosks – are those all off-site visitors or are there people in those lines who should have made those FP+ selections in advance?  That would certainly explain the reminder overkill.

What do you think?  If you’ve recently visited Walt Disney World, did you make your FP+ choices in advance (the way Disney wants you to)?  Or did you find yourself in standby lines because you didn’t know how the system was supposed to work?  If you’re planning a trip this year, do you know about the important scheduling dates for your vacation?  Do you want/need continuously mailed reminders to keep you on your toes?  Am I being too critical?  I believe I’d rather see the money spent on new rides and attractions instead of on printing and mailing fancy booklets to tell me information I completely understood the first time.