Visiting Disney World for the First Time (Part III)

Good evening Disney Enthusiasts!

Alright everyone, let's get started.
In this post we will discuss how to navigate your way through a day in the parks.
>If you are getting an early start, make sure that you make it in time for opening cermonies. Each park has its own special way of greeting early morning guests. This usually entails a brief show featuring a variety of characters. There are rumors that if your group arrives early enough and are really excited and chatty with cast members, sometimes you get pciked to help with these shows and other parades.
>Immediately following rope drop, head straight for your high priority fastpasses (the attractions that run out of FPs early).
>If you have a little one that must ride Dumbo head for that first thing. Dumbo ALWAYS has a line.
>After you have gathered your FPs, begin working on your list until your 1st FP return time. If you miss the FP return time do NOT worry. You can go any time after that which is stamped on the card.
>A good idea early in the morning is to begin in the back of the park and work forward. Most people automatically start at the front, leaving the rest of the park empty.
>Follow your plan until lunch. We suggest eating at off times if possible. Bring snack bags for all members of your party. Each member of our family is responsible for their own snack bag. We simply fill a ziplock bag with goodies each morning before leaving our resort. Peppermints, gummies, fruit snacks, anything that will not melt or be crushed are great fillers. We use these bags to tide us over until meal time. Once crowds thin out at the restaurants, enjoy your meal with a much shorter wait time.
>Do as many indoor attractions as possible during this time of day to beat the humid Florida heat.
>If you are planning on counter service and watching the parade and fireworks, combine them. Grab counter service to go and stake out your parade and fireworks spot. We suggest staying in the same place as they are only about 3 hours apart at Magic Kingdom. EPCOT only has fireworks at 9. Hollywood only shows Fantasmic! a few nights per week. Animal Kingdom has no nighttime show.
>When leaving the parks, stay behind the crowds. Not only is the nice leisurely stroll enjoyable at the end of a long day, but you will be behind the big crowd at the monorail and ferry.
>Take your time. Monorails run late into the night. Trams run 1 1/2 hrs. after park closing. Enjoy the ambiance of the less crowded park.

That is enough for now. We will touch on a few more "how to's" in the next post. As always, if you have questions or comments feel free to leave them. We would love to hear from you!

To be continued...