Disneyworld Tips

• We stayed at the Yacht Club. It’s considered one of the mid-tier Disney properties but we thought it was plenty nice. We chose it because it has the best pool. It didn’t disappoint. There’s a great water slide that starts in the crow’s nest of a pirate ship and takes you down to a 4′ deep pool. It’s fun for adults and kids probably as young as 3 or 4 (if they can’t swim you can catch them at the bottom). The staff coordinates activities for kids in the pool, there’s water volleyball, a lazy river, a whirpool with a strong current that’s fun to try to swim against, and many pools with sandy bottoms! Toddlers and younger children will especially love the kiddie pool/beach section.
• The Magic Kingdom is still not doing fireworks or outdoor shows which is strange (Yinh was up late one night though and did see a practice fireworks show after midnight). The park is crowded and nobody is masking so I presume operations will go back to normal soon. Except the new idea of mobile ordering. More than half the concession and food options have no lines because mobile ordering is mandatory at those spots. I suspect that trend is staying. Between using the app in the park, mobile ordering, and taking pictures make sure you have enough phone battery. Oh yea, I discovered a frozen dessert called a Dole Whip. For $5 it’s the best deal in the park (although I recommend the vanilla soft-serve that you can find at the same stands. Perfection.).
• The best rides in the Animal Kingdom are the Expedition Everest rollercoaster (the Yeti theme and surprises are awesome) and the Avatar: Flight of Passage ride. I thought that ride was exceptional and in the running for best ride overall. If the line wasn’t so long, I’d have gone again.
• My favorite park of the 3 we visited was Hollywood Studios. The Star Wars section is called Galaxy’s Edge and is an unbelievable re-creation of places from the movies. The attention to detail hurt my brain. Total devotion to quality. The kids especially loved the Millenium Falcon ride called Smuggler’s Run. It’s interactive as everyone plays the role of either pilot, gunner, or engineer. But the show-stealer is the 18-minute experience called Rise of The Resistance. You must reserve one of the limited spots and the ride is very popular. I’ll pass along the tips we learned to ensure we’d get in. Call customer service on the Disney app to link the app accounts for all the adults in your party. This process took about 2 hours the night before (mostly just sitting on hold). Then have everyone in your party ready to snipe the “virtual queue” on the app when they start accepting people (just like trying to snipe concert tickets when they go on sale). 5 of us sniped at the same time, anticipating as the clock turned from 6:59 to 7:00 am.

  Finally, if you want a chance to grab a drink in the Cantina bar make a reservation. They book 2 to 3 months out. We didn’t know about this. Next time.

• I learned that when my kids are scared on rides they keep repeating with utter calm and monotone “I hate everything about this”. Then when it’s over they claim it was their favorite. Psychopaths.

Today, we are in the Dallas area for the next few weeks crashing with close friends. We lived near each other in NYC and amazingly in the Bay Area as well. Now they are making a full-court press to have us move to TX. I don’t know, it’s pretty hot here. They are targeting my vanity and weakness for frivolous beverages. Never a bad strategy to be honest.