12 Things Nobody Tells You About Walt Disney World

4. Conservation

With so many places to explore in Walt Disney World including the theme parks, Disney Resorts, Disney Springs, and water parks, guests might be overwhelmed by the sheer size of the property. The size of Walt Disney World is around double the size of Manhattan clocking in at around forty square miles. While this is indeed massive, guests might be completely surprised to learn that only a small portion of the property is developed into areas that they can enjoy each day! In fact, only about a third of Walt Disney World is developed, leaving a massive amount of land to continue to be developed for future locations to enjoy. In addition to the potential of new construction, much of the Walt Disney World property is designated for conservation and will never be built upon. These special designated areas are sure to remain the wonderful ecological swamps and wetlands that Florida is famous for, thus sustaining the life and ecosystems that thrive there for many years to come. (Photo credit: Disney Tourist Blog)

3. Advanced Dining Reservations Are Necessary

With so many amazing dining options to choose from in Walt Disney World, guests might assume that they can enjoy a meal wherever and whenever the mood strikes them. This is a huge mistake that many guests make that ends up in them either being turned away from fully booked restaurants or losing lots of time waiting around for a table to open up. The best way to ensure that guests can enjoy the meals that they absolutely want to is by planning ahead and making Advanced Dining Reservations, or ADRs. Advanced Dining Reservations can be made up to one hundred and eighty days in advance and are absolutely necessary at every full service location in Walt Disney World as they all tend to be popular with guests. Some of the hardest restaurants to get a reservation to that guests should book Advanced Dining Reservations as far in advance as possible for are ‘Ohana at Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort, Victoria & Albert’s at Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort and Spa, Le Cellier Steakhouse in the Canada Pavilion in Epcot’s World Showcase, California Grill at Disney’s Contemporary Resort, and Cinderella’s Royal Table inside Cinderella Castle in the Magic Kingdom.

2. But Last Minute Reservations Exist

While guests should definitely plan on booking their Advanced Dining Reservations as far ahead of time as possible, they might not always be successful in scoring the reservations that they want. Often times, the very popular restaurant tend to book up impossibly fast, especially during peak times and seasons, leaving guests left to look for other dining options which will undoubtedly be delicious, but might not have been the first choice. While it might seem as though there is no other option than for guests to accept that they will not be able to secure a reservation for a location that is fully booked, they might be very lucky at the last minute. All guests who make Advanced Dining Reservations are asked to put a credit card down with their reservation and are charged a fee if they cancel within twenty four hours. Thus, many guests cancel a reservation at the last minute in the few days before their allotted time. Those guests who were unable to secure an Advanced Dining Reservation far ahead of time might be lucky if they keep checking back in the days leading up to their meal and find a spot that was cancelled by another guest!

1. Some FastPasses Aren’t Worth It

One of the biggest time savers in all of Walt Disney World is the FastPass system. All guests who visit the parks are entitled to FastPasses for free and they act as a reservation where a guest picks an attraction or experience and reports to it at a designated time to enjoy it with little to no wait time. Guests who stay on property in a Disney Resort are entitled to book their FastPasses up to sixty days in advance and those who stay off property can book up to thirty days in advance. All guests can book three FastPasses per day in one park ahead of time, and once they use the initial three they can book more on the go for that day as they enjoy the parks. There are plenty of very popular attractions that guests should absolutely book FastPasses for as they tend to always have lengthy wait times, thus guests will save tons of time that they can use to enjoy other experiences instead of waiting on line. Some of the most popular attractions to book FastPasses for are Space Mountain the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train, Soarin’ Around the World, Frozen Ever After, Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster Starring Aerosmith, Toy Story Mania, Avatar Flight of Passage, and Dinosaur. While all of those attractions should definitely be enjoyed with FastPasses, there are many other options that are available for guests to choose, however some of them are not worth it at all. Some attractions that are available for FastPasses rarely have wait times that exceed twenty minutes, making them not necessarily the best choices for the service. Some attractions to avoid booking FastPasses for include The Magic Carpets of Aladdin, Mickey’s Philharmagic, Journey into Imagination with Figment, The Seas with Nemo and Friends, and Muppet Vision 3D. If possible, guests should avoid booking FastPasses for these attractions and instead opt for experiences that tend to have longer wait times in order to save more time to enjoy other areas of the parks.

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