Postcards from Orlando #3 - Exploring Disney's Hollywood Studios

Here it is, postcard number 3 from Orlando has arrived.  

Join with us as we walk around Disney's Hollywood Studios.

Postcards from Orlando #1 Illuminations reflections of Earth

 

Welcome to a short series of videos we are calling Postcards from Orlando.  In our first video we visit Epcot for the finale of Illuminations - reflections of Earth.

Top 5 Mistakes not to make when travelling to Walt Disney World (British Travellers)

So after much saving you are finally heading off to Orlando for that dream and possibly once in a lifetime vacation at Walt Disney World.  If you are coming from the UK the chances are that this has been a very sizeable investment and you probably won't be planning on coming back for a few years while you save up again.

Here are my top 5 tips on getting the most out of your vacation.

1. If you are staying off-property hire a car

2. If you fail to plan you plan to fail

3. Manage the heat

4. Enjoy the magic

5. Capture the magic


The key to the great holiday starts from the moment you decide to go and make that first booking.  You can now get very reasonable package deals if you shop around and can for the same price either book a hotel room in a value Disney Resort or a condo or apartment off-property.

1. If you are staying off-property hire a car

Many people seem genuinely worried about the prospect of driving in Orlando.  If you are staying off-property hiring a car is essential if you want the flexibility and ease of visiting other parks such as Universal Orlando, SeaWorld, Busch Gardens and even a further drive down to the Kennedy Space Centre.  Whilst transportation can be found to all these parks and attractions you very quickly lose the flexibility of arriving and departing when you want.  With a little bit of prior reading and preparation driving in Orlando is as simple as driving in the UK.  Parking is incredibly easy as all the spaces are huge!  I was amazed at how quickly my brain accommodated driving on the 'wrong side of the road'.

2. If you fail to plan you plan to fail

If you are looking for a vacation where you can simply turn up and 'go with the flow' a Disney vacation is not for you.  In many ways this is not really an option with the use of FastPass+ When we started planning for our vacation and we were talking as a family about having to make our choices 30 days in advance (or 60 days for people staying on-property) we soon realized that you also have to plan where you are going to be each day in advance.  If you are the super organized sort of person who loves planning then this is not a problem but if you want flexibility this could be a challenge.  There are many great websites offering trip planning advice and data about which days the parks are the most crowded and these definitely make the planning process more manageable. One of the upsides of this planning process was that at no time we found ourselves sat wondering what we should do next.

• Make a list of the absolute must attractions you want to see and will be disappointed if you miss them. It is also worth checking when attractions are down for refurbishment or long term maintenance and plan accordingly.
• Make sure that everyone gets a say in the planning process.  We wanted to make sure that everyone in our family had a say in which attractions they wanted to see.
• Pace yourself.  We decided that we would plan our itinerary around what the youngest (and most likely to get tired first) child could cope with.  This was actually a really good plan as we also got tired fairly quickly.
• Avoid anything too strenuous on your first evening.  If all goes well you could be in your resort by 9pm (Florida time).  By now you will have been up for hours so it probably not a great idea to book a character meet and greet for your kids!
• Plan to have drinks, food and time to visit the restroom - I think this goes without saying!
• Plan rest-time in the day / vacation.  You might be tempted to think that after spending so much money on the trip you want to squeeze every last minute of fun.  This could easily have the opposite effect and spoil the fun.
• It is worth taking a tablet or smart phone into the parks to access the many apps that are available from MyMagic+ to park guides and wait times.  There is free WIFI across almost every park and attraction which generally has a reasonable speed.  If you are using your phone don't forget to make sure that cellular data (3G/4G) is switched off!

3. Manage the heat

Assuming that you have planned well and have worked out a manageable itinerary you mustn't forget the heat and humidity levels.  Unless you are used to it, the wall of heat you feel at 7am when you step out of the Air Conditioned room can literally stop you in your tracks.  Common sense is really important here and also taking good care of your body.

• Wear plenty of suntan lotion of the right factor for your skin.  Put it on before leaving your accommodation. Get someone to check that you have not missed any areas.  Don't forget to top up during the day especially after getting wet on a ride / in the pool or during the Florida rain.
• Wear a sunhat and glasses.  Remember that the same harmful UV rays which damage your skin also damage your eyes.  You will also need the shade a hat provides when you are out in a long queue. 
• Consider buying an evaporation towel,  These are made wet and when placed around your face and neck evaporate and cool you down.
• Don't neglect your skin!  in the high humidity levels it is very easy to get sore in any place where your skin rubs.  There are some good products out there that can help with this.
• If you do get sunburnt you really should take it seriously.  
• Drink plenty of water and remember to keep your kids hydrated too.  Avoid alcohol in the hottest part of the day as this can make you more dehydrated.  There are plenty of water fountains throughout the parks.

4. Enjoy the magic

This sounds obvious do allow yourself time to enjoy what is going on around you.  One of the saddest things to see in the parks are stressed, tired and hot parents screaming at their kids "Don't you know how much this has cost us to bring you here - you will enjoy it." I promised myself that I wouldn't say it - although I did at least once when I was very tired and hot!

Some ideas on how to really enjoy the magic ...

• Let yourself go and get caught up in the magic of the parades, the music, the theming.
• Don't watch everything through the viewfinder of a camera or iPad.
• Say Hi, please and thank you to the Cast Members. As well as being polite you get such a friendly response from people.
• Look for the detail as you walk around - keep your eyes open.
• Watch your kids (well obviously!) - seeing that look of wide-eyed wonder as they experience something for the first time
• Don't feel that you have to buy things to experience the magic, often things are just happening around you.  We were treated to two private moments just from being in the right place at the right time and being polite!

5. Capture the magic

With so many memories and magical things happening you will want to take lots of photos and video. Again it is very easy to fall into the danger of trying to record and capture everything so all you see is life through a phone or iPad screen.

It is definitely worth considering investing in Photopass as this offers very good value for money, especially if you have lots of photos taken.  When you are back home you only get a limited window of time to download a ZIP file.  I would definitely suggest that you take several copies of this onto different drives! (learnt from bitter experience)

Some tips on capturing the magic!

• A DSLR can be great if you are looking at taking lots of scenic photos from around the parks.  They do become very heavy quickly when you are carrying them around.  you are not allowed to take cameras on many rides so need a good case / bag to store it in.
• A GoPro is great for recording ride footage (POV) and general atmospheric video.  You should always check if you are allowed to film on a ride with a GoPro as I was told-off on the Jurassic Park ride!
• Selfie sticks (is that craze still around?) are banned from all Disney World parks and you can't even take them in! 
• With the high quality cameras on many smart phones this also make a good device for capturing the magic.  I shared many pictures with Instagram while I was away - but remember you may be advertising the fact that you are away on vacation and have left the house empty.

I hope that you find some of these tips useful!

Have a great vacation.

Win a 5 day / night stay at a Disney Deluxe Resort

The great guys over at wdwinfo.com are currently hosting a competition to win a 5 day / 4 night stay at a Disney Deluxe resort.

They are currently hosting a feature called "What we love about Disney Resorts - Deluxe Edition".  Members of the DIS team are sharing their favourite things about the Deluxe resorts.

Do go and check out their page and videos here 

As part of the feature they are offering a lucky winner a chance to spend 5 days / 4 nights at a deluxe resort.  The competition runs from May 2nd (today) until Thursday 16th May. 

To enter the competition simply send a tweet saying why you want to stay at deluxe resort using the hashtag #whyiwantdeluxe 

Full terms and conditions are on the link above.

Disney Advent Calendar - Dec 2nd

Toy Story Midway mania was one of our most anticipated attractions when we recently visited Hollywood studios. We loved the theming of the whole area, the walk through on the way to the ride was really interesting and our kids loved interacting with all the props and photos opportunities.

Candlelight Processional Narrators 2015

Walt Disney World have announced today their list of Candlelight Processional narrators for 2015.  There is a great list of names this year including some real favourites of mine.  Whilst the lineup is still subject to final change it is:

November 27th thru 29th 
Gary Sinise

November 30th thru 3rd December
Neil Patrick Harris

December 4th - 5th
Whoopi Goldberg

December 6th - 8th
Joe Morton

December 9th - 11th
Ana Gasteyer

December 12th - 14th
Meredith Vieira

December 15th - 17th
America Ferrera

December 18th - 20th
Chandra Wilson

December 21st - 23rd
Daniel Dae Kim

December 24th - 26th
Edward James Olmos

December 27th - 28th
Blair Underwood

December 29th - 30th
Amy Grant

The processional is held every night at the Wold showcase at 5pm, 6.45pm and 8.15pm.  A valid Epcot park ticket is required.

Memory Maker - is it worth it?

For the first time in forever I have holiday photos with me in them thanks to using the Memory Maker package.

We decided to purchase Memory Maker before we went on vacation and paid the $169.

My tech gear I took

Being an avid photographer with a fairly decent DSLR (Canon EOS 70D) and GoPro a couple of friends wondered why I would pay for photos when I can take my own.  The main advantage for our vacation was simply the ability to have me in the photos, particularly at the character meet and greets.

Why Memory Maker and not just PhotoPass?

Memory Maker gives you the additional added benefits of:

• Attraction photos and videos
• Magic shots
• Dining photos

Reading various blogs about the PhotoPass photographers you can easily get a mixed message about the value and quality of their work.

This is our experience.

• Without fail, every single PhotoPass photographer was polite, helpful and keen to take our photo.  We never felt rushed to have a photo taken (apart from when meeting characters)
  
• Whilst most of the photos are standard shots taken at each location with standard settings we asked a couple of times for specific shots and the photographers were happy to help.  We wanted one photo of just our MagicBands which they were happy to take.
  
• We do not appear to have any missing or lost photos and all the photos were seamlessly added to our account.
  
• It was really good looking at the photos (via the website) on mobile devices whilst in the parks.  Since coming back from our vacation, there is now good integration of the PhotoPass system into the My Disney Experience Mobile App - it would have been brilliant if that had been available while we were away.
  
• The attraction and rides photos worked well and after an initial confusion about selecting your photo from the screen with our Magic Band it all worked well.  We love the couple of ride videos - they were lovely.
  
• The magic shots are nice.  We felt a little odd at times holding a strange pose but the photos are very sweet.  This is a nice touch.
  
• The extra photos you get added each day of characters and the parks are good.  If you do visit the same park more than once you will get multiple copies.
  
• The PhotoPass website works well and the level of customisation of photos is good.  You can add borders and other effects.  It is nice to see your photos grouped by date and park.
  

And now for the disappointing part ....

• Downloading your photos as a ZIP (or multiple) files is relatively straight forward and we were able to do this easily when we got home.  I like to organise my photos and make good use of the metadata.  The additional meta data does include the date and time the photo was taken but this is not incorporated into the filename or date created.

In conclusion I am really glad we used Memory Maker and would definitely use it again. 

Disney snacks and tasty treats

One of things I really enjoyed at Disney World was the food.  We unfortunately didn't get to eat at any table service restaurants but we did experience some of the fine counter service and outdoor food.

Here are some of our favourites .....

Corndogs and a BBQ Slaw Dog from Casey's Corner at Magic Kingdom.  We loved the food in here but found it a much nicer experience when eating outside.

Currently the Corn Dog Nuggets cost $5.99 and the BBQ Slaw Dog (topped with pulled pork, coleslaw and BBQ sauce) costs $10.29 (does include fries)

This was my first experience of Corn Dogs and instantly loved them!

The Mickey Pretzel was a huge hit, and we still can't quite believe how big they were!  They come in a couple of varieties but we loved the salted ones with the warm cheese dipping pot.  Whilst considered a snack these are very filling and will definitely keep you going.  They currently cost around the $4 price point.

Another very tasty treat, this time from Animal Kingdom was the giant Mickey cookie.  I think it was somewhere around the $5 price point.  Again, this was a lovely and very filling tasty treat.

I bought these in Magic Kingdom hoping to bring them back home to the UK but they got eaten straight away.  These Resort Delights Coconut Patties were surprising big and very tasty.