While there are plenty of supernatural myths that surround Disney parks, these stories are largely made up to scare young children and entertain cynical adults. However, even though myths of this sort are essentially harmless, there’s a far more dangerous type of fiction that is unfortunately a little too common: bad advice.
No matter whether you heard the following “tips” from a friend, online poster or even a poorly-informed Cast Member, don’t take them to heart as they are complete fiction and can potentially ruin what could have been an awesome visit to Walt Disney World.
1. Guests don’t always need dining reservations
Image: Theme Park Tourist, Flickr (license)
While theme park food in general is often regarded as a terror of the deep fried variety, Walt Disney World has earned a reputation for having high quality options, particularly in the realm of table service dining. However, even though there are nearly 100 sit-down restaurants all around Walt Disney World’s parks and resorts, that doesn’t mean you can just drop in and dine the same way you might at an Olive Garden.
The vast majority of the table service restaurants at Walt Disney World fill up with reservations weeks in advance and while guests may be able to find walk up availability, it is rare that you’ll be able to eat at both the location you wanted at the time you were hoping. In fact most walk up availability happens in either the early afternoon (when most guests are still burning through their FastPass+ reservations) or during each park’s nightly spectaculars (Fantasmic!, Wishes, etc.) And even then, seating is not guaranteed, and many guests will simply be turned away from full restaurants.
Image: Theme Park Tourist, Flickr (license)
Though most guests probably don’t want to deal with making reservations in advance, unless you are planning to rely solely on quick service dining during a Walt Disney World visit, you absolutely must make reservations in advance, as soon as you are eligible. Disney may be the happiest place on Earth, but they have no problem turning you away from a completely booked restaurant and believing otherwise could leave you very hungry during your vacation.
2. There are easy ways of getting out of paying for parking
Image: Theme Park Tourist, Flickr (license)
Parking at a Walt Disney World theme park is not a pleasant experience. First you have to surrender $20. Then you have to wait in what is typically a very slow moving line to get to a parking space that feels like it is a million miles away from the nearest tram stop. However, even though parking at Walt Disney World is a hassle, guests who try and “outsmart” the system to get a cheaper or closer parking spot may find themselves quite disappointed, as many of their parking lot avoidance techniques will ultimately cause more headaches.
By far the most popular parking avoidance technique involves guests parking at Disney Springs (which has free parking) and then using a resort shuttle followed by a park shuttle in order to get to their chosen park. Though this might seem like a good idea in theory, the transportation involved can take between two and three hours each way (depending on how busy the resort is), which can make things very difficult if a guest is trying to get back to their car at Disney Springs after Magic Kingdom closes at 12AM.
Image: Theme Park Tourist, Flickr (license)
Some guests also try and park at resorts in order to get a better spot without paying that pesky $20 fee. While guests can generally park at a resort if they have a dinner reservation or are visiting a watering hole like Trader Sam’s Grog Grotto, each hotel reserves the right to refuse parking for non-hotel guests for any reason and if a guest is parking with the express intent to avoid paying for parking at a theme park, they run the risk of their vehicle being towed.
While Disney has historically been fairly lax with its enforcement of parking violators, with guest levels rising every year, those who are looking to get around the rules may not enjoy the same leniency in the future.
3. Special event tickets are always available at the gate on the day of the event
Image: Disney
It’s true that special, hard-ticketed events like Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party, Night of Joy and others have a large capacity. However, that doesn’t mean that if you show up at the gate right before an event kicks off, you’ll automatically be able to attend. In fact, the unfortunate reality is that if guests try this technique, they will probably be turned away.
Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party is a great example of this, as the week of Halloween typically sells out far before these event days actually take place. In fact in 2015, the final 10 parties of the year sold out by mid-October, in some cases nearly three weeks before an event night was scheduled to take place. Though there are still some occasions where guests can purchase tickets on the same day as an event, this has become the exception rather than the rule. If you are planning to go to a special event, do yourself a favor and buy the tickets as much in advance as possible.
4. FastPass+ reservations mean no waiting
Image: Theme Park Tourist, Flickr (license)
When you have a FastPass+ reservation, it’s easy to feel like you’re the king of the world, bypassing the regular line and waltzing right on to rides like Soarin’ with no waiting whatsoever. However, anyone who has any experience with FastPass+ (especially on busy days) knows that this isn’t always the case. In fact, during the beginning of return time windows, FastPass+ lines can get quite large, often overflowing beyond the regular queue as guests all hurry to see their favorite attraction.
So, for instance, if you are planning on rushing off to see a 12:00PM showing of Disney Junior Live on Stage after an 11:35 FastPass+ reservation for Toy Story Midway Mania at Disney’s Hollywood Studios, you might want to rethink your plans, as there’s no way that you’ll be able to experience this attraction in less than half an hour, FastPass+ reservation or not.
While FastPass+ reservations will definitely reduce the amount of time guests spend in line, it will by no means get rid of the waiting, especially at popular attractions, which makes it important to plan accordingly.
5. Your day will go exactly as planned
Image: Theme Park Tourist, Flickr (license)
The Walt Disney World vacation experience has changed substantially over the past five years, with guests now being encouraged to plan what parks they will visit, the attractions they will hit and the food that they will eat months in advance.
However, even though guests might have every single detail of their Walt Disney World visit planned as far in advance as possible, it’s important to factor in at least some flexibility as things can change very quickly. Attractions can break down, outdoor character meet and greets may move indoors (or be cancelled) due to inclement weather, or worse. Though it’s rare, a FastPass+ outage can even happen! Though Walt Disney World goes out of its way to make every visit to the resort magical, there are plenty of things beyond their control that could force guests to adjust their plans. Knowing this ahead of time and being able to adapt your plans to any situation is vital if you want to truly enjoy your next visit to the resort.
Are there any dangerous “myths” or bad advice that you’ve heard at Walt Disney World?
