WDW Prep School
Disney World planning for smart people! Learn all about how to optimize your time and money during your trip.
Best Food & Wine booths for 2024
WDW Prep School Hello - As we keep an eye on the hurricane, I wanted to email about Food & Wine Festival where our team ate and drank everything to find the best of the fest. We were a little leery when Disney announced their booths this year because it was more than they've ever had when the festival began, but we're happy to report that the overall quality has improved over the previous years. 🙌 We are big fans of discussing best booths vs just mentioning best items since it's nice to be...
New! Disney Dining plan calculator w/recommendations
WDW Prep School Hello - Hope your week has gone well so far! We've just returned from D23 Expo and are riding on the high of some of the news we heard inside the Honda Center - some of it expected, but lots of it was a surprise. We have a lot to look forward to in the coming years! For the details of that, including opening dates, we have a D23 Expo recap you can check out. In addition to all of that, we've been working on a new Disney Dining Plan calculator that has just launched. It asks...
5 Lightning Lane tips we've learned
WDW Prep School Hello there - We've just returned from Disney World where we spent a day in each park using the new Lightning Lane system. In general, we found the system easy to use, and we were able to visit a lot of attractions without long waits. We do think that Lightning Lane capacity is being throttled right now. For example, we had zero wait for things like Tiana's Bayou Adventure and Slinky Dog Dash. While we don't expect a long wait when using a Lightning Lane, it was obvious there...
New! Lightning Lane priority cheat sheets
WDW Prep School Hello there - Been busy, busy on our end as we prepare for the new Lightning Lane system, D23 Expo, Mickey's Not-So-Scary Halloween Party, and then Food & Wine Festival. With the new Lightning Lane Pass System starting tomorrow, we wanted to get some info out to you to help you with Lightning Lane selections. We have info for each park, with graphics you can snag for easy reference. Note: we are making the assumption that character meets that previously offered Lightning Lanes...
Answering Halloween/Christmas party FAQs
WDW Prep School Hello there - As we say goodbye to 1 holiday, we've got our minds on some other ones today - specifically Halloween and Christmas parties which we get a lot of questions about. Some things we get asked a lot: How long can I wait to buy my party tickets before they sell out? We started tracking sellout dates for the parties to help you know how much time you have. While all of the parties will likely sell out, some dates go faster than others. Last year, most Halloween parties...
Ranking Disney World thrill rides
WDW Prep School Hello there - Hope you're doing well on this July 4 eve! Having a strong case of Friday-itis here, but need to push through for a few more hours before it's officially time off. Wanted to chat today about how the thrill rides at Disney World are ranked. To do that, we created a poll to see what others think. Here are the results: Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind (most thrilling) The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror™ Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster Starring Aerosmith Expedition...
Answering your Lightning Lane Pass FAQS
WDW Prep School Well, it's been a heck of a week in Disney World news, and we've been working very quickly to pull together info to help people understand the new Lightning Lane Pass system - especially those traveling in late July/early August who have just a little time to learn it all before their trip. Here are some answers to questions we've been asked a lot this week. If I use my tier 1 ride, can I book another tier 1 ride? Yes, you can! The tiers only apply to pre-booking. There are no...
Goodbye Genie+, hello new pre-book system
WDW Prep School Welllll, Disney decided to keep the news rolling this week with some big, big changes to the system we've known as Genie+ for a few years now. We'll have a lot to learn in the coming weeks, but here's the quickest version I can pare it down to: Disney Genie+ will now be called Lightning Lane Multi Pass Individual Lightning Lanes will now be called Lightning Lane Single Pass Onsite guests (includes Shades of Green, Swan, and Dolphin) can book up to 3 Lightning Lanes per day of...
Holiday news + new promo coming
WDW Prep School Hello there - Disney decided to finally give us some info on the much-anticipated holiday events for this year as well as drop a new promo for people traveling between July and Christmas. First, let's chat holidays. Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party will take place at Magic Kingdom a few nights of the week from November 8-December 20. Tickets will be $169-219 depending on the date, with $10 AP and DVC discounts available on some dates. Tickets go on sale July 2 for onsite...
Ranking the Value Resorts
WDW Prep School Hello from Disneyland! As somebody who lives in Texas and spends a lot of time in Florida, It's been fantastic to spend the week in 70 degree weather. Love being able to throw on a hoodie for chilly nights in a Disney theme park. Today I wanted to chat about the Disney World Value resorts since a lot of people want to know which they should book. Every single Disney World resort has its own set of pros/cons, but here's how we rank the Value resorts. 5. All-Star Movies Themed...
Disney World planning for smart people! Learn all about how to optimize your time and money during your trip.