Getting the Most from Walt Disney World

Attractions

2009-09-07T07:43:00.000-07:00

Normally, an attraction is tracked at four different stages:

Construction
Opening Day
Day-to-Day Operations
Extinction

Yes, WDW information sites track all four stages. You can find construction photos of new attractions and fans sites devoted to closed attractions.

To compare the attractions on various WDW information sites, not a single site covers all four areas. Some cover a stage better than others and I will try to highlight this in the article.

For the basis of comparison, I will use a recent addition to WDW, Expedition Everest. I will also start with Disney, so we can see what other sites have that Disney doesn't.

Before we start the comparison, WDW had a press release in late 2005 about the attraction, including a detailed description and "Fast Facts", which was copied into most of the sites that follow.

Top Attraction Sites

Disney
Disney is one of the few sites that didn't use any of its own press release information. The attraction page has 5 high-quality photos and a high-quality video, which I believe is the same video shown on TV commercials. The page also has a recommended attraction (American Idol Experience), Fun Facts (brief) and scrollable Quick Tips.

The page has a basic summary sounding a little like a commercial, but is not bad overall. The page also has a list of guest policies, location & category information, and a link to buy tickets. Icons are shown for Rider Swap, Pal Mickey, and Mobile Disabilities, but an icon appears to be missing for Fastpass. An interactive map is also available that highlights the location of the EE in the park. The map functionality does not work on an iPhone.

BEST FOR: At-home planning.

LACKING: Disney does not link to guest reviews. Disney's page takes the longest to load on a cell phone, taking 36 seconds to load on my Treo. It also takes about 40 seconds to load on an iPod Touch (iPhone) over Wifi. This is most likely due to all of the graphics shown on the page. Links to more media would be nice (photos/video/podcasts). An online store link with Expedition Everest merchandise/collectibles such as pins.

Magical Kingdoms
Magical Kingdoms is my favorite attraction page for day-to-day use. MK focuses on variety and has categories for almost anything you can think of. This is the attraction summary page that Disney should have.

The attraction Description and Tips & Fun Facts sections are shortened versions of the PR site with a few additions. MK also includes Child Swap, Pal Mickey and Disabilities, just like Disney does, but also includes icons for Fastpass, Single Rider Line, Onride photo, Flash photography and video lighting, Best time to visit, Rider height, and warnings. Tips are shown with a light bulb icon, Fun Facts with a question mark icon, and Hidden Mickeys with a Mickey ears icon.

Besides the Hidden Mickeys section, additional sections include Reviews & Ratings, Recommended For including age groups, You May Also Like, Nearby Dining & Shopping, Photo Prices and Related Links.

You May Also Like is different from Disney's recommended attraction in that MKs recommendation for EE is for similar coasters at WDW. You May Also Like and Nearby Dining & Shopping have links to the listed attractions and restaurants.

Photo Prices are handy to have when you are standing in line at an attraction and deciding on buying the picture afterwards.

MK has only 2 reviews for Expedition Everest and 36 photos. The Google Maps link works great on an iPhone and cell phones that have Google Maps installed. The PDF park map link is also handy.

BEST FOR: A quick information view at the parks. The Expedition Everest page loads in an impressive 8 seconds on my cell phone and could be used as a replacement for the official Disney attraction pages.

LACKING: Reviews and photos. 36 photos is a good number to view, but it would still be nice to see some photos from construction and opening day.

WDW Magic
WDWM includes the PR "Fun Facts", but is primarily focused on original attraction News, Reviews, and Photo Galleries.

The main attraction page focuses on the latest 3 news stories and reviews. Thumbnails from the latest photo gallery are also displayed. A handy navigation menu is shown on the left-hand side of the page, and includes some links not shown on the main page: refurbishments, videos, and discussions.

Since opening day, there has been only one Expedition Everest news story, although Google News reports a story in January 2009 about defibrillators, earlier this summer the new centralized FastPass kiosk in Animal Kingdom included EE FastPasses, and the Expedition Everest Challenge is scheduled for later this month (Sept. 2009).

The construction and opening day news stories are extensive, and some link back to photo galleries.

WDW Magic has the largest number of reviews for all sites referenced in this comparison article, 72 as of 9/4/2009. A 1-10 rating system (10=best) is used, with the score noted visually in stars (5 stars max). The average score is noted on the main page.

WDWM has some impressive construction photo galleries, over 150 total photos. Thumbnail and medium photo resolutions are available. High-resolution photos are available as long as the reader subscribes to a paid WDWMAGICPass account (more on this later). The medium resolution galleries look great on an iPhone. Videos are not viewable unless the reader subscribes to a paid WDWMAGICPass account. Refurbishments reflect an empty list, although the Yeti animatronic was down for a little over a year (as reflected in the news story). Access to discussions requires the user to setup a free WDWMAGICPass account.

WDW Magic Mobile's attraction page looks almost entirely like the full version and loads on my Treo in about 5 seconds (VERY nice). The page includes "Fun Facts", News, Reviews, Refurbishments, and Photos. Reviews load in a impressive 7 seconds, but News and Photos take 30-40 seconds to load, MUCH too long for a cell phone. Also depressing is that photos are kept at thumbnail scale on the mobile version of WDW Magic, which is much too small to be usable on my Treo or iPod Touch (iPhone).

As explained on the WDWM site, the paid WDWMAGICPass was created to help cover bandwidth costs, which are an increasing burden for fan sites to cover. Whether or not $35 a year is better than spending $20 at Amazon for both the Official and Unofficial WDW Guides (which include photographs) and watching WDW videos on YouTube, remains to be seen. The construction content itself may be difficult to find anywhere else, anyway.

BEST FOR: Construction and opening day photo library, news and reviews. This page is a great secondary site to either Disney's or Magical Kingdoms' attraction pages.

LACKING: Additional information (such as attraction specifics, restaurants, shops, photos and merchandise) to be used as a primary attraction reference. The main Expedition Everest page load time could be improved (a mediocre 14 seconds on the main EE attraction page) and response times for mobile News and Photos links could be improved. An apparent oversight, Expedition Everest doesn't appear on WDWMs Animal Kingdom attraction page.

AllEars
A good portion of AE consists of the PR article (both Description and Fun Facts). AE adds sections for Kids & Characters, nearby Dining and Shopping, Official Announcement, and opening photos/reports.

At the top of the page, AE has categorized photo links and a slide show. Almost 100 photos are stored; most are queue photos, but there are also quite a few ride photos. The slide show looks great in an iPod Touch (iPhone).

An "At Large" report explains EEs test vehicle and how it was used in 2006. I am not sure the test vehicle still exists today. Kids & Characters has links to Animal Kingdom character locations and FAQ.

AllEars has approximately 50 photos taken during construction and during the Annual Passholder/Disney Vacation Club Preview in January, 2006. Many photos are of cast members and guests with their reactions after riding the coaster. There are also a couple of pin pictures.

AE has reviews (Preview Reports) from the Preview opening event, but nothing beyond that.

BEST FOR: Opening day photos and reports. AEs lightweight page loads blazingly-fast, less than 5 seconds, on my cell phone. Love the slide show feature.

LACKING: Recent reviews, additional information (such as photos and merchandise). More pin pictures!

Honorable Mention

The following sites have content worth mentioning, but not enough content to be noted as replacements for/additions to Disney's attraction pages:

DIS: An in-depth review is the highlight of the DIS Expedition Everest attraction page. There are also 4 quick facts and links to approximately 150 uncategorized photos as well as the DISboards "Theme Parks Attractions and Strategies" forum. The photos consist mainly of the queue part of the attraction. The DIS EE attraction page loads in a respectable 9 seconds on my Treo. Unfortunately, there is not a direct link from the EE attraction page to the EE Review section of DISboards, which reflects 46 reviews with an average 9.4 rating.

Squidoo (fan page): This photography-based Expedition Everest fan page has an attraction description, PR fun facts split into Fun Facts and The Making of..., ratings (only 8 so far), a YouTube ride video, souvenirs on eBay, similar products on Amazon, a slideshow linked to the Flickr Expedition Everest Group Pool, external links to related EE pages, internal links to other WDW pages, a ride poll, a great photo tip no other site mentioned, and a guest book/comments. Although slightly disorganized, it would be nice to see some of these features in the top attraction sites.

MousePlanet: Stating in its description: "This attraction is almost single-handedly responsible for vaulting Disney's Animal Kingdom past Disney's Hollywood Studios in attendance," MP is a brief summary page composed of 4 sections. General Information, Time Commitment Information, Access Information and Parenting Information. Having no photos/videos or reviews, MPs Access Information section is handy for those with disabilities or health concerns.

INTERCOT: The Expedition Everest attraction page consists of the PR description, the PR Fun Facts, and a Disney EE publicity photo. There are also 27 photos, including a couple of good ones of the Yeti.

Magical Mountain: MM has an Overview, News, Trivia, Images, Reviews, and a link to MMs forums. The overview is interesting, and discusses the announcement of EE during the 5th anniversary of Animal Kingdom and coming full circle with the original Beastly Kingdom. There is only one news story (from 2007), and the trivia comes from part of the PR "Fun Facts". Five pictures and three reviews complete the attractions page. An advertisement appears in the middle of the page's text, and interferes with the flow of the page. MM does have some Expedition Everest merchandise in their store, but no link from their EE attraction page.

Laughing Place: LPs EE attraction page centers around an editor rating system for age groups against the categories: Thrill, Theme and Overall. The page also shows basic attraction attributes for ride type, FastPass, length, typical wait, height & age requirements and warnings.

Wikipedia: As an attraction information source, Wikipedia is not bad. The attraction's story is explained in much more detail than any other site. The Wikipedia page has 4 pictures, a short list of facts, technical details, and incidents. The Times Square publicity stunt (as shown on WDW Magic), and the 2006 attraction award (as shown on Magical Mountain) are included. Wikipedia is an encylopedia and therefore does not have reviews or extensive tourist information.

YouTube: an incredible library of Walt Disney World videos is stored on YouTube. For Expedition Everest, many guests have posted ride videos. Also see Inside Expedition Everest by WDW Imagineering (yes, this is another link Disney should have on their attraction page). Amateur videographers, such as OnRideVideos, have contributed good, edited videos, including rides such as Expedition Everest.

Flickr: The Expedition Everest Group Pool has over 500 photos, some in Flickr's Best of Disney pool.

Podcasts: WDW Radio has many podcasts on Expedition Everest, MouseComedy's interview with the Yeti is quite funny. Also interesting is the Travel Channel's Making of Disney's Expedition Everest and Disney's own Plugged In podcasts including Expedition Everest takes Manhatten and First Peaks at Expedition Everest.

Twitter: As a last resource, get up-to-the-minute news on how everyone is involved with Expedition Everest.

Summary

Attraction content is spread far and wide across the Internet. Disney has quite a bit of the content that is out there, but still needs to find a way to consolidate it all together.

Speaking of attraction content spread far and wide, extinct WDW attractions are also inconsistently distributed across the web, and is therefore a tough topic to cover in this article. It will therefore be covered in a new article.

Originally posted 9/3/09, Squidoo added 9/7/09

WDW411 beta released

2009-08-31T19:45:00.000-07:00

wdw411.com

I have just released my free iPhone web app, wdw411.com. This app will be your one-stop-shop to connect to the "best of the web" sites while on your WDW vacation. The tool was built to quickly retrieve information on your iPhone/smart phone while on your trip and is not really meant for pre-travel planning purposes. Most sites have been mentioned in this blog. Sections in the app include: Schedules, News, Maps, Dining, Attractions, Non-Park, Fun Stuff, and Resources. The app should also work on most modern browsers.

The tool merely provides categorized links to specific WDW information, it does not reuse anyone's site content. Links include the official Disney park hours page and the current day's Disney Times Guides for each of the parks. Refurb info, ride wait times and weather is also included. Keep in touch with WDW Twitter and Facebook feeds. View WDW YouTube videos and WDW Google maps. Fun stuff includes the hidden Mickey site, trivia, collectibles, and WDW park history. Resources such as the WDW phone list, FAQs, and reviews are also included. There is a selectable site search to easily look for info on your favorite WDW information site.

Again, this is a free web app. Point to wdw411.com on your iPhone's (or iPod Touch's) Safari browser. I have also run WDW411 on Google Chrome and Firefox Browsers on my computer.

Please give the web app a try and let me know what you think.

WDW Calendars

2009-08-24T21:22:00.000-07:00

For the sake of argument, let's say I was in the following scenario:

I am staying on Disney property for the week.
I want to go early to Epcot on a day that has an Extra Magic Hour morning. What mornings are those?
What attractions are going through rehabs/closings on those days?
I heard that a band was playing U2 songs in Epcot. What time could I catch a show?
After spending the day in Epcot and seeing the fireworks, would I have enough time to run over to Downtown Disney to do some shopping?
I want this as easy as possible. If I can do a quick lookup on my cell phone, it would make me a happy camper.

It would be great to be able to look in one place to see the answers to all of these questions. Unfortunately, there is not an option like this available today. Even Disney's "Times Guide & New Information" brochures only cover pieces of this. In this article, we will take a look at the web-based solutions from various WDW information sites.

The following screnshots are clickable for larger views.

Magical Kingdoms

Excluding special events, the Magical Kingdoms calendar has opening/closing times for everything on Disney property. The calendar also shows park parades and fireworks schedules. Refurbs are listed separate from the calendar, 2 clicks away. MK has a separate monthly event list that is one click away, and I could find "Sounds Like Summer" and U2 details in the month of August. Archived months can be viewed as well as information 3 months in advance (keeping with Disney's current policy). Extra Magic Hours are color-coded for easy reference. Clicking "Extra Magic Hours" will display a page explaining EMH and a list of attractions that are open. Because headings are displayed within each day, the calendar will look good on most cell phones. It looks great on my Treo.

BEST FOR: Folks who strictly want hours of operation and "go beyond the parks". Cell phone/mobile use.
LACKING: A detailed park view with schedule, events, and refurbs. That's ok, though, Disney has it.

WDW Magic

WDW Magic is 6 calendars in one. Select a theme park or one of the water parks and the current month or up to 3 months in advance (keeping with Disney's current policy). The calendar has a nice, clean interface. Refurbishment information is conveniently displayed at the top. The calendar also shows park parades and fireworks schedules, but an events schedule is not included in the calendar or even on the site itself. Extra Magic Hours are highlighted for easy reference. Clicking "Extra Magic Hours" at the bottom of the calendar will display a page explaining EMH and a list of attractions that are open. The dropdown web controls may make it difficult to use the calendar on a cell phone.

WDW Magic has a separate mobile interface that includes operating hours for today and tomorrow with the theme and water parks, but excludes park parades and fireworks schedules. Including weather is a nice touch, and there is also a complete refurbishment schedule and any past and future event you can think of. A mobile interface that has info from all of these sources for the current day only would seem to make more sense.

BEST FOR: Park-only attenders who care about rides, not events. This is basically an attraction calendar.
LACKING: "Beyond the park" operating hours and a more robust mobile interface. Perhaps a link to Disney for events?

DIS

The calendar on DIS is similar to Magical Kingdoms'. The DIS calendar has opening/closing times for the 6 theme and water parks and parades/fireworks in a single day, but the day also includes basic event information. Again, why no U2 on the calendar? :( The summer concert series with U2 did appear on a site search, but was also not included in the DIS monthly event list. Both events and refurbs are one click away from the calendar selection page. Refurbs are tracked for the entire resort. A month can be displayed with park parade and fireworks schedules only. Archived months can be viewed as well as information for 3 months in advance (keeping with Disney's current policy). Specific dates can be searched. DIS also includes operating hour news and parade/fireworks descriptions. In the calendar, Extra Magic Hours are color-coded for easy reference. Clicking "Extra Magic Hours" on the calendar selection page will display a page explaining EMH and a list of attractions that are open. Because headings are displayed on the far left for each week, the calendar does not look good on a cell phone.

BEST FOR: Park-only attenders
LACKING: "Beyond the park" operating hours, some special events, and a mobile interface

AllEars

Like some of the other sites, AE makes a separation between park hours, event hours, and hours for other Disney areas (e.g. Downtown Disney), but it also separates Extra Magic Hours. Calling the park hours page a calendar is a stretch, but the park color-coding helps to see when the parks are open. The calendar on AE includes opening/closing times for the 6 theme and water parks and a parade/fireworks schedule at the bottom of the page. High-level event info can be viewed on the left-hand side of the page, but the event info is not in-sync with the site's main "Events" section (e.g. "Sounds like Summer" is not shown in August). Next month's calendar can also be viewed. Because headings are displayed on the far left for each week, the calendar does not look good on a cell phone unless you can remember the colors. "Beyond the park" operating hours are not shown. There is a disclaimer at the top of the page stating: "NOTE: Walt Disney World now publishes operating hours on its official website approximately three months in advance." AE needs to dump the "Operating, Parade and Fireworks Hours at WDW" page.

Have you ever eaten in a dive restaurant and had the best meal you've had in a long time? This is exactly what AllEars is in regards to events. AE has a monthly event list (like the other sites) which it calls a calendar, but this is where AE shines. All of the other sites listed in this article show either 1 event or no events for August. AE shows 7, including a Disney park event that doesn't appear on the Disney website. The events list also has links for local concerts, and attraction rehabs and closings. Although AE is not optimized for a mobile phone interface, the lightweight pages load fast on a cell phone.

BEST FOR: Anyone who wants to have the inside scoop on Disney-related events.
LACKING: "Beyond the park" operating hours (e.g. reference the weekly Disney Times guide for the entire resort. Disney does not have this online either). A mobile interface.

INTERCOT

Ok, so INTERCOT does not have a calendar, but they did take a serious look at what options users would need most. INTERCOT's first 3 options under info central are: rehabs, events, and park hours. As long as I know what the date is, I can easily switch between 4 views (3 links plus the Extra Magic Hour page) to get the info I need to answer all of my questions. Intercot has opening/closing times for everything on Disney property. Parades and fireworks are in the event schedule. Events are listed by month. Information can be viewed 3 months in advance. Extra Magic Hours are another click away; clicking "Extra Magic Hour Info" at the top of the Hours page will display a page explaining EMH and a list of attractions that are open. Refurbs are listed for the parks and resorts. The schedules look good on a cell phone, but will take 4 separate page loads to get to all of the information. Ok, who am I kidding? When you are in the middle of your vacation, do you really want to remember what the date is? I am usually lucky to remember the day of the week! I need an interactive online calendar application, not an online book.

BEST FOR: Pre-trip planning, because I don't want to remember the date.
LACKING: Perhaps a calendar that consolidates all 4 views mentioned above, or concentrate on what Disney does not have. A mobile interface.

Laughing Place

Let's see. No park hours under the Park Hours link and upcoming events that have already passed. The joke's on us, Laughing Place! Very funny!

BEST FOR: Not sure.
LACKING: A calendar?

Disney

Disney's latest offering is almost there. Moving your mouse over the Plan tab at the top of the Walt Disney World site will display a popup menu. The right-hand side of the menu has most of what you need.

Unfortunately, this menu will not work on some of the latest mobile phones, including the iPhone, due to the technology used. As a solution to this, I have supplied the first link from that menu and the current day park links in a separate blog article on WDW cell phone setup.

Clicking on the first link "Park Hours" should show you a schedule for the next 10 days, but for some reason when I click the link, the schedule starts in 2 days for the 10 days following. No worries, a minor glitch, you can select today's date using the calendar control. Past days cannot be selected. The left-hand side of page displays recommended/most recent attractions, the right-hand side has current and upcoming events. Interesting, though, today is August 27 and "Sounds Like Summer" ended August 9. Why is "Sounds Like Summer" still on the page? The 10-day schedule includes "Extra Magic Hours" and refurbishments, which is very handy. It should be noted that clicking an individual day will not display schedule details for that day. I would think it needs to, and will explain why later. The 10-day schedule does not include parades/fireworks and it does not show opening/closing times for Downtown Disney or any other Disney destinations "beyond the parks". I also could not find Downtown Disney hours anywhere else on the site.

Back to the Plan menu, selecting one of the parks displays a monthly park calendar. Goofy highlights the current day. Any of the next 3 months can be viewed. The calendar displays park operating hours as well as Extra Magic Hours. Notice that recommended attractions are again shown on the left-hand side of the page, but event information is missing from the page. Any day on the calendar is clickable.

After clicking on a day in the monthly park calendar, a daily schedule of events is shown. The schedule shows park operating hours, Extra Magic Hours, and entertainment times including parades and fireworks. I could not find show times for the U2 band on August 2. Because of this, it appears that scheduled special events are not listed in the daily schedule of events.

The page displays refurb info applicable to that day on the right-hand side of the page. Notice that recommended attractions once again appear on the left-hand side of the page, but event information is missing from the page entirely. If I want to see the event schedule, I would need to go back to the 10-day schedule and click on events. Once I am there, to get back to the day view, I need to click on the monthly park calendar, and then again on the individual day.

Adding event information on the daily schedule of events and allowing the 10-day schedule to link back to the daily schedule would be a couple of great improvements. While I am on vacation, I will be most likely to view a schedule for the next 10 days rather than a monthly calendar anyway.

One last thing to mention is about Disney's itinerary tool (from the Plan page). The tool will deliver a message to your itinerary inbox as your trip approaches stating operating hours for all 6 parks. There is also a note at the bottom of the message stating; "Check out the Park Hours for your entire stay by visiting our Calendar." This link is not a valid URL and appears to be from a prior version of Disney's site. It is therefore recomended not to put too much validity into this message.

BEST FOR: Getting the most accurate information. 10-day and daily schedule.
LACKING: A calendar for all of WDW (just like Disney's weekly "Times Guide & New Information for the Walt Disney World Resort"). "Beyond the Parks" operating hours are missing. Usability could be improved. Mobile interface.

-*-*-*

Summary Recommendation: For WDW calendars, use Magical Kingdoms on your cell phone for WDW resort operating hours, AllEars for openings and events, DIS for the overall WDW resort rehab/closing schedule, and Disney for up-to-the-date info and 10-day/daily park schedules. Skip all of the other sites.

You can bookmark my free iPhone/iPod Touch web app, wdw411.com. wdw411.com includes the recommended links and also works on most modern browsers.

WDW Information Sites

2009-08-22T10:28:00.000-07:00

Many different WDW sites have popped-up over the years. Every site has something new and original to offer. At first glance, it is difficult to tell which sites are kept up-to-date with information, so I will highlight the differences.

Planners are sites that focus on detailed, timely WDW resort information for vacation planning purposes. Some planner sites also provide WDW news.

News-only sites focus more on articles, blogs or the latest Disney/WDW-related news. The news sites may have WDW planning data in some form, but may not have enough planning content or the planning information is not up to date.

Planners

AllEars.Net, also known as "Deb's Unofficial WDW Vacation Information Guide", is an encyclopedia of information on WDW activities, parks, dining and accommodations. If you want detail, this is THE online WDW Guide Book. Information is VERY recent. AE has a clean and basic home page with categorized headlines for the latest news, but the overall look and feel of the site is dated. Beyond the Parks is a must-read for non-park days. Blog Central hosts multiple WDW blogs from a team of writers. Anita Answer is a very original idea for a website, modeled after a newspaper advice column. The Tips searchable database is also a handy reference tool. AE has a photo of the week and hosts a weekly newsletter. AllEars also provides information via Twitter and Facebook.
DIS is an online WDW Guide, the site also has links to Disney Cruise Line, Disneyland, Disney Vacation Club, and Universal Orlando. DIS has a big list of planning topics and good, up-to-date information on refurbi shments, park maps, restaurant menus, Disney resort rates, and discounts offered by Disney and other resorts. Some topics are difficult to navigate to, but DIS has only the most often used options shown in the main menu on its home page. The Disney Dining Search tool is almost as good as Disney's, and has an option to select by price range. The dining plan list is easy to search for restaurants. DIS has a great reviews section with reader-supplied reviews for attractions, resorts, restaurants and bars. Park guides have links to photos and the DISboards.com forum. DISboards.com is THE Disney-related forum and claims to be the largest. The forums have any WDW topic you can think of. DIS Radio (an Internet radio station) and DIS Unplugged (a weekly podcast) are hosted by DIS. DIS also provides information via Twitter and Facebook.
Disney Links has an extensive list of external planning sites. It does not have detailed planning information, but similar to WDW For Grownups, will tell you where to look. DL has a simple listing of link categories. Sites that point back to DL get preferential treatment in DL listings (their site is placed near the top). Good luck trying to pull URL lists like this from Google. Unfortunately, the last news message on DL is over a year ago, but they are continuing to update the site with new links.
Magical Kingdoms has some of the best attraction summaries I have ever seen. A refreshing look at WDW, as every single Disney resort, restaurant and attraction has a "fun facts" section. The site has a modern look and feel, most information is conveniently categorized so it can be easily found and also includes its own Google search. Magical Kingdoms has good Disney transportation and Disney resort benefits guides, a decent list of recreational activiti es, kid-specific topics, and wet-weather activities. Magical Kingdoms also has forums, a blog and a store. The History of Disney's Audio Animatronics is a good read. Magical Kingdoms has information on Disneyland, Disneyland Paris, Disney Cruise Line, Hong Kong DL, Weddings, and Animation.
MouseSavers.com is the site to find how to do WDW on the cheap. The "Time is M oney" section has great park tips that everyone should read, including what to pack for your trip, avoiding crowds, and best places to see parades and fireworks. The site also has a good listing of Special Events.
walt disney world (for grownups) has its own forums and articles, and a well thought-out categorization of external links to other WDW sites. WDWFG provides links for general planning, tailored planning, and planning tools. The Experts part of the site has me going back to it again and again. Trivia and Games has some fun links, including WDWFG's own quiz. WDWFG has interesting article topics. Top 5 Places to Relax With a Drink at Disney World reminded me of going "Around the World" in Epcot during my WDW College Program days, and I experienced Working Remotely From Walt Disney World just a month ago. There is no news on this site, but WDWFG provides links to some of the major news sites. WDWFG appears to keep its links and content up-to-date.

News

INTERCOT consists mainly of news stories connected to forums. The site also has information on theme parks and resorts (along with links to videos and photos), but the content appears dated (e.g. resort mugs, "Food Rocks" in EPCOT and DVC resorts). info central is a good place to find information that never changes from year to year. INTERCOT also has its own store and an interesting interactive section with countdown timers, newsletters and RSS feeds. INTERCOT hosts sites for INTERCOTwest (Disneyland), WebDisney (Disney-specific news), and MouseHut (web-based email).
LaughingPlace is one of the oldest Disney sites, but has one of the weakest planners. Refurbishments were last updated 4 months ago, Disney Dining Plan information is a year old, and the latest DVC resorts are not listed. Otherwise, LaughingPlace is the place to go for videos and pictorials. LaughingPlace has categorized Disney news, a podcast, blogs, forums, Internet radio, a magazine, and a store. LP Live is a way for readers to instantly post their cell phone pictures to the site.
Magical Mountain has their own mascot, Shandy the Sugar Glider. MM has a professional look and feel to the site and features Disney company news, its own forums, an impressive list of blog authors and topics, a weekly podcast, and MDTV (a YouTube group). The site includes shopping and Disney movie reviews. This is not a WDW planning site. MM has a planning link that points to Tour Guide Mike. There are good WDW overviews, but most of the WDW detail comes from user reviews. Unfortunately, the reviews are dated and there are not enough reviews to cover all areas of WDW. The resorts listing is not up to date. There are some great sections including recipes, urban legends, and Disney History. Downtown Disney and the Disney Cruise Line have their own news.
MousePlanet focuses on Disney-related articles of various subjects, not just news articles, but also opinions and commentary. MousePlanet has a weekly WDW resort update and one of the best "in a nutshell" park guides available. WDW information is not timely (e.g. Bay Lake Towers is missing from the resorts list). The site also has Disneyland info, trip reports, user reviews for Disney resorts around the world, and forums. The "Book your Travel" (hotels) section on the site was last updated 4 years ago. MousePlanet also hosts the MouseStation podcast and videos on YouTube. Disney junkies must congregate here. For something original check the MouseAdventure event that MousePlanet hosts at Disneyland and Walt Disney World.
PassPorter.com is another site lacking timely advice. Dining plan information on the rumors page is good content, but over a year old. There is also a 10-year-old link for the "upcoming" Millennium Celebration. Passporter focuses on feature articles. The Best Advice for Disney World Vacations and Ten Surprising Things you should Never Leave Home Without offer good, solid advice that will last indefinitely. Most of Passporter is an advertisement for the Passporter guide book and the site is ugly by today's standards.
Walt Disney World News is an official WDW PR site by Disney. WDW News with a salesy-slant. Good for the latest news and upcoming events straight from the horse's (or mouse's) mouth.
WDWmagic.com is a good portal to check during your trip. Daily news, weather, refurbishments, reviews and latest posts to its own forum. The site layout is customizable based on what is important to you: site sections can be rearranged to your liking. WDWmagic has good mobile and Twitter interfaces for checking info in the parks. The trip planner and user reviews are nice, but lacking enough data to be of substantial value. This will change over time.
WDW News T oday is strictly focused on park attractions, but has a podcast, forums, calendar, atractions news, and park maps. WDW New Today also has WDWNTu be, a library of attraction videos and a list of links to other "off the main path" WDW sites.

Other

A Complete Guide to Walt Disney World: Has a handy downloadable guide to WDW (currently 2 years old), but menus on the site are incomplete and outdated. Disney transportation link points to advertising. The site does have a good tips section and attraction summaries/opinions are interesting to read.
WDWPlanner: The site has a forum that has been used for almost 10 years, but the rest of the site has not been completely been kept up to date. Most of the forum content is old, but the recent Bay Lake Towers web content has the first "fun facts" section that I have seen.
The Mouse for Less: This site appears to be a Planner site, but its menus and news are not very recent. Room descriptions are recent (includes Bay Lake Towers) and in-depth. Appears to be a site for a travel agency.

Cell Phone Setup for WDW

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For regular phones:

phone numbers: Disney Dining (407-WDW-DINE) and WDW Information (407-WDW-MAGIC). Google's GOOG-411 is also a good number to have plugged-into your phone list for toll-free information.
text messaging: if you are staying at a Disney resort, you can be notified when the room is ready. Also, don't forget your phone when you go to the parks, some attractions allow guests to interact using text messaging.
calendar: no need to print your Disney Dining reservations, just add them to your phone's calendar, along with reservation numbers.
camera: setup a LaughingPlace account so that you can participate in LaughingPlace's LP Live during your trip. You can add to a real-time photo blog and share it with your friends/family.

The following options are good for smart phones:

maps: If you don't know the parks yet, download park Maps to your cell phone or print them before you leave. Driving maps are also handy if you plan to do non-park Disney activities. Walt Disney World maps exist for EVERYTHING. Disney has a great tool for customizing your own maps. If you know how to print to PDFs, you should be able to store Disney's custom maps on your cell phone.
apps: Many different iPhone WDW apps are available. Most recently, interactive GPS-enabled park maps are popular. There are also apps for accessing Disney dining information, secrets, hidden mickeys and ride wait times. For ride wait times, there is debate as to whether or not the apps provide actual Disney wait time data on a regular basis; some ride wait time apps depend on user-supplied data. Be careful of apps that interface directly with Disney data (e.g. The WDW Times Guide iPhone app may be illegally using Disney content). Also, it's not a bad idea to check some of the generic travel apps.
browser bookmarks: Bookmark my free iPhone web app, wdw411.com. This tool will be your one-stop-shop to connect to the "best of the web" WDW sites while on your vacation. Sections in the app include: Schedules, News, Maps, Dining, Attractions, Non-Park, Fun Stuff, and Resources. The app should also work on most modern browsers.
GPS: Download GPS coordinates, including nearby points of interest (POI).

WDW Essentials

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For those who want a simple planning approach, the WDW for Grownups Planning Page is one of the best planners I have seen. I will expand on these tips below at a high-level and provide detail in separate blog entries.

Before you go:

Stay on Disney property if you ever get the chance. This offers an entire list of perks within itself.
Decide your method of transportation. With Disney's Magical Express, you can rent a car on property for only some of the days of your vacation, if you wish.
Buy your tickets ahead of time. Do the math to see what is best for you. If you aren't planning on going to the parks every day and can afford it now, purchase 10-day park hopper tickets that never expire. If you plan on going more than once a year, an annual pass may be more in line with your budget.
Plan your on-site dining reservations as soon as you are able (confirm timelines on WDWs reservation timeline checklist page), months before you leave. If you aren't planning on going to the parks every day, check the park calendar to plan your on-site dining reservations. Don't forget you have to use park tickets to eat at restaurants inside the parks, and you might want to eat in a park that has Extra Magic Hours at night. My wife has a general rule not to do back-to-back Disney Dining Plan table services (e.g. Chef Mickey's early in the morning after eating a big meal the night before).
See if any promotions are available. For example, Disney offers free tickets (or a Disney gift card for an equivalent amount) on your birthday.
Prepare your cell phone. There are 2 essential phone numbers: Disney Dining (407-WDW-DINE) and WDW Information (407-WDW-MAGIC). If you want to, also check maps, apps, browser bookmarks for new sites and GPS coordinates.
Research. For more research before you go, check the various WDW planner sites and forums for Q&A. The sites have much of the same information you will find in the official/unofficial WDW guide books.

While you are there:

Buy a case of water and take what you need to the parks.
Take advantage of the Photo Pass and Fast Pass inside the parks.
Learn how to Park-Hop. Buses, boats and the monorail. Yes, you CAN walk between two of the parks.
Research. If you are staying on Disney property, get familiar with the Disney resort perks. Pick up the latest WDW Times Guide. Check your favorite WDW news web site or forum. Prepare for the weather.
Call Disney Dining if you need to change Disney dining reservations. Last-minute reservations "can" be done, but keep your expectations low.
Spice-up the trip. Yes, you have seen WDW before, so do something different. Bring pins for trading with cast members and pin boards. Search for Hidden Mickeys. Collect pressed pennies or Disney transportation cards.
Visit Downtown Disney for shopping, dining and entertainment.
Shopping discounts. Check the big Disney stores (e.g. Emporium, World of Disney) for promotional offers (e.g. rolling duffel bag for $20 with any $50 purchase). Offers generally vary store to store. Take a trip to a Disney outlet store to buy discounted park merchandise.
Check other activities that are outside the parks, but still on Disney property. Don't forget Kissimmee, Orlando, and the beaches within an hour's drive.

Intro

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Not for First-Timers

This blog is not just another of the many informational sites about Walt Disney World. We want to go beyond the basics for non-first-timers and focus on saving money while enjoying the best WDW has to offer.

Why? Because if you are a first-timer, I will tell you what happens: you either book a package on Disney property or stay somewhere in the Orlando area and buy tickets at the front gate. If you are a planner, you buy one of the official or unoffical park guides from Amazon and possibly plan your park days using the book's recommended (and regimented) itineraries. You will spend a bundle of money. Once your vacation is over, you get home and realize you need a vacation from your vacation to recuperate. I have seen this time and again from first-timers.

The best thing to do when going to Walt Disney World is to just enjoy it. Florida gets hot in the summer. Can you guess when most people are in the parks during the day? It's usually during the hottest part of the day. Know the park hours. Go early to the parks, leave in the middle of the day to rest, and come back later. Too many folks think they are going to get their money's worth and spend a good 12+ hours in a park or burn-out and leave before they can see the fireworks. Take advantage of the Fast-Pass and find an air-conditioned place in the park to rest every once in awhile. My family usually does ok with 6-8 hours a day in a park. Avoid the rookie mistakes.

For your first trip, plan lightly. Browse disneyworld.com's Discover and Plan sections. Enjoy and discover what Walt Disney World has to offer. After that, come back here and plan according to your needs for your next trip.

History of WDW Planning

I was a Cast Member in the Walt Disney World College Program in the summer of 1987 (the Centorium in Epcot). I still remember selling the popular Birnbaum official WDW guide books in the store. Every year, new books would arrive, growing in size as WDW grew over the years. I own a 1987 unofficial guide (not sold at Disney) that is 174 pages long. The 2010 edition is selling on Amazon at 864 pages. One of the main issues you will see in WDW guide book reviews is being able to keep information up-to-date.

As a cast member, the mouse told us to use WDWs information line to answer guest questions. For guests, I believe the number was 407-WDW-INFO. We never pushed the Birnbaum book, but guests did buy it to find information on their own.

Over the years, WDW fans began appearing online, helping to answer questions for anyone planning to go to WDW. Beginner and expert forums became very popular. While Disney focused on building their online reservation system, Disney also pushed their vacation planning video tape/DVD as a WDW information source. WDW informational and fan web sites began to grow, some integrating web content with their original forums. Most sites are self-funded, some are backed by advertising, and some charge for premium services. Sites have text-based information, podcasts, photos and video. Because of the huge amount of information needed for the sites, many thankless hours are spent by the fans creating and maintaining the sites. Unfortunately, the original issue with keeping WDW guide book information current has affected some of the sites.

Within the past year, Disney has begun to grow in their online presence. They have their own unofficial forum, and post operating hours on disneyworld.com. At the same time, Disney still has gaps in its own information. There are a few places where an online description states: "Please call...for more information." Disney also has many podcasts, videos, and other content spread across the Internet.

Purpose of this Blog

Disney and the many free, WDW fan-driven information sites, forums, blogs, and podcasts will be researched. We will highlight gaps, comparisons, reviews, tips and tricks without attempting to "bash" anyone too hard. Some of the sites look a little rough around the edges, but in almost all cases, the sites' love of Disney shows in the quality information they share. Thanks to everyone who created these sites and your willingness to help others.

I will attempt to keep this blog as up-to-date as possible. WDW site information will change over time, so please let me know if the updates change anything that I have mentioned. The blog entry dates will be updated as information changes.

To take this blog with you when you go to Walt Disney World, I have compiled the links mentioned in the articles into a free WDW info iPhone/mobile web app, wdw411.com. This app does not use anyone's content, but will quickly forward you to web pages that have the information you need. Please see the separate wdw411 blog entry for more details.

I am a Disney Vacation Club (DVC) member and take my family back to WDW every year or so.

© 2009 NewTrix Technology. All Rights Reserved. Getting the Most from Walt Disney World™ blog is a hobbyist/enthusiast website for fans of The Disney Company. Getting the Most from Walt Disney World™ is not affiliated with, authorized or endorsed by, or in any way officially connected with, The Walt Disney Company, Disney Enterprises, Inc., or any of their affiliates.