Walt Disney World General Information

Walt Disney World tickets are not cheap (you could easily expect to pay hundreds of dollars for a family just for one day) so it makes sense to do your homework and find out as much as possible before you visit.

Disney's Year of a Million Dreams

From October 1, 2006 to December 31, 2007, Disney celebrated their Year of a Million Dreams where you could win great prizes or experience wishes and dreams than cannot be bought.

Theme Park Tickets

For 2005, Walt Disney World introduced a new ticket package called "Magic Your Way" which gives you more flexibility in tailoring your theme park tickets to your own specific needs but can be quite confusing at first glance.

Ticket Tag

All Disney tickets are non transferable and Disney have now installed the Ticket Tag system at the four main theme parks. To enter the park you must now place your middle and index fingers into a special scanner which takes a digital scan of your fingers.

It is not a finger print as such but it does then link you to your ticket to stop someone else using it. If you have old tickets that pre-date the Magic Your Way tickets you may be asked to sign the tickets to help with identification.

You will also find that you no longer have to get your hand stamped if you park hop, you just present your ticket and use the finger scanner to gain re-admission on the same day. Children under 10 do not have to use the scanners.

Stroller Rental

When you rent a stroller, wheelchair or electric convenience vehicle (ECV), you rent it for the whole day. If you park hop you cannot take your rental out of the park so remember to keep your receipt to avoid having to pay again. Current daily rentals rates are now as follows (note if you hire at Downtown Disney then you will have to leave a substantial deposit using your credit card):

* If you are planning on visiting for more than one day then consider buying a "Length of Stay" rental ticket which will make it quicker to pick up a rental on each visit and has a cheaper daily rate (see prices in brackets).

Note that there are limited supplies of wheelchairs and ECVs so it may make more sense to rent one for the duration of your vacation from an outside company.

Disney Residents

If you are staying in one of the onsite Disney resort hotels then you will be able to take a free Disney motorcoach shuttle bus to the various attractions. If you do take your car then parking is free for Disney resort residents.

Many offsite hotels also offer complimentary shuttle buses to the parks.

Disney resort guests are also able to take advantage of the various Disney Dining Plans which could save you 30% to 40% on your food budget.

FASTPASS

To try and reduce waiting times at some of the more popular attractions, Walt Disney World Resort have introduced the Disney FASTPASS system. Basically you visit one of the attractions you wish to ride on and put your Magic Your Way Pass in a FASTPASS machine. Note that not all attractions operate the FASTPASS system.

It returns your pass plus a FASTPASS ticket with a one hour time stamped window on it. If you then return to that attraction during your one hour window, you can in theory get on the ride much quicker than standing in the regular line.

The downside of the system is that once you have got a FASTPASS ticket, you cannot get another FASTPASS for another ride until the first FASTPASS ticket expires. This means that on busy days (when you most need the FASTPASS) you may well find that after riding your first couple of FASTPASS rides you will find that all the FASTPASS tickets have already been issued for the next ride you want to go on.

Guests With Special Needs

If you need a wheelchair to get around and have not brought one with you, then you can hire them at the parks.

On some rides there are special 'cars' that can accommodate a wheelchair, on others you will have to get out of the chair. Also you and your party can bypass the lines for most rides and get special seating at the shows.