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You can certainly upgrade to a PAP. You'll have to pay the difference in the value between the regular AP and the PAP, of course.

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I don't know what resort you're staying at, but an hour transportation time seems a bit high. From gate to room, though, I wouldn't be surprised to see the timing be 30-45 minutes. If you stay offsite, though, the time from gate to room will be much greater... more like an hour or more.

For example, if you leave the Magic Kingdom and walk to the bus stop (2 minutes), wait for a bus (10-15 minutes), then ride the bus to Port Orleans (10 minutes), then walk from your bus stop to your room (2-5 minutes).... the total is about a half hour.

If you leave the Magic Kingdom and walk to the monorail (2 minutes), wait for a monorail (10 minutes), then ride the monorail to the Ticket and Transportation Center (5 minutes), then walk from the monorail to the tram loading area (2 minutes), then wait for a tram (10-15 minutes), tram ride to your car parking area (5 minutes), walk to your car (1 minutes), then drive to your hotel (15 minutes), then walk from your car to your room (2-5 minutes).... the total is about an hour.

In both cases, these are about average scenarios. If a bus or monorail or tram comes earlier, you could get back a bit earlier, but if any of those legs of your journey are delayed, you could be in for a longer wait. During the middle of the day during the busiest seasons, a trip from the MK to an offsite hotel could easily take an hour and a quarter to an hour and a half.

The parking areas near the parks are all very, very large. The one for the MK and Epcot are particularly humongous. There is no special parking area for on-site guests, so you'd be parking along with all of the day visitors.

Here's why I would still recommend staying on site. You may have a slight wait for a bus, but that's the only potential delay in the whole return trip to your hotel. When driving (to the MK anyway), there are many possible delays. Besides that, there are irritations... delays, wrong turns (that can take you a long way from where you meant to go), traffic, construction... all of those things can strip the magic from your mind long before you return to your hotel room.

I strongly urge you to stay on site, and plan (worst case) for a 45 minute return trip via Disney transportation to your hotel... and enjoy your vacation.

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Thanks for the correction Evan, I let that one slip. Sorry. :)

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Brian, Thanks for providing all of the great information!  Since Early Entry hasn't been around for a few months now, have the parks settled into a daily attendance pattern? When we stayed off-site, it was always easy - avoid the park that had Early Entry and you should be fine. Now we're going to be on-site, but I feel like I'm guessing instead of planning.

Thanks for any help!

and Brenda writes: 

We are planning a trip at the end of the month. What days are best to see the four parks? Since Sunrise Mornings are canceled, what should be our plan? Any information would be greatly appreciated.  Thanks so much!

A.

The main thing to remember now is to avoid the Magic Kingdom on Mondays, Fridays, and Saturdays. Epcot gets busier mid-week. The Studios is pretty even in traffic throughout the week, but a bit lighter on Mondays and Tuesdays. Animal Kingdom is so large that it's difficult to see any pattern there.

In all cases, Sundays are still the quietest days at all of the parks.

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Anyway, they included one day passes for everyone in the family to the Wide World of Sports complex. We didn't get a chance to use them so my question is, are they still good? And if they are still good, how long will they be? There is no indication that they expire anywhere on the passes themselves, which look just like one day, one park passes (character picture on the front, magnetic strip on the back) but with sports complex admission printed on the back.

Keep up the great work

A.

I'm not familiar with Wide World of Sports admission media specifically, but in general, WDW admission media is pretty specific about printing the rules regarding it's usage directly on the ticket or pass itself. The reason is that WDW wants the cast members right at the venue entrance to be able to make judgment calls if any issue arises.

You can always check the admission media at guest relations, but I think, if you're sure no one has used the tickets, they're probably still good for admission.

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You can get an excellent deal on accommodations using an AP discount, but it depends on when you plan to visit. Disney often makes AP discounts available only during the very quiet times of the year (not surprising). Worse, Disney has an annoying habit of not making those discounts available very far in advance. Still, it never hurts to ask when you call to make reservations.

The break even point is about seven days. If there's any chance of using the pass for another trip or two during the year, you'd be very wise to buy the APs.

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There is information on admission media discounts on these two MousePlanet pages, first the Disney Club page and also on the Admission Media from A to Z page.

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I've heard that there is construction going on at all the moderate hotels except Coronado Springs. Can you confirm that? In fact, our AAA travel agent told us if you want to stay at a moderate, right now that only one she would recommend in Coronado Springs. We need a room for 5 and were hoping for Port Orleans Resort Riverside.

If this is true, is there a completion date scheduled?

Thanks for your help!

A.

Port Orleans Resort French Quarter is currently closed (completely). Port Orleans Resort Riverside is now partially closed (many of the buildings are not being used. Caribbean Beach Resort and Coronado Springs Resort are both operating normally.

I'd suggest you call your agent back and just ask him (or her) to book Port Orleans Resort Riverside as it is the only moderate resort that can sleep five.

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American Express is the official card of WDW. You can use the Am Ex card, book special packages through it, and so on... and be given special privileges as a result. For example, there if you book certain packages using the Am Ex you may receive special "white glove treatment" that includes special give-aways, and so on.

However... I don't know of a credit card that gives you discounts. There is the Disney Club membership which can provide discounts, but it's not a credit card... it's simply a club (for which you pay a membership fee) that provides some discounts.

You can read more about it on MousePlanet's Disney Club page.

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Thank You and have A Snapple Kind Of Day!

A.

The best way that I've found for getting reservations at Cinderella's Royal Table is to start calling at about 6:55am Eastern time, then repeatedly hitting "redial" on my phone until I get a live operator. It worked for me on a couple of occasions, but I might have just been lucky.

I don't know of anything else you can do other than try to get into the restaurant on the day you're in the park (hoping for a cancellation or an unlikely opening).

Sorry, but that's the situation at this, WDW's most popular breakfast.

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You'll find a ton of information on this page, including a link (at the very top of the page) to a "photo tour" of the resort.

Walt Disney World won't be too busy early that week, but with Labor Day being the day after your departure, you'll see a big increase in crowd level for the last part of your trip.

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Unfortunately, I can't provide you with such a map. Disney does have a great map of the whole WDW complex, but it is copyrighted and I can't reproduce it on MousePlanet.

However, I can tell you that the Wide World of Sports Complex is down in the South Eastern part of WDW. The All Star Resorts are pretty close by, followed in proximity order by Animal Kingdom Lodge, Coronado Springs Resort, the Boardwalk, the WDW Swan and Dolphin, the Yacht and Beach Club Resorts, and Caribbean Beach Resort.

Sorry I can't provide a map, but at least that should help a bit.

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Q.

1. Kidcot stops in Epcot - what times do they open and close. I read somewhere they only open at 1:00 pm? Are they open until closing?
2. In-room babysitting - what do the sitters do when the kids are sleeping? Do they keep the lights on/watch TV or read with a book light?

A.

As far as in-room babysitting goes... you have me stumped. I've never used such a service, so I really don't know what the in-room sitters do after lights out. When you call to make the sitting arrangements, though, I'm sure you can discuss that issue and how you would like for things to be handled versus the sitter's policy.

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Early July is one of the busiest times of the year just because of the Summer school break. As a result, there usually isn't much that is done then. However, you will find that there's a special fireworks display at the Magic Kingdom, and you'll see some decorations and so on, but nothing as extravagant as the Christmas holiday decor.

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Check out this page. You'll see that there is a tour called "Family Magic" which is actually more of an activity than a tour. You can always check in at City Hall (Guest Relations) to see what other options may be available during your trip.

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The only way to know for sure is to go to guest relations at one of the parks or hotels and have them scan the ticket. You're right, though, if there is any residual value left on the pass you can still use it.

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Q.

The reason I am asking is that we are planning an 8 day visit in September this year and are staying at Port Orleans Riverside. We usually use the Disney Club discount but the annual pass holder discount is better. When I compare the prices of purchasing four 5 day passes and using the Disney Club Discount on our room versus purchasing one annual pass and three 5 day passes and using the annual pass holder discount, the total cost is only about $30 more for the annual pass. Although we have been going to Disney World annually now for the past five years, we have no plans to go again until2004 so the annual pass would only be used during this visit. Are there any other benefits or discounts available other than the discounts on the room?

A.

There's a lot of overlap between the Disney Club and AP discounts. I don't have a complete list of the discounts because they do change frequently, but there are other benefits (besides discounts) that AP holders receive. I also happen to know that there is an upcoming piece which will run in Sue Holland's "Everything but the Parks" column (scheduled to run in April) on MousePlanet that covers all of those perks.

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You can use any residual value on the adult pass as is. The residual value on the old children's passes will have to be credited towards the value of new adult passes since both of your kids are over nine years of age now.

You can get that taken care of at any guest relations center at WDW.

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Upon visiting these newer parks, I was taken by the more "generic" layout (i.e., no Matterhorn and no New Orleans Square.)

As these are a couple of my favorite things at Disneyland (and I'll bet I'm not alone in that observation), can you shed any light on why they were omitted from the other parks?

A.

I don't think you can say that things were omitted, just that the parks are a bit unique. Disneyland, for example, doesn't have a "Liberty Square," although WDW's Magic Kingdom does. There are also a few attractions at the Magic Kingdom that Disneyland doesn't have.

My own take is pretty simple. If I had to choose where to spend a day or two, I'd go to the Disneyland Resort any time. However, for a week-long visit, I still have to give the nod to WDW.

Click here to see some awesome WDW pieces that have run on MousePlanet recently!

Click here to check out the rest of Brian's Archive, including all of the previously published "Notes From the World" pieces!

I've always gotten email about the WDW Trip Planning Guide, but since we added the feedback form to the site several months ago, the number of questions has increased dramatically!  I do my best to answer each and every question personally, but I've noticed that a lot of the questions are asked again and again.  The question that one person asks might very well be the question that someone else is wondering about.  Thus this page!

So...I'll post reader email and feedback every once in a while, because the question someone else asks might be the same one you're thinking about yourself!