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The last email on your latest Notes from the World was a question from Keith, who asked about carrying a backpack, and also about park hopping. 

You mentioned that the parks have lockers. You may also want to mention that if he keeps his receipt and park hops, he can get a new locker at the new park without having to pay again.

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The information that I provided on the "free upgrade" in that situation was confirmed by a Disney CM. You would handle the upgrade, and AP validation, at guest relations at any of the parks or Downtown Disney. Each of those locations have a guest relations office outside the park to handle those kinds of transactions.

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Also: a great place for a marriage proposal is Victoria & Albert's (if the fellow popping the question is willing to also pop for an expensive meal...) A friend of mine did that a couple years ago and it went off without a hitch (except, of course, for the GETTING hitched part...heh heh heh.) Evidently, the V&A folks handle a LOT of that sort of thing, and they are well-versed in the art of hiding the ring, setting the mood, keeping the Intended in the dark and all that. I imagine they probably wrap up the evening in an especially festive and romantic way, too. It's worth investigating!

Keep the great work.

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It's been a long-standing complaint among Disney CMs that special event information is so slow in being available. Frankly, I think that is somewhat on purpose... so that any special events going on during those themed times are not fully booked months and months in advance by the folks like us that know what's going on. Making it so that information and such is just not available until closer to the time makes it more open to the casual guest. I think the same is true of the priority seating system... the 120/60 day rules are intended, I'm sure, to limit advanced planners to keep things open for the masses.

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• The DAK Meal Certificate is officially known as "The Meal PLUS Certificate." With tax it runs $11.65 / adult, $6.35 / child. Like the reader said it is a three part coupon (1) Counter Service Entree and nonalcoholic beverage (2) One Ice Cream Bar or Cone (3) One bottle of soda or water.
• This can save you some money, as there are some entrees at Flame Tree BBQ that cost $11.00. This is only a TEST and may end at any time, or it may go to all four parks. The certificate can be purchased at the Vacation Planners. Guest Relations or the Counter Service food locations.

And finally, on the front of the line perks, it isn't true at WDW. 

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I have an idea where the reader's source might have got this idea.

"Allan writes: Brian, I had heard that not long ago someone from one of the well known travel web sites made a comment that if you stayed onsite at a WDW resort that you could show your resort ID to the Disney employee working the line at a ride and they will move you to the front of the line.

"According to this person, this was kind of an unwritten policy. Have you heard of this?"

Several years ago at the Universal parks, resort guests of Portofino Bay could jump to the head of the line for the first two hours every morning. They just showed the ID to the greeter and were sent through the attraction exit to be boarded.

and Steve chimed in on the same topic:

... Well, as you know, that is not the policy at Disney World.

However, it is the policy at Universal Escape Florida (Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure Parks). For guests staying at Universal Hotels, your resort ID allows front of the line access, and immediate seating at restaurants. We visited in January, and thought it was a GREAT perk! (See January 2002 trip report) You save a ton of time not having to stand in line, which in the busy summer months could make the difference in how many attractions you get to see.

It works by showing your room key card to the employee at the entrance of the ride. In most cases, guests who use this perk is directed through the exit on the same path as the handicap accessibility. You are then inserted into the ride at the loading station, bypassing the entire wait, so generally you are the next on the ride. You show your card again at this point, to confirm you aren't someone who has walked backward through the exit line.

At restaurants, your card entitles you to the next available table. Again, this is very helpful, and acts like an instant reservation.

I guess this is do-able at Universal Escape because they only have 2 hotels at this point (3rd hotel is being built currently), so the number of people who could take advantage of this perk are small. At Disney, you can upwards of 100,000 people staying on property, so I don't think it would work!

Mike wrote:

Brian, one of your readers in today's article asked about getting to the front of the ride lines when you have a resort ID. The reader must have confused WDW with the Universal Orlando resort - - for a short time last year, in order to boost room volume, they had a policy that anyone staying in the Universal hotels could skip lines (although I don't believe it was UNLIMITED, but it was pretty extensive).

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Personally, I wish Disney would just do away with Fastpass. It messes up the way I like to do things by forcing advanced planning (even minimally) when I'd prefer to be more spontaneous in the parks. :)

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Hi Brian! I noticed a little error while reading your column that I would like to point out. 

"By the way, kids do NOT eat free at Walt Disney World as a matter of policy. You can always ask for an extra plate, which are always brought without hassle in my experience, but you'll be feeding your daughter from food that you ordered. Children's meals, even for kids under the age of three, have a fixed price."

Actually at certain places kids do eat for free. At the buffets kids under three do not have to pay for what they eat. Just thought you would like to know this. Of course they do not eat for free, if they eat off a regular menu, but at the buffets they are OK.

and Tracey writes: 

Brian, You answered a question on April 22 regarding a child one month shy of her 3rd birthday not being able to eat free. At character meals she will be able to eat for free (3 and up are charged.) We know this from personal experience. Something that surprised me however, is I have made reservations at Whispering Canyon and they asked the age of my daughter. When I told them 2, he told me that she would eat for free. This I was NOT expecting but it sure was a nice bonus.

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The wife of my friend had been watching the old Walt Disney World Inside Out shows of years gone by and in particular her interest was peaked at a segment that proposed this very question. In short, the segment indicated that guests could just write to Guest Relations at the Magic Kingdom. This is what she did and in her letter she explained that this was a special occasion and asked if it would be possible. Sometime later she received a very nice handwritten letter. In the letter, the cast member asked when would they be visiting Walt Disney World; he also went to say that indeed most families are hand picked that day, but sometimes special events, like her request, could be accommodated.

In the end, both my friends were Grand Marshall's on the day they requested and of course they had an incredible Magic Moment in the Magic Kingdom. They also made a great friend out of that Cast Member from Guest Relations. Sadly, he is now retired and we do not get to visit with him on our trips to WDW.

I would suggest that if such a special event is coming up then it would be best to write directly to Guest Relations at City Hall. Be sure to send your letter directly to City Hall at the Magic Kingdom. Also be aware that the Cast of Walt Disney World receives hundreds if not thousands of requests and not every one of these wishes can be granted.

I just want to further point out that Guest Relations receives a fairly high volume of requests and not every wish can be granted. The point is that it cannot hurt to ask nicely, the result could be surprising.

PS - I would like to add how much I enjoy your site, as well as the rest of MousePlanet. As a Disney Store CM we see the good and the bad of the Company and its Guests. MousePlanet provides unique perspective opinion of the Disney Company and the people who frequent its many outlets and buy into its many products and other offerings. I hope that you and the rest of the MousePlanet staff will be able to keep up the good work for many years to come.

PPS - I have a perspective another letter found in yesterdays column, the letter about resort guests going to the front of the line. There is indeed no rule written or unwritten that substantiates this claim. However, I will point out that I believe that Universal Orlando had a similar program that debuted not long after the introduction of Disney's Fastpass. This would not be the first time that I have experienced Guest Confusion as to which park they are referring. Frankly, a majority of the Guests I speak with about the parks often confuse Universal and Sea World as part of Walt Disney World. Of course we know this to furthest from the truth. Perhaps this may explain the question from that reader.

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The All-Stars and Coronado Springs are probably about the same distance as the Epcot resorts, but there's less turns involved in getting from them to WWoS.

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I'm concerned (for myself) about staying a week in the smaller roomed resorts. If I chicken-out what do you recommend as the most kid-pleasing deluxe resort?

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No new date has been set for the resort's opening.  (Editor's Note:  This email was answered before I got the information about the Spring 2003 opening.)

I think you'd be happy at any of the All Star Resorts as far as the upkeep is concerned, but with a four-year-old daughter, I'd suggest you consider the All Star Movies resort as the best option. However, as you point out, the All Star resorts do have smaller rooms and are more spread out and have fewer amenities than the moderate and deluxe resorts.

I'd suggest you go to the WDW accommodations index page where you can find a link to MousePlanet's "Fast Facts" pages for all of the WDW resorts and review the options. If you have any specific questions about any of the resorts, I'd be happy to try to answer them... but I think the bottom line comes down to price versus the level of service on one hand and the themeing of the various resorts on the other. Pick the level of service you want (and are willing to pay for) then choose the theme that you're most happy with and enjoy!

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Dear Brian, I am writing to you regarding annual pass media. I live in Scotland (Great Britain) and have visited Disney World twice in the last three years. Each time I make the trip I try to use all the good advice from fellow adventurers such as yourself. I reckon that because we Brits stay over at least two weeks an AP would be beneficial. My question is this. If I was wanting to take advantage of any AP accommodation offers would I have to purchase a pass in advance of traveling? I hoped that I might be able to make a booking and then produce the pass on arrival. Also can I purchase an AP from Britain or do I pick it up form the US only. Finally I tend to travel in September and just hope to book any of the Deluxe Resorts, whichever there might be an offer at. Any advice would be appreciated.

and Bill writes: 

Hi Brian, I saw a recent letter in Notes from the World about AP rates. I am curious if, at check in, is the voucher you receive when you buy an AP sufficient for the Disney resorts in order to secure the AP rate, or do I have to go to a park and trade the voucher in for the actual pass? I would certainly like to avoid a trek to a park just to do the exchange.

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With a Wilderness Lodge parking pass in your front window, you won't have to fear about being towed away. If you were staying off-site, and would not have a WDW parking pass, I would have suggested that you plan to go to the Contemporary for the breakfast, then drive over to Epcot to continue the day. In your case, though, you won't have any problems.

There is no direct boat transportation from Wilderness Lodge to the Contemporary.

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I think that is what you are saying but I wanted to make sure. Otherwise we will change our plans and go to the Magic Kingdom that day. If we have to do that the E-Ride night is on a Monday. I heard that is a busy day for MK would that be a problem if we had to do that? Thanks for all your help!

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You are correct. Since you'll have a park hopper pass, you can go to Epcot for the first part of the day and use the park hopping feature to go to the MK for E-Ride without using another day's credit on the pass.

I wouldn't worry about Monday being an E-Ride day.  The number of people for E-Ride are limited regardless of which day of the week it is.

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In general, your ultimate park hoppers will be valid on the day you arrive and the day you depart, so you should go to your resort first thing, check-in (even if you can't get your room keys just yet) and get those park hoppers. Then you can spend the balance of the day doing whatever you'd like. Late afternoon, you can get your room keys and move your stuff in. If you're not going to have a rental (or your own) car available, the bell services folks can store (free of charge) your luggage until you can move into your room.

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1. How does WDW link my name to the tickets?
2. Do we need to do anything with the passes or register with Customer Relations at the Ticket Center before going to the entrance of the park with the passes. I don't want to make a beeline to the park entrance just to find out I missed something. Thank you very much for your help.

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The passes usually have a place for you to sign them. Then, when you enter the park, you show both your pass and a valid photo ID with your signature so your signed pass can be validated. Of course, it's very, very rare that visitors are actually asked to produce that valid photo ID, but the admission media fine print usually states that such ID is required. I'd suggest you look over your passes, read everything in detail, and see what it says. If you have any other questions, I'd suggest you call your ticket agent ASAP and make sure you thoroughly understand all issues regarding the use of those passes.

I wish you well on your ticket purchase. Let me know how it goes as I have had no one give me any feedback (good or bad) on using a third-party for admission media purchases.

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You stated, "it will be interesting to see if Disney keeps its word as far as restoring the cut perks when the crowds came back," but I don't remember Disney ever making any claims about restoring the cuts. Personally, I am expecting that Early Entry will be reinstated when crowd levels warrant, but no one from Disney has ever said that would be the case.

So, to answer your question... no, I have no such information. :(

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My question is whether we really need to make priority seating reservations before we go? We did book our character breakfast. We will be there May 5-10th and I have heard conflicting info as to whether it is a busy time. Many of the resorts are listed as full.

Also, is there a specific time that we should get to the hotel for our admissions media? As I mentioned, we will be staying off-site our first night and would like to get full use of our tickets the first day. Are they going to look at us like we are crazy if we show up at 8am for a 3pm check or is this common?

Sorry this is soooo long! I know you're very busy but I hope that you have time to answer. I would really appreciate it. Again, thanks for all the info you provide on the sight It has been really helpful in planning our trip.

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Sounds like you have a fun trip planned already!

As far as priority seating is concerned, I wouldn't worry about it except for those hard-to-get-into restaurants. You mentioned a character breakfast, I think you were wise to have PS for that. Other than that, you should do fine with walk-ups as long as you don't mind short (20 minute or so) waits.

There is no specific time to arrive at your hotel to get checked-in. Arriving early to get your admission media is very commonly done, so don't worry about that at all! On my last trip, we arrived earlier than normal check-in time and I was given our pre-programmed room key cards. I wasn't told what room we were in, but when we came back to the resort later in the day, I simply had to call the front desk to find out where we were and our keys were ready to let us in. It worked out very nice. I'm not sure that POR Riverside does things that same way, but you may want to ask if they can do the same thing for you there.

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Anyways, With all of the talk about DisneyQuest I have been wondering if anyone else thinks the reason it isn't doing well is it's lack of advertising?

Back last February me and my family went to Disney and were planning to have at least one day open to anything we wanted, I chose DisneyQuest, I had heard VERY little about what it was and what I had heard sounded good to me but not my father.

I enjoyed my visit to DisneyQuest and could have stayed there all night. The main problem with DisneyQuest is that No one knows that DisneyQuest has Tons of arcade games plus a couple of big simulators that take up entire rooms. If this fact had been explained to me in the first place it would have made my argument with my father all the more convincing.

In my opinion they would be doing great if they just spent a little money and got word out about it.

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You certainly make a good point. In fact, anyone can enjoy their visit to WDW to a much greater level if they are knowledgeable and plan ahead. As you probably know from reading my own comments, I'm not one for over-planning a trip... but having a good working knowledge of what's available to do certainly is key to have a fun vacation!

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!