7 Tips for Staying at Walt Disney World




Tusker House, Animal Kingdom Donald Duck and Goofy
At Tusker House ©http://ambercairoli.com/


This week we have a Guest Post from Amber Cairoli, blogger from Pin My Life. She and her husband are from America, Richmond, VA and are both about to turn 30. They have travelled to Walt Disney World (WDW) twice. This is their review:

1. Where did you stay in Orlando? What do you recommend?

We stayed at WDW two separate times, both in the Walt Disney Resorts. 

We first stayed at the Disney All Star Movies and the second time we stayed at the pricier Caribbean Beach Resort (CBR). We loved the price of All-Star Resorts and transportation was very convenient. Although the bus was shared with other All-Star Resorts on occasion*.
 
Mousekeeping magic was provided by the All Star music staff. The front desk knew it was our honeymoon and decorated our room and they gave us special celebration buttons. We also decorated our room ourselves with some of our wedding decorations!

Mousekeeping
Mousekeeping Magic

For CBR, we loved that they had a nice restaurant there called ‘Shutters’ which I believe is now gone and we enjoyed the grounds and hammocks. What we did not enjoy was that transportation took so long because of all the bus stops! With CBR, the bus had to go around to all of the “islands” so the bus might not have been as crowded, but it took a long time to get to your stop. You also had to take a shuttle from your room area to the resort food court if you were at one of the further “islands” if you did not want to walk for 10 to 15 minutes.


Caribbean Beach Resort Pool
Caribbean Beach Resort Caribbean Cay
Caribbean Beach Resort Hamock
Caribbean Beach Resort
2. Did you do any Disney Character dining? Recommendation?

We absolutely loved Tusker House in Animal Kingdom! The Characters came around to the tables and took some time with each guest. At Tusker House, Mickey, Goofy, Donald and Daisy visited you in “explorer” outfits. 

The food is great, we went there for both breakfast and dinner one day and enjoyed them both. At Tusker House, I loved that the food was more ethnic for dinner. I had Indian food and tried a few other foods too! My husband ate from the kid’s buffet at Tusker House for the most part, lol, he is not as adventurous as I am when it comes to food! That is what really set the food apart. The menus are all online and are really helpful.

Tusker House, Animal Kingdom Donald Duck and Goofy

We also visited the Crystal Palace in the Magic Kingdom for breakfast and dinner. We enjoyed the characters, but the food was only ok. Crystal Palace characters were from Winnie the Pooh so we saw Pooh, Piglet, and Eeyore. 

Crystal Palace Magic Kingdom Eeyore
Crystal Palace Magic Kingdom Piglet
Crystal Palace Magic Kingdom Tigger

We also went to the Royal Banquet Hall for Breakfast. This one was very crowded and served family style. The characters to meet were princesses so we saw Belle, Snow White, Aurora, Cinderella and Ariel, and maybe a couple more. We liked that you took a photo with a Princess when you first entered but we did not enjoy the food and the Princesses did not have much time for us. The princesses kind of did a parade around the room, and children were invited to parade with them. Their main focus was the parade and then they would stop quickly for photographs and autographs. I believe that is why patrons did not get much time with them.

Royal Banquet Hall snow white
 Royal Banquet Hall aurora
Royal Banquet Hall Belle
The food at the Crystal Palace and the Royal Banquet Hall was anything that you could find at a continental breakfast or at the hotel food court. It was eggs, waffles, and pancakes for breakfast and chicken, pot roast, potatoes and veggies, and pizza for dinner.
We definitely recommend Tusker House as the best experience!
The Turtle Cheesecake at the Coral Reef ©http://ambercairoli.com/

3. Do you recommend a Park Hopper ticket? 

We did have a Park Hopper but we did not use it! We like to spend the entire day emerged in the parks so a Park hopper was really a waste for us.

4. Fireworks?

We make it our mission to see the fireworks show at every park each time we go. We usually scope out a spot about half an hour to an hour before the show and take this time to just relax and talk about our day. The shows are always amazing, colourful and bright. On our last park day, the fireworks usually bring tears to my eyes!

5. Do you recommend the PhotoPass option?

I love PhotoPass! We went the first year without PhotoPass and regret it so much. We do not have many pictures of us together that year because of it. When we did use it the second year, we really enjoyed the magic touches that the PhotoPass people put in!

Tinkerbell in Hand

 6. Fastpasses and Ride strategy- what did you do?

We make a list of our must- do rides before FastPass day and then I get up super early to book them. I book the more popular ones on our list first and most times we get everything that we wanted! Staying on-site at Walt Disney World resorts means you can book your FastPasses 60 days prior to your trip.


7. What were your favourite rides and why? 
Every visit, my Husband has to see It's a Small World, the Carousel of Progress and the Haunted Mansion (He is a big history buff). I always look forward to Tower of Terror and the Safari Ride in Animal Kingdom. I love the thrills and seeing the animals.

Thanks so much to Amber Cairoli from Pin My Life for her review of Walt Disney World. All Photos on this page ©http://ambercairoli.com/

 You can read more about Amber at:  http://ambercairoli.com/
Facebook: Pin My Life


*KJ – We stayed at the All Stars Music Resort in April 2018 for three weeks, post Spring break and not once were the buses shared. This might be a seasonal thing.
If you would like to comment please do so in Comments as I would love to hear about your experiences. 

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Until next week,
KJ 


 GENERAL
How to save money staying at Walt Disney World
Booked a trip to Walt Disney World? What do do next and when
15 Free or Cheap things to do at Walt Disney World
What is the best age to visit a Disney or Universal Park?
The Complete Guide to Fast Passes at Walt Disney World
My top 6 theme park rides in Orlando and why
Tips and Advice from WDW Castmember Part 1

Tips and Advice from WDW Castmember Part 2
A foodies guide to WDW
How to plan a Disney Wedding 
Planning Tips for Someone without a Car
Interview with an Annual Passholder -WDW
Why Halloween is a great time of year to go to a Disney Park
Awesome Paintings and Prints you can get at Walt Disney World
7 Ways to beat the rain at Walt Disney World

 DISNEY HOLLYWOOD STUDIOS
Disney's Hollywood Studios - what to see and do before Star Wars Land opens 

 MAGIC KINGDOM


20 Need to know tips for Magic Kingdom
13 Awesome things to know about Magic Kingdom

ANIMAL KINGDOM
The Beginners guide to Disney's Animal Kingdom
World of Pandora at Disney's Animal Kingdom
Pandora and Animal Kingdom

EPCOT
The rides and attractions at EPCOT
The Complete Guide to EPCOT in Spring
EPCOT World Pavilions Part 1 - Kidcot Funstops and EPCOT Passports,Germany, U.S.A, U.K, China, Norway and Mexico World Pavilions
EPCOT World Pavilions Part 2  - Morocco,  Canada, France, Japan and Italy.

 DISNEY SPRINGS
Disney Springs - Where to eat and what to do
10 Amazing things to do at Disney Springs

 DAY TRIPS
A day trip to Miami from Walt Disney World
Kennedy Space Centre




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Location: Walt Disney World Resort, Orlando, FL 32830, USA

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