Disney World Tips, Tricks, Secrets,...Touring Plans!

The magic of Disney was a great Spring Break!  We just got back from a week in the sun at Disney World.  The family all had a great time and everything about the trip worked out great, start to finish.  We drove the 1200 miles to Orlando and it was smooth sailing all the way.  No traffic, no construction, no problems!  We stayed at the Port Orleans-French Quarters resort in Disney.  It is an absolutely beautiful resort.  We went to all four Disney parks and had a blast in each of them.  Epcot was my favorite as I really loved strolling through the World Showcase.  Hollywood Studios has the best rides, The Magic Kingdom is an absolute classic, and Animal Kingdom is a beautiful, scenic park.  We NEVER waited in line more than 15 minutes for ANY ride at any of the parks!  We rode all the "A" rides at least twice before noon and then again in the evening.  The key is to get to the park early and get your fastpasses as soon as you can.  Then keep getting a fastpass as soon as the time allows you to.  Don't worry about the expiration time on the fastpass, they let you ride it ANY time after the start time.  At one time at Hollywood Studios I had four sets of fastpasses saved up.  There were lines for the "A" rides that were 80-100 minutes long but we walked right in with our fastpasses doing the happy dance.  You need to get to the park at least 40 minutes before it opens and immediately go to an "A" ride, get a fastpass first, then ride it.  Then go to the next "A" ride and there will be no wait, ride it, then it will be time to get another fast pass for an "A" ride.  Have a plan (called touring plans) and you will have a great time at any of the parks.  We (family of four) stayed at the Port Orleans resort for 6 nights, got 6 day tickets to the parks, and got a $500 Disney cash card for a grand total of $2370.  The cash card lasted us until the last day (used it mainly for food).  We spent about $350 for gas and hotels on our way to and from Florida (from Illinois).  Now it is time to get back to nailing the debt.