As a Disney nut, I always get questions. And I get a lot of Fastpass questions. So I'm answering some popular questions here:

-What is a fastpass?

A fastpass is a ticket that you use to reduce your wait time on select attractions. They are free with theme park admission. Essentially, when you approach a ride with this option, you'll see a sign that has a time slot to come back. You go up to the machine and insert your park ticket. You will get a ticket with the time to come back printed on them. (see the bottom fastpass example)

-Wait, the cost is free?

Yes, completely free, even with the most...

Star Tours has been re imagined! And it works!

The old Star Tours was, to be frank, just that. OLD! I never used to like it, since it would make me motion sick. It felt like you were in a big box that's moving and shaking you around (which, well, it what it is) and not like a flight through space. Let's face it, the technology utilized in Mission: Space left Star Tours in the dust, with wait times declining more and more, and going up and up on other rides (coughToyStoryManiacough).

The technology on this one is completely awesome. It no longer makes me motion sick, because it feels more real...

The very first themed area of all Disney theme parks in Main Street USA. At the top of Main Street is the Town Square and I thought I'd focus on the attractions available in this area.

The very first attraction is, of course, the Railroad which has a station looking over Town Square. Guests enter through underpasses running underneath the Railroad station into Town Square. This is the case in all the Disney theme parks except Disneyland Tokyo.

I'll cover the Railroad in another post as it tours around the parks, passing through many different lands.

It never fails to amaze me how much thought...

Walt Disney World has recently posted a video explaining the new interactive queue for Magic Kingdom's Big Thunder Mountain.

The entertainment in the cue will involve excitement from the first moment you step in; the first thing disney guests will experience is the 'mining office'. The mining office is about how you would start you day mining, and it might even gives some clues to if it's some kind of mystery! There will also be an explosive magazine room-which will have dynamo sticks-, lenses which let you see the shaft, and much more!

My opinion:
Although, I have not yet experienced the new...

Following on from my post about Snow White's Scary Adventures (which is still over in the Imagineer section - sorry - feel free to go and hunt it out in case the mods don't move it over here as other posters advised me). Also that post gives a bit more background on why I've started posting this odd little ramblings.

With this classic dark ride, I've titled it with the French name as this is the version I have most recently ridden.

Les Voyages de Pinocchio has guests enter a ornate, wooden entrance modelled on the buildings seen in the film. After the usual twisty, turny queue, riders climb into...

The Three Caballeros is a film which, whilst obscure within the feature film canon, actually has a quite prominent presence at Epcot, to the extent that the film actually has a ride themed around it. Having commented on how odd it is that an enormously famous film such as Bambi has almost no presence in the parks, let alone a ride based on it, it seems just as odd that an obscure package film such as The Three Caballeros would do.

But with Latin America being the focus of two package films, and Mexico being represented by the character of Panchito Pistoles in the second of the two, a tour of...

Hi guys, I managed to watch the final farewell of Dream Along with Mickey on Youtube and I have to say that the show was magical and breathtaking that we're all going to miss this show for sure!

The Story-Line

The story itself has a moral value in it, never give up on your dreams and remember to cherish it! We also get to see our favourite Disney characters come to live on stage, including the princesses who sang their respective trademark songs with their princes.
Maleficent, along with Captain Hook and Mr Smee will come and turn our dreams into nightmares. The audience will get a chance to...

One of the mainstays of the Disney theme parks are the 'shows'. At various times during the day, and at various locations, mini-musicals are presented for the guests. Disneyland Paris, for example, has a stage erected near to Sleeping Beauty's Castle where various themed shows are presented.

As my thoughts are focussed, at the moment, on Main Street USA, I thought I'd take a look at Main Street's very own mini-musical - the Trolley Show.

Ten performers, five men and five women trundle into Main Street aboard a turn of the century, horse-drawn trolley car and proceed to entertain the assembled...

In a Nutshell

Location: Polynesian Resort
Food type: Hawaiian
Price: Moderately high-high (depending on where you sit)
Type: Family
Serving style: Family-style
link

Rating

On a scale of 1-5, 5 being the highest

Food: 3
Show: 3
Overall environment: 3
Dealing with food allergies: 2
Kids: 4
Recommended: No

The "fakey luau" as Nani once referred to the luau where she worked in the film Lilo and Stitch fits this place oh so well.

Let me just start by saying that I had a bad experience with the food there. You go to a Hawaiian restaurant,and generally, you find pineapple there. Guess who's allergic to pineapple?...

I have made a collection over the years and thought I would share some with you. I don't know where all of the info came from, but I did get it of the several different websites. Hope you enjoy!

1. The 180-foot-tall Spaceship Earth at the entrance to Epcot weighs approximately 16 million pounds.
2. The Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster launches at a speed of 0 to 60 miles per hour in 2.8 seconds.
3. Foods and Drinks Consumed each year
-75 million Cokes
-13 million bottles of water
-10 million hamburgers
-6 million hotdogs
-9 million pounds of french fries
- 300,000 pounds of popcorn
-319,353 lbs. of chocolate...

Over my past trips to Disney, I have done many things, and to be honest, forgotten most of it. Some things are never to be forgotten, though. Here are some of my favorite memories...

First tooth REALLY lost...

I lost my first tooth at Animal Kingdom. I had eaten an apple several days before. My tooth had been really loose, and I refused to pull it and wouldn't let anyone else pull it either. That day, we ate at Pizzafari, and when we left, we discovered that I had no tooth. My parents say that I swallowed it, but I maintain that it got lost and thrown away in the crust...

Speaking of teeth...

Not...

I compiled my list of the Best resorts on Disney property. My list shows the top five per catagory:

Top Five Kid resorts
5. Polynesian
4. All Star
3. Pop Century
2. Animal Kingdom Lodge
1. Contemporary

Explanation: I based this a lot on my favorites as a kid. Obviously, my tastes have changed (see below), but I assembled the kid ones. While kids will love the theme of the All Star and Pop Century Resorts, they will love the monorail in the Contemporary and Polynesian resorts. Animal Kingdom Lodge features the animals which kids will love, and Contemporary has Chef Mickey's and a huge arcade, and it...

In a nutshell
Resort type: Deluxe
Pricing: Higher priced
Location: Near Animal Kingdom theme park (Is NOT within walking distance)
[url=http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/resorts/animal-kingdom-lodge/]Website[/ulr]

Ratings (on a scale of 1=5, 5 being the highest)
Overall rating: 4.5
Room size: 4
Environment: 5
Pool:3.5
Proximity to parks: 2
Things to do: 5
Sit down restaurants? Yes
Counter service food quality: 5
Kids: 5
Recommend: Strongly

Picture it: waking up and seeing giraffes outside your window. This can become a reality at Disney's Animal Kingdom Lodge, but with not just giraffes, but zebras, gazelle,...

Let's face it. Disney's link is generally useless for anything besides booking your trip. They are biased because their main focus is to sell their product, the website is updated very infrequently, and is confusing a lot of the time. Which is why my information that I give to you here is generally from other sources. Sure, if you wanna know the real deal, you could get a guidebook, in which case I recommend link, but that often means even more money out of your pocket. There are sources out there, besides my articles on here and the forum topics, that can help you with planning your trip....

The "new and improved" Space Mountain recently opened at Walt Disney World. Frankly, I don't see what the fuss is all about.

The queue area is much improved. The games look cool. I only got to play for a minute because when I went, for once the line was impossibly short. That exceeded my expectations. I was expecting them to be like in Soarin’, which are no fun and totally pointless (but now we're getting off topic).

Inside the waiting area, there is now a barrier between the track and the waiting area so you can no longer see the track from the line. That's better. They added some new lights...

I've spent a lot of time figuring out how to maximize my Disney vacations. One great way to do this is by using the great apps for the parks. I've compiled a list of some of the best apps for your Disney vacation. Unless otherwise noted, these apps are available for iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad, and Android. Remember that Magic Kingdom and Epcot offer free in-park Wi-Fi, with Hollywood Studios and Animal Kingdom coming soon, so you can use the apps even if your device needs Wi-Fi. Plus, if you're running low on data, connect to the Wi-Fi and save your gigabytes.

My Disney Experience by Disney

The...

Determining the crowds at certain parks can be valuable. It can help you plan Fastpasses,determine whether another park would be better that day, whatever. My guide for determining crowds will let you determine the crowd by looking at two or three rides.

Magic Kingdom:
Except for Extra Magic Hours days (in which you should only spend the evening here), do not come to Magic Kingdom on weekends or holidays. It is excessively crowded on these days. Out of all the theme parks, this one will most likely be the most crowded on any given day (unless another park has a special event going on that day)....

Gran Fiesta Tour starring the Three Caballeros is the updated version of a water ride, El Rio Del Tiempo (The River of Time) situated in the Mexico pavilion since its opening. It is much the same ride (and I will take a look at that in more detail in another post) but with added colour of the Three Caballeros, Donald, Jose and Panchito. This guide begins with the version of the ride that I rode with my wife on our visit in 2007.

The entrance to Gran Fiesta Tour is to the left of the Plaza de Los Amigos which leads you to a short weaving queue line and down to the boarding area. Here, guest board...

Dumbo, the film, has given birth to possibly the most famous Disney theme park ride of them all - Dumbo, the Flying Elephant. It is a ride which is seen at all the Disney parks (and in many other theme parks, just without the 'Dumbo' theming - but often still with flying elephants).

The iterations at Disneyland Paris and California are practically identical. They have a beautiful clockwork theming with decorations which include images of Mr Stork. Timothy Mouse sits atop the ride. Water cascades below the ride and each Dumbo, with ears outstretched, has a different coloured seat. These seats...

The newest attraction to be themed on Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs is the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train at Disney World. It is part of the expanded Fantasyland and is a rollercoaster themed around, obviously, the diamond mine the dwarfs work in. Only opening in 2014, I've yet to ride it, but as a massive fan of rollercoasters I look forward to putting the experience top of my list when we return to Florida in the future. Courtesy of Youtube, it looks like a fun, not-too-intense coaster with some good dips and curves. The highlights look to be the dark ride elements. The trains pass through the...