Author: touringplans.com

This year marks one of the earliest days of the year that Magic Kingdom has transformed into its holiday attire. With the lack of Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party, Christmas décor went up one day earlier than normal. Although the full holiday programming does not start until November 6, it is lovely to be at Magic Kingdom with its holiday finery. The Christmas Tree is so tall and so classic. The garlands and wreaths along Main Street USA bring back memories of many magical holiday seasons past.

With all that we’re facing this year it feels nice and comforting to see Magic Kingdom’s classic holiday decoration, toy soldiers, and towering tree. Our own Ivonne (@servoisnaked on Twitter and Instagram) captured all of these great photos from day to night.

If you’re visiting Walt Disney World this holiday season, make sure you have holiday magic at your fingertips. Become a TouringPlans Subscriber and gain access to our Lines app. Our Lines app users (or Liners as we call them) save 2-3 hours on average per day in the parks, so you’ll have more time to savor the magic of this festive season.

What’s your favorite part of the holiday season at Magic Kingdom?

The post PHOTOS – Holiday Decorations and Christmas Tree Arrive at Magic Kingdom appeared first on TouringPlans.com Blog.

From our friends at touringplans.com

Filed Under: Christmas, In the Parks, Magic Kingdom, Photos and Video, disney christmas, disney christmas 2020, magic kingdom christmas decorations, magic kingdom christmas tree

TouringPlans is happy to welcome Billy Hirsch for this three-part guest series about Celebrity Cruise Lines.

I was a lucky kid, growing up in Florida and going to Walt Disney World several times a year.  I loved going to the parks – and I still do.  My family also cruised many times each year – again, very lucky.  By the time vacations were mostly on my own dime, I’d developed quite the Disney habit, went to community meets, knew every inch of the parks, and became ingrained in all things Disney.  Not-that-fun fact: My TouringPlans account is official a teenager this year!

After a while, my girlfriend (now spouse) and I started cruising on our own, too.  We started with Norwegian Cruise Line and sometimes Disney. In time, we ended up cruising with Disney quite a bit.  We got to know the crew, and learned all the tricks: Cove Cafe cards are good from sailing to sailing, bring the souvenir beer mug back for cheaper refills, etc.  We had a cruise habit, and Disney became our ‘go to’.  

As we’ve continued to cruise though, as an adult couple with no kids, our style of cruising has changed, along with our go-to lines.  Maybe you’re like us, hooked on cruising, big fans of Disney Cruise Line, not traveling with kids – or maybe you’re just looking for a different way to vacation.  Either way, I want to share how our go-to line went from a family brand (Disney) to a premium line catering mostly to adults (Celebrity).  

What We Enjoy About Disney Cruise Line

Let’s be honest, you don’t have to offer much of an incentive to get a cruiser with Mickey tattoos to sail DCL – but there is more than fandom at play here.  In the past I cruised Carnival, NCL, Cunard, and other lines, so in addition to mouse-appeal, I recognized that Disney has a great cruise product.  Even my father, a seasoned cruise industry executive, and guy who would be more disturbed to find his local newspaper changed their kerning than to learn the Disney corporation disappeared, admitted once after sailing on the Disney Wonder that Disney Cruise Line does a great job. 

For us, the low crowd levels, specialty dining options, adult-only/adult-focussed areas, comfy accommodations, and personalized service were reasons to keep coming back to DCL.  As I write this, I can’t help but smile recalling how nice it is to sit with a drink at Skyline, enjoying the ‘view’ and the atmosphere.  Also, and much like the parks, DCL crew members are amazing – whether remembering us from one cruise to another, or going the extra mile for a special request, the line wouldn’t be the same without the crewmembers.  It wasn’t like contemporary lines we’d sailed – it was a step up, which makes sense.  Disney does everything better, right?

Why We Tried Other Options

There are a lot of cruise lines out there (more than most realize), and since DCL kept getting more and more expensive, we went from around eight Disney sailings in a few years to ten longer cruises on four new cruise lines in as many years.  It turns out, Disney doesn’t have a monopoly on great cruises – and sometimes other lines come in at a price point that can leave you with enough coin to tack on a WDW visit before your cruise.

There was more than just cost and the desire to try new things though.  As we took one cruise after the other on Disney, they were all kind of the same.  Fun and relaxing, but the same.  I kept thinking about other lines I’d sailed and reading about what they and others were up to, and I saw promises of wild new amenities, new dining concepts, faster internet, and yeah, lower prices.  The destinations Disney offered were also somewhat limited.  Sure they offer sailings through the Norwegian Fjords and other impressive destinations – but there aren’t too many of those sailings to choose from – having a small fleet limits their options.  I also knew that we were lucky enough to have WDW practically ‘on tap’ whenever we wanted some Disney magic (rather than Disney Magic).

One of the lines we tried was Royal Caribbean – and they really wowed us in terms of overall experience.  We still cruise with them and others to this day, but Royal Caribbean didn’t feel like home to us as the things they really excelled in weren’t necessarily the things we valued – we thought that someone out there might be able to offer us something more ‘our speed’, it turns out that was Celebrity Cruises.

Tune in tomorrow for Part 2 where we discuss the pros and cons of Disney Cruise Line and Celebrity Cruise Line. In the meantime, have any initial questions about Celebrity Cruise Lines? Feel free to ask them in the comments.

Billy Hirsch is the creator of CruiseHabit.com where he shares tips, insights, and reviews of various cruises and related activities. He’s a Disney nerd, a cruise nut, a tech junky, and a former travel agent. Having started cruising as a baby, Billy has been fortunate enough to have taken over 60 cruises on various lines in different parts of the world. He has had a lifelong obsession with cruising, both as a leisure activity and the inner workings of the industry itself. You can frequently find him as CruiseHabit on Twitter and Facebook answering cruise questions or broadcasting live from ship and shore.  

The post Celebrity Cruise Lines Part 1: Challenging Disney’s Monopoly on Magic at Sea appeared first on TouringPlans.com Blog.

From our friends at touringplans.com

Filed Under: Walt Disney World (FL), celebrity cruise line

Enjoying a quick service meal at Walt Disney World is different now than ever before. Practically all of Walt Disney World’s owned and operated quick service dining restaurants utilize mobile ordering exclusively. As a COVID-19 safety precaution, guests must now use the mobile ordering function in the MyDisneyExperience app in order to dine at a many quick service locations (with a few exceptions). Our team figured it would be a good idea to review the process of how to use Disney’s mobile ordering.

Quick steps for Disney’s mobile ordering

1. Select the (+) sign when you first open MyDisneyExperience
2. Select “Order Food”
3. Select the restaurant
4. Select your Arrival Window
5. Select your food and beverage items
6. Provide payment to complete the order
7. Check in for your order when your Arrival Window is ready
8. Watch the app to update and give you the window number to retrieve your food

Most likely you’ve already done so, but you will need to download and sign into My Disney Experience. This smartphone app is a necessary tool to help you plan your Disney World vacation. Once you have the app open, select the plus (+) sign located at the bottom of the screen, then a menu will pop up. Select “Order Food”. Here the entire list of all quick service locations that offer mobile ordering will appear.

This list is organized by location, with Magic Kingdom coming first, followed by the rest of the theme parks, then Disney Springs, and, lastly, the on-site hotels. Select your desired restaurant, then you’ll need to select your arrival window. If you’re looking to eat soon you’ll want to select the first available window. Otherwise, if you’re planning ahead, you can select “More Times.” You can order food and browse menus no matter if you’re standing in front of Cinderella Castle or back home in Poughkeepsie, New York.

If you’re not sure where you want to eat, you can use the app to view the menus, you’ll need to tap the restaurant’s name, which will switch the window to that restaurant’s individual listing. Then select “View Menu.” Better than this option, however, we’d like to suggest our Lines app which not only shows you the menus, but also the ratings and rankings of every restaurant. So if you’re not sure where to spend your vacation dollars and get the best meal, our Lines app will show you.

In the MyDisneyExperience app when you view the menu it will be one long menu. To actually select items and place an order you’ll need to have selected an arrival window first. Once you select an arrival window the menu will be displayed in categories like “Plant-Based” and “Dessert” and so on. Some entrees can be customized, such as removing toppings or sauces. Look for the “Customize Your Selection” option at the bottom of that item’s listing on the app before you select “Add.”

Once you have added all your items Disney will offer additional items like desserts and drinks. You can select “Modify Menu” or proceed to “Review Order Summary.” You’ll need a form of payment to complete the order which can be a Disney gift card, Disney Visa Rewards Redemption Card, or a major credit or debit card. Once you complete the order you can go about your day. Then when your Arrival Window comes up you can select “I’m Here – Prepare My Order.” in the app.

If you close out of the app and need to retrieve your order so you can check in for it, just look for the three horizontal lines in the bottom right of the app’s menu. Then select “Mobile Food Orders” to pull up your order and check in for it. Once you’ve checked in it takes anywhere from five to ten minutes for your order to be ready. Keep the app open so you can see which pickup window to go to. Each window is numbered and the app will give you the number of the window where your food is waiting.

What do you think about Disney’s mobile ordering? What’s your favorite quick service location at Walt Disney World?

The post How to Use Disney’s Mobile Ordering appeared first on TouringPlans.com Blog.

From our friends at touringplans.com

Filed Under: Dining, Dos and Don’ts, Trip Planning, disney dining, disney mobile order, walt disney world restaurants