I'll be back

My return is eminent.

getting to the magic kingdom early

one thing i love to do when visiting wdw is to wander the resorts on the magic kingdom resort loop prior to opening of the park.  this is a time when having a car with you at wdw comes in handy. i am usually one of the first cars in the parking lot on that day and get to park like i'm a vip.

so what i do is park at the ticket and transportation center, the ttc as it is often called, and then head left to the Polynesian resort.  early morning right after sunrise is a  great time to snap pictures.

you can wander through the Polynesian and then follow the trail on the far side which leads to the wedding pavilion and then onto the grand Floridian resort.

once you've wandered around the grounds here you can go upstairs in the lobby and catch the monorail over to the contemporary resort.

during recent renovations they added a great little place to grab a quick pick-up bite to eat next to chef mickeys. now as time grows near to park opening and you've snapped your shot of the five legged goat you can take the short walk over to the magic kingdom.  now you could get back on the monorail to get to the park but usually by this time families have gotten ready and are also headed that way, so i like my quiet time in the morning and try to avoid the crowds for as long as possible and its not a very long walk at all.

The world is not complete

I don't know if you would call this a myth, a rumor or a lie, but the world of Disney store does NOT have all of the same merchandise that you find in the parks.

I have heard it many times; person passes up buying special item in the park because they don't want to have to carry it around all day or they saved all their shopping until the last day of their trip to know how much money they have left. They know exactly what they want, a t-shirt from the tower of terror, and somewhere they heard that the world of Disney store at downtown Disney had all the same merchandise you find in the parks. Person goes home crying their eyes out in an almost suicidal depression. Little  Becky disowns her parents and moves out of the house at the age of 5.  Okay not that bad.  Maybe just mild disappointment, but that can stick around for years folks and it adds up.

Don't fall into the trap. If you see an item you know you like and have to have then buy it then. Don't expect that you will see the same product in another park or the world of Disney.  While over the past few years there has been a great homogenization (if that is a word) of merchandise around the resort there are still a few unique items to be found and its hard to tell which ones they are. So if you don't want to carry it, use package pick-up; where they will send any item you buy to the front gate to picked up on your way out. If your not sure if you have enough money, take another mortgage on the house. I mean if Sally really wants that doll make it her choice; it's either this tinker bell doll or a car when you're 16? It's her choice.