Daytime or Nightime? (Disney Extra Magic Hours)

Are you a daytime or a nightime person?

If you are either, Disney Extra Magic Hours can be a great option. On certain days, Disney resort guests can go to the park an hour before the park opens and stay 3 hours after the park close. How can you do that? Just use your "Key to the Kingdom" (hotel room key) and you can take advantage of the extra, less crowded time. If you don't stay at a Disney Hotel then, sorry, you're out of luck. :(

What's so great about Extra Magic Hours for teens and young adults?

Because young adults are able to and often enjoy staying out late, while lots of little kids (and their parents) are usaully exhausted by the end of the day. If you're under 21, other nighttime activities are hard to come by. You guys may go out and enjoy the rides without waiting in a long line and go on again and again. Rides like Tower of Terror, Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, and Splash Mountain provide a totally new experience in the dark. If you don't like big thrilling rides you could enjoy shopping late and seeing some entertaining attractions like Mickeys Philhar Magic or It's a Small World. And don't worry about getting a ride; Disney transportation will still be running after the park closes late.

If you're more of an early bird, then you can use Morning Extra Magic Hours to get the first dibs on many rides before the park opens to the general public. There can be a lot of kids and adult since the kids begs their parents to head to the park immediatly when they wake up, but there are still many people that would rather sleep in. Some of the rides that are best to do during the Morning Extra Magic Hours are the most pouplar rides like Toys Story, Soarin', Dumbo, Space Mountain, Expedition Everest, and other rides that can quickly develop long lines during the day. You also get the first chance to get FASTPASSes which often run out during the day for attractions like Soarin' and Toy Story Mania.

If you're staying on property, Extra Magic Hours are priceless time.

The American Idol Experience for Dummies

Hey there, readers! Do you love the thrill of a performance? Can you sing decently? Would you like to win the chance to get a Dream Ticket, which allows you to make a reservation to sing for actual American Idol judges? If you answered "yes" to at least two of these (I sure did), Disney's American Idol Experience is for you! Located at Echo Lake in Hollywood Studios, the American Idol Experience lets you take your first step to stardom, or, at least, bragging to all of your friends about performing in front of a bunch of people. If the stage is not for you, feel free to stop by the stadium at one of the performances to watch people perform. If you're like myself, however, and whish to perform, here are some things you'll want to know, along with other things I just felt like saying.

First, the starting audition. This is located at several locations in Hollywood Studios. Pretty much, they're small stands that have American Idol wallpaper and someone screaming into a microphone about how everyone within 25 feet of him/her should audition for the Experience. You'd have to be blind and deaf to miss these stands. My advice would be to audition as early into the day as possible. Much like an average day in an amusement park, it gets more popular during the afternoon, and auditioning around that time will weaken your chances of getting in. Also, everyone wants to go on rides at the beginning of the day, so you have even less competition. When you approach the stand and express your desire to sing in the Experience, they'll give you the microphone and tell you to sing a song. Just any old song you can come up with. I sang "I Wanna Hold Your Hand" by the Beatles, and did a horrible job because I was nervous. They let me in anyway.

A word of caution, because I was sixteen at the time of my audition, I had to have a parent/guardian accompany me at ALL TIMES during the Experience. If you are under 18 years of age, you should expect the same treatment, so be sure to have a parent/guardian with you. A positive for this is that your parent has to be the one to fill out those obnoxious forms. If you are 18 or older, you are allowed to bring a friend with you during the time before performances for moral support. This is a given, bring someone morally supportive; however, you'll have to fill out your own forms. I don't think your friend is THAT morally supportive. Also, while a parent/guardian will have to be with you even during the performance (they'll be backstage so they can't embarass you), your moral support has to be in the audience during the performance.

If you get past the mini-audition, you will be lead to the Coca-Cola Lounge inside of the backstage area of the the Experience. Just letting you know, the Coca-Cola Lounge is AWESOME. It has comfy chairs, the Song List, and video iPods. That video iPod will become your best friend in the Lounge, since it has the original and karaoke versions of every song on the Song List. Luckily for you, I found the Song List online, so you can look at it and get a headstart: http://www.wdwnews.com/viewpressrelease.aspx?pressreleaseid=112170&siteid=1. You're welcome.

I picked "Hit Me With Your Best Shot", which was a good and bad thing. While it was a good decision vocally, because I rock that song like no other, it wasn't a good decision in terms of pleasing the crowd. Keep in mind that the audience will be made mostly of children and their parents/guardians. Children love Disney songs, especially High School Musical and Camp Rock or whatever. I needn't tell you which section to look in. Also, one of me and Maddi's friends, Steve, is a fantastic singer, but lost to some chick who sang "God Bless America" or something. No one can vote against America. Just letting you know.

Once you decide on a song, you'll want to listen to the karaoke tracks given to you. Even if you know the original song by heart, the Experience only wants to hear a minute or so of you, so they've shortened the track. Learn the summarized version of the song given, and feel free to sing it to yourself a couple times before heading in. No one's going to judge you. Except me, probably.

Once they call you in, you'll be lead into a room with just a guy sitting at a desk (or a girl, but since I had a guy I'll use masculine references for this part) and a TV screen behind him. Odds are he's extremely friendly, so relax. Be extremely friendly back. He'll tell you to stand on a mark on the floor and sing your song. Your practice in the Coca-Cola lounge will not fail you, since the TV screen projects the lyrics to the song karaoke-style. Once you're done singing, the guy behind the desk will pull up a video of Ryan Seacrest telling you if you got in or not. Just a warning, Mr. Seacrest likes to fake people out. If you got in (like myself), he looks and acts all sad in the beginning of the clip, then tells you that you're going to HOLLYWOOD! Even if you were expecting this result, jump and cheer and freak out. Guy in the desk won't judge you.

Guy in the desk will give you Fast Passes for everyone in your group (awesome) and a lanyard that says "Vote for me!" with the Experience's logo. Wear it proudly. You'll be told to come back to the studio at a certain time for pre-show preparations. For the love of all that is good, be there on time.

At your assigned time, you (and your parent/guardian if you're under 18) are ready for pre-show preparations. First, you and your fellow performers will be put into a room whose name I'm currently blanking on (The Green Room? Maybe) and talked to by a cast member about what you'll be doing.

Next, you will be lead into the Hair and Makeup Room, which, even if you're a guy, you're getting treated in. I was very happy because they liked my eye makeup so much that they didn't change it. Did you hear that, world? Professional makeup artists liked MY makeup. Boo yeah. They also played around with my hair, though there's not much that can be done for hair as short as mine. By the end of it all, even I thought I looked pretty damn good.

Right after you get prettied up, you're taken into another room to practice your performance with a professional vocal coach. This was probably my favorite part of the process. First, he'll go over the song with you a few times. Once he's confident in your ability to sing the notes correctly, he'll work on your stage presence, which is on the same level as your singing skills when it comes to the Experience. This guy (or girl, depends on if they've hired someone else within a year) has been hired by Disney to help you. He knows what he's doing. Listen to him.

You and your fellow performers will next be lead to the stage area. It's completely idiot-proof. It will seem complicated at first, but the cast members have done and will do everything they can to make sure you won't eff up. The stage is marked, there are numbers and colors, everything's laid out for you to follow like a map.

Did I mention the magnificance of the stage? It's a technological feat, for me, at least. They'll give you a device to attach to your clothes. What happens with that clip is that while you're performing, the light system and cameras follow the clip. There's no way for the lights or cameras to miss you. It's pure genius, brought to you by your friendly neighborhood Mouseketeers.

The dress rehearsal is simple enough. The cast members walk you through the performance, and have you sing your song so they can set up whatever lighting they need to get. Piece of cake.

Before you can say "I'm not even interested in getting a Dream Pass, why am I here in the first place?", it's performance time! Once they let in the audience, it's all on. Feel free to act as nicely and interestingly as you want. Everyone loves a friendly, interesting person, especially if said person busts out into "Part of Your World". You get the idea. You and your fellow performers will perform, the audience will vote, and the winner will be promptly announced after a quick Q&A with the performers. If you're the winner, congrats! I wasn't. Why? One of my fellow performers sang "Circle of Life". What did I tell you? Always go for Disney or America.

I'm not particulary sure what happens if you win the first round, but I know that there's always final performances at seven PM. One could safely assume that you'll be doing the same exact thing that you just did, except for higher stakes and with better competitors. Prepare yourself. Clear your schedule. Make me proud.

How Old Is Too Old? (age limits in Disney World)

Although Disney World claims to be great for all ages, it doesn't fit in all ages. Sadly, Disney World is mostly directed to towards toddlers and their parents. And if you aren't reading this from a picture book, you are neither. I know, how unfair, your life is slipping through your fingers, blah blah blah, you have to focus on the positive!

I'm at the ripe age of 14 years old: Right smack dab in the middle of nowhere. I can't go on Dumbo or take a picture with Ariel without getting judgmental stares from other tourists. It's weird for me to eat breakfast with my favorite Disney Princesses, yet it's inappropriate for me to go to the fun adult clubs in Downtown Disney. I'm either too young or too old. And I know for certain that I'm not alone in my suffering.

So, my question is, how old is too old? Are we too old to go to the Bippity-Boppity-Boutique? Are we too tall to climb around in the various playgrounds? Are we too old to squeal every time we see Mickey Mouse? And how old is too old to cry at the end of Lilo and Stitch? Neverland.

Disney World is Neverland in the fact that, although it isn’t the fountain of youth, you will never have to let go of your childhood. Every ride is directed towards children so that you can be children! They don’t put a height limit on great rides like The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh or Buzz Lightyear because, otherwise, or our heads would explode! People from ages tween to college need that yearly get away to go back and visit their childhood, and what better way than eating lunch with Mickey or taking a picture with Aladdin? It’s like a yearly mid-life crisis.

Yes, Disney World isn’t fit for all ages: Disney World is a safe haven for us to go and blow off that 4-year-old steam.

So how old is too old? Never.

She's Too Young!....Maybe (Traveling Alone to Disney World)

As I’ve said before that being under 21 is totally awkward. You’re kind of an adult but your parents are still in charge but you (probably) don’t really live with them anymore but they still pay for everything. As an 18-year-old, my parents and I are working through this strange situation, with flying colors I might add. So when a few friends and I decided that we wanted to go to Disney World over winter break this year, they didn’t bat an eye. Actually, it didn’t occur to me to ask permission. My one friend also quickly committed to the trip without much parental conversation. The two others, however, had to confer with and convince their parents to allow them to go. It all worked out, and we will be arriving the day I turn 19. This got me thinking: when is it ok to visit Disney World by yourself? And this is a totally different question if you live in the Orlando area; we’re talking fly-away-for-a-week-trip, not I’ll-be-back-for-dinner trip. Obviously 18 is going to be the cut-off; no hotel in the Orlando area is going to let anybody younger than that check-in. However, I decided upon some other criteria and considerations:

1) Have you traveled before?
I myself am a pretty experienced traveler. I’ve been on planes about twice a year since grade school and am pretty familiar with both the Philadelphia and Orlando airports. I know Disney World like the back of my hand. I could probably sleepwalk my way to Disney since I was twelve. Unfortunately, not everyone has that privilege. So if you’re 18 and this is the first time you’ve been to an airport, you’re probably not ready to head out on your own without an experienced traveler. Disney is way too expensive of a trip to blow because you missed your flight. If you insist on going, try to see as much of the airport you can before actually are ready to leave. Ask for help if you need it (the employees are not particularly friendly at PHL, but it’s worth a shot). Do as much research as you can on your airport and MCO before heading out. If you have a friend who is an experienced traveler, that’s great too. This leads me to my next point....

2) Who are you going with?
If you’re heading out to Disney to stay at the Cockroach Motel with your fellow members of the Stoners for Legalizing Pot Society, your parents probably aren’t going to be in love with the idea. If, however, you’re going with the Chastity Club from the church that your family has been attending for years, your parents will probably warm up to the idea. Picking responsible friends is a good idea for you too. Traveling puts you out of your element and you don’t want to be stuck with shady people if you’re in a tough situation miles from home. And you especially don’t want to be traveling with the person who smuggled heroin on the plane and now you need to call your parents to bail you out of federal prison. Disney World is really only fun with people who are kind of nerds anyway, so travel with people you know you, and your parents, can trust.

3) Do you have the money?
You’re going to have a hard time selling the idea that you’re responsible enough to travel alone if you need an advance on your allowance to pay for your park ticket. If you’re not at least partially financially independent, you’re probably not ready. At the very least, you need a credit card or a debit card backed by a major credit card company to check into a hotel. If you can’t handle you’re own checking account, can you handle a $500+ trip?

4) Are you a responsible person?
If you’re the kind of kid who drives to the store to get milk and comes back with gummy bears and a 6-pack of Monster instead, you’re probably not going to be able to handle a long-distance trip. There is a lot of planning involved: you need park tickets, plane tickets, passports, reservation numbers, all kinds of documentations. While your parents may have went out and got the milk for you, no one at MCO is going to care that you left your birth certificate in the hotel room; your sorry ass is not getting on the plane. And no one will be there to come pick you up at Biergarten because you forget to catch the last bus. If you don’t have your shit together, there’s no back-up plan.

All of these things aside, I truly believe that Disney is the best place to go if you’re traveling alone for the first time. It’s safer than a church on Sunday, and the cast members are always willing to help you. As a rule, I’d say that any person that can handle going to college away from home can probably handle going to Disney by themselves.

When was your first trip without a “grown-up”? If you’re the parent of a college-aged (child? person? human?), would you let them go to Disney World alone?

Why Disney Transportation is Pretty Cool (Disney Transportation for Teens and Young Adults)

If you’re under 21 years old, you know that life between 18 and 21 is rough and kind of confusing. You’re technically an adult, but can’t do anything that adult can do, like drink or take someone to a rated R movie. Among these oppressions is the ability to rent a car. If by some miracle of God you manage to find a rental company that will rent to people under 21 or even under 25, be prepared to pay out the ass for insurance costs. I’m not sure what’s going to happen in the next few years that will magically transform me into a responsible driver, but I digress.

The moral of the story is there is no cheap way to get your lovely under-25 self from MCO to Disney World and then to the various destinations within. Thankfully, Disney has provided many travel options. First, and my most beloved, is Magical Express, a bus service from the airport to your Disney accommodations, along with your luggage, for FREE. Once you’re on property, there are buses, boats, and monorails to get you between any two places on property. Gone are the worries of remembering where you parked, hauling across the parking lot, and paying $10 a day for parking. Gone, too, are the battles over who has to stay sober during a night at La Cava de Tequila in order to drag your drunken comrades back to your All-Star suite (if you’re over 21, of course *coughcough*). For our younger crowd, let your parents know that Disney has superb security and, as well as being the most magical, is the safest place on earth, and they’re likely to let your unlicensed butt travel wherever you please without needing to call Mommy and Daddy to come pick you up. It’s just too good to be true!

Well, it isn’t that good. In order to take advantage of this lovely perk, you have to be staying on property. The extra cost of staying in a Disney hotel could be more than renting a car and staying off property. And driving from Caribbean Beach to Ohana is going to take a lot less time than waiting 30 minutes for a bus to Magic Kingdom and then taking the monorail to the Polynesian. If you decide to watch Wishes at Magic Kingdom afterwords, you may not be thrilled about the prospect of watching three buses go by as you wait to move up in the bus stop line. You may be even less thrilled that when you finally get on a bus, you’ll be standing next to fifty other people who also want to be back at their hotels and will do anything to get on a bus. Also, you have to accommodate EVERYONE. No hate to my differently-abled friends, but once I had to wait for literally seven people in wheelchairs to be strapped onto a bus after waiting forty minutes for said bus to arrive. Not a great way to start off the day. And if you’re a hardcore night owl, you’ll be shit out of luck when Disney transportation stops running two hours after park closing.

So the system’s not perfect, but, hey, it’s free. Unfortunately, for those of us that can’t rent a car, there aren’t many other options. For the littleuns who can’t drive, it’s a having-the-world-at-your-feet dream come true. Either way, it’s another way that Disney tries to get you to stay on property and it works on me.

What do you guys think of Disney transportation? When do you use it and when do you opt for another system? Let me know in the comments!