10 Things I wish I knew before I went to Disney’s Pandora

I was lucky enough to head down to Disney in June and check out the new Pandora land and attractions in Disney’s Animal Kingdom.  We had a great time and got a lot out of our visit (spoiler alert: we loved it)! But there were a few things I would have liked to have known before we went.  

Hopefully this will help all of you with your planning!

1. Both rides are worth the stand-by wait time – even if it’s long.  The Navi River Journey is gorgeous.  It’s NOT a thrill ride, so it’s safe and should be pleasant even for the tiniest voyagers.  It was somewhat dark, but there were so many luminescent plants and creatures that it never felt dark enough to scare anyone.
2. Flights of Passage is awesome! If you’re only there one day, the line tends to be longer than the Navi River Journey, so I would give Fastpass+ priority to Flights of Passage.

   

   Slow-Roasted Sliced Grilled Beef Bowl

3. If you have time, ride each of them twice – you’ll see all kinds of new things the second time.  The second time I rode the rides I noticed all kinds of moving creatures, bugs, and details on the River Journey.  Flights of Passage… well let’s just say that it was so great that people were getting off the ride and heading straight back into the line even though it had 140 minute wait time.
4. The food and drinks were awesome! Everything we ate in the Satuli Canteen was delicious.  I was lucky enough to travel with several other adults who shared tastes and photos of their food.  At Pongu Pongu, the drinks were out of this world! I highly recommend splurging on one – especially if it’s hot outside!
5. The entire land of Pandora was extremely dark after dark.  I was on an adult-only trip when I went in June, but when I go with my kiddos you can bet they will either hold my hand or sit in the stroller.  There are so many glowing, beautiful things that it’s easy to get separated and lost.  I also saw several people walk into trash cans or strollers in the dark because they were looking up or down. HA!
   
6. The entire land needs to be seen during the daylight AND after dark.  The size and glory of the land, the beautiful waterfalls, and the unique plant-life are amazing during the daytime hours. The plants interact and can spit on you.  One even has a heartbeat you can feel if you press your hand up against it!  But I thought it was even more gorgeous after the sun went down and all of those plants started glowing… even the ground was beautiful! Insider Tip: Rumor has it there's a hidden banshee in the land formation in Pandora, but it's hard to spot!
7. The unique Memory Maker Magic Shots were also worth stopping to do.  There’s even a really cool video you can do after dark! Definitely make time to stop for a Photopass Photographer and take some high-quality pictures.
8. I’m sure this will change at some point, but currently the Banshees were selling out within an hour of when a new batch arrived at the Rookery.  Based on the interactions and how cool the Banshees are, I totally get it.  They retail for about $50 and are totally worth it.
9. You absolutely don’t need to watch the movie to enjoy the land and attractions.  The only things that are relevant to both the movie and the rides are explained in the brief video before you board your Banshee. 
10. Grab an ACE team member and ask some questions!  If you don’t know much about the world of Pandora (or especially if you do), grab a Disney castmember in an ACE uniform and strike up a conversation.  They are chalk full of cool facts and information about the land formations, plants, etc. 

I highly recommend you head to Disney’s Animal Kingdom and check out this land!  I experienced it without my family and started planning a trip to take them there as soon as I saw it.  It’s hard to put into words just how gorgeous and fun this part of the park was.,.. you simply have to see it to believe it!

Disney Dining Plans

Let’s start with a few basic facts…

1. The dining plan is allotted based on the number of nights of your Disney resort stay.
2. Only guests staying in a Disney resort can purchase the dining plan. 
3. And the dining plan must be purchased for every person in the room.  If you have two families in two separate rooms, they can select different dining plans, but within one room everyone must have the same one. 
4. Children under the age of 3 do not get the dining plan, but are welcome to eat off of an adult’s plate.

There are 3 Disney Dining Plan (DDP) options:

1.    Quick Service – this plan is the least expensive.
It gives each person ages 3+ a resort refillable mug for unlimited coffee, tea, soda, and hot chocolate at your Disney resort.  It also gives each person 2 snacks and 2 quick service meal credits per night of your stay.

2.    Disney Dining Plan – this is the moderate and most popular selection.

This plan gives each person the resort refillable mug.  It also gives each person 2 snacks, 1 quick-service meal, and 1 table service credit per night.

3.    Deluxe Dining Plan – this plan provides a LOT of food!
You still get the resort refillable mug along with 2 snack credits.  In addition to that, you receive 3 table service credits per night of your stay.  They can be used at any quick-service or table service location.  This plan is best for people who want to eat at multiple signature restaurants or dinner shows (which require 2 credits).  An additional bonus is that an appetizer is included with this dining plan.

Snack Symbol

What’s included in each meal type?

A snack is anything single service that has the purple and white “Snack” symbol

A quick service meal consists of a non-alcoholic beverage and an entrée.

A table service credit consists of a non-alcoholic drink and a buffet OR an entrée, a dessert and a beverage.  This includes character meals and restaurants where a waitress takes your order from the table and buffets.  **At the end of your table service credit meals, you must pay gratuity.

Disney’s dining plan prices are seasonal, so they vary slightly depending on when you travel.  The moment when my husband realized that he could never travel to Disney again without the dining plan was when we ate dinner at Chef Mickey’s.  The bill for 2 adults and 3 children was about $175 – or 5 table service credits… Here’s why he thought it was such a GREAT deal!  Our dining plan cost about $25/night for the kids.  Their meals at Chef Mickey’s were about $27 each.  This means that not only did we save $2 per kid on that meal, but their 2 snack credits and quick service meal were FREE! 

When we went to purchase ice cream bars before the parade, it was so much easier for my husband (a penny pincher) to tap his Magic Band to pay “3 snack credits” than for him to pay $15!   The quick service credits are great, too!  At Animal Kingdom, we got $19.99 plates with chicken, ribs, pulled pork, coleslaw, and baked beans and a drink for 1 quick service credit!

It’s not for everyone, but our family loves the Disney dining plans!

5 Fastpass+ Mistakes You DON'T Want to Make

5 Fastpass+ Mistakes you DON’T want to make!

1. Not making Fastpass reservations as early as you can
   You should make your Fastpasses AS SOON as your 60 or 30 day window opens.  Disney resort guests can make them 60 days out and non-Disney-resort guests can make them 30 days out.  In order to get the best times, you should be making these reservations the day they become available.  You can always change them later – and it’s easy to do!
   
2. Making your Fastpasses too early
   If you arrive at the park when it opens, you should be able to ride a few of the rides that typically have longer lines before the park fills up and the lines get long.  I typically recommend 10:30 as the earliest time to make a Fastpass reservation. For Epcot and Hollywood Studios (because they have tiers) I like to make Fastpasses for 1pm-5pm when the park is busiest.  Because of the tiered system, it can be difficult to obtain a 4^th Fastpass for an attraction you would truly need another pass for.
   
3. Not making your Fastpasses early enough
   Magic Kingdom and Animal Kingdom don’t have tiers, so I like to make my Fastpasses for 10:30, 11:30, and 12:30 there.  Since these two parks do NOT have tiers, it can be more beneficial to make them earlier.
   
4. Not trying to make more Fastpasses after you’ve used the 3 you made in advance
   Once you get in line and activate your 3^rd Fastpass of the day, you can get on to the My Disney Experience app and see what’s available for a 4^th Fastpass.  And each one you use after that, you should be doing the same thing.  Even if you only save 10-20 minutes, that’s time that you can enjoy on something OTHER than standing in line!
   
5. Not using a travel agent
   I know, I know – this is a shameless plug.  But truly – if you haven’t been to Disney recently, you may not know how far apart or close one attraction is to another and that’s useful info if you’re maximizing your time and minimizing the amount of walking you’ll have to do in a single day! Even if you’ve been to Disney many times, it’s nice to let someone else do the work of checking crowd calendars, knowing which attractions tend to be busier each day of the week, and what the park hours are to maximize your time.  When I travel – EVEN I use a travel agent!

Disney's Hilton Head Island Resort

Disney's Hilton Head island is a dream beach retreat.  The location and room types make it perfect for a family or even a family reunion!

The rooms come in three sizes:

1. Deluxe Studio Villa - a queen bed and a full-size sleeper sofa.  These villas sleep up to 4 people in one area.
2. 1-Bedroom Villa - a king bed, a full size sleeper sofa, and a twin sleeper chair.  These villas sleep up to 5 people in 2 areas.
3. 2-Bedroom Villa - a king bed, 2 queen beds, a full size sleeper sofa, and a twin sleeper chair.  These villas sleep up to 9 people in three areas.

The deluxe studio villa has a kitchenette, but the 1 and 2-bedroom villas have full kitchens! Adjacent to the resort is a huge shopping complex that contains a (really awesome) Kroger and several wonderful restaurants.  The shopping center has shops, restaurants, and is easy biking distance from the resort.

But the real beauty of this resort is the fact that you can enjoy it with your family as a beach vacation that has enough extra activities to keep you busy - even if you encounter a rainy day!

While we were there, our children enjoyed:

• pool-side activities
• arts and crafts
• evening s'mores and songs
• pool-side movies
• fishing
• biking
• playgrounds
• and walking along the nature trails

That's to say nothing of the amazing pool which is heated when the weather is cool and is very near the (very large) hot tub!  They could have stayed in the pool and enjoyed the waterslide for days!

Over at the Beach House which is about a 10-12 minute bike ride or a 5-minute shuttle trip from the main heart of the resort, they have many of the same amenities as the marsh side of the resort in addition to pool volley ball and of course the BEACH!

All of those activities are great, but Disney did not leave out the teens! There are plenty of activities for them, as well!

The teens particularly enjoyed

• shuffleboard
• pool/billiards
• kayaking
• volley ball in and out of the pool

We only had four nights at the resort and there were so many activities there, so we only planned one excursion off the resort property.  I found a great deal for a private crabbing boat for two hours and it was the BEST thing we could have done.  Just as we set off from the dock, we spotted a mother dolphin with her tiny baby! The captain caught the girls' interest and followed them until the girls had their dolphin fix.  Then came the real work! Catching crabs!! 

This activity was kid and teen approved! The whole family had a great time and worked together to catch quite a few crabs!  The best part?  We got to take them back to the villa for dinner!

The entire trip was amazing! It was the best beach vacation our family has ever had (and I'm from MIAMI) and have in-laws who live ON the beach in Gulf Shores.  There was just such a great variety of great family activities combined with a gorgeous pool and lots of fun on the beach.  All of that combined with being able to purchase Mickey ice cream bars and a Dole Whip just made the trip perfect! We can't wait to head back and enjoy Disney's Hilton Head Island Resort again soon!