How to Get that High Score

Want to get the high score on Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin ride at Disney? Read on for a couple of tips that will help!!

First, hold the button down on your laser shooter the ENTIRE time. It’s easier on your hand and it will shoot as fast as possible that way. You aren’t penalized for missed shots - in fact you earn points for shooting at all so just keep that button pressed!

As you are leaving a room, start lining up your shots (and shooting) into the next room. Some shots are hard to make right in front of the target as your gun doesn’t always move up or down enough. From a distance you can hit those targets with less of an angle.

As soon as you see the giant orange robot, aim for his hand!! This is a high scoring target worth 100,000 points.

The other 100,000 point target is below Zurg. This is one where you need to be aiming for it as you enter the room. If you wait until you are directly in front of Zurg, your laser shooter won't aim down far enough to hit the target.

The total points possible in the ride is 999,999 and it’s not that hard to get! Just hit those high value targets a few times and you’re there. Then you can brag to your family that you are a Galactic Hero!

Bragging rights are fun but I rarely remember the score I had - if you hit the high score, take a pic quickly before the ride ends for proof!!

And don’t forget that the ride has an in-ride photo spot - pay attention and you can come home with some great pictures along with your great memories (you did the Memory Maker, didn’t you?).

Considering a trip to Disney? Please give me a call! I love to help families plan their trip and as long as you book through me, my services are FREE! You won’t pay a penny more than if you booked your trip yourself. That’s even better than a high score!!

Oklahoma is OK, but the other states are great too!!

My Oklahoma peeps pretty much have all heard about my Disney and Universal trip planning services and many have taken advantage of this FREE service. But I often hear (after the fact) that someone wished they could have used my services, but they don’t live near me so assumed that I couldn’t help them. No! Not true!!

Although I would love to visit in person with all of my clients, that’s not always possible even when they are local. We all have busy lives and sometimes schedules don’t work out. The thing is, it’s totally possible to plan and book the whole trip over the phone! I spend a lot of time calling, texting, emailing and facebook messaging my clients while we’re in the planning and booking phase.

Once it nears your trip, I’ll mail you a packet with any paperwork that you need to have. Disney will mail your MagicBands and Magical Express luggage tags.

So please, if you’re not local to me, still let me help you!! And if you’re one of my friends that lives out of the Oklahoma City area, please consider sharing this info with your own local peeps. Remember I have a referral program and will send you a $10 gift card to the restaurant of your choice if you send a booking my way!!

To Stroller or Not to Stroller - the Burning Question of the Theme Park Visitor

So you’ve decided to take your family to Disney or Universal - YAY!! You’ve got some important decisions to make. One of the most difficult to decide is if you are going to take a stroller or not. Sounds simple but there are a lot of factors that go into the decision. Today, I’ll help you decide.

Your kids’ ages will play a lot into your decision. If you have an infant that you’re fine carrying in a sling, then you might get away with not pushing a stroller. If you have a toddler that has a hard time following the rules of holding hands then you may need the stroller just to make sure they stay with you at all times. An older child may be great at walking on their own and staying with you, but may lack the stamina to walk many miles in a day. If you think you’ll skip the stroller, be sure to do long walks ahead of time to get those little legs ready!

Here are my pros and cons for using a stroller:

Pros for Using Stroller:

• Gives your child a ride and you can move quickly through the parks rather than dragging them along

• You have a place to store your bag/food/drinks/souvenirs in the stroller storage

• If you rent one outside the parks or bring your own, you can use it to get to the bus and to your hotel (you do have to fold it up on the bus)

• Gives your child a place to nap while you shop/dine/wander the parks

• If you have a kid that tends to dart off into crowds, the stroller can keep them right where you want them

• When it’s hot, it’s nice to not have to carry a hot little body up against you

Pros for Going Without Stroller:

• You don’t have to navigate the stroller through crowds

• You can’t take strollers into most attractions so you have to take it to the parking area and find it when done with attraction - without it you can just jump in line for the attraction

• You have to fold the stroller up when boarding Disney bus transportation - if your child is sound asleep, you may have to do this with one hand while holding your child so make sure it’s easy to fold!

• Florida is notorious for thunderstorms that sneak up on you - you will probably need a rain cover if you have a stroller

• Just one more thing to keep up with

• You may not have a place to store your packages but remember if you stay on site, you can always have them sent straight to your resort

• You’ll need to bring a bag (I’d suggest a backpack) to carry anything you might need. If it’s a hot day, you’ll want to bring lots of water!

• Stroller rentals aren’t free - you’ll save a few bucks that you could use for a Dole Whip!

Drool - a hazard of no stroller!

Backbreaker!

No stroller gives some of my fav pics!

Easy Naptime

Pics aren't so great when everyone is smushed in a stroller!

Don’t be afraid to call an audible and change your game plan when you’re there. If you get a few hours into your day and know that your child just won’t make it, go to the stroller rental!! It may cost you a few dollars more than if you reserved it ahead of time, but may save your sanity if you’ve got a toddler in meltdown mode.

I LOVED the last few trips we went on with no stroller. My kids are obviously older now and we didn’t need one but there’s something thrilling about graduating from the stroller days. Ask me tomorrow though and I may cry at the thought of not needing a stroller while I watch my oldest drive an actual car…

All families are different and have different circumstances. Call me and we can chat about your specifics and I can help you with your choice!

Just One Day?? What to Do?!

Andrew gave me a good idea for a blog post this week...  If I had just one day to spend at Disney World, what would I do?  A normal person might just answer with their one or two favorite rides and call it good but you know I'm not normal.  I have thought and thought about this and knowing I would want to squeeze every possible second out of the day, I've come up with the following plan of what I would do!

First of all - I've preached this before - be at the parks at OPENING!!  In fact, be early.  I'd start my day at Magic Kingdom and I'd be there about an hour and a half before opening.  Yes that's early, but they open Main Street an hour before the rest of the park.  To make my one day plan work, I'd want to be through security, maybe have a snack on Main Street and be ready to head into Fantasyland as soon as the rope drops.  I'd save my FastPasses to use at my next park since I won't be at those when they opens.  

At Magic Kingdom, I'd be sure to ride Seven Dwarfs Mine Train, Space Mountain and Big Thunder Mountain as soon as possible.  Those tend to have the longest lines and although I'd want to hit my other favorites (Pirates, Haunted Mansion, Peter Pan...), I could do those later without hopefully quite as long of a wait.  

Running from one ride to the other, I'd grab a Dole Whip (being sure to use Mobile Ordering to move quickly).  IF I found a character with a short wait, I'd get a couple of pictures but would probably have to skip most of those on this trip.  I'd for sure have to get a pic in front of the Castle though!

On to Animal Kingdom next by way of Disney bus transport.  (Luckily, the bus times are on the My Disney Experience app now so I could really wait until the last second to run for the bus).  Once at Animal Kingdom, I'd need to use a FastPass since I want to ride Flight of Passage.  Waits are still ridiculous for it so this would be a perfect use of it. 

The moment I scanned my MagicBand for my Flight of Passage FastPass, I would pull up the app and look for a Slinky Dog Dash FastPass at Hollywood Studios which is where I'll head next.  I could certainly use my other 2 FastPasses at Animal Kingdom, but let's just say I'm there on a day when lines aren't overall that bad. 

After riding Flight of Passage, I'd hit Dinosaur and the Safari.  Not that I don't love the other rides but I'd head out after that.  If Everest had a short wait, I might hop on it - but honestly I wouldn't be too sad if I couldn't.  I love and hate that ride.  It's really cool but that last drop makes me question why on earth I would ride it every time.  

I'd grab lunch - using Mobile Ordering again - and eat while heading to the bus.  Next stop - Hollywood Studios!  

Now, I know at this point I would completely regret using my FastPass on Flight of Passage if I wasn't able to get one for Slinky Dog Dash.  But the wait on it is typically a little less than Flight of Passage at this point so I'm going for time-savers here.  Whatever the wait is at Slinky Dog, I would do it.  So let's hope it's short!!  

Depending on the other wait times, I would also want to hit Toy Story Mania and Rock'n'Roller Coaster (taking advantage of the Single Rider Line).  Also after each FastPass I used, I would check and see what's available for later in the day.  You never know when one will open up and I'll grab any I can.

Back to the buses - should probably grab a Mickey Bar to eat on the way - and off to Epcot.  Hopefully I was able to get a FastPass for Test Track after using my last one.  If not, there's a Single Rider Line there too which is usually quick.  And you naysayers may scoff at my other must-do there, but it's Spaceship Earth.  I could rest my surely sore feet by this point and enjoy the smell of Rome burning - isn't that one of your favorite smells, too??

I'd hit Club Cool for some free caffeine as I'm sure I'll be moving a bit slower by now.  Fueled up, it's back to Magic Kingdom by way of the Monorail.  I know, I know, I've already been to Magic Kingdom.  But I honestly can't think of a better day than starting and ending it there.  

Assuming I've made it by dinner-ish time, I'd go straight to Casey's Corner for the world's best hot dog.  I've surely been smart enough to plan this on a day when Magic Kingdom is open late and will now make my way around all that I missed in the morning.  Making sure to stop and watch the Fireworks, I'd run from ride to ride until they kick me out. 

Did you know that if you are in line before the park officially closes, they won't kick you out but will let you wait in line and ride?  I did that once on Seven Dwarfs Mine Train - park closed at 11pm and I got in line at 10:45pm.  It was an hour long line at that point so I was one of the last to leave the park.  

Leaving the Magic Kingdom is always a really sad thing for me.  But being able to leisurely stroll out with very few people makes it a little better.  I feel like I can soak it all in one last time.

Now if I only had a day to test out my plan...  If this ever happens, I'll be sure and let you know!  Of course, I HIGHLY suggest taking more than one day to do Disney World.  Give me a call and I'll help you plan a much less hectic schedule.  

** Stay tuned next week for a blog post on Disney After Hours at the Magic Kingdom.  It's a special ticketed event that would make this day much easier to do.  I'll explain it all then!!

runDisney 2019 Race Registrations Coming Up

Remember that one time that I lived out my dream of running a race at Disney World?  Best.  Day.  Ever!  Well it's your turn now!  

Race registrations for 2019 events have been on hold while runDisney implemented a new race registration system. But they are scheduled now!  Under the new system guests will be able to register for races using their Disney account. Guests will also be able to register multiple participants at the same time and use payment options such as Disney gift cards. Registration dates are as follows:

-- 2019 Walt Disney World Marathon Weekend - January 9-13.
Registration begins at 11am CST on July 19, 2018.

-- 2019 Disney Princess Half Marathon Weekend - February 21-24.
Registration begins at 11am CST on August 7, 2018.

-- 2019 Star Wars Rival Run Weekend - April 4-7.
Registration begins at 11am CST on August 28, 2018.

Take a look at my previous blog post about my experiences at a runDisney event by clicking here!  Remember that my planning services are completely FREE if you book your trip through me.  And having done a race here myself, I have lots of tips to help you.

Keep in mind that on my previous blog post, I mention to sign up for an active.com account to make registration day smoother - that's no longer the process.  Just use your Disney sign on!!  If you're thinking of registering and want to chat before you do or want me to be available if you need help that day, just give me a shout.  It's non-refundable so make sure you want to do it before signing up!

Let me help you make a bunch of wonderful memories with very few blisters...  Call me today and let's get you an awesome medal!!