**Please note that these tips and tricks are always subject to change due to the parks constant additions. Always check the information ahead of time**
Well, here it is! I’ve organized all this awesome information into three categories: Rides & Attractions, Time Saving Tricks, and Cool Things to Discover! Hopefully this helps makes planning your Disney vacation more magical and exciting! Check back, this list will be updated frequently!
Rides and Attractions
At the Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular, you’ll find a well while waiting in the queue line, you’ll come across a dig site. There’s a rope hanging by the well with a sign that rads “Do Not Pull”. Ignore that. Pull the rope and see what happens!
Also, if you hang back after the show, you might be able to meet some of the performers and get their autograph.
At the attraction Walt Disney: One Man’s Dream, ask a Cast Member for the trivia quiz. You work on it as you go through the attraction, and if you complete it, you will get a certificate.
Do the Fantasmic Dining package!!! You are pretty much buying tickets by eating at one of three restaurants (The Hollywood Brown Derby, Mama Melrose’s Ristorant Italiano, or Hollywood & Vine). You have to make reservations ahead of time and make sure to mention that you want to purchase the Fantasmic Dining package. At the end of your meal, you will get the number of tickets you requested to the show. Why is this such an AMAZING deal? For one thing, the Fantasmic show is by far the best show nighttime you’ll see at WDW. Not knocking the Electric Parade or Illuminations, but this show is beautiful, exciting, and unbelievably fantastic. I saw it over 4 years ago and am still talking about it! We ate at Mama Melrose’s, and we did make on mistake. By purchasing this package, you have to order a certain amount of food (appetizer, meal, dessert). The food was amazing, just don’t plan a meal for the rest of the day. Next time, I’ll plan a late lunch. People who want to see the show will start to line up as early as 2 hours ahead of time. That’s ample park time that they’re missing! By doing this trick, you’ll arrive only 30 minutes ahead of time, you’ll be escorted through some pathways not seen by everybody, and arrive at a special Priority Seating area with awesome views! I know the meal might be expensive, but make it your one meal for the day. At least you won’t be wasting your ticket money standing in a line for a good part of your day!
Time Saving Tips
Always get a Fastpass for Toy Story Midway Mania first. This is one of the most popular attractions and the passes can run out as early as noon.
If you want to watch the parade and haven’t seen the Beauty and the Beast show yet, try this trick. Get over to the Sorcerer’s Hat around 30 minutes before the parade starts. Find a good viewing spot by looking at the route on the Times Guide. You’ll be viewing the beginning of the parade, so once the end passes by, you’ll have time to race over to the Beauty and the Beast show and catch the last performance.
Cool Things to Discover
First Hidden Mickey of the day! Turn your Parks Guide map upside down, the map takes the shape of Mickeys ears!
At the attraction Walt Disney: One Man’s Dream, scope out Disney’s school desk. You’ll see his initial, “W.D.”, carved into the desk! Also, there is a clock in this attraction which shows Disney’s time of death.
Discover a wonderful tribute to Windsor Mackay, a vaudeville actor and artist who has been credited with producing the first projected animated picture. After you enter the park, head straight past the first section of gift shops and turn left. You’ll find Gerti the Dinosaur in the pond.
When on The Great Movie Ride, look at the plane in the Casablanca scene. Ever wonder where the back half ended up? It’s at the Jungle Cruise ride at the Magic Kingdom.
Also on The Great Movie Ride, you’ll notice during the gangster shoot-out that the license plate number on the car is “021-429”. This is actually a date, 02-14-29, which represent the date of the Valentine’s Day Massacre, which occurred on February 14, 1929.
If you’re brave enough to enter the Tower of Terror, notice the date of the inspection sticker outside of the elevator before you board. It’s dated “October 31, 1939 and is signed by someone named Cadwallader. This is a reference to a character in the Twilight Zone episode “Escape Clause,” who turns out to be the Devil. You’ll also notice that the inspection certificate number is 10259, making tribute to the date on which the Twilight Zone’s first episode premiered, October 2, 1959.
Muppet Vision 3D is one of my favorite attractions. As you enter the building, you’ll notice a window to your right with a sign that says the staff is out, but there is a key under the mat. If you look, there actually is a mat under the window. Lift up the mat and you’ll find a key to Muppet Labs!
While waiting for the show to begin, you are standing in a room surrounded by all things Muppets. Hanging from the ceiling, you’ll notice a net that is full of green Jell-O. It’s “A Net Full of Jell-O”, in memory of Mouseketeer Annette Funicello.
Also to be found in that room is a large picture placed up in the rafters. This muppet is modeled after Jim Henson.
At the end of Toy Story Mania, as you exit, you’ll see money falling out of Hamm.
The Disney Diva 