See More, Wait Less at Walt Disney World

Walt Disney World has long been an American Shangri-La—a place for children to live out their dreams and for adults to remember their childhood. But in this economy, with discretionary spending tightening up, many families are reluctantly choosing to forego the experience.
Steven M. Barrett, an emergency room physician and self-proclaimed “Disney Nut,” has a better solution: reduce the length and cost of your stay by spending less time waiting in lines. Less cost and less waiting sure sounds ideal, but is it possible?
“I consider a wait of more than 15 to 20 minutes in line too long,” Barrett says, “I just don’t do it.”
Using his nearly 20 years of devoted visits to WDW, combined with his inside knowledge of touring patterns and crowd psychology, Barrett has developed flexible touring plans that keep guests ahead of the crowds and immersed in the essential fun and magic of the parks. Like any good scientist, he tested and refined his plans for a number of years (on friends, family, and acquaintances) before declaring them ready for the general public. He also personally verified every step in the plans, not just once or twice but as often as once a week for nearly two decades.
The result of this meticulous effort is The Hassle-Free Walt Disney World Vacation, just out in a fully updated 2010 edition, Barrett’s ninth (The Intrepid Traveler, $15.95). Every aspect of the park visit is fine-tuned, from the best times for visiting attractions, to the most advantageous spots for viewing the parades, right down to which bathrooms in which areas offer the shortest lines.

Just one example of his sage advice: Barrett counsels against visiting any of the WDW parks on a day when it opens early for Disney World’s hotel guests – unless you’re one of them – since it will be jammed by the time you arrive. He even tells you how to dig up this valuable intelligence.
Each of the parks has its own touring plan, broken down into one- and two-day visits. Those trips are further customized into individual plans tailored to “Adults and teens,” “Families with young children,” and “Seniors.” Barrett shows everyone how to get the most out of their Walt Disney World vacation; it’s just a question of efficiency and street smarts.
But Barrett’s goal is not to hurry visitors through the parks. Beyond the time-saving tips, Barrett includes lots of off-beat ways of seeing each of the parks – from waking up Tinker Bell when the Magic Kingdom opens for the day to touring Epcot on a Segway to dining with a Disney animal specialist at Disney’s Animal Kingdom. The guide also includes a rating system for the rides, tips on dining with Disney characters, and ways to get the best value for your dining dollar. And it is chock-full of surprising insider tips: Who would’ve thought of bringing along a fat pen to make signing autographs easier for Disney characters?
“What I’ve tried to accomplish,” says Barrett, “is to give both first-time visitors and seasoned WDW pros the nuts and bolts tips and information for a hassle-free vacation.”
Barrett, who admits to being a wee bit obsessive when it comes to WDW, is constantly refining his touring plans and updates the guide annually to take into account new attractions, like The American Idol Experience in Disney’s Hollywood Studios. A photo quiz, a perennial favorite among Disney buffs, rounds out the book, with 24 all-new photos to test the Disney buff’s knowledge of WDW’s sights.

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