What is the Walt Disney World Fastpass? What is the Universal Studios Express Pass?

Disney’s Fastpass is an electronic ticketing system that allows guests to make a reservation to return to an attraction at a later time in the day. When you return with a Fastpass in hand, you’ll use the much shorter Fastpass line instead of the ride’s regular lines. To get a printed Fastpass ticket, you’ll run your park admission ticket through an electronic Kiosk that is near the entrance to the ride.

You can get a fresh Fastpass for a different attraction every two hours. The bad news is that there are only a specific limited number of Fastpasses printed for each attraction each day. When they’re gone, they’re gone. If you don’t get a Fastpass, you’re stuck standing in line with the other regular folks.
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Should I take my children out of school to visit Walt Disney World in Orlando Florida?

If your children are age 8 or younger, you’ll benefit greatly by taking your Orlando vacation while other kids are in school. In the lower grades, you’ll not usually have any objection from teachers when you say little Johnny and Jill will be missing school for a few days – and your kids can easily pick up the slack when they return to school. And, your kids will be forever grateful for missing school!

We have a child in middle school so I understand your problem. At higher school grade levels, it’s not easy to play hooky for a trip to Orlando, but it’s not entirely impossible, either. Ultimately, the parents and teachers know best whether or not this is a good idea. If your child is a good student, you can ask the teacher if he or she has any objection to your child’s absence. Often a teacher can adjust the student’s homework and make specific recommendations for dates when your child’s absence will have the least impact on class work.

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Universal Studios Orlando and other things to do near Walt Disney World

So you’ve been up and down Disney World: you’ve seen the Magic Kingdom, rode the monorail, gone on all the great rides, and the characters! Well, when you’ve had enough Mickey, Goofy, and all the gang, there’s plenty more for you and your gang to do in the Kissimmee/Orlando area other than Disney. [Read more…]