Planning Journal - Pre-arrival Email to Guests
This was a lot of work to compose but our guests are telling us it has a lot of great info in it so we thought by sharing we may help out others.
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Hello everyone..it is getting so close to Disney! We can hardly believe that it is just around the corner. This email will serve as the itinerary for the wedding day as well as other general information.
We warn you...this is long...it may make sense to print and bring with you, but please read everything first, especially #2 of our 5 tips in case you want to save money on pictures, and make sure you understand everything. If not, let us know.
First..our contact information
all of you should have at least one of these numbers but just in case, here they are:
Matt [cell phone number]
Sarah [cell phone numer]
So..after 5 trips, here are 5 things that we have found that we wish we knew the first time but have learned since then and hope that it helps you get the most of your visit. Step 2 is the ONLY one of these that would require you to do something before you leave for Disney to save a bit of $.
1 Fast Pass
its your ticket to ride
or at least skip the long lines. Once you have a destination in mind, figure out what must ride ride you have to go on and use your fast pass to get a ticket for a later time. When you get a Fast Pass it will include a time window on it. However, you can ride the ride at any time after the first time listed on the fast pass. Then, stand in line for that ride (So you can ride it twice)..or another ride that may have a shorter line. Its amazing and we love it. All the parks have Fast Pass ride options for the most popular rides. At the Magic Kingdom you can even Fast Pass Mickey and the Princesses so you dont have to wait in a long line! In Epcot it works great to get a fast pass for Soarin and ride Test Track then go back to Soarin (or vice versa). At Hollywood Studios its great on Toy Story (amazing ride for the whole family but Logans favorite hands down) and of course the Aerosmith Rockin Roller Coaster (Sarah & Matts favorite ride) and the Tower of Terror (Maddies favorite to date)! Take note of the fact that once you get a Fast Pass you wont be eligible to get another one for two hours or so, so plan accordingly!
2 Photo Pass
this is how you can STOP being the photographer for every family picture and get in the picture with your family. Sarah E. has actually gotten comfortable leaving her SLR at home because of Photo Pass. There are photographers around Disney World who are placed in front of characters, castles, great photo places who will take your picture and scan a card. That card links to the website where all your pictures are stored. You can purchase your pictures from there. A CD of all your pictures in printable resolution with full copyright rights..whether its 1 or 1,000 (yes, we have had 1,000+ before) is $150. If you buy before you go (note you MUST PRE-ORDER to get this deal), you can get that CD for $99.95 (or $149.95 for the CD and a Disney Photo Book Souvenir keepsake album that you design with your photos). Here is the link:
http://www.disneyphotopass.com/previsitoffer.aspx . Its a great deal that, for us, has paid for itself over and over again. In fact, we just bought this tonight. Honestly, if you think youll get 15-20 great pictures, its worth it as 5x7 prints are $14.99 each. Even if you dont buy the CD, PLEASE get a card, get pictures
and get IN the pictures. Send us a picture of your card or your card number so maybe we may buy some of the pictures you have taken to complete the album that Sarah will eventually put together.
3 Magic Express
this is such a genius concept. If you are staying on Disney property, checking bags is no trouble. Keep what you will need for your first few hours in your carry-on luggage, then check the rest. When your plane lands, you can go right to the Magic Express departure point. There are maps all over the place and your paperwork that you have received by now will show you how to get there. Disney will pick up your bags and baggage claim and bring them right to your resort where they should arrive about 3 hours after you get to your hotel. Its easy, simple and stress free..so go out and enjoy yourself. On the way home, you can check your baggage directly at your hotel front desk all the way to your final location. The hotels have airline check in and collect fees and process the paperwork for you. You stash your checked baggage with them, then either store with bell services or carry with you, your carry-on luggage and enjoy the day. Your bags will arrive at your final destination. So, go ahead and check your bag
with the exception of fees some airlines charged, it is the easiest way to get your luggage to/from Disney.
4 Snack Credits
these are the little extras that are a part of your dining plan. If you purchased a
Disney dining plan for your trip, which we have found is the most cost efficient way to eat at Disney, you will have 1 snack credit per person per NIGHT of your stay. Somehow, we always manage to come up with extra unused snack credits. So use them
you will be amazed at what they can be used for. Water bottles in the parks, ice cream, rice krispy treats, dole whip bars, etc. There are so many things. At any snack or food vendor, just look for the Disney Dining Plan symbol and if its there, you can use your snack credits.
5 Disney Magic
if theres one thing that even now, we never expect but always seem to find, its Disney Magic. It can be anywhere, everywhere and come to you unexpectedly. It hits all of us, young and young at heart! There are so many ways that it can happen, we cant list them all here, but we hope you see it the way we always do and those are the things that stand out. For us, we have already had some for this trip! Getting that RSVP card from each and every one of you with the Yes, we will attend checked was the first part of our Disney Magic and we cant thank you enough for being a part of it. We hope you find yours, too
and when you do, be sure to tell us about it. For you, you can start it off by getting pins from your hotel or from the entrance to the Magic Kingdom. They have buttons that say 1st Visit! or even Celebrating and for Dan and Annie, especially, they have some for Anniversaries. Of course, even if its not your 1st visit or your anniversary, you are all there celebrating our wedding and can get a button and start the magic! Cast members and other guests always comment on your buttons and its a fun way to stand out.
THE ITINERARY
Ok
most people are getting to Disney on Wednesday so we thought we would let you know what is going on for us. We are so excited you all are coming and cant wait to see you, but we also understand that this might be your familys vacation time and you have your own plans. So, the best thing, we thought, was to let you know where we would be on which days and hopefully we will see you at some point during the trip. Of course we have tons of fun planned on Friday night so if we dont catch up until then, we hope you have fun. We cant tell you enough how special and amazing it is for us to have you there for our wedding!
[Inserted our tentative trip itinerary here as well as all necessary timing/details for wedding day]
PARK INFORMATION
All the parks have different hours and different times and for most of you, who stayed on Disney property, you have the ability to experience Extra Magic Hours, which allow you to be in a designated park an hour before normal opening time or 3 hours after normal closing time. Each day, a different park will have EMH available. A link to the times for each park, including those Extra Magic Hours is here:
http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/calendars/
After you the input the dates for your visit, each parks hours and EMH will be listed so you can plan what youre going to do and how late or early youre going to do it.
Additionally, keep in mind that the parks are huge and it takes a bit more time than you might think to get in/out and wait for the monorail or boat or bus to get to where you are going. Since many of our events, not including the wedding, are in EPCOT, walking through the World Showcase is a long walk, and takes time even though the map may make them look close together.
So, thats all we have. Sorry this was so long, but we had so much information to share and we wanted you to have it all in one place. We wanted to give you the itinerary, pointing out key dates and times. As always, call or text us with questions or concerns. We cannot wait for the day to get here.
As Mickey would say
.See ya real soon!
Love,
Matthew and Sarah