Winnie the Pooh is the Best

My family absolutely adores the character Winnie the Pooh. He is my second favorite character,in Noland's Jr.'s top 5 (his favorite was Pooh when he was 1 and 2), and Jenna and Eli's favorite. As a family, he is our favorite character. We love the movies, the books, the stuffed animals, and mostly experiencing Winnie at the Disney Parks. Before we get into the parks though, let me tell you that the 1st stuffed animal each kid got was a Pooh character. Noland Jr. being the fantastic boy that he is gave Eli his baby stuffed animal of Tigger on the day that Eli was born!

Look @ that sweet baby and his new stuffed Tigger cuddling him!

It is a point of ours each time to ride the ride, whether we do a Fastpass+ selection or hit it early in the day. We just love the character and all of his friends and think that Disney did a great job with this character. If there could be any more with him, we would surely enjoy it!

Let's start with what they do have, before we get into what was lost.....

First, the Crystal Palace!
This is the single greatest character breakfast we have tried at the Walt Disney World Resort. It is absolutely phenomenal. I cannot believe how great this breakfast experience is. Reservations are hard to come by though, so we have only been able to do it once for breakfast. Dinner is also available, but at $12 more per person is not an option we have explored. This is the only non special event where you can meet Piglet and Eeyore and something my family will be doing again! We will certainly give Eli the opportunity to experience it!

Noland Jr. meeting Eeyore @ Crystal Palace w/ Mom (2 years ago)

Now, the Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh ride!
Many Disney purists are upset that the Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh ride took over for Mr. Toad's Wild Ride. I am not one of those people, although I did enjoy the classic. Winnie the Pooh is far more marketable and has a great deal more fans than J. Thaddeus. My kids barely know about the Wind and the Willows, but I did expose them to it. However, they absolutely adore Winnie the Pooh. The bear is timeless. The toad is practically unknown by an entire generation. While it would be cool to reserruct that ride at say, Epcot, I rather enjoy that Winnie the Pooh got some more love at the Magic Kingdom.
This ride was one of the 1st rides to have an interactive queue, where kids could play while they wait for the ride. This fantastic idea makes waiting in line not such a bad thing. The pictures below are from the front of the queue and out in front of the ride. Noland loves the little Pooh house....

Front of Pooh's House

Pooh's mailbox and honey

Inside the house with Jr. and a photo bomber

The ride itself is incredibly fun and features scenes from the movie The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh. The actual ride focuses on the 2nd part of the movie, the Blustery Day. As I said, this ride is a ton of fun and has playful scenes. Another fun thing about this ride is it has a picture in Owl's house of Mr. Toad handing the deed of the ride over to Owl.

Ride getting ready to start!

Next, the Thotful Spot Meet and Greet!
Right next to the ride is a wonderful place to meet Pooh and Tigger. This spot is one of the most popular meet and greets in the entire Magic Kingdom. It is recommended to come at a time the two have taken a break and will be back shortly, this will decrease your wait time. This strategy also increases the chances that the duo will remain throughout your time waiting in line instead of stepping out for a break. These guys are really fun. This meet and greet occasionally features Eeyore and/or Piglet although that is rare. I have even seen Rabbit in here before with Pooh Bear. Below are some pics from our favorite meet and greet.

 Eli Meets Pooh

 Jenna and Tigger selfie w/ Eli who just wants to look @ Tigger

Noland Jr. w/ two of his favorite characters

Finally, the character breakfast @ 1800 Park Fare @ The Grand Floridian Hotel!
This is an experience we have not done yet, but are looking to try this summer! Winnie the Pooh and Tigger are a part of this character breakfast at Disney's fanciest hotel (at least that I have seen). I am sure it is a pretty epic experience to try.

There are also special meets at the Halloween and Christmas Parties!
I have said before that these are overrated to pay extra, but they are fun and I am glad we did each once to get the experience. The Halloween meet and greet with all four characters was almost worth it to do it by itself. When Eli is a little earlier, we will probably do it again. That way we  can see these characters in the best parade at Disney World and get to meet them all again as well.

Maybe a chance at the Epcot Training Meets or Character Palooza!
I have only gotten to see an Epcot Training Meet once, but I seem to remember that Piglet was in there. I have not seen any characters from Winnie the Pooh at the few Character Paloozas we have been to, but I have heard some rumors that it happens.

Rare rabbit sightings!
I have seen Rabbit @ the Thotful Spot meet and greets, and there are rumors of him being at Epcot Training Meets on occasion. One of our goal characters to meet this year is Rabbit and we will definitely be waiting in line if we see him again. Personally, I think he should be part of the Garden Grille character breakfast with Chip and Dale. Seriously is there a character you associate with gardens more than Rabbit?

They used to have him in 3 parks. Then regretfully moved him out of Epcot and Animal Kingdom. The Epcot experience was awesome because it was practically empty. You got to meet him in the setting of Christopher Robin's room and most people didn't know about it, so it was a great place to meet Pooh and Tigger. Since most people didn't know about it though is probably why they moved him out. The Animal Kingdom one is frustrating though. It was a great locale for them and it was the 1st meet and greet experience that Noland Jr. had at Disney World (pic below). It made little sense to move him out of that park where he was so beloved.
We need more Winnie! Pooh Bear in every park!!!!

I hope you enjoyed my bragging on Winnie the Pooh and talking about how you can experience him at the Walt Disney World Resort! This is our absolute favorite consistent Meet and Greet experience (Character Palooza isn't always consistent). I hope you soon get to meet him too, especially if you have children.

Join me next week as we discuss ........Continue to keep checking up for more Disney tidbits, tips, and other great tips to #LoveFL and cool things to do all over the country. Have a great week!

- Noland

Mastering Disney's Fastpass+ System

I know that some people think Disney's Fastpass+ System is lame, but my family thinks it is excellent. Sure there can be tweaks made, but it guarantees you three rides with little wait everytime you go to DisneyWorld and that is huge. You just have to learn how to master the system. Jenna and I never waited in a line of more than 30 minutes during our entire year of passes and we went to Disney every weekend! Check out our tips!

Tip #1: Schedule Your Fastpasses the Day you are able!
The biggest key is to schedule your fastpasses ASAP. You want to schedule your fastpasses 60 days out if you are going to a resort. Scheduling this early  will allow you to see headline attractions like Toy Story Mania, Meet and Greet with the Frozen sisters, or the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train. It will be difficult to schedule any of those attractions if you wait too long. If you are not staying at a resort, you can schedule your fastpass+ selections 30 days. Scheduling 30 days out may take away the headliners mentioned above, but not always. It gives you a chance to get on those rides and you can schedule other headliners such as Big Thunder Mountain Railroad or Space Mountain.

Tip #2: Don't Waste Your Fastpasses
Do not use fastpass+ selections on attractions that do not need a fastpass+. Mickey's PhilarMagic will have a 10 minute wait 90% of the time and doesn't need a fastpass+. Unless the park is incredibly busy, the Mad Tea Party and Dumbo typically have less than a 1/2 hour wait. Same with Aladdin's Magic Carpets. Now, if these are the only fastpass+ selections available, then yes still use them because they save time, but they are best used on more popular attractions.

Tip #3: Schedule Your Fastpasses for Peak Times
We have often blogged about the benefit to arriving early. Arriving early is huge and let's you ride a bunch of rides with little to no wait. If you are already waiting very little time, it is pointless to schedule fastpasses before 10am. That is unless you are trying to ride the Mine Train or Meet Anna and Elsa. Those two attractions are always busy. I recommend using your fastpasses between 11-3. If the first one is scheduled for 1030-1130 that is fine, but I would visit closer to 1130. You want to use your fastpass+ selections when the park is the busiest.

Tip #4: Use Your Extra Fastpasses Wisely
Some people obsess over the extra Fastpass+ selections. This can be a difficult process and I recommend you don't stress to hard over them. Often the lines in the park to get a Fastpass+ is longer than lines to some rides. You can feel like you need a Fastpass+ to get through the Fastpass+ line. If this is the case, don't worry about these Fastpass+ selections. However, once you use your original 3 Fastpass selections, you can get a new one every time you run out of selections. If there is a short line for Fastpass+ or the line is shorter than ride lines, then go for it. Just don't be disappointed when the good rides are gone, because there are a limited number of Fastpasses available. They have to keep them fast after all.

Tip #5: Use Them on the Best Attractions Possible
I will break this down to my favorite rides and what I would use the Fastpass+ selections for.

Magic Kingdom

(Space Mountain, Splash Mountain, Big Thunder Mountain) easily sub Mine Train if that is your preference, but I like the other rides better.

Magic Kingdom w/toddler

(Buzz Lightyear Space Ranger Spin, Winnie the Pooh, Peter Pan) Haunted Mansion, Jungle Cruise, or Pirates can be subbed

Animal Kingdom

(Kilimanjaro Safaris, Kali River Rapids, Expedition Everest)

Animal Kingdom w/ toddler

(Kilimanjaro Safaris, Meet Mickey, the other one will be wasted unless you do rider exchange)

Hollywood Studios

(Toy Story Mania, Tower of Terror, Disney Jr. live on Stage)
Side Note: Hollywood Studios does a tiered system where the more popular rides are on a higher tier. You can only pick one of Toy Story, Aerosmith coaster, or Fantasmic! The one positive to this is that Tower of Terror is on the lower tier. I recommend Toy Story, but you can sub it for the coaster. If you don't have little kids there are other selections besides Disney Jr. on stage as well.

Epcot

(Test Track, The Seas w/ Nemo, Living With the Land)
Side Note: Epcot also uses a tiered system. You must choose Test Track or Soarin'. I believe the character spot was on that upper tier as well. The best ride at Epcot doesn't need a fastpass+. The ride in Mexico is always less than a 20 minute wait and it is awesome! For a family with a toddler you would sub Test Track for that meet and greet.

Bonus Tip: Don't Wait Until You Get in The Park
As I said before the lines for Fastpass+ can get excruciatingly long. Do them on your phone before you get to the park. Waiting until you get to the park is a waste of your precious Disney time. This is one line at Disney you can easily avoid.

Stay tuned next week for more life tips!

-Noland