Florida 2026

Tips and Tricks

Before the trip

• Visit Disney World website https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/
• Click MyDisneyExperience and Create Account
• Add a parent approved payment method in case you plan to purchase lightning lanes, mobile order food, or use mobile merchandise checkout.
• Download MyDisneyExperience app to your mobile phone
• This will connect to the website app for profile information but is designed for more day-of functionality.
• Click the menu at bottom right to access tickets, LL passes, mobile order, merchandise checkout (which does make shopping easier – Cast Members in retail shops can help), and wait times for rides and shows.
• Park map – filter to specific park to see attractions, shows and characters
• MagicBand+ is not necessary but convenient if you already have one and is linked to your profile in the app.
• Disney World is made up of 4 parks. You will get single day tickets to each.
• Animal Kingdom
• EPCOT
• Hollywood Studios
• Magic Kingdom
• Download Universal Orlando Resort app to your mobile phone. Universal Studios day includes a Park-to-Park ticket for Universal Studios Florida and Islands of Adventure. From the app you have access to the park maps, ride wait times, and mobile order.
• Packing list should include water bottle, comfortable walking shoes, sunscreen, poncho, phone battery charger, anti-chafe, and snacks (like goldfish crackers and chips). Leave plenty of space in your luggage for souvenirs. The amount of walking is a lot – bring extra sneakers to avoid foot fatigue.
• Fuel rod stations are located throughout all parks – Amazon offers a pack of 2 for less of the cost in the theme parks.
• Pin trading is a fun activity in Disney World so bring your duplicates.
• Sometime before the trip, download the Bob Rogers Travel app. Leaders may give instructions using this app and/or sportsYou.

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General Theme Park Info

• PARK TICKETS: Before leaving the bus each day, you will get your park ticket.
• You will always be required to be in a group of 3+ with photo check-ins with leaders throughout the day. It works well if you choose their travel groups with those who like same activities: thrill vs no thrill, character experiences, shopping, foodies.
• Take a picture of your ticket (front and back) in case you lose it.
• There are options for shorter lines. Universal Option is cost prohibitive at $150/person. Disney’s options are cheaper but do require that everyone in your group purchase either Lightning Lane Multi Pass (LLMP) or Lightning Lane Single Pass (LLSP). My recommendation is to embrace the time together and wait. Prioritize your “must do” experiences and save your spending money for souvenirs and snacks.
• Disney Lightning Lanes to find more information. There is plenty of YouTube content on how to use this service.
• Disney Photo Pass is a service that can be purchased ($175-200 for all Disney days) and you can keep all photos taken by the professional photographers and ride photos across the parks. If your travel group thinks this is a good investment, you can all pitch in – only 1 person needs to purchase.
• DINING CARDS: Students will get their dining gift cards each day as well.
• These can only be used at restaurants and food stands in the park.
• Snacks from retail stores do not accept the dining cards and they cannot be used for merchandise. Mobile order is available on the apps for both Disney Parks and Universal however, adding the dining card is a challenge so I recommend waiting in line rather than mobile order. Try to plan meals before or after the usual mealtimes. Do not forget to eat food and drink water!
• PATIENCE: You will get instructions from your leaders before entering the park and will meet them before going back to the bus.
• The music experiences are MAGICAL and the memories you make with your classmates are what you will take away from this experience.
• You have plenty of time in the parks and will get to do all the fun things.
• These Tips and Tricks are meant to help maximize your theme park fun; however, it is important to remember this is secondary to the time spent together representing Standley Lake High School Music Program.

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Tips and Tricks Guide

Rides: list of recommended rides and shows. All rides have regular lines or “stand by” queues. No more virtual queues or boarding groups.

Food: restaurant suggestions to make the most of your $20 or $30/day. Disney dining cards can be used on any Disney property including Disney Springs. All suggestions have items $14.99 or less. Both parks offer many options for all food allergies/preferences.

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Schedule:

• Day 1 – arrival at the airport and spend the day in Animal Kingdom
• Day 2 – Disney Springs Performance then Epcot
• Day 3 – Universal Studios (2 parks) all day
• Day 4 – Magic Kingdom
• Day 5 – Hollywood Studios and Soundtrack Session Workshop
• Day 6 - departure

Pro tips:

1. Order from the kids’ menu – you typically get a cutie and small bottled water

2. Ask for free ice water at restaurants

3. Get a Disney popcorn bucket on Day 1 for ~$15. Refills are ~$2.50 for the duration of the trip. Share with your travel group and take turns on the refills. You can only refill with buttered popcorn with one exception: maple popcorn in Canada Pavilion in EPCOT.

4. Universal also has a popcorn bucket and a refillable soda cup that can be filled at several Coke Freestyle stations.

5. You can bring a water bottle into the parks – hold it out in front of you as you go through security turnstiles. Keep your backpacks organized for security in case you get pulled aside. Don’t bring in weird stuff.

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World of Disney located in Disney Springs is one of the largest gift shops on property

Animal Kingdom Park Hours and Map

Rides

Food

Animal Kingdom has many walkthrough animal experiences that are not listed but absolutely recommended. Discovery Trading Company is one of my favorite gift shops.

*Recommended – bold items are a super recommend

Rides in blue are top wait times

This park is perfect for tired travelers because it is a slower pace. DinoLand is undergoing retheming to “Pueblo Esperanza” and there are lots of construction walls up. DINOSAUR closes in February to become an Indiana Jones ride so be sure to ride this ride one more time!

Performance: Waterside Stage Disney Springs

Food

Shopping

Disney Springs has many shops and restaurants, and with time between the performances, I wanted to provide a few recommendations. There are several places to grab snacks – make sure you are getting actual food!

10:15am Instrumental

1:15pm Choir

EPCOT Park Hours and Map

Rides

Food

EPCOT is less about rides and more about character experiences, shows, shopping and great food. Be sure to walk through Moana Journey of Water. You will get here in the afternoon so head to your must dos first!

Universal Studios Park Map

Universal Studios Florida

Islands of Adventure

Pro-tip: IOA has the 2 most popular rides of the parks, consider starting your day here before taking the Hogwarts Express to USF

Magic Kingdom Park Hours and Map

Rides

Food

Magic Kingdom is most like Disneyland and is a combination of all things amazing about Disney – rides, shows, shopping, snacks. Check out the Emporium shop for a large selection of souvenirs.

Hollywood Studios Park Hours and Map

Rides

Food

Hollywood Studios has amazing rides and fantastic lands to visit. Toy Story and Star Wars lands are very immersive. Prioritize your must dos first thing in the morning

2:00-4:30pm Choir Soundtrack Session

5:30-8:00pm Instrumental Soundtrack Session

*check the app for showtimes. Other shows include For the First Time in Forever: A Frozen Sing-Along Celebration in Echo Lake and the Green Army Corps march through Toy Story Land – I just ran out of room!

Additional Resources

• https://www.disneyfoodblog.com/
• https://www.youtube.com/c/MammothClub_
• https://wdwnt.com/

No shortage of theme park content creators – these are some of my favorites