When we last left our adventure through the vast and confusing sea of Disney vacation myths, our hero, being you the reader, had just learned how to recognize and avoid some of these more common Disney vacation myths by planning their vacation around their life, and not the other way around. We pick up now as you set off on yet another quest for knowledge that will hopefully serve to help you minimize the costs and headaches of longer or poorly planned trips, without sacrificing any of the fun. Today we talk about one of my favorite ways to accomplish this, the shortest of Disney stays, and a great way to make use of minimal time: the day trip.

You probably remember that last time I suggested you keep an ear open for opportunities to fit in a shorter stay in. But before you go charging on down to Disney just because you can, keep in mind that it doesn´t always mean you should. In December of 1999, I traveled with my high school marching band to Jacksonville, Florida to participate in the Gatorbowl 2000 festivities. Somewhere during the planning phase of this trip however, it was decided that "Hey, the kids are going to be very disappointed if we don´t get to see Disney while we´re there," because on our first day in Florida, we loaded up our four big tour buses and headed on down to WDW. This turned out to be a drive that lasted more than three hours. We didn´t arrive in the parks until around noon, and then we had to leave by nine or so. Even though I did have a good time, and I did get to experience the Magic Kingdom with a number of my friends from school, it was easily the most pathetic of my many trips to Disney, and hardly worth the time and effort that went into making it happen, never mind all the money spent.

But a short trip doesn´t have to be a disappointing trip. Almost exactly two years after that logistics nightmare, I returned to Florida with my mom in order to take a look at what would later become my school in Daytona Beach. We flew into Orlando, stayed at a place in Altamonte Springs (chosen for it´s location between both Daytona and Disney), and then used the entire first day, from just after opening until about 6 p. m. , playing around the Magic Kingdom. We did all the things that we never get to do when we go as a whole family, with dad and two younger brothers in tow, and had a great time all day. But the fun didn´t stop there. We left the park to escape the crowds for a bit, grabbed a pleasantly filling buffet-style dinner at the Trail´s End Restaurant over at Fort Wilderness, and then returned later for Mickey´s Very Merry Christmas Party that night.

This trip, like the first, was only a day in length. But what made this trip so much more worthwhile than the first one? I would say that it was because it was better planned. We picked a good location to stay that was convenient. There was no daunting three hour drive in. There was a general consensus among the two of us before hand as to what we were hoping to see and do (admittedly, it was easier to accomplish this part with two of us rather than in a group of ten or twelve like we were broken up into on my band trip). So just by using a little planning and research in advance, we were able to maximize our time in the park into an effective day of light-hearted amusement, rather than debating over what to do next, how little time we had left, and who was at fault for making so-and-so ride Space Mountain one too many times.
So, assuming you have successfully decided on a day in which you can afford to run away to the magic, what kinds of ticket options are there for you?

1) The Annual Pass (AP). If you travel regularly, or plan on traveling to WDW twice or more within a year, or even within the following year (up to the date of your initial purchase), you may be best off purchasing an AP. This not only covers your theme park admission, but it also covers your parking fees at any of the theme parks. In addition, an AP also offers a handful of discounts on everything from dining to your resort stay. This pass is especially cost-effective if you are a Florida resident, who would logically be the ones who do the most day tripping, as you can get one for just $325. This is what I possess personally, and highly recommend it if it makes sense for you.

2) If you are a Florida resident who wants to take frequent trips to the World but just don´t think you´ll go enough to justify the cost of the AP, you may be better off taking a look at a Season Pass. This pass is pretty much a scaled back version of the AP that is available only to Florida Residents. Like the AP, this ticket includes park admission to any of the four theme parks for a year, excluding certain blockout dates during the peak summer months, a couple weeks during the winter holiday season, and a week or two during the spring break season. But as long as your planned trips do not fall into one of those blockout dates (check for the actual dates before you buy, just to be safe), the Season Pass offers you many of the same benefits of the annual pass, but for a much more affordable $215. One thing to keep in mind though is that the Season Pass does NOT include the cost of parking. The cost of parking for a day at the Disney theme parks is $9. Keep that in mind when you are estimating how often you might be able to get away for a day. It adds up.

3) If, however, you find yourself in a situation where you are going for the day, but find it highly unlikely you will be returning any time in the foreseeable future, you can always fall back on the safe bet that is the single day pass. This pass admits you to one theme park for one day. You can leave the park and return the same day, but you cannot park hop. You will have the opportunity to upgrade your one day pass with the park hopping option, but the cost of your ticket will increase approximately 50% if you chose to do so. Florida residents can get a single day rate that is just slightly reduced from those paid by those coming from out of state, but can get the park hopping option added for almost a steal. A Florida resident one day pass with park hopping will run you just slightly over that of an out of state one day pass without it.

So now we´ve got our day picked out and our best ticket choice chosen. So what else is there to plan for? Well, if you´re going for a full day, you´re going to need to eat something. Contrary to popular belief, yes, food is allowed into the parks!I do it all the time myself, and it really is a lifesaver. What Disney doesn´t want are a bunch of big, family-sized plastic coolers on wheels being towed around behind already oversized double strollers, running over toes and bowling over children on Main Street, USA. I myself carry a small, soft lunch box with an ice pack to keep things cool. When I´m done with it for the day, it collapses nice and small into the bottom of my backpack, taking up little space and weighing even less. You would be surprised at how much money and time you will save by bringing your own lunch.

So now you´re all set right? You´re standing in front of the park, tickets in your hand, your personal belongings. . . in your other hand? Sounds like it could be a burden to bear, especially now that you´re packing a lunch too. Day trippers, unlike hotel guests, don´t have the luxury of being able to leave all their gear at the hotel just 20 minutes away. The weather in Florida is unpredictable at best, and when it comes to gear, I frequently day trip with a sweatshirt, poncho, and sunglasses in addition to the clothes I wear into the park. You can carry all this, and your lunch, in a backpack like I do, but many people would prefer to get this load off their backs. This is where locker rental comes in. Rather than having to take the time to journey forty minutes round trip to and from your car, lockers can be rented at each of the parks for $7. 00, with a refundable $2 deposit that you get back upon your returning the key. If you are park hopping, retain your receipt upon returning your key, do not collect your deposit, and show your receipt to the rental at your next park. You only have to pay once to rent each day, and you can collect your deposit when you´re done, regardless of which park you began or ended at.

So you´ve pulled it off. Time wise, money wise, stuff wise, you´re all Ready to go. So now what? Is there anything left? Well how about what you want to see? What are you going to do when you get there? Obviously, if you only have a day, you can´t expect to see and do everything in WDW. Believe me, I´ve tried. But if you at least take the time to learn the basic layout of the park, and make a list of your must-see attractions and shows, it´s not rocket science to put together a great day, even if the crowds do make it impossible to see even the majority of a single park.

So now, with the Disney vacation myths out of the way, you can see that you really don´t need to live less than an hour away to justify a daytrip, or any trip under a week in length for that matter. As long as you are willing to do without some of the usual extras, and try your hardest to shy away from all those "rules" in which you once believed, you too can find not only an excuse but also a means to treat yourself to a short and relatively inexpensive way to expose yourself to the Disney magic.

Thanks for tagging along on our day-long adventure. Be sure to come back and join me for part three, in which we´ll reinforce the planning skills we´ve discussed today and learn how to apply them to the slightly longer Mini-Mouse Trip. See ya real soon!

photos by Bill Iadonisi