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Insider's Guide To Disney
By WDBO's Joe Ruble
"You have to plan before you get here."

Take it from the source, former Disney World tour guide Jonathan Fontado.

"You have to approach a Disney World vacation like you are going to a big city."

After all, he says, this place is about the size of Manhattan.

"A lot of people think, oh we'll just show up and do the park. They know we have four parks and hotels, but there is so much more than that."

And some people have to learn the hard way. like Bob Sehlinger.

"I was at Walt Disney World a number of years ago with my children, paid a lot of money to get in. And lo and behold I was able to see about three or four attractions the whole day because I was busy standing in line."

After that experience, he began a project. It led to a book called the Unofficial Guide to Disney World for all the newbies to the Magic Kingdom and more.

"I think that they don't understand how physically taxing it's going to be."


As you ride the tram to the gates of Epcot, excitement builds. It's Dani O'Brien's favorite park among the four at Disney World.

"Kids can definitely enjoy it, there's rides and still a lot of fun stuff, but its not as ride oriented as the other parks." she said.

"I think Magic Kingdom holds a special place in everyone's heart," adds onetime VIP guide Fontado.

"So I think it should be the first one that you hit, then at that point you go to any of them."

Guidebook author Sehlinger disagrees. He says take the kids to Magic Kingdom last.

"If you take them to Magic Kingdom first, and then start going to the other theme parks, the others seem like a letdown to them."

Walt Disney World - where adults become kids again...

"And they're not thinking the little ones need to nap. They're just like running all over the place and the little one is saying, 'I'm hungry!'"

One-time Disney VIP Tour Guide Jonathan Fontado says its best to build in some breaks for the tykes.

"You want to make sure that you let them rest, because the reality is that for a three year old, it's an overwhelming thing to spend 12 hours in one of our theme parks."

And don't forget the bathroom breaks!

"You're waiting in line for an hour to go on a ride and 30 minutes in you hear 'Mommy I gotta go to the bathroom' and you got to start all over again!"

Kyle Cassandra frequents Disney and knows what a long day brings.

"When you get to the late part of the afternoon, and you're just drained from standing in line out in the heat, you're going to need water."

Of course, you pay a lot of money to enjoy Disney World as rising ticket prices for most theme parks outpace inflation.

There's a solution. At Disney, its called Fastpass.   

"The key with Fastpass is always being ahead of the game," says guide Jonathan Fontado.

"If you have a member of the family that doesn't want to ride a certain attraction because it's not their cup of tea, they can go ahead and get Fastpasses and be a trooper for the family."

Another timesaver:

"I keep WDW DINE on my speed dial."

A regular Disney visitor, Jennifer Armstrong calls when she wants to get into one of the many fine restaurants.

"We go out to the parks a lot. We know we want to have dinner at a nice restaurant. If you go out with no reservation, you could be waiting for hours."

One thing you may not know, Disney is home to some of Orlando's finest dining experiences

"Annual passholders know it, because they'll go out just for dinner. The average person, probably not, and that's why they get stuck waiting in line for one of the better restaurants," she adds.
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