As mentioned last time, this post will out line just how Grandma and I use the “Crush” strategy. To review; Crush from Finding Nemo was a laid back sea turtle that just went with the flow. He did not fight the current but just went with it. This is the core of my Disney for the Slower Set approach to vacationing at any Disney resort. This post covers just how to take advantage of this for a truly magical experience.

Pre Trip

Before you can put any park visit strategy into action you first gotta decide which Disney resort you want to visit and when to visit. Next you need to decide to stay on or off property. There are a metric crap ton of sites that cover this, so I will only touch on it here.

Where and When

This is all personal preference. Grandma and I do not like the heat, so summer is out. We don’t like crowds and we don’t have to worry about kids and school. That is unless the GrandKids are tagging along. We are DVC members so our quest starts 11 months out as this is the start of the window where we can make our home resort reservations. If we somehow miss this window we can reserve any DVC resort at 7 months out. Remember a big part of the strategy is staying on property.

We also only stay in 1 bedroom DVC Villas. (2 bedroom if the Grandkids are in tow) Now there are DVC fan sites that call for only staying in studios, since studios take less points. For us, however, a 1 bedroom feels more like home. It has a full kitchen, separate living and sleeping areas, multiple bathrooms and washers and dryers. Being able to come “home” during the day and after park visits goes a long way in being able to unwind and decompress. Studios are nice, however they feel more like a hotel room and not so much like home.

Resources

I tend to use several crowd calendars to pick a time to go. Crowd levels and patterns are much different post covid than the old days. There is no longer a true “off-season”. The two crowd calendars I tend to use are Touring Plans and WDW Prep School. Touring plans has a subscription and I get nothing for referring anyone to it. Crowds in the parks is still normalizing after the Covid closures. This means that the crowd calendars are not as accurate as they once were, but they are improving. Other factors besides crowds in the when and where decision, are special seasonal events such as Mickeys Not so Scary Halloween Party and the Epcot festivals. The Disney World and Disneyland sites have details and event calendars. For this trip we used the crowd calendars and chose the first 2 weeks in December to take advantage of the weather, crowd size and the Christmas decor.

A few Dos And Don’ts

There are no real hard and fast rules, just a few guidelines or core principles. It is hard to follow at times due to the very nature of us humans. However Ol Grandpa found that remembering these really helps. It is supposed to be FUN!

• Do be flexible. It is not a contest on how many rides you ride. Grandma and I have had great trips and not ridden anything at all!
• Do Start Early. Starting early beats the crowds and gives more time to enjoy the day. Just don’t get caught up in the rush. Having swarms of people pass you can be anxiety inducing if you let it.
• Do let the day unfold. This is part of being flexible. Don’t be ridged. Let things take you where they may. That really paid off this trip!
• Don’t over do it. it is not an endurance contest. it is supposed to be fun Remember! Take a seat in shade. People watch. A successful day is when you are not too crippled up to go again tomorrow.
• Don’t sweat the small stuff. It is often the little things that get people upset and ruin the fun. Guests will be rude. Guests will be pushy. Kids will scream. Rides will close. It can be HOT. Take a breath. Be Flexible and just Let It Go

You will know when you are doing it right when the day is magical and fun!

“Well, you never really know, but when they know,
you know, y’know?” — Crush

Park Day!

So you have used all the resources at your disposal and have finally arrived at your resort. You are ready to start your day. You have read and reread lots of sites; you have a park picked out; you think you have everything you need but now what. This is where ole Grandpa comes in.

Another thing is Grandma and I never buy Genie+ or Individual Lightening Lanes. We only ride Standby. Besides the obvious factor of cost, we just don’t enjoy many of the thrill rides like we used to. Remember way back in our list of aging attributes? Fast and/or spinning rides makes us sick. Cramped bumpy rides hurt. These tend to be on the top of the Genie+ list, so why spend a ton of money on Genie+ when we don’t ride these in demand rides.

One More Thing

That does not mean that we won’t ride Big Thunder Railroad or Indiana Jones at all, we just won’t be heartbroken if we don’t. And that is the key here. Don’t get so tied up with riding specific rides. Instead be prepared just to enjoy the day! Some of our best days were days where Grandma and I did not ride anything AT ALL! The parks are full of details. Imangineers have spent many hours perfecting the immersive magical environment. Enjoy it! Don’t just rush through it. We used to be the run between rides types, but out of necessity we do not. As we got older our run has become more of a stroll and now it is a mosey. Instead of “Stop and Smell the Roses” we “slow down and feel the Magic”.

A Great Day

One of our best days was at Disney’s Hollywood Studios. We were staying at the Boardwalk Villas. The morning started early as usual at around 6:00 AM. Grandma and I had our coffee out on the balcony that overlooked the main pool. Mornings are magical! We could hear the Friendship horns out by the pier. Most guests were sleeping and cast members were rushing to get things ready for the day.

Getting the Day Started

After we had a quick breakfast in the room, we headed out to board a friendship bound for Hollywood Studios. We chose riding over walking this time to save our legs for the day ahead. The boat let us out at the dock and we made our way to the gate. There was already a line to get in as the Skyliner and busses were bringing loads of guests. The trip through security was easy and Grandma and I took our place in line.

First Ride

Earlier we had decided to ride the Micky Runaway Railway. It is a new ride to us and sits kinda in the middle of the park. Our planning is free-form. We looked at the map of the park in My Disney Experience and picked a ride that is central so we can go in almost any direction after it is over. We figured most Genie+ holders would be going for anything in Star Wars or Slinkydog dash. This was not wrong. As our pace is more of a leisurely stroll these days; we were passed by almost everybody. From parents pushing strollers at a jog, younger folks running to get to their place in line and a lot of other people with their noses glued to the tiny screen that enslaves them. Grandma and I did not sweat it. In the old days getting passed by so many people would have caused severe anxiety. Now we just roll with it. Be like Crush and go with the flow. We were really Crushing it that day.

Lucking Out

Mickey’s was great! The standby line had a 20 min wait posted, but it only took 5 minutes or so. After leaving the ride we headed out to see Slinky Dog. This is smallish roller coaster that looks great. There was a Cast member with a sign instructing people where the end of the line was. It was all the way back to Mickey’s! We skipped it of course and headed on to Star Wars.

Along the way we really took in the atmosphere. There are a ton of details in everything from the signage to the sidewalks. Strolling into Star Wars is on a whole different level. You are transported into the Star Wars universe. We were gob smacked at the details. Everywhere you looked there was a new little something, like droid tracks cast into the sidewalk. What an achievement! We moseyed on to checkout Rise of the Resistance. We had little hope that it would have a reasonable wait, but as luck would have it, the wait was only 20 min! Most of that was walking in the queue. It is a truly awesome ride! The thing here is taking advantage of what the day brings.

We stayed in this truly awesome environment until our lunch reservations at the Sci-Fi Theater. We watched Star Wars Cast members extend the illusion brilliantly. Details were everywhere from shops to snack stands. It is easy to suspend reality and become One With The Force Grandpa was even interrogated by storm troopers as he was thought to be a rebel spy!

Ok this post is getting long so I will cut it short. We went back to the room after lunch for a bit of down time, then hung around The Boardwalk the rest of the day. It is really fun watching all the activities and people watching on the Boardwalk. Besides, you don’t have to be on your feet for this!

Here is the take way of the day. We started early, took advantage of the ride waits, slowed it down and absorbed the magic. We rode 2 new rides for us as well as our old friends Star Tours and Tower of Terror. Got stopped by storm troopers. All before 1:00. Grandma and I just went with the flow. We CRUSHED IT.

More Next Time