buster, Author at Buster and the Banshee

Mar

09

2024

Ranking the Perks of Staying at a Walt Disney World Hotel

Trip Planningparks, trip planning, walt disney world

While we personally are fans of staying off-site, we agree that there are plenty of perks of staying at a Walt Disney World hotel. Disney offers several exclusive benefits to entice guests to stay at an "on property" resort, and they are constantly tweaking them. Case in point... Disney recently announced a new perk for 2025: free admission to a Disney water park on your check-in day. In honor of this newly added extra, we thought it would be fun to rank the various perks that Disney guests receive when they stay on property! We even included the new water…

Jan

01

2026

By buster

DISNEY 101: Walt Disney World Dining

Disney 101dining, walt disney world

For some guests (including Buster and the Banshee), dining is a major part of a Walt Disney World vacation. It isn’t just a way to refuel between rides. In many cases, dining is the attraction. Disney is known for offering a wide variety of high-quality food across many cuisines. Whether you’re craving Italian, barbecue, burgers, seafood, or classic chicken fingers, there’s something for everyone. In this DISNEY 101 article, we’ll cover the basics of dining at Walt Disney World, including the different types of restaurants, how reservations work, and what accommodations are available for guests who need them. Types of Dining Options Mickey Waffles! Disney classifies…

Nov

18

2025

By buster

Six Flags Sued Over Disability Policy. How Will This Impact Universal and Disney?

Disney World With Disabilitiesdisabilities, disability access service, walt disney world

Previously, I had written an article about a new process that Universal Studios and other theme parks had implemented to handle disability accommodations. In a nutshell, Universal, Six Flags, Sea World, and others now utilize a third party company, the International Board of Credentialing and Continuing Education Standards (IBCCES), to certify that the person's disability accommodation request is valid. The process that the IBCCES uses involves uploading a statement from your medical provider regarding your disability and necessary accommodations. That means that Universal Studios, Six Flags, and others are no longer just taking your word for it. They want proof!…

Nov

18

2025

By buster

Free Dining Offer is a GREAT Deal (Maybe)

Archivedining, disney dining plan, trip planning, walt disney world

If you have read my previous article on the Disney Dining Plan, you know that I am not a huge fan. From a pure financial standpoint, most people are better off paying for meals out of pocket. You really have to work to come out ahead. Despite that, the Disney Dining Plan remains a popular option. What is even more popular is Disney's Free Dining offer. Pre-COVID, Disney offered a deal where, if you paid full price for a WDW vacation package (resort + tickets), Disney would give you either the Quick Service Dining Plan or the Disney Dining Plan…

Nov

18

2025

By buster

Best Genie+ Ride Selections For Each Park

Archivegenie+, rides, trip planning, walt disney world

Throughout its history, Walt Disney World has had a number of different "skip the line" schemes. First it was "FastPass", where you had to retrieve a paper pass at the ride entrance to get a return time. Then, the next iteration was "FastPass Plus", where you could reserve your return times in advance online. Now we have Genie+. Each scheme brought with it its own strategies for maximizing their benefit. I still remember how people "rope dropped" the Toy Story Mania FastPass ticket machines at Hollywood Studios, since they ran out of return times so quickly. If you were to…

Nov

18

2025

By buster

Get Ready for Park Reservation, Park Hopper Changes Starting January 9, 2024

Archivepark hopping, park reservations, trip planning, walt disney world

Earlier this year, Disney announced that they were doing away with park reservations at Walt Disney World for most guests, starting on January 9, 2024. They followed this announcement up with news that the 2pm restriction on park hopping was also going away. As you can imagine, the elimination of both park reservations and the 2pm park hopping restriction were met with much rejoicing in the WDW fan community, as both of these policies were about as popular as The Black Cauldron. Since January 9, 2024 is almost upon us, I thought it would be useful to review these two…

Nov

18

2025

By buster

Walt Disney World Attraction Access For Those With Mobility Issues

Disney World With Disabilitiesdisabilities, walt disney world

Our Little Banshee usually tours Walt Disney World in a wheelchair with me, Buster, pushing her. Although she is generally able to walk on her own, because of her Phelan-McDermid Syndrome she has low muscle tone and her coordination is not the best. Spending a complete day walking in a theme park, especially one as big as Walt Disney World, would be a challenge both for her and for us. This gives us quite a bit of firsthand experience with navigating the attractions with someone with mobility issues. This article will provide an overview of what you can expect at…

Dec

31

2025

By buster

DISNEY 101: Walt Disney World Theme Parks

Disney 101parks, trip planning, walt disney world

DISNEY 101 is our ongoing series where we break down the basics of planning a Walt Disney World vacation. If you’re just getting started, or if you’ve been before but want a clearer understanding of how everything fits together, this series is for you. In this installment, we’ll cover the main reason people come to Walt Disney World in the first place: the theme parks. Walt Disney World is Not Just "One Park" Walt Disney World is pretty unique among theme park destinations. It isn’t a single park with a parking lot out front. It’s an entire entertainment complex. Within the boundaries of…

Nov

18

2025

By buster

Planning an EPIC 25th Wedding Anniversary Trip!

Archivetrip planning, walt disney world

2024 is a special year for Buster and the Banshee. In March, we will be celebrating 25 years of marital bliss! To commemorate a quarter century together as a married couple, we will be taking a trip to, where else.... Walt Disney World! Why Walt Disney World? There are a couple of reasons why we have decided to celebrate in Walt Disney World. First, one of our first big trips as a couple was to Walt Disney World, back in 1997. Banshee has just graduated from veterinary school. She had always wanted to go to WDW but never had that…

Nov

09

2023

By buster

Tips for Having a STRESS FREE Walt Disney World Vacation

Trip Planningtrip planning, walt disney world

Vacations, especially Walt Disney World vacations, are supposed to be fun. However, if you spend any time reading WDW message boards, Facebook groups, blogs comments, etc, you would think that planning a Walt Disney World vacation is anything but. I frequently see posts where people are frazzled about doing the wrong thing. Somehow, they have convinced themselves that just one misstep is going to absolutely RUIN their vacation. I get it. For most people a Walt Disney World is not cheap. That puts a lot of pressure on oneself to make sure that you are absolutely getting the most for…