buster, Author at Buster and the Banshee

Nov

18

2025

Genie+ and WDW: Strategies

Archivegenie+, walt disney world

In our introduction to Genie+, we talked about what Genie+ is and how it works. In this installment of our series on Genie+, we will discuss some strategies to make the most of your Genie+ purchase. But First, Disclaimers Obviously, it is difficult, if not impossible, to come up with a park strategy that will work for everyone in every situation. There are so many variables that could disrupt even the best laid plans of the Mouse and men (and women): Changes to what rides are and are not eligible for Genie+ Ride closures Time of year Weather Changes to…

Nov

18

2025

By buster

Genie+ at WDW: An Introduction

Archivegenie+, parks, trip planning, walt disney world

In this article, we will talk about Genie+ (also known as Genie Plus, if you prefer to spell out the "+"): What is it? How does it work? Should I use it? What is Genie+? Genie+ is a paid service that allows ticket holders to reserve their ride times. When your reservation time comes, you can enter through what is known as the "Lightning Lane" which has a much shorter wait that the regular standby line. You can think of it as an advanced dining reservation, except for rides and attractions. If this sounds familiar, it is! Back in the…

Nov

18

2025

By buster

Trip Planning Summer 2023: What We Are Looking Forward to Doing at WDW

Archivedining, parks, rides, trip planning, walt disney world

Buster and the Banshee thought that it would be interesting to walk through our trip planning process with our audience. As part of this series, we will address many of the aspects of WDW trip planning that all families go through. In our last installment of this series, we talked about how we planned out our park reservations. Today, we will discuss a much more fun topic: what we are looking forward to doing on our next Walt Disney World trip. Sometimes I feel like we can divide the year into two categories: the two weeks we go to WDW,…

Nov

18

2025

By buster

WDW Park Reservation Update: Jan 22, 2023

Archivepark reservations, parks, walt disney world

We here at Buster and the Banshee are here to serve you, our audience. As such, we thought it would be cool to provide periodic updates on WDW Park Reservation availability to aid with your trip planning. What are Park Reservations? As a quick reminder, Disney introduced its Park Reservation System when it re-opened in the wake of the pandemic. The purpose was to better track and control attendance in each of the parks. In order to enter a park on a particular day, you need to not only purchase a theme park ticket or annual pass, but you also…

Nov

18

2025

By buster

OVERRATED: WDW In-Park Quick Service Dining

Archivedining, overrated, walt disney world

This is part of our on-going series “Underrated/Overrated”. Today we will feature in-park quick service locations which we think get more love than they should. In a previous installment of this series, we told you which quick service dining establishments we thought were hidden gems. This article will go in the opposite direction. We will talk about popular in-park quick service dining locations that just don't quite do it for us. Now I realize that many of the places on this list might be among your family's favorites. That's okay. We aren't here to judge. Variety is the spice of…

Nov

18

2025

By buster

Trip Planning Summer 2023: WDW Park Reservations

Archiveparks, trip planning, walt disney world

Buster and the Banshee thought that it would be interesting to walk through our trip planning process with our audience. As part of this series, we will address many of the aspects of WDW trip planning that all families go through. In our previous article in this series, we discussed the different types of WDW park tickets, and how we decided on the right tickets for our family. In this article, we will talk about how we chose our park reservations. I know that park reservations is a controversial topic among WDW fans. However, in the spirit of not worrying…

Nov

18

2025

By buster

Tips For Navigating WDW In a Wheelchair

Disney World With Disabilitiesdisability access service, rides, walt disney world, wheelchair

When we visit the Walt Disney World parks, we usually bring Little Banshee along in her wheelchair. Although she can walk on her own (and even navigate stairs - hooray for occupational therapy!), she uses a wheelchair for three reasons. She has low muscle tone so she wouldn't be able to handle the rigors of walking around for an entire day in the park. She has a tendency to "elope", or wander off at a moment's notice. This is not uncommon for those on the autism spectrum. Therefore, it is safer for her to be in her wheelchair. A wheelchair…

Nov

18

2025

By buster

Trip Planning Summer 2023: Guide to Buying WDW Tickets

Archivetickets, trip planning, walt disney world

Buster and the Banshee thought that it would be interesting to walk through our trip planning process with our audience. As part of this series, we will address many of the aspects of WDW trip planning that all families go through. In our previous article in this series, we discussed how we settled upon the dates for our Summer 2023 trip. In this article, we will talk about the purchasing of Walt Disney World tickets. You would think that this would be an easy step... decide on how many tickets you need... purchase tickets... done! However, it is a little…

Nov

18

2025

By buster

NFL Brings a Taste of WDW to Baltimore

Archivemagicband plus

Banshee, Little Buster, and I had the opportunity to see the Ravens-Steelers game live this past Sunday night. Given the Ravens poor play down the stretch, the highlight for me was the pre-game extravaganza. In a bid to make the in-person game day experience special, the NFL is trying to turn the game into a multimedia spectacle, not unlike what you might see at night at one of the Disney Parks. In recent years, the Ravens have added fireworks, smoke machines, ultra-high def mega screens, and sharks with frickin' laser beams (well, maybe just lasers :-)). However, on Sunday night,…

Nov

18

2025

By buster

UNDERRATED: WDW Rides/Attractions

Archiverides, underrated, walt disney world

This is another episode in our ongoing series "Overrated/Underrated". In this installment, we will give our opinion on which rides at WDW we think are underrated. One of the big draws of Walt Disney World are the rides and attractions. However, not all attractions are created equal. Some are iconic and are always popular draws (although many of those popular rides are overrated in our opinion, but that's the subject of another article... literally!). On the other hand, some of frequently overlooked, as judged by the fact that they rarely have long wait times. This article is dedicated to those…