Blog - Page 10 of 11 - Buster and the Banshee

Nov

18

2025

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 banshee

Stop and Smell the Flower & Garden Festival

Archiveepcot, flower and garden fesitval, walt disney world

Last year, we were able to go to the Epcot International Flower and Garden Festival for the first time. We usually wind up at WDW later in the summer, but as it turns out, Little Buster graduated from High School. Instead of spending Senior Week with his friends, he wanted to go to Disney with the family! He’s such a wonderful kid. We were thrilled to celebrate his success with him. Plus, we realized that our visit to the Flower and Garden was going to be able to happen! We had been to Food and Wine the year before and…

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 banshee

Little Banshee’s Favorite WDW Rides

Disney World With Disabilitiesautism, rides, special needs, walt disney world

Going to WDW with a special needs family member is both challenging and rewarding. Nothing makes Buster and I smile like seeing happiness on Little Buster's and Little Banshee's faces. But with Little Banshee, it goes a bit deeper. She has Phelan-McDermid Syndrome, which means she has autism, is non-verbal, has developmental delays, and low muscle tone. Not as much thrills her. She is not as easily engaged or amused. Because she cannot communicate with her voice, we need to look for her signs of pleasure when we are there. In general, this is not difficult. Little Banshee LOVES WDW! …

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,…