parks Archives - Buster and the Banshee

FOUR IDEAS for a Fifth Gate at Walt Disney World

Archiveparks, walt disney world

As most people know, Walt Disney World is not just one theme park but FOUR separate theme parks (plus two water parks, 20+ hotel resorts, golf courses, a shopping/dining district, etc). First, you have the Magic Kingdom, the OG WDW theme park which opened in 1971. Next, you have EPCOT (Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow) which opened 11 years later in 1982. Then, you have Hollywood Studios (originally Disney-MGM Studios) which opened a few short years later in 1989. Finally, you have Animal Kingdom which opened almost a decade later in 1998. As you can see, there was a lot…

Ranking the New Experiences Coming to Walt Disney World in 2025

Archiveparks, walt disney world

It's crazy to think that 2024 is coming to a close in a few short weeks! That means that it is almost time for New Year's resolutions, getting used to writing 2025 on checks (if you, like me, still use paper checks), and, of course, getting excited for all of the new and amazing attractions coming to Walt Disney World in 2025!! To help build that excitement, Disney recently provided fans with an update on what's new for 2025. While they didn't provide us with any exact opening dates, they did throw us a bone by giving us general date…

New Things We Were Looking Forward to at WDW: A RECAP

Archivedining, parks, trip planning, walt disney world

One of the joys of Walt Disney World is that there is always something new (to us) that we get to experience on each trip. Prior to our August trip to WDW, we wrote an article detailing some of the new things we were looking forward to experiencing. Now that we have experienced them, we wanted to do a recap. Did they live up to the hype and anticipation? Read on to find out... Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party We were fortunate to be able to attend WDW's hard ticket Halloween event. Even though most people normally associate Halloween…

New Things We Are Looking Forward To On Our Next WDW Trip

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

If you have been following us on Instagram, you know that we are leaving for Walt Disney World in just ONE WEEK! EEEEEEEEEEK! As our excitement builds, of course we are looking forward to many of our old favorites. But we are even more excited about all of the new things we are going to try as we descend upon the World. Even though we have gone to WDW over a dozen times, there is always something new to do on every trip. This trip is no different. For your enjoyment, we are going to reveal the top new items…

FIVE TIPS For First Time Visitors to Walt Disney World

Archiveparks, trip planning, walt disney world

Walt Disney World can be both exciting and overwhelming for a first time visitor. It isn't just a theme park... it's FOUR theme parks, TWO water parks, dozens of hotel resorts, a shopping district, and more. No wonder some people feel a sense of anxiety when planning their WDW vacation. There are just so many decisions to make! When do I go? How long do I go for? Where do I stay? What parks/rides/attractions do I need to experience? Where am I going to eat? Where do I even start?! To help those people get situated, we've put together a…

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…

DISNEY 101: Walt Disney World Theme Parks

Disney 101parks, trip planning, walt disney world

DISNEY 101 is our ongoing series where we talk about the basics of some aspect of a Walt Disney World vacation. You can read more of our previous DISNEY 101 articles here. In this installment, we will provide an overview of the main reason why people come to Walt Disney World: the theme parks! Walt Disney World is pretty unique among theme parks. It isn't just one park. it is an entire entertainment complex. There are four theme parks, two water parks, and a dedicated dining and shopping district (which some people might consider to be a theme park in…

Five Reasons Why Animal Kingdom is the Best Park

Archiveanimal kingdom, parks, walt disney world

UPDATE: New on Patreon is our new "Fun Animal Kingdom Itinerary (Without Genie+) Infographic. See the end of this article for more details! Sometimes I feel like Animal Kingdom is the "black sheep" of the Walt Disney World theme park family. It is often referred to as a "half day park". In addition, it is most frequently mentioned as the park to skip if you are taking a short trip (which I guess would make it a "zero day park"). People just seem to want to poop on poor Animal Kingdom. No more! I am here to provide my spirited…

Ranking the Walt Disney World D23 Announcements

Archiveparks, walt disney world

Change is coming to Walt Disney World! Last Saturday, Walt Disney World fans got a slew of announcements at Destination D23 about the future of the parks. The news was greeted with excitement by theme park fans, and we were no different. Of course, some of the announcements resonated more than others with us. Some of the news got us really excited. Some were met with shrugs in the Buster and the Banshee household. In this article we share our feelings about the different news items. We categorized them into four categories: Meh Mildly Interested Somewhat Excited Very Excited Read…

Ten Things I Learned From Our Most Recent WDW Trip

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

Unlike the saying, you can always teach this old dog (i.e. Buster) new tricks. Even though we have visited WDW almost a dozen times as a family, each trip is unique. Given how much there is to see and experience at Walt Disney World, there is always something new to learn. This trip was no different. Since it has been a few weeks since we have returned, I've had time to reflect on this year's vacation. Here are some of the things that I have taken away from the experience. General Thoughts It's Good to be a Passholder Again Figment…