Looking for a specific item at a Disney World store? Don't bother the cast members. Look it up yourself with Disney's new shopping app.

A chapter on shopping at Disney World now needs to mention the mobile app, “Shop Disney,” which is available at no cost for any mobile device. We found out about it when we were in a store and could not locate the correct size of a t-shirt that we wanted to buy. We searched for a clerk for quite awhile to ask if they had more of that style of shirt in a back room or if they might be located elsewhere in the store. When we finally found one that was available to help us, the clerk mentioned that there was an app for our smartphones that would tell us what other stores in the resort would carry the same item, and would also be able to give us an idea about whether they had the correct sizes in stock.

We downloaded the app that night (while on wifi, which is available throughout the parks) and ended up using it a lot during our visit. We could scan an item and find out exactly where else it may be found. We could order it through the app and have it sent to our resort. Since then, we have even used it at home to purchase and ship items when buying birthday gifts.

The app is a must-have if you are serious about shopping for apparel and toys and such at Disney World. At the very least, it may prevent you from having to search for busy store clerks in order to discover where the merchandise you’re looking for can be found.

Continued in "Doing Disney"!

You don't need a car at Walt Disney World. In fact, Disney would prefer that you didn't have a car while at the theme parks: easier to control you that way, and it makes it really hard to get to Universal. But surprisingly, it's easy to rent a car, even after you've checked in to your resort and have sunk into the Disney bubble.

Once on Disney property, we always rent an automobile. Though there are other locations, we have always rented at the Alamo Car Care Center near the Magic Kingdom. They have a shuttle service that will pick you up at your resort and bring you to their facility to get your car. When you return the car, they will shuttle you to wherever you want to go, be it a park or a hotel. We find this service to be very convenient. We usually return the car on the day before we are leaving, and we then use Disney’s bus or monorail transportation system to get back to our resort that night after our day at the park.

What are the advantages to having a vehicle? I already mentioned that it makes it easier to get to those early morning character breakfast reservations. It also makes it easier to escape Disney property and perhaps dine at a local restaurant, or even visit another area attraction. Everyone knows that Universal has two outstanding theme parks in the area, and Sea World offers a different experience, also. Now there is also a Legoland theme park in the general vicinity (replacing Cypress Gardens, which has been closed for several years). And with a car you can get to the Tampa area, where there is a Busch Gardens theme park, if you are so inclined, or to the Atlantic coast if you’d like to visit Cape Canaveral.

The Disney transportation system is okay, if you don’t need to keep to a rigid schedule and if you don’t mind waiting for buses to arrive after a long day at a park. There is also water transportation between some resorts and destinations. The Epcot resorts (the cluster of resorts near Epcot) have boats to both Epcot and Disney’s Hollywood Studios. The Magic Kingdom has boats to the resorts near it, and some resorts have launches to Disney Springs.

It’s better if you’re at a “monorail resort” (the Contemporary and Bay Lake Tower, the Polynesian, or the Grand Floridian) and you are only going to the Magic Kingdom and to Epcot. It’s too bad that the monorails don’t extend throughout the property as was originally foreseen, but that will likely never happen now. Our decision to rent a car came after a long day at Epcot and standing in line waiting for the bus to come to take us back to our resort. As our kids were falling asleep, we realized that we’d better grab a taxi and get to our resort that way. The very next morning we rented a car.

Our last night on our latest trip underscored the inconvenience of the buses for us. We were visiting Disney’s Hollywood Studios after returning our rental car, and needed to take the bus back to the Contemporary. We timed it. It was approximately fifty-five minutes from the time we entered the line for the bus (there were only maybe ten people in front of us) till we were dropped off at the Contemporary. Between boarding the handicapped passengers and getting boxed in by another bus that prevented our vehicle from leaving its loading area, there was a lot of time wasted. (Not to mention that there was a sick child sitting next to us, who coughed and sneezed the entire way home. We’re still waiting to see if anyone comes down with her cold...) As we still had to pack for the next morning’s flight out, it seemed to be a lot of time wasted. If we find ourselves in that situation again, we will grab a taxi.

Disney buses go from resorts to theme or water parks, or to Disney Springs. It appears that they also provide transportation from park to park now, which is new. They do not connect Disney Springs to the theme parks. To us, they waste too much of our precious time. If you want to leave a theme park and go to dinner in Disney Springs, you’ll have to make some connecting buses, and there’s even more time gone. They are a good service, and they may work well for many visitors to Walt Disney World. They just don’t work that well for us.

Continued in "Doing Disney"!