Almost every person that walks thru the gates of a Disney World park ends up walking out with a Disney World shopping bag in their hands. I would even figure that a large portion of Disney World revenues are generated out of the multiple store and shops on property. For Disneyana fans, this is a fact that they can live with! Here is a list of the best WDW stores and shops, from a Disney collector’s point of view (of course your list may differ):

#10: Stores in Germany Pavilion – Epcot – Out of all the counties in Epcot’s World Showcase, the stores in Germany are chalk full of eye candy! Besides carrying many famous German brands, such as Goebel Hummels and Steiff bears, there are also some great Disneyana collectibles to purchase from those same companies mentioned.

#9: Pirate’s Bazaar – Magic Kingdom – Now we all know that Disney is great at placing stores right outside of attraction exits. Pirates of the Caribbean is no exception. Besides being the place to purchase all of your pirate needs, the fantastic theming and story from the attraction carry right into the Bazaar. Oh, and don’t forget to get your picture taken beside the lovely fountain in the middle.

#8: Tower Hotel Gifts – Disney’s Hollywood Studios – Another great attraction shop with great theming throughout. Look for great glasswear in this store.

#7: Sid Cahuennga’s – Disney’s Hollywood Studios – It would only make sense to have a store with movie memorabilia in Disney’s Hollywood Studios. This is a great place to find movie and TV props, some signed sports collectibles and tons of autographed pictures. Don’t forget to check out the great vintage Disney movie posters on the front porch of the building.

#6: Uptown Jewlers – Magic Kingdom – Located in the heart of Main St. USA, Uptown Jewelers is the place in the Magic Kingdom to find the perfect watch for every Disney lover. Peruse the many jewellery cases but remember to head to the back of the store for one the best Pin selections in all of Disney World.

#5: Pin stores – Various locations – If you are looking to start a Disney collection, pins should be your first consideration. To help you start, Disney World has a great number of pins shops and carts throughout the entire resort. The best locations to view a wide variety of pins are Disney’s Pin Traders in Downtown Disney and Pin Central in Epcot.

#4: Disney’s Days of Christmas – Downtown Disney – It’s July 4th and you can’t get your mind off Christmas. You need a fix! Head to Disney’s Days of Christmas and you will be set until December 25th. You’ll be able to fill your entire tree (and maybe 9 more) with fantastic Disney themed Christmas decorations and personalized gifts.

#3: Emporium – Magic Kingdom – All Disney parks have one central major store where you can find all types of Disney merchandise. The one that stands out as the best is the Emporium in the Magic Kingdom. Where else can you shop while watching a parade thru the store doorways?!? And when you shop around the store, you can feel the magic just oozing from the walls.

#2: World of Disney – Downtown Disney – All Disney World Fanatics know that this is the place to pick up Disney World merchandise. Without a doubt, it is the largest store in all of Disney World. Here you can pick up that favorite Disney t-shirt with a matching hat, your new coffee mug, a pin or two and Timmy or Sally’s first plush Mickey. Better yet, you don’t need park admission to get into this store!

#1: Art of Disney – Various locations – For the diehard Disney collector with a vault full of money, the Art of Disney stores are the place to shop. Stores located in Downtown Disney, Animal Kingdom and Epcot go by the Art of Disney name. The location in Magic Kingdom is known as the Main St. Gallery and the Disney’s Hollywood Studio’s shop is known as the Animation Gallery. Here you can find limited edition art prints, cels, posters and fantastic figurines, including the Walt Disney Classics Collection line. If your budget doesn’t allow you to purchase one of the wonderful items in these stores, make sure you check them out anyway. You don’t want to miss some of the great original artwork on display.

Big Thanks to James for writing this great Disney Top 10 post, he knows his stuff. You can follow James on Twitter at (@DisneyNorth) for great Disney info with a Canadian twist.

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Each year, millions of people visit Walt Disney World. While Disney makes it easy to have a great vacation, people still make mistakes while planning and visiting the parks. You can still have a fantastic time, even with making many of the mistakes below, but why not avoid them, and assure yourself of a trip of a lifetime.

#10: Underestimate the size of WDW – Remember, Disney World is twice the size of the island of Manhattan. For the most part, you cannot walk anywhere, and when you can, it is a LONG walk. I hear people all the time who think Epcot and the Magic Kingdom are next to each other, that all the Disney hotels are within walking distance of the Magic Kingdom or that the monorail goes to all the parks and hotels. It takes time to go anywhere at WDW. Plan on at least 30 minutes to get from your hotel to the parks. Plan on everything taking twice as long as you think it will. Don’t assume this is Disneyland where everything is on one city block.

#9: Trying to do too much – Our typical trip to WDW is 10 – 14 nights. I see families who plan on staying 4 nights, but try to do more than we have planned in 14 nights. Their days are so packed and scheduled, they end up running their kids into the ground, they have no time to enjoy all the options Disney has to offer that you can’t schedule. Go with a plan, but make sure your plan leaves plenty of wiggle room for unexpected changes.

One related item, don’t force character meals on the kids. Plan one or two during your stay, your kids will get bored pretty quickly with them, if you do any more than that. You will be surprised how much they enjoy a nice dinner in the parks, without characters.

#8: Extra Magic Hours/Park Hours - I see so many families who show up to the parks at noon, having slept in. By far the least crowded time in the parks is the first few hours, show up when the park opens, it is the best time to be in the parks. If you need to take a nap, do so after lunch, when the parks are the most crowded, and then come back a bit later. Also, I see families who have no idea what Extra Magic Hours are. Make use of them, especially the night time ones, where the parks are open three hours later to Disney resort guests. While not all the rides are open, most are, and it is great to be in the parks at night when it is not crowded, they are beautiful. For the record, I avoid morning EMHs, they just seem to make that park extra crowded, and I usually show up at the night time EMH just before the park closes to the public, one of the benefits of park hopping.

#7: Disney Transportation - I guess I should say not making use of Disney transportation, but that was too long. Disney provides extensive transportation options, from buses, monorails and boats from your Disney resort to all parts of the parks. Disney also provides the fantastic Magical Express airport transportation. I am always shocked when I see someone rent a car, drive it from the airport to WDW, and then drive it to the parks. Learn and use the Disney transportation system, it will make your vacation much more simple and enjoyable.

#6: Booking directly with Disney – There was a study done last year by Disney, concerning booking habits and the relative success of the resulting vacation by Disney World guests. Not surprisingly, those who booked directly with Disney through the Disney World website had the worst vacations, followed by those who called Disney directly to book, with the best results coming from those who booked with a travel agent. Say it with me, “I will not book my family’s vacation directly with Disney“. There, you are one step closer to a fantastic Disney vacation. Travel agents, specifically Disney specialists, have gone through this many times before with their own families, and help thousands of families each year get to Disney successfully, they can answer your questions, help you with problems, make suggestions on restaurants and resorts and get you the best price possible. It is a win/win relationship, you get a better trip, your travel agent makes a little money. It won’t cost you any money, or take any more time, so why wouldn’t you use a travel agent?

#5: Planning last minute – Nothing says bad vacation like last minute travel. Disney does not ever have any great last minute deals, in fact, it is usually more expensive to book last minute as you pay full rate. You will also be limited on resort choices, as your preferred resort may be sold out. Also, waiting to the last minute will keep you from being able to make decent dining reservations. Plan ahead! I usually suggest to book at least three, if not six months or more in advance. Do your research, get the thing booked and let your travel agent worry about getting you any discounts that show up, there isn’t any reason to wait.

#4: Not using Fast Passes – I cannot count how many times I have been walking through the Fast Pass line (it seems like it is always on Space Mountain), and I get jeers or comments about “butting in line”. My guess is less than 20% of park guests make use of the Fast Pass system, or even know what it is. Use it, it will save you time like you can’t believe. Fast Pass is free, simple to use, and even on days when the parks are empty, you should use it. Head on over to Fast Pass Information, and learn what the Fast Pass is, where you can use it, and the process, it will be worth the 5 minutes of your time.

#3: Don’t do research – This is the one that really drives me crazy, and is basically a guarantee that you will have a horrible time. With the internet, and the number of Disney fan sites and information Disney provides, there is no reason why you shouldn’t be able to do a bit of research into resort, rides and restaurants, not to mention all those special things Disney does each and every day. If you are just starting your planning, here is what you need to do:

1. Buy a decent guide book (I prefer the The Unofficial Guide to WDW), then read it
2. Find an online Disney forum and sign up so you can ask questions that you may have
3. Find a decent Disney travel agent to help book your trip
4. Find out park hours, Extra Magic Hours schedules and rehab closures while you are there, as well as any special events made available during your stay.
5. Make dining reservations to fit with your park plans (more on this below)
6. Re-read your Disney guide book

Now, you have to remember not to over plan as well (see #9 above). I typically have a calendar listing where we are going each day, the park hours, Extra Magic Hours and our dining reservation shown for each day, and I take it with us to the parks, the rest is open to what we feel like doing that day. Granted, I have been there a ton, you may want to add in notes on things to do, rides not to miss, etc.

#2: No dining reservations – Since the introduction of the popular dining plans at Walt Disney World, all of the restaurants, both in the parks and resorts, have become extremely crowded. Our last trip, earlier this year was during a very slow time, and every single restaurant was completely full, and they were not allowing walk ups. If you show up at Disney without dining reservations, plan on eating counter service meals every meal, as that will be your only options. In addition to simply making your dining reservations, you must make them as early as possible. As soon as you know you are going, get them booked and set, you can always try to make changes later.

#1: Staying off Disney property – I can see, back in the day before the value resorts were built, there may have been reasons to stay off property. Today, I can’t think of one. It isn’t any cheaper to stay off property, it takes longer to get to the parks, and you miss out on all the great perks Disney throws your way for staying in a Disney resort:

• Disney’s Magical Express
• Disney Transportation
• Extra Magic Hours
• Disney Dining Plans
• Free parking
• Disney service 24/7

If you want to assure yourself of a poor Disney vacation, choose to stay in some non-Disney resort, rent a car, and spend all day driving back and forth between your hotel room and the Disney parks. Uggh, pure torture.

I hope this top 10 was helpful in your planning. Of course there are more than 10 WDW mistakes, feel free to comment below and add yours to the list to help others planning.

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For the most part, Disney parks around the world have fantastic, creative and exciting rides. Every once and a while, whether due to lack of time or money, they put out a real stinker. I honestly had a very hard time coming up with this list, for most rides, there is something decent about them. It is possible your list might be completely different than mine, feel free to list it in the comments below.

#10: Magic Carpets of Aladdin – In an attempt to replicate the Dumbo magic, the Magic Carpets of Aladdin is another in the long line of 2-D spinning rides, they all go around in a circle, and the individual cars can go up and down. Any older than about 3 is bored to death in seconds. On its own, the ride is ok, but with a few others exactly like it in the parks, Disney should have passed on this one.

#9: Triceratops Spin – See #10. Another Dumbo wanna be, but when paired with the horrific Dinoland USA, Triceratops Spin beats out Aladdin for the spin rides.

#8: Tom Sawyer Island – What used to be a wonderland as a kid in the early 70′s, it has become a forgotten wasteland that most guests bypass (good for them). What could be a fantastic playland for kids and adults is in horrible need of updating, and honestly an alternative to get on and off the island, every time I go over, it takes an hour to wait through the line to get back.

#7: The Barnstormer at Goofy’s Wiseacre Farm – A rollercoaster for little kids, but the lines are always long, the ride is extremely short and there is no excitement at all. You never hear kids wanting to ride it again. While Disneyland has the Matterhorn where kids as little as 2 or 3 can ride, the Magic Kingdom has the Barnstormer. Ugg.

#6: The Enchanted Tiki Room, Under New Management – Please understand, the Tiki Room at Disneyland is one of my favorite attactions, just fantastic. Disney decided to mess with the formula, and totally ruined it. Now featuring Iago and Zazu, along with many of the original birds, it just has lost the magic of the original. 

#5: Body Wars – OK, I know this ride is closed part time/permanently. It has to be included on the list though, it is/was horrific! A motion simulator similar to Star Tours, you entered the body as a miniature spaceship, and visited several parts of the body via the blood stream. Never a wait, even over Christmas, and nary a decent story line to be fine. It makes most people ill, and I have yet to meet a person who has rode this ride twice in one day.

#4: Circle of Life: An Environmental Fable – This movie is basically just Pumba and Timon from the Lion King added to remnants of Symbiosis, and Environmental film that opened in Epcot during 1982. It seems much older than 26 years, and Disney is missing a huge opportunity to teach and entertain the crowds coming to ride Soarin!

#3: Stitch’s Great Escape – A feeble attempt by Disney brass to turn the unpopular ExtraTERRORestrial Alien Encounter in the Magic Kingdom into something more family friendly. The budget, no matter how much it was, wasn’t enough. This ride is neither entertaining, scary or funny.

#2: Journey Into Imagination – Another remake, this is a really, really bad ride. The original, while not great, was much beloved and miss. Dreamfinder and Figment are still found on t-shirts and stuffed animals throughout Epcot. While Figment has returned in this third itineration, his presence does not save this ride. No lines even during the busiest parts of the year, no interesting parts of the ride, the only reason to ride it is to get out of the heat.

#1: Conservation Station – I don’t know where to start. Who designs a ride that requires that you ride another ride to and from it in order to visit? The Wildlife Express Train that goes back and forth between the Animal Kingdom and Conservation Station is actually cool, you get to see cool backstage areas and who doesn’t love riding on a train? However, once there, they force you off the train, and to the back of the line to return back to the parks. There isn’t anything interesting at Conservation Station, but are often forced to stay there for long periods of time waiting for a return train. Please, never, ever, go to Conservation Station, you will thank me.

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Walt Disney World has some amazing shows, from great stage shows with live actors to 4-D shows with classic Disney characters. Most of the shows are fantastic for kids, as they are entertaining, non-moving and for the most part, right on their level. Below are our top 10, do not miss, shows for kids at Walt Disney World.

#10: Playhouse Disney – Live on Stage! – Disney’s Hollywood Studios – While not great for all kids, this Playhouse Disney show if fantastic for the preschool kids, where their favorite Playhouse Disney characters come alive right in front of them. This is an interactive show, with dancing and singing.

#9: Muppet Vision 3-D – Disney’s Hollywood Studios – Fantastic 4-D show featuring the Muppets, from Kermit to Miss Piggy. Adults might get a bigger kick out of this show. Don’t miss the pre-show, absolutely classic Muppets. 

#8: Voyage of the Little Mermaid – Disney’s Hollywood Studios – This is a live action show recreating the Little Mermaid movie, with actors on stage, along with some animated shots from the movie. Great fun, wonderful music and a great place to cool off on a hot day.

#7: Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular – Disney’s Hollywood Studios – This live action stunt show gives kids a look at how movies are made, especially the dangerous stunt involved in making action movies. Featuring Indiana Jones, this 30 minute show is great for kids of all ages, though the young ones may get a bit bored during the scene changes.

#6: Monsters, Inc. Laugh Floor – Featuring Mike Wazowski, the audience is involved in a comedy club type setting, where the monsters are attempting to get laughs to power Monstropolis. The great thing about the Laugh Floor is that it is an interactive show with animated characters, the no two shows are alike. Great fun for kids, especially if they are part of the show.

#5: Lights, Motors, Action Extreme Stunt Show – Disney’s Hollywood Studios – Disney’s newest show, imported from Disneyland Paris, is a look at how stunts are performed in movies, especially those involving cars. This show is loud, fast and involves a lot of explosions and fire, perfect for kids. 

#4: Beauty and the Beast – Live on Stage – Disney’s Hollywood Studios – A live reproduction of Beauty and the Beast, this is a Broadway style production with great sets and actors. Great fun for kids, especially those fond of Beauty and the Beast. Very limited show times during the day, make sure you plan so you do not miss it.

#3: Mickey’s PhilharMagic – Magic Kingdom  - Another 4-D spectacular, staring Donald Duck, with help from Mickey Mouse and other Disney characters. Great 3-D effects and fun gags make this show a must see for kids and adults. I can still smell the Apple Pie.

#2: Legend of the Lion King – Animal Kingdom – A live action show featuring your favorite Lion King characters, as well as singers, dancers and acrobats performing to the Lion King songs. A lot of fun, kids really seem to get into the songs and characters.

#1: Finding Nemo – The Musical – Animal Kingdom – Disney’s newest show is also it’s best. Recreating the Finding Nemo movie on stage would be good, but set to new music makes it even that much better. Live actors portray the Finding Nemo characters, with oversize puppets, this show is very similar to the Lion King that has been on Broadway for years. Do not miss this show!

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Walt Disney World and pictures go hand in hand. You have to figure close to a million photos are taken on Disney property each day, and that is just by guests, not including all the ride photos taken. So, where are the places you shouldn’t miss having your picture taken? Below is our Top 10 Walt Disney World photo spots:

#10: Lego Store – Downtown Disney – This is a unique choice, as it really isn’t Disney, but a Lego store located in Downtown Disney. Lego has done a great job making the Lego Store a fun place to be, with a bunch of life size lego creations that you can have your photo taken with.

#9: From the top of the Contemporary Resort – Located on the  top floor of the Contemporary is the California Grill. If you are lucky enough to get a reservationn there,  you will have access to the Contemporary catwalk. This is a big platform on the North end off the building, and is outside, with fantastic views of the Magic Kingdom, Grand Floridian and Contemporary.

#8: Japan Pavilion, Epcot -  While the Japan pavilion is beautiful and all, what makes this spot special is the great view you get from the lakeside looking back across the lake towards Spaceship Earth.

#7: Expedition Everest – Animal Kingdom – Disney’s newest thrill ride also give you some great photo opportunities, from up close, or further away. It is a beautiful mountain, and with all the work Disney has done to make it look like it rises from a small town in Nepal, you are sure to find some great photo spots.

#6: Tree of Life – Animal Kingdom -  The centerpiece of the Animal Kingdom park is a bigger than life tree, carved with hundreds of animals into it’s trunk, and can be seen from just about anywhere in the park. My personal favorite spot is on the bridge going from Discovery Island to Harambe Village, you get a nice clear shot of the Tree, and there is plenty of space to get your whole group in the shot.

#5: Sorcerer’s Hat – Disney’s Hollywood Studios – A relatively new theme park icon, Mickey’s Sorcerer Hat has become one of the most photographed items in any of the Disney theme parks. Just a fantastic backdrop to your entrance to Disney’s Hollywood studios, and while great looking during the day, it is at night when it really shines.

#4: Spaceship Earth – Epcot – Located at the entrance to Epcot, guests constantly stop to get a picture with Spaceship Earth in the background. No mistaking where that photo was taken. If you want to try a less popular, but honestly better angle, try walking past the ride and on the other side of the Fountain of Nations, you get a great angle, plus the fountains.

#3: Entrance to Magic Kingdom – Once you walk through the turnstiles of the Magic Kigndom, there is a great photo op, with the over sized Mickey made of flowers and the Magic Kingdom train station in the back, you can’t help but snap a photo of the kids.

#2: Tower of Terror – Sunset Boulevard – Disney’s Hollywood Studios -  While you may be a big chicken and wimp out before you actually get to the Tower of Terror, there is nothing like having your picture with it in the background while you are still feeling brave.

#1: Cinderella’s Castle – By far the most photographed area of Disney World is Cinderella’s Castle. There are several great areas to shoot from to get a great photo, walking down Main Street, from Tomorrowland or Adventureland, from Fantasyland even to get the back side. My favorite is from the entrance to the Crystal Palace. There isn’t anything block your photo, it is all trees and grass.

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