There are thousands of online websites and hundreds of podcasts, and lots of books available. It's just a matter of sorting them out to compose your "toolkit" that helps you with each trip to "The Vacation Kingdom."
The Touring Plans website (touringplans.com) is one of my favorites. Len Testa and his staff provide information that's very detailed. Being able to access a picture of the view from every hotel room on Walt Disney World property is just one example. You can subscribe for less than $15 a year.
My favorite feature is the Crowd Calendar. It uses a formula (explained on the website) to estimate, on a scale of 1-10, how crowded each of the WDW parks will be on each and every day of the year. The higher the number the more people there will be in the parks that day. This is an important factor in planning and enjoyment of a Walt Disney World vacation.
Back in the Spring, I learned that the estimate for September 9, my birthday, this year is a "1". This is very rare. In fact, that level is predicted only one other time in the next 365 days.
A day in the Magic Kingdom with a relatively small crowd would be the ultimate in access to attractions and getting around. The fact that it would be on my birthday, to me, is more than a coincidence; its an opportunity.
One of the things on my Walt Disney World bucket list is going a park by myself. Not that I don't enjoy going with my wife or my kids. But being in the Magic Kingdom with the option of doing only I want, at my pace, is very appealing to me.
If it were not for such a compelling low crowd level forecast I wouldn't even think about going. But spending my birthday in a Disney Park for the second time (thanks to the generosity of my wife, in 2010, I got to spend my 50th birthday in the Magic Kingdom) would be something special. Crossing "solo trip" off my list would be cool too.
If I do go it will be my 3rd visit to Walt Disney World in less than a year. This will mean that I've used up my bank of trips to Disney for at least a few years.
What am I going to do? Keep checking back with this blog. I'll let you know very soon.
