Linda Beattie May - Adventure Awaits Travel

10/26/2022

Thank you, Reece Predmore | Photography, for taking this beautiful photo of The Alamo as the sun began to rise ⛅

10/26/2022

The best nights can be found with live music, good conversation, and great food at the iconic Irma Hotel.

The Irma Hotel has been a town institution since it first welcomed guests on November 1, 1902. Colonel William F. Cody named this Victorian-style hotel for his daughter, Irma, and today, you’ll find it on the National Register of Historic Places. Throughout the years, The Irma has played host to royalty, political leaders, celebrities, and business magnates alike. Here, you can stay in beautifully renovated rooms that have housed some of the most famous personalities the world has ever known — or even spend the night in Buffalo Bill’s private suite.

Book your stay in Cody Yellowstone – bit.ly/32thL12

10/17/2022

Good morning, Nashville ☀️

10/17/2022

For those going to Disney World for the upcoming holidays, here are some tips to help you save on dining...

1 – Breakfast

Editors Note: We highly recommend Trails End Restaurant at Disney’s Fort Wilderness Campground & Resort, which is a quick boat ride away from the Magic Kingdom. Their breakfast costs about half of Chef Mickey’s charges, and you can leave just as full!

It’s the most important meal of the day, and we must admit we are breakfast people. If Disney offered a breakfast buffet for dinner, we’d never have to try for Be Our Guest again! We have two ‘schools of thought’ when it comes to breakfast, and either one could save you money if you do it correctly. First, breakfast in the room. Lately, our trips have consisted of more late nights and table service dinners, so we like to save time and money by bringing our own breakfast foods for the room. A quick bowl of cereal, a breakfast bar or shake, or that pizza you couldn’t finish the night before are all acceptable ways to save money on dining during your visit. We plan far enough ahead to bring extra plates/plastic silverware to accommodate our meals in the room so it has become a normal addition to our packing list. Side note: if you book a one bedroom or larger room, most of them come with a full kitchen. You can elect to cook in the room a night or two to save money if you aren’t planning on a late night at the park. Ok, back to breakfast… the other option we have undertaken is to eat a large breakfast – such as a buffet – and skip lunch for that day. There are plenty of snacks you can pick up in the middle of the afternoon if you need something to tide yourself over before dinner or you can pack your bag with a few snacks from home. Our favorites have been the snack packs of crackers or cookies, granola bars, and gummy snacks. Often, if we’re feeling froggy, we will make an all you care to eat breakfast reservation, and we usually aren’t hungry again until dinner.

2 – Check out Menu’s Ahead of Time

It has happened to us many times – we want to try a new restaurant because we’ve heard great things about it and neglect to review the menu before going. We rely a lot on other people’s recommendations and sometimes arrive to see the menu prices a little too late. All menus are posted on the Disney World website, so we really have no excuse. Learn from us – just because it’s a burger place doesn’t mean it won’t be a $23 burger place at Disney! It will surely be delicious, but you’ll quickly forget how good it tasted a month later when the credit card bill comes!

3 – Bring Your Own Lunch

We have not tried this one ourselves, but other family members save money by bringing sandwiches with them to the park for a lunch break. It isn’t exactly ‘Disney dining’ but it is a way to save money while dining at Disney. You can bring a cooler bag to pack your lunch, you could rent a locker to store it and come back when needed or carry it with you throughout the day – in case that line gets a little too long!

4 – BYO Drink

We find it difficult to pay over five dollars for a drink at a coke at a restaurant when it’s so much cheaper at home! Often we will order water at a table service restaurant and bring our own flavoring (Crystal Light is our mix of choice!) or just enjoy a refreshing glass of ice water. At Quick-Service locations, in particular, we have a bottle of water handy for each member of our family and can add a powdered single of crystal light or you can ask for a cup of water for free!

5 – Don’t Order that Side!

Did you know that you are not required to order a complete meal deal at the quick service locations? If you simply want the cheeseburger or the sandwich without the fries, you don’t have to pay for the whole meal combo! This comes in handy when you combine it with the ‘bring your own snacks’ tip! You can have your sandwich, bring some goldfish, and even a pack of cookies for dessert!

6 – Just Not That Hungry?

Kids Meals. You can order them for adults at any quick-service restaurant and most table service locations. We’ve never been questioned, even at the sit-down restaurants, if one of us just doesn’t want the full adult-sized meal. Also, many of the kid meals come with dessert, but, similar to the tip above, you will not be charged if you don’t order it. Often our little one would be full-on her mac & cheese, so we didn’t need to order the mickey sundae. We would usually share a dessert later in the day among the three of us…..although, now that there are four of us, we might rethink the sharing of desserts!

7 – Discount Cards/Programs

There are some great benefits to being Annual Passholders or Disney Vacation Club members. With the Annual Pass or Disney Vacation Club card, most participating (table service) restaurants offer 10% off the meal. While it isn’t an earth-shattering amount, it does add up over a week’s vacation!

10/13/2022

Hop about a Great Smoky Mountains Railroad for a North Carolina fall foliage train ride that's truly an immersive experience!

10/13/2022

10/10/2022

One of Louisiana's hidden treasures is its state parks. The first one I've had the opportunity to visit was Bogue Chitto State Park, located in Franklinton, Washington Parish, Louisiana.

The cost to enter the park is $3 for anyone under the age of 62. If someone under the age of 62 goes with someone who is over the age of 62, then they can get in free, too. This is the first perk of visiting the park.

The park has plenty of camping spaces for tents, rvs, cabins (which offer a bit of comfort) and even glamping. They do, however, require reservations. Camping prices range from $25/night up to $33/night, depending on when you go.

There are tons of walking trails, horse rentals with guided trail rides, rivers and creeks to explore, swamps, forests and rolling landscapes to enjoy, not to mention bike trails, tubing, canoeing, & kayaking. If you're into disc golf, there is a course located near the group camp site., You can go birding or looking for wildlife or let the little ones play at the water playground.

There's a conference room or a pavilion if groups want to hold specific events, such as family reunions.

Bogue Chitto Horse Rentals is right inside of the park. They offer different lengths of times for guided trail rides (1 hr., 2 hr., and half-day) along a 7-mile nature trail or 14-mile equestrian trail. On weekend nights for Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas they even offer wagon trail rides. I had the pleasure of taking the 1-hour trail ride and it was a blast considering it's been years since I've been on a horse. I had so much fun that I can't wait to go back and do it again! You can bring your own horse but remember, there is a $3/horse/day trail fee in addition to the entrance fee. Horses also require a clean Coggins test to be brought on state property.

This park is the perfect day trip to the country! You will enjoy it so much that you'll be booking things to do there all the time. For more information you can call (985) 839-5707 or 1-888-677-7312. You can even email them at [email protected]. Bogue Chitto State Park is the perfect staycation not far from home!

09/25/2022

When most people think about Louisiana, the first thing that comes to mind is New Orleans. But Louisiana is way more than that.

New Orleans does have so much to see and do. There's always a festival or parade going on (as it is in much of the state). But there's the French Quarter, lots of historical sites, the Audubon Zoo and Aquarium, cruise ships leave out of the Port of New Orleans, Harrah's Casino, the river boat, and most importantly, Mardi Gras. Mardi Gras World offers tours and lessons on the origins of Mardi Gras. If you love cemetery hopping, you'll find some great cemetery tours in New Orleans. You'll even get to see some gravesite (tombs) of many famous people and the one for Marie Leveau, voodoo queen. Close to Jackson Square, where many artists ply their wares, you'll find one of the best thing about the French Quarter, Cafe du Monde who serves the best beignets ever! They're good with either the hot chocolate or dark Community Coffee with chicory. Everybody can find something they will like at Cafe du Monde.

But going up river on the mighty Mississippi, there are lots of plantations to see, tour and learn about life 200 years ago. These are especially great to see, especially Oak Alley, Houmas House, Nottoway or San Francisco. Each plantation is unique in it's own special way. There's also places to find a swamp tour in either a tour boat or an air boat. An airboat is so cool to ride in!

Baton Rouge is the state capital of Louisiana. The state capital building is open for self-guided tours where you can see the bullet holes in the wall of a back hallway where Huey P. Long was shot or go to the top and look down on different aspects of Baton Rouge. Close by is an old armory that was used during the Battle of Baton Rouge in the American Civil War. Down the road the Old Governor's Mansion is open for tours. The stained glass is an amazing site to see! Baton Rouge also has a pretty great zoo, too. When the zoo first opened, the kids of Baton Rouge used to save their pennies and donated them to Buckskin Bill (who was a local tv celebrity) to buy the zoo's first elephant, which was appropriately named "Penny". There are also 3 casinos right on the banks of the Mississippi River. And don't forget about the state's flagship university, LSU and the best place to be on a Saturday night, Tiger Stadium aka Death Valley (where opponents dreams come to die). If you like Navy ships, the USS Kidd is docked on the banks of the river. Tours are given in the museum and on the ship. Groups such as Boy Scouts can even schedule overnight trips.

Louisiana has many state parks from north to south - Chicot, Grand Isle (which was hit terribly during Hurricane Ida in Aug. 2021), Lake Fasse Point, Cane River Creole National Historical Site, Toledo Bend, Fountainbleau and Fairview-Riverside. Each is in a different part of the state, so you will always see a different side of Louisiana.

Louisiana has become famous for such local celebrities as the Landry family from Swamp People or the Robertson clan from Duck Dynasty. Not only do they talk about alligator and duck hunting, but Louisiana has some of the best hunting and fishing around. If you not a hunter or fisherman, then we know you may not be a native.

There is so much to see and do in Louisiana. So if you'd like to plan a trip here, contact Adventure Awaits Travel and let us help you to make your plans on what to see, what to do, and where to stay. As we say in the south, "We look forward to seeing yall soon!"

09/06/2022

Find out what makes the longest-running Oktoberfest in the United States so unique by planning a trip to Helen, Georgia, this fall!

09/06/2022

08/11/2022

07/20/2022

Be the first to book your vacation with me & get a special gift!

07/18/2022

It’s a beautiful mornin’ 😍🚂

07/14/2022

Why use a travel agent when you can usually book things online yourself? Because a travel agent can find the best deals for you, line up certain activities and have surprises waiting for you. Travel agents will add their "special touch" to make your trip the most Memorable that it can be. Let Adventure Awaits Travel be your travel agent for your next trip!

07/14/2022

Ship Island Excursions is the perfect day trip to the beach! The ferry ride is exciting as you can see the dolphins following along or playing. There's a history tour on the island, but the beach and the water are absolutely gorgeous! Everyone has a good time when they go.

With strokes of vivid shades of yellow, red, and orange, a beautiful canvas is painted across the Mississippi Gulf Coast skies. Every sunset is different

07/14/2022

Goats On The Roof in Georgia is a roadside stop where you can feed goats and eat ice cream! Talk about the perfect way to spend a day.

07/14/2022

Maggie Valley NC is full of great places to eat, all locally owned, and delicious. Here are our top 10+ Best Restaurants in Maggie Valley NC

07/14/2022

"I am in love with Montana. For other states I have admiration, respect, recognition, even some affection, but with Montana it is love, and it's difficult to analyze love when you're in it." - John Steinbeck in 'Travels with Charley'

07/14/2022

Springing into new seasons. ☀️🌼📷: Kevin League Photography |

06/11/2022

Every year from late May to early June, tens of thousands of synchronous fireflies gather in swarms and put on a breathtaking light show at Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

Synchronous fireflies are one of at least 19 species of fireflies that live in the park but are one of only a couple species in North America whose individuals are known to synchronize their flashing light patterns. 💡

Photo courtesy of Jonathan Hoomes

06/07/2022

The Most Scenic Beach In Louisiana Is Perfect For A Year-Round Vacation
There are many things to love about Louisiana, and one of them is that we can enjoy the great outdoors year-round. Sure, summers in Louisiana can be a bit brutal, but that’s the trade-off for not having to wake up every two hours to shovel your driveway during a snow storm. Jimmie Davis State Park has one of the most beautiful beaches in Louisiana, perfect for a day of fun in the sun, no matter what time of year you visit. Just don’t forget your sunscreen!

Jimmie Davis State Park is a nature lover’s paradise. It features nearly 300 acres of beautiful landscape nestled along a peninsula on Caney Lake. The 5,000-square-foot reservoir was formed in the mid-1990s after damming up Caney Creek.

Many of the largest bass ever caught in Louisiana were caught right here in this lake. There's a boat launch for anyone with a boat, but you can always just find a little secluded spot along the shore and drop a line. You might just catch the next record-breaking bass!

The beach is one of the main attractions at Jimmie Davis State Park.
And of course, the splash pad that overlooks the water. Bring your beach gear and find a patch of sand to soak up some sun. The swimming area is roped off, so you won't have to worry about boats passing by.

In between splashing and sunbathing, challenge your friends to a game of beach volleyball.

Sunsets over the water after a day enjoying the outdoors just hit different.

For more information, including cabin and boat rentals, visit the Jimmie Davis State Park website, and don’t forget to give them a follow on Facebook to stay up to date on the latest events and upgrades to the park.

06/07/2022

Thinking about going to Las Vegas? Want a nice hotel to stay in? Consider the Venetian -

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06/07/2022

For my peeps planning their next Disney trip...here's some good information you'll need to know:

1. Disney Genie is a new digital planning service that is available to guests at Walt Disney World and Disneyland Resort within the My Disney Experience and Disneyland apps. Disney Genie is complimentary (not to be confused with Genie+ which is a paid service) and is designed to give guests more “flexibility” and give guests tools to “help you make the most of your visit.” Tools include giving guests customized itineraries and suggestions based on interests and top picks. Other features include forecasted wait times, experience tip board, dining tip board, and guests can ask the app questions to get information.

We’ve seen demos of these new tools and seen them in action at launch. We have to say with this part we’re impressed. We do believe these complementary tools will improve the average guest’s experience and make for a better vacation. We encourage all guests to check out the new tools and use the recommendations as it makes sense for your family. Locals and annual passholders may find they don’t need the suggestions, since generally, they are very informed on what they can and want to do while visiting Disney, but these tools are fantastic for first-timers or guests who have not visited in a few years and who may be overwhelmed by the sheer number of options available.

2. Disney Genie+ – Add On Available for Purchase

Disney Genie+ is a paid upgrade that includes everything in Disney Genie along with additional services and benefits. The biggest benefit of Disney Gennie+ is access to Lightning Lane (formerly the Fast Pass line, more on this later) on select attractions, allowing guests to (theoretically) save time by skipping the standby line. Please note, not all attractions are available for this service. Other benefits of Genie+ include Disney parks-themed audio experiences and photo features to capture your memories – augmented reality lenses for those visiting Walt Disney World Resort. Pricing at Walt Disney World is $15 per ticket per day. For a family of five that would be an additional $75 per day. For a seven-day vacation, that is an additional $525 for the week, if purchased every day.

3. Purchasing Genie+

Disney recently announced that beginning June 8, guests will only be able to purchase Disney Genie+ through the My Disney Experience app on the day of your visit, subject to availability. Guests will no longer be able to purchase Genie+ for the length of stay ahead of time.

If your tickets or passes are not included in a vacation package, Genie+ can be added on a day-by-day basis. When purchased with tickets or a vacation package ahead of time, Disney Genie+ is purchased for the length of stay (all days of a multi-day visit). However, you can wait and purchase on the day of the visit, which would be for a single day. You can purchase Genie+ right in the My Disney Experience app.

Note that at this time, Genie+ is not included as an annual pass benefit for annual passholders. Disney has also confirmed that annual passholders will not receive any discount on the Genie+. Passholders can choose to pay for Genie+ at $15 a day per person.

4. Lightning Lane with Genie+

The biggest benefit with Genie+ is the access to the new Lightning Lane, another new service offered at Walt Disney World. It’s basically the replacement for the FastPass entrance, except now it requires guests to purchase access. There are two ways to purchase access to the Lightning Lane: Genie+ and/or Individual Lightning Lane Selections. We’ll take a look at how Lightning Lane works with Genie+ first.

Lightning Lane replaces FastPass+ and, in many ways, functions just like the original FastPass with guests being given a specific one-hour time window to experience the attraction. You are not able to choose a time–you are given the next available window, just like the old paper FastPass.

Also, please note, that guests who purchase Lighting Lane access will not have unlimited access to Lightning Lane lines. Guests must book-specific return windows, one attraction at a time, within the app. Finally, note that access to the Lightning Lane is limited to one time per attraction per day. So, once you’ve ridden the Tower of Terror, you will not be able to book that attraction again that day. You would need to use the regular stand-by line if you want to ride Tower again.

Access to Lightning Lane for the majority of available attractions is included in Genie+. Lightning Lane access at Disney’s most popular top-tier attractions (such as Flight of Passage, Seven Dwarfs Mine Train, etc.) are NOT included in Genie+. Lightning Lane access for Disney’s most popular attractions can be purchased on a per-ride basis for an additional fee by guests using either Disney Genie or Genie+ (more on this later).

In the past, FastPass was a fantastic benefit that allowed guests to choose three attractions each day to skip the line. This option was free to all guests and a huge selling point for Disney on how they differentiated themselves from other parks. Guests wanting to skip the line no longer have the option to do so without paying an extra fee.

5. Making Your Genie+ Lightning Lane Selections

Guests will no longer be able to plan out their vacations 30-60 days in advance as they did with FastPass+. With the new system, all guests can make their first Lightning Lane selection (for non-top-tier attractions, more on this later) at 7 am on the day of their visit within the My Disney Experience App. After that, guests can make one selection at a time, based on availability. With FastPass, guests staying at Disney World hotels got early access to FastPass selections. It was a major benefit to staying on property.

6. Lightning Lane Attractions Included with Genie+

Here are the Lightning Lane attractions that are included with Genie+:

Magic Kingdom

Big Thunder Mountain Railroad
Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin
Disney Festival of Fantasy Parade
Dumbo the Flying Elephant
Haunted Mansion
“it’s a small world”
Jungle Cruise
Mad Tea Party
Mickey’s PhilharMagic
Monsters Inc. Laugh Floor
Peter Pan’s Flight
Pirates of the Caribbean
See Mickey at Town Square Theater
See Princess Tiana and a Visiting Princess at Princess Fairytale Hall
See Cinderella and a Visiting Princess at Princess Fairytale Hall
Space Mountain (now-August 7, 2022)
Splash Mountain
The Barnstormer
The Magic Carpets of Aladdin
The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh
Tomorrowland Speedway
Under the Sea ~ Journey of The Little Mermaid
EPCOT

Disney and Pixar Short Film Festival
Frozen Ever After (now through August 7, 2022)
Journey Into Imagination with Figment
Living with the Land
Mission Space – Green and Orange
Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure (now through August 7, 2022)
Soarin’ Around the World
Spaceship Earth
Test Track
The Seas with Nemo & Friends
Turtle Talk with Crush
Disney’s Hollywood Studios

Alien Swirling Saucers
Beauty and the Beast Live on Stage
Disney Junior Play & Dance!
For the First Time in Forever: A Frozen Sing-Along Celebration
Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway (now through August 7, 2022)
Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular
Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run
Muppet*Vision 3D
Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster Starring Aerosmith
See Disney Stars at Red Carpet Dreams
See Olaf at Celebrity Spotlight
Slinky Dog Dash
Star Tours – The Adventures Continue
The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror™
Toy Story Mania!
Disney’s Animal Kingdom

A Celebration of Festival of the Lion King
Expedition Everest (now through August 7, 2022)
Dinosaur
It’s Tough to be a Bug!
Kali River Rapids
Kilimanjaro Safaris
Na’vi River Journey
The Animation Experience
Feathered Friends in Flight!

7. How Many Genie+ Selections Will I Receive a Day?

After you enjoy your first Lightning Lane experience, you can make another selection. In this way, it is similar to the original FastPass system when guests would receive one ticket at a time at the entrance to an attraction and get another after that FastPass was used. After using a Lighting Lane pass for an attraction, guests can check available boarding times for other attractions in the app and make their next selection.

Do note that you will be assigned the next available window to come back to that attraction. If your wait time is over two hours, a Disney spokesman shared with us that the system will let you make another Lightning Lane reservation after two hours. So, if it’s 12 noon and you are assigned an attraction at 4:00 pm. At 2:00 pm, you’ll be able to reserve another attraction. You don’t have to wait until after the 4:00 pm attraction to make another selection. In another scenario, if your first return window is say, 12 noon and the park opens at 9:00 am, at 11:00 am, you would be able to make another Lightning Lane reservation. To put it another way, you may make another Lightning Lane selection after using the one you have or two hours after making your last reservation, whichever comes first.

Note there is no guarantee of a certain number of attractions, such as three with the old FastPass+ system. Like FastPass and FastPass+, the number of Lightning Lane attractions guests can fit into a day will vary wildly depending on crowd levels and the number of guests purchasing the service. Disney advertises that guests can expect to use the Lightning Lane with Genie+ with two to three attractions. On one day we tested, we were able to book four return times. One of the biggest complaints we’ve heard since the service launched is that the return windows are very spread out and that guests have to wait a long time to get their next window. This of course reduces the overall number of attractions you can visit with Lightning Lane during the day. Guests purchasing Genie+/Lighting Lane access should not expect to run from ride to ride all day. That is not how this works.

8. Lightning Lane: Individual A la Carte Selections

The second way to access the Lighting Lane is to purchase individual a la cart selections for certain attractions. For top-tier (most popular) attractions such as Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind, Star War: Rise of the Resistance, Flight of Passage, Seven Dwarfs Mine Train, etc., guests can schedule a time to arrive at up to two attractions each day using the Lightning Lane entrance for an additional fee. These attractions are subject to limited availability and are NOT included with Disney Genie+. Do note you will be able to select a specific time for your individual Lightning Lane attractions.

Prices will vary by date, attraction, and park, and at this time, are in the $7-$17 range. Disney has stated that throughout the year, prices may be lower on some days and higher on others, based on demand. This is no different than how resort prices and even ticket prices fluctuate. Again, this offering is per person. So if you have a family of five, you’ll pay an additional $75 to secure the Lightning Lane for Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance.

9. Purchasing Individual A la Carte Lightning Lane Selections

Lightning Lane selections for the top-tier individual attractions will also be made on the same day of your visit and can be made across multiple theme parks (great for those who have the Park Hopper Option). Access to purchase Lightning Lane for the individual top-tier attractions will be available to all guests when the park opens. For non-resort guests, you do not need to be in the park to make your a la cart selections at park opening.

Guests staying on Disney World property receive the benefit of early access to top-tier reservations and can make their purchases at 7:00 am on the day of their visit. This early jump can make a huge difference. We’ve seen some Lightning Lane attractions fill up and sell out even before the park opens. So, being a resort guest can be a huge advantage to snag an Individual Lightning Lane selection.

Tip: Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance and Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind are both extremely popular A la Carte Individual Attractions. They both almost always fill up to capacity and sell out and they usually sell out before non-resort guests can even purchase them. If you want to purchase Lighting Lane access to either attraction, plan on securing them right at 7:00 am if you are a resort guest, or right at the park opening for non-resort guests.

10. Individual A la Carte Lightning Lane Attractions

Individual A la Carte Lightning Lane Attractions:

Magic Kingdom

Seven Dwarfs Mine Train
Space Mountain (now through August 7, 2022, this attraction is included with Genie+)
EPCOT

Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind
Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure (now through August 7, 2022, this attraction is included with Genie+)
Frozen Ever After (now through August 7, 2022, this attraction is included with Genie+)
Disney’s Hollywood Studios

Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance
Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway (now through August 7, 2022, this attraction is included with Genie+)
Disney’s Animal Kingdom

Avatar Flight of Passage
Expedition Everest (now through August 7, 2022, this attraction is included with Genie+)

11. Remember Genie+ and Individual Lightning Lane Attractions are Different Paid Offerings That Give Lighting Lane Access to Different Attractions

To offer guests “flexibility” (Disney’s words, not ours), these two services are separate and they give access to different attractions. We know it’s confusing. We’ve heard so many people complain that it’s unnecessarily confusing. Many guests may think that purchasing Genie+ gives them access to all Lightning Lane attractions when they do not. Eight attractions must be purchased separately to access the Lighting Lanes. Individual Lightning Lane passes for the top-tier individual attractions can be purchased by any guest using either Disney Genie or Genie+. In fact, most guests may simply prefer to use the Individual Lightning Lane selections and skip Genie+.

12. Not Paying is Still an Option!

Disney is still offering the standby queue for most attractions, and you do not need to pay extra. Simply get in line and wait. Do note that from time to time, certain attractions will not have traditional standby queues and offer Virtual Queues. At this time, Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind is the only attraction that currently offers a Virtual Queue. You’ll need to join that to ride the attraction if you don’t want to pay for Lightning Lane access.

Since launch, regular standby wait times have gone up. One thing to note, because Rise of the Resistance closes down quite a bit, they will close the regular stand-by queue in order to get the Lightning Lane guests on the ride. So there is a chance that if you don’t make any purchases, the stand-by queue will close for Lightning Lane guests if necessary.

Tip: If you want to enjoy Rise of the Resistance without purchasing access to the Lightning Lane, head straight for the attraction at Early Entry for resort guests or park opening for non-resort guests, to give you the best possible chance to ride it since it does experience technical problems somewhat regularly, and does go down. As the day goes on, there is a greater chance they will close the standby queue to allow Lightning Lane guests to ride the attraction, if there are multiple closures.

13. This All Sound Really Complicated!

Yeah, it sounds that way because it is. In our opinion, Disney has made this way more complicated than it needs to be. Charging extra for FastPass was always going to be a very controversial change that will enrage the majority of Disney guests. Making the system complicated and charging extra on top of charging extra for the popular attractions will make the situation exponentially worse. Our hearts go out to the cast members that have to explain a thousand times a day to angry guests, “Yes, you paid $15 extra per person for Lightning Lane but not for the popular rides. That’s only for the low to medium popularity rides that usually don’t have that bad of a wait anyway. You have to pay even more if you want to use the Lightning Lane for rides where it’s really important.”

Even though there have been problems, we’ve also seen many people thrilled with the offerings and love every minute of it. Disney certainly has a lot of kinks to work out. We’re gathering more information and will pass on our tips and tricks to using the system.