Many guests wonder about going to the beach while in the Orlando area.  Although Orlando is in the middle of the state of Florida, it's only about an hour to get to the Atlantic Ocean, but there are many options available.

Likely the closest and most easily accessible beach from Disney is Cocoa Beach.  Just a quick trip east on the 528 toll road will get you on the beach.  Since it is a toll road and a highway, you can travel quickly to the beach, as long as you're willing to spend the dough to get there.

Many Orlando locals travel to New Smyrna Beach.  It's probably closer to the north-east part of town (as opposed to the south-west part where Disney's located), but still a beautiful beach, nonetheless.  However, this one requires a trip east on State Road 44 (often a two-lane road), off I-4 (AKA world's largest parking lot).  Many readers may also recognize New Smyrna Beach as the shark bite capital of the world.  Great location and beach, just be ready to take a longer drive and stay out of the water at dawn and dusk.

Finally, there's the world-famous Daytona Beach.  With lots of history and activities, this is a very popular beach with Disney travelers.  Just remember that the second/third weekend of February includes speed weeks with the famous Daytona 500 race, shortly thereafter followed by Daytona's Bike Week.  Daytona will also be rather crowded for the July 4th weekend, due to the Coke Zero (used to be the Pepsi) 400 race.  Late October will also be very busy, due to Biketoberfest.  It's a very easy drive, about 1-1/2 hours east on I-4 from Disney World.  I-4 will actually end in Daytona Beach, right at the famous Daytona Speedway.  Also note, avoid I-4 during normal rush hours, morning and evening.

Whichever beach you choose, you'll have a wonderful time visiting some of Florida's most beautiful and famous beaches.

No, it's not a typo, it says "Go Left!"  Unlike the mass movement to the Western United States that I spoof in this blog title, people at Disney World do not move left.

Most people are right-handed (no offense to you Southpaws out there) and they tend to move towards the right-hand side.  As most of you already know, Disney parks tend to be built on a "hub-and-spoke" design (especially Magic Kingdom).

You can use this natural tendency to the right hand side to your advantage at the parks (and at airports, bus stops, and trams).  When you come upon a line and there's an option to go to a right side or left side (like when you're getting in the monorail line), choose the left line.  More often than not, it will be shorter and take less time!  When you enter the parks, move to the left, first.  So, in Magic Kingdom for example, try to get to Pirates of the Caribbean or the Jungle Cruise, first and work your way around the park from left to right -- finishing in Tomorrowland.  The lines and crowds will be much shorter and fewer.

This may seem like a really simple tip, but you'd be surprised how few people follow it or know about it.  You can even try it out on your next trip to the grocery store -- start your shopping on the left side of the store and choose a cashier on the left side.  I bet you'll find the shopping experience more pleasurable!

For the third time in seven weeks, a Disney World Cast Member has passed away.  This time, it was performer in the Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular at Disney's Hollywood Studios.  The show has canceled all Tuesday performances in his memory.

The death follows on the heels of the death of a performer in the Jack Sparrow Pirate Tutorial and the July 5th death of a 21-year old monorail driver.

We at the Insider's Guide to Disney send out our condolences to all the families and fellow Cast Members at Disney World.  We pray this is the last of the tragic news coming out of Walt Disney World.

How do I get to Sea World from Disney World?

Lots of people have been asking recently, how to get to Sea World from Disney World.

Really, there are only about three ways to get to Sea World from Disney World:

1. A taxi -- if you're just making the one trip there and back, this will probably be your best bet as far as price is concerned.
2. Rent a car -- You can rent a car right on Disney property at the Alamo Center at the Walt Disney World Car Care Center.
3. Town Car service -- this one will be a bit more expensive than a taxi, but you will receive much better service.  We recommend www.transportation2disney.com for Town Car service. (We have no affiliation with this company, just the one we like to use).

We get questions about how to get "off-property" quite often and the answer differs for where you want to go outside of the Walt Disney World Resort.  Be sure to check lots of options before deciding how to get where you want to go in the Orlando area.

Well, maybe not everything, but most of what you want to see.  It all really comes down to one very hard and fast rule...

Have a plan and work the plan!

This seems overly simple, but it really works.  It may also seem a bit rough to follow.

We've seen friends and family all easily distracted by a character meet-and-greet on Main Street, a child wanting to "just stop and see the Swiss Family Treehouse -- just real quick," and so on.  I know it may sound demanding, but you must stay on task!

When you have a plan, you will see and do much more than you thought possible -- more importantly, you will be able to catch that character you want to see or climb the Treehouse!

Having a plan means putting in some time before you get to the park.

• Look at the times for parades, character meet-and-greets, shows, and other events.
• Remember: FastPass tickets go fast for the most popular rides (did you know there's a limited amount each day for each ride?).  Get the FastPass ticket for the most important ride for your family, first.  No distractions -- get it, then move on to something else while you wait for your return time.
• Schedule your meals.  Don't just eat, willy-nilly.  Work your meals into your plan.  When are shows? Parades? Etc.? Make sure you're not sitting at Pecos Bill's when you need to be at the parade.
• Is there a parade or show you could miss?  This is the time to knock out some rides!  So many people are often watching the parade that rides look dormant!  You could hit several popular rides while everyone else is watching the parade.
• Work in some rest time!  I know, "blasphemer!" you're screaming....but you will ruin your vacation if you try to go full-bore from opening to closing at Disney World.  This may mean you'll miss the Hall of Presidents presentation or something, but in the long-run, you will have seen a majority of a Disney World park without destroying your body, resulting in a difficult, sometimes miserable remaining vacation.  Remember: It's a vacation!  Enjoy it!

Just make sure and follow your plan.

There's more at Disney World than you can possibly see in one vacation.  You're going to miss out on a few things, here and there.  With a plan, you get to choose what those "missed" things will be, instead of missing something important.

Remember: The Insider's Guide to Disney has expertly planned itineraries for all age groups (infants, teens, seniors), families of all sizes, and various vacation lengths (1-day, 2-day, and so on).  Why not let an expert plan your vacation and maximize your Disney experience?  One less "to-do" item on your list and more time for you to enjoy your vacation!

Disney World provides many distractions, but if you have a plan and work your plan, the results will be magical!

When is the best time (least crowded) to go to Disney World?

We get this question over and over, again.  When's the best time to go to Disney?  When are the crowds the lowest?

The short answer is when it's most difficult for people to go!

Seriously, the slowest time's at Disney World are when it's likely to be most difficult for the majority of travelers to leave home and come to Disney World.  Obviously, this does not include the summer months!

The least crowded times for Disney World include:

• Right after Labor Day until Thanksgiving -- this is right after you've put your kids back in school and there are no long holidays for you to take a long vacation.  Although this has typically been a good time, Disney has recently been offering lots of promotions during this time-frame to boost attendance (such as the recent free dining extension).  I've found in recent years that this time of year is still quite busy.
• 2nd week of January through the 1st week of February -- again, right after you've put your kids back in school after a long holiday break.  For me, this is the best time of the year to go to Disney.  For us Floridians, it's a bit cold, but I just bundle up and enjoy not sweating off 100 pounds in the mid-summer Florida heat.  This has become one of the few, truly slow times at Disney World
• Lastly, the weeks between Thanksgiving and Christmas are typically pretty slow.  People are just off one holiday, working hard up to the next one.  With only a few weeks in-between the two holidays and people working holidays to have the weeks after or before off, this one tends to get squeezed to a smaller time-frame every year.  It's still a good time to go, if you're able, though.

These are the absolute best times to go to Disney World, if you're looking for low attendance, short lines, and maximum opportunity for show and dinner reservations.  Some other options for slow to average attendance numbers include the 1st week of January (after New Year's Day) and the 2nd week of February through President's Week.

Disney World continues to offer many promotions during slow and average attendance periods to maximize park and resort bookings, so the "slow" times of the year have tended towards the non-existent side of the attendance spectrum.  The real key to a fantastic Disney World experience is to plan your vacation beforehand and follow that plan (Shameless plug alert: and of course, get the Insider's Guide to Disney to REALLY maximize your vacation time and efforts).

Do I need a passport to take a Disney Cruise trip?

That's a complicated answer...

As of June 1, 2009, if you take a Disney Cruise, returning to the same port from which you left, you only need a valid birth certificate (usually, requiring a raised stamp/seal) and a valid driver's license.  However, if, for any reason, you need to return to the states, either by plane, helicopter, or boat, you will need a passport.

Also, if the ship leaves out of Port Canaveral, for example, but returns to Tampa, you will need a passport.  Really, you never know when you may need to return home on a flight from Nassau on an emergency, so your best bet is to have a passport!

Recently, I had pretty short notice that I would be going on a Disney Cruise -- but I needed a passport or birth certificate and getting either one in the short time I had was going to be nearly impossible.  So, did I cancel the cruise?  Nope.  I used one of our advertisers, RushMyPassport.  I try to use the products and services from our advertisers on a regular basis, but I had not really had a need for RushMyPassport, until now.

They were absolutely amazing!  Within 15 minutes of submitting my application for their passport rush services, I received a phone call and an email.  They have several different options, including one to get your passport in 24 hours!  Granted it will cost you about $299 to get it that fast, so I went with a middle-of-the-road option that cost $149 (plus federal passport fees) and guaranteed a passport in 3-7 business days.  I first visited the site on Wednesday of last week and received my passport today, Monday of the following week -- roughly 4 business days from my first contact with the company.

Now, I'm all set for my Disney Cruise, next week!  I'll be posting some pics and video during and after the trip, so keep an eye out for that.  In the meantime, check out RushMyPassport.com if you need a passport in a hurry for your next international trip or cruise.

Here's a quick video of the new Characters In Flight ride at Downtown Disney.  The tethered balloon ride goes as high as 400 feet and can hold up to 20 people.

The weather plays a HUGE role on this ride.  If it's raining or too windy, the ride will not be in operation.

Also, the queue line works differently than any other queue at Disney.  You can only buy a ticket to ride the balloon (yes, another opportunity for Disney to charge you more money -- $16/adult and $10/child) when there are available slots to be "on deck."  You see, the capacity of the balloon ride varies with the weather -- sometimes, you can only get 10 people on-board, due to the weather.

So, imagine the ride will only hold 10 people -- you will have 10 people in the ride, up to 10 "on deck" standing on the dock that have purchased a ticket, and everyone else standing in the line waiting to buy a ticket.

On our most recent attempt to ride, there were less than 10 people in line to buy tickets, 10 people on deck, and the balloon in the middle of the ride.  We waited over 30 minutes to buy a ticket, when they shut down the ride due to wind and stopped selling tickets.  The ten people "on deck" -- after waiting nearly an hour -- had to leave and come back when and if the ride began normal operation and those of us in line for tickets were out of luck and could only hope to be among the first ten back in line when the ride resumed.

As I mentioned in another post about the ride, I cannot imagine how this ride can be a long-term success for Disney or Aerophile -- the company operating the ride.  We live locally and have made several attempts to ride, without success.  How do they expect guests with very limited schedule to get on-board?  You obviously need a huge amount of luck on your side.

I would not suggest that you add this ride into your Disney vacation plans, rather ride it if you get the chance.  Otherwise, if you put this ride on your vacation schedule, be prepared to waste a lot of time for the possibility of a tethered balloon ride.

When you travel to Disney, you will buy souvenirs. That's just a fact. Even the most disciplined traveler will buy something from the parks, resorts, or Downtown Disney.

Ultimately, this means you will take home more than you brought to Orlando. Act like the Boy Scouts and "Be Prepared!"  Bring an extra suitcase to Disney.

With expanded carry-on and checked luggage restrictions, you may consider using packing cubes as your additional bag, since these will flatten and fold inside your current luggage. This way, you may only need to pay an extra bag fee for the return trip.

Have you heard of Twitter?  If not, head on over to the site and check it out!

It's gained in popularity, recently, with Oprah jumping on, as well as many newspeople and other celebrities.  Twitter gives you the opportunity to follow people that share similar interests (and they can follow you back) and you can see their 140 character updates in nearly real-time.  You can attach photos and video to your "tweets" (the nickname for your 140 character updates).

While Twitter can be fun just for everyday activities and updates, you should also use Twitter on your next Disney vacation!  You can easily set up a separate "vacation" Twitter account, lock it (Twitter gives you the option to prevent everyone from following you, this way you can choose who sees your updates), and have your family and friends do the same.  Now, you have a small network of people that get to see your Twitter updates, in nearly real-time, directly from your vacation!

You can send a picture to the grandparents, through a service called TwitPic, the minute their grandchildren get a picture with Mickey.  You could "divide and conquer" with half the family going to one park, half to another and use Twitter to send updates from each park, share photos, and decide on a meeting time and place.  Friends and family feel like they're participating and joining in for your vacation, as you send updates from each ride or show.  They can send you advice and tips, helping you to get the most from your vacation.

When you do sign up for Twitter, be sure to follow our favorite tweeter, @wdwfan, for the lastest news, tips and tricks from Disney World!