FastPass

Enjoy Special Disney World Perks At Disney Springs Hotels Through The End Of 2019

August 31, 2018By Edward Pizzarello0 Comments

Disney World has extended key benefits for hotels located near Disney Springs until the end of 2019. That means you can redeem your hotel points for free nights and still get great Disney World perks!

Want To Ride Disney World’s Avatar Flight of Passage Without Waiting In Line? It’ll Cost You

February 10, 2018By Edward Pizzarello3 Comments

Want to Ride Disney World’s Avatar Flight of Passage without waiting in line? There’s a way!

Certain Disney World Guests Will Now Be Able To Purchase Additional FastPass Reservations

January 13, 2018By Edward Pizzarello4 Comments

Disney World is adding another way to get more FastPasses. Instead of just 3 FastPass reservations ahead of time, certain guests will be able to purchase additional advance FastPass reservations. Is it worth it? Is it fair?

Disney World Adding Non-Disney Hotels To Extra Magic Hours And 60-Day FastPass System

January 12, 2018By Edward Pizzarello5 Comments

Disney World is adding a handful of non-Disney hotels to the Disney FastPass system. Why do you care? Because you can redeem points for free stays at these hotels!

Disney World Magic Kingdom Handing Out Extra FastPasses

November 17, 2017By Edward Pizzarello0 Comments

Disney World’s Magic Kingdom is handing out extra FastPasses for the holiday season. If you’re visiting the parks, keep an eye out for this bonus!

Disney World Closes Loophole Used To Get Extra FastPass Opportunities

June 12, 2017By Edward Pizzarello1 Comment

The FastPass system at Disney World can be complicated. But, apparently not too complicated for some folks to figure out loopholes. Disney has moved to close one of the loopholes I’ve heard about in the past.

Has Disney Started Selling Fast Passes?

January 3, 2017By Edward Pizzarello2 Comments

The Disney World FastPass system excites, frustrates and astounds folks. For the most part, Disney World has shied away from offering additional FastPasses for sale. Does a recent offering signal a change to that theme?

Disney Updates Their FastPass+ Rules Again. I Love It!

May 24, 2016By Edward Pizzarello0 Comments

The best way to turn a Disney trip into a disaster? Don’t get your FastPasses sorted out early. Here’s another small change that may help (or hurt) your ability to score the perfect FastPass.

How To Get More FastPass Opportunities At Disney World

April 11, 2016By Edward Pizzarello13 Comments

I don’t like standing in line. I suspect most people agree. Disney World can be a lesson in how to cope with standing in line. But, if you use the FastPass system to your advantage, you can trade standing in line for having more fun!

Catching Up After 10 Days On The Road

Wow! So much to cover after our trip to Iceland. This was my 30th country visited, a small number compared to some of my friends. It was also one of my favorites. I’ll have a lot more to say on that in the near future. I also need to catch up on some recent events. I didn’t want to wait too long after getting back just to check-in with folks, especially since I haven’t been writing much. I’m happy to answer questions about Iceland or anything travel-related. Leave a comment […]

Why Uber Is Awful And Airbnb Is Awful

Can a company be revolutionary and awful? Uber has achieved both in their history.

Weathering 10 Days With COVID In Hotels

I spent 10 days in hotels quarantining with COVID-19 to keep my family safe. Along the way I learned why hotel life in limited service and extended hotels leaves much to be desired.

Maya Leibman, Chief Information Officer At American Airlines, Stepping Down

We learned today that Maya Leibman, CIO of American Airlines, is stepping down from her role with the airline. Normally, this wouldn’t be the type of story I would cover, an airline exec stepping down. But, Maya Leibman is no normal airline exec. I had the good fortune to meet Maya for the first time when she served as President of the airline’s loyalty program, AAdvantage. While I don’t recall the exact date it was in early 2011. Maya was attending a conference that I was helping organize. Since I […]

A Good Illustration That Not All Points Are Created Equally

I recall a conversation with my father-in-law a number of years ago where he was taking about points he earned with a Navy Federal credit card. He felt like no matter how much he spent on the card he never got any worthwhile travel rewards. Because of that, he assumed there was no reason to bother collecting points and miles. It’s a discussion I’ve had dozens of times over the years with folks and likely half a dozen with my father-in-law (I’m a glutton for punishment). How you earn points […]

I Flew Frontier, Saved $400 And Didn’t Die. My Frontier Airlines Review

Those low-cost carriers always have very appetizing fare sales. Who wouldn’t want to pay $20 to fly somewhere? But, what does $20 really buy you? I found out exactly what Frontier does (and doesn’t) offer customers on my first flight with them recently.

How To Use New Metro Silver Line To Get Between Dulles and Reagan National Airports

People talk about how bad the traffic is in places like Los Angeles with plenty of adjectives. And, it is quite bad. But, the traffic in DC is what I refer to as “stealthy bad”. It doesn’t get the same press that LA traffic does, but a trip that normally takes an hour can easily turn into a 3-hour ordeal. With visiting dignitaries, protests and construction as variables, weather can also wreak havoc on a system that consistently backs up during rush hour. For those of us that live in […]

Update: American Airlines Variable Choice Plus Pricing A Feature, Not A Bug

I have to admit, I was pretty pleased with the original announcement that American Airlines was creating bundled pricing that included change fees at a lower apparent cost. Things got a little better when American also announced they were expanding the timeframe you could request a same day change to your flight. And, then things started to get a bit screwy. It started with just one flight I couldn’t get to price right with Choice Plus as an add-on. But, then I did a bit more digging and found out […]

A Summary Of United Airlines Global Services Benefits

As travel has gotten more stressful the benefits of elite status are even more valuable. In some cases, what used to be free for everyone is now only free for those customers that fly most frequently. I value my American Airlines Executive Platinum status more highly than any status I’ve earned, including 1K service with United Airlines. However, Global Services is another matter. For those not aware, Global Services is an invitation-only status level that United bestows on their best customers. What defines a best customer? Well, United doesn’t list […]

Is Foursquare Dead?

Venture Beat doesn’t think so, and I’m not 100% sure they’re wrong. But, before I discuss the article, a little background on why someone allergic to social media like me became a Foursquare nut. A few years ago, a company called TopGuest came up with this concept where you could earn airline miles and hotel points for checking in at various places on Foursquare. I can’t say I thought it was a terribly good business model, but they convinced a bunch of hotel chains to hand out miles for this. […]