What Disney Tip Are you really glad you listened to?

[noahdove]

I have always carried my backpack or bag with me on all the rides that I ride..not a problem.

 

[msquoted]

I'm now up to page 63 and have a question. I've only stayed onsite but this trip my daughter and I are staying offsite at her time share. My question is how early are the parking lots open for those that drive in? I've never done a rope drop before and would like to do one.

^ Yes, this! I was wondering the same thing

 

[dlberney]

I'm now up to page 63 and have a question. I've only stayed onsite but this trip my daughter and I are staying offsite at her time share. My question is how early are the parking lots open for those that drive in? I've never done a rope drop before and would like to do one.

Me, three! I was wondering the same thing!

 

[Kpskyman]

^ Yes, this! I was wondering the same thing

The lots open about an hour and a half before the parks do. That being said it is not necessary to get there that early. When we do a rope drop, we shoot to get in the parking lot 45 min before rope drop. This allows for tram ride,monorail, security, and a bathroom trip for the kids

 

[Kirby]

The lots open about an hour and a half before the parks do. That being said it is not necessary to get there that early. When we do a rope drop, we shoot to get in the parking lot 45 min before rope drop. This allows for tram ride,monorail, security, and a bathroom trip for the kids

Thanks!

 

[brandigregory]

This not a tip we were given, but one we found out the head way... If you are visiting with toddlers, make sure you plan a no park day in the middle of your trip. Constant park going really wears out the kids, and causes unnecessary melt downs. Take a day to sleep, swim, visit other resorts, just be lazy. Like I said, we learned the hard way with a double melt down in EPCOT one year. Then my then 4 year old, just slept all day in a stroller, she was worn out by 1 pm !!! We ended up leaving park for the day and went back around 7 so she could do some rides, and see fireworks. Ever since, we plan an off day into our schedule.

I totally agree! We are actually doing 4.5 days this year on 7 night stay with an off day in the middle and only doing a couple hours one day at Epcot.

 

[carlbarry]

Kali has a compartment in the middle of the rafts where you can put all your bags. I always have a backpack and have been able to just out it between my legs on every ride.

Storing there is NOT a guarantee that your items will not get wet. I put my camera bag in a plastic bag to be safer.

 

[brandigregory]

How about planning a fireworks cruise? We did this and it was so nice! we loved it. You are the only ones on the boat with a driver, ours was super informative. you can even have food catered on the boat if you want more then the sodas and snacks it includes. The water parade and the fireworks over the castle from the boat are Aaaaamazing!!

How about booking a Keys to the Kingdom tour? It does some super cool stuff and includes lunch. It is $79/pp but is 5 hours and you really get to see it all.

 

[brandigregory]

We learned this on our Sept., 2013 car trip to Disney by accident: If you are using a vehicle at WDW and want to go to Downtown Disney, there is ADDITIONAL PARKING BEHIND CIRCUE DU SOLEIL. We are just back from the Princess runDisney weekend. We overheard a CM tell someone that with all the construction there now, 10 parking lots have been taken over with construction or equipment. Employees there must park down the road and are shuttled to/from. Yes, it does put you on the opposite side from many of the shopping venues, but it sure beats driving around in circles looking for a parking space.

I would also look at parking at PO and exploring the resort and then taking the boat over to DD

 

[brandigregory]

Everyone had a first time for going to Disney. You remember, people heard that you were going, and lots of them gave you advice. Or perhaps, if your like me, you read everything that you could get your hands on. Well which items of advice did you listen to? Be it a practical one or a magical one. On my first trip with my 4 year old grandson, I am glad I listened when someone told me to ask to sit in the front of the monorail. We did that our first night on the way to Epcot and it was wonderful. Definitely do a character meal, I was advised. We did three, and they were all special in their own way. I also remembered hearing something about O'hana and dinner and fireworks. It was my birthday and we had spent the afternoon at Downtown Disney, which was a disaster. It was about 8 o'clock and we were back at our hotel, I was starved. We thought about room service. I remembered somewhere about asking for seating at O'hanas, you might be able to get in without a PS. It was not a busy season. We got seated, it was my birthday, I got serenaded to the tune of Hawaii 50. It was my 50th birthday. We saw the fireworks from the restaurant and it was all spur of the moment. I simply remembered, at the right time, of course, and my birthday was really magical. So you all have them. What is the one piece of advice you are glad you listened to? Practically or Magically?

I am so bummed they don't let kids ride in the front of the monorail any longer. We asked last summer on our trip and were told it was closed.

 

[brandigregory]

New best tip: Type a long post out in word and copy it over. Website messed up, and I had to retype this whole thing! Best tips we used: Take pictures of all your stuff before you leave. This way you dont have to remember what you finally decided to pack and what you decided to leave. This has put an end to us spending an hour searching for something only to realize that we never actually brought it to begin with. We also use this trick when we rent a vacation home. Take pictures of all the rooms, closets, and cabinets. Then when its time to go we can easily put everything that came with the house (pool toys, cleaning supplies, appliances, etc.) back where it all belongs. We can also prove any damage that was already there. Take Blister Band-Aids I like these better than moleskin. They are small and you just stick them on like a regular Band-Aid. Request a room near the bus stop. The last thing you want is an additional 10 to 15 minute walk after coming back from a long day at the parks. Carry a small cross body type bag with a zipper top. If you dont have a stroller or diaper bag and do want to take something, this is the best. If the bag is small enough they will let you wear it on the ride. I even wore mine on RnR. It just has to fit under the restraints with you. This way you dont have to worry about forgetting to get something under the seat or setting it down and leaving it somewhere. Also, with the cross body style, your hands remain free. Release Tinkerbelle at the MK You use to be able to release her from her lantern if you were the first to ask to do so in the morning. You got a certificate and stickers for letting her out. Im not sure if this is still going on or not. Best tips we should have used: Dont dismiss fright warnings! 10 years old, not scared of anything ever! (watched scary adult movies, not impressed by monsters, witches or vampires, not scared by haunted houses) Id honestly never seen this child scared of anything before, so I completely dismissed every fright warning in every guide book. We get to Disney and ride Dinosaur no problems. Take that! fright guide I think. We did just fine. Then we get to ITTBAB, and the child is hysterical. Traumatized for life, and I really do mean for life. Shes 18 now, and any time that show is mentioned I think she is going to have another break down. To this day, she still refuses to go see ITTBAB. Dont see Stitch! Again, why didnt I listen to the guide books! Not only is it pointless, dark, and can be terrifying to children, it actually has a tendency to injure people. Yes, you heard me right, a ride that doesnt even move is injuring people! What happens is that the automatic restraints come down but dont stop like they are meant to. When this happens, the rider gets squished between the harness and the chair. This happened to us, and since then, Ive read about it happening to others. There is no emergency release, and there are no cast members inside to help you. Its an awful experience. You couldnt pay me to go back there again. Take breaks! (And stress to the non planners in the group the importance of this) This one I knew. This one I did. What I didnt count on were the other members of my party who went back behind me and saw all the unplanned unscheduled free time that Id left and filled it all in with new activities and additional ADRs. It basically went something like this. Lets do A. My response, We dont have time to do A. Their response, Sure we do. Theres nothing going on between 12 and 3. Me, You mean where it says Return to hotel for nap? Them, Yes, that 12 to 3. Who needs a nap? Well, who needs a nap is the child we brought along! who by day 3 is now laying in the middle of the MK crying repeatedly, I just want to take a nap! I dont want to be here anymore! I want to go back to the hotel and go to bed! Moral of the story: Dont let anyone un-plan your down time. It is a necessity for avoiding melt downs later. The best tip Ive heard for my upcoming trip: Order customizable silicone bands with your phone number on them. These are waterproof and can be worn by the child the whole trip. This way if they get lost, they can just give the band to a cast member. It took me awhile to find exactly the ones I wanted (colored, glow in the dark, with writing on inside and outside, Disney font). Im doing phone number on inside / Disney 2013 on outside. I ended up having to order a minimum 50 bands. At first, I wasnt going to order because I only needed 5 bands, but then I realized that 5 bands at $7-$10 a band costs basically the same as ordering the 50 wholesale, and those other websites didnt offer the Walt font or writing on both the inside and the outside (a must because I dont feel comfortable with our phone # on the outside). Luckily, the 50 dont have to be the same color, so now we can all wear different colors each day if we want.

ITTBAB? This is why we are avoiding Fastasmic until my DD is older than 4 but am not sure what these initials abbreviate.

 

[RNMom1969]

It's thought to be a bug

 

[Kirby]

We just returned from a 6 day vacation with 4 days at WDW and 2 at UO. Tips I am glad I listened to:

1) I took my own detergent and dryer sheets. I only did one load while there, but it only cost me the price of the washing and drying. The detergent in the machine in the laundry room was $4.00 with dryer sheets for $2.00.

2) We took a used medicine bottle for quarters and pennies and got a squashed penny almost everywhere. This kept the boys focused on looking for the machines rather than looking for other souvenirs to buy. I am going to frame some of our pics and decorate the frame with the pennies.

3) We stayed at Doubletree in dtd area. I loved the hotel they were so accommodating. (They gave us free cookies every night instead of the first not that they promise, they gave us a free movie when I was not feeling well one evening, they also gave us free wifi in the room when I was unable to access it in the lobby). I got a coupon for free continental breakfast which they allowed us to use as a discount on the regular breakfast buffet. We got full breakfast buffets for 4 people for a total of $15 (plus tip of course).

I missed staying onsite a little because I didn't like the hotel transportation. We ended up driving to the marketplace everyday and taking buses from there.
TIP: When they know you are going to a park from dtd, they try to make you transfer at port orleans. Don't do it!!! Since they have multiple stops, it takes longer. Go to a resort with only one stop.

4) The over the door shoe hanger is awesome. We hung it on the dividing door in the room. I actually had two that I got from Dollar Tree. The boys had theirs on their side and we had ours. We used it for things like deodorant, sunglasses, ibuprofen, moleskin, chafing cream.......

5) I never could find Body Glide or Monistat for chafing. I got a Lanicane version and it worked just fine.

6) Tip that was a lifesaver was taking 2 pairs of shoes. I alternated crocs and tennis shoes.

7) I received one tip that backfired.............I saw on here that you could use your fastpass anytime after the time listed first. We went to Test Track about 20 minutes after our hour window and nearly got turned away. I had to do some fast talking telling him we got stuck on Soarin' and missed the window. He said that you must get there within the hour window.

8) We had an early breakfast ressie for Chef Mickey's so we asked the parking lot attendant if we could leave the car there while we went to MK. He let us park there and we didn't pay for parking that day. We originally thought we would need to valet to stay there, but we only had to pay the $150 we ended up spending at chef mickey's.

9) This was not a tip I got from the board, but something to ponder. My ticket to Universal was a buy 2 days get one free. We knew we weren't staying 3 days, but it was free. It was a BASE ticket which meant no hopping. The second day, we went to IOA and finished there by 3:00. We went over to guest services and asked if we could go ahead and go to UO and use our 3rd day entrance. They allowed us to do that and we got to ride some things at UO that were too crowded the day before (Despicable Me).

10) The water at WDW seems to taste better, but we took propel anyway to shake into it. We bought no extra drinks in the park. We just kept refilling our bottles.................HUGE money saver.

That's all I've got right now. It was an awesome trip..................now that one is over. We are about to start planning a cruise................PM any good tips for that because I don't even know where to start.

What time in the morning did you catch the buses?

 

[Kirby]

AOA you can pick up from the gift shop

What is AOA?

 

[Tinkl0ver66]

What is AOA?

It's the Art of Animation resort

 

[carlbarry]

It's thought to be a bug

 

[goofygurlie]

Is that near "It's Tough To Be a Bug"?

Giggle. Auto-correct strikes again.

Sent from my iPad using DISBoards

 

[Kirby]

It's the Art of Animation resort

Thanks!

Is there some place on the DIS that has a listing of what all the abreviations mean?

 

[carlbarry]

Thanks!

Is there some place on the DIS that has a listing of what all the abreviations mean?

Yes. If you go to the main menu/list of threads, there is one for technical questions, and within that there is a pinned topic of list of abbreviations. Which may or may not help, as it seems people make up new ones every day, KWIM? (That would be "know what I mean"? LOL) And by the way, for our British friends, in Disney World, "WC" is "Whispering Canyon," not what you might think.
Anyway, here is a link to that thread:
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1660743

 

[RNMom1969]

LOL omg I just read what a wrote! Damn auto correct!! Yes, meant to say "It's Tough to be a Bug"