What Disney Tip Are you really glad you listened to?

[splashmtnfan]

We always grab a TON of the Disney toys (jump ropes, beach balls, small balls,night lights, blow bubbles) and Stationary Type Items (Stickers, Pens, sidewalk chalk, beach buckets,Crayons, Markers, Etc.) at The Dollar Tree and 99 Cent Only stores or Target Dollar Spot and Leave them as gifts each day from "Tinkerbell" and this definitely made passing up souvenir shops a LOT easier as we "WAITED" to see what would be waiting in the room when we got back each night! We would spend about $20 and had SO many useful and entertaining items that kept the kiddos busy. Going to see the movie on the beach at Wilderness was awesome because our little ones built sandcastles and got plenty of use out of the sand pails... we even left a lot of these items by the pool and beach on our last day so someone else could enjoy them! My daughter LOVED this idea!! Also another thing she LOVED was a small inflatable air bed with built-in sleeping bag that she got to sleep on in her little Disney Princess tent in the corner of the room where she had her own little area set-up complete with folding chair and lap desk... we do spend plenty of time OUTSIDE the parks at the Resort itself RELAXING!

 

[terri33inne]

I haven't read through the whole thread either, so this is probably a repeat, but hands down BEST advice I got was to take mid-day breaks! Friends who were Disney vets had told me, and a disney blogger talked about it to avoid meltdowns (grown-up AND kid ones). Having 'permission' to not see & do everything made our trip so relaxing & wonderful.

Kind of tying into that too, is to remember you will not possibly be able to see & do everything. Let go of 'We're spending X$$$ on this trip & we're going to make it worth every cent!", and just enjoy the moments as they come.

 

[Sugarpie1721]

I agree. Best tip is to take mid day breaks. Also I think a day off from the parks is absolutely needed. Gives everyone a chance to sleep in and not be rushed all day

 

[Sugarpie1721]

If you stay off site do you have to use the kiosks to get a fast pass? Have they done away with the fast pass machines at the ride itself?

You can pick your 3 fp choice on my disney experience 30 days prior to arriving when you stay off site

 

[Kirby]

You can pick your 3 fp choice on my disney experience 30 days prior to arriving when you stay off site

Thank you!

 

[Maman3boys]

Every ride puts you into a gift shop and "Mommy can I have this?" gets tiring and/or expensive. We told our little ones the first day, if you see something you'd like- put it on "the list." We take a picture of it and make note of where we saw it. Towards the end of the trip, we looked back at all the wanted souvenirs and let each child pick their favorite. This saved lots of money and tears and they got the souvenir which they really loved.

We're returning to WDW on 7/13/13- this time at the villas in Kidani Village. So excited!!!

Oh this is a great idea, Thanks for sharing..

 

[nanalisa]

I haven't read all 142 pages so I might be repeating. Best tip I got was the Annual Pass discounts. I had no idea. Also, taking a small power strip to plug in all of our phones, ipads, etc.. and my Keen shoes.

 

[hellotoyou]

Every ride puts you into a gift shop and "Mommy can I have this?" gets tiring and/or expensive. We told our little ones the first day, if you see something you'd like- put it on "the list." We take a picture of it and make note of where we saw it. Towards the end of the trip, we looked back at all the wanted souvenirs and let each child pick their favorite. This saved lots of money and tears and they got the souvenir which they really loved.

We're returning to WDW on 7/13/13- this time at the villas in Kidani Village. So excited!!!

I must have missed this one ... what a great tip ... even for adults! I try to buy a special Christmas ornament on all of our vacations ... I'll be using this tip from now on!

 

[ErinsAuntMimi]

My trip in September this year is my DD 18 first time and My Dh first time. I have been but its been 20 years ago so its like my first time too. Don't remember much at all from that long ago. So i have a question about my 18 year old. I know shes going to have a good time but is there anything that we can do to make it even more special? She has said she doesn't want to do any character dinners or meet and greets (I do though) so what else can we do?

Tea at the Grand Floridian

 

[Disneyaddictz]

A colapsable dirty hamper!!

 

[CantPickAFavorite]

I didn't read all 142 pages, but in case this hasn't been mentioned...

Safety tip, buy child emergency contact number temporary tattoos (google it, or look on etsy) that you put on your child with your phone number. Just in case you are separated.

 

[epsmith921]

I'm sure this is on here, but putting some liquid dish detergent on a sponge, letting it dry, and then chopping it into little squares was awesome. I still have some in a ziploc bag with the travel stuff and it was so convenient to do my toddler's sippy cups with. We also stayed club level last time, so we brought our own adult cups and could use and wash those as well.

I do also bring a hamper of some sort. Makes it easier to give my husband a place to put the dirties.

 

[adamak]

If you have kids under 5, bring a stroller. Leave the park after lunch and let DC nap in it. We parents then go to nearest resort, find a chair / hammock / sofa & dose off a bit. This beats going all the way back to hotels to nap.

 

[granismith]

Here now on my last day. I have to say thank you a million for the tip on lanacain anti chafing. It saved my feet and thighs!!! Tried glide also but Lanacain was way better.

 

[Heddyhm]

So helpful!!!! Thanks for all the tips! Nightlight! Brilliant!!!

 

[corvidae]

I didn't read all 142 pages, but in case this hasn't been mentioned...

Safety tip, buy child emergency contact number temporary tattoos (google it, or look on etsy) that you put on your child with your phone number. Just in case you are separated.

I use a permanent marker and write my phone number, name, the resort/room number, and "NKDA" on the boys' arms. Refresh it every morning. That way, they can't lose it, it doesn't wash off easily, it's easily visible, and they tell me they feel more safe that way.

 

[dlg1963]

Learned from another thread: bring self-adhesive address labels with you and label your photopass cards. That way, they won't get mixed up with other guest's cards, and if you happen to lose it, it will (hopefully) get back to you.

I think it might be easier and quicker to resolve if you just take pictures of your cards with your cell phone so you have a back up with you at all times.

 

[carlbarry]

I think it might be easier and quicker to resolve if you just take pictures of your cards with your cell phone so you have a back up with you at all times.

No need now with Magic Bands!

 

[Lety4480]

Phew! Finally done reading all these pages! It's funny to read about Polaroids and film for cameras today in 2014. Anyway, things I did wrong on our August 2014 trip:
1. Overpack even though we drove. Family in TX kept saying that stuff in FL stores is way more expensive than at home. Maybe a tiny bit (for sure not more than $1), but definitely not enough to lug a bunch of snacks, water bottle packages, and toiletries from home!
2. Moving to a Disney resort for 1 day (AoA) as a compromise to my extended family's choice to stay offsite. I was planning to stay for the whole week at AoA, but DSF booked us a room offsite using his timeshare plan. It was about a $500 savings so I decided to go with it, but because it was our 1st visit I wanted to stay at AoA for at least 1 night. Needless to say, moving from one hotel to another lugging all the stuff we had was annoying and hard to do. Never again!
3. Not thinking we would need a rest day! I have never felt so much pain in my feet as I did the 1st day/night at a park (EPCOT). Good thing I was wearing my awesome FitFlops! Ideally, I would add a rest day after each park day, but seeing as I want our next visit to be 8 park days, that would be too many days for DH to be away from home. So I'm planning to do a rest day halfway through our stay.
4. Not taking time to people watch and to slow down to take in more Magical Disney details. We didn't tour commando style, but since it was a big group (12) we had a lot of time wasted by waiting for people needing to use restrooms, being hungry at different times, not wanting to ride certain rides, etc.
5. Sharing a room with DSIL. This was only because of the two beds in our hotel rooms, not because I can't stand her. LOL
6. Getting upset because I kept hearing comments about how expensive some of the ADRs I made were. I gave a fair warning to my frugal DSF. What was more annoying was that he ended up enjoying the Ohana dining reservation so much he kept bragging about how he got his money's worth by eating a lot! Go figure!
7. Taking way too many snacks and drinks to the parks! Okay, we drank all the water bottles we took and all the sodas we took, but we ended up bringing most snacks back home to TX. The backpack coolers (which are awesome, by the way) were a hassle to carry around all day. We all took turns, but they were still heavy and annoying.

I'm sure there's more, but something I got right was PLANNING! I read, booked, reserved ADRs & FP+s for all 12 of us even though they kept making fun of me for being so into it. What they don't get is that they couldn't have done all we did if I hadn't done all this planning! Also, paying for MemoryMaker! Best. Choice. Ever. I was in all the pictures and I didn't even bother taking my Canon dslr after the first park day! Awesome!

Can't wait for our August 2015 WDW trip! Yep, you bet I'm planning already!

 

[hvyhttr]

The "hang on the door" shoe holder! Keeps everything handy and neat!

Great Idea!