What Disney Tip Are you really glad you listened to?

[barbaraann]

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?

[mommytutu]

Practical tips:
zip lock bags in every size for a variety of reasons--I used zip lock bags all over the place. I kept one in the diaper bag for dirty clothes, one in my fanny pack for items that I didn't want to get wet, I used them for groupling things together in luggage to make searches faster

brita fill n go--this saved us a bundle in money. Since they have been discontinued I need to go stock up on filters

fanny pack--yes, they are unattractive, but man, they are handy

buy small fan to use in parks before you go

head back to the resort in the afternoons


Magical tips:

Ride in the conductor's car of the monorail

Make breakfast PS times before MK opens (8:30)

Get a window seat while eating in the castle and an aquarium seat while eating at Coral Reef

[akur]

Originally Posted by mommytutu

buy small fan to use in parks before you go

Double and triple that one! $4.95 vs. $14.95, and you have it already on the way there. I used mine in Las Vegas, a cruise, and the State Fair.

[WaltD4Me]

One of my favorite tips was to use a town car service instead of Mears. We had a super great driver, the grocery stop was awesome and we didn't have to make 5 other stops before getting to our hotel! I will never use Mears again!

Also glad I listened to the people who said it not to worry if you got late morning character breakfast PS's. We had 10:30 PS's for Chef Mickey's and it was much less crowded than early morning and the kids got tons of character time. Same for the Princess Breakfast in Norway.

One more....get over sitting on Main Street for parades, there are great, less crowded, spots to watch from in Liberty Square and Frontierland

[tinkerbell81284]

I got this Birnbaum's guide... Mondays and Easter tend to be the one most crowded times to go to MK!!! I learned both my lessons on those two!

Big tip! Always wear sunscreen! Learned that one the hard way too! Eek! Definite Ouch!

[Grand2me]

Best piece of advice that I got was to bring your own poncho and have it with you at all times...EVEN if they say it's not going to rain. You never know. We found out the hard way last year . A really good piece of advice that I got from my brother was to start walking. I know it sounds wierd but he said that you do an OBSCENE amount of walking in all of the parks. He wanted us to be ready. Really glad that I followed that one.

[leahannpen]

The best advice I ever got, and listned to, was to make copies of the back of my park tickets incase they were ever lost. I did this last trip, and let me tell you...thank god I did. I lost my pass BUT with the copy I made, I was able to have the old one voided and a new pass issued in minutes.

[MommaluvsDis]

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

[Deesknee]

Best advice - if at all possible stay on the monorail with little ones. (although now we don't BUT we rent a car).

[Mady/Sophiemom]

If your little one needs a nap, ride around on the Tommorrow Transit Authority. You can usually stay on it, since there isn't a line. We rode it for about 30 min one time.

[quiltymom]

I was able to get some small Disney character fans at the Disney Store for only $5.00 just last week. They have a neck strap on them, AND the center of the fan lights up! Now I won't have to get them light toys for nighttime when we're in the parks.

[Drizzo67]

I have to agree with the post about walking. A few weeks before our trip the whole family went down to the mall by our house and just walked, in and out of crowds. It was also good practice for the kids to reinforce their manners It was delightful to hear them saying "excuse me" and "thank you" when passing through crowds etc. It was also good reinforcement for myself - keeping a good eye on them.

Water, Water, Water - drink tons. Even with all the wonderful food in Disney I managed to lose 6 lbs on our last trip....WALKING AND WATER. Kept me going all day.

When you do your "advanced" walking before your trip, make sure to be wearing the shoes you will be wearing in the parks. This way you will know if they are comfortable, etc.

[buckeye]

Buying double cheeseburgers and an extra bun, to make 2 burgers. Prices are high and every little bit I save makes me feel better. Never would have thought of it on my own.

[THESCHULTZFIVE]

Originally Posted by quiltymom

I was able to get some small Disney character fans at the Disney Store for only $5.00 just last week. They have a neck strap on them, AND the center of the fan lights up! Now I won't have to get them light toys for nighttime when we're in the parks.

Disney store.com or did you go to the Disney store?

[madison66]

* Get a wallet insert for pictures. $0.50 at Claire's Boutique or Icing acessory shops in most malls. They had colorful plastic inserts too.

Put Driver's license, room card, park card and a little cash in each of four pockets...neat and compact in my pocket.

* Use fastpasss whenever possible.

It allowed us to check out the surrounding area and possibly try a less crowded attraction while skating past the long line at the appointed time.

* Use priority seating

Just so helpful when selecting such popular character meals

* Get extra package of pinbacks

Dh lost most of the pinbacks that came with the ones he purchased. Rather than lose the pin itself...replacements were in his pocket already.

* Use cell phone or prepaid calling card instead of hotel room phones.

The operator assisted surchage on direct or collect calls, while posted, was highway robbery!

Madison