Pearls of Wisdom and what would you do differently on your next trip?

[bubblebrown]

What are your top pearls of wisdom when it comes to touring Disney World, and what would you/have you changed from previous trips?

Just got back from a two night/two park stay at Disney World (1st trip for more than one day in the park) and while we had a fantastic trip, there are several things that I'd do differently.

1. I will budget for an extra day (or more with a longer trip) at the resort to just relax and swim/resort hop
2. the dining plan was way too much food for us. Next time we'll split more meals and pay OOP.
3. decided to have lunch at Toothsome Chocolate Emporium when we arrived in town and did not realize we had to pay $20 to park. Next time we will hang out in Disney Springs and get some souvenirs there.

My top pearls:
1. pre-order food at BOG, saves a bunch of time and you can sill tweak your order at the register.
2. glad we started at rope drop both days and had a general strategy in mind (even though my husband thought I was crazy and waaaay over planning).
3. even though my girls are 5 and 8 we brought a stroller which ended up being great to have a place for them to sit to wait for rope drop and then at the end of the day to sit to exit in the scary sea of humanity after fireworks.

 

[dreiwhit]

These are the changes we will make after our most recent trip:

- Since we stay off property, we're going to go by Subway each day for sandwiches for lunch and buy our drinks in the parks. We did that a couple of days on our most recent trip and liked it much better. The QS food started to get old for us and we don't pay for TS. Not to mention, it was much cheaper than buying our food in the parks.

- I carried a small backpack with an insert for my Camelbak on our last two trips. For the next trip, i'm going to go to a Camelbak that has pockets for the few things I need to carry (lens cleaning wipes, poncho, hand sanitizer, granola bars, USB charger.)

- Since we get to the parks at RD, we're going to leave Epcot and DHS to go back to the room and rest and eat lunch. I'm not sure if we'll do that for MK, just because it takes so long to get in there.

- We did six park days straight. Next time, we're going to put a down day in half way.

- We did three days at MK, two at Epcot and 1 at DHS. I felt like we got everything done without hurrying at MK, hurried a little at Epcot, and in a major hurry at DHS. Next time, we may do three days at MK, three at Epcot and two at DHS.

- On our last trip, I put everything we could into soft sided suitcases (we drive.) It was nice to have fewer bags to bring in, but it took up more room in the trunk. I think i'm going to go back to my old "fit everything in each nook and cranny" approach. Of course, if we don't stay in the same condo we stayed in last time, i'll probably keep putting things in bags.

- We usually leave home at noon and spend the night half way to WDW. On the way back, we drive straight through. Next time, i'm going to get a hotel on the way home. Not only will we won't be in a hurry to leave, but as I get older, its getting more difficult to drive 9 hours straight.

One thing I did on our last trip that worked great was get each of my kids a Camelbak. Not only did they carry their own water, but they had pockets on the carrier for their pressed pennies, ponchos, etc.

 

[bubblebrown]

These are the changes we will make after our most recent trip:

One thing I did on our last trip that worked great was get each of my kids a Camelbak. Not only did they carry their own water, but they had pockets on the carrier for their pressed pennies, ponchos, etc.

Love the idea of each kid gets their own pack. We'll hopefully be back in 3 years, so my girls will be big enough to do this. Thanks!

 

[WhispyPixie]

Great tidbits!! All 4 of our kids carried their own packs...usually a fanny pack or drawstring bag. Makes it great for their own things!

 

[DoryGirl1963]

I'd second the taking a day away from the parks! Due to limited vacation schedules, my husband and I did a 3 night/4 day whirlwind tour back in August, and by the end of the second day we were really ready for a break from the - in his words - "crush of humanity" - ha! We still had a fantabulous time, but we're planning our Oct 2017 vacation now & I'm building in a non-park day in the middle. I think it will really add to our enjoyment.

 

[Goosehonkhonk]

Changes for this trip:
1. No Dining Plan, it was just too much food for us not to mention the difficult of finding ADR's that fit our wants and needs
2. We stayed at the Grand Floridian last time, this time Staying off site at a much bigger place, still close to the park, but with full kitchen and washer and dryer. This allows us to pack far less clothes. Next time we're going to try to rent DVC points.
3. Buying the 7 day park hopper, planning to only spend 4 full days at parks, the other days will be spent at the pool, Disney Springs, and evenings in the park for dinner
4. The Big One for me: My kids don't care near as much about how we spend our days as the adults do, they're really too young to even understand what we don't / can't do, so I'm not worrying about which fast passes we get or what ADR's we don't get (although I got really lucky with ADR's this year)

Pearls:
1. Bringing bottled water and refillable container
2. Bringing a stroller for each kid, even though the 4 year old never uses one. The parks are big...
3. Pace yourself.
4. Let the kids do the things they enjoy, even if it means diverting from "the plan"
5. For us, it's packing a "surprise box" for the trip home. It's hands down the worst part of the trip and when the kids get the crankiest. We are packing a box of new toys / books for the 6 hour ride home to keep their mind off the sadness of leaving WDW!

 

[Tigerlily125]

What are your top pearls of wisdom when it comes to touring Disney World, and what would you/have you changed from previous trips?

3. even though my girls are 5 and 8 we brought a stroller which ended up being great to have a place for them to sit to wait for rope drop and then at the end of the day to sit to exit in the scary sea of humanity after fireworks.

What type of stroller did you use for your 5 and 8 year olds? Mine are 5 and 7 and I am trying to decide whether to bring a stroller or not. I know they *could* walk, but I think it would be nice to have the stroller particularly at the end of the night when they are tired, etc.

 

[bubblebrown]

What type of stroller did you use for your 5 and 8 year olds? Mine are 5 and 7 and I am trying to decide whether to bring a stroller or not. I know they *could* walk, but I think it would be nice to have the stroller particularly at the end of the night when they are tired, etc.

We just got a cheap used sit and stand (baby trend) specifically for this trip. We used it mainly just at night and to store extra snacks/layers of clothes. In MK we parked it by the carousel for most of the day and then in Epcot it stuck around Mexico most of the afternoon. I knew we were going to go from rope drop to close so it would have been a very long walking day for their little legs.

 

[Carla1183]

Changes for this trip:
4. The Big One for me: My kids don't care near as much about how we spend our days as the adults do, they're really too young to even understand what we don't / can't do, so I'm not worrying about which fast passes we get or what ADR's we don't get (although I got really lucky with ADR's this year)

Pearls:
5. For us, it's packing a "surprise box" for the trip home. It's hands down the worst part of the trip and when the kids get the crankiest. We are packing a box of new toys / books for the 6 hour ride home to keep their mind off the sadness of leaving WDW!

Re: 4) I keep trying to remind myself of this as I plan! The kids have no idea what there is to miss, especially with this being a first for us, so if we somehow never make it on 7DMT, our trip will be far from ruined.

Re: 5) What a fantastic idea! I hadn't seen it mentioned anywhere else. We're flying, but we'll still have the downtime in the airport, the flight, etc. Great idea to keep a couple of shiny new things for them get a little bit of final pixie dust when we're all exhausted and done on the way home.

 

[bubblebrown]

5. For us, it's packing a "surprise box" for the trip home. It's hands down the worst part of the trip and when the kids get the crankiest. We are packing a box of new toys / books for the 6 hour ride home to keep their mind off the sadness of leaving WDW!

Love the "surprise box" too! What a great way to extend the magic. I feel like I'm in need of one after being home for a week - getting the Disney blues. I think I will try to re-create a dole whip float this weekend for a pick me up

 

[Goosehonkhonk]

Dole whips make everything better!

 

[BWallaceKY]

Love the surprise box! We drive from Kentucky and usually have to break it up into two days (it would be 12 hours straight not counting stops to eat or go to the bathroom!) This will help on that long drive home.

1. If you have the time and are staying on property, take advantage of the EMH. Leave around lunch time and relax at the resort and then go back out at night. That way everyone can relax a bit and avoid the hottest part of the day.
2. If you have young children, pack complete outfits for each day in a gallon size ziploc bag. It really saved me a lot of time and headaches trying to get everyone dressed in the mornings. Just scream- Get a bag! Save and reuse the bags for future trips!
3. Nobody ever goes to see the Talking Mickey in Magic Kingdom when the park first opens. It's RIGHT THERE to the right (and usually Tinkerbell is as well) and there are zero lines. If you have little ones, it's great
4. We always have a plan! Sometimes we alter the plan, but the worst trip to Disney we ever had was when we tried to "wing it" most of the time. Never. Again.
5. I bring a fold up clothes hamper with us. On the way down it's filled with clean clothes or snacks or whatever. It's easier than trying to stuff all the dirty clothes back into suitcases.

 

[lindsay0526]

We typically drive and stay offsite since we are normally visiting family & friends in the area as well and I hate moving resorts...

1. We always get there at RD. It is nicer when you are not there during a busy season and RD is at 9 instead of 7/8...
2. I buy disposable coffee cups w/lids at the grocery store, make the coffee at the room, and take my coffee into the resort and then just toss my cup when I am done!
3. I meal plan what we want to eat for breakfasts and lunches and then I only buy about 3 nights worth of dinners. I want to be flexible if we decide to stay in the parks through dinner, if we want to go out to eat (or meet friends/family), and I don't want to get stuck with too much food at the end of the trip.
4. When we take a stroller, I just put a tag on the stroller that has our cell phone number (just in case someone grabs our stroller by accident and doesn't know what to do with it). I also put the "nice to have" items in the bottom of the stroller in a ziploc bag (like a change of clothes, sunscreen, baby wipes) so I don't add the weight to my backpack. I can also grab the bag quickly when we need to fold up the stroller.
5. We try one new TS restaurant every time we go. CS restaurants are just what are we closest to when we get hungry. And everyone get to pick 1 snack at Disney everyday!
6. This trip the kids will be old enough to carry their own stuff, so I am going to bring their camelback backpacks with a few of their snacks inside. That way I don't have to carry everything. I also pack them a frozen uncrustable, since that is what the park will serve them if they want PB&J for lunch and I'm not paying $6 for an uncrustable sandwich...
7. I love to buy my girls Disney tshirts for every day that we visit the park. I just ordered some cute ones from Gap for our trip in November, and they got Star Wars shirts from Gymboree for Christmas (so they can wear them for the trip too!)
8. I stock up on special Disney goodies (like Disney fruit snacks, Disney cereal) for the trip! And I pre-buy a few things for them at the Disney store before we leave, and they get little surprises everyday!

 

[bubblebrown]

8. I stock up on special Disney goodies (like Disney fruit snacks, Disney cereal) for the trip! And I pre-buy a few things for them at the Disney store before we leave, and they get little surprises everyday!

Yes, love the dollar store for some of these little items, like those bunched up Disney hand towels that expand in the water. They also had great organic chocolate Mickey crackers at Walmart that made great snacks for the park.

 

[MudQueen22]

We purchased autograph books ahead of time.
I also secretly purchased a Mickey doll and Pluto doll for DS to be given to him at the park. (I need to get DD something Disney-ish too since she doesn't like stuffed animals.)

Since they need new PJs regularly, I bought some Disney ones that will be introduced on the trip, as well as Disney t-shirts. We didn't do that last time, but I will this year.

We are skipping the dining plan this year. Too much money and food. We will pay OOP and eat breakfast in the room.

I plan to put kids outfits in ziplocks this year.

 

[chris benton]

1. Use uber for am EMH if I am not staying at a resort within walking distance of the park. Uber is Fantastic. Disney Trans is...iffy.
2. More pineapple floats.
3. More Ample Hills ice cream.

 

[Shrfleen]

Table service takes extra time. The only time it didn't was if it was Pre Park breakfast.
Refillable filter water bottle.
Take breaks during the day just to rest.
Make the vacation longer!

 

[julieFitz]

Re: 4) I keep trying to remind myself of this as I plan! The kids have no idea what there is to miss, especially with this being a first for us, so if we somehow never make it on 7DMT, our trip will be far from ruined.

Yes this, especially for first timers! I felt like I had to cram everything in even though my kids had no idea what was and wasn't there. Made me stressed - some times the kids were happy to do nothing but walk around a gift shop!

Now I try to have a few highlights each day but don't stress if we miss something.

Edit to add, (regarding waiting in line) prep the kids that sometimes waiting is inevitable and make a game of it. We gave a few m&ms for every 5 min in line or looked at maps to plan our next ride.

 

[Allie B]

This next trip we will be reminding ourselves to take it all in and that this is a vacation. A rest day is a must for us. We usually go for one week and have a resort pool/rest day in the middle of the week. I also liked what someone said about it will not ruin your vacation if you don't do everything you planned. Some of my favorite times and special memories were unplanned. With that being said, it is very important to have some sort of tentative plan or you will waste time.

 

[BobbyDukes]

Changes from my last trip: POR Jan 11-17
- The Royal Guest suites at POR are beautiful but not necessarily worth it. Just extra designs in the room and picture frames, still the same size as the Alligator Bayou rooms.
- Get there for Rope drop more!! We only did rope drop once when we went to MK 3 times this trip. Wish we did it more.
- Go running more when down in Disney. For some reason running in the morning in Kingdom is simply just enjoyable. Love running there.

Pearls
- Take a bag, fanny pack, small tote even though you travel with a stroller. Sometimes the crowds insist that you need to "go mobile" and leave the stroller in the stroller parking and walk around faster.
- Always prepare for the weather, and always except it. YOU ARE IN FLORIDA don't complain about the rain, heat, bugs, lizards, huge puddles and SUN.
- Enjoy the transportation, we are all in it together. Dont push, snarl, moan and groan because you are on a loaded bus. Its part of the experience, we have learned to love the Bus Rides.
- Be prepared and have a plan. Mind you, you arent going to the Sahara desert and Disney services will be able to get you things, but be prepared with light weight clothes, medications you may need, nbaby food and formula. Know that a plan wont always work when you arrive. Do research on everything, every ride and every park so just in case something goes astray you are able to "on the fly" change the plan.
-Don't bring too much in the park, carry only what you need. 5-10 back pack should be the limit. Too heavy=Tired/difficult days.