Hofstra26
Love to Bake!
Member since 7/06 27915 total posts
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Re: Disney tips
*A stroller for the kids is a must. We used Kingdom Strollers, they were great!
*You can ask for ice water at the parks where they sell fountain drinks.......it's free!
*In MK, we always head to Adventureland first, it's so quiet in the morning compared to Tomorrowland and Fantasyland.
*Schedule your FP's for mid-day when it is busier, don't waste them in the morning hours. It's practically impossible to get more FP anyway once you use yours up so don't rush to use up your 3 in the morning. To that end, a FP is a must for Peter Pan, Seven Dwarfs Mine Train, Soarin, Frozen, Test Track, and Toy Story Mania
*Plan and coordinate your ADR's and FP's. The last thing you want is to have a FP and an ADR close together and on opposite ends of the parks
*Wear comfortable shoes, don't underestimate the amount of walking you'll do............especially if you're an open to close park person like me!
*Eat a Dole Whip. Let me repeat. EAT A DOLE WHIP! In fact, eat them as often as you can. They are the most AWESOME thing ever!! The pineapple/vanilla swirl is heaven!
*Take advantage of Rider Switch if your kids can't do all of the same rides due to height restrictions.
*If you have to pay for it, skip the Dining Plan. It's honestly SO much food, WAY more food then you even need. I only take advantage of the Dining Plan when I get it for free otherwise I I pay as I go. The portions are generally huge so depending on what I eat, I can easily share my adult counter service meal with my 2 kids. I also have them share a kids meal and I've actually ordered a kids meal for myself plenty of times..............it's so much cheaper and MORE than enough food for me
*Before you go, buy your kids a Disney Gift Card and this way they can choose their souvenirs and pay for it themselves. Also, it helps avoid any fights about wanting and buying more, once the gift card is used up that's it!! No more money. It really helped my DD to pace herself and think about what she REALLY wanted instead of running through every park demanding everything she saw
*Pack a few snacks in your bag, it's cheaper then buying something in the park every time they need a little pick me up.
*Take advantage of EMH, it's nice to have the run of the park with fewer people. We've always done well using the EMH.
*If you have the time, check out some of the resorts. They are all so nice and unique in their own way
*Don't get too hung up on your FP and having everything planned out. Enjoy the parks, wander around, explore everything. If you're too focused on getting to the next FP you'll miss all of the small details and fun of WDW
*I never waste money buying a ticket for the parks on the day of our arrival. We're usually tired from traveling and I like to be fresh and rested before hitting up the parks. The first day we just explore and relax at the resort. Then we ALWAYS go to Disney Springs for dinner and shopping. I LOVE it down there, even though it's gotten crazy big over the years. I use to go back in the 80's when it was nothing more than a small marketplace.
*Magic Kingdom is ALWAYS the first park we go to. It's my absolute favorite and nothing screams Disney more than MK!! It's always the first and last park I visit on my Disney vacation
*Stay onsite at a Disney Resort. Nothing compares to being on property, I've stayed at off site hotels and it's just not the same. The Disney magic NEVER ends when you're at a Disney Resort
*Take advantage of the Magical Express to get to and from the airport and use Disney Transportation. We NEVER rent a car when we go...........we use the monorail, buses, boats, etc and get around just fine. Just understand how the transportation works and where it takes you and you'll be fine. Allow for the travel time when trying to get to reservations. If you want to go to the Universal Parks just call Mears, they are inexpensive and go to all of the Disney Resorts for pick ups and drop offs.
*Buy cheap ponchos at home and toss them in your bag in case it rains
*Avoid doing more than one sit down meal per day. It takes up a lot of your time which can be spent in the park and on rides PLUS................they give you so much food that if you do 2 sit downs in a day you'll feel like you're always eating. We made that mistake one trip and it was just too much, I felt like we spent the whole day just eating and not enjoying the parks.
*Buy Disney goodies BEFORE you go.............costumes, accessories, autograph books, etc. You get much better prices in the Disney Stores and online then in the park. Save yourself the money and buy ahead.
*If you have girls, don't miss the Bippity Boppity Boutique. It's worth every single penny!!!! We did the Crown Package and it was perfect!
*Give yourself some down time, even if you stay in the parks all day and night. Take breaks, relax, pace yourself. It's a long (but fun) day!
*For the hotel room I bring one of those hanging shelving units for the closet, it folds flat in my luggage and really expands the amount of space we have to store our clothes and things in the room. I also bring collapsible canvas bins to use on the shelves in the room. Again, the more storage space the better and they also fold flat in your luggage. I get them in the Dollar Store so even if they got ruined or whatever, it was no loss.
*Buy glow sticks at the Dollar Store and bring them with you to the parks. I got sticks, wands, necklaces, etc and took a bunch of them with me every night to the parks. My kids were thrilled to be covered in "glow" and they didn't bug us to buy the expensive glowing toys they sell in the parks. I also used them on the stroller so the kids could identify our stroller at night.
*Pack a "fun bag" for the plane. I got each of my kids a Disney themed tote and filled it with Disney themed coloring books, activities, books, crayons, snacks etc. You can find most of these things at the Dollar Store. It kept them quiet and busy on the plane the whole time. I didn't give it to them until we got to the airport this way they would be surprised and excited by all of the goodies in there.
*Get the Memory Maker................worth every penny!! We got some amazing pics in the park on our trip! Photographers are everywhere and willing to take pics of you and your family. We even had a photographer come around with us for over 20 min in MK and he shot SO many pics of my kids running and playing in Fantasyland. It was awesome, like a private photo shoot!!
*Install the My Disney Experience app on your phone, it's the BEST way to keep track of your ADR's, FP's, itinerary, and to check wait times on rides. It's invaluable!
*On Amazon you can buy portable phone chargers for cheap, the are the best thing to have with you!! They are small like a lipstick and when your phone battery runs low you just plug into the portable charger and you're good to go for a few more hours.
*Don't miss the Festival of Fantasy Parade at MK, it's really great!! I loved it!! Also, Wishes Fireworks at MK are incredible!! I heard they are changing Wishes soon however, fireworks in MK are never to be missed!!
*Don't miss the safari at AK, it's great and we've always seen a TON of animals. FP it, it can get busy depending on what time of year you're visiting
*Toy Story Mania at HS is awesome, my kids LOVED it!! Make sure and get a FP.
*I'm not sure if they still do this but in HS during nighttime EMH they had a dance party in the Disney Jr Studio, it was INCREDIBLE! My kids had a blast and STILL talk about it over years later. They had a DJ blasting music and the kids were free to dance around and characters kept coming out and interacting with the kids. They danced with them, took pics, played with them etc. We saw Mickey, Minnie, Jake and Izzy, Goofy, Pluto, Princess Sophia and more!! They hung with the kids all night and kept rotating in and out. It was so nice having so much character interaction without having to wait on a long line for a quick meet and greet.
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