Aliceacc
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jul 2, 2007
WE got back last night from a wonderful Disney vacation, just ahead of tropical storm Fay. I thought I would give a rundown of things we did/brought to make this trip extra wonderful. FYI, it was the first trip for my kids, and my first trip in 18 years.
- We stayed at the Polynesian. What a WONDERFUL resort. It was beautiful, and incredibly restful. The pool was a blast. My kids loved the waterslide, and I loved sitting under the waterfall getting a back massage from water. We stayed in Tokelau, and it was incredibly convenient-- an easy walk to the TTC for our Epcot days, and convenient to the bus stop, the monorail, and the pools. Our room, 2924, had a sideways view of the lagoon, although that wasn't as important as I thought it would be, as the view of the gardens was lovely.
- My baggalini bag was wonderful!!! It was comfortable and held a ton of stuff!!
- The kids really didn't use their fanny packs much. They found that they got in the way when they sat down.
- We bought a Maclaren Volo stroller for my 5 year old. My original intent was to use it just for evenings, but that plan went out the window the second day. She was TIRED in the August heat, and we brought it everywhere. It was a vital addition to our trip!
- Likewise, we brought 4 Mistymate misters with us. (We got them at BJs, for 3/$15) They were a Godsend!!!! They made the heat so much more bearable. They were lightweight; I normally brought 3 along with us when we went anywhere (2 in a ziplock bag in my Baggalini, and one in the stroller) Get them! You'll be soooo happy you did!!!!!! They would be a bargain at triple the price!
- My kids really didn't get into the pintrading the way I thought they would. (Though my niece loved it on her trip last month.) I think the problem was the lanyards-- they were uncomfortable in the sticky heat.
-The Photopass was great!!! I did a share with my sister, and just inputted my pictures a minute ago. Between the 2 families we have 127 pictures.
- I brought bubbles to use in line, but never used them at all. We really only hit one line all week (the day we got a late start to Hollywood Studios-- 90 minutes on Toy Story Mania) and that line was indoors, so I didn't want to break out the bubbles. All our other waits were in the ballpark of 20 minutes or less, so we didn't need the distraction.
- Dollar store rain ponchos were NECESSARY!! Even aside from Tropical Storm Fay, we hit rain almost every day. I brought 3 per person, plus 1 for the stroller. We never used the last set (though we would have, had the storm been a day earlier.)
- The DDP was wonderful! We ended up with 14 extra snack credits we used yesterday. Again, with the storm coming, we thought we might get stuck at the airport, so we loaded up on hearty snacks-- rice crispie treats and stuff like that. (Though the airport was empty and we didn't eat them yet.)
- We got the personalized menus and diver at the Coral Reef, and the kids loved them!! And the Mahi Mahi I had for dinner was delicious!!Dinner with Cinderella and the stepsisters at 1900 Park Faire was delightful (and my girls were happy to have their princess dresses) , as was dinner at LeCellier. We had some issues at Chef Mickeys, as one of my kids turned out to be TERRIFIED of characters. I wouldn't recommend doing that the first day for someone who is afraid they may face similar issues, though the food was great. Hollywood and Vine was good, as was 'Ohanas. We honestly didn't have a single bad meal there.Edited to add: The Coral Reef no longer does the divers or menus.
- We ordered from Garden Grocer, and it was wonderful!! We got breakfast items, fruit, and 3 cases of water-- we ended up with one case to spare, which we gave away to another family.
- The refillable mugs were great-- we used them each day for coffee and tea. (We didn't bother getting them for the kids, as we had water and juice boxes in the room.)
- As far as spending money goes: we came down with $770 in gift cards and $301 in Disney Visa points. We charged all our restaurant tips to the room, bought pretty much anything we wanted, and ended up spending an additional $8. Some of our pricier souviniers were my $85 watch, my son's $80 monorail set (I think it's kind of like the Brio stuff) and my duaghter's Castle dollhouse. (We had the last 2 shipped home, since they were so big.)
-Fantasmic was too intense for my girls; my husband took them out in the first 15 minutes. While Brian and I loved it, it is loud and can be frightening.
-Eveything you read about getting to the parks early is true!!! The one day we got to Hollywood Studios at 12:30, we had a miserable time. (I had let everyone sleep in, then did laundry at the Poly.) We waited 90 minutes for Toy Story Mania (fastpasses were all gone by the time we got there) and hit crowds everywhere we went. Everyone is right: get to the parks at rope drop!!!!!
-We didn't follow a strict touring plan, but did have an idea of what we wanted to see and in what order. So, for example, when we got to the Magic Kingdom for rope drop, we went right to Splash Mountain and fast-passed Thunder Mountain on the way. Likewise, for Epcot, we went right to Soarin' ( a MUST SEE, honest!!!) then headed over to ride Mission Space after fast-passing Test Track. It worked like a charm; we hit very few big lines.
-Yesterday, the parks opened early, anticipating the tropical storm. We were there for 8 am rope drop, and had the park to ourselves. We walked right onto rides all day long, from Dumbo to Peter Pan to Indy Speedway. We were the ONLY ONES on Small World!! Do NOT let the forecast keep you away from the park-- pack those ponchos and get there early!!
That's all that occurs to me at the moment, though I'm sure I'll add as I wake up.
edited to add:
-something I just thought of: I was pretty sure I would wear sneakers all week, but LOVED my Teva Mush flip flops that someone here recommended. With the weather kind of wet a lot, it was great having something that would dry quickly.
-Also, park hoppers were a GREAT investment for us!!! The day we started at Animal Kingdom, we did the safari and Kali River Rapids and got soaked. Ten minutes later it started to pour-- a cold, windy rain. We were cold and wet and miserable. We went back to the Poly, changed, and headed to Epcot. Several days later, we hit Animal Kingdom again, saw what we had missed, then got to Epcot for dinner. The park hoppers gave us valuable flexibility.
-I was so glad to have trip insurance!!! Tropical storm Fay wasn't even on the radar when we left NY last week, and it could have had a major effect on our trip and our finances without the insurance. From this point on, trip insurance is a must for my family!!!
-My kids LOVED getting autographs!! In fact, Kira had a meltdown in Hollywood Studios when we wanted to see a show and she wanted to get Handy Manny's autograph. (He was on a break but due to return soon.) There were tons of chances for autographs without standing in line for more than a few minutes. And our autograph books were about $6 each at www.thelaughingplacestore.com
- I invested in some glow in the dark bracelets through Oriental Trading. They made it a lot easier to spot each other once it got dark out. (We were the ones with one green and one blue bracelet.)
- We stayed at the Polynesian. What a WONDERFUL resort. It was beautiful, and incredibly restful. The pool was a blast. My kids loved the waterslide, and I loved sitting under the waterfall getting a back massage from water. We stayed in Tokelau, and it was incredibly convenient-- an easy walk to the TTC for our Epcot days, and convenient to the bus stop, the monorail, and the pools. Our room, 2924, had a sideways view of the lagoon, although that wasn't as important as I thought it would be, as the view of the gardens was lovely.
- My baggalini bag was wonderful!!! It was comfortable and held a ton of stuff!!
- The kids really didn't use their fanny packs much. They found that they got in the way when they sat down.
- We bought a Maclaren Volo stroller for my 5 year old. My original intent was to use it just for evenings, but that plan went out the window the second day. She was TIRED in the August heat, and we brought it everywhere. It was a vital addition to our trip!
- Likewise, we brought 4 Mistymate misters with us. (We got them at BJs, for 3/$15) They were a Godsend!!!! They made the heat so much more bearable. They were lightweight; I normally brought 3 along with us when we went anywhere (2 in a ziplock bag in my Baggalini, and one in the stroller) Get them! You'll be soooo happy you did!!!!!! They would be a bargain at triple the price!
- My kids really didn't get into the pintrading the way I thought they would. (Though my niece loved it on her trip last month.) I think the problem was the lanyards-- they were uncomfortable in the sticky heat.
-The Photopass was great!!! I did a share with my sister, and just inputted my pictures a minute ago. Between the 2 families we have 127 pictures.
- I brought bubbles to use in line, but never used them at all. We really only hit one line all week (the day we got a late start to Hollywood Studios-- 90 minutes on Toy Story Mania) and that line was indoors, so I didn't want to break out the bubbles. All our other waits were in the ballpark of 20 minutes or less, so we didn't need the distraction.
- Dollar store rain ponchos were NECESSARY!! Even aside from Tropical Storm Fay, we hit rain almost every day. I brought 3 per person, plus 1 for the stroller. We never used the last set (though we would have, had the storm been a day earlier.)
- The DDP was wonderful! We ended up with 14 extra snack credits we used yesterday. Again, with the storm coming, we thought we might get stuck at the airport, so we loaded up on hearty snacks-- rice crispie treats and stuff like that. (Though the airport was empty and we didn't eat them yet.)
- We got the personalized menus and diver at the Coral Reef, and the kids loved them!! And the Mahi Mahi I had for dinner was delicious!!Dinner with Cinderella and the stepsisters at 1900 Park Faire was delightful (and my girls were happy to have their princess dresses) , as was dinner at LeCellier. We had some issues at Chef Mickeys, as one of my kids turned out to be TERRIFIED of characters. I wouldn't recommend doing that the first day for someone who is afraid they may face similar issues, though the food was great. Hollywood and Vine was good, as was 'Ohanas. We honestly didn't have a single bad meal there.Edited to add: The Coral Reef no longer does the divers or menus.
- We ordered from Garden Grocer, and it was wonderful!! We got breakfast items, fruit, and 3 cases of water-- we ended up with one case to spare, which we gave away to another family.
- The refillable mugs were great-- we used them each day for coffee and tea. (We didn't bother getting them for the kids, as we had water and juice boxes in the room.)
- As far as spending money goes: we came down with $770 in gift cards and $301 in Disney Visa points. We charged all our restaurant tips to the room, bought pretty much anything we wanted, and ended up spending an additional $8. Some of our pricier souviniers were my $85 watch, my son's $80 monorail set (I think it's kind of like the Brio stuff) and my duaghter's Castle dollhouse. (We had the last 2 shipped home, since they were so big.)
-Fantasmic was too intense for my girls; my husband took them out in the first 15 minutes. While Brian and I loved it, it is loud and can be frightening.
-Eveything you read about getting to the parks early is true!!! The one day we got to Hollywood Studios at 12:30, we had a miserable time. (I had let everyone sleep in, then did laundry at the Poly.) We waited 90 minutes for Toy Story Mania (fastpasses were all gone by the time we got there) and hit crowds everywhere we went. Everyone is right: get to the parks at rope drop!!!!!
-We didn't follow a strict touring plan, but did have an idea of what we wanted to see and in what order. So, for example, when we got to the Magic Kingdom for rope drop, we went right to Splash Mountain and fast-passed Thunder Mountain on the way. Likewise, for Epcot, we went right to Soarin' ( a MUST SEE, honest!!!) then headed over to ride Mission Space after fast-passing Test Track. It worked like a charm; we hit very few big lines.
-Yesterday, the parks opened early, anticipating the tropical storm. We were there for 8 am rope drop, and had the park to ourselves. We walked right onto rides all day long, from Dumbo to Peter Pan to Indy Speedway. We were the ONLY ONES on Small World!! Do NOT let the forecast keep you away from the park-- pack those ponchos and get there early!!
That's all that occurs to me at the moment, though I'm sure I'll add as I wake up.
edited to add:
-something I just thought of: I was pretty sure I would wear sneakers all week, but LOVED my Teva Mush flip flops that someone here recommended. With the weather kind of wet a lot, it was great having something that would dry quickly.
-Also, park hoppers were a GREAT investment for us!!! The day we started at Animal Kingdom, we did the safari and Kali River Rapids and got soaked. Ten minutes later it started to pour-- a cold, windy rain. We were cold and wet and miserable. We went back to the Poly, changed, and headed to Epcot. Several days later, we hit Animal Kingdom again, saw what we had missed, then got to Epcot for dinner. The park hoppers gave us valuable flexibility.
-I was so glad to have trip insurance!!! Tropical storm Fay wasn't even on the radar when we left NY last week, and it could have had a major effect on our trip and our finances without the insurance. From this point on, trip insurance is a must for my family!!!
-My kids LOVED getting autographs!! In fact, Kira had a meltdown in Hollywood Studios when we wanted to see a show and she wanted to get Handy Manny's autograph. (He was on a break but due to return soon.) There were tons of chances for autographs without standing in line for more than a few minutes. And our autograph books were about $6 each at www.thelaughingplacestore.com
- I invested in some glow in the dark bracelets through Oriental Trading. They made it a lot easier to spot each other once it got dark out. (We were the ones with one green and one blue bracelet.)
I am going with 2 y/o in January and it will be the first time I've taken him. First trip with a child I'm sure is going to be very different than just me & DH. Happy to soak up any and all tips about family travel that I can from these boards!
