What Disney Tip Are you really glad you listened to?

[samendsley]

Bookmarking

 

[jennykay]

When we went to Disney with a 1-year old a million years ago, a friend of mine gave me the best advice: take a roll of masking tape in your suitcase. When we got to the room, I was able to cover the outlets with a stip of tape, and I taped the dresser drawers shut so his little fingers wouldn't get caught in the drawers (because I knew he'd be trying to open and close them a zillion times). Even now, I take a roll of masking tape because I still find so many uses for it. It was a great baby-proofing solution for a hotel room!


Satnin

GENIUS!! thanks for sharing! That's way easier than taking plug protectors and has more uses. I'll definitely be using this tip on every trip we take (for a while, anyway. they grow up fast!)

 

[DLB]

The one thing I am thankful I stumbled upon are safety tattoos. I hope I won't lose my DD2' but now at least my cell is on her arm. We watched a little girl at Busch gardens get lost, and when she was found she was so far away in such a short amount of time. We don't go to Busch Gardens, ,Water Country, or WDW without them.

Another way of doing this is making a bead bracelet and adding the phone number as beads. My kids are a little older but if smaller you could put it on their ankle

 

[EdnaMode]

I didn't read through the entire thready yet, but one tip I have used every visit- I take a picture of my children every day- that way in case they get lost, you have a picture of what they looked like that morning- clothes and all.

and safety tats- they are great for the little ones!

 

[krystal276]

or you're a light sleeper, invest in an inexpensive ($25 or less) white noise machine (I found ours a couple years ago for $19.99 at Target). The walls are paper thin and you can hear your neighbors' toilets flush as well as people passing outside your door talking or rolling luggage. Running the white noise machine while sleeping really cut down on the amount of times I woke up because of impolite neighbors. It especially helped DS2 who still takes naps each day.

 

[philsbride]

Subbing!! Thank you all!!

 

[Tented1]

WOW! Thanks for all the great tips. Still reading!

 

[gillenkl]

Just back and used these tips:

-brought in our own water bottles and added the mix to it
-handheld fans (not the mister ones - they get too heavy for me to carry)
-hats to keep the sun off
-cool neck wraps
-small folding umbrella - used more for sun at uncovered bus stops and Epcot
-bring your own purex-3in1 detergent sheets for laundry and collapseable
laundry basket

An interesting note on this - I had left my basket on the washing machine and when I came back it wasn't there. A few spots over a woman had taken it and filled it with her dry laundry....AWKWARD moment! when I asked for it back as sweetly as I could she said she thought Disney provided them for the guests to use..... I never left the basket again after that

-on your MK day pick up a pack of Sorcerer cards - they are free and fun for
kids to collect even if you don't play the game
-bring quarters/pennies for pressed penny machines
-bring a collapseable drying rack to hang bathing suits on in the room

our room at all star movies had a white noise machine so we didn't need to bring one there - but our room at POR didn't have one.

 

[ZoZo]

or you're a light sleeper, invest in an inexpensive ($25 or less) white noise machine (I found ours a couple years ago for $19.99 at Target). The walls are paper thin and you can hear your neighbors' toilets flush as well as people passing outside your door talking or rolling luggage. Running the white noise machine while sleeping really cut down on the amount of times I woke up because of impolite neighbors. It especially helped DS2 who still takes naps each day.

Yep, i totally agree. White noise machine and earplugs are a must for any trip involving a possibly noisy hotel room!

And a nightlight for the bathroom! I hate stubbing my toe on the way to the bathroom in a pitch-black, unfamiliar hotel room.

One last thing -- bring a power strip! Most folks have several different electronic items to charge nowadays (cell phones, laptops/iPads, cameras) and it's hard to find enough outlets for charging in most hotel rooms. And the outlets aren't always in the most convenient places, either. I use an "octopus" or "squid" type, rather than an old-fashioned rectangular power strip; it's easier to fit a lot of different chargers that might take up more room.

 

[Dani C]

Curtain (spring) rod and a cheap curtain (shower) when staying in a value to block off the sink area from the main room.

 

[krystal276]

An interesting note on this - I had left my basket on the washing machine and when I came back it wasn't there. A few spots over a woman had taken it and filled it with her dry laundry....AWKWARD moment! when I asked for it back as sweetly as I could she said she thought Disney provided them for the guests to use..... I never left the basket again after that

haha, at least it was her clean laundry. i think i would have been even more uncomfortable if it was someone else's dirty laundry in my basket.

 

[Tented1]

Some of my tips:
I type out our rough itineraries, any notes of special things about the parks I want to remember and some of the restaurant menus onto 4x6 pieces of paper. I insert these into one of those cheap photo brag books you can get at Walmart. Long ago I paid $1 for them. You can even insert your own "cover photo" on some styles if you want. I've used this idea for my last three trips. Keeps everything handy including reservation numbers, the "cheat sheets" from TourGuideMike's website for each park, our touring plan, copies of our park passes and photopass and more.

GREAT TIP! This seems better than laminating index cards. Will definitely use this for our Christmas trip!

 

[fuzzlekins]

Thanks for all the great tips!

1) This tip applies to anyone who is a scrapbooker. The first time we went, my DD used a Disney autograph book and I hated it once we got home. It didn't hold 4x6 pics - I had to wind up cutting down all my nice close up shots intended for the book. The binding on those cellophane photo covers is also lousy. The next time, I threw together a quick chipboard album with lots of plain white cardstock inside. This way, she could collect as many autographs as she wanted and I could embellish and add whatever size photos I wanted when we got home. Some of the characters and PhotoPass people also commented on it being a handmade autograph book - apparently that's pretty unique. And a little sub-tip ... either plan on the cover being temporary or laminate it. That was the one part that got worn from all the pulling in and out of our bag. It was a hit and my DD loved it!

2) This tip is for absolute newbies - most of you probably already know this. If you buy your child one of those cute Mickey ice cream bars and they wind up dropping it (even if they're halfway through it), pick it up and take it to the nearest cart and they will replace it. Now that I know this, it explains the high price of the treats a bit.

3) Meeting characters - For the kids who want every possible autograph, split your party up and take different lines. If one person's turn comes up and your child isn't there yet, have them let one person at a time in front of them until your child arrives. This was HUGE for us the last time, as my DD hit every single character MNG and some of the lines got pretty long.

4) If you're using a stroller, bring something identifiable with you to attach to it to make it easier to find on the stroller lots. We picked up an air-filled (NOT helium) bright yellow smiley face balloon at the Dollar Store and used twistie ties to attach it to the stroller. It stuck up a bit and was easy to spot - never saw the same balloon while we were there.

5) If you're looking to save money, Cosmic Ray's (MK) fixin's bar can become a meal until itself with lettuce, tomatoes, onions, sauteed mushrooms, cheese, etc.

 

[fuzzlekins]

-on your MK day pick up a pack of Sorcerer cards - they are free and fun for
kids to collect even if you don't play the game

What are these and where do you find them?

 

[Chaoticsweetness]

Best tip I ever listened to was during F&WF: go right at opening & be the first person at a cart to get the first pour of wine , they will give you the cork.

Another good tip: any cart that serves soda will give you iced water for free, just ask.

 

[redoschi]

What are these and where do you find them?

Haven't tried it yet, but I'm really excited to try it on our next trip in January!

It's an adventure game that takes place all around Magic Kingdom. you can sign up for it at the firehouse on Main Street. The game is called Sorcerers of the Magic Kingdom and the players must follow clues around the park and use the cards they receive to battle villains in several locations around the park.


You can see more info here:
http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/parks/magic-kingdom/attractions/sorcerers/

 

[fuzzlekins]

Thanks, Redoschi!

 

[Tented1]

WHEW!! Just finished reading all the posts! I have cut and pasted a book of great tips and ideas. THANKS!

I read several posts about eating breakfast in the room but I didn't see the southern staples grits and oatmeal. I brought instant in my luggage in 2007 and used the room coffee pot for hot water. I even had bread in my luggage as well as PB&J.

I bought the 4x6 photo album today & have started putting in 4x6 index cards with ADR times, confirmation #'s & phone #'s. will be adding imp park info, etc as I prep. for Christmas at WDW!

 

[caseyd66]

I always use white noise when traveling but it used to be a pain as the machine was a little bulky (I travel with a carrion only). Now it's so much easier as I use an app on my phone called sleep machine!

 

[Mumra17]

or you're a light sleeper, invest in an inexpensive ($25 or less) white noise machine (I found ours a couple years ago for $19.99 at Target). The walls are paper thin and you can hear your neighbors' toilets flush as well as people passing outside your door talking or rolling luggage. Running the white noise machine while sleeping really cut down on the amount of times I woke up because of impolite neighbors. It especially helped DS2 who still takes naps each day.

The Unofficial Guide actually states that Deluxe resorts are way worse about this than Value resorts, on the whole.