What Disney Tip Are you really glad you listened to?

[aubreysmom09]

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.

[SpacedOut]

Originally Posted by disbnlbilly

Bring milk and cereal to your hotel room from the grocery store. It's cheaper than eating in the parks and you don't have to rush tired kids out the door so early for breakfast. The sell cereal right in the plastic cups so you don't have to bring bowls.

I like to bring protein bars. They make a quick breakfast, are easy to carry and keep me full until I find a convenient lunchtime. Give it a try!

[redoschi]

Finally finished reading through all this long thread!
Thanks everyone for the amazing tips! Will surely use many of these!

After reading it all over a couple weeks I'm not sure of everything that was mentioned, but I'll include a couple that I found were very helpful on our last trip:

- When you enter MK after rope drop, head over to Fantasyland as it will get REALLY crowded throughout the day (specially after the opening of the new section in December) and people usually take longer to get there. I was able to get a FP to Peter Pan, do Pooh and small world and then use that FP in less than 40 minutes or so. Then it was off to Haunted mansion and Frontierland for us!

- Dole Whips!!! (always good to remember! I got one last trip for the first time and it surely will become a must-do for all trips!)

- Some people forget about DTD and DisneyQuest: the Pirates of the Caribbean battle in DQ was one of the highlights of our trip! We did it several times, changing the captain for each time and creating strategies to beat the other ships!

- At MK hub there are some classic characters statues. When I went with my grandparents in 98, my grandma took a picture of me and my sis with our favorite characters (Dumbo for me and Chip/Dale for her) and since then we took a picture every time with those characters. Its great to see those pictures side by side marking each trip!

[prekteacher]

I love all the tips here. I have used many of them.

[Dreamer2012]

I just read this entire thread and was so impressed with how many helpful and great tips, suggestions and innovative ideas were shared! I wish I was clever enough to add something...thanks again for sharing!

[samendsley]

Bookmarking

[jennykay]

Originally Posted by satnin

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]

Originally Posted by aubreysmom09

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]

Originally Posted by 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.

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.