Hints and tips

[Turner8509]

Hi there,

Our honeymoon is booked for September and we are still big kids and have decided Florida is the place for us!

Just wanting to know what handy hints and tips you may have.

Thanks

 

[bxccah]

What dates? I'll be there from 4th til 25th September where are you staying?

If you like character meals, def make some ADRs. Make ADRs at some romantic restaurants too

What kind of tips are you after? Park touring, dining, packing, or just general? And congratulations!

 

[Turner8509]

18th September to 2nd October, what is ADRs? Just any advice that will be useful.

 

[Iamthequeen]

ADRs are advance dining reservations - you should make them soon because it will be hard getting into park restaurants during dinner hours without them. Not impossible, but you may have to wait.

 

[o'sew cute]

have you booked your resort yet? we stayed at the Caribbean beach resort for our honeymoon in November and I fell in love with it.

 

[bxccah]

18th September to 2nd October, what is ADRs? Just any advice that will be useful.

Okay, awesome! If you see a young woman with a chip n dale wrist tattoo, it'll probably be me- give me a wave

Well, I'm not sure if this is your first trip and I don't know how much you know about WDW! •Utilise fastpass as much as possible! It's basically a ticket that gives you a time to return to the ride, with a much smaller wait- generally 10 minutes or less.
•Try and get a ticket for Mickeys Not So Scary Halloween Party when they go on sale if that would appeal to you, it's great fun!
•I'm not sure if you're on the dining plan, but try and eat at off times. Have an early lunch, and an early dinner, or a late lunch and dinner. The counter service meals are generally big enough to share if you're trying to save cash.
•If there are parades and firework displays you're not fussed about, that is the time to ride on the headliners!
•Finding a nice secluded spot for wishes will be very romantic, I tend to actually go behind the castle- you won't see tink though, so the first time you watch, definitely go towards the front. There's a little sheltered bit sort of south west from the castle with seats and its nearly always empty in wishes. It's perfect because you see everything AND have a seat.
•If you get thirsty but don't want to pay 3 bucks for a bottle of water, ask for a free glass of ice water. I always do that!
•I assume you have at least a 7 day park ticket to the parks, so some down time is always nice! If you're staying at disney, a good plan is to do the morning EMH, then head back to your resort in the afternoon for a swim, maybe get some food, go to downtown disney? Your feet will thank you for it!
•Make sure you grab a times guide AND a map when you enter the parks, because it'll tell you parade times and character greeting times- trying to fight your way across from tomorrowland towards adventureland can be a nightmare when there is a parade!

If you have any other questions, be sure to post here!

FYI, here's a list of my favourite restaurants in case you don't know where to start.
Coral Reef, Ohana, Boma, Garden Grill, Wolfgang Puck, Chef Mickeys, Whispering Canyon.

 

[Hootch]

if you have particular restaurants yu want to eat at. The early part of your trip coincides with the "free dining" dates from the past couple of years. Attendance is usually not bad but restaurants are often bookeed well in advance. Some people book ADRs in anticipation of the offer coming out.

You may want to look at information on the Food & Wine Festival. It is scheduled to start Sept 27th. There will be food from conutries around the world. Booths are set up and portions are small allowing you to try many items. Here is a link to a primer.

http://www.disneyfoodblog.com/epcot-food-and-wine-festival-101/

Items that I usually advise people to review:

1) How fastpasses work. This will increase the number of attractions that you can do each day. Fastpasses give you an hour window to return and do an attractions. The fastpass line can be considerably shorter than the standby line. Some standby lines can be over an hour long.

2) You may want to get an app that shows wait times and fastpass return times. Knowing how the line waits change helps you plan your order of attractions.

3) A guide book may be helpful. There is better information on these boardsbut it is sometimes difficult to find. A guide book is indexed. The Unofficila Guide is probably the best for a firsttrip.

4) WDW is about 45 sq miles. Transportation between parks can take time. We usually have a couple of days each trip where we go three of the parks. It is a matter of understanding how much time it takes.

5) There are various ticket options. The park hopper option, for example, allows you to visit multiple major parks on the same day. Go to the Theme Parks Strategy page for ticket information. A ticketing CM has sticky thread that provides great detail. It is divided into sections so it is easy to find what you need.

6) It will likely be hot. Plan some down time in the middle of the day. The evening is much more enjoyable after a nap or swim and a shower. This is a good time to park hop.

7) Wear broken in comfortable shoes - at least two pairs. Protecting your feet is important.

8) know it is your honeymoon but there are three rides that have single rider lines that will get you in quicker - Test Track, Expedition Everest and Rockin' Roller Coaster.

9) There is variety at counter service locations. Look at the menus ahead of time.

10) You can take snacks and drinks into the park. It saves money and time when you have the munchies.

There is so much to know. You have quite a bit of time and people on these boards are helpful.

Have a great time.

 

[Luvchefmic]

are you also looking for ideas for other things in FL ? Not sure from your post BUT if so I would look into Discovery Cove truly wonderful experience

 

[Turner8509]

are you also looking for ideas for other things in FL ? Not sure from your post BUT if so I would look into Discovery Cove truly wonderful experience

We have just booked that

 

[Turner8509]

are you also looking for ideas for other things in FL ? Not sure from your post BUT if so I would look into Discovery Cove truly wonderful experience

We have just booked that xx

 

[divamoma]

With the Florida sun still giving off some pretty hot heat, we found an invaluable item which kept us cool. Its called a Frogg Togg Chilly Pad. It is an evaporative material measuring 13 X 33. You simply wet it, wring it out, and put around your shoulders. I even put mine over my head to cool me off and protect me from the sun. It doesn't make you all wet. Just is damp and starts evaporating to cool you off.

They make it in a narrower style now, called the Chilly Sport Towel. It is 7 1/2 X 33.

We don't do Disney without it!

 

[LovesTimone]

1st thing, Congrat's to you both.

OK here are a few tips,

1) Make ADR's - Advance dinning reservations - this is super important and a must do. You can check out menu's here and over at Allears. I suggest one a day, if you are really wanting to see everything in the world.

2) Here are my suggestions for some dinning options;
Breakfast with Character's - Chef Mickey's - Crystal Palace (MK)- Donald Safari Breakfast (AK)
Romantic Dinners: Flying Fish, California Grill, Chef of France

3) Do some research, on the parks, dinning options, park hours, parade times, fireworks sch. while this does take sometime, it is well worth it. You only get 1 honeymoon.

4) Must have's - comfortable shoes, 2 pairs to rotate, sunscreen ... lots of sunscreen, over the counter medicine's these are super costly in the parks, bring bandaids, neosporin, sunglass, hat or visor, small purse or small back packs the large ones get heavy quickly.

5) Suggestions - if you are driving or using a car service stop and pick up some items for the room, water, soda, snacks, breakfast bars, granola, adult beverages

6)Plan on some down to sleep in, head back to the resort, swim or nap.

7) If this is your first trip realize your not going to be able to see it all. Which give you a reason to come back

8) Pick a spot and have a cast member or another guest take your picture, the each time you come back head to that spot for another picture, and once the kiddos start coming do the same. It will make for some great memories.

Have a Magical Mickeymoon

 

[Grandmouse]

Read these boards. There are thousands of tips already out there. Check out the Restaurant board and the menus, Transportation board (good to know how to get from one place to another), Resorts, etc., Tickets, etc. So much to know, and the more you know the better. People who don't study up are the ones who don't have a good time and can't understand why all of us on the boards love Disney so much.

The two things I tell people going for the first time -- Don't buy new shoes, or if you do, break them in weeks in advance, and take long walks every day.

 

[bocaj1431]

With the Florida sun still giving off some pretty hot heat, we found an invaluable item which kept us cool. Its called a Frogg Togg Chilly Pad. It is an evaporative material measuring 13 X 33. You simply wet it, wring it out, and put around your shoulders. I even put mine over my head to cool me off and protect me from the sun. It doesn't make you all wet. Just is damp and starts evaporating to cool you off.

They make it in a narrower style now, called the Chilly Sport Towel. It is 7 1/2 X 33.

We don't do Disney without it!

Love Frog Toggs! We used ours in Sept and brought it everyday to the parks. Also on REI's cite they sell Kafka's Kool Ties. Thy are a neck cooler, which look like a light weight scarf. They have beads inside which act as a cooling agent. The neck is the best place to cool your body temp.

Have a great trip. Best part about Sept., is less crowded!

 

[glamfish500]

I know this advice is everywhere on the boads but it's worth repeating. Get a celebration button from Guest Services. We wore ours every day on our honeymoon and loved it. Many cast members will congratulate you, characters will make a big deal out of them, and if you're lucky you'll get some extra special magic. We got free cupcakes at several meals and great seating like next to the tank at Coral Reef and window seats at most places with a good view. I think our favorite thing was a cast member came up to us with a smoothie and said that Mickey had asked her to make some magic for our honeymoon. It was small and silly, but how often does Mickey send you a free smoothie.

My other bit of advice is about your dining. Character meals are fun but tthere are, of course, lots of kids which isn't exactly romantic. Crystal Palace and CRT were our favorite because we felt like even though there were kids it didn't feel like eating in the school cafeteria. Chef Mickey's on the other hand, least romantic place on property, hahaha. Character meals are lots of fun but be sure to balance them with more 'adult' meals. La Hacienda and Le Cellier in Epcot were two of our favorites and they were mostly kid free.

I hope you enjoy your Disneymoon as much as we did ours!

 

[aimeeinohio]

Our trip in August is for my daughters graduation. I was thinking we should get her a celebration button