My first trip to Disney World Advice & Tips for others.

[acewashere]

So I completed my first trip to Disney World, and it didn't go as planned. Someone in my party got sick, so we took a day off hoping it was a one-day bug and turned out it was the flu. So we didn't do Animal Kingdom. But here are my advice to all the other first timers.


1) Research!!! Gather as much information as you can beforehand.

2) Look up crowd levels for each park (Google "Disney World Crowd Level") and plan accordingly. Also look at the weather, because that can play a big factor on crowd levels as well. I arranged it so it was Epcot, MK, HS, AK.

3) Pre-plan the parks. You want to know which rides you want to go on, which characters you want to meet, where you want to eat. Each park has a map, and a time sheet that tell you times of shows and characters appearances.

4) Pack light for the parks. If you plan on going to any of the parks around opening, the lines are huge for bag checks. I had a string bag that stuffed into a pocket and carried the signature book by hand. After getting into the park I threw everything in out pockets into the string bag.

5) Gum! They don't sell it in the park. They do have mints for bad breath.

6) Baggies - In case it rains, zip lock baggies are your friend. This is my theme park #1 rules because I don't want my stuff ruined. I usually pack way more then I need. (Wallet, Signature Book, Phone, Pens, Medicine, Camera, etc)

7) Magic Kingdom does not offer free refills (Epcot and Hollywood Studios)

8) Taxi cost us $25 ($5.20 tip included) one way to go from epcot to Hawthorne suites, because we didn't want to wait 2hrs for the hotel bus.

9) Animal and Magic Kingdom allows all visitors to use FastPass+ while Epcot and Hollywood Studios only resort guest. Learn what fast pass is and abuse it.

10) Use the Disney photographers, its basically a free service which you can decide later if its worth it to you. If I had purchased memory maker, I could of abused them enough to make it worth it in my opinion since I left my DSLR in the hotel room for the fear of rain.

11) My family likes buying magnets for our trips, and each park had a park specific one. For magic kingdom I got the castle one instead of the actual park specific one.

12) Budget... I threw it out the window when we got to the park. I was so paranoid about money that I decided I was going to ruin the trip for everyone. I haven't looked at my credit card statement online yet, but I can say I enjoyed it.

13) The rides at Universal own Disney. The best rides are at Hollywood Studios. I hate coasters, I get motion sickness, but my favorite was rock and roller. I went on Tower of Terror and if it went up one more time I probably would of lost my lunch. The worst ride for me was star tours, which was almost like sea worlds arctic wild ride. I went on mild for mission space, and that was cake and would have tried orange if the line had calmed down.

14) Disney world tries to hit you on nostalgia and the experience on meeting characters. If you want rides, go to Universal. The character meetings at Disney world was priceless.

15) As long as there is a place holder, you can leave the character lines and visit other parts of the park. For example the Frozen characters had a 3hr wait. Longest wait time for anything at the park. Next longest was a tie for 70min for arial, fast track, haunted mansion, soaring.

So recap:
Goto disney world for the experience, not for thrill rides. Plan for a budget but then throw it out your budget once you get to the park. Pack light, pack gum, use the services that they offer you (Photopass, Fast pass, free refils at certain parks). Pre-plan your parks, otherwise you wont get to do as much especially at epcot and magic kingdom.

 

[magicbob]

But here are my advice to all the other first timers.

1) Research!!! Gather as much information as you can beforehand.

Best. Tip. Ever.

2) Look up crowd levels for each park (Google "Disney World Crowd Level") and plan accordingly. Also look at the weather, because that can play a big factor on crowd levels as well. I arranged it so it was Epcot, MK, HS, AK.

Using Touring Plans or a similar service to check crowd level and recommended parks is one of the best ways to avoid crowds and long lines.

3) Pre-plan the parks. You want to know which rides you want to go on, which characters you want to meet, where you want to eat. Each park has a map, and a time sheet that tell you times of shows and characters appearances.

Some people don't like having a rigid plan, but having at least a good idea of where you'll be on which day, knowing which rides to hit early to avoid lines, how to use FP(+), etc. can enhance even the "go with the flow" touring style.

4) Pack light for the parks. If you plan on going to any of the parks around opening, the lines are huge for bag checks. I had a string bag that stuffed into a pocket and carried the signature book by hand. After getting into the park I threw everything in out pockets into the string bag.

Especially if you visit in hot weather, being burdened with a heavy backpack will cause your back to be drenched in sweat!

5) Gum! They don't sell it in the park. They do have mints for bad breath.

True. WDW does not sell gum. If you bring your own, please make sure to dispose of it properly in a trash receptacle (that's the reason WDW doesn't sell it).

6) Baggies - In case it rains, zip lock baggies are your friend. This is my theme park #1 rules because I don't want my stuff ruined. I usually pack way more then I need. (Wallet, Signature Book, Phone, Pens, Medicine, Camera, etc)

Good tip. Can also come in handy on wet rides.

7) Magic Kingdom does not offer free refills (Epcot and Hollywood Studios)

If you get a refillable mug with the DDP (or just purchase one separately), they are only good at your resort. You would think they would just go ahead and sell a refillable mug that's good in the parks. Other theme parks offer this.

8) Taxi cost us $25 ($5.20 tip included) one way to go from epcot to Hawthorne suites, because we didn't want to wait 2hrs for the hotel bus.

The off-site hotel shuttles are notoriously inconvenient. Lots of people start off their trip frustrated because the shuttle delays their arrival. Budgeting for cabs or a rental car or well-worth it IMO.

9) Animal and Magic Kingdom allows all visitors to use FastPass+ while Epcot and Hollywood Studios only resort guest. Learn what fast pass is and abuse it.

Seriously though, the rules of FP+ (who is eligible, etc.) are rapidly changing, which makes verifying the current policies before you depart important to ensure there haven't been more changes.

10) Use the Disney photographers, its basically a free service which you can decide later if its worth it to you. If I had purchased memory maker, I could of abused them enough to make it worth it in my opinion since I left my DSLR in the hotel room for the fear of rain.

Disney photographers will take a picture with your camera. Even if you get the Photopass, it's nice to have a back-up picture on your own camera. And that way the entire family can be in the picture.

11) My family likes buying magnets for our trips, and each park had a park specific one. For magic kingdom I got the castle one instead of the actual park specific one.

Nice to hear that there are still SOME park specific items. One common compaint is that the merchandise has become so generic.

12) Budget... I threw it out the window when we got to the park. I was so paranoid about money that I decided I was going to ruin the trip for everyone. I haven't looked at my credit card statement online yet, but I can say I enjoyed it.

WDW would LOVE for everyone to take this advice. I'd advise caution here, though. While you don't want to "ruin the trip" by worrying about every dollar you spend, it's probably a good idea not to go TOO much over-budget.

13) The rides at Universal own Disney. The best rides are at Hollywood Studios. I hate coasters, I get motion sickness, but my favorite was rock and roller. I went on Haunted Mansion and if it went up one more time I probably would of lost my lunch. The worst ride for me was star tours, which was almost like sea worlds arctic wild ride. I went on mild for mission space, and that was cake and would have tried orange if the line had calmed down.

You'll probably get some debate about this one. I love both WDW and US. US has a lot more "thrill" rides, but I enjoy both styles.

14) Disney world tries to hit you on nostalgia and the experience on meeting characters. If you want rides, go to Universal. The character meetings at Disney world was priceless.

Again, depending on what type of ride you prefer.

15) As long as there is a place holder, you can leave the character lines and visit other parts of the park. For example the Frozen characters had a 3hr wait. Longest wait time for anything at the park. Next longest was a tie for 70min for arial, fast track, haunted mansion, soaring.

I don't have first-hand experience with M&G lines recently, but I have heard that Disney encourages using a place-holder for some of them. I'd advise that you always check with a CM to make sure.

So recap:
Goto disney world for the experience, not the rides. Throw out your budget once you get to the park. Pack light, pack gum, use the services that they offer you (Photopass, Fast pass, free refils at certain parks). Pre-plan your parks, otherwise you wont get to do as much especially at epcot and magic kingdom.

I still think the rides at WDW are a big part of the "experience" and I'd be careful about throwing out the budget.

Thanks for sharing your perspective as a first-time visitor. Here's wishing you "many happy returns."

 

[rwdavis2]

Great report. I agree that the best rides at Universal are far better than the best ones at WDW. But Disney has many more rides/attractions and better immersive experience so it evens out overall.

Universal seems to be investing more on attractions to attract guests where Disney seems to be investing more on ways to extract money from guests with adding much (if anything) to the guest experience.

Just my opinion and we will still be going back but not until all the new changes are settled and working, a couple of years.

 

[larryz]

11) My family likes buying magnets for our trips, and each park had a park specific one. For magic kingdom I got the castle one instead of the actual park specific one.

You would have been OK either way, as MK is the only park with a castle in it.

 

[wisblue]

Great summary of things for first time guests to think about, especially researching ahead to learn as much as possible about what attractions you want to do, which ones get big lines quickly, and how the parks are laid out.

BTW, I assume that you really meant Tower of Terror when you mentioned Haunted Mansion because of the reference to ups and downs and because you were talking about rides at DHS.

 

[ArwenMarie]

I'll add one...get a flu shot! (not to start a tax debate, just if you are inclined to that sort of thing anyway)

I like the part about not worrying about the budget so much once you are there. Not to go crazy, but to know your general limits and then relax about it.

 

[dzneelvr]

Don't try to plan to do everything in one trip you read or hear about from all of us who have gone mucho mucho times. My biggest mistake that first trip long years ago was to over-schedule to the point DS and DD were "tired of going to breakfast with Aladdin" Take the information you receive and then layer over your family's rhythms & preferences (are you all early risers, enjoy sleeping in on a vacation, love to eat, putter around in a pool, enjoy music, etc.) so the trip is one to recharge you, not drain you. We found one way to relax was to build in a day away from the parks to enjoy the resort--our kids loved the pools, arcade, food courts (we stay in the All Stars) and DH and I could relax around the pool, read, sun... Don't make your trip something to endure

 

[Laura's Dad]

Don't forget to have fun. You are on vacation.

 

[acewashere]

Sorry, it was a late night post and some of my thoughts may have not translated well into my typing. lol

First off the diss on Disney world rides was based on my motion sickness and fears of rides. It was more of a warning of if you've been to Universal, there nothing to worry about at WDW except for when you get to hollywood studios for Tower of Terror and Star Tours. People in my party thought Space Mountain and Big Thunder Mountain Railroad was too bumpy, but I had no issue because I used my leg strength to keep in place. My statement might of derived more from that I worried about the rides so much that I hyped them up that it was a let down. Sort of expecting Mars need moms was going to be amazing. (low blow, i know)

The shows, character meetings, cast members, guest, themes, the whole experience was unforgettable. I can't wait to go back!


16) The lines do get congested, so expect people to slide in front of you if they can. When it was just me, I had to watch my kid alone so people would slide up right in front while I was against the wall. Don't let it ruin yours or their experience, just be nice and ask to get back in place or back together with your party.

17) If you don't want to wait for a character in line for autograph and picture, it amusing to watch their entrance/exits. My favorite was Alice, she jumped into the Marry Poppins signing then she skipped all the way to an un-expecting couples that were holding hands and broke them up so she could hold both their hands. Then she skipped away from them smiling the whole time.

18) Goto epcot for character meetings, the lines were shorter and they were in open spaces so you don't get bored as easily. It seemed more enjoyable to me, however Magic Kingdom does allow you to fast pass some of the lines.

19) Goto epcot for belle's signature, in magic kingdom Belle hands out a bookmark with her signature during her show and seems rushed. In epcot she is in her pre-princess outfit and willing sign and interact with you.

20) Walmart, CVS, gas stations, souvenir shops, etc all have Disney theme souvenirs but none of them are disney world specfic which is why their way cheaper then in-park merchandise. Most of them will either say Orlando or Florida.

21) In-park merchandise that is connected to disney is higher price then non-related merchandise. For example in norway, they had viking helmet for $12. (Purchased because we stayed in Norway for hours for the Frozen Character signature, and we also love "How to train your dragon") but every other head wear had mickey ears that was $20+. If the viking had black ears, I'm sure the price would of been $20+ and honestly don't know why it didn't.

22) Spend more then one day at epcot and magic kingdom, you can do alot in one day but you miss a lot of the little things so even having an extra day where you spend a half day at epcot and the other half at magic is still amazing.

23) Your fitness level may play a part of how much you can do. Waiting in line for me was enough of a break, but some people seemed to need to take sit down breaks. Wrecking your body the first day will ruin the rest of your trip.

24) The crane disappears at night.

25) All the night shows are worth staying for. My favorite was the one in Hollywood Studios.

 

[Gumbo4x4]

(1) Don't go to any Disney park twice until you've been to all of them once.

I see so many people planning 2-3 days at MK before they even go to AK or DHS once. You can research all you want, but until you actually experience the parks there is NO way to know which will be your family's favorite.

I expected AK to be the favorite for some of our family, didn't plan on it being EVERYONE's favorite.

I assumed we'd need the least amount of time in Epcot. In fact, we spent more time there than any other park and still didn't get everything in that we wanted to do.

We thought we'd all love DHS. In fact, it ended up being the least favorite for all 4 of us.

And though it was a long, full day, we managed to do everything WE wanted to do at MK in ONE day, even repeating some attractions (and in Summer no less).

And we enjoyed the water parks as much or more than all but AK.

Bottom line, we guessed right on some things, dead wrong on others. Disappointed in some things, pleasantly surprised on others. Months of extensive planning, guidebooks, DVD's, and we still were wrong on a LOT of things.

 

[wdwloverz]

Great list of thoughts and advice!!!
As a person who has much less stress if I know what I am doing in advance, I think #1, 2 & 3 are priceless!! Especially for newbies.
After countless trips to WDW I have never thought of bringing a ziplock for cell phones and other personal items in case of rain or a water ride, so I REALLY appreciate your #6 tip as well (just threw two in the suitcase for next Saturday!)

 

[grwrn]

Great and very informative tips! I will be a first timer as a parent when we visit in April.