A few trip questions: Autograph books, Grocery & Universal

[JenniferH]

I'm overwhelmed with so many things to think of to plan this trip!

1) What is the best way to do autograph books? One for the family or one per child?

2) How far in advance do you order groceries? Can you order from Amazon as well as the other grocery stores and get them to hold it for you?

3) Is it worth going to Universal for 1 day if you can spend at least 6 other days at DW? (We are thinking of adding a day to our trip). If so, is it better to add a day at the DW hotel and just take a shuttle to Universal or would it be better to stay at a different hotel for 1 day?

ETA MORE:
4) Can someone explain Pin trading to me? Will my children want to do this or should I not worry about it? If we do, where is the best place specifically to get a starter set to take?

5) Can you ship a package to yourself at the hotel? It would be nice to not have to travel with everything on the plane.

Any advice is appreciated!!

 

[blfbrat]

We shipped packages from Amazon, and ordered 5 days in advance, POP Century held them for 2 days until we arrived. I ordered from grocery store the day before we left. It worked out perfect.

 

[June84]

3) Is it worth going to Universal for 1 day if you can spend at least 6 other days at DW? (We are thinking of adding a day to our trip). If so, is it better to add a day at the DW hotel and just take a shuttle to Universal or would it be better to stay at a different hotel for 1 day?

It's worth it! I loved Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure, you should have one day for each one.
I personally would stay on the same hotel at DW, it's better to take a shuttle or rent a car than have to worry about having to pack and move to a different hotel (my opinion).

 

[RMulieri]

Universal is great..You really should do 2 days and if you can switch resorts it is WELL worth it.The resorts at Universal are GORGEOUS and within a short walk or dedicated boatride.You also get the resort guest express pass( there is no FREE version of this for dayguests, if you want it , you have to buy it)

 

[Darcy03231]

I'm overwhelmed with so many things to think of to plan this trip!

1) What is the best way to do autograph books? One for the family or one per child?

2) How far in advance do you order groceries? Can you order from Amazon as well as the other grocery stores and get them to hold it for you?

3) Is it worth going to Universal for 1 day if you can spend at least 6 other days at DW? (We are thinking of adding a day to our trip). If so, is it better to add a day at the DW hotel and just take a shuttle to Universal or would it be better to stay at a different hotel for 1 day?

ETA MORE:
4) Can someone explain Pin trading to me? Will my children want to do this or should I not worry about it? If we do, where is the best place specifically to get a starter set to take?

5) Can you ship a package to yourself at the hotel? It would be nice to not have to travel with everything on the plane.

Any advice is appreciated!!

1. We've always done one per child.

2. We rent a car so we do our own grocery stop.

3. I think US/IOA is definitely worth it. If possible I would plan 2 days. One for each park. US/IOA is 20-30 minutes (depending on traffic) from WDW. We do split stays - we stay at a US/IOA hotel for our US/IOA days and a WDW hotel for WDW days. If you stay on-site at US/IOA you have unlimited express pass (like a fast pass) for the length of your stay. We did a budget trip one year and stayed at a hotel out on International Drive and that worked out ok too. If you decide to stay on-site at US/IOA, do those days at the end of your trip. We did them at the beginning on the first trip and then moved over to WDW. My kids complained about having to stand in line for the rides as everything at US/IOA was pretty much walk-on with the express pass.

4. My kids love pin trading. You can trade with either cast members or other WDW guests. My kids have only traded with cast members. They pick a pin of their lanyard that they want to trade for one that's on the cast member's lanyard. I bought the starter sets (and extra pins) on e-bay.

5. I haven't done it, but have heard of others doing it.

 

[Gruffi Gummi]

My wife bought a big pack of colored index cards and had our kids get the autographs with those. Being who she is, she tried to color code based on the character. She wants to get a photo album and put the picture with the character beside the autograph.

If you're having things shipped in before you arrive, make sure to have your reservation number included on the shipping label, it will make it much easier to track down your things.