I was going to quote everybody and reply to you all but instead I'll say thank for the kind responses from most of you! And comments on the heat as we thought it was epic. Maybe we're just weak but I don't know. It gets that hot in Kentucky but not until later in the summer. We've been to Disney twice before in May and it was upper 80s both times so it wasn't like we were expecting balmy 70s or anything. This steamy swelter was just not what I had my head wrapped around. I was of course stalking the 10 day forecast as early as possible and it was spot on. But by then it was too late to do anything about it so we just had to soldier on, squirt bottle in tow.
I can't believe this is actually a thing.
Rapunzel's friends must have some good stories to tell.
I don't know how much of a thing it normally is but it was what the maybe twentyish girl in front of us did. Rapunzel was our first princess so we'd spent months talking this up to DD. It was just one of those moments for us. But it passed quickly and DD was starry eyed once we got our turn.
Thanks for your insights. We will also be traveling for the first time with our almost 3 year old later this year, so this was very helpful. I am still debating a car rental, but I can't seem to find anything for less than $300 for the week, and that's for a car that probably won't even hold all of our luggage, the stroller, etc.
We also hope to get a king bed at Pop. I was wondering if you could share more info on the storage solutions you utilized in the room?
I don't know if I'd pay to rent a car just to drive to the parks because I'm such a cheapskate so that's a tough call, unless you had plans off property too. The buses are kind of our personal nightmare but it would be a way more difficult decision if we didn't already have our own car. I don't know. My DH would say yes because he HATES the buses most of all. But he's generally the stroller/back pack wrangler so it might have something to do with that.
The set up in our room was something I was really proud of! I wish I'd taken pictures. And most of these ideas I got from the Dis so thanks to everybody! Again, we were able to pull a lot of this off because we drove instead of flying so we weren't limited on the amount of junk we had with us. In the past, I have hated the mess that accumulates over a week in a hotel room so I was an enforcer making sure everything got back in it's place all week.
Anyway, on the side of the bathroom door facing the sink, I hung one of those shoe rack things for toiletries, sunscreen, meds, anything like that and it was a lifesaver. It kept all that junk easily accessible instead of in a bag but it was OFF the sink top. I got one of those things you hang from a closet rail to sort of make shelves and this gave us TONS of room for socks, underwear, t shirts and all of DD's clothes. There are only 3 small drawers in the dresser in the room so this totally saved us. I hung it all the way over on the end of the close by the safe. Next to that I had a pop up laundry hamper. Also AWESOME for keeping dirty clothes from being in a random pile somewhere. We used the rest of the closet for the few hanging things we had and there were plenty of hangers for us, although I had been prepared to ask for more if necessary. On the shelf above the hanging bar, we had a diaper box and three of those closet maid square bin things. In one of them, I had dishes (sippy cups, emergency nap pacis, cereal bowls, etc.). The second was kind of house keeping stuff (Lysol wipes, a Ziploc full of clothespins that came in handy, boxes of large and small ziplocs, grocery bags for poopy dipes, papertowels etc.) The third bin was for the stuff I needed to replenish our park backpack each day (gum, glow sticks, hand sanitizer, etc.). There was just enough room for those items and a few other small things to be stashed up there. On the counter next to the sink, I brought a small dollar store plastic tub with holes in the sides for dirty dishes and then I used that when I washed. I filled the sink with dish soapy water, washed, and moved everything to the tub, then emptied the sink and rinsed the dishes and tub. I had some cheapo dish towels that could hang on the edge of that tub when not in use. We also brought a small foldable stool so DD could wash her hands by herself. DH thought that was crazy but it was so worth it. Also a help was a small plug in night light for right by the sink for nighttime. In the two small cubbies in the "dresser" I used one for a diaper changing supply area (we are having some potty training issues so our doctor recommended we give her a break on the trip) and the other for swim stuff (towels, suits, floaties) after it had time to dry. One of the cubbies in one bedside table was filled with our snacks and breakfast stuff that didn't need the fridge and the other cubby was for the few toys and books that we brought along. I brought a power strip and plugged it in by the small table so our electronics tended to accumulate there but since it wasn't covered with too much other junk, this was okay. We rented a stroller from Kingdom Strollers (highly recommended!) and because of the king bed, there was plenty of room to park it in front of the window. Also, I brought a Minnie dress up magnet kit and DD could play with it on the back of the door while we were getting ready or otherwise busy. I'm not sure why but this really kept her entertained.
That's probably way more detail than you wanted but I was pretty proud of it. It was my opus. And it really made our week at Pop go much more smoothly.
My kids (7, 6, and 3) are not helping my anxiety every time they whine about the heat only 20min into a playground visit, on a 75 degree day! 
)
There's nothing quite like that first magical hour of the morning in a park.
