Best Tip or advice

[Newbie500]

Does last December count?
My one tip would be expect less, and you will receive more. Expect less things to do other than rides, and you may be surprised with shorter wait times than posted, some cavalcades instead of parades, in some cases lower crowds, and an overall good time!

 

[Wild4Walt]

Don't try to do it all - it's impossible. We were there 10 nights for our Honeymoon and still didn't get a chance to do everything we had hoped to. Don't run from attraction to attraction. There's no much detail in the parks, take time to appreciate it.

 

[SimonSez]

Since you have no other WDW experience to compare your upcoming trip to--I'd say go now. You can go again when things get back to normal. Disney is constantly changing, so every trip will be different in some way. I personally dislike FP+, but that's just my opinion. When it's reinstated, you might love it. I like FP in general, but I prefer the old way with the ticket machines. We've been going to WDW forever, and it's always a different experience. Hope whatever you decide, you have a great trip with pixie dust sprinkled in

 

[jimmymc]

Drink enough water. You need a lot more water outside in the heat and humidity than you think.

 

[Ghost Host 998]

Make your park reservations ASAP, they go fast.
Get in line for transportation 90 minutes before official park opening.
Make ADRs at 6:00am at exactly 60+ days, they go fast too.

 

[Pookie9922]

This whole thread has so much good advice so I'll try not to repeat.

We did a "once-and-done" trip for our family of 5 a few years ago and it should be no surprise that we are going again! lol. Expect to love it!
However, with the mindset it was our one and only trip, I needed to plan stuff out and make sure we had no regrets and didn't feel like we wasted money. Doing my homework made that trip a complete success!

1) The planning felt very overwhelming at first. My advice is pick a topic to research and make notes. Then move on to the next topic and repeat. Once you've gotten your feet under you, circle back and make decisions with everything in mind. I felt like everything was so interconnected (times, dining options, rides, travel, etc) that once I had a feel for everything, I could make informed decisions.

2) On the shoes topic - wear moleskin BEFORE your feet/toes hurt. I usually forget/am too optimistic and only remember once I'm already developing blisters. Putting moleskin on top of blisters can make them worse. We just did 2 days at Disneyland/DCA this weekend and I have double blisters on my pinky toes. One from the 1st day and one from the second. I put moleskin on my heels but didn't protect my toes. I hobbled all the 2nd day!

3) TouringPlans.com is the best $18 you'll ever spend if you're a planner. As a newbie I needed to know what plans were even "do-able". It's pretty darn accurate. It allowed me to switch from thinking we'd do a high priority circle of the park and then a lower priority circle of the park, to a plan where we'd just go through the park once and get our whole list done. Really reduced the back and forth walking. The parks are big! We bounced all over DL/DCA this weekend and did 13 miles each day. We easily did 13 miles at each WDW park with very little zigzagging. I'd bet we'd have doubled it without planning. Even if you don't plan out your whole itinerary, you can get a feel for what you'll be able to do and not do. If you do plan, plan in cushion time. Put in snacks and bathroom breaks so you can be flexible.

4) Ropedropping is a pain but soooo worth it! I'm not a morning person. And my kids do NOT move fast. But it lets you do so much more before the lines get nuts. Without FP, I think RDing is even more vital.

5) Plan a rest day! We did 3 days in parks, a pool/disney springs day, and then 2 more days.

6) Ultimately I think your attitude/expectations make the trip. See what you can, don't regret what you didn't, expect to wait in lines, expect to spend a lot of food, etc. This weekend I spoke to people who bemoaned how crowded DL/DCA was and that it wasn't much fun and then I spoke to people who were determined to enjoy it for what it was and did! At the worst day in the parks, you're still at Disney! There are worse places you could be! =)

 

[jimmymc]

When it comes to planning, I only plan what I have to, which today means resort rooms, park reservations, dining, and droid/lightsaber building.

After that, I'll plan which attractions I'm heading to first, but that's pretty much it. Everything later will depend on lines and what time my dining reservations are at.

 

[VandVsmama]

Hubby and I have never been to WDW, what is your most used or best tip or advice?

Advice I learned from Disboards which I found really helpful:

• Have a general plan, but don't over-plan.
• If your budget allows for it, do 1 table service ADR per day. Use that TS meal as a way to cool off in A/C.
• Eat meals at/near your resort and at/near the park you'll be at that day. Makes it a lot easier with transportation. For example: we stayed last week at Pop Century. DH really likes Primo Piatto at the Riviera, so on 1 of our MK days, DH wanted to eat lunch there. We left MK & took a bus to Riviera, ate lunch, then took Skyliner back to Pop for our afternoon rest/nap/swim break. On a different trip, we took an afternoon break from MK at Geyser Point at Wilderness Lodge. Spent the morning at MK, took friendship boat to WL, ate a late lunch at Geyser Point, then took a bus to Animal Kingdom for the rest of the day.
• Don't expect to do everything.
• If Hoop Dee Doo Revue is operational while you'll be there, spend the money to go and experience that. It's super fun and really worth the cost and time.
• Don't do more than 2 rope drop days in a row.
• Get familiar with the My Disney Experience app.
• Decide what each person's #1 "must do" is and try to do that early on in the trip. Go in with the expectation that once your #1 thing is achieved, everything else is icing on the cake.
• At the same time, don't hang your entire trip on 1 "thing" that you absolutely must do or else it'll be a ruined trip. Go into it with the right attitude and you'll have fun regardless of what happens.
• Spend the money on the refillable drink mug. It saved us money and was worth it.
• Bring tools with you to stay cool. Stuff like: umbrellas, portable handheld fans (both battery operated & human powered), and a refillable water bottle.
• Drink often. Drink before you're thirsty.
• It's not a fashion show. Wear loose fitting, comfortable clothing.
• Expect that you'll sweat a lot and will probably look all day like you just got out of the gym. Everybody else looks the same way. It doesn't matter.
• Wear some sort of big hat to cover your head.
• Wear comfortable shoes.
• consider wearing hiking sandals instead of sneakers.
• Put Body Glide on your feet before you put on your shoes/socks.
• Use Body Glide on any other body parts that might be prone to chafing.
• Take some time each day to sit on a bench somewhere and just people watch, listen to the background noise & music, and soak it all in. When you start to pay attention, you learn to appreciate how really well done all of the parks are.

 

[VandVsmama]

Forgot a couple:

• If you want to go on ROTR, go and read the sticky thread that explains all about the ROTR boarding groups and how to get one.
• If you want to go to Oga's Cantina in HS, be online first thing in the morning 60 days before the start of your trip to try for an ADR for it. Know that an ADR for Oga's does not guarantee you'll actually be sitting down when you get there. Most of the spots are standing only.
• Beaches & Cream is another hard ADR to get.
• Savi's Workshop & Droid Depot both need reservations in order to build a light saber or build a droid. Sign ups start 60 days beforehand.
• Dok Ondar's Den of Antiquities has 2 queues - a legacy lightsaber queue and a regular queue. For the regular queue, you get in line and stand there until it's your party's turn to go in. But if you want to buy a legacy lightsaber, then you sign up for the virtual queue for that. There's a sign for it with a QR code to scan with your phone's camera in order to sign up. Don't do what we did on our 1st HS day and waited until 7 pm (with an 8 pm closing) to try to get in to the legacy lightsaber queue and it was all full.
• All the rides in Toy Story land in HS have shorter wait times after dinner. Same with MMRR.

 

[LSUfan4444]

what is your most used or best tip or advice?

Don't try to do things that you don't like to do. Sounds easy but it's quite hard. Too many people plan disney vacations based on what other people say to do and it puts them in constant FOMO...We HAVE to do this. We HAVE to do that. We HAVE to eat here, etc.

Families of 4 spending $350-$400 for lunch at Tusker House because their neighbor said "it's a must do, our kids loved it"
Hitting rope drops even though they like to sleep in
Afraid to take a mid day break
Etc, Etc, Etc

The biggest piece of advice I give anyone ESPECIALLY on the first trip is to plan the things you know YOU want to do, then experience others suggestions as it fits into your plan and if you can, leave time for self exploration. Have a detailed plan of what YOU want to do but do not plan to stick to it and be rigid. Be able to throw it away and start fresh each day and still have an amazing time. Make sure you have the spa and golf course numbers in your phone...if it's raining or it's too hot or too cold or your tired or our can't take having your foot run over by one more stroller....make other plans.

And don't ever skip a snack cart that has something you know you want because Karen said you had to have lunch at The Plaza.

 

[Pookie9922]

A tip I wish I would have known - Spaceship Earth is super lame! Don't waste your time. My kids were like "Did we really just get on a history lesson?" I thought it was a rollercoaster. The one thing I didn't research well.

Also skip Living with the Land. I thought it would be neat. My family disagreed.

 

[jimmymc]

A tip I wish I would have known - Spaceship Earth is super lame! Don't waste your time. My kids were like "Did we really just get on a history lesson?" I thought it was a rollercoaster. The one thing I didn't research well.

Also skip Living with the Land. I thought it would be neat. My family disagreed.

Not sure how to say this without offending them, but your kids have bad taste.

But never wait too long for them. Both will be walk ons by late afternoon, even on a crowded day.

 

[parasail_of_congress]

Don't try to do things that you don't like to do. Sounds easy but it's quite hard. Too many people plan disney vacations based on what other people say to do and it puts them in constant FOMO...We HAVE to do this. We HAVE to do that. We HAVE to eat here, etc.

Families of 4 spending $350-$400 for lunch at Tusker House because their neighbor said "it's a must do, our kids loved it"
Hitting rope drops even though they like to sleep in
Afraid to take a mid day break
Etc, Etc, Etc

The biggest piece of advice I give anyone ESPECIALLY on the first trip is to plan the things you know YOU want to do, then experience others suggestions as it fits into your plan and if you can, leave time for self exploration. Have a detailed plan of what YOU want to do but do not plan to stick to it and be rigid. Be able to throw it away and start fresh each day and still have an amazing time. Make sure you have the spa and golf course numbers in your phone...if it's raining or it's too hot or too cold or your tired or our can't take having your foot run over by one more stroller....make other plans.

And don't ever skip a snack cart that has something you know you want because Karen said you had to have lunch at The Plaza.

How can you know what you like to do at WDW if you've never been there before? I agree that you shouldn't do something only because someone told you to do it, but I'd assume that the only way to learn what's there is by checking out recommendations from friends and others.

 

[Pookie9922]

Not sure how to say this without offending them, but your kids have bad taste.

But never wait too long for them. Both will be walk ons by late afternoon, even on a crowded day.

Well I have bad taste too because I fully agreed with them! I think there's a nostalgic aspect to it? I'm sure there are rides at DL that I love that Floridians do not. It probably didn't help that we were expecting something fast and exciting.

 

[jbrinkm]

Well I have bad taste too because I fully agreed with them! I think there's a nostalgic aspect to it? I'm sure there are rides at DL that I love that Floridians do not. It probably didn't help that we were expecting something fast and exciting.

Expectations can make a huge impact on an impression of a ride! And especially if your kids just finished their school year, no wonder they were bummed about a history lesson...

 

[jimmymc]

Well I have bad taste too because I fully agreed with them! I think there's a nostalgic aspect to it? I'm sure there are rides at DL that I love that Floridians do not. It probably didn't help that we were expecting something fast and exciting.

Haha they are definitely local and frequent visitor favorites. Also people who can't do anything fast moving because they get sick. I usually go on them after a big lunch or dinner.

 

[Pookie9922]

Haha they are definitely local and frequent visitor favorites. Also people who can't do anything fast moving because they get sick. I usually go on them after a big lunch or dinner.

That was me this weekend after a monte cristo and smore's milkshake in DCA. The kids wanted to do Incredicoaster and let's just say it was a really good thing we did Little Mermaid first!

 

[LSUfan4444]

How can you know what you like to do at WDW if you've never been there before? I

You don't have to have gone to Disney before to know if you're an early family or prefer sleeping in. Does your family eat breakfast? Do they eat three meals a day? Do they like to be outside 12+ hours a day? Do they play golf? Like the pool? Can they handle alot of walking? Are they picky eaters? Doe they drink alot of water or mostly sodas? How many days can handle 7 hours of sleep when they're walking 10+ miles a day on a diet of sugar and processed foods?

Basically, don't go and try to put a square peg in a round hole...find what fits your family and do that. Don't do what fits another family.

 

[slyster]

Prepare for the heat! It will be hot depending on when you go.

 

[wideeyedwonder]

1) bring a refillable water bottle and sunscreen to the parks. And a hat, even if you are a “POC” like me and feel “I don’t need no stinkin’ hat”.

2) at least for now, figure which parks you want to start at on which days, and make reservations for them the earliest you are allowed to.

3) make dining reservations at the parks (or Disney springs [the shopping area], or your resort]) as far ahead of time as possible. This is not a requirement if you don’t need/want to eat at the more “fancy” or expensive restaurants, and are fine with the quick service (over the counter) options, but if there are “must have” restaurants, make this reservations as soon as you are allowed.

4) install the “my Disney experience” app in your phone, create an account, and link your park tickets and park reservations to your account. Preferably, do this for every member of your party. This app is how you will do many things at WDW, including ordering food at many of the quick service locations, add or change dining reservations, and get access to rides with virtual queues like Rise of the Resistance.

5) if you want to ride Rise of the Resistance, look on here or on YouTube for “how to score a rise of the Resistance boarding group”. This knowledge is essential if you want to ride this ride.

6) if your trip is during summer, on days when there is no cloud cover, consider going back to the hotel/resort on the hottest parts of the days, and doing the parks in the mornings and the later afternoons and evenings.

7) prepare your party to be flexible when you arrive at the resort. Things can change, and it’s best to have a “hey, at least we are at WDW” kind of attitude.

8) bring 1 inexpensive and compact plastic folded rain poncho for every member; there is always the chance of a sudden downpour in summer.

9) be ok with splitting up. Some of your party early risers? Let them go to “rope drop” the parks, while you sleep in. Some like to stay to closing, but your feet are aching? Let them stay while you go back to the hotel/resort for a dip in the pool or hot tub.

it’s harder these days to just “wing it” at WDW, and if you want to do things like RotR, you have to do some pre-planning and homework (which can be both stressful AND fun!)

however, don’t let anything that you’ve forgotten to pre-plan ruin your time at WDW…there are always options to keep things fun, even with no pre-planning, if you keep a flexible mindset.