Don't miss the Golden Mickeys. It has Ariel, Snow White, Lion King, Cruella, Tarzan, Rapunzel, all the princesses at the end. It's got a sorta cheesey sub plot but it didn't matter because the musical sequences were totally top notch. Mom missed this one because she was afraid she would be rushed getting ready for dinner. Don't miss this one, it was our favorite one for all the sequences it covered.
Go to the Family Karaoke at least once, because they are some gems. Similarly, our Fiesta party with Donald Duck was one of the most entertaining things I"ve ever seen! hahaha lil kids doing 'merengue' and all ages having a blast. Too full to dance from dinner but man I'm glad I watched it. It was hilarious.
We missed getting a Mickey bar at least once off the kids menu for desserts. Since sundaes are a lot of their signature deserts, I plan to get one for sure next time instead.
We also missed the Pirate buffet, although the rest of our family went, I don't know how they ate, but they raved about the crepes, and I plan to sample at least a taste on my next one.
Research your ports. People act like Nassau is not worth getting off the ship, and of course, that is your choice. But there are some gems there and the island is gorgeous once you get a little out of the port, so do your research so you don't miss something you may like to do.
Bring some mask, snorkel and fins sets for the family. If you have your own, you don't have to rent to $25 each place you go to. (And then its yours, always handy, and don't have to think of all the people using it...) Snorkeling at Castaway is free if you bring your own gear! And it's got tons of fish too.
You can bring some items to stock your room if you don't already know about that on your carry-on.
Make sure all your cruise documents are in order, that is the number one priority with passports being the easiest and most secure way and you will be ready for years.
Get plenty of sleep the morning you embark so you aren't so tired on your first day! We had a disney parks hopping day until 1am the night before. We did all 4 parks (went to one of them twice) along with a nice dinner at the Contemporary. That morning in Orlando, we got to get some rest and didn't have to leave our hotel room til about 10. It's only an hr drive to the port, and you can't really check in much before 11, so we were so glad we got sleep. We were able to stay up and have a great time every night. We only had a 3 day, so each night had to count,and we definitely made it count!
Our only downside to the trip was the back of the tram on Castaway was improperly loaded. No one was checking it, Mom and Dad were getting on and it started to leave, so Dad jumped back off of it and I guess it jarred him pretty badly. So maybe only load very close to the front of the tram driver to avoid that.
Make sure you have a camera if you go to the princess gathering for photos in the DLounge. We thought the professional photographers would be there like downstairs in the lobby, but they weren't! We didn't have a phone or camera or anything and a nice lady took them for us and emailed them to us, but we learned to have a camera with us next time for all evenings!
Come in the night before unless you are within an hr's drive of the port, come in earlier if you want to have a great park day to start your vacation, or add one on to the day you get off the ship to make your 4 day a lil longer and a great vacation (and if you go after leaving the ship, it helps to postpone the post-cruise blues!)
Ok that's all I can think of for now. It's such a great trip!
We got lost trying to drive to Poly as well, ending up in the MK parking lot instead!
want to do it again with DGD #2 in a few years
- no seriously, use the bathrooms everywhere on the ship! So much fun to see the different themes! 
