First Timer Tips

[tialmo]

Hey all fellow DIS'ers! My DW and I will be taking our very first ever trip to Disney World the last week in August! We are so excited! Anyway, does anyone have any tips for first timers? We will be staying at the Coronado Springs Resort and will be there for 6 days and 5 nights. Is there washing/drying machines anywhere close to use? And also any tips on what to bring or what not to bring and any tips about parks would be awesome. We got the park hopper and waterpark passes as well. Also if anyone has any suggestions for ADR's I would be glad to hear them! Thanks again!

 

[litlpixie]

Congrats on your upcoming first trip to the World!! You'll never forget it, I promise you that. You'll get a lot of help and good advice from these boards. I'll throw my 2-cents in - I have stayed at CSR 3 times in the last 2 years, so I will say this-laundry facilities are by every quiet pool, so if you see a quiet pool, which are in the middle of each cluster of bldgs, you'll find the laundry.

Also, CSR is huge and August is HOT and brings T-Storms. You may want to request a bldg. close to the main house if you want to be near the Pepper Market, lobby, Guest Services, etc. Otherwise, you'll be walking what could perhaps be quite a distance when its 90 and humid, or in the pouring rain with lightning. Just speaking from experience,lol

But I will add, its a real pretty resort....Cabana section was always my fave.

I'm going back to the World in August as well. HYDRATE!!!!!!! oh, and have a great time!!!

 

[MHSweb79]

Please book your ADR's right away! Over at allears.net they have reviews and menus for all the Disney restaurants, which will help you choose. People start booking 180 days in advance, so you really need to get them as quickly as you can.

A couple of other things:

1. If you can do it, getting up early will be your best friend. Go to the morning EMH park at opening, ride all the headliners and then head back to your resort for a nap or swim, then head out to a different park for dinner and evening touring. You'll get a TON done in the early a.m. hours and you'll also avoid the hottest part of the afternoon.

2. Use Fast Passes! They are free! Also, realize that you can use your fast pass any time after your window opens until the park closes that day. This will save your poor feet from criss-crossing the hot pavement all day long.

3. Bring dollar-store ponchos for the thunderstorms. You can just toss them after the storm passes. Also, don't let a little rain stop you from going to the parks- just about everything will be open, and sometimes the rain drives the masses away, leaving you very short wait times.

4. Have a great honeymoon! Our Disneymoon was in September 1984 and we are still going strong!

ETA: Regarding staying hydrated: You can get a free cup of ice water from any counter-service eatery that serves fountain drinks, so you don't have to blow your budget on bottled water. Plus the free cup has ice in it!

 

[litlpixie]

I agree with everything MHSweb79 said!! Although I'm more of a Rope-drop girl, instead of an EMH girl. Still, utilize FP's whenever you can.

 

[BigBubba]

Don't try to see everything in one day, take your time and enjoy it!!

 

[disneymom/teacher]

If you are going at the end Of August, you had better make your ADRs NOW, I had difficulities scheduling meals that I wanted 3 weeks ago for mid August. Make sure you are flexible with your times and days. Enjoy you trip- you'll have a great time

 

[ZoZo]

Welcome to the DIS!

My biggest recommendation would be to buy a guidebook (I like the Unofficial Guide the best). It will give you so much good, basic information about things like: how fastpass works, different strategies (like arriving at "rope drop" at the parks - that means arriving at the park before it opens to maximize the uncrowded park hours!).

As others have said, call right away and make some dining reservations - things fill up very quickly.

Have fun!

 

[smcdaniel4688]

Congrats and I hope you enjoy your first trip to DW!!! Never stayed at your hotel so I am no help there but I do have a few suggestions...I pack backpack or a baggellini cross body bag...Take tylenol, Tums and a travel size sunscreen. Always take ponchos, not just for rain but for Splash Mountain and Kali River Rapids. I also always keep wet wipes and those travel packs of clorox wipes in my bag...and Shout wipes. I am usually over orepared. For August , you might want to try to find some of those small batery powered fans to take in the parks cause it will be HOT in some of those lines. Utiize extra magic hours and Fastpasses! In Magic Kingdom, don't miss Pirates of the Caribbean! In Animal Kingdom, get FP for Expedition Everest early and get to Kilamanjaro Safari in the mornign before it gets too hot cause the animals tend to be hard to find in the heat of the day. Ride Kali River Rapids last cause even with a poncho, you WILL GET WET. In EPCOT, head to the Land Pavillion early and get a FP for Soarin' and then get in line cause this ride is awesome and I bet you will want to ride it twice! Same goes for Toy Story Mania in Hollywood Studios. These lines can get CRAZY long (we have seen 120 minutes) as the day goes on. Make your ADRs NOW and try unconventional times to eat so it will be less crowded and you will have a better chance of getting into places to eat. We love the Rose and Crown Pub in EPCOT..it is in the World Showcase Great Britain. Food is good here but the best thing is to try to get a dinner ADR for about 730 and request a seat on the terrace. Excellent view of the fireworks show if you can stretch your meal out til about 9. If you do get seated inside, they have a special area roped off right on the water for their patrons to go out and watch the show. We do this every trip. Most of all, ENJOY YOURSELVES! Disney is a great place and has so much to see. Take it easy and don't get in a rush. Resign yourselves to the fact that you will have to stand in line, people will be rude, things won't always go exactly right and in August in Central Florida it WILL RAIN IN THE AFTERNOON. If you go ahead and accept these simple truths, you can go relaxed and have a memorable trip. Hope this helped even just a little!

 

[JenSop]

There's just so much!

1. Make your ADR's. Do it right away, as many will be mostly booked!

2. Realize you won't see everything and that's okay on a first trip.

3. Just keep reading the Disboards! You'll get so much info!

4. Each park has its most popular rides. Get to each park before it opens, hit the really popular rides (take advantage of fast pass!), and you'll be good to go. Even non-morning people need to be morning people at Disney.

5. Wear REALLY good shoes. You will walk MILES every day.

6. Use Photopass - it's great! And it doesn't cost anything until you see your pics and decide if you want to buy them. It'll be a great souvenir of your first trip!

7. Rest in the middle of the day every day.

8. Have two outfits packed per day. You will sweat like you can't imagine and will want a change of clothing for the latter part of the day.

 

[leebee]

I'm just gonna make a list instead of being chatty... I hope...

1. Buy the Unofficial Guide. Read it, read it, read it.
2. Make your ADR's now. Park hours are posted on wdwinfo.com so decide where you want to be each day.
3. We are not morning people but very happily make use of evening magic hours and sleep in most days. It works!
4. Acknowledge and accept that you cannot see everything in one trip. Make a list of the things you HAVE to see and let the rest go for the next trip (there WILL be one)!
5. Learn to use fastpass.
6. Things to take...(italicized stuff goes in small backpack to take into park)
ponchos, sunscreen, handheld minifans, moleskin, spray-on deodorant for your feet, water (or a filtering water bottle), extra undies/bras (TMI but if you swim/shower midday you won't want to get back into sweaty underwear AND because of the humidity hand-washables don't dry overnight very well), clothespins to hang stuff on the clothesline in the bathtub, park snacks (granola bars, gummy things) without chocolate (melty icky mess), gallon sized ziplock bags to put cell phones, cameras, etc in when riding on things like splash mountain, glowsticks from the dollar store for evening parades/shows, powerstrip if you have many things that need recharging every night
7. The shoe issue... some swear by sweat wicking socks and good sturdy walking shoes, but these make me crazy. We do best in the shoes we wear everyday... in my case, crocs. DD wears her columbia sandals, columbia flip flops (both with good arch support). DH wears socks/good sneakers or sandals with good arch support. You are going to walk a LOT- maybe 10 miles a day- and spend a lot of time standing around. Wear whatever will make your feet the happiest.
8. Don't sweat... well, OK, literally you cannot avoid it, but don't worry about all the details. YOu could go to WDW with nothing buy your credit card and still have a wonderful, amazing time... I promise!!

Hmmm... said I wasn't going to be chatty; gotta work on that!