1. What shoes are the best for all the walking, and for getting wet?
2. Should we plan to have a backpack of some sort?
3. How do you keep electronics dry?
4. We will not enjoy our stay if we over plan. So how do you get the most from your week at the park, without planning every minute? We are not thrill seekers, so attractions like space mountain are out.
5. We will be in a villa, with a small fridge and microwave? Where can you buy snacks to have available in your room?
1. There is no specific type. I'd take whatever shoes you feel most comfortable walking in. Tennis shoes,
crocs, sandals, etc. Make sure you have more than 1 pair incase they do get wet. However, we've only ever had one instance of shoes getting wet from a bad storm and were able to use a blow-dryer to dry them out overnight. Also, make sure you take blister band aids or mole skin or both for any issues that come up.
2. We never take big bags. I'm not sure what all you are planning on packing, but we have never needed more than our tickets, money, id, sunglasses, and phones. Anything more really just becomes something to haul around. You don't even need to take a water bottle. You can get ice water for free at any restaurant or cart that has a soda machine. You can send any purchases either to the front gate or back to the room. Anything else, jackets, first aid, snacks, etc, I would just store in a locker, and you can get them out as needed. So, if I did take a backpack, I wouldn't carry it around with me, I'd only use it to and from the parks, but we prefer a beach bag for that. Easier to get in and out of and for security to check. Plus they tend to cram better into a locker than a stiffer backpack does. We usually do a cross body purses for the women and small messenger bags for men. We use these to hold the few belongings we do need with us. This is because Disney will let you wear these while you ride as long as all harnesses can be safely shut with them on. This way our hands stay free while we tour, and we can't accidently leave the bag behind at a ride by mistake. Some types of bags you have to take off and store while riding making them easy to forget in the rush to get out.
3. I've never had an issue with anything getting wet. What type of electronics are you talking about and what type of wet are you worried about? There aren't very many rides at Disney that get you wet, and the few that do are nothing bad. A trash bag or disposable rain jacket is usually sufficient to keep you dry. If you are really worried, I'd just take a few zip lock bags, that should do the trick. Universal is a whole other deal. Everything soaks you there, but Disney is pretty dry.
4. If you aren't big planners, than these are my suggestions:
A. Familiarize yourself with the quick service restaurants. Just because you don't need a reservation doesn't mean it isn't good. This will give you more flexibility to not plan out every meal if you know of a few QS restaurants in each park that interest you.
B. Focus on non ride attractions such as shows, parades, meet and greets, shopping, the new interactive games they have at MK and the scavenger hunt at Epcot, the countries, Innovations, the Aquarium at Epcot, the animal trails at AK, and nightly fireworks. You are going during a busy time where planning is more important for rides, but all these types of attractions won't be as effected by crowds, so you can more easily experience them as you come upon them without planning as much. For instance, you don't really need to plan in the fireworks to enjoy them. You can see them from everywhere in the park, and there are fireworks or some type of end of night show at every park except AK. So little planning is needed for this, except the staying up late enough to watch them part.
C. Try to make RD or Morning Extra Magic Hours. This will give you an extra couple of hours where you basically walk around and can do whatever you fancy without encountering long lines. By 10:00am, sometimes earlier, forget it.
D. Take breaks, avoid rides in the afternoon, swim, visit DTD, enjoy the hotels, just get away from the crowds in the afternoon, 11:00am to 4:00 or 5:00pm. This will be the hottest most crowded part of the day. The part of the day most affected by not super planning.
E. Have a general idea of your must dos for each park. Do those first; then afterwards, you can go plan free and just see what you see. This way you don't run out of time, and you can still keep planning to a minimum.
Note: FYI, you are a bigger planner than you think or you wouldn't be here. The type of people that have a miserable trip are the ones who show up without a clue. They ask how to get to HP world. They try to take boats from MK to DTD. They get mad because they can't find non-existent rides they have dreamed up. They have no idea what an ADR or a FP is and expect to walk onto everything on a crowded peak day. They also expect to walk up to any restaurant and eat without waiting or having a reservation. Then they get upset because they waited 3 hours for 1 ride, never got to meet Anna and Elsa, and couldn't eat at any character meals or at Cinderella's Castle. I've heard stories of people telling their kids they were going to eat with Cinderella and just walking over to the Castle to go in. When you try to tell them you need a reservation, they just look at you like you are crazy. Those are the unhappy non-planners. You will be fine.
5. The Deluxe resorts, which I am assuming you are staying at if you have a villa, all have a pantry-like section in the hotel gift shop with food and basic household supplies. Expect these to be extremely overpriced and the selection to be limited. Don't go hoping for a certain a brand or anything. I find these shops are good for things I forgot or emergencies, but that I should not depend on them for my grocery shopping needs. You have a few other options as well:
A. If you have a car, make a run to a nearby pharmacy or grocery store.
B. Use a grocery service to deliver supplies.
C. Use
Amazon, Amazon Pantry, or a similar online service to ship supplies direct to your hotel.
D. Shop at home and send a package direct to your hotel.
Note: Some of the deluxe hotels allow packages to be shipped to them and stored until your arrival for free; however, a select few do charge on a per package rate. So it is best to check on that with your specific hotel first before deciding.
When we go, if we do not have a car, we usually do a combination of the Grocery Delivery Service (for frozen / refrigerated items) and shipping a box (misc. supplies and dry goods / snacks) to the hotel. This way we can use the same box to ship back all our souvenirs that are too large to go in the luggage. Food down, souvenirs back, works well. Learned that trick here on the Dis. You just get a return label for your package before leaving home, and then drop it at the hotel desk upon leaving and are good to go.
I think that should get you started. Hope you have a great trip.
