How do you prepare for a day at the parks?

[disneyworldfamily]

We are gearing up for our first family trip to disney world!

I am trying to envision how we should prepare for our days at the parks each morning We are staying at POFQ. We have 2 kids and quite a few ADR's.

Do you usually return to the hotel during day? Or do you leave the hotel and not return until after dinner in the evening? From all the reading I am doing, it doesn't seem realistic to travel back and forth to the hotel with the buses, it just seems like it will be so time consuming!

So I guess my questions are:

1. What does your schedule look like each day?
2. What do you bring with you? I would like to avoid lugging around a heavy bag everywhere we go.

Thanks!

 

[Evelyne]

Hi,
congratulations on your first trip!!! But you do know that you will definitly need and want to go back. Disney is like good champagne, when you get a taste of it, you can't live without it... Ok let's get serious.

Staying at a disney resort you can take advantage of the Extra Magic Hours, espicially in the morning it can be a time saver because it is less crowed.
Take advantage of the Fast pass, as soon as you enter the park head to the ride you want (or the most popular), get a Fasspass, then go on to do some stand by rides. Check the next available time for a new fastpass and repete the operation.
When eating Quick counter service try to eat before 12h, I would say 11:30h is a good time, everything will be faster that way. Anithing before 18h is good for dinner. Eating your breakfast at your resort (unless you have ADR) is also a good time saver.

Going back to the resort or not??? Good question... It always depends on the crowd, the heat, the age of your kids, the opening hours, and the lenth of your stay. If everybody is tired you might as well miss 3 hours in the park to go for a swim and a little rest than staying there and not enjoy yourselfs.

Look at each attractions in the park make a list of your priorities, (always have a alternative on hand) try to do the most of it. If you are not watching parades it tends to be a little bit easier during that time.

There is a very interesting Disney travel guide made by Birnbaum, I always get it at Chapter's, it can give you a lot of tips.

You can bring bottles of water, put them in the freezer the night before, you will then get fresh drinks all day. Sunscreen, batteries for the camera and some treats for the kids can be handy.

Don't try to do everything in one day, even if you don't see or do what was planed you are in Disney so you wioll still have the time of your life.

Anyway you will definitly need and want to go back... Have a magical trip.

1990 to 1992, off site with DB+ friends 1994 off site with DB+ family/
1995 off site DB, DS (2) and DD on the way 1998 off site DB, DS DD/
1999 off site DB, DS, DD, + family/ 2000 to 2003 DB, DS, DD All star Sports
2004 to 2008 Pop Century with DB
(after 20 years, let’s say DH), DS, DD and family
2008 to 2009 Pop Century DH, DS, DD/ 2010 and 2011 Pop DH, DD and her friend
September 2012 DH and me alone for the 1st time.
Can’t wait to check inn at the POP!!!



http://www.**************/id/1348729281.jpg

 

[glenpreece]

I also try to and coordinate my schedule with the EMH. I like to get to the park that has the morning one for opening you can get so much done before the crowds arrive. Then I'll head back to the resort at about 11 or noon for a break/swim/shower etc and then go have lunch somewhere and then head to another park. Usually the one that had EMH the night before since I find the night emh's to be really crowded.

I agree pick up Birnbaum's guide to WDW. On my first ttrip I read it cover to cover and again and again. As for what I bring to the parks in my bag would be, sunscreen , wallet, lip balm, my thermal water spray (shoppers 5 buck for the travel size with a bunch of other goodies from la roche posay). Then some snacks and that's it, I don't bring a lot to the parks with me.

Have A Great time )

 

[ottawamom]

Go to the parks early, get your high priority rides done first. We usually tour till 11 or 12 then head back to the resort to swim/rest/cool off or to the water park to swim etc. We head back to the parks late afternoon and spend the evening.

I guess what you do when somewhat depends on when you are going. If the parks are open late and your girls are old enough I would spend time in the parks when the sun is going down (cooler).

Make a must do list of rides for each park you are visiting and plan a route that allows you to maximize your time and enjoyment. We usually plan on 2 visits to Magic Kingdom, 2 visits to Epcot, 1 visit to Hollywood Studios and 1 visit to Animal Kingdom. HS and AK are easily done in one day.

What to take to the parks depends strongly on the age of your children. Sunscreen, water, snacks, camera are the minimum we usually take.

A little more info about your trip (when how long), age of your kids will get you more direct answers.

 

[sheboz]

We always create a touring plan. Go to touringplans.com great site with lots of tips for the most efficient way to tour the park. Read The Unofficial Guide to WDW 2012. In my opinion the best trip is an organized trip. Take thee time to enjoy the details! Have a safe trip!

 

[disneyworldfamily]

Excellent advice everyone, thanks so much, I knew I came to the right place to ask

The kids will be 5 & 6 at the time of our trip which is taking place early August of this year. We are leaning towards spending the days in the parks, basing which park we visit on the location of the restaurants we have our ADR's for that day. We did it this way so we aren't stuck traveling between parks and resorts for a chunk of our day. We put a lot of thought into our ADR's obviously!

Of course, with children as young as ours, things can change, so we are prepared for that.

I've bookmarked touringplans.com and we were already planning to make a Chapters visit this week so I will definitely check out the Birnbaum book.

Thanks again for the words of wisdom! Any further advice is appreciated!

 

[Ken_Breadbox]

Excellent advice everyone, thanks so much, I knew I came to the right place to ask

The kids will be 5 & 6 at the time of our trip which is taking place early August of this year. We are leaning towards spending the days in the parks, basing which park we visit on the location of the restaurants we have our ADR's for that day. We did it this way so we aren't stuck traveling between parks and resorts for a chunk of our day. We put a lot of thought into our ADR's obviously!

Of course, with children as young as ours, things can change, so we are prepared for that.

I've bookmarked touringplans.com and we were already planning to make a Chapters visit this week so I will definitely check out the Birnbaum book.

Thanks again for the words of wisdom! Any further advice is appreciated!

We don't have kids, but my DW is extremely heat and sun-sensitive (I've seen her get sunburns on rainy days, and she's not comfortable at any temperature much above 10). We found that going back to the resort for the afternoon was absolutely critical for our enjoyment of the trip. I hadn't expected, before I went, that our resort would end up being such a hugely enjoyable place...mind you, we stayed at Old Key West, but I have heard great things about POFQ.
Yes, plan: as one of the guides says, to enjoy Disney without planning ahead of time you need a lobotomy. But don't set your plans (other than ADRs) in stone...

 

[ottawamom]

I would definitely think about heading back to the pool mid-day. If not your ADR's should provide some cool respite from the parks. Plan on a few of the air-conditioned shows to give you a break between rides and waiting for rides. Early August is hot!

Consider going to the dollar store or Walmart and seeing if they still have those little person sized battery operated fans. Another trick I use is to get one of the travel sized spritz bottles at the dollar store and refill it with water as needed. I spritz whoever is in need of a cool down. The bottle is small so it packs easily in a fanny pack.

Take some ziplock baggies to put a washcloth in. When someone gets hot just wet it at a water fountain and a quick wipe down goes a long way to feeling more refreshed.

Search the boards for tips on keeping cool in the parks there are tonnes of great ideas out there.

If you are heading to the book store. If you buy the Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World you automatically get access to the Touring Plans website. You just have to look up the daily question in the book to get online.

Have a great trip. We will be there just a few weeks after you.

 

[DisneyFairytale]

It really depends on where we are staying that day. What we normally do, if we have to bus it or drive to the park, we will go first thing in the morning, but leave before the park closes so we don't get caught up in that rush, and go for dinner, or shopping.
Normally we've packed our lunches or things to make sandwiches with and buy those fresh breads in the park. Even when we have stayed at nearby-walking distance to the hotel, we've never gone back halfway thru the day, or being close has never really been of benefit.

 

[Stan Solo]

We went on our first trip last Aug. We did plan to go back to the room in the afternoon for a break but that never happened mind you it was just my DD(16) and I so we had an easier go of it. With the ages of your kids I would plan to go back to the resort for a break. That way you will be able to enjoy the evening festivities without a melt down.

I took one small back pack and in it we had...

Battery operated fan mister

Rain ponchos for each of us (we bought some at Giant Tiger with maple leafs on them and some from Dollerama. The ones from GT were way, way better)

Camera

A large mouth metal water bottle for each of us (get large mouth ones so you can put ice it. Ice and water is free at every stand and any place that sells food) be sure to drink plenty of water and plan for it.

And sun spray we used a bottle a day for just the two of us (my DD is very pale) but we did not burn at all.

 

[crazyfordisney2000]

One thing we did when the kids were younger, is plan most of our ADR's at lunch. That way, you can sleep in a day and not have to be to that given park till noon, or, you can leave after lunch if they are tired. It felt a lot less restricting.

As a previous poster said drink lots of water. I constantly passed the water bottles to our kids even if they said they weren't thirsty and had them take a sip. They never got dehydrated.

Plan pool time. At that age, I found our kids were more about the pools than the parks! yup, rather annoying, but we travel with the attitude it's their vacation too!

We take a backpack that fits a soft-sided cooler bag. It holds 6 bottles of water, and it doesn't take long to drink them so the bag doesn't stay heavy for long. I usually carry it because I don't mind the heat. Sunscreen, Kleenex, pkg of wipes, empty baggies (you'd be surprised how useful they can be), long sleeve shirts (take up less room than sweater) for ADR's , cause I hate being cold while eating. I used to take first aid stuff, but I don't anymore because I have found the first aid stations to be awesome if someone gets a scrape or has a headache. I also pack a couple grocery bags when we go to Ak because we go on Kali so many times and our shoes end up soaked.

 

[MedicGoofy]

Your going to get so many different replies. It is all going to depend on the person, the family, the time of year you go, how big your party is. Everything. And in the end, it will be how you feel you want to do the parks.

I've been going to Disney ever since I was a kid. We never took a break during the day. We've been in the winter, summer. We just went. My brother and I did well without the breaks.

When I travel now, I still don't break. I get up, if I make it to park opening, I make it. If not, Im not concerned. I carry a small purse that goes over my shoulder. I know some carry larger bags to accomodate snacks and water bottles. I don't the bulk OR the added weight. If I need something to drink, I will buy water. While it can be expensive, I have already built that price into my trip cost. I don't want to have to put a water bottle into my purse, for weight on my shoulder, or to have to carry it around. If something is gonna be in my hand, it's my camera

I don't break during the day to go back to the resort. If anything, it's a nice lunch break. Cool down. Chill. Have some good food. And then get back at it.

And then we go at it till then end of the day. This is how it's been since I was a kid. I love it The crazy Disney life!!

But, again. It's all on how YOUR family will do. What will work for one, might not work for the next. Your just going to have to go and find out what might and might not work and adjust. If your finding that kids need that break, take it. Don't push them. If they are doing great.....great!!

Enjoy your trip.....Disney is awesome

 

[disneyworldfamily]

Thanks so much for all of the amazing tips and advice everyone! You've all mentioned things I did not even think of, so I am very I'm glad I asked!

We are so excited for this vacation!

 

[Emteach]

Agree with what other posters have said, whatever works for your family. We are planning on going to AK and DS without a break. AK because it will already be a shorter day and DS bc there are quite a few shows and that we can sit and relax during. During our MK and Epcot days we plan on taking a mid-afternoon break and going back just before our ADRs. We are luckily on one of the monorail resorts but our last trip we were at All Star Movies and needed the breaks. I am prone to headaches and know if I get one of those I am no good for the rest of the day so it is a must for our family. Happy Trip