If you could give one piece of advice...

[Holstar]

Heya guys!

So, whilst I've been off work poorly, my Disney planning has pretty much gone into over drive!

I have been wondering though, everyone who has been before, if you could give someone one (or more!) piece of advice what would it be?

Have you done something that made it special? Or perhaps it's a particular dining experience? Something you wish you'd known the first time you went?

Hollie x

 

[starrysky]

Heya guys!

So, whilst I've been off work poorly, my Disney planning has pretty much gone into over drive!

I have been wondering though, everyone who has been before, if you could give someone one (or more!) piece of advice what would it be?

Have you done something that made it special? Or perhaps it's a particular dining experience? Something you wish you'd known the first time you went?

Hollie x

Don't try and do it all, or at least not in the fist few days. You are just asking to hit that wall and that way you will end up tired and with very sore feet.

Speaking of sore feet seriously make sure what ever foot wear you take is comfortable.

And don't worry about how big, tall, short, fat, thin, tanned etc you are believe me there will be someone taller, skinnier, fatter shorter etc. don't waste your time worrying about that before you go. There are threads on here that people worry themselves sick on about these things.

Most of all have fun. If you want to wear mickey ears why not, stop and look around its amazing what you see when you do.

 

[igk]

My one piece of advice is: Get to the parks early to avoid the crowds and long wait times

 

[stoneyloon]

Do the Hoop Dee Doo and the BierGarten, 2 great dinners that are often overlooked......

 

[Button]

Make a tradition. On our first trip back in 2003 an we shared a table in the bakery on Main Street

 

[Button]

Make a tradition. On our first trip back in 2003 an we shared a table in the bakery on Main Street

Whoops iPhone clumsy!!

Anyway was gonna say we were chatting to couple on our first trip who suggested buying 1 Disney Christmas ornament each trip. Ok so its minimum 2 for us but really glad we did I love decorating our tree and getting my Disney memories.

Since now with child on each of his trips we've made tradition to take picture of him on swings at FW so we have his own Disney through the years captured.

 

[queendisney]

my one bit of advise would definately be MAKE SURE YOU HAVE COMFORTABLE SHOES. This alone can make or break your holiday. You do so much walking and often on extremely hot ground, can you imagine the temp inside your trainers? Whatever you decide make sure they are well and truely broken in and don't worry what they look like, wdw is not a place to make a fashion statement..

 

[kitcat1]

If you only do it once it will do.....read The Walt Disney biography.....I bought it last time we went and am just reading it again before this trip. It gives you so much insight into the man himself and how he started from humble beginnings and of his vision of what the parks stood for to him. Really interesting but it brings the parks to life as well. Well worth a read. ISBN:078686027-8

Cath

 

[torsie24]

Don't rush.

It's a huge place, with hundreds of things to see and do.

You aren't going to get them all seen and done in 2 weeks. And you'll enjoy yourselves a lot more if you enjoy each thing that you do fully, rather than always focusing on "where next"

And enjoy your resort! You've paid plenty to stay there, so really take it all in and get your money's worth. Otherwise you may as well have paid £20/night on idrive.

Some of our favourite Disney days have been wandering the Floridian grounds, or watching the animals at AKL. Some people think others are mad paying to stay at deluxes, but we enjoy the hotels as much as we do the parks.

Relating to both points - take it easy the night you arrive, and don't overplan your first day. Especially with kids. Jetlag can make you miserable and not pushing yourself the first couple of days will really help you adjust quickly.

 

[tinks_1989]

Agree with torsie


It's a holiday take it a take comfortable pace and enjoy it!

We some times just stop look round and take it in just make the most o being there

 

[Holstar]

Thank you so much guys! These are all amazing and just what I was hoping for!

What do you guys recommend for the first night/first full day? Our flight gets in around 3pm, so I was thinking of just getting to the Yacht Club and sitting around the pool with the girls and then having dinner at the resort?

For the first day, I'm dying to just jump straight into MK... do you think it would be too much?

xxx

 

[torsie24]

Thank you so much guys! These are all amazing and just what I was hoping for!

What do you guys recommend for the first night/first full day? Our flight gets in around 3pm, so I was thinking of just getting to the Yacht Club and sitting around the pool with the girls and then having dinner at the resort?

For the first day, I'm dying to just jump straight into MK... do you think it would be too much?

xxx

No, that sounds perfect.

What we've done both arrival days is:

Land early afteroon.

Arrive resort 5/6pm ish.

Got to room, changed clothes and freshened up. Walk round resort, grab a counter service meal (we also have garden grocer delivered as we've never had free dining, so get snack sent in so sometimes we just eat some bits from that)

I personally feel a bit alien and yucky and could never do a Table Service (for your body it's almost midnight & you've been up for goodness knows how long) but I know some people are fine with TS.

We've been at AKL both times, so then we've watched the animals, browsed the shop, before having a nice bath and watching TV and trying to stay awake until 10pm.

Then next morning Jetlag always wakes me up between 4 and 5am. So we do MK rope drop, but only until around lunchtime as not to wear ourselves out. We've still been able to do LOADS as it's very quiet first thing.

Then last trip we went to Kona for lunch, which I think we'll make a tradition now as it was so laid back and peaceful over there compared to eating in the park.

The beauty of being at YC is you've got an amazing pool for the afternoon if you did want to stay local. Or you're just a short stroll to EPCOT so you could have a wander and catch illuminations and not have to stress about tired kids on a bus back late at night.

 

[WiganTony]

Our best piece of advice from just before our first visit in 2005 was to make sure you have a day away from the theme parks every 3 or 4 days to avoid tiring yourself out. Seven years on, we still stick to this, usually planning in a water park day/day shopping (or combination of both!!) or a trip over to Clearwater Beach.

 

[dixonsontour]

Use touring plans or similar and avoid busy days - why do a park when it is 8/10 busy when the day after it is 3/10.

Use fast pass. Always get one before going on a stand by ride or eating then it will be time to ride when you are done.

 

[tinks_1989]

For the first day, I'm dying to just jump straight into MK... do you think it would be too much?

xxx

Disney holidays should always start with Magic Kingdom

We plan to be there for opening as I am sure the time change is going to be hard for DD. We are struggling just with the hour with the clock change lol!

We have booked an early dinner 5pm as I think we will be too tired to eat much later

 

[paul_toria96]

as others have said - comfortable shoes. I went in my Fit Flops last time and they were amazing, threw them out before I came home (they were nearly worn out before I went )

Our first day includes a trip to Walmart (kids love it) and McDonalds for the wonderful shakes, we stay off site

 

[martinrmn]

We arrive about 4pm, I Drive hopefully by 6pm, depending on customs. Check in. Whilst Donna unpacks John and I shop in Walmart for essentials. We then have a meal and as a tradition play Pirate Golf. Early night then Magic Kingdom the first full day. Footwear is essntial, make sure its comfy and already worn in. Plenty of fluids are also essential. Frequent breaks and go as fast as the slowest person in your party. Speed here is not key, enjoyment is. We are due Dec 6th and are counting down. Everyone enjoy.

 

[arieliwish]

Read somewhere (possibly on here!) before our first visit in 2004 to stop every now and again and take in your surroundings. We did this first at the Walt statue in MK and we just looked around and realised what this great man had created for us all. I know it costs a lot but just thinking about the effort all the imagineers put into the tiny details makes us all teary every time!

One of our favourite places to stop in MK is on the quieter bridge from Walt's statue into tomorrowland, also the Rose Garden there. Literally stop and smell the roses!

DO park hop, and use the quieter days guides.
DO rest in between park days.
DO remember to smile (or when your face hurts, try to stop smiling - bet you can't!)

 

[K8T]

Magic Kingdom is brilliant on your first time there, but whether you do it when you arrive, will depend on how exhausted you are.

We are just back from Beach Club and it is a brilliant place to stay for convenience. Like you I would love to just go to MK, it is what Disney is all about, but our flight was later than yours.

Instead, we went to Beaches and Cream, then wandered into Epcot, it is only a short 5 minute walk from your hotel and just took it all in.

Agree with the others, take your time, this time we hit the parks early - make the most of the change in your body clock and get up early!!! Then came back just after lunch for a swim and chill, before going somewhere else.

Make sure you use your Magic Hours, they really are worth it and don't stress about park hopping in a day, it really is very easy to do on the buses, or monorail.

 

[Elise79]

Thank you so much guys! These are all amazing and just what I was hoping for!

What do you guys recommend for the first night/first full day? Our flight gets in around 3pm, so I was thinking of just getting to the Yacht Club and sitting around the pool with the girls and then having dinner at the resort?

For the first day, I'm dying to just jump straight into MK... do you think it would be too much?

xxx

Sounds good.

You will get 2 schools of thought on here regarding 'rests':
First is get to the parks for rope drop and take a break mid-day returning for evening
Second is take a complete rest day every so many days.

People swear by whichever one they do.

Personally, I wouldn't want to spend all day in a park as we love that swim of an afternoon it is a nice break plus you miss the worst of the crowds - you also have Stormalong bay as a pool so I think the girls will want to make the most of it. DD has always loved the fireworks and by making sure she has a proper rest of an afternoon she can happily stay up till 10/11 at night at 4 without any meltdowns.

My only other advice - know which things you want to do before you get to the park. For example with MK we split it up in to different days and one day we will head straight for Fantasyland - do all the rides there and then choice the none queue building rides on our way out such as HM & POTC.