If you knew then.....

[Hisgirl]

How fun for you!!
Do you have a power bank for your cell phone? The wifi is great in the parks but my phone tends to die by mid afternoon. I bring an external power charger with the right cord and power back up. Good for grabbing those extra fast passes! You can find one for less than $10 and yes, I know there are charger areas in the parks but this can be done in your backpack.

And backpacks. Are you bringing a small soft backpack? We have used fanny packs, kavus, back packs for snacks, phone chargers, toiletries.

Make sure everyone is wearing great arch supporting shoes. I wear one particular shoe for every trip and cringe when I see people in flat sandels. Or high heels! And yes, bring moleskin already cut up into inch squares and heel covering rectangles.

Yes, to an extension cord for the room.

Also, bring a stack of one dollar bills. I was surprised how many times I needed a tip for baggage help, or a taxi tip or other things.

We always get up by 6;30, have a protein rich breakfast for energy and hit the parks at rope drop. Walk fast and you can get in a couple of rides with very little lines. You have a full hour to use that fast pass. If you ride it right away, you have to wait an hour for the next one and crowds are building. We rides a few rides with little lines, then use the fast pass within the hour. Remember that when you touch the pole to your magic band on the third fast pass....immediately, you can pull up My Disney Experience and find a fourth one!

And the second you scan your band on that fourth one....grab a fifth one while still in line!

We always look for someone we can bless in some way.

Yes, you will be tired at the end of the week. Once I started wearing better supportive shoes, that lessened.

We go once, twice or more every year and always plan to do something different each trip. Look around, think about what you would like to do different.

Don't feel you need to ride everything. Some rides are pretty meh (Stitch). But do what calls you and enjoy people watching.

If you have a problem, something messed up, you feel overwhelmed....go to customer service (in the Magic Kingdom it's right by the main entrance) and talk to them. Every. Single. Time. I walked out with the problem solved, a couple of free fast passes or something wonderful to fix the issue.

I'm happy for you. This truly is the happy place and you will love it!

 

[mousefan73]

WDW is more than the theme parks and rides. It in itself is a destination. There is so much more to see. Not sure how long your trip is, first time or only time etc... but try and venture outside the parks. Especially if crowds are insane. You are at POFQ... there is a FREE boat to DS.. which by the way Uniglo is at.. Awesome clothing store which as cool Disney T shirts and ther accesories for a fraction of the park prices and IMO better selection. Who can also grab better food in DS than in a theme park QS...

ride the people mover you get a great tour of tomorrow land...

 

[mousefan73]

I am actually worried about this. My daughter and mom think I am overplanning with Qs meals, but i just want to be prepared. Thanks for the tip! While we're at it...best QS in epcot?

I google and use allears to view the QS menus.. I like to see what they offer. There are really tons of options besides your basic hamburger and fries places.. Here are some of our favourites, not sure if you are on the Dining plan...

1. Disney Springs: Woflgang Pucks in marketplace and we recently discovered the Polite Pig ( great bbq with unique sides).. Both take DP credits and awesome value.

2. MKeco bills. We get 2 fajita platter and order extra set of soft shells. 3 adults can split this and be full.
Columbia House has great health options.
3. PORiveride has great selections
4. Each resorts has a QS they has some of the same options as in the Full Servie. Ex. POLY you can get tonga toast at the QS as well as at Kona. AKL has a QS that serves also African dishes..
5. EPCOT: so many great ooptions. Sunshine Terrace has the most choices.. We loooove Tangarine in Morrocco.. if you like that food.

again check out allears dining guide...... I overplan this part too. but its fun.........there is sooo much more to QS than chicken tenders and hambugers

 

[IrishNYC]

Slow down and take it all in. Sit down and look around at everything. Take in the little details. Listen to the music. We were there in September for the Halloween party and DH and DD went off to do something while I waited for them before the parade, and it was amazing to just listen to the sounds. It had rained earlier in the day, and as I was sitting there I heard thunder in the distance going from ahead of me to behind me, and worried it was going to rain again...then I realized it was part of the atmosphere of the party, and it was absolute perfection. Listen to details like that.

 

[Belle_1989]

My number one advice go with the flow and listen to your kids. I spent a year straight researching rides and activities at all the parks but once we got there I used my general knowledge of the area but let my kids decide. My biggest suprises were that both of them LOVED tomorrowland and MK and we rode astro orbiter more times than I can count. Also while in Epcot my daughter wanted to do the easter egg hunt so me and her spent two hours together after everyone else left eating snacks and finding eggs and it is honestly probably one of my favorite memories from the trip.

 

[spumonisowner]

And I would say the opposite. Don’t feel like you have to do rope drop. If you’re a late night person, you can get just as much done by efficiently using fast passes & staying late. Go with what works for your family. Don’t make yourself miserable.

I'm in this camp. I'm more of a night owl, so I generally try to stay late and outlast the crowds. You can get a lot done late, too. If you are not a morning person, you will be cranky after a day or two of getting up really early.

If you are usually an early riser go early, but if not, late is great!

 

[ELLH]

Use Disney transportation. I have family and friends that insist on driving ; it's SO much more relaxing and easy to do Disney transportation. Yes...there are lines at the bus stop and sometime you end up standing on the bus but still, IMO, not as stressful as fighting the traffic and making sure you're in the correct lane for the exit you need.

I prefer to drive.

We live about 10 hours from WDW so we drive there (after purchasing AP's, flying each trip is out of the realm of financial feasibility ). Thus, the car is already with us. I actually prefer to drive myself around property in lieu of using Disney's transportation. I've never once felt stressed or have fought any traffic. Sure, from time to time it's busier on the roads than others but it's never been as bad as you're describing *for us*. This includes trips during peak season at various times of the year and arrival/departure to/from the parks at varying times of day. I like being able to walk out to the car and drive myself back to the resort (or to a different location if we choose). Having seen and 'fought' the park-closing bus lines, I can also say that having your own vehicle sure beats standing in a bus line for extended periods (30+ minutes) which is the norm at closing; the last time I want to be standing around. Especially on the busy nights when people are (literally) fighting in the bus line. Now, I will say that using the Disney bus from resort to MK is typically faster once you've factored in the delay dealing with the TTC presents when driving yourself. But, even then, we still prefer to drive ourselves.

Obviously everyone has their own preference. Nor does it matter specifically for the OP, but I just wanted to chime in and offer my $.02 regarding the 'stressful' driving you've described to others who may be watching this thread. I haven't had a bad experience driving on property in the 15 or so years I've been doing it.

 

[tracylovesdisney]

Take some time to enjoy your beautiful resort. Walk the grounds and soak up the gorgeous surroundings. If you have the energy, walk down to Riverside and see it also as it is beautiful too! Don't forget to have a beignet! If you need a break from MK, get on the monorail and check out the resorts (Grand Floridian, Polynesian, Contemporary). They are all lovely and so different. Enjoy your trip and report back to us!

 

[ELLH]

I realize there are quite a number of other replies so if this has been mentioned already, I apologize...

I glanced over and saw talk of Rope Drop. Personally, if I could skip it and sleep in I would but my DW is a Warden when it comes to getting to the parks early and truth is... she's right for it. Just don't tell her I told you.

That said, let's assume you decide to do RD. Our strategy, like so many others', is to book our FPs for times after ~2 hours from park opening and use the time preceding this to take advantage of the lessened crowds. But more specifically, at MK our FP+ is saved for rides like SDMT, PPF, Space Mountain, etc. In other words, the big hitters. We arrive early for RD and hang a left at the hub and hit the Adventureland/Liberty Square sections first. This way we can hit PotC, BTMRR, Splash, and HM pretty early before the crowds really start to pile up. Now, depending on our preference and how previous days have gone, we may instead choose to ride BTMRR a few times in a row and bypass the others but you get the idea. Depending on the crowd level we will have a chance to make it to Fantasyland or Tomorrowland to ride other attractions. But, in general, our strategy is to save the FPs for the big stuff, RD and go left at the hub first thing. This seems to be the most efficient way for my family to ride the rides we want.


Also, another tip I often give friends is to use the shops on Main Street as shortcuts when the park is busy. Especially the stretch from The Emporium to Casey's (the shops on the left as you're looking toward the Castle); that is always our quick way to enter or exit the park when Main Street is crowded. It may seem silly but it actually saves you some crucial time (and sanity).

 

[sanapp]

Don't over do it. You will not do and see everything. Make sure you take time to slow down and take it all in. It actually is a good idea to do rope drop and take a break in the afternoon. We almost always rope drop and are done doing are must dos in the park before it even gets busy. If you are doing QS eat early or late. If we didn't really get much for a breakfast we will have lunch at 11:00. If we had a good breakfast we might not stop for lunch until 3:00. Everyone else is eating from 11:30 to 1:30, so don't do it.

 

[vintagemomma]

Know your family and your eating style. If you aren't big breakfast people on normal days then don't book a lot of Breakfast Character Meals. Also in regards to food, everyone has their own preferences etc. I suggest as others did to look at menu's on allears, but also I enjoy and my kids enjoyed looking at the food pictures on the food porn threads here on the DIS. They then liked looking forward to getting that treat they saw that looked so yummy in the picture.

Make a plan, schedule Fast Passes, but then be prepared to throw it all out the window and still have fun. What will you remember more, rushing to get to that one ride because you scheduled it, or watching your kids whoop it up with the street performers that caught their attention, or the giggles as they race around Tom Sawyer Island and beg for 5 more minutes.

Sure I have my favorite rides as do my kids, but most of my most treasured memories from our trips are of things that happened independent of rides. My husband still says one of his funniest fondest memories ever, not just of WDW but ever, was a walk we took from POP to AOA. Just the silliness of our youngest that day, etc.

 

[ZoZo]

I am actually worried about this. My daughter and mom think I am overplanning with Qs meals, but i just want to be prepared. Thanks for the tip! While we're at it...best QS in epcot?

Sunshine Seasons is a great QS in Epcot. There are lots of different things to choose from, and it has a really big seating area.

 

[clayfolks]

My only issue with extra magic hours is....i wish I had known about which parks would have them when I was planning my fast passes. We don't have a hopper and now all of our days we're scheduled to be in a park are days that they font have the EMH. So I'm afraid we will miss out on them.

We quit going to EMH parks a few years ago. Especially without hoppers, you have no way to escape the insanity when too many people show up at the park bc of EMH.

 

[JenLovesMM]

my favorite tips are:
- Body Glide to prevent chaffing on feet (or anywhere else that might need it). It's for prevention, not healing. If a blister does happen, like a previous poster mentioned, Moleskin can save you.
- one of our biggest money saving tips is using a Brita squeeble bottle (not the type that has a straw). No need to pay for lots of water bottles, or carry lots of them either. You can easily dump out the water and refill whenever. We've never bought a disposable bottle of water yet in 3 trips!
- ziploc bags to keep phone or cameras etc dry on rainy days or wet rides
- power bar for in the room
- external batteries for phone, the wifi is great to have but it really drained our batteries quickly.
Some of these had already been mentioned but they are still part of my favorites!

In EPCOT, for quick service, we like Les Halles bakery in France (great sandwiches and desserts) and La Cantina de San Angel in Mexico.

 

[kirstenb1]

Dollar Store throwaway ponchos. Rope drop at MK!! I can't even tell you how many rides you can hit in the first couple hours. Then book the FPs for later in the day, when lines start to seriously form. We always eat at counter service places. We eat at 11 am, just to avoid lines. Not my favorite time to eat, but the lines really increase around 12-2 pm. Midafternoon, we head back to the resort for some downtime. Swimming, the playground when the kids were younger, just strolling through the resort gift shop are all great ways to chill. This time of year, I'd pack a small backpack. I always throw a small towel in there, and you may want gloves/hats for part of the day. Store them in the backpack once it warms up. Also, we get a refillable mug and fill it on the way to the bus stop. Toss it in the bag when finished, then refill it when you return to the resort. Use it throughout the day as a water cup in the parks. We find we're whipped when we get back to the room, and sometimes don't want to trek down to the lobby to refill the mug. I hope you have a fantastic trip!!

 

[piscesmama]

Dollar Store throwaway ponchos. Rope drop at MK!! I can't even tell you how many rides you can hit in the first couple hours. Then book the FPs for later in the day, when lines start to seriously form. We always eat at counter service places. We eat at 11 am, just to avoid lines. Not my favorite time to eat, but the lines really increase around 12-2 pm. Midafternoon, we head back to the resort for some downtime. Swimming, the playground when the kids were younger, just strolling through the resort gift shop are all great ways to chill. This time of year, I'd pack a small backpack. I always throw a small towel in there, and you may want gloves/hats for part of the day. Store them in the backpack once it warms up. Also, we get a refillable mug and fill it on the way to the bus stop. Toss it in the bag when finished, then refill it when you return to the resort. Use it throughout the day as a water cup in the parks. We find we're whipped when we get back to the room, and sometimes don't want to trek down to the lobby to refill the mug. I hope you have a fantastic trip!!

Hates and gloves? How cold are we talking? I'm from WI, I can't even imagine wearing hat and gloves there.

 

[eeyoresmom]

My only issue with extra magic hours is....i wish I had known about which parks would have them when I was planning my fast passes. We don't have a hopper and now all of our days we're scheduled to be in a park are days that they font have the EMH. So I'm afraid we will miss out on them.

You accidently lucked out Most people who attend EMH go for the first few hours then hop to another park as the crowds build late morning.The EMH parks over New Years are going to be way too crowded for a newbie to efficiently tour. Without park hoppers I would never go to the park that has emh.

 

[eeyoresmom]

I definitely like Sunshine Seasons in that side of the park. In World Showcase, I like just getting different snacks from the carts in each country.



I do like a middle rest day if we're there for a long time, but your plan should work as well. You'll get to adjust and rest up a bit after the stress of travel, and ease into your vacation. Besides, if you're staying up for New Year's Eve, you'll want to sleep in that morning.

Don't worry about missing EMH either. My family likes to do the morning ones because we're wicked early birds, but some people specifically plan to avoid them, because the EMH park tends to be more crowded overall that day.

In fact, don't worry about anything you're missing in general - because there is no way to do it all in one trip anyway. Just enjoy things as they happen. (Sometimes, we even make a list on the way home of things we want to do on future trips.)

"Wicked early birds " You must be from Massachusetts

 

[Shellyred8]

When you get to the park, grab one of the paper maps. It took me 4 or 5 trips before I had any idea of where I was going without one of those maps. I know, the maps are on the app too, but having the paper one allows you to see the whole park at once.

Take time to enjoy the street atmosphere. MK has the Dapper Dans. If you get a chance, stop and listen to them. HS has several street performers that come out periodically. Take time to stop and interact with them. It's things like this that really make trips extra enjoyable for us.

Have a fantastic trip!!!

 

[Shellyred8]

We used a trashcan in MK as a hightop table instead and tried to laugh about it.

Been there, done that!!!