We just got back home from our week long trip to Disney World! WOW, what a busy but FUN week! We stayed at the Radisson Orlando Celebration and I must say it was a beautiful resort, excellent service, pool and kids activities are phenomenal and it is literally 2 minutes from your hotel room to the main gates of Disney. Anyone looking at staying here would greatly enjoy this resort.
Needless to say, it was HOT, HOT, HOT but I did come home with a great tan! For those that have never been before, USE FASTPASS! I can't tell you how many people don't take advantage of this service, it just amazes me! I ended up telling people about how to use it because people would ask me as I was whizzing by them in the line how I got those passes. I found it funny that they had no clue about FP. We got to each of the 4 parks no later than 8:30am and walked on to the first two rides without a wait. Before hitting the first ride however, I grabbed a FastPass for a ride I knew would have a line when we returned. At the end of the day - we rode every ride we wanted to ride and barely had to wait in line. The longest wait we had said 30 minutes in the standby line but it ended up being a 15 minute ride.
For families with toddlers or small children, I cannot stress how important it is to have a stroller (yes, there were people there with no stroller and small children) Rent one, or bring your own, whichever is fine just have one! Also, the spray bottles with the fans on them were super popular and sell for $15.99 in the parks. You can buy these at Walgreens and Walmart for $5.00! These are great and the kids love them! One final thing, it is very important the families with small children arrive early in the morning, ride as much as you can while the lines are short and then go back to the hotel for a nap, a swim, lunch, whatever..just get out of the heat and get the little ones somewhere where they can rest and de-stress. Disney is highly stimulating especially for little ones so the mid-day break is a must! Come back in the evening when it is cooler and enjoy the shows and any remaining rides at that time.
As far as shoes go, I wore Teva sandals the whole week and never had a pro blem. They are great because your feet can breathe but they are still comfortable to long days on your feet. (Great for water rides too!) I saw lots of Crocs and sandals but of course, majority of people were in tennis shoes, I guess just personal preference.
Souveniers -----> There are a ton of souvenier shops up and down 192 and International Drive. Please be careful though when it comes to Disney character items. My daughter loves Stitch and wanted a stuffed one. A souvenier shop close to our hotel had them for $19.99 and they are about 10" tall. I told her to wait until the end of the week and see if that's really what she wanted. I was glad I did because the next day in Magic Kingdom, we found a HUGE one that is about 24" tall for $18.99. I was surprised, assuming that the parks would be higher - I was wrong so be careful of that!
I'm sure I'll have more tips and tidbits once I settle in more here at home!
Needless to say, it was HOT, HOT, HOT but I did come home with a great tan! For those that have never been before, USE FASTPASS! I can't tell you how many people don't take advantage of this service, it just amazes me! I ended up telling people about how to use it because people would ask me as I was whizzing by them in the line how I got those passes. I found it funny that they had no clue about FP. We got to each of the 4 parks no later than 8:30am and walked on to the first two rides without a wait. Before hitting the first ride however, I grabbed a FastPass for a ride I knew would have a line when we returned. At the end of the day - we rode every ride we wanted to ride and barely had to wait in line. The longest wait we had said 30 minutes in the standby line but it ended up being a 15 minute ride.
For families with toddlers or small children, I cannot stress how important it is to have a stroller (yes, there were people there with no stroller and small children) Rent one, or bring your own, whichever is fine just have one! Also, the spray bottles with the fans on them were super popular and sell for $15.99 in the parks. You can buy these at Walgreens and Walmart for $5.00! These are great and the kids love them! One final thing, it is very important the families with small children arrive early in the morning, ride as much as you can while the lines are short and then go back to the hotel for a nap, a swim, lunch, whatever..just get out of the heat and get the little ones somewhere where they can rest and de-stress. Disney is highly stimulating especially for little ones so the mid-day break is a must! Come back in the evening when it is cooler and enjoy the shows and any remaining rides at that time.
As far as shoes go, I wore Teva sandals the whole week and never had a pro blem. They are great because your feet can breathe but they are still comfortable to long days on your feet. (Great for water rides too!) I saw lots of Crocs and sandals but of course, majority of people were in tennis shoes, I guess just personal preference.
Souveniers -----> There are a ton of souvenier shops up and down 192 and International Drive. Please be careful though when it comes to Disney character items. My daughter loves Stitch and wanted a stuffed one. A souvenier shop close to our hotel had them for $19.99 and they are about 10" tall. I told her to wait until the end of the week and see if that's really what she wanted. I was glad I did because the next day in Magic Kingdom, we found a HUGE one that is about 24" tall for $18.99. I was surprised, assuming that the parks would be higher - I was wrong so be careful of that!
I'm sure I'll have more tips and tidbits once I settle in more here at home!
