clynngibson
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Apr 2, 2012
- Messages
- 409
Hi all! I thought I'd post what worked for us and what didn't work while it's fresh in my head!
What Worked:
-Staying off property with free breakfast buffet. It freed up spending, as it was cheaper than Disney resorts AND saved at least $20/day on breakfast for my family.
-Renting a double stroller. DS1 stayed in the stroller most of the time, but it was SO easy to put DD5 in it at the end of a long day or in times of higher crowds, so I didn't have to worry about losing her in the mass of people! I do wish the under storage was a bit bigger, but when DD wasn't in the stroller, the diaper bag went in her seat.
-Slip on shoes for DD. I have never been a fan of Crocs, but saw some really cute Mary Jane-style ones on sale over the summer. I bought them for DD and it worked really well for her to just slip them on and off as needed. And I didn't have to tie shoes a million times a day!
-Reseraching. I am SO SO glad I found The Dis and did my research!! FastPasses and using the Rider Switch were awesome at times!!! I can't imagine not knowing these exist and just waiting in hour long lines when I don't have to!
-Lanyards! It was so convenient to have our park tickets, Photpass card, and fastpasses around my neck. I also made a list of all of our phone numbers in case of an emergency or a lost cell phone. I gave one to each member of our group to carry in their lanyard or wallet, including DD in case she got lost.
What didn't work:
-I wish I would have studied maps of the parks more. I had a plan of what I wanted to do, but I had to waste time becoming oriented to the park and which walkways went where.
-All the little trinkets I bought for DS and DD. I figured DD could blow bubbles or color in lines, but we didn't use half of that stuff! Lines were pretty short, so I guess that's good! We used glow sticks just one night at Wishes, but the other nights, DS and DD were both asleep before the nightime activities.
-We didn't have the time to have a cake and ice cream birthday party for DD in our hotel room. We were at the parks so late (which was fine!) that we just didn't get to it. I'll save the Mickey plates and decorations for DS's 2nd birthday, I guess! lol We did decorate the hotel room one night and DD thought Mickey did it, which was cute!
-I wish we could have had a longer vacation (not that 7 days was too short) but I would like to have had some non-park days to lounge at the pool or do something outside of the parks, like Putt Putt or Downtown Disney. We were pretty much in the parks from opening until close each day. We didn't even get to Downtown Disney!
I'll add more notes as I think of them!
What Worked:
-Staying off property with free breakfast buffet. It freed up spending, as it was cheaper than Disney resorts AND saved at least $20/day on breakfast for my family.
-Renting a double stroller. DS1 stayed in the stroller most of the time, but it was SO easy to put DD5 in it at the end of a long day or in times of higher crowds, so I didn't have to worry about losing her in the mass of people! I do wish the under storage was a bit bigger, but when DD wasn't in the stroller, the diaper bag went in her seat.
-Slip on shoes for DD. I have never been a fan of Crocs, but saw some really cute Mary Jane-style ones on sale over the summer. I bought them for DD and it worked really well for her to just slip them on and off as needed. And I didn't have to tie shoes a million times a day!
-Reseraching. I am SO SO glad I found The Dis and did my research!! FastPasses and using the Rider Switch were awesome at times!!! I can't imagine not knowing these exist and just waiting in hour long lines when I don't have to!
-Lanyards! It was so convenient to have our park tickets, Photpass card, and fastpasses around my neck. I also made a list of all of our phone numbers in case of an emergency or a lost cell phone. I gave one to each member of our group to carry in their lanyard or wallet, including DD in case she got lost.
What didn't work:
-I wish I would have studied maps of the parks more. I had a plan of what I wanted to do, but I had to waste time becoming oriented to the park and which walkways went where.
-All the little trinkets I bought for DS and DD. I figured DD could blow bubbles or color in lines, but we didn't use half of that stuff! Lines were pretty short, so I guess that's good! We used glow sticks just one night at Wishes, but the other nights, DS and DD were both asleep before the nightime activities.
-We didn't have the time to have a cake and ice cream birthday party for DD in our hotel room. We were at the parks so late (which was fine!) that we just didn't get to it. I'll save the Mickey plates and decorations for DS's 2nd birthday, I guess! lol We did decorate the hotel room one night and DD thought Mickey did it, which was cute!
-I wish we could have had a longer vacation (not that 7 days was too short) but I would like to have had some non-park days to lounge at the pool or do something outside of the parks, like Putt Putt or Downtown Disney. We were pretty much in the parks from opening until close each day. We didn't even get to Downtown Disney!
I'll add more notes as I think of them!
