Just got back from WDW..(things I wish I knew) & (CBR)

[rybran]

Had a great time!! However, there are some things that I wish I would have known/prepared/expected before going.....


THE WALKING-- YOU LITERALLY WALK, WALK, WALK, WALK, WALK... we were purely exhausted by the nights end!!!!

STROLLER-- I had the intention of RENTING a stroller- however- for all the in-betweens (DTD, hotel to bus/mono-rail, back to the hotel, airport, etc)- you NEED a stroller- We bought one our 1st night in DTD for $50- best $50 ever spent and we brought it home with us!!

MAGICAL EXPRESS- the line at MCO for the ME was SOOOOOO HUGE- granted, we moved pretty quickly, but holy moly it was a LONG LONG line!

DINING PLAN-- I found it (especially breakfast) very confusing!! We were there during a "free dining" week, however, we went thru our "snacks" within 2-3 days (we were there for 5 nights). I am not sure that its REALLY worth it- I would love to read more info/stats about it.

CBR- Our hotel- wish I knew that it was going to take FOREVER to check in- about 1 hour- when you are already tired from your trip, pregnant and have 2 small kids-- its a lot to wait- plus they didn't have a room ready for us.(we arrived @ 2)

BUSES- while waiting for our bus back to the hotel from Epcot, we literally waited about 45 mins- 1 hour before a bus finally showed up. We had no problems getting on a bus/waiting at any other park.

Hope this helps someone getting ready to go!

Enjoy!

 

[disneyin2008]

CBR- Our hotel- wish I knew that it was going to take FOREVER to check in- about 1 hour- when you are already tired from your trip, pregnant and have 2 small kids-- its a lot to wait- plus they didn't have a room ready for us.(we arrived @ 2)

Just an FYI....check in time for all the resorts is 4pm....so while sometimes you can get lucky and your room will be ready early, it's not guaranteed. It's this way for every hotel I've ever stayed in here and abroad.

Hope you had a great time despite the minor setbacks!

 

[Luv Bunnies]

DINING PLAN-- I found it (especially breakfast) very confusing!! We were there during a "free dining" week, however, we went thru our "snacks" within 2-3 days (we were there for 5 nights). I am not sure that its REALLY worth it- I would love to read more info/stats about it.

If you do a TS for breakfast, you can order any entree plus a drink. Buffet breakfasts take a TS credit (or sometimes two if it's signature restaurant like CRT). At a CS place, you can order any entree such as pancakes, french toast or combo plates like bacon and eggs. You also get a drink like a bottle of milk or OJ. If you chose a la carte breakfast items like cereal, milk, donuts, bagels, OJ, etc., you paid a snack credit for each one. I'm thinking that's how you managed to use up your snack credits early in your trip. We used CS for breakfast several times and somehow ended up with extra CS credits at the end. We also had extra snack credits but used those for snacks for the plane.

 

[amyj1024]

Thanks I did find your post informative. I have been many times, but this is my first time staying on resort and using DDP....thanks!

 

[mjkacmom]

Interesting. I found the parks to be smaller than I remembered, and we did some crazy backtracking touring plans, and I split the duty of fastpast runner with DH (however, I'm on the treadmill every day). We rented a stroller, but our youngest were 4, and had no problem walking elsewhere. The line for ME was about 15 people - we were on the bus within 10 minutes. We were in a panic our last morning, with 14 snack credits left over! My advice to people has been to use them as much as possible. We stayed at the BCV's, so we walked to Epcot and MGM, and never waited more than 10 minutes for a bus, except coming home from MK one night. I don't know if it's because we rented points, but our checkin was so civilized - we were the only ones checking in, the kids had some apples and lemon water while watching TV, and I checked in (room wasn't ready - we came back after lunch for the key).

We really lucked out on our trip!

 

[ConnieB]

A suggestion for those that find themselves with a lot of left over snack credits at the end of their stay.....head over to Downtown Disney Marketplace and go to Goofy's Candy Shop. Your snack credits will go a long way towards treats to take home to remind you of Disney....or to give as gifts to those unlucky friends/family/co-workers that had to stay home. Of course, you can get a snacks that can travel at a lot of places, but this place has the largest concentration, lol. Or get something at the food court to take on the plane with you.

If you have a leftover CS or two, consider stopping at a food court and getting sandwiches to eat on the drive/flight home. If you're flying you can't take the drink past security, but you can take the food....so use the drink before you get to security. If you tell the CM that you're taking it home with you, they'll double wrap the sandwich for you.

TS credits are harder to use up.....but there is always a last minute attempt at a character breakfast (ask your resort to check who has last minute availabity.....the Cape May character breakfast has always had space for us, maybe because it's off the beaten track a little more than the others.

 

[Disneychix]

If you do a TS for breakfast, you can order any entree plus a drink. Buffet breakfasts take a TS credit (or sometimes two if it's signature restaurant like CRT). At a CS place, you can order any entree such as pancakes, french toast or combo plates like bacon and eggs. You also get a drink like a bottle of milk or OJ. If you chose a la carte breakfast items like cereal, milk, donuts, bagels, OJ, etc., you paid a snack credit for each one. I'm thinking that's how you managed to use up your snack credits early in your trip. We used CS for breakfast several times and somehow ended up with extra CS credits at the end. We also had extra snack credits but used those for snacks for the plane.

I agree this may be the reason the OP may have used up all the snack credits.
Also for breakfast with a CS credit you get 2 drinks with the meal.

 

[Disney_Angel]

If you do a TS for breakfast, you can order any entree plus a drink. Buffet breakfasts take a TS credit (or sometimes two if it's signature restaurant like CRT). At a CS place, you can order any entree such as pancakes, french toast or combo plates like bacon and eggs. You also get a drink like a bottle of milk or OJ. If you chose a la carte breakfast items like cereal, milk, donuts, bagels, OJ, etc., you paid a snack credit for each one. I'm thinking that's how you managed to use up your snack credits early in your trip. We used CS for breakfast several times and somehow ended up with extra CS credits at the end. We also had extra snack credits but used those for snacks for the plane.

The snacks credits!

I do NOT intend this for the OP....but people must READ the signs they clearly explain the DDP. I witnessed THREE very heated arguments, that held up the lines, over the DDP with cast members regarding snack credits.
This was over a two week period.

We started with 84 snacks credits And we left with only six on the plan AFTER we got snacks for home

 

[YellowMickeyPonchos]

If you don't plan it out, it is super easy to burn through snacks on the Basic DDP. A couple without kids can really burn through them almost as easily as a family with teenagers!

If you are on the Deluxe DDP, it can be super hard to burn through them all - even if you have teenagers!!!!

We are DVC members and maximized our Basic DDP last year by buying bottled water and breakfast at the grocery on the way and then using our CS drinks for milk for the little ones. Then, we used the snacks for Ice Cream or other treats.

It also helped that we spent a day on the coast visiting relatives. We ended up doing a Signature dining to make up for our lost TS day. We used counter service credits to pick up a meal to eat at the airport before going through security and I think had 1 CS left over.