Let's make a "Firsts-Timers" Master Tip Sheet!

[PrincessTigerLily]

I would love to devote a thread to just first-time tips! I always have coworkers asking me for all my secrets, and I would love to be able to just print up this thread for them instead! Thanks everyone!

My first tip: NEVER underestimate the power of a mid-day nap/break! I ignored this our first couple of trips, and I regret it! Even if you don't nap, a break from the hectic pace of the parks and an air-conditioned hotel room is well worth it!

 

[Tnkrbelle565]

Pretty shoes are NOT comfy shoes. Disney is A LOT of walking. Start getting in "Disney Shape" now and leave your cute sandals at home

 

[Tink901]

Pack moleskin in case your shoes aren't as comfy as you thought - and i always have a disposable rain coat just in case.

 

[WDWRocksMySocks]

Here are a few of my tips:

• Don't forget to pack ponchos - that way, you're not forced to buy one at WDW for an obscene amount of $$.
• Rent a fridge and stock it w/ some lunch meats and other snacks. You can then come back to the room to eat lunch or have a snack. This can save you quite a bit of money.
• Buy your tickets ahead of time to avoid the crazy lines at the parks.
• If you can afford it, buy tickets w/ extra days and get the no expiration date. This way, you can save your unused days for another trip and perhaps save yourself some money if the cost of tickets goes up.

My first tip: NEVER underestimate the power of a mid-day nap/break! I ignored this our first couple of trips, and I regret it! Even if you don't nap, a break from the hectic pace of the parks and an air-conditioned hotel room is well worth it!

I learned the value of this tip on our last trip. Man, it really does wonders for you -- especially if you plan to take advantage of EMH!

 

[luvmy3]

I just want to thank you for starting this thread. I am a first-timer (Sept 21-27) and I never realized there was so much planning involved. This board is fantastic, and this thread will make it easy to hear more great tips.

Whats moleskin?

 

[KayLuvsMickey]

The tip I pulled off this board a long time ago is one I use over and over again...

Zip Lock bags and Wash rags...pack em' for the parks!

We wet the rags in the bathrooms for the kids to wipe down with. This helps them cool off and feel refreshed. Then we toss the wet cloth in the zip lock so it doesn't leave a mess in the daypack!

 

[dawnedwards]

My tip is that if you are planning on eating at any sit down restaurants in Disney book as early as possible (at the 180 day mark if you can)

We didn't do this the first time and had a few dinners at 8:30 at night, which isn't a problem for adults, but can be a nightmare if you have kids.

 

[Tink901]

I just want to thank you for starting this thread. I am a first-timer (Sept 21-27) and I never realized there was so much planning involved. This board is fantastic, and this thread will make it easy to hear more great tips.

Whats moleskin?

Moleskin is sold in stores by the shoe insoles, its a soft fabric with adhesive that you can put on your shoes such as on the heel of the shoe if your rubbing helps to prevent blisters.

 

[harmonium]

My tip is to get you fast pass for Soarin' your first priority when you get into Ecpot. Wait too long and they will all be gone. Then you have an hour+ wait in line. No kidding! That line fills up quick!

This year we got to Epcot at opening. Dashed directly (along with a huge crowd) towards Soarin'. Went on and got fast passes as we got off. When we got off the wait was already up to 20min. We ate some breakfast and when we were done the wait was already up to 40min.

 

[breezy1077]

This thread is a great idea - would have saved me a ton of time on my first trip (I'm an ocd planner and spent days/months thinking about what I might need).

Tip: Pack a suitcase with snacks, breakfast items, and favorite foods. If you're staying on-site food can be expensive (even with the snack options on the ddp). Having convenient snacks handy can save a fortune and is just that - convenient.

Hope this helps someone.

 

[Tray c]

Thanks so much for this thread. We are going for the first time in May and I am also OCD about planning this trip.

 

[NicoleDisneyFan]

We are going for the first time to WDW. Any advice or suggestions will be taken!!! Thanks

 

[Aliceacc]

I started a thread along those lines a while ago: http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1715551

 

[PrincessTigerLily]

We like to bring our own breakfast items with, saves us time in the parks if we have already eaten in our room. We typically pack cereals, and then bring along the cartons of almond milk. The plus to this is that the vanilla almond milk actually tastes good, and does not need to be refrigerated until it is opened. So if you are staying in a resort that does not offer a complimentary fridge, you just pop it in your ice bucket once opened and change the ice as needed to keep it cool!

Also, for longer trips (our longest so far was 9 days) an over-the-door hanging shoe organizer is a great tool! This avoids the over-crowding of the sinktops and everything is easy to find and view. Plus, it takes up very little space in your suitcases.

 

[PrincessTigerLily]

We found it easiest to take gallon ziplock bags and place an entire outfit in each (underwear, socks, clothes, hair accessories, etc.). I looked a little OCD, but it saved an immeasurable amount of time and frustration. Each morning I just pulled out a baggie, and we were ready and set to go.

 

[Stacy's a freak]

1. Learn the general layout of the parks before you go ... or at least review them. WDW can be overwhelming for newbies and it helps tremendously to know the different "lands" within each park.

2. Get a general understanding of the transportation system (i.e., monorail, buses, boats, etc.). Most of us plan about a week for our WDW vacation and it can take several days to get used to the transportation route/possibilities.

3. Don't be a commando. Many of us planners can tend to pack our days by hitting all of the attractions we want to hit at break-neck speed and with little room for error. If you want to truly enjoy and appreciate WDW, give yourself some breathing room to "take it all in".

4. With that said, it is a good idea to decide which park(s) you plan to see on which day. This will help with the next tip.

5. Definitely make ADRs at soon as you can. When you have a general plan of which park(s) you will see on any given day, you can plan your sit-down meals (TS) accordingly. And don't be afraid to make an ADR if you are not completely sure of your plan. You can always cancel it at a later date. BUT PLEASE CANCEL if you plan NOT to use an ADR (an important courtesy to others).

Final tip/suggestion: DON'T STRESS once you are there. Remember that this is vacation! Don't freak out if your child is tired and needs a nap. Don't get angry if the person/group in front of you stops in the middle of Main Street, USA and halts your progress. Don't get mad if you just miss your bus to EPCOT ... there will be another one soon enough.

The last tip is something that I struggle with also - so please don't flame me for it! I have to keep reminding myself of this all of the time. But when I truly let myself enjoy WDW and suck up the magic, I am a very happy person

 

[lippylulu]

We are first timers with an 11 year old. For our MK day we have 5:30 pm reservations at Park 1400 at the Grand Floridian. I thought we would just take Disney transportation straight from the park after being there all day. Should I move the reservation til later so we can go back to our hotel (Sheraton Vistana Resort) for a few hours to rest? I do like a nice afternoon nap, even on normal days and don't want to get too cranky to enjoy Cindy and her family at dinner.

 

[Stacy's a freak]

We are first timers with an 11 year old. For our MK day we have 5:30 pm reservations at Park 1400 at the Grand Floridian. I thought we would just take Disney transportation straight from the park after being there all day. Should I move the reservation til later so we can go back to our hotel (Sheraton Vistana Resort) for a few hours to rest? I do like a nice afternoon nap, even on normal days and don't want to get too cranky to enjoy Cindy and her family at dinner.

Just take a spin around the Carousel of Progress a couple of times But seriously, you know yourself better than any of us do. With that said, 5:30 is a pretty early reservation and I would think that it would really cut into your park touring if you leave early enough to drive to your hotel, take an hour nap, and drive back.

 

[Millie12591]

We found it easiest to take gallon ziplock bags and place an entire outfit in each (underwear, socks, clothes, hair accessories, etc.). I looked a little OCD, but it saved an immeasurable amount of time and frustration. Each morning I just pulled out a baggie, and we were ready and set to go.

I was glad to hear someone suggest this. I wanted to add to the people out there that may think this is a little ocd, someone posted once on the dis boards that they were glad they did this because the entire suitcase was wet when they finally got the suitcase from WDW express. They were so glad to have all the clothes in the bags otherwise they would have had to late in the night go to dry all the clothes or just have wet clothes the next day. Please, please, please take an entire box of Gallon zip locs, the quick zip kind are good, but not good for packing your liquids in I found out. When I packed my small duffle that had all my bathroom supplies in it I put anything that could leak in these type of zips and something leaked, as something always does, but it leaked all over everything else in my makeup bag that wasn't in a zip loc! Of course in the middle of the night when I find this out was not such a great way to start off the trip. So use the one's that you actually pinch together for the liquids.

I used the zips for everything, I knew that Fl. was famous for rain, so I took a box of qt. sized bags as well and put my wallet, camera, and anything else that went into my backpack that could get wet that I didn't want wet. I also put my daughters autograph book that I made into a lg. zip loc so it wouldn't get wet, but low and behold we didn't put it into a bag one time and when she went to Ariel's grotto and played in the water and then put on her back pack, her wet clothes soaked through to the book and ruined part of it. I spent a lot of time on this so it was a heart breaker, oh well.

 

[Millie12591]

If you plan on getting some groceries and don't want to have the extra exspense of a fridge, then bring one of those soft sided coolers. They fold down flat really well to put into your suit case. We have one we bought from Wally World, it's the kind that you pull with a extendable handle. It's not very big, you could carry about two twelve packs of soda in it, just big enough to put a half gallon of milk, some sodas and water bottles. All the resorts have ice machines, so you just roll it down to the ice machines and filler up every morning and in the evening before you go to bed and your good to go!
WDW only have Coke products so I bought (gardengrocer.com) Mt. Dew for my hubby, some milk, cereal, fruit and a case of water, the kids, hubby and I ate in the room in the morning for breakfast and never had to worry about hot sodas or having to get milk every evening from the shops in the resorts. The parks were hot at the time so having cold waters in the parks were a life saver!