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

[PrincessTigerLily]

Hi Shanel! Yes, the tickets are about the size of a credit card. If you are a Disney Resort Guest, you will most likely have your room key and park tickets (as well as linking a credit card if you wish) all together on a plastic "credit card" called the Keys to the World Card. If you are using tickets you purchase separately, those are slightly smaller than credit cards and are paper, so be careful to have those in some sort of tightly sealing plastic ziplock baggie for those water rides! I believe that you can purchase a ticket and FP holder on a lanyard from the Passporter website.

 

[rellarella]

Just found this thread. I it. It has lots of tips for a first timer like me. Well a first timer as an adult, I was 7 the last time I went.

Me too!! How things have changed!

 

[littlewitch34]

I'm not a first timer to Disney, but I'm loving these boards. My DH and I will be going 4th of July week (yes, I know.. not the smartest), and all the tips I have learned from the board will be priceless. I think I am even not dreading the crowds that will be there because of all of the great advice!

It's a BLAST. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise!

 

[2BoysMom]

Hi
Don't stress too much about losing your tickets, particularly if you have the paper kind (as we do). Once Disney has your info. in the computer they can always pull up what kind of tickets you had and re-issue them.

One time we did a spontaneous trip for one day, we were headed towards Jacksonville from Tallahassee, FL and decided to make a Right and ended up in Orlando! We just walked up to Guest Relations and showed them our licenses and they re-issued our Seasonal passes that were still at the house in Tally.

Just an FYI.

 

[pjwelch]

Where did you find the board shorts? I'm not a shopper. So I don't know if our stores up North will have them yet, but if I know where to look or tell my daughter where to look it will help. Thanks!! 1 month 15 days to go. We''l be in DWD the week of the 4th also. Me, DW, DD, DSIL, 4 DGS, 1 DGD seven days of Disney!! should be ineresting!!

 

[Shanel]

"I believe that you can purchase a ticket and FP holder on a lanyard from the Passporter website."



I am leaving in a few days.. is there anywhere I can go get a lanyard/card holder other than ordering it? I know we wouldn't be able to get one on time.
- thanks

 

[pakhowe]

Shanel,

I believe Target sells small zipped wallets that hold credit cards. I have one I use at work and just bought a lanyard for it. It has a velcro window that I keep my picture ID in and a zipped part I keep my credit card and $ in. I got mine at Walmart but haven't seen them there in about a year or so.

Good luck, enjoy your trip.

Kim

 

[englishrose47]

"I believe that you can purchase a ticket and FP holder on a lanyard from the Passporter website."



I am leaving in a few days.. is there anywhere I can go get a lanyard/card holder other than ordering it? I know we wouldn't be able to get one on time.
- thanks

Most of theb resorts have card holders in various colors that keep ypur cards & Fps safe and dry! I paid about $6 for mine.

 

[purpledisneyprncess]

Wow I love this thread, it is soo helpful!! This will be my 1st time visiting Disney World and I am sooo happy I found this board.

 

[rellarella]

New timer here. If anyone is overwhelmed with all the information this might help. I keep Microsoft Word labeled 'Disney Notes' minimized on my computer. Everytime I see something of interest I copy & paste it. If it's a thread I want to keep track of I copy & paste that as well. (recommended by another user)

I don't feel like I have to keep all this in my head (with our trip 3 months out) or keep jotting down notes I can't read later.

Like I said, I'm new so maybe there is a better way.

 

[Snow Shoe]

Take along a power strip for all those battery chargers. This way you'll have them all in one place.

 

[Leonsmom]

wintershawl, enjoy your trip! While crowds can sometimes be a pain, every trip to Disney is magical in its own swelteringly sweaty way!! Don't underestimate the power of those mister fans they sell at the parks (I think somewhere in the $16 ish range) for adults as well as children. Those things hold a lot of water and blow a good amount of wind. This is one of those "well worth the moola" expenses!

I just bought a 3 pack of misters at BJ's for $9.99

are the ticket/hotel room key cards the size of a credit card and plastic.. or paper and large like a plane ticket?

Also, where do you find lanyards with the plastic card holders other than at disney? I don't want to loose any when we get there.
(we are leaving this saturday for our family's first trip)

Claires has the lanyard / card holder

Where did you find the board shorts? I'm not a shopper. So I don't know if our stores up North will have them yet, but if I know where to look or tell my daughter where to look it will help. Thanks!! 1 month 15 days to go. We''l be in DWD the week of the 4th also. Me, DW, DD, DSIL, 4 DGS, 1 DGD seven days of Disney!! should be ineresting!!

I am interested as well

My Husband was a Ranger in the Army (and Sapper, etc.) and they ALWAYS put it on the skin. Believe me, foot comfort was a BIG topic with them (and at our house). What they (he) did was to cut a square of the moleskin and then cut a circle out of the middle. The moleskin was applied directly to the foot with the hole over the blister. This prevented contact with the sock, shoe, whatever and provided comfort. He also did this in the "desert" while deployed and it worked in THAT heat so it should work in Disney.



I'm sure there are as many different ways to do things as there are people in this world so I know "our way" isn't the "only way." I just thought I'd tell what my Husband did since his career was about his feet for a while.

Does DH recommend a particular brand?

Hi Leon's Mom I'm surprised your Dollar Tree doesn't have them we have 3 and all have them .Try Walmart maybe in the camping section there are cheap ones! I found some moleskin at a Dollar store too, also Walmart had some on clearance.This Feb my umbrella got used for rain too!! Another thing I picked up at Dollar Tree was a little sewing kit I chose the lime green one for us Dissers!!

Guess what, I just found them yesterday - they are right in the doorway entrance - I never look there (till now)

 

[englishrose47]

I just bought a 3 pack of misters at BJ's for $9.99



Claires has the lanyard / card holder



I am interested as well


Does DH recommend a particular brand?



Guess what, I just found them yesterday - they are right in the doorway entrance - I never look there (till now)

Glad you found them ! That's where they are here too !! Did you find the sewing kits!!

 

[Shanel]

thank you! I will go to claires today... I frequent that store..

 

[alindsaym]

Don't forget the pumice stone for achy feet. It works somehow!

 

[disneywifey]

If you live near a college campus with a bookstore, it's highly likely that they may have a lanyard for school IDs which would fit an ID, Resort/Park card. they also might have one that is like a mini wallet on a keychain that is like a thick plastic business card holder bifold with 2 slots one on either side. Another option is chain stores such as walmart, target etc. In the travel aisle they sell the passport holders that you can hide under your shirt that go around your neck and are adjustable. they may not be as cute as some of the other lanyards but they work just as well and they're still really cheap.

One piece of advice I'd like to give, instead of baby wipes and clorox wipes for cleaning/disinfecting, my walmart has travel packs of disintecting hand wipes, kind of like the alcohol gel but better. The gel stuff doesn't do it for me if there's dirt I can see on my hands. With these you can actually scrub your hands without a bathroom stop. They're stronger than baby wipes at germy-hand cleaning and I could use them on surfaces too. And they didn't dry my hands out like the gel stuff can. I'm always getting sick so I just bought 4 travel packs and put one in my bag each day until they were gone. I know clorox wipes are probably stronger on surfaces but I didn't want to have to carry a separate bag of clorox wipes into the parks for eating at CS restaurants. I got a couple of, "i wish I'd thought of that"s from mothers who saw me wiping myself and my table down!

 

[drcbpearce]

I just wanted to give a shout out THANK YOU to all you pros out there sharing your advice. We just got back and had a great time and I think I was better prepared for everything b/c of all the things I read on the board.


If you are in the process of going, pay attention to what the pros have to say, it will save your bacon and help you have a better trip. Although I had specific plans for each day, we had to remember to be flexible with small children. There were a couple of times my dd4 just completely melted down b/c she was worn out, so we changed plans and went swimming or did something else so she could chill out for a bit, which helped all of us.

I also found out that no matter what you plan, you can't do it all! I wanted to do everything, but you know what, that just leaves new things for us the next time. Our neighbors are going on their 9th trip next month and she told me there are things they've on just done, so I don't feel bad! Just remember to have fun! Skip down the sidewalk, sing Disney songs! Be like the commercial and turn into the kid again, I did! It was a blast!

Thank you!!

 

[MarinaAndCharlie]

I bring a "carry-on" full of snacks with us. Everyday take a few snacks out put it in the backpack and go. By the time your trip ends your bag will be empty, which you can now fill with souviners and you will know will fit in your car on the way home!

This is a great idea but make sure you pack all liquids in your CHECKED luggage if youre flying.
DBF and I spent a good 50 bucks on food for our trip and had it all in a collapsible cooler bag that we took on the plane with us and security threw away more than half of it. It was our fault for not heeding to the "3 oz of liquid" rule, but who would have thought apple sauce and cans of soup were considered a possible threat!

This rule may also go for baby food so I'd either bring just one jar and test it out or just buy some after you arrive at MCO.

 

[MarinaAndCharlie]

I'm pretty sure first timers can still get pins that say it's there first visit to the park. Also if you celebrate a birthday while you are there, you can get a Birthday pin at each park as well as a birthday phone call from Goofy.

We just went on our first trip last June and not only were the first timer pins fun but they got us a lot of attention. DBF forgot his in the room one day and we came back to 8 towel animals, balloons and a note from mousekeeping in our room that said "Hope you're having a great first trip!". We also got Year of a Million Dreams lanyards and pins in line for the Great Movie ride, we got to go to the beginning of the line for Star Tours, and during the Stars and Motor Cars parade at Disney Hollywood Studios, Dopey ran up to me and DBF and took a picture with us in the middle of the parade! Others may not be this lucky, but we definately weren't asking for the attention, it just came to us! All the CM's noticed our pins and wished us a good trip.

You can get these pins at Guest Services in each of the parks. Theyre located just inside the entrance and I think to the left in all the parks. Just ask the CM when you scan your park ticket.

 

[MarinaAndCharlie]

Try TourGuideMike!
There's usually a banner above most pages on the DISboards, otherwise its www.tourguidemike.com

You have to pay for a subscription for $21 I think. It last until 6 months AFTER youre arrival date. After buying 3 (yes 3) guidebooks I finally decided to check out TGM and EVERYTHING I could possibly think of was on there. Plus, he has each and every exact date of the year with the best parks to visit on that date due to crowd levels and special events so you can just plug in your travel dates and most of your planning is already done with! He also has all the rides in each park categorized by how busy they get at certain times in the day which makes your daily itinerary easier to plan out. An example would be "First thing in the morning: Dumbo, Space Mountain, Splash Mountain... After lunch: blah blah blah" so you just sit down with your party and ask them what they want to ride and pick out a few from each category.

Go first thing in the morning
I planned an itinerary for the mornings in each park (1. Winnie the Pooh 2. Its a small world, etc.) and DBF and I went to Magic Kingdom on our first park day and RAN to Fantasyland and rode every ride with the longest wait being 8 minutes! It was amazing. DBF had zero interest in Fantasyland but once we got into the "zone" of being ahead of everyone else he was really excited and was like "whats next on the list? Peter Pan? Lets go!!!".

Maximize those Fast Passes!
As another person on this thread pointed out, most CM's will let you ride any time after your fast pass window begins. We would go around collecting FPs in the morning and we would return to our hotel for an afternoon break and when we came back to the parks at night we got right on some of the busiest rides, one right after the other.

No matter your age, take the time to visit some characters
DBF and I are college kids but that didn't stop us! I waited 45 minutes in line at Toon Town to meet Cinderella, Aurora and Belle and MAN was it worth it! The whole time in line I was thinking "ugh i wish I didnt decide to do this" but once I got up to the princesses I was SO glad I did. They were my cutest pictures (Theyre each in these cute velvet tents so theres no random people in the back of your pictures) and they were all there together, meaning really, I waited 15 minutes for each if you broke it up which is really shorter lines than any other character I'd met up until that point. Also, a GREAT place to meet Mickey, Minnie, Donald and Goofy is Camp Mickey Minnie in Animal Kingdom. If you go during a showing of Festival of the Lion King (great show btw) there are ZERO lines. In fact, when we walked up, there was no one waiting for Goofy and he RAN up to us and gave us a bug hug and dragged us back to his photo op place to take pictures! We spent a whole ten minutes with him and got some hilarious pictures!

Be kind to Mousekeeping!
On the plane ride to Orlando, DBF and I colored envelopes for Mousekeeping tips (They'll only accept tips if its marked for them) and left thank you notes. They adored them and left us several notes about how they liked them and in return we got towel animals! They left us a note on our last night thanking us for being so sweet and told us we could take home all of our towel animals (14 of them total!!!) including a mickey balloon they left for us.

If you're taking a backpack
If you're taking a backpack to the parks, put everything in it BEFORE you leave for Disney World and just put it in your suitcase, that way you know everything is there and you don't have to worry about forgetting to put something in there when youre running out the door half asleep to make park opening. Also, if you use all of something, replenish your supply as soon as you get back to the hotel so you don't forget after that nap!

Make Copies
Make copies of EVERYTHING. the back of park tickets, flight confirmations, dining confirmations, resort confirmations, everything. Leave a copy with a friend or relative at home too so if something happens, you can just call up your pal and get the information.

Have a great trip everyone!!! And remember, let loose! This is the only place where its ENCOURAGED to act like a kid!