List Your BEST Tip...

[Emme]

OK, they are found in the dollar stores and they are flat backed with about 12 open pockets on the front to hold shoes and a hanger at the top that you are suppose to hang in your closet. They come in an array of fun colors.

I take them hang them on the back of my bathroom door in the hotels and fill the pockets with shampoos, conditioners, suntan lotions, combs, brushes...whatever! It frees up counter space, makes the bathroom look neat and you ALWAYS know where something is (unless people forget to put the item back in it's holder ).

Does that help a bit? Let me know, I"d be happy to clarify further if needed!


Emmy

 

[jmkst58]

That was a tremendous help. Great idea. Thanks!

 

[BonnieA]

A tip that I previously got from these boards really came in handy during my last trip.

Photocopy the backs of your parks tickets!!!

I made the mistake of leaving my park hopper in a fast pass machine. Because I had a copy of the ticket, it was replaced quickly by guest relations. Or I suppose you could just write down the ticket numbers which would work also. I never thought I would need to use that info but I am so glad I had it.

 

[susy]

1.
Do AK in reverse!!!!
Most guidebooks have you rushing to the Safari first (along with everyone else).

We start in Dinoland. You can do three rides in the same time it takes to do the safari! We do triceratops, Primeval whirl and dinosaur. If there is an adult that does not want to do dinosaur (like me),I stay with Ds at the Boneyard. He knows that when Dh comes back from dinosaur it is time to move on.

Exiting dinoland, you will run inot TTBAB, then exit left to Kali. Head to africa and pick up FP for safari. Last time we did this, we had time to walk the Pangani Forest Trail and have lunch (it was 11 or so) and then the safari.


2. Arrive at the parks early!!!!!!! We did Mk on the saturday of Columbus day and Vet day weekend. On vet day weekend, we were the first riders on space mountain. I am not afraid of MK on a SAt!


3. take breaks!!!!!

 

[jmminarik]

Originally posted by MELSMICE
What a beautiful daughter you have. Those pictures remind me of when we took my DD at about 2 1/2. I can't believe she is now 13. The time goes so fast.

Give us the tip on what kind of camera to use to get such great photos.

Since it appears Denman may have missed your question, my guess these photos were taken with some type of SLR based on how short the depth of field (area in focus) is. Most point and shoots don't do this sort of thing. Of course, this same effect can be achieved with any scanned/digital photo and a decent photo editing program.

You'll also notice that the little princess and her bigger disney counterpart fill the frame...something that can (and should) be easily done with _any_ camera...or corrected afterwards by cropping.

Hope this helps,
Joe

 

[denman007]

jmminarik,

You're correct - I used a Canon Rebel 2000 SLR camera with a Canon 70-200 f4 L Series (zoom)lens. The lens is pretty nice and allows me to shoot 70mm @ f4(blur the background).

I scanned them in with a HP 4100c which I have since upgraded to a HP 2210 all in one.

 

[kjs1976]

Great tips so far!

My tips:

1. Use fast past! PPF was over 90 mins. last time we went. We used FP and got through in 20...can't believe fams with small kids wait that long! Also did this for Test Track...again, 20 min. versus 120 min!

2. If staying on site, souviner shop the final night at your resort. I always scope things out during the trip at park shops. Then I check to see if they have it at the resort, and if they do, I buy it on the final night and pack it right away. Or we sometimes go to DTD one of the final nights and make our purchases there. That way you don't impulse buy and you don't have extra junk laying around the resort room.

3. Spend a day, if you have the time, looking for characters. My DH found getting pictures with characters more fun than some of the attractions on his first trip. Since I had been to MK many times, there were certain things I wanted to go on, and others not. He agreed, so we spent most of our time searching for characters. They are always in the shade or air conditioning, so this is a cool and comfortable thing to do! Plus, taking some time out in the AC at Mickey's Toon Town Fair is an awesome thing to do! I also think that most non-experienced WDW guests do not know where to look for characters, so they just happen upon them. If you scope out the character opportunities ahead of time and know where to be and when, this is a lot of fun!

 

[DisneyObsessed]

Emme, thank you. I went right out today and got one of those hanging organizers. I was disappointed tho....they only had boring white. LOL Thanks for the great tip. I'm sure it will help alot with all that bathroom stuff

 

[floridaminnie]

Go to WDW on Super Bowl Sunday. Since we live so close, we do this each year. We own the park and still get home in time to which the Super Bowl.

 

[sconstantz]

And juice pouches. Since we always stay at a condo (either on or off site) we have a frig. and freezer. Buy large bottles of water and put them all in the freezer. In the morning, take a frozen bottle or juice pouch (we use capri sun) for each person. We have a stroller so we just throw them in the bottom of the stroller. About mid-morning, they are ready to drink. The ice lasts longer than you think. when you have about 1/2 ice left (and no water), we refill with water from the fountains which is very cold.

I'm not a cheapskate, just like the convenience of COLD water at my disposal. And DS likes his juice pouches better than any cold coke. And we aren't standing in line waiting for drinks.

shelly

 

[dahess]

I like packing my dd's clothes in 1 gallon zip loc bags. You can squish out all of the air & flatten the clothes to a pancake. We reuse the bags for snacks, camera & etc.

 

[Mrs. Snowgod]

First & foremost, remember that you are here to have a good time, you are in the happiest place on earth, so try not to sweat the small stuff. To some this is obvious and second nature, but witnessing some of the stress that happens, it is good to be reminded of this.

Second and more practical, pack a few doses of over-the-counter drugs such as:

Immodium AD
Pepto Bismol (tablets preferred)
Benedryl
cough and cold pills or decongestant

or small tubes of:

Anti-itch cream
Preparation H
Athlete's foot cream
Antibiotic ointment

.... or whatever your own personal conditions might occasionally warrant. Its easy to break up the blister packs that many tablets come in, and it is way more economical to have some with you than to have to pay monstrous prices on site.

And HAVE A GOOD TIME!!!!

 

[cinmell]

We bring a pre paid calling card with us to WDW to avoid paying long distance charges from the resort.

 

[roadtripper]

Not too original, but we are fans of the "go left" theory at the MK-- especially with kids who have not experienced Fantasyland before. We did Splash Mtn, Thunder Mtn, Aladdin carpets, Pirates, Jungle Cruise, and HMansion in 1.5 hours on a Sunday morning! The downside was that DH and I started with our personal favorite-- Pirates-- and almost scared our kids out of wanting to go on other rides-- I forgot about that "Dead Men Tell No Tales" thing at the beginning! Anyway, strategy is over now, since they want Dumbo, Pooh and Peter first thing. Now the only strategy we employ is early rising-- and we're up anyway...

 

[d.kurz]

Emme, mine has to do with keeping organized in the room, also! I always bring a tension curtain rod and put it between the main part of the room and the washstand area (like at the All Star Resorts) . Then I get an extra sheet from housekeeping and viola!....you've created a dressing room. Keeps the shower/bathroom routine flowing more smoothly. Plus it's a place to hang things to dry. I take the sheet down during the day. I bring extra hangers and I keep socks/undies in a duffel and that area becomes my closet AND drawer, freeing up the limited drawer space. Next time I'll defifitely add the shoe holder!! Then it will be PERFECT!! Thanks for that tip! With 4 people in that room, (2 teenagers) it really helps to be organized!!

 

[Emme]

Neat Tip Dorothy! Also, I do the prepaid phone card too, when they are on sale it's a real bargain!
Thanks everyone! I knew we would come up with a great list...Let's keep going! Let's see how many tips we can actually aquire, they are all so good!

Blessings,
Emmy

 

[April in Disney]

Bring a pair of dry socks to the parks, wear your ponchos in Kali river rapid.
Eat a good breakfast before getting to the parks. Nothing worst than being hungry and dizzy in line waiting for the park to open. this way you don't lose precious time eating when you can be riding the rides as many times as you can.
EE days MK head to space mountain first get FP then go to buzz. Ride it in line as many times as you possibly can, "We have done 5 " before FP was up. Go to Space mountain get another FP before you enter the ride then go in. This way by the time you come out you have enough time to go to Indy Speedway before your next FP is up. We do the same thing with thunder- splash mountain.
In Epcot for tapestery of dream magic make sure there is nothing big like a cart behind you this way as your child interact with CM'S they can bend down touching the kids hands or dancing with them. We have found out the train area in Germany and just before the fountain in Italy worked great for us.

 

[WDWCrazzyCunninghams]

Last year we got a few of the Space bags to take with us. They are the ones you put a vacuum to and suck all the air out. Well, they also have travel space bags that you roll up to push the air out of. We would put our rain pounchos in it and then down in the back pack. When it would rain, we would take out the ponchoes and put IN the backpack! Then after the rain, we had a big "ziplock" bag to put the wet ponchos in and a dry backpack. Also, I just bought at Walmart the other day in the camping section, Heavy Duty ZipLoc bags. They can hold up to 30# and the ones I got are 2 1/4 gallon and 20 gallon. They are marked Large and 2X Large. I assume there is an XLarge too. They have a pleated bottom and built in handles. I think these would make a good substitute for the space bags too!