Mistake you will not repeat next time...

[KapBoy77]

That post reminds me that I will never forget to bring Body Glide or some other anti-chafing miracle product.

Body Glide is the absolute best thing on earth. But make sure you apply it properly. On the first day of our trip I didn't apply it quite as generously as I should have and my three year old still talks about how I was walking around like a cowboy.

 

[Jasonkat]

Mistake I won't make again? Ride Soarin'.

I'm scared of heights so I got in line so I'd be in the back row. Since the first row is on top of the second and second on top of the third I assumed this meant I'd be only a few feet off the ground. So when the machine swung us out in front of the screen I looked down to see how high we were.

It's like 100 feet in the air! I nearly peed myself!

So I closed my eyes, held on for dear life and prayed for the ride to end quickly.

I love every ride at WDW, nothing scary about RnR, Space Mountain, EE, etc.

But Soarin is just too scary for me.

 

[DisneyFive]

Totally agree! Went back to WS one afternoon by myself on one of the sunnier days this past August (had a lot of rain this trip) and literally baked walking around WS. THEN when I couldn't take it anymore, I had to walk all the way to the front of the park to catch a bus back to the resort. Should've just went back and swam like DH and the kids did.

Yeah, my kids still remember it and talk about it! I think we'll give the World Showcase another try this year, but we won't do it on a day forcasted with such heat. You can really bake back there!

AK is kind of like that for another reason. On very hot days, the humidity is just brutal due to all the vegitation and and there is very little breeze due to the vegitation as well.

Dan

 

[starrysky]

Yeah, my kids still remember it and talk about it! I think we'll give the World Showcase another try this year, but we won't do it on a day forcasted with such heat. You can really bake back there!

AK is kind of like that for another reason. On very hot days, the humidity is just brutal due to all the vegitation and and there is very little breeze due to the vegitation as well.

Dan

One option would have been take boat to DHS and bus from there save the walk all the way to the front of the park and you don't need a ticket into DHS as the boat drops you before the entrance plus you get a nice rest on the boat.

We did that and it was much more relaxing than walking all the way to the front of Epcot then all the way to the bus. Man those stops are far away.

 

[KrazeeK120]

Mistake I won't make again? Ride Soarin'.

I'm scared of heights so I got in line so I'd be in the back row. Since the first row is on top of the second and second on top of the third I assumed this meant I'd be only a few feet off the ground. So when the machine swung us out in front of the screen I looked down to see how high we were.

It's like 100 feet in the air! I nearly peed myself!

So I closed my eyes, held on for dear life and prayed for the ride to end quickly.

I love every ride at WDW, nothing scary about RnR, Space Mountain, EE, etc.

But Soarin is just too scary for me.

It's not even close to 100 feet up. I think the top row is around 50 feet up.

To anyone who is terrified of heights (like I am)...DO NOT lean over and look to see how far off the ground you are. I've managed to restrain myself from doing that so far and it's my favorite ride. I'm sure I would be utterly petrified if I actually LOOKED, though.

 

[DisneyFive]

One option would have been take boat to DHS and bus from there save the walk all the way to the front of the park and you don't need a ticket into DHS as the boat drops you before the entrance plus you get a nice rest on the boat.

We did that and it was much more relaxing than walking all the way to the front of Epcot then all the way to the bus. Man those stops are far away.

I totally agree that those friendship boats in front of HS are great. We've used them twice now. We've eaten at Cape May's the last two years (on one of our two HS days each trip) and have used those boats. They are great, but on very hot days, sitting inside those boats is like the 7th level of h***.

...and I don't typically complain about heat, as we can handle it and are in good shape, but in 2011 it was extreme. Last year in 2012 on those same boats (about 87-89 outside) it was awesome. Plus, I just love that area in front of the Beach Club as you look across the lagoon to the Boardwalk...

However, the problem wasn't the walking, it just didn't matter where you where. Just standing there in the open sun was just too dang hot. ...but I might use your suggestion on future visits. Thanks.

Dan

 

[txaggie94gigem]

On our very fist trip to WDW 6 years ago, somehow I left all of my shoes at home, except a pair of leather loafers I wore to the airport. Don't ask, I don't know how I did that. Anyhow, I ended up buying a pair of clunky tennis shoes from Team Mickey. Shoes are like the first thing in my bag now.

A few years ago I packed for everyone (me dh and 6 kids) and as I unpacked at wdw I realized I forgot something very important for me....underwear! And I am pooh sized so cannot buy some at resort....luckily we had driven to wdw so hubby went and bought me some at Walmart...

 

[txaggie94gigem]

I have been heading to the world, since 1971, I am least at 50 + trips, some for the day, long weekend and week trips.

We will never stay off property , For us it's about the magic, we love the disney resorts, themeing and that feeing you get, we alway use extra magic hours.

Not take a break to relax swim, nap whatever, especially if DH is along, He is a trouper but we enjoy that down time, for us when the DD's were little this was a must, to get away from all that stimulation, for us it prevented or avoided any major meltdown for all of us

For DH and I we never head to the parks on Check-in day, we drive from GA and take our time getting there, once there pool time, DTD or the Boardwalk for dinner then early to bed, it's nice to be rested when you hit the parks.

Never will we do the parks cammando style.

When DD's where little, I would never not bring a "goody bag: - I would hit up the local dollar stores, walmart, target, where ever looking for little things that the girls could do while in line. I tried for disney themed items mostly, and each day they would have a surprise laying on top of the outfit for the day. I also would have coloring book and crayons for in the room while everyone is getting dresses.

Never ever.... not check what family has packed for trip!!!!!! one trip I just happened to open my youngest DD suitcase to add some socks she was 15 at the time, she had 2 pair of shorts and 16 shirts, no pj's and 1 pair of flip flops, for a week, what in the world????. I had been asking them for a month do you need anything she kept saying no I have everything I need, when I showed her she said I don't have any shorts that fit..... Arghhhhh so we were in the car to hit target and wal-mart for some shorts. DH says he packs, this entails him, picking out a few things, and hanging them on the door, no socks, t-shirts, swim shorts, I guess the rest of the stuff just appears in the suitcase..

Each trip is different and special - you have to make the time to see it...

For a trip in dec 2011 our daughter told me in late nov that she had no shorts that fit....in ok no place to find shorts in nov! Friend suggested going to goodwill ....we found 6 pairs from name brands like gap and tommy hilfilger for $2 a pair...we lucked out!

 

[starrysky]

I totally agree that those friendship boats in front of HS are great. We've used them twice now. We've eaten at Cape May's the last two years (on one of our two HS days each trip) and have used those boats. They are great, but on very hot days, sitting inside those boats is like the 7th level of h***.

...and I don't typically complain about heat, as we can handle it and are in good shape, but in 2011 it was extreme. Last year in 2012 on those same boats (about 87-89 outside) it was awesome. Plus, I just love that area in front of the Beach Club as you look across the lagoon to the Boardwalk...

However, the problem wasn't the walking, it just didn't matter where you where. Just standing there in the open sun was just too dang hot. ...but I might use your suggestion on future visits. Thanks.

Dan

Yes we made the mistake of going in August one year and it was just too hot for us which is why we find October perfect temps. But I agree about the heat on the boats if you can sit on the outside you get a bit of a breeze that way.

We only discovered how great that boat trip was two years ago and it saved my tired feet a few times that and last years trip the boats in Epcot it's self genius lol. We are fairly fit but DH has a knee problem so having those made touring Epcot much easier.

 

[FoxwithEars]

Captain EO... Sorry just my opinion!

 

[glammadiva]

Starting in Storybook Circus!! Could not get the kids out of there! LOL!! Messed up the whole day! Next day we got there at park opening, started on the left and got everything done by 2. Went back that night for seconds on our favorites. Awesome trip!

 

[Sparkly]

We went in August 2006...big mistake! Not only were we in the middle of a tropical storm, but it was so hot and humid I wanted to go home!

I hated Captain EO too, it made my eyes hurt LOL.

 

[hart6066]

We go over Christmas, so we watch Illuminations from the bridge by France, and then just do the short walk to Beach Club, go up to Lobby, and they get us a cab--never more than $10 and if staying close by, it's less (CSR). When kids were little, they were even able to get us vans with a car seat--love Mears!!

 

[Anna114]

Captain EO... Sorry just my opinion!

Amen! I saw it first on my honeymoon... forgot how bad it really was. Went back, last year and was reminded how bad it was.

 

[artemis908]

Spending all day in the lazy river at the water park and not constantly reapplying sun screen... I got so badly burned I got sun poisoning. It was one of the most painful experiences of my life and my dad wouldn't let me miss more than a day. Then my second mistake was wearing a sleeveless shirt after that. It hurt so much to have a shirt on my shoulders, but having my burn exposed made it worst!

 

[DisneyFan2013]

Mistake I won't make again? Ride Soarin'.

I'm scared of heights so I got in line so I'd be in the back row. Since the first row is on top of the second and second on top of the third I assumed this meant I'd be only a few feet off the ground. So when the machine swung us out in front of the screen I looked down to see how high we were.

It's like 100 feet in the air! I nearly peed myself!

So I closed my eyes, held on for dear life and prayed for the ride to end quickly.

I love every ride at WDW, nothing scary about RnR, Space Mountain, EE, etc.

But Soarin is just too scary for me.

Aww, I loved Soarin'. I was in the first row and thought it was a beautiful and relaxing ride. I wanted to ride again before I left but didn't get a chance to. I'm not afraid of heights though, so I'll definitely ride again on my next trip!

 

[Blackbeltdisneygirl]

But I went overboard pinching pennies. Bought a bunch of Disney gift cards through a Target promotion- it's true I saved 24% on those cards- but what a hassle. Same with getting the tickets through UT. They wouldn't have gotten lost in the first place if they'd been on the KTTW card. We just had all these cards and tickets and FP+ passes (which also got misplaced briefly) etc. etc. floating around, it was a giant headache for me, because I was in charge.

See, we are the opposite! We LOVE Disney gift cards. We don't carry them around with us though. We carry them in my suitcase or crossbody purse on the flight, then stick them in the room safe. We then charge all our purchases to our room, and pay down the balance with the cards at our leisure. It saves us so much money because we get free fuel at our local grocery store for purchasing them. If we didn't have that discount, then 24% would be incentive enough for me! We don't penny pinch at all once we get to Disney, but I do love getting free gas before the trip! Carrying only the KTTW card and paying down the balance later makes it so easy.

I know...I know....but - We will never go WITHOUT the Dining Plan. . Our past trip was our first without it and it just stressed me out WAAAYYY to much. Maybe we saved some $$$ - but our kids are big eaters so sharing sounded good on paper, but was an epic fail in the Parks. We ate off property a few meals to save some $$$. For the little it saved us, we lost a lot in Park time. I am one of the people Disney had in mind when they created the Dining Plan - don't care about the $ for $ return - The idea that our food is paid for...priceless.

I feel the same way. Love the dining plan and won't ever go without it. We share our Counter Service meals to be able to stretch them so we can have two CS a day (breakfast and whatever meal we aren't eating at TS). At the end of our trip we still had 8 CS left over, so we bought sandwiches and a bunch of treats to take home with us. We ate the sandwiches at the airport and still have some of the gummy worms we got. I love not stressing about anything.

We had the full dining plan. (First time dining plan. First time at Disney.)

We were using our dining plan snack credits for a diet coke or bottle of water. I will pay closer attention next time, pay for drinks and save the snack credits for dole Whips and other costlier items.

By day 2 my 5 year old daughter and I figured out the dining plan gave us WAY TOO MUCH food. We split an adult counter service meal. Then we would get the kids meal in the afternoon/early evening and share for a snack.

We figured that out this trip too. We paid for our waters and Cokes, and used our snack credits for expensive items. We had such a huge variety of snacks this time that I almost preferred the snack credits over the Counter Service!

Here's my list of never agains:
1. Conservation Station/Rafiki's Planet Watch: hated it. Felt like a zoo to me, and I can visit that locally for cheaper. Best part about it was the train ride.
2. Ellen's Energy Adventure: 45 minutes? Really? So boring. I liked the animatronics, but the rest was rough. My husband fell asleep, I felt trapped in a bored nightmare, and I had no one to blame but myself as I had insisted I wanted to try it this last trip.
3. Leather Crocs Capris: Love regular ones, but the leather thong between my toes gave me the worst, worst, worst blisters that took 2 months to heal. I can wear them at home, but NOT at Disney.
4. Folding ponchos up while they were still wet. The kids and husband did this, and the stink was tremendous. We are still advocates of buying more quality ponchos and reusing them though. My dad brought a cheap dollar store one, and it was tiny and his butt got wet. I loved our huge, bright ponchos. I just have to make sure they all hang them before folding them.
5. Spend every waking minute with my mother. I love her, but she started getting mad that we were going to the bathroom at the "wrong" times. Apparently, b/c we didn't have to go on her schedule, we went at the wrong times.
6. Coral Reef and Whispering Canyon
7. Wear the wrong size clothing. I wore clothes that were too big for me our first two years. I chafed so badly I wanted to cry. Now I wear clothes that fit, and it helps that I have lost about 40 pounds and continue to lose weight.
8. Never stop to take naps. I need them. This last September we spent 12 days in WDW, and I forced myself to take naps. In 2011 we went for 11 days, and I hardly napped. I got sick on day 9. I got very, very sick.
9. Use an android without backup batteries. We took 3 extra batteries this last trip, so we always had juice to power our phones. They drain quickly there, which is not good if you get separated from the group.

Most of my minutes at Disney are very happy, so I don't have too much to complain about. We learn every year something new to improve upon. Every trip gets better, and it is such a valuable resource to have the Dis to help us improve.

 

[bdklein]

Fantasmic Dinner Package. The seat location is not that good, plus you still have to show up early or others start filling in those sections. So skip package and get there whenever you want. So need for dinner package-too much food at some not so great restaurants at not great prices. Perhaps lunch package better deal? But food prob not.

 

[MegN529]

Fantasmic.... at least until our kids are older. We found it to be a little scary for our youngest.

 

[DznyCrzy11]

1. Never going during the Holiday Season again. It was freezing, crowded..and flu season. No swimming, hats and mittens in the Parks..then 1/2 the week in the room with sick kids. No thank you.

2. I know...I know....but - We will never go WITHOUT the Dining Plan. . Our past trip was our first without it and it just stressed me out WAAAYYY to much. Maybe we saved some $$$ - but our kids are big eaters so sharing sounded good on paper, but was an epic fail in the Parks. We ate off property a few meals to save some $$$. For the little it saved us, we lost a lot in Park time. I am one of the people Disney had in mind when they created the Dining Plan - don't care about the $ for $ return - The idea that our food is paid for...priceless.

About 20 yrs ago my family always went a couple weeks before Christmas and I do remember it being colder. I've told DH that I would like to go back just once sometime in Dec to see all the lights again but I agree, I don't like the idea of gloves, coats, sweatshirt and hat in the parks! We have found that our favorite time to go is in September. You still get the summer type weather without the crowds!

That's great to hear on the DDP!!! We are trying it for the 1st time this year and looking foward to it, we also like the idea of it all being paid for before you get there. We booked a BB offer of free DDP and upgraded that to DxDDP. Can't wait to try it!!!

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