Mistake you will not repeat next time...

[DisneyMama21]

Mine would have to be watching Wishes directly at the front. You can definitely hear the fireworks, but will hardly see any of them. Couldn't believe I made that mistake. I blame the castle for being so awesome and pulling me in like a magnet

Yep! Did that too! I was shocked that there was no one waiting there right in front of the Castle for Wishes viewing...and then I found out why. It was awesome for "Celebrate the Magic" though!! But won't be doing that again. Also, as PP said, will try things for myself without taking the opinion of others. Some of the things others told us were horrible turned out to be our faves (and vice versa)

 

[scrappinannie]

Mistakes:

Watching Wishes from the Hub in MK. Man, talk about claustrophobic! In our defense, it wasn't completely on purpose. We had watched the electrical parade in Frontierland, right in front of the Christmas shop, and for some reason decided to move more towards Main Street (in front of the castle) for the fireworks. Yeah, that didn't work out!

Going to HWS on the first Saturday of Star Wars weekend....and NOT realizing it was SWW.

Not purchasing our photopass pics/disc the last time we went. I let DH's guilt over the price wear me down and I decided just to get the pics from our character meals while still in the park (Chef Mickey's and Askerhaus). I still took many great pics with my camera, but I wish I would have got the CD. Pics are so important to me and DD was 3 at the time and went to BBB....Never again will I skip photopass.


Good things:

Finding the DIS and researching when and where to find characters. My DD so badly wanted to meet the Beast and we found him...right where the fellow dis'ers said he'd be. We were even near the front of the line.

Bringing our own snacks into the parks and not doing the dining plan. We like the flexibility to eat when and where we want or not at all.


Renting a car. Disney transportation can be great....or it can be not so great. Having your own car makes it much easier to get where you want to be on your time frame, not someone else's.

 

[HolidayRose]

Thanks to lesson learned from tropical storm Debbie, we will all have decent rain jackets next time we head to Disney.

 

[GoldieLocks5]

our only mistake was not having something to cover our stroller with from the rain - it got SOAKED while we were in the Lion King show- horrible dounpours ... stroller was wet for 2 days.

 

[CuriousRapunzel]

These are the buses that Disney put on for the use of all guests. There are bus stops for each resort and a board directing you to the right one. Beware the stops for each resort are not the same number at each park.
Schedule is from around 6am to 1 hour after park closing and run every ten mins.

But only Disney resort guests can use them? We're staying off site. :S

 

[Ness2289]

But only Disney resort guests can use them? We're staying off site. :S

All visitors may use the buses.

 

[GenevieveRaqs]

My biggest mistake was planning to go to a park on arrival day. It wouldn't have been so bad except:
1. We got up before the sun to get to the airport for our flight.
2. We have a four-year-old.
3. We were traveling with six people.

By the time our Garden Grill ADR rolled around that night, tempers were flaring, emotions were high and everyone was just DONE. Next time we'll take it easy on arrival day and hit the parks the next morning.

 

[Kellykins1218]

I will go to any park other than MK to get my GAC. Guest Services at MK is crazy busy in the morning.

 

[agame2323]

If you go during the summer months (May, June, July, August) bring TWO outfits for each day. The wife suggested this before our 2010 trip but I decided not to listen to her. Boy was that a mistake. It was so hot that I needed to change my shirt as soon as the rope dropped at "rope dropped." Needless to say I spent most of the trip like this ----->

 

[blondie_k21]

I will never again drive through the night (we're 12 hours away figuring in stops). While this works well with beach trips since we're relaxing anyway, it just doesn't work for Disney for us. My 5 year old is raring to go since he slept through most of the trip, and the adults need a nap. It worked out much better when we stayed at a resort 3 hours away and left at 7am the next morning. We were rested and ready to go.

I know most people feel different, but I will never again go to a park other than MK on our first afternoon. We don't even care what the crowd levels are, and we aren't focused on riding too much. To my family, there's nothing better than watching Wishes to really start the magic.

I make the adults going sit down and look at menus before we make ADRs. I won't be stuck hearing them complain that they can't find anything to eat again.

I personally can never go 'commando'. Through our trips, I truly believe we've had such wonderful times because we were able to see and do everything we really wanted through planning. My family thinks I'm nuts, but they all tell me at the end of the trip how they are glad I'm in charge.

 

[Paula Sedley-Burke]

Not buying something you like when you see it and saying 'I will get that later'. We stay at a DVC resort so can have packages sent back to resort so why don't I do it! I then spend the next day searching for the item in the right size. Learn! I promise to myself this trip I will not do this! One year I had DW drive to 3 different Disney resorts because CM said it was in stock there ( Tee shirt ) but when we got there they couldn't find it. Computer error...yet I had this very item in my hand in Mouse Gear that morning!

 

[blondie_k21]

Not take children until they are old enough to remember and appreciate it. I have no problems w/young children because they can see the magic in the smallest things, but I want the vacation to be worth it! And no strollers! I've dealt w/more strollers in my lifetime and I don't even have kids yet!

I think you will find that once you have kids, this changes. My son's first trip was when he was 1. While he may not remember details, he talked about Mickey for weeks after we came home. And just as importantly, WE remembered. Seeing his face and reactions was worth double the price of the trip. He's been every year since, and we continue to make memories to last a lifetime. There's nothing like seeing your child's face at their first glimpse of the castle.

And strollers are a lifesaver. Saves their little legs when they are tired, perfect for napping, and extra storage to keep the mommy bag and other things. They may be annoying when you are touring parks with adults only, but trust me, they are more than worth carting on and off the buses.

 

[joshsmom]

We don't travel well with others . . . It needs to just be me, my mom and my son. Its probably my fault more than my mom or my son (because I'm the planner), but we just don't do well. We went with another family of three on a WDW vacation several years ago and found that our goals were SO DIFFERENT. We talked about it endlessly before we left and I "thought" we were all on the same page. But two of the three people that went DIDN'T LIKE RIDES!!! Of any type or for any reason!!! They didn't EVEN mention that when we were planning, talking about rides, shows, paces to eat. The third person, like us, was a ride junky. One of the other non-riders also did not like THE OUTDOORS. Um, we are spending a few THOUSAND dollars to go 18 hours from home to a THEME PARK!! But you don't want to be outside???? I suggested that we split up and they could do what they wanted and we would do what we wanted, but the answer was "no, we're following you." NEVER, EVER again.

 

[2Pirates2Princesses]

I think you will find that once you have kids, this changes. My son's first trip was when he was 1. While he may not remember details, he talked about Mickey for weeks after we came home. And just as importantly, WE remembered. Seeing his face and reactions was worth double the price of the trip. He's been every year since, and we continue to make memories to last a lifetime. There's nothing like seeing your child's face at their first glimpse of the castle.

And strollers are a lifesaver. Saves their little legs when they are tired, perfect for napping, and extra storage to keep the mommy bag and other things. They may be annoying when you are touring parks with adults only, but trust me, they are more than worth carting on and off the buses.

I agree. For our family, the value of a Disney trip isn't based on whether or not each of our kids is old enough to remember every detail of the trip; it's about WDW truly being a family vacation destination where there is something for everyone and sharing those magical moments and special experiences together as a family.

 

[xipotec]

Using WDW buses , we had our own car, and buses were very slow to POLY due to making stops everywhere else.

We got around much faster using our car. Which meant more park time, relaxing time, and less time on the buses with , quite frankly, some vey rude And i considerate people

I have vented about this before, for the price you pay at a deluxe resort, they should have more buses or a dedicated bus(s) for each one.

IMO

 

[joshsmom]

The mistake I will not make again.....

If you see something you like...BUY IT. Thinking that it will be at another store, or that you could order it online, or that you'll make it back to buy it can be a crapshoot.

I have learned this the hard way.

This this this this THIS!!!!! Did I say THIS????!!! Never ever again will I pass up something because it will be there later!! Chances are, it WON'T be there later!!

 

[clarkshel]

Using WDW buses , we had our own car, and buses were very slow to POLY due to making stops everywhere else.

We got around much faster using our car. Which meant more park time, relaxing time, and less time on the buses with , quite frankly, some vey rude And i considerate people

I have vented about this before, for the price you pay at a deluxe resort, they should have more buses or a dedicated bus(s) for each one.

IMO

I love the WDW bus system. Especially going to MK. It sometimes takes so long getting to and from your car to MK. Where as the bus drops you off near the gate.

 

[Gamegrl1]

We had too many dinner reservations that caused us to leave the parks early.

I love that observation so much. People have to use common sense and also do what works for their needs, budget and travel style. When I was new(er) to the DISboards and seeking restaurant advice, I posted a msg explaining our main goals were to stay in the parks and experience the rides, attractions and shows and that the budget didn't permit a lot of TS restaurants, nor did time permit running all around WDW.

But one poster (who shall remain nameless - and obviously has a lot more time/money/gall...oops, did I say that out loud? than me) said we were "Really limiting yourselves by not thinking about resorts" [to eat at].

Seriously? Did they want to send me a check so I could pay for a longer, more leisurely vacation? Otherwise it's not helpful advice. So - a mistake we're not going to make is being pressured into doing what won't work for us and I appreciate WDW2012's post. BTW, I just looked at Disney's website to see how many eateries are at the parks and there are 88. Frankly I don't see how that's "limiting". Nearly one hundred choices...based on three meals a day, a person would have to stay an entire month at WDW just to try each of them once! 88 lovely places to eat...makes me hungry just thinking about it! So that's case closed!

 

[Gamegrl1]

Not bringing pins thinking it wasn't a big deal and kinda lame. Was given a few pins to trade and had so much fun doing it. Ran out of ones I wanted to part with and got sad lol.
Will for sure get pins for next time

My family and co-workers tease me because I've bought 75 pins in the last three months or so ($193 in all incl. 2 lanyards...screamin' deal!). Ok, but...all but two pins were sooo inexpensive on eBay - from a legit seller...they came in the actual Disney packaging too. And I have enough to give my mom some to trade and I will be ready to trade for some cool pins!

I felt a bit bad about not bringing my lanyard just to go to DTD in CA...I wasn't sure if the CM's there wore lanyards and would've felt silly wearing mine if no one else did. Well, they do, but I hadn't brought mine and couldn't trade. So I'll know for next time.

 

[ericarachel]

I will not make the mistake of not getting a Christmas ornament again! Didn't think to get one during my 2012 trip, but now that we are going back this year, I really think it will be a nice tradition.