Most Valuable Tip???

[dcrilly]

We had originally planned our first trip to WDW for October of '06 as a gift to our kids from my father who passed away recently. Well, he must be smiling down on us because our finances received an unexpected inflow and we're bumping up the trip to this October!

I've spent the better part of two months lurking here and gathering an untold number of tips to help make this trip as problem free as possible. Now if you had ONE tip to share, one that you either got from someone here or figured out yourself through necessity, what would it be?

For example, we're staying in FW in a cabin (9 days!) and although I very much like to walk, the wife doesn't so much and by the end of the day, I can't see our kids (DS 7, Twin DD, 5) waiting for buses or walking without becoming cranky (or worse), so we've decided to rent a cart just to get around WL.

So who's up with the first ***?

 

[Pea-n-Me]

Don't forget to take time to smell the roses.

 

[dcrilly]

Don't forget to take time to smell the roses.

Does buying a dozen roses from the Disney Florist and having them waiting in the room for the wife count?

The kids aren't the only ones totally in the dark about what's being planned for this trip.

 

[fizz13]

Always have a fastpass ready. Prioritise the rides so the most important gets the first one, and then get the next fastpass before you ride the first ride. This way, you could have a wait free day.

Oh yeah, plan all your ADR's for your meals, so you always have somewhere to eat, but don't be a slave to them, just know you will never be caught out without a meal.

Pack small treats for your kids to save money when you get there, like lightup spinny toys, which will be cheaper to buy at home than there. Just pull them out at parade times, they don't need to know where they came from. Or get Tinkerbell to make a delivery every night so there is a suprise every morning.

Have a look at part 12 of my trip report (link at the bottom of my signature) to see my pixiedust morning at the MK. It was a blast!

Have a great trip and relax. I put so much pressure on myself to make it perfect that I ended up kind of deflated halfway through

Hope this helps,
Claire xx

 

[Shooby doo]

Take your time,you can miss so much of the extra detail charging from ride to ride.Wear comfortable shoes-you will be surprised how far you can walk in 1 day!!Authograph books for the kids,bring your own pens,just make sure that they are easy enough for a Character to use ie. not too fiddly.Take water bottles to the parks,you'd be amazed at how much you drink. Any time that you get your photo taken,ask the CM to also take a photo with your camera,that way you have a "back-up" incase you don't like theirs or don't want to spend a fortune! But most of all ENJOY SD aw:

 

[Glendamax]

When you get tired, STOP, find the nearest bench, and take a break!

 

[Pea-n-Me]

Does buying a dozen roses from the Disney Florist and having them waiting in the room for the wife count?

I'm sure your DW will love this (and yes, it will score a few brownie points )! But what I really meant was to take time to enjoy the little things like relaxing at your resort and seeing some of the other things that WDW has to offer besides rides and attractions. (See Overlooked Attractions on www.allearsnet.com). It makes for a more relaxing trip!

 

[Leota]

Get to the Parks early. Even tho you're going in October, which is generally slower, you can really cut your time in line just by getting to the Parks at opening.

I agree 10000% with take you time & don't rush from one thing to another, then you'll miss the Magic. The Magic & Pixie Dust are what happens between attractions. If you don't get to ride every ride, you can always plan on doing it on the next trip.

Your kids are at the perfect age for Character interaction. Be sure to do lots of character dining & finding them in the Parks.

They are also the Perfect Age for a Passport at Epcot. They will love gathering stamps & signatures in their Passports & you & your wife will love being able to explore World Showcase.

 

[minnie61650]

First of all I would like to offer my deepest symphany on the passing of your father.
My tips:
Take the ferry to the Magic Kingdom.
It's a very nice ride over.
Also don't forget the campfire sing-along at FW.
Chip and Dale are often there and then there is marshmellow roasting and a disney movie after. The campfire is free to WDW guests.
Have a great time at Disney!
Linda

 

[twinsman]

1. Get to the parks early

2. Understand and use Fastpass

3. Don't try to do it all for the sake of doing it all. Do what you like.

 

[MicheinMA]

Enjoy it. Too many times we went and just boogied through the parks trying to squeeze everything in. The last time we went we did it more leisurely and really enjoyed it. Got to experience a lot of the smaller things people don't notice. We're headed down again next year with our 2 little ones and I just can't wait!

 

[Yensid_MD]

My *** is realize that once you experience the Magic, you will want to go back so don't try to get everything done in on this one trip.

Buy the Passporter guidebook as it is great for recording all your trip details and organizing your thoughts. Has pockets to store stuff, and place to right down your ADRs.

I have not been to it but I hear the Hoop de doo revue (sp?) is supposed to be great. It is a must see for many people.

It is a vacation, not when you should wear yourself out. Take breaks back at the pool in the midday.

Have fun!

 

[ottawamom]

Go to the parks with a gameplan. You don't have to follow it religiously but it helps to organize your touring through the parks so that the kids get to ride and do their highest priorities. My husband always calls me a commando but he and the kids are happy we get as much done as we do. Research-research-research it will pay off!

 

[mhingher]

One thing you should book is a character meal, my personal favorite is breakfast at Chef Mickey's in the Contemporary. Like everyone else said, rest if you're tired. Take some time to enjoy the pool at your resort, or shopping at Downtown DIsney and have a great time!

I've been to Hoop de Doo... it's a lot of fun, but really over-priced. It's definitely something that you would want to experience though.

 

[deltachi8]

Drink lots of water, wear a hat and use a touring plan.

 

[MonkeyPants]

1. Get to the parks early

2. Understand and use Fastpass

3. Don't try to do it all for the sake of doing it all. Do what you like.

I agree, especially with # 3. And indeed as excited as you are likely to be (almost as much as the kids [or more] if you are anything like others on this board) take it slow and easy and really experience Disney. Other amusement parks you only go to, Disney you experience. Does that make sense?

 

[Shinji]

Make sure everyone has comfortable walking shoes. I remember one year I wore the wrong kind of shoes (a comfortable pair of DC skateboarding shoes) and I ended up miserable with sore feet after the second or third day. My wife had the same problem that year after wearing sandles for just one day.

Even with a decent pair of New Balance walking shoes, I typically still get blisters on my feet everytime we go to WDW.

 

[carolfoy]

My MVP remember that not everyone enjoys the same rides, if someone thinks somethings too scary for them then it probably is, try and research rides suitable for each member of your party so that if X and Y don't want to do that one thing you know they've got time to go over to another ride and meet with you later

 

[milmore104]

REnt a pantoon boat at DTD and explore the other resorts and surroundings. It's lots of fun and a nice way to spend a relaxing afternoon.

 

[daisax]

Do Epcot first for kids that age -- they'll be thrilled with it. Then MK will be even BETTER.

If you do MK first, Epcot is a let down for many children in comparison. But if it's the first park they go to, it's an exciting outing with fun characters and strange and exotic things to look at. I second the advice to do the passport and mask activity "around the world."

That will ease them into the overload of Disney that is Magic Kingdom

kassa