Need tips, facts, etc. to help get Newbie excited and ready for trip!

[CDoobee]

Hi All,

I'm going in September on my 15th trip to WDW (11th in 5 years!) with a friend who has only been once (and that was about 25 years ago)!

I am doing all the planning, which I love and she is happy to let me do it!

Anyway, I thought it might be fun to send her little tidbits via email every day or so. These could be tips like buying the cheap ponchos at KMart, Dollar Tree, etc. Or just fun facts about WDW, nothing too overwhelming for a newbie.

Any thoughts, ideas, etc?

Has anyone ever done anything like this? What did you do?

Thanks for any help you can give me!

 

[Giggles]

I am currently planning my families second trip to WDW (last trip was 8 years ago.) To get my family (of all adults now) excited I made up a count down calendar with different disney characters and we would cross each one off. It is a fun way to keep track of the time till we are on our trip.
I have also made a great list of hidden mickeys, you can find them in these boards or just typing hidden mickeys in google, there quite a few of them.
There are tons of fun facts and so forth that you can get off these boards. I have been researching for 4 months now on tips to use for our trip. There are tons of fun facts, possibly get a book. Seeing pictures will make any one excited!
Hope you get some use out of these ideas!

 

[CDoobee]

Thanks, I love the calendar idea! I'll try to get something made up today to send to her!

I love all the tips/facts that I hear on here as a lot of them are new to me, too! I just need to remember to keep it basic, so I don't overwhelm her. After all, she doesn't even know basics such as what Tower of Terror is, what IllumiNations is, etc! She's never been to Epcot, MGM, or AK. Her one trip to MK was 25 years ago!

Thanks again!

 

[MtMinnie2]

If you go to the wdw web site, they have a trip planning dvd- cd rom that is free and would show your friend alot of the things that are available at wdw. It takes about 3-4 weeks to arrive but is worth the wait in my opinion.

 

[JoAnnPan]

Not sure if there is a Disney Store near you - you can get Disney Dollars and send some to her in a card - nearer to your departure date - just an idea - I would love it if someone sent me some! Enjoy your trip -

 

[WDW Poly Princess]

How about e-mailing a few photos? The photo threads on the Theme Park and Resorts boards are overflowing with photos you can't help but get excited over. Maybe some photos from the Food thread on the Restaurant board, too- those would make anyone's mouth start watering for a trip to WDW!

 

[robertchance]

Give your friend the link to this site and let them find out info at their own pace

 

[dyna]

Don't tell friend about all the disney surprises such as the hornet sting in It's Tough to be A Bug. Or the mice running over the feet at HISTA I think you get the idea.

Prepare friend without over preparing might be the way to put it.

 

[striker3636]

When we went with our friends we often emailed each other with the countdown of days left. I did a fair amount of learning here on the DIS and I would pass along all the nuggets I would find. What we found great was reading about some of the little things that adults can look for and get a kick out of, not just the kids. Sure, don't give away all the secrets like another poster said, but maybe every few days pass along a special tip or something to help her learn more and get more excited. Maybe give a "must see" list for each park with reasons why if you don't want to tell her too much. We got so much more out of our trip, not just because we went with kids and our friends (than our trip as a couple 14 yrs ago), but because we knew more about WDW. I can't believe all the things we missed before!

 

[CDoobee]

I sent her some Disney Dollars in July for her birthday. I owe her some money (I got a cheaper airfare than I'd previously booked), and was going to send her a check, but I think I'll send more Disney Dollars!!

I've been loving the pictures of food thread, so I think I'll try to find some from restaurants we will be eating at, and email her those!

Don't worry, I won't give away any of the "special" secrets, like as mentioned at HISTA and ITTBAB!! I'm sorry that Ice Station Cool is closed, because I was really looking forward to having her try some Beverly! We pulled that one on DBIL last year!

There is a great homemade t-shirt thread on the Themepark Attractions and Strategies board, and a couple of talented DISers have designed shirts for us. I'll be surprising her with those after we get there.

Thanks to everyone for the suggestions!

 

[swimer3]

I would buy her a book like the official guide. It helped me and I'm 13 to learn alot.

 

[PixieDust32]

Hi!

Well, for my DD's i made them a goodie bag, i got the canvas bags from hobby lobby for $1.99 each, i tried iron-on with a image of the characters and our trip date, the iron-on was OK but not great, on the other side of the bag i wrote their names and iron-on disney characters from hobby lobby too.

And in the bag i put..



T shirt ( Homemade Iron-on)
Disposable Camera
Journal notebook
Disney light-up Pens ( favo character )
Stickers
Small disney Wallet with Disney dollars
2 mini M&M tubes ( after the ate the candy they used them for pennies)
Roll of pennies
Roll of quaters (both for the pressed pennies)
Disney Hat ( from Disney store )
Puzzle book for the road
Sharpies for autographs
Candy



You can add or change some of the items if you like.
Have fun!

 

[CDoobee]

Thanks!

I think I will make her a bag....if I have time! We leave in 10 days!! YIPPEE!! Here's what I'm thinking of putting in it:

Disney Dollars
Mickey head cookies bought at WalMart
Ponchos
Mickey head suckers
Princess stickers that I had already bought for her, in case she wants to
make a scrapbook.
Small fan
Glow necklaces
Crystal Light (individual serving sizes to add to water bottles)

That's it so far!

P.S. We are both women in our 50's!!! HAHAHA

 

[missj171]

Don't think I have any more ideas to add, but I just want to say that its so sweet you're trying to prepare her to get excited like this!

I'm off to DLP soon (see sig) and workin on some Disney tidbits for my friend, she is excited anyway, but she doesn't know the wonder of the Dis so there's so much she's unaware of! Although it might be fun to just show her when we get there - I'll seem very wise!!

 

[Weluvdisny]

What about a Disney t-shirt that the characters can sign? You can put that and a marker in the bag.

I saw a great disney notebook in wal-mart the other day for signatures if you want to use them in a scrapbook. Or just to jot down notes on your daily activities.

I've started 2 binders for my DF and her 2 DS who are going for the first time with us in January. I've got one binder for the menus of the restaurants divided into parks and resorts so she and the kids can look through it and get an idea of where they want to eat. And the other is car rental, driving, hotel, and park info (including a packing list, some hidden mickeys and the dreams scavenger hunt you find here on the DIS). The front of the binder has a clear pocket so I decorated it with colored paper, disney stickers and The "Smith and Jones" Disney Trip 2006.

Hope you have fun!

 

[FigmentGuy]

As for last minute idea... You could purchase a simple, but great "WDW book" to go over with on the plane ride. I'm sure you could find one at a local "book and media" superstore near you. I would sugges Birnbaum's Walt Disney World 2005. It breaks down the parks into attractions and food services etc. They have pictures, and maps. Not to overwhelming to a newbies eyes I would think. So during your flight down you could build your excitment on what you want to see and do. Just a suggestion... Hope you have a great trip no matter what ya do.