Please Help! I Need Your BEST WDW Tips!

[mommyrom]

Our last trip included 2 adults (one 6 months pregnant...Me!), and 3 kiddos, 13, 5, and 2. We saved a huge amount of money and hassles by sending a parcel ahead of us to the resort. In the box, we sent: goldfish, breakfast bars, mini boxes of cereal, single serve applesauce, juice boxes, jelly, peanut butter, ziploc bags, plastic utensils and bowls. Label the box with your name, date of arrival and room number if you have it!! As part of our limo. service, we stopped at a local grocery store before arriving at our resort. There we picked up diapers, wipes, a case of water, apples, and some bread. This was one of the best things we did during pre-planning, as we were able to get moving in the a.m. without having to deal with a restaurant or the food court.

Everyone had something to eat before leaving for our day in our room and we were fine light snacking until our early lunch, which was usually 11 a.m. or so before the lunch crowds developed. Then, later on, we were most days ready for an early dinner as well. We found that if you watch the lunch service times, you can get just as much food for a late lunch as we would have off of the dinner menus (...and alot cheaper too!). Most restaurants were less crowded at the 4 p.m. timeslot than if we waited just an hour more!

If anyone chooses to send a parcel ahead of time like we did, KEEP the box! We found it invaluable to hold on to that carton because the day before we left, we stuffed all of our souvenirs in the same box and the resort shipped it right back to our home for us from the front desk! It arrived two days after we did back at home! We would have NEVER fit all of our park goodies in our suitcases to ge them home on the plane!

I could go on, but this was the best idea that helped us the most during our last visit!

 

[RadJad56]

X

 

[LauraAnn630]

We sent a box down to All Star Music. It cost 20.00 from Cleveland, Ohio. I think it weighed 40#. This saved us room in our suitcases and lots of money. We had breakfast in our room. For 70.00 you can get a small mini fridge. We called to make sure our box was there the day before we left. They said they had it. When we got there, they couldnt find it. A few minutes later they called and said it was on its way up. We were really relieved. We used the same box to send some things home. All Stars sent it out for us. It took twice as long for the box to get back.

 

[kjustice]

Last year I had 14 people. Almost all of us had cell phones. I got the numbers ahead of time, made little cards and laminated them. They were the same size as our room keys/admission tickets. They fit nicely in wallets or in lanyards. We were never really separated!

I also made priority seating for dinner each night as a group (use group dining - they are great!). We all did our own things all day and then met up for happy hour, dinner and dessert. As about seperate dining areas or private rooms - there are more than you think!!! We ate at the area in Wilderness Lodge behind the fireplace - we had the whole area to ourselves. It was a hoot!

Lastly, the most fun we had was renting boats behind Wilderness Lodge. You can do this behind the Contemporary, Ft Wilderness, Grand Floridian, etc. You can go really fast and have fun together while jumping each others wakes. Even my 5 year old enjoyed it!

You'll have a great time - but remember - planning is everything!

 

[CrazedDisFan]

Encourage everyone to 'do their own thing' during the day, some of the days. This way no one harbors anger for something they didn't get to do because Susie wanted to do something else.

Everyone should take others financial situations under consideration, in regards to dinner reservations nightly. There maybe some in your party who have more mouths to feed, therefore a far more expensive dinner for those individuals.

Be prepared for some parties to say, "No Thanks, we don't want to do that." But also have that party know others may do something else.

Relax, enjoy, watch the shows, watch the parades, watch the fireworks, delight that you all can be there together and HAVE FUN!!!

 

[disneyboy]

Heres a tip. You don't need to go to AK for a whole day.

 

[Mortlives]

Heres a tip. You don't need to go to AK for a whole day.

Actually, we've never made it through AK in just one day. Although, we might this time with three EMH hours. YMMV.

Kungaloosh!
Morticia.

 

[Drizzo67]

I can't stress the "don't over plan" thing too much. You can get yourself totally crazy if you overplan and then can't get to everything. Go with the flow of things and remember that some plans will have to change along the way.

 

[MommaluvsDis]

If not cell phones, see if the adults will invest in walkie-talkies. The ones with the sub channels. This will make getting together very easy! Ours came in very handy.

If E-Night is offered ($12 per person/adults) take advantage of it. It's so much fun and you feel as if you're the only people in the MK park!

 

[Okiemom]

We bought walkie talkies and they came in very handy with just my family, so I think it would be a big help with the large group. I did not want to pay cell phone charges. We split several times and they worked great. Or at the hotel if kids are old enough, they can go to get a snack and back, but still felt better if they had a walkie talkie.
Or one of us would go ahead and save a spot for a parade, and the other would get snacks and come back to us. With these you can find each other easy.

 

[DenaB]

Good Luck! My tips are these:
Take baggies of pre-sweetened Kool aid. You can add them to your bottled water and its much cheaper than pop. Plus most restarants will give you free water.

Do your character dining at the Land in Epcot. They have an ice cream social that is only $5.95 per person and you get alot more 1 on 1 time with the characters. The restarant rotates too!

If you are planning to fly there, ship your non-perishable food (Cereal, granola bars, etc.) UPS to your resort. When you check in, it will be waiting for you and you have plenty of snacks without the hassle or cost.

Hope you have a great time!

 

[lajones81]

Hi!
I love all the tips and the idea of sending a newsletter to get your group excited (and prepared, of course!) to go!
Have a great vacation!

Lisa

 

[Tinkerbell10403]

My boyfriend and I are both 19 and we went to WDW together this past Thanksgiving....I would say that the FastPasses are a must....as well as getting out early to take advantage of the ExtraMagic hour. This will let you ride most of the that you otherwise will have to wait hours for...like TestTrack at EPCOT...and Space Mountain at MK. Its worth waking up early for! Also...be sure you allow yourself PLENTY of time to get places...especially if you have a priority seating reservation. You never know when the buses will be slow...or the monorail will stall. And most importantly...HAVE A BLAST!!!