Single best Tip from these boards

[cannonn824]

I think my fav is the shoe holder. My husband and I travel alot and i have never thought of doing something like, and now with traveling with a family of four it seems like the perfect idea. I think I will have to go buy some for the house to.

Thanks for the awesome tips, keep them coming!!!!!

 

[Pink Flamingo]

Don't they have a class action suit against them?

Yes, they do - see this link for more info: http://www.settlement4onlinepayments.com/. The suit has to do with freezing people's accounts. If they freeze your account (which they can do for any reason ~ at least until the law suit is settled), then you can't deposit or withdraw any $$ from your account. See this link for more info.: http://www.emediawire.com/releases/2004/3/emw108796.htm

AAA has a similar card they call "Visa Travel Money", but it's like loonertic noted ~ you can't add $$ to the card. It's a debit card that you load with a predetermined amount of $$. You use it like you would a debit card, but you can't exceed your preloaded amount.

 

[avaughan]

I have picked up lots of good ideas for our trip over Labor Day, but my top 3 are:

Renting points from a DVC member for a stay at a home away from home resort

ING accounts (can't pass up free money)

Hotwire for the meal vouchers


With a trip to Disney, every little bit helps!

 

[KayakDaddy]

I’ve used a lot of the tips of this board; they help make the family vacation more affordable, efficient, and enjoyable.

Favorite tip from board: Fastpasses do not expire, that is, they allow you to use them after the end of the time window. I wish I had been aware of this back in May when we sprinted from the end of the Festival of the Lion King to get to Dinosaur before our Fastpass window expired.

I learned from the board that they will let you use it any time after the opening window, even hours later. Last Wednesday at MK, we wanted my son to take a nap after lunch. We knew if he were awake when we got back to WL, he would want to swim and would never get to sleep. We didn’t use the Fastpasses we had for Splash Mountain, and instead went to Tiki Birds & Country Bear back to back after lunch so he could slow down and fall asleep. It worked perfectly! On the way out of the park, I had my wife pick us up Fastpasses for the Jungle Cruise. When we returned after our naps over three hours later, we rode the train straight to Frontierland and used our Fastpasses for SM & JC. We’ll use that strategy again.


The best tip I used from the Unofficial Guide was the “Chuck Bubba” strategy. We used it on Dumbo, Astro Orbiter, and Magic Carpets of Aladdin. My son loved riding all of those rides back to back.

My best tip I can give from our own experience is we found the perfect free place to watch Wishes. On our check in day, we rode the launch from WL to MK, and then rode the ferry across to the TTC. We timed it perfectly so that Wishes started just as the ferry started back across to MK. We had a perfect, unobstructed view of the fireworks. The ferry captain even slowed down so the handful of us on there could enjoy the show. Wishes was ending just as we reached the dock and we could even hear the music. If you want a good view of wishes without spending any money or using a park ticket, the upper deck of the ferry is the place to go!

 

[luvabargain]

Just got back and the over the door shoe holder worked perfectly.

 

[poohkinandpiglet]

My all time favorite tip is packing my kids clothes in gallon size
ziploc bags. I put shirt, shorts, socks, and underwear in one bag and label it with the day of the week.

Not only does it eliminate morning battles over what to wear but it takes up less space in the suitcase. I have extra sets of clothing in ziplocs that I throw in the backpack before we leave for the park each day in case we get too wet or have accidents. My kids think it's fun and they get dressed quickly each morning.

 

[Kellyh123]

how do you find the meal vouchers on hotwire?
thanks

 

[avaughan]

Originally posted by Kellyh123
how do you find the meal vouchers on hotwire?
thanks

You go to www.hotwiresavingsclub.com and join for a free 30 day period. Go to the link for theme parks and then there is a link for meal vouchers. When I ordered there was a $10 cash back offer on your first order and shipping is free. You can also go to the budget board to get information - there is a whole thread devoted to this topic.

 

[Keebles]

I loved the M&M containers for change for pressed penny machines! My family would laugh and say "she's whipping out the tube again!".

The envelopes for Mousekeeping was a wonderful idea! I did take it and run with it (making my own using Disney print artist, filling each with $5 bills and giving a set to every room in our party) but it was still great fun and we got all kinds of surprises when we got back to the room at night.

Oh, and the one about packing your clothes in large ziplocks so that the airlines don't man-handle them! The thought of someone searching my drawers makes my skin crawl!!

I don't remember if I read it on the boards, but I used 3x5 index cards and made up our itineraries and took them to Kinko's and had them bound. Made great little keepsakes, were easy to carry around and didn't take up much room!

 

[dani blaski]

I found one at Big Lots for about $5, and I intend to try it on our quick weekend trip in September-can't wait!

 

[rams408]

Could someone please tell me what the "Chuck Bubba" strategy is?

 

[Chicago526]

The "Chuck Bubba Relay"

1. Mom and Bubba enter line

2. Dad lets a specific number of people go in front of him (24 in the case of Dumbo) then gets in line.

3. As soon as the ride stops, mom exits with Bubba nd passes him to Dad to ride a second time. By this time, Dad should be very close to front of ride.

4. If the kid wants to ride again, Mom can hop back into line while Dad and Bubba are ridding, once another 24 people enter.

The numbers are as follows:

Mad Tea Party 53, Snow White 52, Dumbo 24, Cindy's Carrousel 75, Peter Pan 64, and Aladdin 48.

 

[dbail2]

Don't forget a ultra lightweight umbrella and disposable rain jackets. Especially in the summer months when it rains almost everyday. We also bring water toys like balls to play with in the pools. Moleskin works great on spots where you feel a blister starting on your feet.

 

[dawgsgirl]

My fav tip from these boards: bring something to put on your rented stroller so it stands out. This saved us so much time and trouble it was incredible! I got a really loud, cheap bandana at Wal-Mart that has really served its purpose.

 

[mikeymars]

Originally posted by Laklia
Love the idea of over the door holders

In our experience, something like the below (a hanging toiletry bag) works much better in the bathroom than a shoe holder.

Why? Well, it's smaller to pack and forces one to focus on only taking what you really need. We have one similar to the model below (ours is larger, and the sleeves for holding items are all clear plastic, so it's easier to see what is where) that I purchased for $12 (included shipping) from the Travelocity store several years ago. Believe me, it holds a ton of stuff, easily taking care of all the toiletries for a family of four.

 

[overwhelmed]

any reccomendations as to a hanging toiletry holder for the shower? easy to pack? There is never enough space along the edge of tubs for my hair products.

great thread

 

[shelleyz]

How about this for a shower organizer. Looks like it should be easy to pack. http://www.spacesavers.com/showkinor.html

 

[MUFFYCAT]

Some of favorites tips that you all taught me are:

Tevas shoes
Brita bottles
Spray/fan water bottles
Concierge

 

[Deb & Bill]

Originally posted by KayakDaddy
...
Favorite tip from board: Fastpasses do not expire, that is, they allow you to use them after the end of the time window. I wish I had been aware of this back in May when we sprinted from the end of the Festival of the Lion King to get to Dinosaur before our Fastpass window expired.

I learned from the board that they will let you use it any time after the opening window, even hours later. ...

Not all CMs will honor the Fastpass after the listed time frame. I think the FP actually states something like that on it. So don't get upset if they don't let you in using an outdated FP.

 

[frndofpooh]

Okay, am I the only one that is going to mention the Bodyglide stuff for chafing? September in WDW can be a sticky situation and nothing stops chafing a blisters like that stuff. I got the tip on this board and I must admit it is the greatest stuff going! Certainly beats walking around like Goofy in one of his cowboy cartoons! And, it probably, although I am not sure, fits nicely in one of the over the door toiletry holders! Blister and chafe no more!