The Home Stretch Trip Preparations

[Blackadder337]

Hi All,

I'm hoping I can get the Canadian perspective on our upcoming trip to WDW.

We leave in about a month, (mid October).

The final balance of airfare / WDW tickets, meal plan, reservation etc.. has been paid.
The Fast Passes have been booked.
Some meals have been booked.

Aside from packing and home while away prep, is there anything I should start thinking of doing about a month out?

Apparently I still have to pay for our luggage on the flight.
And I've heard that there's some kind of advanced check in for WDW?

Is there stuff like that I should be thinking about?

Also, from a southern Ontarian's perspective... is it usually humid in orlando in October?

Thanks for any helpful suggestions you have

 

[Donald - my hero]

HI! It sounds like this is a first trip for you and it that's the case you must all be very excited! Here's a few things you might want to consider doing to get ready and be sure that you have everything you need!

Call your credit card companies and let them know where you're going and how long you'll be gone -- this will avoid the possibility of them freezing your account when they notice charges you don't normally make thousand's of KM away from home (not pleasant) Make sure you have the number to call when your in Disney in case you need to contact them if you lose your card!!

Take photocopies of front and back of every piece of ID, credit card, health card, photo page of your passports etc that you're taking with you and store them away from the actual cards when you get to your hotel (i usually tuck it inside my park bag because i will also have a copy of the back of our park tickets) If you're renting a car, you'll want to find out if your personal insurance covers rental cars (our does and many do) in which case either take an extra copy of it or make a photocopy of that as well.

If you've booked a package with Disney you'll receive a booklet (might already have it at this point?) that will have a page that details your resort with the address -- either remove that page (last time it was perforated ??) so you can show the Custom agent where you'll be (at times they want more than "Disney")

Yes, you can do "on-line check in" for your resort room -- at your 60 day mark which has already passed -- and this will give you the option of making 2 room location REQUESTS, not guarantees but it does at times work out well. It will also let you set you PIN for your Magic Band but since you need to stop at the front desk to check in and get your magic bands anyway, you can re-set it at that point. When you get to the resort there are 2 check-in lines and you can get in the one labeled "On-line check in" They will already have all of your papers ready to go and if you're lucky your room will be assigned. At this point you can still request a different room if one is available .. you're not stuck with what they give you IF there is another one open. They might ask for a phone number to text you your room number if it's not ready but it's been reported they don't text international #'s so this is a hit & miss.

I imagine i've either overwhelmed you at this point or told you stuff you already know so I'll stop! Hope you have a great time in October -- oh, the weather? It should still be quite warm (compared to here!) last trip at the end of that month we never wore jeans or sweaters till the day home and it did get up to 32 a couple of days. Best bet is to check the forecast the week before you go!

 

[Blackadder337]

That's great information! Thanks so far!

Where does one do t heir online checkin for the resort room? I can't seem to find that anywhere?

 

[dis_guy]

That's great information! Thanks so far!

Where does one do t heir online checkin for the resort room? I can't seem to find that anywhere?

Go to disneyworld.com

Click on My Disney Experience at the top right of the page.

Sign In

The top Box will say Welcome, "Your Name"

At the bottom of that box it will say Start Check In- click on it.

And just one little packing tip. Not sure if it'll help you for October but when we go during the winter, as we wash and begin putting away our warm weather clothes (shorts, bathing suits, etc) we just put them straight into our suitcases so they're ready to go. Saves having to find them later.

 

[Donald - my hero]

No prob! Gotta share the knowledge we've gathered so everyone can have a great time!

As usual @dis_guy provided you great detail for the check in! ( i love when you chime in BTW so accurate and better worded than me )

 

[Aladora]

I scanned all of our passports and emailed them to myself so I always have a copy in my email if needed.

 

[starvenger]

I used to do the hard copy picture thing. Now I take pictures of all the passports and relevant cards and keep them on my phone. I have my wife do the same.

Added bonus - when you do online check ins or need personal information for forms, it's all there without needing to pull out all your passports etc.

With that said, I haven't gone fully electronic. Because we were doing 3 trips this summer (Jamaica, UK/Spain and Vancouver) I bought some clear folders with a zipper top and some labels from Dollarama, and any relevant hard copies I printed out - itineraries, car rental/residence info, insurance forms - I put them into the appropriate folder. The folder fits quite nicely into my laptop bag, so I can pull that information out at the appropriate location.

Speaking of laptops, if you bring electronic devices make sure you pack the right cords. A multi-usb plug can be quite useful in this situation. Get a large zip-top bag (again, Dollarama) and put the cords and chargers in there.

Download the airline app to your phones/tablets, especially if you fly Westjet or Rouge - it's the only way to access in flight entertainment.

With packing, I do have a couple of tips:

Drugs. Because kids have the innate ability to get sick at inconvenient times, you need to be prepared. I usually bring the small bottles of children's Advil and Tylenol. For the adults, I bring the "big kids" versions of Advil, Tylenol and Aleve. Because it's allergy season I carry Claritin and eye drops as well. Again, I dump the drugs in a zip top bag and toss into the luggage. Except for the Tylenol and eye drops, which I put in my carry on.

First aid. Buy whatever bandage strips you like and a small tube of antiseptic cream. Maybe blister strips as well. Again, zip top bag and stow.

 

[ottawamom]

I don't know if you plan on tipping the Mousekeepers but if you do you can print up some Mousekeeping envelopes and get those ready so you're not searching for cash each morning.

If you've used a website to organize how you're getting around the parks, you may want to update your plans as the crowd levels often change as you get closer to your trip and this can change the plans you have made. (if what I have said sounds like Greek, don't worry about it)

 

[bababear_50]

HI
I have Mousekeeping ,Magical Express and many other tip envelopes in my Photobucket that you are welcome to use.
Hugs Mel
Link here
http://s940.photobucket.com/user/bababearbucket/library/Tip envelopes?sort=3&page=1

example here

 

[Donald - my hero]

You can definitely tell that I'm old-school and my phone is DUMB! It never crossed my mind to take pictures of the important papers/cards/passports because i don't have the ability, duh Heck, i even print off our FP+ times and tuck it in my pocket.
@starvenger You and I would get along well -- hubby is forever quipping "do you have a ziploc baggie for that?" I use them for EVERYTHING!

I also remember something that i carry in my bag --- a package of wetwipes. We use them to wipe our hands off and then give the table a quick swipe to get rid of stickies. (not a bad idea to wipe down the tables/armrests/window blinds/seatbelts in the plane as well)

 

[jjpet]

The photocopying is good advice! I've traveled quite a bit and have never done this... But I for sure will start now!

At this stage I make sure our health insurance is in place for travel to the US.

I'm also starting to put together our activities for the plane ride and making sure I have everything and it all works (headphones are working, activities for the kids, a fresh game/movie/ebook on the tablets).

 

[Mickey's Best Girl]

As to the weather - mid/late October can be humid (this is measured by how big my hair gets when I step out of our resort door ).

I find the temps for us Canadian folk to be about perfect. I do take a light yoga style jacket and wear it around my waist or slung over my park bag in the event we encounter cooler evenings or overly air conditioned buildings.

 

[Blackadder337]

Thanks again for the further advice... the one question I forgot to ask is actually more for my wife. She loves her Tim Horton's Ice Capp in the morning. Keeping in mind she does NOT like Starbucks products at all, is there anywhere near Port Orleans Riverside or at any of the parks that comes close to a Tim's Ice Capp?

 

[grantclaire]

Hi are you parking at the airport? I always get a picture of our parking spot! Also if you are using your cell phone in the US you may need a roaming plan.

 

[Canooknic]

Thanks again for the further advice... the one question I forgot to ask is actually more for my wife. She loves her Tim Horton's Ice Capp in the morning. Keeping in mind she does NOT like Starbucks products at all, is there anywhere near Port Orleans Riverside or at any of the parks that comes close to a Tim's Ice Capp?

No
I am not a Starbucks fan either so use my trip to do a caffeine detox and drink lots of water

 

[archdandy]

I know it's not quite the same but you can get iced coffee at a lot of locations throughout Disney.