The "Little Things" at Walt Disney World

[DisneyDawg2]

Hey guys. I'm sure that someone has already created a thread filled with everyone's favorite traditions at WDW, but I want to revive it! What are the "little things" you do or enjoy at WDW? Are there certain things you do on certain rides or do you always have to get a specific treat?

Here are a few of mine:

* On Space Mountain, as you are climbing the first hill (when you are preparing to "launch"), there is normally another rocket that passes by you going the opposite direction. If you can time it correctly, you can scream at this other rocket to scare them! It's always a good joke and a thrill. Plus, I've heard people laughing after we scared them, so nobody has been too frightened or actually hurt.

* I always hide a penny somewhere in the queue of Haunted Mansion to see if I can find it the next trip.

* I make sure to get Kinder chocolate in Germany.

* Every time I enter Tomorrowland, I show everyone a Hidden Mickey embedded in the concrete.

* On the ride down to Disney World, we have 50-mile Disney trivia questions - winner gets an ice cream!

 

[RobbW]

I love the little things at WDW! After you've been so many times, it becomes the little things that keep the magic alive. Not only the little things that you do, but also the little things that you start noticing throughout the parks and resorts. Here are some of my favorite things:

* Trying to find Hidden Mickeys on any/every ride especially Small World, POTC, Buzz Lightyear, etc.

* Taking a relaxing ride on the People Mover.

* Stopping in at Club Cool to refresh with a mixture of South Africa's Bibo and Thailand's Melon Frosty. My favorite flavors!

* Milk Chocolate Caramel with Sea Salt at Karamell-Kuche in Germany at World Showcase (delicious!!!!).

* Dole Whip! (No surprise here. This should pretty much be a default on everyone's list, right?!)

* On every WDW trip, I ALWAYS insist on visiting The Polynesian. I've never actually stayed there, but want to very much. However, no trip to WDW seems complete until I've visited this tropical paradise getaway!

* We used to have a tradition of always having lunch at Earl of Sandwich at Downtown Disney. We love that place and would always make a point of eating there at least once per trip. However, it's been a couple trips now since we've sworn off ever visiting DD again. It's just gotten way too crowded for our liking. Maybe after all the Disney Springs renovations are completed, we'll give it another shot.

* I enjoy making a concerted effort to try and discern all the ambient music, sounds and scents in every themed area. To me, that's the biggest thing that sets Disney apart from every other amusement theme park.

 

[PSUGuy]

Every morning, weather permitting, I get up early, have a bagel and go to the bench near Atlantic Dance and have a coffee and cigar and watch the sun come up. I actually set up a tripod for my video cam and filmed it once, about 1 hr 15 mins worth, so I can get in the moment for a while between trips.

Bill From PA

 

[AprilDreamsOfDisney]

What a great post! I feel like it's the "little things" at Disney that make it so magical and can leave different impressions for different people!

I'm still a fan of collecting pressed pennies. I really enjoy finding all the machines and filling up our collections. I wish my kids cared about them as much as I do!!

 

[JimmyBean42]

- The excitement of the first monorail ride of the trip leading up to Magic Kingdom and the excitement of turning the corner and seeing the Castle when you first enter.
- Taking a break from everything and sitting down as a family and having a snack. Just sitting there are talking about all the fun we've had that day and what else we are going to do is a relaxing enjoyable time that includes a ton of laughs.
- The last few trips on our last day (we always close our trips at MK) when we are leaving my kids insist on turning around and saying goodbye to the castle. It's a great little moment for DW and me to see, makes us feel like they'll never forget these trips.

 

[nilla]

CM pretended to sprinkle Pixie Dust on the lap bar on Peter Pan's Flight, and the bar went down. WHOA. Awesome! Totally unnecessary, but cool!

LED lights in the concrete at Epcot.

The little details in just about every attraction - far too many to list!

 

[GunnarCharles]

This is a great topic, the little things are a big reason why Disney fans keep coming back. Here are some of mine.

• Planning the trip to the point of over-planning because just the thought of going is so exciting
• Watching Disney movies in the days and weeks leading up to the vacation
• Seeing the parks from the window of the plane on the flight in to Orlando (especially the castle or spaceship earth)
• The different music loops around the parks (personal favorite being the Epcot entrance loop and the Cinderella Castle area loop)
• Looking for Hidden Mickeys and other little hidden or lesser known details
• The Disney Parks promotional videos and shows on Magical Express as well as the hotel rooms
• The feeling of waking up at Disney and getting to the park for rope drop
• Seeing the castle lit up with fireworks going off while riding Splash Mountain at night

Thanks again for bringing up a great topic, and by the way nice avatar picture!

 

[GunnarCharles]

Every morning, weather permitting, I get up early, have a bagel and go to the bench near Atlantic Dance and have a coffee and cigar and watch the sun come up. I actually set up a tripod for my video cam and filmed it once, about 1 hr 15 mins worth, so I can get in the moment for a while between trips.

Bill From PA

That sounds like a perfect morning, the Disney Boardwalk area is one of my favorite places in all of WDW!

 

[EricInPA]

• The bus announcement as you cross into the Magic Kingdom
• Seeing someone experience a ride/attraction for the first time (even if not in your party)
• Reading the tombstones at the Haunted Mansion
• Moving sidewalk exit leaving Space Mountain
• Tom Sawyer's Island (all of it!)

 

[princessnikitaa]

This is a great topic, the little things are a big reason why Disney fans keep coming back. Here are some of mine.

• Planning the trip to the point of over-planning because just the thought of going is so exciting
• Watching Disney movies in the days and weeks leading up to the vacation
• Seeing the parks from the window of the plane on the flight in to Orlando (especially the castle or spaceship earth)
• The different music loops around the parks (personal favorite being the Epcot entrance loop and the Cinderella Castle area loop)
• Looking for Hidden Mickeys and other little hidden or lesser known details
• The Disney Parks promotional videos and shows on Magical Express as well as the hotel rooms
• The feeling of waking up at Disney and getting to the park for rope drop
• Seeing the castle lit up with fireworks going off while riding Splash Mountain at night

Thanks again for bringing up a great topic, and by the way nice avatar picture!

I have to second this entire post, because this is everything that I love, especially the over planning part! It just keeps the excitement of the actual trip going! I love it!

 

[HeyIt'sMe]

* I always hide a penny somewhere in the queue of Haunted Mansion to see if I can find it the next trip.

When our DD was 2 yo we stayed in a condo in Destin FL and she stuck one of her Teletubby stickers on the underside of the master bathroom vanity/dressing area drawer. We probably should have taken it off but we didn't. Two years passed before we returned to Destin and we rented the same condo. Yep, the sticker was still there. We did peel it off that time.

 

[BlueStarryHat]

I love when the bus is taking everyone back to the resort after a long day at the parks. I love that ride in the dark. I love the smell of Florida water in the shower and on the "water" rides. I love looking for hidden Mickeys and the excitement when we find a new one. I love the ride from the airport to the resort, because everything hasn't happened yet and is still to come.

 

[DisneyDawg2]

I always enjoy the little lights in the concrete outside of Spaceship Earth. Also, Inventions Area Loop music is my favorite track that plays in the park. It always takes me back to Future World!

 

[Pmlocke]

The first thing I do is to take my shoes and socks off and walk in the green grass when we arrive at our resort-always the All Star Music. My wife and I travel down to WDW every February so we are usually leaving a lot of snow and seeing green grass is magical. I am always the first to rise so I get up in the morning, shower and dress and then head out to get a cup of coffee. I then spend 15-30 minutes walking around the resort enjoying my coffee and talking to other early risers. Our first park is always the Magic Kingdom. My wife and I are in our 60's and we grew up Disney kids watching the original Mickey Mouse Club and dreaming of this experience. After we wipe the tears from our eyes after first spotting the Castle we then go on our first ride which is always It's a Small World. Following that we get a Mickey Ice Cream Bar. After that we let our hearts guide us. No fast passes, no expectations. We just let the parks guide us for seven glorious days. Spending this time together, just the two of us in a place we dreamt of all our lives is truly a dream come true and it comes true every February for us. 113 days left before our dream is once again realized.

 

[MrInfinity]

I always enjoy the little lights in the concrete outside of Spaceship Earth. Also, Inventions Area Loop music is my favorite track that plays in the park. It always takes me back to Future World!

You guys are killing me -- so many great things! We're going in 3 weeks... Thanks for the track!

 

[KirbyLouWho]

The first thing I do is to take my shoes and socks off and walk in the green grass when we arrive at our resort-always the All Star Music. My wife and I travel down to WDW every February so we are usually leaving a lot of snow and seeing green grass is magical. I am always the first to rise so I get up in the morning, shower and dress and then head out to get a cup of coffee. I then spend 15-30 minutes walking around the resort enjoying my coffee and talking to other early risers. Our first park is always the Magic Kingdom. My wife and I are in our 60's and we grew up Disney kids watching the original Mickey Mouse Club and dreaming of this experience. After we wipe the tears from our eyes after first spotting the Castle we then go on our first ride which is always It's a Small World. Following that we get a Mickey Ice Cream Bar. After that we let our hearts guide us. No fast passes, no expectations. We just let the parks guide us for seven glorious days. Spending this time together, just the two of us in a place we dreamt of all our lives is truly a dream come true and it comes true every February for us. 113 days left before our dream is once again realized.

This just made my heart so happy. I hope I have a husband like you one day!

 

[MinnieMeep]

This is a great topic, the little things are a big reason why Disney fans keep coming back. Here are some of mine.

• Planning the trip to the point of over-planning because just the thought of going is so exciting
• Watching Disney movies in the days and weeks leading up to the vacation
• Seeing the parks from the window of the plane on the flight in to Orlando (especially the castle or spaceship earth)
• The different music loops around the parks (personal favorite being the Epcot entrance loop and the Cinderella Castle area loop)
• Looking for Hidden Mickeys and other little hidden or lesser known details
• The Disney Parks promotional videos and shows on Magical Express as well as the hotel rooms
• The feeling of waking up at Disney and getting to the park for rope drop
• Seeing the castle lit up with fireworks going off while riding Splash Mountain at night

Thanks again for bringing up a great topic, and by the way nice avatar picture!

Yes!! As were coming in for arrival I ALWAYS try to find any of the park icons (Spaceship Earth usually!). Just thinking about this and arriving in Orlando is giving me butterflies in my stomach. To this day, 30 years old, that feeling is STILL there and has not gone away or diminished since I was a kid.
One thing my husband and I have come to love and laugh about, is on the resort TV loop, the music on the channel! It's a medley of Whistle While You Work, I've Got no Strings, Hi Ho, When You Wish Upon a Star, and more. It started off as a joke, "jamming" to the music, haha, but has grown into something we love! That feeling of coming back to the room in the evening, and having the bed turned down, curtains drawn, and that music playing is just such a wonderful memory (staying CL).
Hubby actually recorded it, but found a great version on YouTube to listen to when we're missing WDW.
HERE IT IS!

 

[LinderInWonderland]

It will be interesting to see how it is for me on our upcoming May trip. Our last trip in 2014 was my first since I was 15 years old. The happy tears started from the first Mickey cartoon on DME. Here are the little things I am looking forward to revisiting:

- Aurora's dress in the Tinkerbell's Treasures shop. They hadn't turned it on yet when I walked in, so when they did I know I was grinning ear to ear.
- Escargots at Chefs de France
- Riding Star Tours as many times as possible with my Star Wars geek DH
- Hoping DH gets to be 'that guy' on the Laugh Floor again.

Little things I didn't get to do last time that I can't wait to do this time:
- Pick a pearl in Japan
- Getting ghost portraits at Memento Mori
- Exploring other resorts, specifically Boardwalk.

 

[Shonte Durrett]

Things to buy that mean a lot:

- I love Christmas time (one day I will be there during Christmas)... Anyways, I have to buy an ornament with the year of our visit. I love my ornaments. It's a tradition I had started the very first visit to WDW for our family.
- Then I love getting Characters drawings or Silhouettes of the kids & dated.
- Purchasing New Mickey Ears.
- Anything from China in Epcot


Places to Eat that mean a lot:

- Liberty Tree for Dinner
- Sci-Fi for Dinner
- Rainforest Cafe' for dinner to end our AK adventure.


"Little Things":

- Searching Hidden Mickey's with kids
- Sitting under the "Fly zone" for Tink during Wishes
- Walking down Main Street and hanging out in Town Square at night time, with balloons & flashy toys in hands.
- Watching the little ones in the stroller passing out from the long day
- Bouncing on the bed to wake kids up while yelling "Get up, Get up! It's time to GOOOOOO!" EVERY morning! They have beat me to it once! lol
- Mickey calling our hotel room with special announcements
- My older girls BOTH had their 1st hair cut in the Barber Shop. I would love to have my 2 year old get hers done this next trip. (if she ever grows hair.lol)

 

[lustergirl]

Well I like to get in early on my flight to DW and MK is my first stop. I climb the stairs to the train station and spend a few minutes looking out over Main Street USA and seeing the castle for the first time.
Priceless