Things I would never have done without the DIS

dolphingirl47

In Search of the Tag Fairy
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I consider myself an old hat at travelling to WDW as I have been regularly since 1998. However, there are some things that I would never have considered doing if it had not been for the DIS.

On my next WDW vacation I will for the first time:
  • Have a Dole Whip
  • Go to MNSSHP
  • Have a meal at Le Cellier
  • Pick a pearl at the Japanese Pavilion
  • Have an orange slushie at the French pavilion

What things have you done or are you going to do, because you found out about them on the DIS?

Corinna
 
I bought an annual pass to get the TiW card, which, since we were eating at V&A, more than paid for itself. If not for the DIS, I never would have known about TiW.

I upgraded my 7 day UT park hopper to an AP, saving the resulting "bridged" amount of my discount on the hopper. If not for the DIS, I never would have known that you could upgrade an already-purchased, used ticket.

I kept the tickets I bought for the 4/3 promotion to use on another trip. If not for the DIS, I wouldn't have known that tickets don't expire and can be removed from your KTTW card.

If not for the DIS, I never would have known what a PIN code was!

If not for the DIS, I may not have ever stayed at CSR, a resort I now love!
 
Made ADR's at 90days

Request a "First Trip" button at check in for my 3 yr old grand daughter

upgrade our 5 day passes to 7 days after we use them once & they will only cost a few $$ more

have a list of recommended CS places at each park

eat at air conditioned CS restaurants in the September heat-I have a list!

tie a scarf around the handle of DGD stroller

order a large soda at CS, share with daughter and have her request a bottle of water with her meal for later

have directions on how to over ride the resort A/C if it goes off overnight

Use FP and understand how it works

have a Dole Whip

order bottle water/food/snacks from Garden Grocer

Free water available at CS places

there are so many more, but I can't remember them all now.

I haven't been to WDW since 1993, DIS has been invaluable in planning our vacation.
 

My 7 year old daughter still likes princess things but is really growing out of it. She was still interested in BBB, but the cost was too much. On DIS I found out that we can get her hair done with colored gel and sparkles for a fraction of the cost at the harmony Barber Shop in MK. I'm really glad I found out about that!
 
Some of these have already been mentioned, but I'll repeat myself for the sake of a complete list.

The Dole Whip counter never had much appeal to me in the past. Because of the hype on the Dis, though, I tried one a few years ago and was instantly hooked. On our most recent trip, I had 3 over the course of our two-week stay. It's a must-do in the MK, now.

Before the Dis, I used to make due with the not-so-nice-tasting water fountain water. Now I know you can ask any restaurant with a soda fountain for a glass of ice water, and receive it free.

Without the Dis, we never would have known about the device that can be checked out by visitors with visual impairments that provides visual descriptive services for many rides.

Without the Dis, we never would have known about Wishes fireworks cruises. Tried it for the first time a few weeks ago, and I think it was the most enjoyable thing we did during the entire trip.

Without the Dis, I wouldn't have known that I could use my Department of Defense civilian employee ID to purchase greatly-discounted tickets for everyone in our room.

Without the Dis, we probably never would have purchase Disney Vacation Club -- one of the best decisions I've ever made.

Without the Dis, it never would have occurred to me to purchase a 10-day non-expiring ticket with Water Park Fun & More options one year and use that ticket to get into water parks for many years. We would have continued to purchase a Premium Annual Pass every year to get the water parks.

Without the Dis, I never would have thought to ask to sit up front in the Monorail. And without the Dis, I wouldn't have known not to ask on this most recent trip.

Without the Dis, I would have thrown away many FastPasses for rides we weren't able to get back to before the end of the time window printed on the ticket. Now we know they're good for the rest of the day.

Without the Dis, I never would have known about the pre-purchase discounts for the PhotoPass CD, and never would have participated in PhotoPass at the parks. Now, some of our most wonderful pictures come from that CD each trip. We also get a PhotoPass album each year now, too.

Without the Dis, I never would have tried a backstage tour. We've done just about every one now. They're FANTASTIC!

Without the Dis, our dining would have been limited to the in-park options, and we would have missed out on so many fabulous resort restaurants.

Without the Dis, I never would have thought to ask about a Disney Visa discount at World of Disney. (Heck, I wouldn't even have had a Disney Visa.)

Ok, I could probably go on, but I doubt anyone is still reading this looooong post. :rolleyes:
 
Hi Corinna - nice to see you over here! :goodvibes

I would never have known that you could use FPs after the window on the pass expired.

I would never have known about child rider switch

I would have never got a birthday badge for DS's 1st and 2nd (and upcoming 3rd) birthdays

I wouldn't have known that there were hidden mickeys in the parks and resorts

I wouldn't have known about the Gingerbread house at the GF at Christmastim

I would probably be a whole lot richer because I wouldn't keep spening my money every year on going back to try out all of the new things that I read about on the DIS! :rotfl:
 
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I would never have known that Disney has stables and that you can visit.

I would never have known how many fun and different restaurants there are to try.

I would never have thought about resort hopping to see all the different styles.

I would never have bought tickets for MNSSHP (which is awesome because I have been dying to find a good place where I can dress up for Halloween).

I would never know about PUSH (which is the single object that has my BF excited ahead of time).

And I would never know that some very simple subjects could be so controversial. :thumbsup2
 
For our first trip next week:

Dole Whip - Mickey Bar - Rice Krispy Treat

We'll get free ice water to top off our bottles during the day

Will order water from Costco sent to POR so we have water to start the day with

We have free dining - which I added after I booked and probably wouldn't have known about if I hadn't read about it here

Made our ADR's at the 90 day mark - knew they were "required" rather than "suggested" as the WDW site says - and lots of info to figure out where we wanted to eat

Thanks to Robo I have a bunch of really cool maps of where to go and how to get there

I know exactly how DME works

I know to alternate shoes every day to help our feet not get too tired

Hope to watch Wishes from the beach at Poly one night

There's probably more but those are at the top of my list.
 
I would not be planning on having a Dole whip this upcoming trip!

Also, all the "secrets" like the telephone in tomorrowland.
Lots of fun things to look forward to on this trip!:)

Just to have others to talk to about Disney stuff is Great!:hug:
 
Push is a walking (well rolling really), talking trash can who likes to hang out at Tomorrowland and interacts with the guests. He is hilarious. There also used to be Pippa at Rafiki's Planet Watch at Animal Kingdom, which was pretty much the same, but she has been retired.

Corinna
 
Never would have known about and glad to have done:

1) Epcot Segway Tour
2) Animal Kingdom Backstage Safari
3) Shared an Illuminations Cruise
4) Wishes Cruise

Upcoming Trip:

1) Wishes dessert party
2) Grey Goose Slushies
3) Parasailing @ Contemporary
 
We lived in Europe for several years and travelled ALOT. I've become a very efficient planner...BUT, here I learned...

To take a little bottle of bubbles for DD and DS for times when we're waiting in line for something...BRILLIANT!:thumbsup2

To bring rolls of quarters and pennies for the pressed penny machines, which all my kids love (DS 14 isn't coming on this trip and they're the only thing he asked me to bring him!) Instead I would have been hunting around my wallet for change!

And lots more, of course!
 
Wow, my list will be huge! But here goes just a few:

Dole Whip
Wishes Desert Party
Free Dining
ADRs
How to Use Fast Passes
Cookie Ice Cream Sandwiches
Beaches & Cream Sundaes
 
1. Free Dining!!!!

2. We wouldn't have known to make ADR's. I mean in the "real world" no one books a restaurant 3 or 6 months in advance!!!

3. Resort meals

4. Fastpasses

5. Fantasmic dining package

6. Get there at rope drop

I could keep going forever, but i would have had no clue planning for our first trip last year. THANK YOU DIS!!!!!
 
I love this thread! I have learned EVERYTHING above from the DIS, a couple of my faves:

Trying club cool and taking a pic of everyone trying the Beverly. :)

Single rider lines! :)

Mentioned already, but FP after the window (LOVE it!). :)

Mentioned already, but picking a pearl in Japan (a must-do for us now!). :)

Even something as seemingly obvious as arriving at park opening to beat the crowds! :)

Not to miss TSM by sleeping in! :)

Knowing that Spectro and Fantasmic aren't every night now and to plan accordingly! :)

Keeping up to date on the latest ADR window times! :)

The availability of online dining reservations (LOVE IT!). :)

That there is even such a thing as the International Gateway to exit Epcot in WS.

The very existence of the Boardwalk.

I guess basically you could say I wouldn't know Jack-squat about Disney without the DIS!!!! THANKS EVERYONE!!!
 
Oh, I have learned something new. Where are they?

Corinna

At Fort Wilderness!

What a great thread!

Things I never would have known about/done:

Dole whips
Grey Goose slushes
Make your own pretzels
Free Dining
The raining umbrella at DHS
Shortcut to AK thru RFC
How to effectively use a FP
Schoolbread
Le Cellier
Miyuki
The ADR process


and loads more I'm sure I'm forgetting at the moment~

29 days wooohooo! :thumbsup2:banana::thumbsup2
 
Thanks to the DIS:
  • My girls got to wake up Tinkerbell at MK
  • We got lanyards to keep our keys to the kingdom
  • We thought to put ID on our kids in case they got lost
  • We had great dining experiences everywhere we went
  • The trip went so smoothly that we are going again this year
 














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