those already back...would you do anything differently

[lidec]

For all of those who have already gone to WDW. Is there anything that you would do differently now that your back? I read one post that they recommend eatting at the parks more so you do not spend so much time traveling between resorts.

 

[kdtwiss]

get to the parks earlier (dh not a great morning person)
plan dinners on menus - not fun factor.
It is nice to meet the characters, but kids need toeat well when being so active!

 

[montblanc]

- Don't split up trip into two resorts.
- Wouldn't wait two hours for a ride.
- Would try and rush a little less.
- Would drive in one 13.5 hour trip, not split into two days.

 

[chesirechik]

-Don't go with your parents who cannot grasp the fact that "August" "Hot and "Florida" all go hand in hand

Seriously...

-Get to the parks for rope drop
-Park Hop
-Take breaks/naps when you need to instead of going until you are miserable

 

[pnutmnm]

* take advantage of the morning emh
* take breaks
* park hop more

We stayed at the pool a lot of mornings into the afternoons. I wanted more pictures of the parks in the daytime. Unfortunately, most of my pictures in the parks are at night!

 

[dismom9761]

-Get a stroller for a tired child even if comments are being made about being too old.
-would slow down
-would take as little as possible into the parks.

 

[DisneyDotty]

--Avoid Garden Grille
and --Don't take bus from DS to Saratoga Springs to DTD.

 

[aaac]

I am trying to figure out what the advantage is to the park hopping aspect. We go in October. Most of the parks close at around or before 8:00 p.m. and we have dinner reservations at night. I have heard that it can take an hour to get from one park to the other. If most parks take a day to tour, then what is the point of park hopping? why not do one park each day? Keep in mind that I have a 4 year old and 1 year old.

Can two parks be toured entirely in one day?

 

[DisneyDotty]

I am trying to figure out what the advantage is to the park hopping aspect. We go in October. Most of the parks close at around or before 8:00 p.m. and we have dinner reservations at night. I have heard that it can take an hour to get from one park to the other. If most parks take a day to tour, then what is the point of park hopping? why not do one park each day? Keep in mind that I have a 4 year old and 1 year old.

Can two parks be toured entirely in one day?

Park Hoppers offer flexibility. Say you go to MK for EMH in the morning--park starts to get crowded--you head for DS. Or say it's your last day at WDW, and everyone in your family wants to hit "that ride" one last time--only it's four people with four different rides. Hop from park to park and do their favorite ride one last time. Or say you're at AK all day, but have an ADR for LeCellier for dinner.
Yes, you could tour AK and DS in one day.
We love Park Hoppers and would always add them to our tickets.

 

[rifamtrav]

another consideration for park hoppers in October - some of the parks close earlier, but Epcot always has illuminations at 9pm - you could make Epcot your evening park each night (or at least some nights). Definitely check out the other parks' closing times for when your there and/or evening EMH to see if it would be worth it for you. If you really can't see yourself splitting the days, just to get a few hours in at the later park, then you may be better off just doing one park a day and stay til you're done or exhausted and have quiet evenings away from the parks.

 

[aaac]

Sorry, what is DS? Since my kids are so young, I am considering maybe doing park hopping when they are older. My husband it not the biggest fan of "doing as much as you can". I can party until the park closes. But, he is a little of a poop about it. I do not think he will be crazy about going from one park to another just for a few hours. I will be lucky to get him at the park when it opens. I am still considering it though. If I buy my tickets from ticket mania and decide to add park hopper on later. Does anyone know how I would do this being that they are not directly from Disney?

 

[DisneyDotty]

Sorry, what is DS? Since my kids are so young, I am considering maybe doing park hopping when they are older. My husband it not the biggest fan of "doing as much as you can". I can party until the park closes. But, he is a little of a poop about it. I do not think he will be crazy about going from one park to another just for a few hours. I will be lucky to get him at the park when it opens. I am still considering it though. If I buy my tickets from ticket mania and decide to add park hopper on later. Does anyone know how I would do this being that they are not directly from Disney?

DS is the Disney Studios. You should be able to upgrade your tickets once you arrive at your resort.
Considering the time of year you're going, Park Hoppers might not be worth the extra expense. We always go at peak seasons when parks are open late.
Have a great trip!

 

[rifamtrav]

aaac, it definitely sounds like you'd be better off taking it easy, so perhaps its best not to have park hopper. Even though its not much money, just knowing you have it will make you want to "get your money's worth". Maybe by not having it, you'll force yourself to take things at a slower pace, keep dh happy and probably end up being more enjoyable for everyone all the way around. Like you say, you can add it later if you really change your mind. I don't know from first hand knowledge, but it seems like adding park hopper would be very straight forward, its just a set price per ticket, so you could do it at guest services at the parks, if they can't do it at the resort hotel.

 

[FBandA]

Use the Disney Photo Pass, I only used it one time and now that I am home I wish I had known more about this offer.

 

[aaac]

This might be a stupid question, but what is the disney photo pass! Enjoyed everyone's answers!Thanks for the tips!

 

[doubletrouble_vb]

I'd still recommend the park hopper. The way I would suggest using it would be to get to the park at opening, tour up until lunch time, take a break back at the hotel then enter a different park...usually EPCOT...during the late afternoon/evening. You aren't touring complete parks this way but you are well rested while you are touring. If you are staying on site it works well because you have the Extra Magic Hours to help extend your evening touring time.

Without the hopper you are more likely to just go and go and go until you are ready to go home.

The other thing I'd do is for every priorty seating I have I'd have a back up plan at a nearby resort. Why? We got caught in a rainstorm just before our reservation came up and the people in the restaurants refused to leave until they were sure they wouldn't get rained on. Since the parks were crowded all the restaurants were that way so we had no choice but to wait out the diners. Had we thought about it we could have taken a boat to BWV or the Beach Club had dinner and returned in the amount of time we spent waiting for dinner in England. The upside was that we got to view Illuminations from the patio.

 

[stenogoddess]

Photo pass is where you allow the Disney photo people to take your pictures when they ask you at all the parks, then they put all the pictures together for you in one place to pick the ones you like. At least that's the way I understand it!

 

[Donna]

That is correct but to elaborate a little further, when they take your picture, they swipe a photopass card (like a credit card) and all your pictures are tied to that card. Each time you get a picture taken, give the photographer your photopass card. You can either view them at the camera center before you leave for the day or check them out online. You just put your photopass number in and there they are! We did this with the free Disney Visa photo we had taken with the characters. Although we picked it up in the park, i went online to see the photos again. Now i just wish i'd taken advantage of having more pictures taken in the parks.

 

[gopherit]

* Not feel like I was responsible for everyone ELSES vacation! If family wants to come along, there's a phone # they can call to make their own plans, see ya there. We love having lots of folks enjoy Disney with us, but the role of travel coordinator has just gotten too wieldy for me.

* Use WEGOSHOP for my groceries... let someone else roam the grocery aisles while I swim!

* No more buying souvenirs in advance for my kids and hauling them down. This works well with the toddler set, but my older boys (9 and 10) clearly preferred the option of money to spend on something else. I think they would have rather had one pricey item than 15 little doo dads. (IN contrast -- toddlers have no concept of money and the 15 doodads are heaven to them! Offer a toddler a choice of a dime versus 5 pennies....but just be sure to get the money back. I don't want anyone's toddler out there choking because of my example!)

* More memory cards for camera. Pain in the butt to rifle through shots to eliminate the baddies. Just as soon have another card and do my editing at home.

* Bring less food. We always bring down a ton of snacks... and haul 'em back with us , too. We do it so we won't buy lots of pricey goodies in the park, but with what we spend (cost and labor!) hauling the chow down and back, we would do better to buy just a few provisions when we get there (the Orlando prices really aren't THAT bad) and if we run out, buy a few more or let 'em splurge on a few more things in the park. In the end, I think it will come out even, despite Disney pricing.

* Won't do 3 resorts in one trip again! I could handle 2 resorts ok, especially if it involved a total change of scenery or advantages (like going from US are over to WDW resorts). But last time we went from BCV to BWV to SSR and it was at least 1 resort too many!

 

[aaac]

Thanks stenogoddess and Donna for explaining the photo pass!