Three things you learned on your last trip!

[Enchanted]

Okay, seriously? Best. Thread. Ever.

...Just because the park is closed, doesn't mean you HAVE to race out of there like a maniac to get to the busses before everyone else does!

Absolutely! If we stay until closing, we ALWAYS plan to stay for about another hour afterwards. We usually do our souvenir shopping and browsing because almost all of the stores are still open.

What is School Bread? I can't believe there's a bread out there that I haven't heard of .

It's a pastry found in the bakery at Norway in WS, and it's DELICIOUS. It's like a gigantic cream-filled doughnut, and it has coconut on top. I DREAM of school bread, it is so good.

Okay, now here's mine from our October '07 trip:

1. If you go to MNSSHP, don't waste time with the trick-or-treating portion of the activities. When the party comes to a close, and the rides are shutting down, the CMs at the candy buckets will fill up your WHOLE bag in one fell swoop. And apparently, they don't care what kind of bag it is either. We met a woman on the bus who had four GIFT SHOP bags full of the stuff!

2. Never assume that because what looks to be 100 people are standing outside of a restaurant, that you won't be able to get in without an ADR. We were seated at Crystal Palace within five minutes!

3. If you're interested in staying at one of the deluxe resorts, but don't want to pay a high price tag before actually seeing one of the rooms, go to said hotel's front desk (preferably between check-in and check-out) and politely ask if there's any way you can view a room as you are interested in staying there on your next trip. We did this at the Contemporary, and a lovely CM took us to one of the empty rooms (which were AWESOME, BTW) and let us look around for about ten minutes. It will really help you in the decision-making process!

And finally, NEVER promise Cynthia at Starring Rolls that you'll be back in an hour and then go back on said promise because of short ride times. She WILL lock you out of the restaurant. If you're out there, Cynthia, you're one of our best memories!

 

[moepanz]

subbing

 

[henrylovespooh]

1. Five days is just not long enough
2. If you put off seeing Fantasmic to your last night there, there's a good chance something will get messed up and you won't get to see it.
3. Pixie dust does exist, because we booked a Garden view room at the Poly, and got a beach front, MK view, right near the TTC room.

 

[lpoeppelman]

• Go to a character meal with Mickey BEFORE going to the park. Great opportunity to meet characters without the lines.
  
• Eat at least one breakfast meal BEFORE the park opens. You get great photo ops with NO people in your pictures!
  
  
• If you don't have a park ticket your first day, go to the Poly and watch the light show and fireworks on the beach! Totally free! And you can sip on a frozen daqueri while you're watching.
  

 

[Texas lady]

1. Flying and getting to Orlando in 2½ hours is much better than a 2 day driving trip!

2. Your Adult children knowing you don't like to ride ToT, will do anything from
teasing and making silly bets to make sure you ride.

3. Not everyone in your family likes their picture taken over and over. (ie: 12 year old DD).

 

[lpoeppelman]

What is body glide???

 

[Texas lady]

What is body glide???

Body Glide is an Anti-Blister & Chafing Stick. My family uses it to prevent blisters on your feet, and works great for us.
For more info go to www.bodyglide.com

 

[MickMick]

1. It is necessary to research and plan meals.
2. Universal Stuidos is not for us
3. We love Downtown Disney!

 

[KimR]

1) No matter what time of year you go or how hot it is, bring a jacket. The indoor attractions and restaurants are freezing!
2) Stay away from the Tiki Room!
3) The TTA is a very relaxing ride and a great way to keep the younger kids entertained while the older ones go on Space Mountain.

 

[Disney_rider]

1) No matter what time of year you go or how hot it is, bring a jacket. The indoor attractions and restaurants are freezing!
2) Stay away from the Tiki Room!

I second both of these!!!
Being an original Disney Purest I was soooo dissapointed that the Tiki Room was so different from Disneylands....
I live in Arizona and I always felt cold.

 

[mmcguire]

1. I never thought I'd be saying this, but matching shirts are invaluable for finding members of your group in a crowd. My mom bought shirts from AC Moore, and we reluctantly agreed to wear them our first day. We all liked the ease of finding each other so much that we laundered them each night and wore them every park day. Next time we'll bring an assortment so all our pics don't look like they were taken the same day.

2. There is an poorly-labeled elevator for taking wheelchairs up to the top of the monorail ramp at Epcot. I found this out only AFTER I pushed my mom all the way up and another family coming from the elevator.

3. Sandals in summer are the best shoe, period. Sneakers and socks are too hot & sweaty and Crocs give me blisters. I wore Teva sandals every day with nary a blister, my feet stayed cool and dry, and when I got wet on rides, they dried quickly.

 

[lovesdumbo]

Usually, we'd just jump straight up in the air. DBF was a little more creative in his jumps. Mine just usually ended up looking like jumping jacks. Maybe this year, I'll try a High School Musical jump for a little variety... For his Japan pic, DBF jumped off a bench.. For some reason, I was too wussy to do it- I was afraid I'd forget how to land and bust my butt or something. The first jumps we did were at MGM in fake NYC (since we live in REAL NYC). In this first pic, I'm holding my Magical Moment Certificate!
* oh, and note the fanny packs-the perfect accessories for these action shots.

Very cool! Thanks for sharing!

 

[lovesdumbo]

1) The view, atmosphere, and food is worth the price at the California Grill especially if you're there for sunset.

2) Sometimes its worth the price to take a taxi-after the California Grill it was raining and I didn't have our ponchos. Rather than get all wet or buy new ones we took a taxi back to Pop and it was well worth the $20.

3) You should take the time to look at the resort map to find the best route to the bus stop-I didn't realize til after I got home that there was a shorter route.

 

[Anne's Family]

1) You should take the time to look at the resort map to find the best route to the bus stop-I didn't realize til after I got home that there was a shorter route.

Ha! I did the same thing our first trip!! Wasted a lot of time. Now, I pull out that map first thing and we walk around the resort to map out our route to the bus stop. At Pop, there's tons of different ways to get there.

 

[acjsmom]

Just returned three weeks ago from our first ever trip. Things I learned:

1) One character meal per trip is plenty

2) Overall, the food is average and not worth the price

3) The best time to wait for Ariel is right before she opens, but if the sign says a 50 minute wait and your 4 year old wants to wait, the look on her face afterwards is priceless and more than worth the wait

 

[acjsmom]

Okay, had to post three more things:

1) Disney knows how to treat special needs guests. My mother was in a wheelchair because she had back surgery last year and can't hold up to walking for long periods. Not only she, but our entire party, had a wonderful time because we did not have to wait in lines too long and we didn't have to use fastpasses except once or twice.

2) Waiting in line for characters in Toontown in the afternoon is not worth it because it is too busy, and if you play your cards right, you can see the same ones elsewhere

3) Epcot is a great place to meet characters and the wait time is much shorter than MK

 

[Jen76b]

bumping!

 

[Wit]

I <3 this thread!

 

[ssaa]

Cool thread!

1. Don't let anyone tell you that a 3 year old is too young to enjoy WDW. Our first trip, my DD was 3, and everybody thought I was nuts to take her...well, she loved it as much, if not more than my DS who was 6. She still remembers meeting Cindy...and yes, the look on her face was priceless.

2. To take the time to soak in the theming and details...so beautiful.

3. Get up early and enjoy the park...no crowds, no lines, no heat.

And I just have to add:

4. IF you'll only go once in your life, make sure everyone is your party is over 40" tall, then you can do almost all the rides together. But I'll bet anything that once you go, you WILL return!

 

[IHEARTNY]

1. Free robot making at EPCOT is really fun.

2. The almond incrusted cheesecake from Narcossee's is not only one of the prettiest deserts I have ever had, but it's also definitely the best. It was so so so so so so good, and I hate nuts.

3. Never underestimate the power of asking for filtered ice water from restaurants for free compared to dirty unfiltered Florida out of the drinking fountain water that some baby just spit up on or carrying around a heavy warm water bottle.