Top Ten Disney Tips

[Momerath]

I've learned so much from the Dis over the years, I wanted to post my top ten tips after our first trip with a child in-tow. This post is long overdue, we got back Jan. 11th!

1.Gate-check cheap strollers only! Ours was lost or stollen and the airline personnel did not care. It was okay, though, only $10 stroller, we just bought a new one at the Wal-mart in Orlando.

2.Stay onsite if you can. We stayed off site since MIL footed the bill for the trip (so I'm not complaining) BUT driving to the parks and taking the tram from the parking lot each day took at least an hour.

3.Disney Visa Character Meet-n-Greet. It was great for our 2-year-old to have his first character interaction in a dim, quiet, private area where he could take his time with Goofy and Minnie. It warmed him up to have a blast with the characters the rest of the trip.

4.Character Buffet Meals. Kept our antsy two-year-old entralled and allowed mom & dad to satisfy big appetites worked up from walking around all morning!

5.Have a game plan. My husband and I made a "to do" list of rides in order of priority. It was great to be able to keep moving instead of standing there with 3 adults and a restless toddler trying to make the next decision. My MIL (her first trip) so appreciated that we had done all the "research" ahead of time.

6.Less is more walking around the parks. My bag felt like it weighed 50 lbs. by the end of the first day. I invested in a Mickey fannie pack from Epcot on day #2 and kept my keys, camera, cell phone, and wallet with me. Pared down to the essentials for DS (diapers, snacks, water, sun block) and left that bag on the stroller when we went on rides.

7.Photo-pass is expensive! I got sticker-shock when I saw that a double set of 4x6 was $15 or so. My MIL bought us a package with 4 posed pictures and we got our free 5x7 from the Disney visa offer, but I wished I would have taken more pictures of character greetings with my camera instead of depending soley on photopass.

8.Toontown is a great place for toddlers. We let our two year run around Donald's boat and play in Mickey park after meeting Mickey. Part of me felt like we were "missing" valuable touring time, but DS loved running around these areas and the photos are adorable. I know we made the right choice giving him some running-around-time.

9.Downtown Disney is worth a visit if you have time. We made room for Downtown Disney for the first time with this trip and had a great time as a family. Loved the yummy lunch from Earl of Sandwich, DS loved the lego sculptures and we all loved a sundae from Ghiradelli.

10.Don't worry about bringing food into the parks. We just brought little snacks in our toddler take-n-toss containers for DS, but I saw a family ahead of me carrying in a 2-pound package of ham, several apples, and drinks and the security guard saw everything and didn't care.

Would love to hear other people's Top Ten Tips! We had a great vacation, but sad it's over. I'm dreaming of Disney in 2011...I know it's crazy to think that far ahead!!!

 

[The Hendies]

You have a good list going! My 2 cents is .... sensible shoes! Take good care of your feet!

 

[Peanut&Piglet'sMom]

Excellent list!!! With 2 kids...I definitly try my best to plan ahead yet also have learned to 'roll' with punches.

 

[eastcoastcan]

I agree that Character Meals are wonderful way for your kids to meet their favourite character. The characters take their time to hug, sign autograph books and let you take photos. Think of all the time/frustration you'll save by not having to line up within the parks, when you have to eat somewhere anyway! We have tried the Princess Storybook, Crystal Palace and Chef Mickey's and have great things to say about all!

 

[Loritlc3]

Our first trip is in July so I don't have anything to share. I am confused about photopass though. I thought that you paid for the CD up front and then did not pay for each inidivdual picture you choose. What am I missing?

 

[mybestieismickey]

Our first trip is in July so I don't have anything to share. I am confused about photopass though. I thought that you paid for the CD up front and then did not pay for each inidivdual picture you choose. What am I missing?

Photopass works both ways. You can choose to buy the CD before you go (at a discounted price), or you can buy individual pictures (or packages) in the parks. As a third option you can order items from the Photopass website when you get home.

My tip would be related to Photopass. Pre Order the CD, so you can have everything they take, but don't rely solely on the Disney cameras. Don't forget that they will use your camera too. Just make sure it's ready for them so things move smoothly. We let the Photopass photographers take 99% of our "together" pictures, and I wish that we had given them our camera too. That way I would have had a better chance of getting great shots with both cameras. There's no such thing as too many good pictures, but there can be too few...

 

[Hootch]

link for understanding Photopass.

http://www.stitchkingdom.com/disneysphotopass/

I agree with buying the CD. The first couple of times we bought individual pictures and spent nearly the $100 and didn't have all of the pictures. ou can even add borders and signatures and other options and have those and the original picture on the CD.

 

[zarvgirl]

Totally agree with:

1. Staying onsite- we loved that all of us had a vacation, no worrying about parking, driving, etc.

2. Character buffet meals- Really the perfect opportunity for killing two birds with one stone.

3. GamePlan/touring plans- so necessary, our days went so smoothly because of research done beforehand. I will add that you should be willing to detour off the plan when necessary, with children you never know. By knowing ahead that we weren't going to see it all, and had a list of must see's this was super helpful.

4. less is more theory- I ended up loving my cargo shorts, who knew, I carried the sheet with gameplan, tickets, fastpasses, camera around neck. worked great. I will add we had a stroller with storage, so a small cooler with drinks.

5. Photopass- loved their pics, preordering CD worked great, as PP said, wish I had gotten some more pics with my camera, would use Photopass again.

6. Snacks- we had DDP, and still used a big tub of snacks for the week, this covered breakfast, and great time filler in line. With kids,(and DH) you never know when the munchies will hit!!

I would add:

7. Stroller- a must, even for those bigger children, we used a double for DD7 and DD2,and would do it again. Also, it provided storage for any bags. Diapers, change of clothes, small cooler.

8. Afternoon breaks- we did this almost every day, and for our children the pooltime at resort was almost as important as some of the activities at the parks.

9. Rope Drop- we are not a morning family, but we were able to accomplish so much more because of being at the parks in the mornings early.

10. Pin trading- we preordered pins on ebay before trip. Basically all CM's with pins will trade with children, children's choice for what pin they want and which one they will give CM. This was such a great conversation starter with CM's, and great time filler when walking around parks. The kids love looking for the pins of choice.

Also, curious about:

Disney visa character meet. I haven't heard of this. Could you explain it?

And finally, I too can't wait for the next trip, as I have said before I can't believe that it took me 34 years to get there the first time. Can't wait to go back.

 

[LaurieN]

Our first trip is in July so I don't have anything to share. I am confused about photopass though. I thought that you paid for the CD up front and then did not pay for each inidivdual picture you choose. What am I missing?

I am a BIG fan of photopass!! I preordered it last year before we went and although I forget what the savings were it was well worth it. I made the most of it and whenever I saw a photog I had them sanp a shot. They will also take pictures with your camera as well. When I recieved the cd in the mail I had the pictures printed at Wal-Mart for very cheap
Laurie

 

[Momerath]

With photopass -- I guess I didn't do my homework before going! I didn't know there was a CD option you could purchase in advance.


The details for the Chase Disney Visa Credit Card Character Meet-n-Greet will be on the web site for your card (at least that is where I got them). It was certain time of day, I think noon-4 or something. There is an area in Innoventions in Epcot and they only let in one family at a time and you must show a current Disney Visa credit card to get in. It is a private area, only family allowed in the room at a time, so you don't feel rushed. I've been twice -- once it was Mickey & Pluto and this time it was Minnie & Goofy. You also get a coupon for a free 5x7 photo from photo pass. If you have a Disney Visa card don't miss this opportunity!!!