WDW return-trippers: What will you do differently this trip?

[HeatherC]

Isn't it amazing that no matter how many times you go, there is always something to plan for the next trip.

Ours is coming up in February. This time we will:

Stay at Bonnet Creek resort and enjoy the lazy river.

Go see Cirque du Soleil for the first time. (Still saving to pay for those tickets, though.)

Take the kids to Disney Quest for the first time. DH and I went two years ago when we took a trip by ourselves. Kids were too young then.

Probably buy earplugs for Disney Quest. My head was spinning last time!

Eat at Ohana's - always seem to opt for Chef Mickey's or CP, but I'm dying to go here and then watch the fireworks on the beach at the Poly.

Visit a water park if the weather is warm enough. (We need to start using some of those "plus" options on my old tickets!)

And the list goes on and on and on.......

HeatherC

 

[missminniemouse]

Even though we've been to WDW over 20 times in the past 15 years, we still seem to love spending as much time in the parks as possible. Even if we've ridden the rides a gazillion times, we still do them over and over and over again.

1 - Take part of a day and mini golf with the kids. They've been asking to do this, so we'll just have to take the time and do it!

2 - Eat at some restaurants we either have never been to before or haven't been to in a long time. We have this set up for our trip in November...After a number of years we're going back to Boma, 50's Prime Time, Tony's Town Square, Le Cellier and San Angel. We'll also take in the Hoop De Doo with this being the first time for DS.

3 - Beat everyone else in the family on Buzz Lightyear...every time we're on it. Of course, I've watched the DIS boards for helpful hints!

4 - Get more sleep.

5 - Take a lot of pictures of the little things...all the wonderful details that Disney puts into everything. We've got a ton of pictures of the major things, now we need more pictures of the details. Now that DH has a DSLR, we can shoot away and not pay for film processing on these pictures.

 

[DannyDisneyFreak]

No commando style sight-seeing!
No waking up early!
Take breaks during the day
More swimming
Get more sleep
Take more pictures of the scenery
Slow down to see the small details that make Disney what it is
Take a day off to rest.
Stop and smell the roses and soak up all those details that make Disney the magical place that it is
Eat what I want and not worry about getting my money's worth on the DDP
Don't be afraid of acting like a kid...cos that's what Disney is all about!
not worry about clockwatching
Take time to explore the nooks and crannies of the park.
Eat at Kona Cafe at Polynesian...I've always wanted to try this place and we've just never made it. (I gotta try the Tonga Toast.)
Get a dole whip float

 

[bopper]

This is what I have done;
1) After two full park days, take a day off. Use that day to swim at the resort or ride on boats or what not.
2) If going during "free dining season", make ADRs.
3) Every few times you go, do all of World Showcase, including the movies. That will hold you for a few years!
4) Just bring those disposable ponchos, the disney one's are too huge.
5) Try to do something new each time (like horseback riding, riding Water mice boats, mini golf, etc).

 

[Carrie772]

We plan to :
Visit hotels we have never seen.
Actually buy souvenirs...we are super cheap-o's.
Take the mid-day break that everyone seems to love.
Skip all the parades.
Try and take artsy pictures like those we've seen on "Picture of the day" thread.

Should be great fun!

BTW, we are always let down for a few days after we have come home. This year I am going to have some souvies shipped to the house for a pick me up for my DH and kids. It's a secret!!!

 

[mickeyluv'r]

7. Not pin our shiny, new pins on our lanyards. They get too heavy and we lost several brand new pins when the back fell off.

If you look, most of the places where they sell pins, they also sell locking backs. Not super convenient if you plan on trading, but if you intend to keep your pins, they are well worth the money.

One of our few revisions would be NOT planning an entirely non-park day. We tried this last trip. We were going to try for two non-park days, but after the first one, we couldn't stand it anymore. One other time we managed an entire non-park day, but we also ended up running out of things to do. Mind, we're okay with a DTD day, and we like resort hopping, but not for an entire day. IT's too hard when we know the parks are RIGHT there.

We like going commando style! the later it gets, the more energized we feel. The last day is the hardest for us, cause we want to do EVERYTHING!

 

[Nancyg56]

Wow, I was just rethinking the next trip that I take my DGD.

I will make it longer. 5 nights is not enough.
I will spend more time at the pool.
I will use my CS credits right away, we paid for breakfast at times, and had a bunch of credits left.
I will spend more time at the pool.
I will not plan extras. No Adventures in Cooking or Mickey's BBQ. She did not want to go to the first and was overwhelmed by the second.
I will make time after dinner to swim at the pool.
I will not make so many plans. We will wing it more.
I will buy a huge lot of pins on Ebay for her to trade. She did not want to give her pins up after she traded for them, and I spent a fortune buying those $25 starter kits for her to trade.
I will build more pool time in.
I will not ever worry again if we are not in the "perfect" seat. It's not all about the best view, but the best time.
I will never forget a change of shoes if I plan on letting her jump in the dancing water in Epcot. She cannot walk in the flipflops that they sell.
I won't plan to spend an afternoon on the Boardwalk again. I'll go an hour prior to dinner.
Did I mention that we are going to spend more time swimming?

 

[liamsaunt]

Coming up on the second trip with my niece and nephew, and here are the things I am planning to do differently:

I will bring a peanut butter sandwich in to the park for nephew. He has an egg allegy that rules out most CS food and snacks in the parks, so it is hard to find him something to eat quickly, especially at MK.

I will plan extra time for the children to enjoy swimming.

I will make sure that DH and I have enough time for just us this trip.

I will make sure that the kids eat breakfast as soon as they wake up. Waiting for a breakfast adr does not work with them, they need to eat right away or they have a meltdown.

 

[monorailsilver]

My list:

Go to a water park-I haven't been to one in about 10 years, I have only been to TL & BB each once but I have been to the long since gone River Country countless times in my teens & enjoyed it. But we haven't been going since dh was never a water bug so we didn't want to waste the money & the next time we go our oldest will be 7 so she should be good at swimming by then & our middle child will be almost 5 & our baby will be 2.5 so at least 2 of them should be swimming???

Buy me a new Mickey watch. I haven't bought one in the past 3 or 4 trips I have taken which is close to 10 years of no new watch.

Stay for 10 days or nights, not sure yet since we are not going until 2008 (I hope). Normally we stay for 8 days (5 park, 1 rest day & 2 travel days). But I am hoping on my next trip it will be 5 park, 2 rest days, 1 water park & 2 travel days (if we fly).

We already do what a lot of you have been writing-we take mid-day breaks, I just don't know how anyone young or old can deal all day with out a break.

 

[Brian Noble]

Great thread!

1: Take a half day off midweek. We planned to last year, but at the last minute were seduced by the siren song of the parks---and paid for it later.

2: Spend more time in AK. We never seem to see "enough" of this park.

3: Visit some of the "lesser" attractions, especially in MK. I still haven't taken my kids on CoP, or to TSI, or to HoP. Maybe we won't do all of these, but we might visit one or two.

4: Make some time for WS shows.

 

[hoosiergirl7]

Unfortunately our upcoming trip is short and only 5 days so we'll have to try and cram a bit in this trip. Dh only had so many vacation days to take right now. However, as far as being different from the last time...

-take more photos of us rather than of things. Love the photos, but would be nice to see DH & I in some of the photos as well.
-take bottles of water and snacks into the park for DS
-bring portable fans or misters to deal with the heat (even in Sept, Orlando is still hot!)
-make sure to bring ponchos (forgot that in Florida, you can almost always expect at least 1 rain shower a day)
-buy the souvenirs you really want. There were things I regretted that we never bought.

Apr 1986 - offsite
Sept 2002 - POR
Sept 2006 - offsite

16 days until our WDW Trip!!!

 

[timon711]

1. Buy APs! Not only for the discounts, but to ensure a return trip or two within a year! Also, this might silence that nagging inner voice that tells me I'm not getting my money's worth if I'm not in the parks from opening to closing.

2. Stay off site in a villa or condo. More space at a fraction of the cost. The money saved will help buy the APs!

3. Slow down, pay attention to the sights, sounds, and smells. It's all in the details and afterall, this is what Disney does so well!

4. Visit more gift shops and buy myself a nice souvenier.

5. Make sure my DH gets to see the Partner's statue at MK. He didn't see it on the first trip (commando 4-park, 2-day blur) as we "ran" by it as he says. It was gone on our second trip as the area in front of the castle was being refurbished.

 

[DiszyDeanette]

- See all the things I didn't see before. We were there for 7 days last year, and when we looked over the maps at home later, we were amazed at how much we missed!

- An entire day for World Showcase. I will not even sneak back to see Soarin', there is just way too much there! (see above)

- Use photopass more, I'd like to get a CD and make it worth my while. Last year we didn't catch on until the last day, and got one whole picture.

- Buy more ride photos.

- Not forget my own shampoo and conditioner. The main ingredient in the Mickey shampoo is either battery acid or glue.

- Have more fun! (if that's possible!)

 

[cgcruz]

1) I will NOT buy the Park Hopper option again. I keep telling myself this, but always do. Next time (soon hopefully) I will just get base tickets. We hardly hop, and if we do we go to like 1 ride. We are pretty good about scheduling our ADRs to either the park we are at, or a Hotel.

2) Use Photopass. We always just walk by the guys and end up having very few good pictures of my gf and I together.

3) Leave our car parked at the hotel. We always end up being to lazy to wait for the bus. But we would save a whole tank of gas by leaving the car parked and only using it for off-site trip.


One thing we got to do this past trip that we loved was we had dinner at Ohana then my gf and I pulled a beach chair close to the water and watched the MK fireworks from Polynesian.

 

[MassMom94]

Great thread!

3: Visit some of the "lesser" attractions, especially in MK. I still haven't taken my kids on CoP, or to TSI, or to HoP. Maybe we won't do all of these, but we might visit one or two.

I "made" my family go on CoP because I had seen it as a child at the NY World's Fair in 1964. They loved it! DS8 actually wanted to go on it again the next day, but I told him I thought one CoP per trip was enough. We're still singing "It's a Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow."

We did TSI last trip, but didn't get around to it this trip...kids liked it, though. HoP would be a toughter sell.

 

[DiszyDeanette]

I "made" my family go on CoP because I had seen it as a child at the NY World's Fair in 1964. They loved it! DS8 actually wanted to go on it again the next day, but I told him I thought one CoP per trip was enough. We're still singing "It's a Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow."

Last year my DH and DD10 (now 11) fell in love with the CoP. I have "It's a Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow." on my iPod, and play it when I need to perk them up a little.

 

[goodfaerie]

On my honor, I promise to:

Actually stroll down Main Street
Enjoy my Mickey Bar/RiceKrispie Treat/Popcorn/Pretzel rather than wolf it down and rush to the next ride
Notice more details
Accept that people are different from me and not get so bent out of shape if they don't follow the "rules"
Follow all the rules
Leave time to enjoy our resort
Try not to be jaded when going through It's a Small World



GF

 

[Glendamax]

On my honor, I promise to:
Accept that people are different from me and not get so bent out of shape if they don't follow the "rules"
Follow all the rules
Try not to be jaded when going through It's a Small World

All of these apply to me, especially the first two!

 

[8 Ears]

We will

1. Enjoy the live entertainment at AK and Epcot, take the time to see it

2. Tour other resorts especially those on the monorail

3. Promise ourselves AGAIN to slow down and smell the roses

4. Promise ourselves AGAIN to NOT do commando touring

 

[winterman]

1 - Spend two days at Magic Kingdom and two days at Epcot

2 - Spend more time relaxing at the hotel pool.

3 - Ride Buzz Lightyear at least 6 times.

4 - Be in better shape for all that walking.

5 - Wear Crocs.

6 - Pray harder that my DH doesn't get pneumonia this time ( I've also

started giving him vitamin C)