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

[tina&jefffromtoronto]

We just got back but I already have a list for the next trip:
1) share CS meals so we can go to more double-credit TS meals. Otherwise we never use all the credits
2) more split days in the parks. I really enjoyed the hopping
3) eat in the castle
4) Cirque du Soleil tickets
5) go to the water parks...we keep trying and so far haven't managed it in 3 trips
6) never go in summer before the last week in August...too busy for me!

 

[KickTheSky]

1) Never ever ever ever ever ever ever ever book at All Star Resorts again. Worst customer service ever! And that includes non-Disney hotels. They never let you forget that you chose the cheap resort to stay at.
2) Rent a car and avoid the HORRIBLE Disney Transportation System. No more waiting in lines for hours to stand on a bus full of sweaty people.
3) Take more of the behind the scenes tours. Did Keys to the Kingdom this last visit and it was definately the highlight of the trip.
4) Do the Living Seas scuba experience. I watched the scuba divers while dining at Coral Reef and I was super jealous of them again.
5) Better plan my day with show times in mind. I missed out on Indy because of this and nearly missed out on the motorcar show at MGM as well.
6) Better plan ADR's. We chose three different dinners at MGM and I was definately getting sick of going back to that park just to go to dinner. Add to that the frustrations of actually getting there with the stupid transportation system and it is just a recipe for disaster.
7) More fireworks. Only got to see Fantasmic this time around, but because We were so freaked out about the buses after the fireworks shows we never saw any others.

 

[mousiemom]

On our trip for Jan.07:
-Go all the way around WS in Epcot and have my dd do the passport.
-Go back to Cantina de san angel in Mexico and have
nachos and ritas & watch Illuminations by the lake.
-in the middle of the week have a day to do whatever u
like.
-Have a magical trip like all of our vacations to Disney!!

 

[FormrCastMbr]

Subscribing...

Great thread! I have to come back and read what I could not when I have more time...maybe add a few things too!

 

[helenm29]

DEFINATELY NO RUSHING!
NO EMH
NO CASH...WILL PUT EVERYTHING ON CARD
NO OVEREATING...YEAH RIGHT!

Helen

 

[Gabkatt]

Subscribing...love this thread!

 

[Mme. Leota]

We are having a baby!!!

No more riding RnR 8 times in a row while Fantasmic is going on. . .
at least for a few years.

No more commando style, we just can't help ourselves, but it will be different next time.

Taking only Crocs next time. (Bought brand new Nike Shox, I did break them in at home, and took my Crocs for a trial run on the 2nd day. Never put the Shox back on)

We will have a stroller and LOTS of stuff, I guess, rather than a tiny little purse with lip gloss, $$ and camera.

I can't wait, though! I am due next April and am already trying to figure out how old the little one needs to be before his/her first trip to the world. Maybe I'll start a new thread on that subject!!

 

[jenr812]

• More time! We were there 7 days last July. Next May we're staying for 10!
• No commando touring. Last time the kids were so worn out by the third morning, it sucked the fun out of it! I swore I wouldn't do that to them, but it happened anyway. Another reason we're staying longer
• Spend a whole day in World Showcase - we didn't even make it there at all last time!
• Do the new version of M:S - the regular version made me ill last year and DS7 is dying to try it!
• Remember to order some Photopass pics before they expire So bummed about that! We will probably buy the disc this time, actually!

I am sure there's more but it's time to pick up DD from school. We spent quite a bit of time at the pools, which we will definitely do again

 

[jjarman]

1. Eat moreTS meals. DS16 really wants to eat more different foods so I am making lots of ADRs.

2. Do Segway tour. This is a surprise for DS.

3. Follow a touring plan to the letter at MK just once. I keep hearing how they really work and we have never tried it so I am going to try it once.

4. Fly instead of drive. 11 hours is way too long.

5. More souveniers. I usually buy t-shirts but this time I promise to buy other things like Christmas ornaments and jewelry.

 

[ricktib]

1. Stay longer - we've always just gone down for long weekends.

2. Try new restaurants - there are a few that we always end up at because we love them, but I'd like to try all of them eventually!

3. Get PhotoPass - especially since they'll include ride photos by next year.

4. Force myself to finally experience TOT once and for all.

 

[JeanfromBNA]

Go for a longer time - 8 nights in 09/07!
Leave my stupid phone off.
Leave a VM message for clients to call my Number 2.

 

[KYCruiseCrazy]

this is an easy one to answer.......THE KIDS........NEVER AGAIN LOL kid free this time anyways.

 

[Whosemom]

We will go back to winging it and not go in the summer. Since we were going at a crowded time we felt like we had to plan everyything and it felt like chores to check off instead of vacation.

 

[mikamah]

It's been a while since my last trip, and back then, it was all about the rides.

1. I will definitely slow down and smell the roses.

2. Really see what's on main street this time, instead of just running down it to get to the mountains.

 

[DebbieinWA]

Visit all the countries in World Showcase. We've been four times and we've yet to explore all the countries.

See new attractions added since we were last there.

Spend more time enjoying parades and entertainment.

Eat at restaurants we haven't tried before.

We'll be there at Christmastime, so enjoying all the holiday decorations is something we're really looking forward to!

Visiting Disney Quest with my video-game crazy DS.

Take more pictures! Get the photopass CD. Act like kids and get pics and autographs of characters

 

[Ava]

1. Make time for a swimming break during the day. Last trip we tried swimming when we got back to the hotel at night but it was either too chilly (even at the end of April) or we were just too tired.

2. Stay at a Moderate resort. I've only ever stayed at Values and want to try something different next time.

3. Take more pictures! I was so busy having fun that I didn't take many at all, lol.

 

[disney_mom_]

First post, here goes!

Just like everyone else, I will have down days, because we live in the UK I've always had the attitude that we don't have time to just have a couple of days chilling out by the pool, I now however, realise it's completely necessary, especially with 2 kids. Last time in the world my husband and I exhausted ourselves cramming everything in so god knows how our kids felt! This time around we will defintely have a couple of days waking up later, hanging around the pool and just chilling out.

I will defintely try to do World Showcase, and maybe take 2 days over Epcot instead of 1. We've always kind of skipped this park because our kids found it boring, but hopefully with the new rides they'll love it this time around.

I won't spend as much money! We ended up wasting big bucks last time by eating so many counter meals, which ended in a serious waste of food as well as a serious amount of dollars! Spilt meals, maybe even do the dining plan.

Make sure we have breaks during the day to prevent the girls getting super cranky. Just spend an hour or so mid morning sitting down somewhere, absorbing the world instead of waiting in lines in the heat.

I guess I'll just try to be more laid back generally!

 

[Praying Colonel]

1. Take longer and earlier rest breaks. We learned our lesson from our 04 trip and programmed in afternoon rest breaks this time. But we took them in mid-afternoon, after the sun had already gotten us pretty good. And sometimes we didn't take as long a break as we'd planned because we wanted to do just 1 or 2 more things before our break. We'd start our breaks earlier--around 1 or so--and definitely set that as a hard stopping point.

2. Allot more time for Epcot. We spent large parts of 2 days and smaller parts of 3 others in Epcot this time and still didn't have time to see some things we wanted to see. IMHO Epcot's a 3-day park if you want to spend any significant time puttering around WS.

3. Rely less on WDW transportation. They do a good job, but we found that we could drive our own vehicle to the parks a lot quicker, and it was nice not having to wait for the bus once we were ready to leave the parks. If we drive ourselves next time like we did this time, we'll use our own transportation a lot more.

4. Program in more shopping time at Downtown Disney. We alloted only 1 evening, and that wasn't enough--we went to World of Disney, the pin trading store and the Christmas store, which is just barely scratching the surface.

5. Use our DDP snack credits for breakfast. We went to Publix and bought stuff for breakfast before arrival. Turned out we had 7 snack credits left by our last morning! We could've just used our snack credits for breakfast at the resort bakery.

 

[MsLeFever]

Great Thread!!! We've got about 2 years before the next trip and are already talking about the next time.

1. Stay in a Moderate
2. Stay longer - we did a much better job NOT rushing but we can do better!
3. Take more photos! Next time I'm going to take a photo of everything we do so that I can write a better trip report - I am amazed how quickly I forget the order in which we did things!
4. I think the kids will be confident enough to tackle a water park next time!
5. Not be in a rush to leave the parks when they "close". The slow exit after Illuminations, sitting by the partner statue and just watching the castle; those are some of my best memories of the last trip - and the buses were always there with no crowd when we got around to leaving!
6. Bring floss! (Boy did I miss it!)
7. Chill out - I'm embarrased about the amount of disciplining I felt like I had to do on the last trip....I think the problem was more me than the kids.

 

[Zippa D Doodah]

On our next trip we will....

1) not do MK as our first park (shocking, I know, but the schedule is what it is)

2) experience a hard ticket event for the first time (MNSSHP)

3) ride the LIberty Belle riverboat (7 trips and I've always missed it; doncha think its about time?)

4) try really hard not to check messages on my phone for the entire week

5) lovingly and tenderly encourage our DD9 to be a little more daring in what she will and won't ride. DS6 will ride anything at WDW and is salivating at the prospect of riding EE for the first time; DD9 is more timid. I know she will like something like Splash Mountain if she'll just try it.