We just got back from a 9-day Disney trip with 4 boys! I posted something similar to this post awhile back. Here are some of the tips that I used the most:
#1: Go in the morning, before park opening. This is imperative. It is not only hot, but also very crowded after 9:30 - 10:00a.m. Pick the rides you want to ride and ride them first. Dumbo (and all of Fantasy Land) is a must for the morning hours. We got ALL, easily ALL, of the Fantasy land rides in within 30-40 minutes after park opening.
#2: I enjoyed evenings the BEST! It was not hot out at all. Go no later than 5:00p.m. and instead of going out for dinner, go out for lunch instead so you can ride rides between 5-9, grab a quick dinner, and then watch the parades and fireworks. I would plan better for this next time. Many times we didn't get back to the parks until 6 or 7p.m. and didn't have enough time to ride everything we wanted to.
#2: Take a sponge, get it wet with soap and let it dry. Then cut it in small pieces. I did this and it was a great way to wash sippie cups & bottles.
#3: Use throw away sippie cups. We did this, but didn't throw them all away.
#4: Have a dum-dum sucker on hand at all times (and some baby wipes). Great for waiting in lines or when you need to calm kids down (and keep them quiet)
#5: Never do a late evening magic hour adjacent to an early morning. We did this (knowing full-well what other, more expert, Disney travelers had advised). It is not a good idea.
#6: If you do an evening late magic hour, don't go until later. The park is tremendously crowded until 11:00p.m. - midnight. You are better off just waiting until after 11:00p.m. IMO. Most people leave by then because they have little kids. My little ones just slept in the stroller. It was a fabulous time to ride the bigger rides.
#7: Go to Epcot at park opening and ride Soarin' first. Then grab a Fast Pass for it for later. That ride is always so crowded & they run out of FPs by 1:00p.m.! FYI: If you want to do child swap for this ride they may want to see your kids and you must take them out of the stroller to do this!
#8: Take an afternoon break. Preferably between noon - 4.
#9: If you have a baby, bring extra pacifiers. You will use them.
#10: Pack everything in individual baggies and squeeze air out of them. My #1 pick! It took forever to pack, but I was so glad I did it. You can get 2 1/2 gallon bags at
Walmart.
#11: Plan everything out! I planned the first 5 days completely out and they went so well! After that, we didn't really enjoy it as much because I didn't have a plan. We kind of winged it those last 4 days. Those were the least enjoyed days. It was not fun having to think about a game plan. It was much easier when we had it all planned out.
#12: Things I would not do: Wait more than 20 minutes for any ride. We got ALL, easily ALL, of the Fantasy land rides in within 30 minutes after park opening. They opened the park, then we scooted off to Fantasy land (via through the castle) and they had another rope drop for this area. So we were literally the 1st ones in Fantasy land and rode Dumbo first! We hit the rest of the rides in no time and no wait at all. Rides that typically had little/no wait for us: It's a small world, Pirates of the Caribbean, and Philharmagic. I was suprised to see that Pirates always went fast! And we went during Memorial Day week.
#13: Board the train when you are hot or tired. But NEVER do it in Frontier land. It is so hot there. My favorite spot was in ToonTown. There's a kiddie playground nearby.
#14: When you are really hot, stroll through the shops on main street. They are all connected. Or, do this to avoid large crowds on main street.
I love them but don't like to vacation with them.
As a previous poster said, "Take the time to do something nice for another family.. paying it forward makes you feel good."
