What are the 'little things' that you do each trip that make it 'magical' ?

[Disney-PartyOf5]

Just wondering if there was something new that we should consider for our next visit?

Looking forward to finding out those best kept secrets.......

 

[managerdreamer]

Have you ever done Pin trading. It fun for the kids! The cast members are great! I got my pins on ebay they were cheaper and if my kids didn't like them they could trade them all. Plus they were more willing to trade them because they weren't in love with them and now they have new pins they LOVE!

 

[Disney-PartyOf5]

Hi

Yes, this is something our DD, DS and DS enjoy. They picked up Lanyards with their spending money and each trip get a couple of pins.

Many thanks for your suggestion.....


Looking forward to some more......

 

[dzneelvr]

I realize that there are age minimums to some of the special tours and events offered by WDW, but I encourage you to do maybe one specialty each trip if you are veterans of visitingIt takes your family to another level when you can enjoy other views of the World! Until and unless--here are some others we've done over the years and all (except dining) are FREE. do you schedule time to enjoy the resorts at the World? Dining at a selection of resorts gives you amazing opportunities to explore them. Most have unique gift shops, special attractions, and more! AKL comes to mind: at dusk you can watch the animals being fed and enjoy the blazing fire pit with huge rocking chairs. Take time to use the boat between EPCOT and DHS. The view of Boardwalk from the boat in the evening is awesome. Explore Boardwalk, play miniature golf, join the dance party at DTD and watch them make magically sweet confections at Goofey's in DTD, Listen to the pre-show songfest at American in EPCOT and stroll through the museum there as well; watch customers try their luck at pearl fishing at china in DTD. Our DD and DS are 21 and 23 and, for example, last trip we took extra time to wait in line for a photo opp with Tiana and the prince from the Princess and the Frog. It was behind the Christmas shop in Frontierland at MK...we chatted with the CM who gave us numerous tips on other WDW "stuff" and had a wonderful time.

 

[eeyoresmom]

I totally agree with PP. Now, my teens don't enjoy the resort hopping as much as DH and I but your kids might. We love taking the boat or monorail to the Poly on days we are at MK. We get lunch or pineapple ice cream ( you get it yourself so we like to see who can fit the most in a cup!) We walk around,stroll the beach, sometimes rent searacer boats, etc. If we're at Epcot, we sometimes take a break at Boardwalk or Beach Club. Epcot does have so many little things like the pick a pearl previously mentioned (it's in Japan, however)

 

[Havana]

We go to WDW about three times a year. Just this past trip we experienced Wishes from the Poly beach. It was spectacular!!

 

[racechick8293]

For me, the most "special" thing so far has been to do the Pick a Pearl with my DD on our first girl's trip. She got twins, and was so proud.

 

[Remmy]

For our 2009 trip, I booked the children for the Pirate Cruise from the GF. They had a blast. We had a couple of hours to ourselves to explore the GF and Poly. We also had pre-purchased the Photopass CDs and photo book. I am glad we did, as they had a Photopass photographer go along on the cruise and it was wonderful to see their adventure and how much fun they had doing it.

In 2010, we didn't plan this but we went to Animal Kingdom, and DD chatted up a CM who was from Ontario too. She was very informative about all the projects she did (had a long title I won't even attempt to spell). She liked DD so much she invited the whole family for a brief behind the scenes tour of part of a lab, at the Conservation Station. They played elephant sounds, explained all about animal projects they are working on. Both children received a rare pin for our experience. I have to say this opened up the eyes for my DD who never knew that with the right type of education, you could work at Animal Kingdom doing the same thing this wonderful lady does and her co-workers.

Now, knowing the experience I just described above does not happen to everyone, I wish you and your family find a magical experience that suits your family.

This year, I am planning on taking the children to the pick a pearl in Japan.

Remmy

 

[Tosie]

For me, the most "special" thing so far has been to do the Pick a Pearl with my DD on our first girl's trip. She got twins, and was so proud.

We do this every trip. Our hope is that we will be able to make earrings and a necklace for dd's wedding - her "something old" maybe. We know the pearls don't all match - it's part of the charm. It's the memories we made colecting them!

 

[Megkel]

We did pick a pearl too when we went and my daughter loves having that special piece of jewelry that Daddy bought her and Mommy. I think my husband loves seeing us both wear our necklaces even though I think the price caught him by surprise

Being as my daughter is now going to be five, she loves going to the parks dressed in her Princess outfit and being called Princess by all the cast members We try to do something different each time we go.There are a handful of rides that are MUST DOS every time we visit. However we do the pin trading, and finding the hidden Mickeys. The next trip we are going in May and planning on doing "Disney at Night" which my five year old is super excited about.

As she doesn't get to stay up late often vacation is the only time she gets to. Most times when we go to Disney we get up when the parks open, take a break midday, go back to the parks and then leave around 8 or 9. This time I think we will stay around the hotel swimming and sleeping till around 2 or 3. Then hit the park for the rest of the day/night. Most parades start around 3 so start our day with a parade and then continuing with our must do rides. This will hopefully allow everyone to sleep in, hopefully making everyone happy and the day will be cooler so we won't be worn out so fast.

I think doing something "different" each trip makes it special

 

[lemonyr]

We bought the Hidden Mickeys book and carried it around with us the whole time. Our kids loved every minute searching for them and it really made them take time to look around and enjoy the little details that Disney has everywhere! It also passed the time while waiting in lines...

 

[Disney Commando]

My son enjoy's trying to score Transportation trading cards, in the last 2 visits he has 1 complete set and needs 4 more for his 2nd

 

[wdwmom0f3]

We go to WDW about three times a year. Just this past trip we experienced Wishes from the Poly beach. It was spectacular!!

This sounds very nice. Infact, I may just do this in May because I think my DH would love it.

For me, the most "special" thing so far has been to do the Pick a Pearl with my DD on our first girl's trip. She got twins, and was so proud.

We have this down to do in May. All of the girls will be getting one, from the youngest to my mother. It should be something fun to remember.

I'll tell you some fun, but simple things that we have done that made our trip magical. We rode the horse and trolley on main street last time and I am telling you that it was something special for me. You can sit back and enjoy what you are seeing and not have to worry about losing someone, or rushing around people or any of that. It was fun because people would wave, and you could see happiness on others faces that you may not have noticed by just walking down. It was very relaxing.

Also, we enjoy getting some ice cream and finding a place in the shade to just sit back and enjoy the sights.

My kids enjoyed the Characters in Flight at DTD. They said that it was amazing to see everything from way up high in a hot air balloon. They are wanting to do this again.

If there are a few of you, go share the Kitchen Sink at Beaches & Cream. Go on youtube and do a search if you haven't heard of it.

Share some famous Disney popcorn as you watch Wishes or the parade.

Have a "Nice" drink at Epcot while you watch illuminations.

Always look for hidden Mickeys.

I almost forgot..... Try the Beverly at Epcot in Club Cool. You can thank me later.

 

[noahdove]

no no beverly!!!!!

 

[Nadjalu]

We do a few things,

We eat dessert for lunch and dinner.

We make T-shirts at Design a Tee at DTD. Then wear them sometime during the trip. (Usually they are matching and we love it, including DH)

We sit in front of Cinderella's Castle at night and just sit there. We talk about the trip, connect with each other and just soak up the sounds and smells of WDW.
(we love this one, it is free, it gives us the most magical feeling and relaxes us).

We act like kids. Now I don't mean run around crazy acting, but enjoy the spontaneous of the vacation. If we feel like changing our plans we do so. If we feel like skipping we do. We enjoy the child inside of us and not think about the outside world. (we do this at night back at the resort. But daytime is no talk about home)

One last thing I do is buy something stupid. In normal life I would not let myself pay $5 for an antena topper. But at WDW I allow a goofy purchase. Something like that.

Enjoy your trip!!

 

[BridgetBordeaux]

If you have never done it before.......

Take the boat from DHS to EP. Be sure to stop at the boardwalk to take in the atmosphere and eat something sweet. You can then either continue to EP by boat, or take the 5-7 minute walk.

 

[Ashlander]

Our days at Disney are always "Yes Days". This means that almost anything the kids want to do we try to say yes to. For example. If the kids want ice cream at 9am or 9pm...I automatically want to say no, but because we are at Disney the answer is yes. The kids love it and it's amazing how nice it is to say yes for a change

 

[Piglet843]

Our days at Disney are always "Yes Days". This means that almost anything the kids want to do we try to say yes to. For example. If the kids want ice cream at 9am or 9pm...I automatically want to say no, but because we are at Disney the answer is yes. The kids love it and it's amazing how nice it is to say yes for a change

I think that is such a cool thing to do. I realize it would still have to have its limits (personal safety and such) but its such a neat idea!
Might be a lot less screaming cranky kids if more parents did that

 

[mousiemom]

on every trip we always make a wish and throw a penny in the fountain to the right of the castle. every trip is different. we do the tinkerbell treasures for our 10yr dd in the room everynight and i know she probably knows it's her parents that are putting it there everynight but she never says anything. we love the boatrides everywhere especially the one down from dtd to POR. we do all the rushing around in the daytime @ the parks and then enjoy and relax in the evenings.

 

[JAMIESMITH]

Our days at Disney are always "Yes Days". This means that almost anything the kids want to do we try to say yes to. For example. If the kids want ice cream at 9am or 9pm...I automatically want to say no, but because we are at Disney the answer is yes. The kids love it and it's amazing how nice it is to say yes for a change

I love this! Definitely planning to implement into our first WDW vacation