What Disney Tip Are you really glad you listened to?

[rosiep]

I have two food related tips:

My husband loves to eat yogurt for breakfast..it's a great source of protein and easy to buy at the Disney resorts the night before so you don't need to get up and leave the room in search of breakfast. Bringing a small box of granola to add to the yogurt added some extra vitamins and crunch. (Yogurt is only a snack credit on the DDP, but a CS if you buy the prepackaged fruit and granola).
Secondly, I like to bring a small tupperware container or two INTO the parks to keep my CS snacks from getting crushed in my backpack, or keep my leftove popcorn or cotton candy. Sometimes I'll eat only half my lunch and save the rest for later! If you do this you'll want to either bring something your comfortable throwing away or also pack a little sponge and dish soap.

 

[Puget Peach]

I don't mean to be dumb as a brick but what is are Cool Max socks?? They even sound lovely!

Cool Max fibers wick moisture away from the body so it can evaporate, unlike cotton that tends to take forever to dry. I found packages of Cool Max socks at Costco's and I swear by them. I also have the low cut style. I won't wear anything else in the parks, winter or summer. Most of the time I wear the socks with Teva Dozers or my Cayman Crocs (yes, I'm a socks with crocs kind of gal) and find it plenty warm in the cooler months. Because your feet stay dry, they stay warmer in the winter and cooler in the summer! There are other brand names and they are collectively called "wicking socks" because they "wick" moisture away from the skin.

 

[Puget Peach]

A Lime Green Mickey Head is a way of knowing someone is on DIS Boards. Some DIS'ers wear lime green, others make green Mickey Head tags (see by my name to the left-it's one of my bag tags for next year-LOL).

An easy way of making a id tag: Home Depot has Disney brand paint and the sample cards are in the shape of a Mickey Head, so pick up an Alien Green paint chip card and turn it into a DIS-id! I am putting one on my backpack and stroller.

I was at Home Depot specifically to pick up a couple and they were OUT!!! With less than a month before my trip, I'm going to need to check again soon.

 

[Thumper_Man]

I don't mean to be dumb as a brick but what is are Cool Max socks?? They even sound lovely!

I was taught in school, the only dumb question asked is the one not asked. So there is not such thing as a dumb question.

The best way to describe Coolmax socks is they are a special pair of socks that help keep your feet cool. I know it sounds cliche, but they are designed to keep your feet drier by pulling away moisture from your feet.

Here's a link that offers a better explanation than I can:
http://workingperson.com/products/22_113_114/1/Coolmax_Socks.html

I like to go hiking, and have several pairs of these. I've yet to develop a blister, even when breaking in new hiking shoes/boots.

 

[ZoZo]

Get there at rope drop. It makes such a huge difference! On my trip last month, I went to Epcot two different days, once at 10:15 (an hour and 15 minutes after opening) and the second time 20 minutes before rope drop. By arriving at rope drop and using Fast Pass effectively, I was able to ride Soarin' (my favorite ride!) seven times that day! The day I didn't arrive until 10:15, I was only able to ride twice, because FPs started running out around 12:30/1:00.

Use Fast Pass Effectively. Pay attention to your "return window" and grab another FP before hopping on your FP ride. As mentioned above, I got to Epcot at rope drop, got a Soarin' FP immediately, got in the stand-by line, rode Soarin', got another FP, used my first FP -- you get the picture! I rode Soarin' three times in the first hour and a half.

Use Single Rider Lines. I rode Expedition Everest three times in 30 minutes using the single rider line. I literally got off and got right back on again without waiting in line at all. Amazing!

Stay hydrated and take breaks when you need to. It's easy to try to go "commando" and try to do too much, but you can wear yourself out that way.

Slow down and experience the magic! I tend to go 100 miles an hour and zoom to the next attraction, but some of my best times at WDW was when I slowed down and noticed the little things.

 

[scrapindis]

Ride the train in the Magic Kingdom. You can get around so quickly that way.

 

[HermanTriplets+1]

OK! Lime Green Alien Mickey Heads from Home Depot! I am SO there! I know that there are people in the world who think we're nuts - and maybe we are - but if I go for more than a day or two without a Disney fix I feel a huge void!

December 12 - All Star Music - First trip for the DH and the 4 kids!
Celebrating the triplets' 13th birthday!

 

[nothnbutherainsir]

I may have posted this before or someone may have said it but instead of a backpack we take a shoulder bag like this one

 

[mcco5543]

http://www.ourlaughingplace.com/asp/twiz.aspx


Here is how my wife and I learned how to use Disney transportation. It saved us a bundle of time and hassle because we knew no matter where we were how to get to where we wanted to be!

This gives you more than one option per route and gives you times as well. Please use this site and pass it around if it hasn't been passed around already It's awesome and worth it's weight in gold.

 

[DaisiLou]

This has been, by far, the most useful thread I've read on this board.

Thank you all so much!

We're leaving in 2 weeks, DH, Me, and our two DD's, ages 13 and 2. I'm a compulsive planner when it comes to the pre-trip, but more of a laid back, take it as it comes kind of person when I actually get there.

I'm so thankful to have my little list of things that you all suggested, although I have not my ADR's ( I know, I know!) but there isn't any particular place we just HAVE to eat....so our plan is to ask the conceriege each morning, "Hey, we're going to be in MK or AK tonight, where's a good place to eat? And can you get us reservations?" I've spoken to a few people who said this worked well for them as their schedules and preferences were flexible like ours.

With all that said, I had just one question...

Is TGM really worth the $22 bucks?

 

[Donna]

Looking for more tips and advice? c'mon over to

DISNEY DREAM DEPOT on Facebook! We're a group of moms panel hopefuls who just love to help others plan their trips with our tips and advice!

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Disney-Dream-Depot/167509332839?v=wall

See ya real soon!

 

[Megsmachine]

This has been, by far, the most useful thread I've read on this board.

Thank you all so much!

We're leaving in 2 weeks, DH, Me, and our two DD's, ages 13 and 2. I'm a compulsive planner when it comes to the pre-trip, but more of a laid back, take it as it comes kind of person when I actually get there.

I'm so thankful to have my little list of things that you all suggested, although I have not my ADR's ( I know, I know!) but there isn't any particular place we just HAVE to eat....so our plan is to ask the conceriege each morning, "Hey, we're going to be in MK or AK tonight, where's a good place to eat? And can you get us reservations?" I've spoken to a few people who said this worked well for them as their schedules and preferences were flexible like ours.

With all that said, I had just one question...

Is TGM really worth the $22 bucks?

My question to this would be, how much are you spending on your vacation? To me $22 is worth making sure our vacation is better planned and we have fun!! After all I want to make sure my thousands of dollars were worth it.

 

[Aubie881]

Did not read through the whole thread so I am sure its been mentioned before. Best advice we got was to just relax take your time and enjoy. You will never see everything so take your time and enjoy what you do see. We have only been to Disney 3 times, fourth trip coming in May 2010 and there is still lots for us to see and do.

 

[Cjmuma]

Ok... Feeling really blonde... TGM??????

 

[mcco5543]

Tour Guide Mike = TGM.

it's a planning website you can subscribe to and a lot of people swear by it.

 

[Cjmuma]

Thanks! I was feeling kinda dumb for a bit!

 

[bananasplitkids]

Tour Guide Mike = TGM.

it's a planning website you can subscribe to and a lot of people swear by it.

I totally agree. Made getting around the park painless and we got to ride everything.

 

[StacieDreaminODisney]

I've never checked out TGM, but I have a book I bought earlier this year that helped me plan the perfect spring trip. The Complete Walt Disney World 2009 by Julie and Mike Neal is awesome. There are details and average wait times for each hour of the day for every ride or attraction. They also have average fastpass return times based off of what time you get the fastpass. Of course, nothing is perfect, but it helped me a ton! I like to plan ahead, so I had complete schedules made out for each day. Once we got there, I got to relax because all of the planning was done!

 

[thomasstuart]

Hi,
"We almost always rent a car for our trips. Since we go to different parks each day and often leave and come back, it is easy to get confused about which area the car is parked. We discovered that almost all cell phones have some sort of voice or memo recorder built in. We simply turn the recorder on and say the name and row number we parked in. As we leave, we erase the memo. Now we're ready for the next park. No more lost cars!"

 

[princessbee]

this thread is so awesome! i've been to wdw once before but i was not half as prepared as i could have been--now i'm going again, for the first time with my family, and i am so excited to use all the knowledge this thread has given me!