What Disney Tip Are you really glad you listened to?

[Boncho]

I don't know about anyone else, but I always come home thinking -'I wish I had bought that (whatever it was). Well, after you get home you can still buy things you wish you had bought while you were there. All you have to do is phone Disney mail order merchandise - 1-407-363-6200. If you give them a good enough description of the item, they can find it and send it to you and just put it on your credit card. The amount you have to pay for freight depends on how much your item costs.

 

[FBandA]

Thanks for the info I did not know you could do this. There is always stuff that I wish I bought.

 

[tiberius]

Oh, there are so many, but here are my favorites.

Tried a character meal before park opening.
Stayed onsite.
Used a towncar service.
Learned about Fastpass before I went.
Stayed at a DVC resort.
Went to Disney outlet stores.
Ate at Rose and Crown and saw IllumiNations up close.

My favorite was to try the old E-Ride Nights!

 

[steph-in-ky]

I just go back from my trip and had the best time EVER at WDW. The give all the credit to TGM. I used all his advice and secret tips and let me tell you it made a world of difference. This was also the first time we stayed on site and we LOVED Pop Century. The buses were a little slow and crowded at night especially but it was worth it to not have to drive.

We had been to WDW about 4 times before and never got to ride everything we wanted. This time after using TGM's best park days and touring plans we rode EVERY ride more than once and most of them we walked right on without waiting in lines.

So based on my trip I recommend the following:

1. Use TGM
2. The 8:15 character breakfast at Crystal Palace was awesome!!!
3. Use fast pass as much as possible
4. Stay on site (I had great experience with Pop Century)
5. Wispering Canyon @ Wilderness Lodge is a riot & a very good breakfast.
6. You must stay for all the nightly fireworks/shows
7. Experience Splash Mtn. & Big Thunder Railroad in the dark (wonderful)
8. Crock Athens worked great for all 7 days in the parks (no blisters)
9. Overland Donner bag was perfect for carrying around what I needed
10. Take advantage of Photopass (they will take pics with your camera also)
11. Typhoon Lagoon is an awesome water park- loved it
12. Flame Tree BBQ at Animal Kingdom- try the chicken (yummo)
13. Get a refillable mug because it is so worth the money



Okay thats all I've got for now, hope that helps someone.

 

[meliahz]

Everyone's giving such good advice. I've learned A LOT from this thread!

 

[greenmickeyfanatic]

Who or what is TCM??

It isn't TCM it is TGM and it stands for tour guide mike. wow that sounded really stuck-up im sorry it sounded that way!

 

[CanadaPT]

This has been one of our secret tips for so long I'm afraid to let the cat out of the bag... but if you fly into Orlando Airport (MCO) and you are getting a rental car, instead of waiting for your luggage which usually takes 15-20 minutes, go downstairs and get your rental car secured. Then once you complete that and come upstairs you're luggage will have arrived and you're ready to go! Of course, to make it even faster, subscribe to the FREE services that most rental car companies have that allow you to skip waiting in line and walk right up to the car rental booth to get your keys!

 

[PeggyPup]

I've only been to a park once...but for the folks who LOVE meeting the characters(and who aren't too dissapointed about missing the MK fireworks)...

Right when the MK fireworks started, we went to ToonTown to see if we could get a decent line for the Princesses, because Mickey's Judge Tent was closed...but when we got in, we saw that they had just moved mickey into the normal area. And since everyone was outside watching the fireworks, there was No. Line. Nobody in front, nobody in back....we literally got about 20 minutes of Mickey Mouse all to ourselves(we danced, talked, and took TONS of pictures). And when we got out, people were just starting to get back from the fireworks, so the line for the princesses was only about 5 minutes, and there was no real rush when meeting them.

 

[arielsleepingbeauty]

This has been one of our secret tips for so long I'm afraid to let the cat out of the bag... but if you fly into Orlando Airport (MCO) and you are getting a rental car, instead of waiting for your luggage which usually takes 15-20 minutes, go downstairs and get your rental car secured. Then once you complete that and come upstairs you're luggage will have arrived and you're ready to go! Of course, to make it even faster, subscribe to the FREE services that most rental car companies have that allow you to skip waiting in line and walk right up to the car rental booth to get your keys!

I did something simiar. I had my mom and 7 year old DD wait for our luggage and I went with my other DD to go through the rental car line. Either i would finish first and go up to meet her or she and my DD could each pull a suitcase to us. We ended up meeting somewhere in the middle. It saved us at least a half hour bcause after I checked in for my rental car, the line was huge.

 

[LindsayDunn228]

It isn't TCM it is TGM and it stands for tour guide mike. wow that sounded really stuck-up im sorry it sounded that way!

I know what Tour Guide Mike is. It was posted TCM a few different times and I couldn't figure that one out.

 

[poohspals]

-The polaroid picture every morning ( It came in handy when my older boy got lost, I panic and could not tell the castmember what my son was wearing until I remember the picture in my bag)

That is a great tip. Especially in the wake of Madeleine McCanns abduction. I am paranoid about losing my girls now

 

[Mkrop]

That is a great tip. Especially in the wake of Madeleine McCanns abduction. I am paranoid about losing my girls now

You can also do this with either your digital or camera phone as well if you will have these with you already.

On a couple days I dressed my boys "alike" not the same but one day they both wore old Disney shirts, another day Phillies shirts, and another day Phila Eagles shirts. I thought DS9 might give me hard time but he got a lot of attention so he liked it.

So maybe you can do something like that, even just a color day. Both wearing purple but say one plain and one with stripes if they dont like matching.

 

[PEANUT1]

I like the idea of taking daily pictures for safety,
but not to be mean or blame the parents of Madeleine McCanns in any way, if you don't leave your kids alone in their room.....no one can take them. You can't really compare losing a child in a park and having your child taken in the night. I feel terrible for that family and the guilt that they must be feeling for leaving the kids alone. I must say that it must be a cultural thing, bc if that happened in the US, the media would be tearing those parents to shreads.

sorry to get off topic.

 

[disneyred]

any tips on how the leave the parks after the fireworks ??
better to leave right before it finishes to avoid crowds on the buses
going back to resorts.. or just wait it out ??

thanks !

 

[arielsleepingbeauty]

any tips on how the leave the parks after the fireworks ??
better to leave right before it finishes to avoid crowds on the buses
going back to resorts.. or just wait it out ??

thanks !

Don't miss it and don't leave early. It's part of the magic.
After WiSHEs, we take our time. We go into the gift shops then instead of taking time out of our day to check it out. We wait for the majority of people to leave before we head out. I am short so standing shoulder to shoulder with people makes me clausterphobic because everyone is taller than me. I feel like i can't breathe.

 

[Princess Stitch]

I can't seem to find information on those sunscreen stickers on the web. Anyone know where to find them?

please and thankyou

They're called Sun Signals (had to do some serious deep googling to find them!)

http://www.sunhealthsolutions.com/index.html

Click on "about" then you can see the ones that are meant for kids.

 

[PittypatBR]

Who or what is TCM??

Sorry Linday, it was just a typo because I was in a hurry typing!

 

[LindsayDunn228]

Sorry Linday, it was just a typo because I was in a hurry typing!

No problem

 

[TwistofLemon]

Head over to the Budget Board....there's a weekly freebies thread. You can get free samples of all sorts of things. Toothpaste, detergent, fabric softener, lotion, etc. Save up your samples for your trips. The smaller sizes are easier to carry, and they're already packaged to be 'spill-proof'.

 

[Stitches glitch]

That is a great idea TwistOfLemon! I know that on Dove.com you can get a bunch of free travel sized products. I have gotten deoderant, bar soaps, body soaps, lotion, shampoo, conditioner and hair products from them. They really do come in handy on weekend getaways! And when you are finished with them, keep the bottles and refill them from your bigger bottles for re-use. (I try to cut corners everywhere- the more money I save the more money I have to spend at Disney! )