What Disney Tip Are you really glad you listened to?

[hvyhttr]

Long thread, I haven't read it all. If it's been mentioned already, mine is a ditto Bring along a small nightlight. Some of those rooms are very dark, it's tricky to wake up in the middle of the night in an unfamiliar room. The problem with some of the bathrooms is the fan that comes on automatically when you leave the light on. It can be noisy.

I would have never thought of that. My 18-month-old, and in turn my wife and I, thank you for this idea .

 

[hvyhttr]

If you have kids under 5, bring a stroller. Leave the park after lunch and let DC nap in it. We parents then go to nearest resort, find a chair / hammock / sofa & dose off a bit. This beats going all the way back to hotels to nap.

This is a great idea. I would have never thought of that. We were just discussing having to trek all the way back to AKL so DC could get a nap. We did not think to allow him to nap in the stroller and take the other kids to one of the other closer resorts. GREAT TIP!

 

[mycmarty]

Ziploc bags and a pop-up hamper to keep the dirty clothes (especially if you're planning on doing laundry)!

 

[DISNEYD14]

Gonna get a pop up hamper and nightlight now.... only 6 days left before we leave...Thanks for tips

 

[DISNEYD14]

We always grab a TON of the Disney toys (jump ropes, beach balls, small balls,night lights, blow bubbles) and Stationary Type Items (Stickers, Pens, sidewalk chalk, beach buckets,Crayons, Markers, Etc.) at The Dollar Tree and 99 Cent Only stores or Target Dollar Spot and Leave them as gifts each day from "Tinkerbell" and this definitely made passing up souvenir shops a LOT easier as we "WAITED" to see what would be waiting in the room when we got back each night! We would spend about $20 and had SO many useful and entertaining items that kept the kiddos busy. Going to see the movie on the beach at Wilderness was awesome because our little ones built sandcastles and got plenty of use out of the sand pails... we even left a lot of these items by the pool and beach on our last day so someone else could enjoy them! My daughter LOVED this idea!! Also another thing she LOVED was a small inflatable air bed with built-in sleeping bag that she got to sleep on in her little Disney Princess tent in the corner of the room where she had her own little area set-up complete with folding chair and lap desk... we do spend plenty of time OUTSIDE the parks at the Resort itself RELAXING!

**always bring our daily souveniers with us too ** from dollar store or disney store then only one day of shopping on main street the day we leave because we take late flight home.

 

[Fraz42]

I didn't read all 142 pages, but in case this hasn't been mentioned...

Safety tip, buy child emergency contact number temporary tattoos (google it, or look on etsy) that you put on your child with your phone number. Just in case you are separated.

Wow! Scary to think about, but great idea!

 

[henry lutz]

I am the planner as well.....way to go doing all that work. After a time you realize how much time you save for everyone is just so important

 

[middlesista]

We found it very helpful to ship items to the resort - we went over halloween and had costumes and lights for windows. Had planned to ship excess back in same box however DD had "helped" by taping the box so securely that we were unable to salvage the box for return trip.

 

[cattywampus]

Here are the tips I'm glad I listened to:

1. Use a grocery delivery service for water, soda, adult beverages, snacks, breakfast items, and personal items you don't want to carry on a plane. We used Garden Grocer and they were awesome. Order 60 days in advance for a 10% discount.

2. Rent a car and use carrentalsavers.com for great rates. We got a full size for $130 Sat to Sat. We drove to/from airport and all parks except MK. Controlled our own destiny and saved a lot of time.

3. Rent a stroller from one of the independent vendors that deliver to your hotel. It's cheaper than in park rentals and you can take them out of the park. Who wants to wake a sleeping child at closing time and carry them to the car, bus, or hotel? ...not me! We used Kingdom strollers and it could not have been any easier. Approx $65 for the week.

4. Bring gallon size zip locks (or add to grocery delivery). I pack whole outfits for kiddo -- bag contains shirt, pants, underwear and socks. Squeeze the air out before you pack to save room. In the morning, grab a bag and get dressed. Need to throw extra or warm clothes for later? ...grab a bag and toss in backpack or stroller bag. Easy to get through security. Extra bags hold snacks, cell phone on water rides or during storms, wet clothes or ponchos, leftovers, smelly things...you name it and a gallon size ziplock makes it better!

5. Liquid hand soap in a pump. Love, love, love this tip (add to grocery order). So much nicer than slimy bar soap and a little touch of home. Feels so much cleaner.

6. Pop up hamper. Another tip I LOVED!! We had four people in one room for a week and it kept the room so much neater. Some people do laundry mid way thru their trip, which works great, but we had no intention of doing laundry. Instead, mid way thru when it was full, I just took an empty duffel and shoved it in. Voila! Empty hamper. At the end of the trip, shoved the rest in and a big chunk of packing was done. I underestimated this tip but it was awesome and the other adults commented how nice it was.

7.Collapsible hanging shelves for closet. There was a lot of discussion of lack of storage after the remodel of the Grand Floridian and with 4 people in one room we had a lot of clothes. I picked one of the up at Target and loved it. So much space.

8. Speaking of Target, I have now paid for two trips to DLR and a trip to WDW by purchasing Disney Gift Cards at Target using my Redcard to save 5%. May not sound like a lot but $50 per thousand adds up quickly. Only drawback is that they only come in $50 denominations, so be prepared to use a stack of cards.

9. Rain ponchos not umbrella. ...'nuff said.

10. Buy and use Tables in Wonderland card to save 20% at most table service locations on food and beverages (including alcohol). Layer with 5% off Giftcards for savings of 25%.

11. Lastly, plan downtime and do not exhaust yourself and your group trying to see it all.

Thank you to everyone for all the great tips that made our trip so much nicer!

 

[runnerchick]

Such great suggestions! I have one more. During our last visit we did "Pick A Pearl" in Epcot. It was about $15 and you get to pick an oyster. Each oyster has at least one pearl in it (maybe two!). They really make it such a fun experience and it is very exciting to see the color and size of your pearl! You can have it made into a piece of jewelry (reasonable prices). Or you can order a pearl cage in a variety of shapes from Etsy. My daughter brought a dolphin cage holder for her pearl, but her pearl was too big to fit in it.

 

[runnerchick]

Forgot to mention - RAIN PONCHOS!! You can get them from the Dollar Store. We used to carry our rain jackets with us - what were we thinking! Those small rain ponchos are perfect! Disney sells them too - a tad more expensive than the ones at the Dollar Store - but more durable.

 

[carlbarry]

Forgot to mention - RAIN PONCHOS!! You can get them from the Dollar Store. We used to carry our rain jackets with us - what were we thinking! Those small rain ponchos are perfect! Disney sells them too - a tad more expensive than the ones at the Dollar Store - but more durable.

I bring my own cheaper poncho, too. But one thing to be aware of: if you buy the Disney poncho and it tears, they will replace it free.

 

[adrienne21snow]

Glowsticks for the stroller for each night you'll spend in the parks. They move them around and so many look the same, they are impossible to locate after a show or ride after the sun goes down. Ours is the one that's ready to party!

 

[MagicalMother]

Rain ponchos-- we always bring our own and have ended up using them on most trips. It saves us from kids fussing about being wet and having to pay for them while we are there.

 

[Dis5150]

Our local Dollar Tree's don't carry them any more! Anywhere else I can get them cheaply??

 

[RamrodinTonight]

If you are asking about rain ponchos, I've often seen them in the sporting goods section Target for under $2.

Our local Dollar Tree's don't carry them any more! Anywhere else I can get them cheaply??

 

[Dis5150]

If you are asking about rain ponchos, I've often seen them in the sporting goods section Target for under $2.

Thank you! I will have my DD check as she is a Target addict and they don't have any close to where I live. Sorry, didn't notice I only wrote rain poncho in the title, not the body of my post!

 

[scoopmorgan]

The best tip ever, for me at least, was to bring an extra pair of shoes and swap them every day. Wearing shoes every other day keeps your feet and legs comfortable. With all the walking you'll be doing, you want happy feet.

 

[TinksMyGirl]

Rather than buying temporary tattoos or rewriting important information each day. Write in permanent ink and coat with liquid bandaid.

 

[Stars4SA]

For DD4 : The thread about how to get a PS for Cindy's Royal Table for breakfast. I never could have snagged it once, let alone three times (and counting), without those instrux!

For DS2 : I'm glad I read here about getting baby's first haircut at MK. I never knew they gave ears and a commemorative certificate until I read it on the DIS.

For me : The tips on going it alone with 2 small kids. I ended up buying a toddler harness (despite my initial reluctance) and a sling, and put both to good use. Of course bringing DH with us the next time made it even easier.

For our budget: The ING Direct FAQ! And many of the other hints on the Budget Board.

In conclusion:

Can someone share a link for the Cindy's Royal Table tip.... I keep looking but am not finding it. Thanks.