What do you change with more trips?

[FreeCA]

We are planning our second trip later this year.

We learned from our first trip that the kids prefer to sleep in for parks they can (Epcot, Animal Kingdom) as they are not fans of early rise/rope drop.

We also learned our family likes the idea of a rest day in the middle of our trip (usually a week).

Thinking of the things we plan to do different I’m wondering what others change over time as they’ve taken more trips.

 

[VandVsmama]

We've made the following adjustments during our trips to WDW:

• No more than 2 park days in a row, then take a break to sleep in.
• Whenever possible, take an afternoon break at the hotel.
• Drink way more water than we normally would at home.
• DH started out being a pack mule, even bringing his work laptop, a big iPad, etc., but now opts to leave all of that nonsense at the hotel like he should have to begin with.
• On our last trip, we used UV umbrellas whenever standing out in the sun. They were a lifesaver.
• Eat indoors. Every time.
• No food police with the kids while on vacation. If they want to eat chicken nuggets every meal, it doesn't matter...let's just let it happen on vacation.
• If 1 of us adults wants a break and nobody else does, the adult who wants the break is the one who leaves and you don't try to guilt or convince everybody else to go along with you just because you have FOMO (fear of missing out).

 

[tguz]

We have changed several things on our recent trips. We definitely stay hydrated better than on our first trip. Three of our last 4 stays have been in July. We drive so we now like to get into Orlando the day before we check into our Disney resort and explore International Drive and the Outlets. We also like the first couple of weeks of December better than July. Our Dec 2021 trip was wonderful weather wise plus the parks and resorts were decorated for the holidays.

 

[BarbLynnM]

We camp at the Fort (RV), and at first I wanted to hit the fancier restaurants, like Monsuir Paul's, etc, so we took our "dress-up" clothes, essentially over-packing. That ended in a quick hurry. What changed is now we dine where I don't have to worry about dress codes, and while I don't want to be a schlep I'm not having to go back to camp to shower and change after a hot park day.

Also, as an older couple who aren't morning people, we found being at the parks an hour before closing meant we had little to no wait for rides.

 

[CharissaOKC]

• Having park hopper tickets
• Taking a midday break with a different park in the evening vs morning
• Packing lighter for the parks with each trip
• Not being afraid to split up if someone needs a break or if one of our kids are too tired.

 

[Mandy Poppins]

Honestly every trip has been different mostly due to the age of the kids. Our first trip our DD was 13 months and DS was 4 years old. Last trip in March 2022 DD is 18 years old and DS is 21 and his girlfriend came with us. We've enjoyed several tirps with kids at various ages but what they wanted to do each time has changed some with a few favorites staying constant. I usually ask everyone what is there must do at each park each trip and are there any dining preferences then I plan around those things and anything new I think we should try.

I try to plan but also be flexible for any spontaneous changes we may need or want to make as we go.

 

[emily nicole]

We learned over time that we aren't rope droppers. We usually get up, have a leisurely breakfast at the resort, then into the parks by 10:30-11:30ish. We feel so relaxed doing Disney this way vs. our commando rope-drop days of the past. Unfortunately, with Genie+ I now have to get up at 7:00, but I let the rest of the group sleep. We have had great success with closing the parks and short waits during that time, such as 10 minute waits for ROTR and FOP at closing time.

We have also learned we only enjoy winter in Florida, so we now only visit in December, January, or early February.

 

[LuvMyEAR]

Ww consider ourselves truly fortunate to have traced to WDW with our grandchildren every 2 years or so since the oldest was 8 months old. This will probably be our last such trip, as they are young adults now and we are the old folk. I used to be the one who would zip around a park, doubling back for treats, retrieving stuff from lockers, etc. I wish I’d worn a step tracker back in the day! Now, I will use an ECV and occasionally look for “valet service“, when I want to shop Main St a bit on foot and have my scooter ready where I will exit. Ah, the joy of travelling with 2 athletic young men who are happy to take care of their grandparents. It’s a real switch. While we want to spend as much time as possible with them, we do not want to impose our touring style or limitations on them. They can do what they want and we will rendezvous-vous when and where it is practical.

As years have passed and finances improve, we no longer tote a variety of snacks and drinks. Although with prices increasing almost daily, maybe we should go back to packing lunches! I will be bringing a travel mug for my free ice water, and reusable straws for my daily specialty coffee as a paper straw immediately spoils a drink for me.

Disney has spoiled our favourite strategy by compressing multi-day passes into short expiration windows. We have 4 day passes + options. We would normally pace ourselves throughout our 2 week stay but the 8 admissions (inc water parks) must be used up within 8 consecutive days. We would intersperse days at Disney Springs, resort hopping to see holiday displays, eat, drink, etc. to change up the pace. Yes, we can still do those things but are now forced into back-to-back high activity days, and not able to wrap up our trip with a final evening in MK. This is an involuntary and most aggravating change to us, and frankly, the reason why Disney parks won’t feature in our future vacation plans.

 

[DVC Sue]

We be learned that our kids need a mid-day break or the following day, there are a lot of breakdowns and tantrums

 

[Lisa P.]

We've learned that when we've stood in line for longer than an hour for any headliner attraction or for longer than half an hour for a non-headliner attraction, our attitudes suffer and we don't enjoy the attraction as much. So now we tend to be focused on only 1 or 2 must-do things and we try to RD those. Then we're flexible and use the Tip Board to keep our wait times within those parameters.

We're more likely to stop for live musicians, cavalcades, and less popular attractions than we used to be. Even if we have to skip some previously considered must-dos (due to long lines), we have more fun when respecting our limits on standing wait times. Bottom line is that it's no longer about what we get to do, but just about having an overall fun day together.

 

[Jaydee51]

We are not a rope drop family and i've always wondered how folks with small children can do it. Do you wake up at 5am to get yourself ready and pack everything you'll need for the outing? Do you wake up the kids around the same time? Do you feed them? Are they/you hungry the moment you wake up?

 

[Mischievous Daisy]

Also, judicious use of Genie+. No lie, we were able to stack attractions for later in the day, rather than early am. Someone does have to be up at 0700 and get on the computer, but you can go right back to sleep as soon as those 10 minutes are done. We picked our next one at exactly 10 (I used my phone alarm), and again at 12 noon. We also did pay for a LL+ at 0700, many people don't want to do that due to the cost. You have to look at how important that one ride is to your family to justify the cost.
It gets you on 3 attractions really fast, and I was surprised how easy it was.
The biggest pain was trying to use my phone apps IN the park. Wifi sucks and so I found out yo take screenshots of every single reservation. That way they can't get lost.
Good luck!

 

[StarCruzer]

We bring a plastic water filter jug (We use Lifestraw, but I know Brita is more popular) for our hotel room so we can make coffee, cocoa, tea, and oatmeal cups in the hotel room. We sometimes bring a skinny tupperware or a stasher bag for leftovers if we're eating somewhere with big portions--easier to slip into a backpack, and since it seals you can carry it around with you in the park for a while without it spoiling (we did this with the Be Our Guest breakfast pastry plate a few years back).

 

[theMoreDisneytheBetter]

We have done Disney enough times now that there really isn’t any pressure anymore. We arrive when we do, ride what we Genie+, and leave when we are tired. DD wanted to drink Starbucks in every park this trip so that was the longest line we stood in. Last time DS did a bunch of research and made a google slides presentation of all the drinks he wanted to try. For this coming trip my mom and I have put together a scavenger hunt competition with prizes to work on.

Disney is our happy place. How we do Disney changes from year to year but that’s the one thing I am adamant will never change.

 

[loves to dive]

We (or at least I) go often and have been going for about 39 years. I guess as my son grew older we might have changed some things but I can't really think of anything. We have always been sort of no plans people and have never been really ride centric. Since there was no FP or FP+ or Genie+ when we first started going you waited in line so we still do. If we want to ride something we just get in line, if we don't want to wait in line we move on. I take a lot of solo trips and might spend a little less time in the parks then when my son is with me but I still spend a good part of each day in the parks. We have always used PHs, there was only MK and Epcot when we first started. We have never made ADRs in advance and still don't just day of. We have always taken breaks most days and gone back to the resort to the pool or to nap or even gone resort hopping. We rarely are there at park open and rarely close a park down.

 

[Mischievous Daisy]

Walk slower, enjoy more!
We no longer rope drop. We prioritize only what is important to us. The rest is gravy!
That crazy open to close ship has sailed. We are in the midst of one of our absolute best trips right now!

 

[Mischievous Daisy]

Sorry, don't know how to delete post!

 

[Anna131517]

We are not a rope drop family and i've always wondered how folks with small children can do it. Do you wake up at 5am to get yourself ready and pack everything you'll need for the outing? Do you wake up the kids around the same time? Do you feed them? Are they/you hungry the moment you wake up?

LOL. My kids wake up at 5 all on their own! Might as well do something! But with the reduced early morning hours I don’t think rope drop is any benefit anymore.

 

[Vincek]

We've now realized we won't be able to do it all and that's ok, there's always next trip. Pick a few things that are the must dos and then just go with the flow after that. All our trips have been way more enjoyable since

 

[eplcreel]

Rope dropper here. Besides the first year of Covid, we typically have gone every other year since my DD was 6, and she's now 20. Our first 5 times there were 9 of us ( about a 65 year age differential) so that impacted what we did. The last time is was just my DH, DD, and myself so we did the rope dropper route. Even when the kids were young, we still

I think when we first went was back when there was the deluxe meal plan so it seemed like the first time we went we were slaves to meal time and character meals. Next time we went we transitioned to early breakfast (typically at the park we were wanting to start off with), and then we would snack during the day and schedule and early dinner (3-4pm). The last time we went there were fewer of us than in prior trips (no grandparents or other family) and we typically skipped breakfast (except for Tusker house breakfast). We'd typically be there at rope drop, rush to the one ride we wanted to try to ride twice (for example ROR) to try to get on it once without a log wait time. We'd also use Genie+ and book some other rides we wanted to hit. If we were at HS we'd probably grab a QS Ronto Roaster if anyone wanted a breakfast bite or pick up a Jack Jack Num Num Cookie. Same thing goes for other parks, there's so many places to grab a quick snack being hangry at DW is never really possible unless you want to be. Early dinner around 4-5 and then just take our time roaming around until closing (we like to go in the Winter so the parks typically close around 8-9 except for the MK. I'm typically getting about 7 hours of sleep most nights.

I'm sure I have a few more trips of going all out but eventually I'm going to want to slow down and have an off day.