What have you learned about your Disney trips?

[NVDisMom]

We have learned:

1.That we do not care to do Disneyland with friends or grandparents. They just don't GET it?!

2.Onsite, while nice, is not necessary for a better vacation. Sometimes, the money is better spent on another trip later in the year.

3.We missed having APs last year.

4.We do not need to see any other part of So Cal outside of the Disney area. In fact, I prefer to think of the Disney area as the only part of So Cal, otherwise I don't like it.

5.Now I know why my Dad managed to make the trip to DL a very long car ride when we only lived 10 minutes away. He knew I would want to go back again and again and again...

6.Disney has spoiled any other amusement parks for us. The theming, the little details,and the CM's really do make a big difference to us. Walt got it right!

7.We put our worries, stresses, disagreements, and committments in an imaginary box when we enter DL. There is a mailbox just before you enter the tunnel that we can mail that imaginary box back to ourselves at home. And it works! Now, if we could just get rid of DH's cell phone!

8.Disney is by and far the best vacation for us.

9. Corndogs only taste good at Disney!

10. We can go to the Mimi's here at home and imagine having the Matterhrn just across the street. It helps to fill the void until our next Disney fix.

 

[LifeIsTinkIsLife]

The Dbf and I have learned that:

1. Ralph's accepts Fry's VIP cards and has saved us tons of money for food.
2. Taking a break at about 12-1 and getting back at about 3 is a good way to recuperate, unless we are only there for 1-2 days, we won't leave.
3. We don't like little teenagers that think it's so cool cause they are at Disneyland without their parents, and decide to scream every minute of the ride.
4. BRING EXCEDRINE for these types of inconveniences. ^^
5. Don't let boyfriend tell you to "stand over there so I can get a good picture of you!" (Pic below)
6. Always watch people who have hats on in front of you on California Screamin'. I could have caught it!
7. Always come back to our hotel by 7 to put the truck in an actual parking spot. If it's busy enough we will have to hand over our keys to the front desk and they can move it whenever they want to. (Days Inn Anaheim West)
8. Never get a fastpass for BTMRR, the line's never that long and we need to save it for IJ, SM, and Splash.
9. You don't need to use the FP by the time it says! & if you can't get one until 3 at DL, you can hop on over to DCA and get one there. Save them all up until later on and you can have a great rest of the night!
10. The stretching room in HM is an elevator!! (HAHA! Dumb, I know. )

 

[LifeIsTinkIsLife]

We have learned:

1.That we do not care to do Disneyland with friends or grandparents. They just don't GET it?!

TRUE! Unfortunately.

 

[Mouseaholic!!!]

First - I discovered that magic DOES happen at Disney parks. I met my DH 4 1/2 years ago - standing in line at BTMRR at WDW - Gay Day Weekend ---- and he was wearing RED! We were married in Alaska 2 years later.

We are in our 50's and both have been to WDW more times than we can count.....what we have discovered.....

* I introduced my DH to DL 3 years ago and he fell in love with it as I did years ago. It's charming and has a special magic because it's the place Walt touched.

* Commando mode is gone for us. We travel enough where we will stop and enjoy watching children or happily sit at the pool and listen to people laughing.

* We now pickup drinks and healthy snacks and breakfast items for the room from a nearby grocery - or delivery serivce. Not only does this save $$$ but we enjoy our quiet mornings together more now.

* No crowds. I am short and have always been uncomfortable in them.....we take breaks from the parks when they become crowded.

* If we miss something there is no longer any panic - we will be back to enjoy it some other time.

* Being physically challenged at WDW (and we will see at DL in November/December) WILL limit what you can do. I was in an accident and was in a scooter for our last WDW trip. Now I have another knee surgery scheduled and looks like it will be scooter time at DL.

People don't see you in a scooter - they will walk in front of you and get angry if you are in their way. We leave when it's crowded but DH will walk in front and "plow the road for me".

Scooters give me a freedom I have not had since June 3rd 2008. I WANT to walk, but I can still enjoy my DL and WDW this way.

* December is my favorite time of year at Disney Parks - it's complete magic.

* I will follow the marching soldiers anywhere!!!

* Dollar Store ponchos are a lifesaver at Kali at WDW and the D--- Bear Ride at DL

* Take time to discover - follow your heart and look around the corner....checkout the quiet spots at your hotel and parks


....Give out FREE fastpasses when you are leaving the parks. DH and I started doing this a while ago when we found 2 fastpasses on a bench at DL. We will fastpass something GREAT and then hand them to someone on our way out. Talk about bringing SMILES to faces!!!

 

[Mouseaholic!!!]

One more....the "Emotional Dumpster".

Have you ever seen it? It's just outside the "Welcome to Walt Disney World" sign and just outside the beautiful doors to the Grand Californian.

It's a dumpster....and "emotional dumpster". We drop all of our " EMOTIONAL baggage" there on the way in. It's going to be there waiting for us when we head back home.....but for the time we are playing with Mickey and friends....we leave our cares and sadness somewhere else.

Years ago I took a friend who was temporarily in remission with Multiple Myeloma. We laughed, we discovered new things, we met up with friends, we watched fireworks and parades. It was a wonderful trip. All the horrors of chemo and transplants were gone for a week.

Look for it on your next trip and leave your baggage. You will find your smile when you do.

 

[californiamomof4grls]

What we have learned
We loved the Hojo but after walking around the park all day it was just TOO long of walk back with our 4grls and ME!

Our double stroller filled with snacks, lunch and water is the only way to go for us!

That crowds make me VERY grouchy and I will trade the firworks for the "walking right on the rides" that we experienced on Tues. Wed. Thurs. of our first trip.

That 5 days is WAY to much for us!!

We love Goffys kitchen for breakfast!

I love that DL is themed! The little touches really are what make it SO magical.

I love the Peter Pan ride and I think it ruined my trip last year that it was closed that or perhaps the heat!!

We need a hotel with a breakfast. It saves us money and time!

It's way smarter for us to leave the park and find a kids eat free or really cheap dinners!

The Dapper Dans are a family favorite we take a pic with them and our oldest every year!

It really makes the day if you're there waiting for the park to open!

I do NOT like SOC it scared the Crap out of me... and I need a CRUISE PATCH. Thank you fellow Disers for that awsome info!

That if you really do your leg work you can save your family a lot of money.. and it's almost like an addiction to see how much money you can save!!

We learned that we really like DCA!

We learned that Hojos really has quite a kind heart when they mailed home our Dd 's beloved stuffty that we forgot!

We really did love seeing the park at night all lit up..

We learned that our 3 year old is afraid of every ride even Jungle Cruise but loves IASW...you'd think the dolls would freak her out!

I learned that I really love POTC and I didn't think I would.

That the penny presses are a great memory maker for our kids!

Pin trading is addicitve and very expensive but we do it anyways!

I could go on and on and I am sure next year I will have more!

 

[tinkrbl]

We have learned most of all the above...the best way to experience the parks is through your kids eyes (mostly if they like it though)....

1. IASW song sounds so much better when your enthusiastic 3 year old is singing/shouting/screaming it through the streets of DL

2. Buy food for the room..we had bagels, nutri grain bars cereal and milk - i even did pancakes in the waffle maker one morning - HUGE money saver for our family of 6 and i didn't hear the 'I'm starving' the moment we walked through the gates.

3. Don't plan the whole day - maybe just set a few goals like i know i want to accomplish seeing Mickey at his house today - that way you are not overly stressed and at the end of the day you know accomplished your goals and sooo much more

4. i learned that i have totally instilled the love of disney into my 4 girls when on the way home as we enter back into Phoenix our 3 year old tells us we are going the wrong way and to turn around

5. 5 days is still not enough for us - we just can't get enough

6. The biggest thing is leave it all behind when you check into your hotel or walk thru those gates...truly take in all the magic and make sure you are experiencing what you are supposed to...i swear sometimes i actually see the pixie dust in the air

 

[Jazziered]

That you don't need kids to have a great time at Disneyland.

That dole whips are all that and then some.. And a trip to Disneyland w/o one would be tragic.

That most people will put up with my Disneyland crazies....

Hojo is a great hotel for me.

That a turkey leg, a peice of fruit and a roll is a wonderful meal.

One trip on IASW is really enough, but for friends, you will ride it twice.

Peter Pan, Snow White's Grotto, and Sleeping Beauty Castle walk through can stand up to POTC, SM and Indy anyday.... It is a matter of the heart.

Bottled water and those flavor packets are a good thing.

Two days isn't enough, and I realllly want to go back for an extended four to five day stay. Maybe four days with a day at the beach in the middle. Hopefully after they are finished with ROA.

Ohh and Tigger loves "squishy" women..

 

[wvnative]

1.That we do not care to do Disneyland with friends or grandparents. They just don't GET it?!

6. The biggest thing is leave it all behind when you check into your hotel or walk thru those gates...truly take in all the magic and make sure you are experiencing what you are supposed to...i swear sometimes i actually see the pixie dust in the air

I think these two things are totally related. lol I know most of my friends/family just don't get the "leaving it all behind and allowing yourself to revel in the magic" part.

I've learned (the hard way) to be very picky about who I visit the park with. Some people's inner child left decades ago. lol

 

[Brady's Mom]

What I've learned -

We will only stay in walking distance, no more driving and parking.

We love AP's. They make it easy to save for more vacations in a year.

DH has learned that he needs to enjoy the moment - right then - rather than focusing on what needs to happen next. And he needs to walk slower.

We love to share food. We would rather get a snack or something else later on if we are still hungry - but we usually aren't.

Our DS 13 is sometimes a dare devil and sometimes not. He loves to go fast on Screamin' and will ride HM all the time, but ToT totally freaks him out. I am the opposite, I love ToT and hate HM.

That it is okay to miss some things on our Disneyland trips, because then our kids can say "we have to go back"! And it gives us something to look forward to for next time.

That my most favorite phrase at Disneyland is "THAT WAS MY MOST FAVORITE EVER!" when said by a little 4 year old voice after riding Space for the first time.

That going with just my DH is a very fun way to enjoy DLR and that it is nice to only ride the rides we want to ride. We almost always ride what our kids want to ride when we are there with them (neither one of us will ride Maliboomer).

That seven year olds can LOVE single rider for Mulholland Madness. But the CM will ask them every time how old they are, even if they've just seen them 2 minutes ago. And then Mom or Dad don't have to ride it.

We would prefer to fly to California rather than drive, but will drive when we want to go and we can't afford to fly, but can afford everything else.

That if you address CM's by their names - they really appreciate someone noticing them as a person and not just a "worker". And a smile always helps.

We love Peter Pan. My kids love to wear white on the ride and see who is glowing.

We love DCA - but would prefer it with a full lagoon and no construction walls - even though we are excited about the changes.

 

[DDhunter]

I learned this weekend that when using Vacation Planning, confirm everything upon arrival. We ordered balloons to be delivered and they never showed. They got the times screwed up and delivered them at 7 p.m. (after we had already checked out) rather than 7 a.m. Also we ordered a cake, which looked great, unfortunately was not the kind of cake I ordered.

Lesson -- I should have confirmed everything upon arriving instead of expecting it would be done right.

 

[Jrsy Boy]

1. No one member of our family can claim to be more excited about going than any other member. We're all equally giddy!

2. There's no such thing as too many Dole Whip floats.

3. It is extremely rare that I get competitive about anything, but I will do whatever I have to in order to get the highest score in the family on Buzz or TSMM.

4. I prefer to do the planning rather than hand control over to a travel agent.

5. One of the toughest things to deal with is not having the next trip to plan.

 

[tatehermosa]

Disneyland is way over priced but I pay for it anyway.

I'll never out grow the place.

I love the smell of the water rides, especially POTC!

After going to Disneyland for over 20 years I never knew there was an actual show that accompanied the Fireworks until 2 years ago. I make sure to watch it at least once every trip if going for more than a day.

I miss the Skyway ride!

Corndogs, Turkey Legs and Chimichanga's taste great clogging my arteries.

Nemo is pretty lame but it's nice to have the subs back in town.

I have a hard time walking and "taking everything in", I'm one of the few admitted "runners".

I hate the Tiki Room.

Tigger Tales are pretty good considering I don't like marsh mellows.

The Blue Bayou always screws me over but I keep coming back for more.

I can get my fix of DCA in about an hour except for occasional beer runs.

 

[tatehermosa]

What is Dangermax?

thanks!

 

[kelmac284]

We have learned how to get the most out of fastpasses, Get there early, get them as SOON as the first one says you can get another one and save them up while it is early so that you can use them later on when it is crowded!!

AP's are SO worth it and this is my 3rd year in a row with one!!

We don't bother staying at the fancy hotels, as someone said it is just a room. I always go for the best bargain I can get and usually the closer the better.

We ALWAYS are at the gates before they open so we can get in as MUCH as we can early!

We usually always eat breakfast off site and pretty much always eat counter service or as cheaply as possible for lunch and sometimes dinner. Maybe only do one or two expensive meals per trip.

Sometimes it is nice just to sit and take it all in! Sure it is fun to go go go but sometimes it is nice to sit back, relax with a nice beverage and a snack and just people watch and enjoy the scenery!

I LOVE to see the excitement in my kids eyes and faces as they explore the park and just have fun!

I LOVE entering the park for the first time or just seeing something Disney, ie the matterhorn or Tower of Terror for the first time after I haven't been there in awhile!!

I just LOVE all things Disney and no matter HOW bad life is going to the parks (even if it is super crowded, hot and on and on) it makes it all better!

 

[carebee21]

We've learned that with kids we'd rather fit everything into 5 days with lots of breaks and swimming time than try to cram everything into 2 full days.

We've learned to pack fruit snacks, lifesavers and stickers into my backpack to avoid meltdowns in line.

I've learned a backpack is much easier than a huge bag on my shoulder.

We've learned to play things by ear. If the kid is hungry we stop and eat or get a drink rather than try to push and do just one more thing. But if we do have plans for a specific time (fireworks/parade/fantasmic) we make sure to leave enough time to get drinks/snacks and a potty break before trying to find a place to watch.

We've learned dollar tree is great for glow sticks, rain ponchos, disney stickers coloring crayons & books, plain squirt bottles, etc.

And lastly we've learned to not let one thing ruin our trip. Things go wrong, the unexpected happens and there's always going to be rude people. But we work hard to be able to afford our trips and I'm determinded to not let a few things ruin a whole trip. So when something goes wrong, we make the best of it. If I find my husband getting grumpy about something or vice versa, we try to remind each other that we worked hard for this and look how happy our child is and that's all that's important.

 

[EagleFlyer]

I made my first trip to Disneyland a few weeks ago, here's what I learned:

1. I learned that it's a worth trading a few closed rides for smaller crowds, at least for me. Five days in the parks, only used one fast pass, and the longest I waits for me where about 30 mins for Toy Story, 25 for Peter Pan and Finding Nemo, and about 15 for Alice in Wonderland, Mr Toad, and Dumbo. Walked right on IJ, BTMRR, PoC, Buzz Light Year and just about all others.

2. I learned I'm willing to trade a better hotel and breakfast (HoJo) for a 5 minute shorter walk (Desert Inn and Suites) when visiting with a 2 year old and a wife that is 6 months pregnant.

3. I learned that a few things didn't live up to my expectations, mainly Dole Whips, Finding Nemo, and Innoventions.

4. I learned that I liked a few things way more than I thought I would, mainly IASW, Bengal Barbeque, and Peter Pan.

5. I learned that an investment of an hour waiting in line for the Princesses is well worth it to see your 2 year old daughter having so much fun interacting with them at the end of the wait.

6. I learned that Daisy Duck is very hard to find because she's shy and a little stuck up (according to a CM we asked near the Pooh meet and greet area).

7. I learned that just because all the people coming off Splash Mountain looked dry doesn't mean that you won't end up soaked.

8. Most importantly, I learned why everyone here loves the place so much. It was a great time and we can't wait to go back.

 

[DangerMouse]

What is Dangermax?

thanks!

"Dangermax" is what I call my personal version of "Ridemax". As in, created by Dangermouse?? Get it? It's a joke.

 

[mvf-m11c]

What have I learned:

If you go to dlr more than 3+ times per year, it is worth getting the AP.

I like to stay in walking distance hotels like HOJO, BWPPI, etc. on s. harbor blvd.

We bring water when we enter the park. It can be very exausting not to bring water during any part of the trip. If you want to pay $3 a bottle in the park.

It's good to bring different kinds of snacks if you need something before a later meal.

Get to the park before the ropes come down on non mm and at the gates when the park is opening on a mm.

Take advantage of the fp during the day while doing the non fp rides first thing in the morning like peter pan, toy story mania, etc. before the huge crowds come in around noon.

We can't do a whole park for an entire day, so we need alittle bit of rest during the middle of the day. It was so exausting to spend a whole entire day in the parks.

If you want to have a good spot to see the parades, fireworks, fantasmic! etc., you have to be there way ahead before the show starts.

Using Ridemax program really helped our day by going on rides at specific times during the day.

 

[kylieh]

We learnt that it didn't matter if we missed something - we can come back. Well, it's a 13+ hour flight + customs + everything else, but we can come back. We weren't thinking like that for the first day or so of our trip.

Homewood works really well for us and are happy to pay for a cab where necessary depending on ART.

It's more than worth it to get up 1am Sydney time to make PS for Ariel's, just so we can be one of the first in. Well worth it.

That people on these boards are great and will help me plan, and hang out, even though we're not going for almost a year.

Jungle Cruise is fun at dusk.

Mary is a good pseudomon name for me. When I order something at a coffee shop somewhere in the area and they need to call out my name, eg Starbucks, well Kylie isn't a popular name in the US, combined with a thick Australian accent it's hard. So I use Mary.

Write down a list of names for mouse ears embriodery. In best hand-writing. When I needed 10 sets to bring home, having them written down made it a lot easier for the CM.

The Block At Orange wasn't for us.