What I have learned...

[grapefruitjellybean]

Now that I am a professional Disney attendee and planner I know what works and what doesn't work for me and my family. I wanted to share and this is just my own opinion.
What are some of your hindsight lessons?

1. Avoid a split stay. I wasted half a day packing, checking out and checking back into my new resort. I didn't want to leave valuables with Bell Services so I stayed with a few of my belongings and waited at the new resort for our room. Also, a split stays counts as 2 reservations which affects your 60+ day dining reservation. Never again.
2. I only need a place to sleep. I admit I'm high maintenance and I love the finer things in life; including hotels. Not the case on a Disney vacation. A stay at the Poly was once on my bucket list, but for the same cost I would much rather stay at the Four Seasons in Bora Bora. It's AoA forever for me.
3. The food is not worth the hype, most of it at least. I was incredibly disappointed with most of the things we ate and nothing blew me away. Looking at you: cinnamon bun at Gaston's, Dole Whip, corn dog nuggets, brioche ice cream, just to name a few. Shout out to Docking Bay 7, Skipper Canteen, that cheeseburger pod place in AK, and Skool Bread because that was tasty.
4. Character meals are a one and done for me. We started off the trip with breakfast at Topolino's, the food was ok and I felt like we paid $500 for the characters.
5. I wish I could have stopped more and taken everything in. I was in an intense go mode for the entire trip. Next time I'm going to try to remember to sit down, stop, and take it all in.
6. Next time I will book more off days for pool days or resort hops.
7. Ubering to the park is totally worth it. Note for self - call Uber 20 minutes before I want to leave in the morning.
8. Leaving a park mid-day for a break with the intention of coming back in the evening never works for me. Once I'm in bed with my bra off, I'm done and it's impossible to get motivated to go back. Coffee and an indoor show is the answer.

 

[CBMom01]

Now that I am a professional Disney attendee and planner I know what works and what doesn't work for me and my family. I wanted to share and this is just my own opinion.
What are some of your hindsight lessons?

1. Avoid a split stay. I wasted half a day packing, checking out and checking back into my new resort. I didn't want to leave valuables with Bell Services so I stayed with a few of my belongings and waited at the new resort for our room. Also, a split stays counts as 2 reservations which affects your 60+ day dining reservation. Never again.
2. I only need a place to sleep. I admit I'm high maintenance and I love the finer things in life; including hotels. Not the case on a Disney vacation. A stay at the Poly was once on my bucket list, but for the same cost I would much rather stay at the Four Seasons in Bora Bora. It's AoA forever for me.
3. The food is not worth the hype, most of it at least. I was incredibly disappointed with most of the things we ate and nothing blew me away. Looking at you: cinnamon bun at Gaston's, Dole Whip, corn dog nuggets, brioche ice cream, just to name a few. Shout out to Docking Bay 7, Skipper Canteen, that cheeseburger pod place in AK, and Skool Bread because that was tasty.
4. Character meals are a one and done for me. We started off the trip with breakfast at Topolino's, the food was ok and I felt like we paid $500 for the characters.
5. I wish I could have stopped more and taken everything in. I was in an intense go mode for the entire trip. Next time I'm going to try to remember to sit down, stop, and take it all in.
6. Next time I will book more off days for pool days or resort hops.
7. Ubering to the park is totally worth it. Note for self - call Uber 20 minutes before I want to leave in the morning.
8. Leaving a park mid-day for a break with the intention of coming back in the evening never works for me. Once I'm in bed with my bra off, I'm done and it's impossible to get motivated to go back. Coffee and an indoor show is the answer.

Prior to 2019 I would have argued with everything but the Uber but how I think you are spot on.

 

[grapefruitjellybean]

Prior to 2019 I would have argued with everything but the Uber but how I think you are spot on.

Thank you for the validation.

 

[nw6675]

I'm half and half on the split stay. Our last one was awful and it waa YC/BCV lol. It was too short of a trip and the room was late.

Next trip is 12 nights with a triple split (BR, RIV, VGF). We have our car so we will do things like SeaWorld on the transfer days. I hope it is better this time!

 

[snikki]

We’ve been going for many years and I started following the boards by our second trip. I did the whole week long trip with DDP, ADRs, one rest day mid trip, midday breaks, etc. which I feel is the norm when people are giving advice. We’ve tweaked a lot over the years

Get park tickets for everyday of the trip. Our “rest days” are getting up late, doing the pool and hitting up a park around 4-5 pm.

No full rest days. See above. When we did do them we were wanting to go into a park by 4 pm.

Midday break if doing RD. Always.

Sleep in day after two early mornings.

Cut back big time on ADRs. Disney really has a lot of good QS places.

Grocery orders will be for just water. Last two trips too many snacks and breakfast foods went to waste. We just enjoy the snacks too much at Disney. A couple days we hit up Starbucks in the parks for breakfast and on sleep in days we would munch on Gideon’s or whatever snacks we brought back to the room as a late breakfast.

Go to the parks bagless as much as possible.

Fly in the day before and start the next morning fresh.

Split stays really aren’t our thing but if I absolutely had no choice I would do one. Our last trip was not a split stay and we really enjoyed it much better than the last two trips that we did move. We don’t base our park days on where we are staying so it’s not a plus for us. I’m not only going to Epcot and DHS when I’m at BC or only doing MK and AK if I’m at the poly. I like to hop around so it doesn’t benefit us with saving transportation time.

 

[grapefruitjellybean]

I would also like to note that right now the Poly is not for me. However, if it’s a trip for just myself and a girlfriend, or my partner sells his tech company to Google, then sure. It’s Poly all the way

 

[scrappinginontario]

NOTE:

Discussion of doing something to circumvent Disney policies in order to gain an advantage is not allowed to be discussed on DISboards. Posts suggesting such have been deleted.

Further posts advising how to get around certain policies will be deleted and warning points may be assigned.

 

[Pyxie]

Split stays work for me because I pack light and live out of my suitcase on vacation. I never unpack (except for cruises and that's just because there is no room to have your suitcase out on those). But I can see how they wouldn't work for everyone.

 

[Mtraynom]

8. Leaving a park mid-day for a break with the intention of coming back in the evening never works for me. Once I'm in bed with my bra off, I'm done and it's impossible to get motivated to go back. Coffee and an indoor show is the answer.

There has never been a truer statement, once the bra is off, there is no going back!

I usually do a later morning and stay at the park until close, much better!

 

[grapefruitjellybean]

I would also like to note that right now the Poly is not for me. However, if it’s a trip for just myself and a girlfriend, or my partner sells his tech company to Google, then sure. It’s Poly all the way

I

There has never been a truer statement, once the bra is off, there is no going back!

I usually do a later morning and stay at the park until close, much better!

especially in that wretched Florida heat and humidity. Next time I go I’m not going to wear a bra, just a longline crop top thing.

 

[loves to dive]

I think the more often you go you find the less planning you need and the more resting/taking it slow you go. As for your points:

1. I almost always do split stays. I drive down from Georgia (7 1/2 hour drive) so it's a little easier when you have a car. I'm cheap so I tend to stay in a value or moderate the first two nights then transfer to an Epcot resort the rest of the trip. The last 4 or 5 trips that has been Dolphin, see earlier cheap comment. Since I drive I just put the two nights worth of clothes in a packing cube, throw that and my laptop, kindle and toiletry case in a backpack. Leave the suitcase in the car and take the backpack for resort #1. Throw dirty clothes back in the cube, back in the bottom of the backpack and take that with the suitcase into resort #2 when my room is ready. I just leave it all in my car until my room is ready.
2. Once you get on the going slow program, you need a little more than a place to sleep. You need a good pool and maybe a hot tub. So it's moderates and deluxes for that, again Dolphin has it all.
3. The food can be good or not so much. I rarely eat QS and tend to stick to lounges and TS. I like to try new places and rarely read reviews.
4. Haven't done character meals in over 35 years. They never were a must do, but in all fairness 35 years ago the characters tended to either roam the parks or the meet and greets weren't the long lines they are now. I don't need Mickey or Donald or Chip and Dale, interrupting my feeding.
5. As I said earlier, the more often you go the more you learn to relax and just enjoy the place. When we go now we do ride rides but they aren't always our priority. We take in the details, stop and watch the shows, or just walk slower.
6. Never done a total non-park day. We do days when we sleep later or get back to the room earlier and do spend a lot of time at the pool (or specifically enjoying a refreshing adult beverage).
7. Always use Disney transportation, we always have a car and park it and never get in it again. We have used Uber twice. Once when we ate at V&As because it was so late when we got done and we were staying at Dolphin and MK buses had stopped running. The other time we ate at Topo. at RIV and again it was too late to get Disney transportation to either Epcot or HS, we were staying at Dolphin that time too.
8. We always take a mid day break, usually to go to the pool (see above) but sometimes I just need to get off my feet. If not going to the pool, I don't even take that bra off. To be fair, I wear little half bras with no snaps and no elastic.

 

[rwdavis2]

Now that I am a professional Disney attendee and planner I know what works and what doesn't work for me and my family. I wanted to share and this is just my own opinion.
What are some of your hindsight lessons?

1. Avoid a split stay. I wasted half a day packing, checking out and checking back into my new resort. I didn't want to leave valuables with Bell Services so I stayed with a few of my belongings and waited at the new resort for our room. Also, a split stays counts as 2 reservations which affects your 60+ day dining reservation. Never again.
2. I only need a place to sleep. I admit I'm high maintenance and I love the finer things in life; including hotels. Not the case on a Disney vacation. A stay at the Poly was once on my bucket list, but for the same cost I would much rather stay at the Four Seasons in Bora Bora. It's AoA forever for me.
3. The food is not worth the hype, most of it at least. I was incredibly disappointed with most of the things we ate and nothing blew me away. Looking at you: cinnamon bun at Gaston's, Dole Whip, corn dog nuggets, brioche ice cream, just to name a few. Shout out to Docking Bay 7, Skipper Canteen, that cheeseburger pod place in AK, and Skool Bread because that was tasty.
4. Character meals are a one and done for me. We started off the trip with breakfast at Topolino's, the food was ok and I felt like we paid $500 for the characters.
5. I wish I could have stopped more and taken everything in. I was in an intense go mode for the entire trip. Next time I'm going to try to remember to sit down, stop, and take it all in.
6. Next time I will book more off days for pool days or resort hops.
7. Ubering to the park is totally worth it. Note for self - call Uber 20 minutes before I want to leave in the morning.
8. Leaving a park mid-day for a break with the intention of coming back in the evening never works for me. Once I'm in bed with my bra off, I'm done and it's impossible to get motivated to go back. Coffee and an indoor show is the answer.

Good list. I agree with you about the food. There are some decent places but nothing to go crazy over. Our last trip was 7 nights and with FP+ we were able to do every attraction we wanted over the week and still able to sleep in on a couple of days and take some pool breaks. But we always went to at least 1 park every day. It was a fairly relaxed trip.

We did one split stay but since we had a car we checked out and put the luggage in the car and drove to the park.

 

[grapefruitjellybean]

I think the more often you go you find the less planning you need and the more resting/taking it slow you go. As for your points:

1. I almost always do split stays. I drive down from Georgia (7 1/2 hour drive) so it's a little easier when you have a car. I'm cheap so I tend to stay in a value or moderate the first two nights then transfer to an Epcot resort the rest of the trip. The last 4 or 5 trips that has been Dolphin, see earlier cheap comment. Since I drive I just put the two nights worth of clothes in a packing cube, throw that and my laptop, kindle and toiletry case in a backpack. Leave the suitcase in the car and take the backpack for resort #1. Throw dirty clothes back in the cube, back in the bottom of the backpack and take that with the suitcase into resort #2 when my room is ready. I just leave it all in my car until my room is ready.
2. Once you get on the going slow program, you need a little more than a place to sleep. You need a good pool and maybe a hot tub. So it's moderates and deluxes for that, again Dolphin has it all.
3. The food can be good or not so much. I rarely eat QS and tend to stick to lounges and TS. I like to try new places and rarely read reviews.
4. Haven't done character meals in over 35 years. They never were a must do, but in all fairness 35 years ago the characters tended to either roam the parks or the meet and greets weren't the long lines they are now. I don't need Mickey or Donald or Chip and Dale, interrupting my feeding.
5. As I said earlier, the more often you go the more you learn to relax and just enjoy the place. When we go now we do ride rides but they aren't always our priority. We take in the details, stop and watch the shows, or just walk slower.
6. Never done a total non-park day. We do days when we sleep later or get back to the room earlier and do spend a lot of time at the pool (or specifically enjoying a refreshing adult beverage).
7. Always use Disney transportation, we always have a car and park it and never get in it again. We have used Uber twice. Once when we ate at V&As because it was so late when we got done and we were staying at Dolphin and MK buses had stopped running. The other time we ate at Topo. at RIV and again it was too late to get Disney transportation to either Epcot or HS, we were staying at Dolphin that time too.
8. We always take a mid day break, usually to go to the pool (see above) but sometimes I just need to get off my feet. If not going to the pool, I don't even take that bra off. To be fair, I wear little half bras with no snaps and no elastic.

Good list. I agree with you about the food. There are some decent places but nothing to go crazy over. Our last trip was 7 nights and with FP+ we were able to do every attraction we wanted over the week and still able to sleep in on a couple of days and take some pool breaks. But we always went to at least 1 park every day. It was a fairly relaxed trip.

We did one split stay but since we had a car we checked out and put the luggage in the car and drove to the park.

The good old days right?

 

[TheSouthernBelle]

Now that I am a professional Disney attendee and planner I know what works and what doesn't work for me and my family. I wanted to share and this is just my own opinion.
What are some of your hindsight lessons?

1. Avoid a split stay. I wasted half a day packing, checking out and checking back into my new resort. I didn't want to leave valuables with Bell Services so I stayed with a few of my belongings and waited at the new resort for our room. Also, a split stays counts as 2 reservations which affects your 60+ day dining reservation. Never again.
2. I only need a place to sleep. I admit I'm high maintenance and I love the finer things in life; including hotels. Not the case on a Disney vacation. A stay at the Poly was once on my bucket list, but for the same cost I would much rather stay at the Four Seasons in Bora Bora. It's AoA forever for me.
3. The food is not worth the hype, most of it at least. I was incredibly disappointed with most of the things we ate and nothing blew me away. Looking at you: cinnamon bun at Gaston's, Dole Whip, corn dog nuggets, brioche ice cream, just to name a few. Shout out to Docking Bay 7, Skipper Canteen, that cheeseburger pod place in AK, and Skool Bread because that was tasty.
4. Character meals are a one and done for me. We started off the trip with breakfast at Topolino's, the food was ok and I felt like we paid $500 for the characters.
5. I wish I could have stopped more and taken everything in. I was in an intense go mode for the entire trip. Next time I'm going to try to remember to sit down, stop, and take it all in.
6. Next time I will book more off days for pool days or resort hops.
7. Ubering to the park is totally worth it. Note for self - call Uber 20 minutes before I want to leave in the morning.
8. Leaving a park mid-day for a break with the intention of coming back in the evening never works for me. Once I'm in bed with my bra off, I'm done and it's impossible to get motivated to go back. Coffee and an indoor show is the answer.

#1-Some people really love split stays, I don't love them either since I just like to unpack and pack up once, I don't need to do it twice and we never are in WDW long enough to justify a split stay anyways. I like to relax and not have to mess with all that. Our longest trip over the years has only been 5 nights so it's not worth it.

#4 And yes, only when my kids were little did we do character meals and it was limited to one per trip. Sadly, most of the character meals are some of the worst food choices on property.

#8- we do this and we've managed to always go back. It's our goto strategy when it's hot but we also do it in the winter/spring time just to get a little break in. The trick is not to take the bra off. lol

 

[grapefruitjellybean]

#1-Some people really love split stays, I don't love them either since I just like to unpack and pack up once, I don't need to do it twice and we never are in WDW long enough to justify a split stay anyways. I like to relax and not have to mess with all that. Our longest trip over the years has only been 5 nights so it's not worth it.

#4 And yes, only when my kids were little did we do character meals and it was limited to one per trip. Sadly, most of the character meals are some of the worst food choices on property.

#8- we do this and we've managed to always go back. It's our goto strategy when it's hot but we also do it in the winter/spring time just to get a little break in. The trick is not to take the bra off. lol

Something happened when I hit reply and I don’t know how to delete on mobile. Anyway; you’re super tough about the bra situation.
I think I’m so strongly set in my preferences because Disney for me is a once in a few years vacation and I don’t have self control.

 

[snikki]

Disney is the only place where I will take off my bra and then go back out. Lol

Our midday breaks are by the pool. Maybe once during a 9-10 day trip do we actually nap (or try to nap) and we definitely go back out after that.

 

[zebrastreyepz]

1. Park Hoppers are unnecessary and waste time for us.
2. If going in the summer, breaks are a must no matter how I think I can get through it.
3. Disney Springs is not a necessity.
4. One Table Service meal prior to that afternoon break makes it a nice long break. TS every day.
5. Don't drive at all if I don't have to.
6. Staying on property is worth it.

 

[grapefruitjellybean]

1. Park Hoppers are unnecessary and waste time for us.
2. If going in the summer, breaks are a must no matter how I think I can get through it.
3. Disney Springs is not a necessity.
4. One Table Service meal prior to that afternoon break makes it a nice long break. TS every day.
5. Don't drive at all if I don't have to.
6. Staying on property is worth it.

You nailed it! However, I respectfully disagree about 4. I would be down to do TS during non park days but honestly I am hesitant to invest time and money on a meal that might disappoint.

 

[zebrastreyepz]

You nailed it! However, I respectfully disagree about 4. I would be down to do TS during non park days but honestly I am hesitant to invest time and money on a meal that might disappoint.

For us, it's sitting down and taking the time as a part of that afternoon break. We rush, rush, rush every day and this forces us to chill. We are also not uber foodies, so our expectations are not way high even if Disney's prices are. We have a few places we won't return to like Sci Fi and Kona, but other than those, we're generally pleased.

 

[grapefruitjellybean]

For us, it's sitting down and taking the time as a part of that afternoon break. We rush, rush, rush every day and this forces us to chill. We are also not uber foodies, so our expectations are not way high even if Disney's prices are. We have a few places we won't return to like Sci Fi and Kona, but other than those, we're generally pleased.

oh no! Kona had always intrigued me because of that French toast I see all over sm. Was it bad?