What I wish I would have known BEFORE getting to WDW!

[Jewels*CPA]

I have an upcoming trip in August, and I was just curious as to what everybody's one thing was who have been to WDW that they thought, "Man, I wish I would have thought to bring this..." or "I could get the EXACT same thing at a dollar store for ten dollars less!", or just some overall tips.

I want to be well prepared for this trip! Any tips or ideas to make our trip easier would be greatly appreciated!!

 

[daisyduck123]

Disposable water cameras for the waterparks.

During our 1st trip to the waterparks, we'd brought our own & several other people asked us where we'd got them. I told people that I'd brought them from home (Target - $8.49 each) but that the BB & TL gift shops do sell them...for a small fortune!

I always bring at least one for each kid to use.

 

[kissy]

Medicine!!! We all got sick with the stomach flu and buying meds in the gift shops is ridiculously expensive! So I would make sure you have some cold meds, pain reliever, and some pepto....

 

[HLAuburn]

Glow sticks for night parades. They're 2 for 88 cents at Walmart, but I have no idea how much they are at the parks.

 

[flyingw/tink]

You can get a pack of the glow bracelets and necklaces, I think 4 or 5 come in a pack, at the dollar store. I stocked up on these and when my dd2 and nieces began asking for them i simply walked a little ways up the street pulled them out of my bag cracked them open and returned to see smiling faces. I was the nice mom and aunt that day that spoils the kids.

I always take an extra pair of contact lenses just extra in case. And since you are going in August I would definately go to Walmart and for $2.88 you can get the personal mister fans. You can find them in the fan section and they have a caribeener (sp?) clip so they will attach to your belt loop.

My daughter also has asthma and I struggled with whether or not to take her nebulizer and I was very glad to have it due to the humidity the week we were there. For some reason the whole week we were there she had difficulty breathing and I used it in the middle of MK. I have to say the staff was VERY helpful in quickly finding a place for me to plug it in.

Most of all i would have to say just HAVE FUN!!!!

 

[ILMICKEY]

Extra batteries and film for camera and camcorder. Pretty expensive in the parks.

Stamps for postcards.

Baggies for water rides.

Dollar store ponchos.

 

[GrowingUpDisney]

Ditto on all pp's tips. I would also be prepared with an extra set of clothing for the kids. While we were there, ds (4 at the time and potty trained for 2+ years) got what we now know was the beginnings of the flu and had really bad loose stools - that he couldn't control. He had several accidents. Luckily, my sis (My2Angels) had tipped me off to bringing an extra set of clothes for emergencies and we were covered.

Also, I suggest freezing some bottled water and taking it with you to the parks. Saves $$ and you can take those Kool-Aid packets or Crystal Lite packets and have something other than water and it is a lot cheaper than buying a drink in the parks...or usuing your snack points on the DDP.

Hand sanitizer, Handiwipes to wipe off tables and such, sunscreen - just a few other things I would bring if I were you....

 

[DLANGE3386]

Last Month It Was $16 For 4 Aa Batteries At The Parks. Yikes! We Ended Up Taking The Monorail To Polynesian And Buying Them There For Much,much Cheaper!!

 

[DISNEYLOVER70]

For my trip last month in May, I was glad I brought:

1) Dollar Store rain poncho's ( 2/1.00) vs. 10 or 12 bucks at Disney
2) Gum, can't buy it anywhere in Disney I believe
3) Headache/pain killers
4) at least 2 pair of shoes for each person, saves the tootsies
5) my pillow! man are the pillows flat in Disney (at least at POP)
6) extra memory card for my camera~ who would have thought I would take over 800 pictures in 7 days??????

I have to praise the Disney Dining Plan and advanced ADR's also. We had a great relaxing meal every night. PERFECT!

Have a great trip! I wish I was going too!!

 

[Jewels*CPA]

Glow sticks for night parades. They're 2 for 88 cents at Walmart, but I have no idea how much they are at the parks.

What section are these in at walmart?

 

[CampbellScot]

This might seem odd, but my husband and I packed one of those shammie towel things to the park each day. You know those extra absorbant towels? They were great for the rainstorms b/c we could dry off our hands or whatever else that got soaked while were out in the rain. I hated having sopping wet hands and having to dry off on my clothes only then to have wet clothes. It was also nice to be able to dry off feet! (we had seperate feet towels! ) As a flip flop wearer I found it was pretty miserable to have sopping wet feet in an overly AC'd restaurant. I'd be freezing within minutes! We were there during "hurricane Ernesto" aka-a very rainy day! So we used our towel A LOT!

It's an odd thing to bring, but we were glad we had it. We'd dry off and wring out the towel and stick it in a plastic bag. You won't be sorry you have it! We got ours at Target!

 

[luvsJack]

Lip balm and lotion to prevent chapped cheeks in the wind.

 

[HLAuburn]

What section are these in at walmart?

We found them in the toy section. I think they had braclets and necklaces in a few different colors. They come 2 in a pack, and they're really just skinny sticks, with connector pieces if you want to make them into hoops. They were with the inexpensive small toys, like Slinky and packs of jacks. Hope that helps!

 

[kissy]

Oh, souviners! You can get some disney stuff at dollar tree, walmart, whatever. I would pack a different little toy for each day you are there so that way the kids are getting something without you spending a small fortune.

Oh and if your staying at a value resort, bring a coffee maker with coffee and filters because they don't have then in the room (they didn't when I was there last time anyway).

 

[bopper]

I agree with:

-Dollar Store or Coleman's .99 Ponchos (easier to carry with you)
-Glow Sticks

 

[LaLaroo78]

Moleskin! When I went in 03 my tennis shoes bothered me so much I had blisters upon blisters and was very uncomfortable my whole trip!

 

[icecrystahl]

I wish we bright better ponchos than the cheapest ones from Wal-MArt which only kept like half of our bodies wet on Kali. So try and get ponchos that are a little sturdier than the cheapest ones at Wal-MArt. I knew that in order to see wishes from a good spot near the castle would require getting there 15+ minutes before the show started, I Just wish we hadn't though, "Hmm, lets go get a snack here at Pecos Bill and then we can run over quickly and get a good spot. Long story short: SERVICE WAS SLOW, we coulding't get a spot next to the castle for Wishes.

 

[Hodder]

Disposable water cameras for the waterparks.

During our 1st trip to the waterparks, we'd brought our own & several other people asked us where we'd got them. I told people that I'd brought them from home (Target - $8.49 each) but that the BB & TL gift shops do sell them...for a small fortune!

I always bring at least one for each kid to use.

Ditto!! When we went last time I had meant to pick them up but ran out of time so I figured you could get them there....$20!! I got 2 for $14.99 here for this trip. The photos we took with the underwater camera were hilarious.

 

[Dedejf]

I wish I had known you can ask for free glasses of ice water before I spent a ton of money on bottled water at all the parks. Some say they don't like the taste of it but if it was cold and icy on a hot day, I would've survived it no matter what!

 

[jaycat]

Good fitting shoes, if your shoes slip around on your feet you are more likely to get blisters, and bring moleskin to counter blisters.

Extra pair of shoes, you don't have to carry them in the parks just keep some in the hotel room, my poor mom and I got soaked once and she didn't have extra shoes...

We usually bring our own bottles of water from home and cool them in a cooler or a fridge, so much less expensive than in the parks.

Extra Clothes, even if you are not a water park fanatic Florida down pours can be devastating... well for your clothes at least...

A good attitude, it is Disney after all.