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

[Figment's Girl]

I'm still going through these threads so if this was already answered, sorry. You can buy the boxes of handy wipes like you're looking for at Gordon's Food Service or other places that sells restaurant supplies.

These wipes are better then instant hand sanitizer when it comes to the safety of kids. If the kids use hand sanitizer and then lick their hands within in an hour or two, the alcohol from the sanitizer is absorbed into their little system. I work for our state health department and I know of several cases where the kids got sick because their Blood Alcohol content was 10 times the legal limit for an adult to drive.

 

[Figment's Girl]

These are all really good tips, but girl, I had to at the burger idea! You must be related to my husband, the world's most frugal guy. If he could figure out a way to water down water, he'd surely do it! We (the kids and I) give him a hard time, but the truth is we appreciate his efforts.

Usually.

I don't feed 4 people with one double burger but I do have to feed two young boys without spending a small fortune. The smallest one does well splitting food with his brother when the portions are good size like at Disney.

One hint that I read on Mousesavers is that you can buy two slices of bread (white or wheat) for $.69 plus tax. Peanut butter is about .50, and in some food courts it's free because there are packets of it with the condiments. Jelly can be obtained for free because it's a condiment. So for around a dollar or less, you can make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.

 

[Mickey02]

Great Tips. I'm making my list

 

[kimnkel]

Just for the record, I think everyone that is finding creative ways to save money is very . The other day I read that the annual savings rate for American is -.05; meaning (I guess) that we are, on average, living on credit, and borrowing more than we make. So for all you Disers out there that find ways to take your family to Disney as economically as possible:

You rock.

And the good news is that your kids will remember the time you spent with them, not what you spent ON them.

 

[Figment's Girl]

These are my favorite tips:]

1) Kid's Emergency ID:
Print out one of those small metal "pet" id tags from the machine at Wal-Mart (at the entrance/exit) with your child's emergency info on it (name, your name and cell#). Then lace it through their shoe lace. This way they can't lose it!

After reading this the other night, I looked at the machine today to price them and ironically enough, they now have one that is Pirates themed. Perfect for Disney kids & parents.

 

[Jewels*CPA]

It was me, my husband, and my 2 year old son. Some tips I learned on these boards were very useful, some not as. I thought I would pass on the wisdom I gained to you all.

After the first day through the parks, we decided to go through the backpack and took out a bunch of stuff we did not use that day. One thing was the lock idea for the stroller wheel...we did not use it!! Nobody else was, so we took that heavy lock out of our backpack and just trusted everybody...people are a lot more trusting at Disneyworld!

I did not use sunscreen at all except when we went to the hotel pool...we didn't need it in the parks...things were shaded mostly in the parks, and we went back every afternoon to the hotel to take naps, so we really weren't out the in sun much.

I tore out the park maps from my Passporter book and had them laminated. This was WONDERFUL. I loved having them laminated, because at the meals and stuff if they had not of been they would not have lasted long. I also brought a binder clip to put on the stroller canopy to hold the map...this was a lifesaver too!!

The little ones extra magic hours was WONDERFUL!!!!!!! We rode every ride in Fantasyland within an hour, some even twice. My DS2 got to ride the carousel with Chip-N-Dale. He loved it and the character interaction made the trip.

Our favorite restaurant was Coral Reef. I thought the steak was better than Le Cellier, and we got to sit right by the tank and had a HUGE turtle right next to us during our meal - my son loved it. I would say Crystal Palace was our least favorite - we had to wait a long time and it was HOT outside.

Anyways, the trip was great - we received Dream Fastpasses in Magic Kindgom TWICE, so we got to use that, plus we received the YOAMD mickey hats...it was great!! Disney world definetely makes your trip as special as possible!

I loved it and can't wait to go back - but, it is not a vacation for the faint of heart! Definetely be ready not to rest much!

 

[Figment's Girl]

I've got a tip that I learned from a project I did with my son and his Cubscout Den. Take one of the film canisters or mini M&Ms canisters but instead of filling it with quarters, make a mini first aid kit. There's plenty of room for bandaids, pain or allergy meds and an antiseptic wipe. We use red tape to make a little cross on it so we don't get it confused with everything else.

 

[AJMlovesRLM]

That even the magic of Disney can't make your grumpy, moody 11 yr old into that sweet little boy you once knew! lol

We just got back, and if you were there and saw a mom telling her son that if you can't be nice just don't say anything at all, or telling her child that she just wanted to go back to the room cause his mood was spoiling the magic for her it was me talking to my son!!!

Yes it was magical and great but not ALL great. But aside from that at least he was grumpy and arguing with me in Disney. I tried not to let it ruin my trip but sometimes I wondered what the heck did I do this for??? How can you be grumpy at Disney????

Aside from that I had a great time and loved it and didn't want to go home.

I felt like I was the only one who had a grumpy child in the "Happiest Place on Earth". Guess there wasn't enough pixie dust to go around that day.

Stephanie

This post made me SO sad! I have a 5 year-old-boy and it dawned on me that this coud be me is 5 1/2 short years. I better start praying now!!!

 

[drsvanhorn]

I have read either on here or another disney discussion board that you can bring a soft sided coller in the parks with a packed lunch. Is this really true? Or can you only bring water and snacks. We are leaving Sept 27 for my DBF 1st trip, and DD 2nd trip to MK and 1st to everywhere else.

Thanks

 

[Mickey02]

I have read either on here or another disney discussion board that you can bring a soft sided coller in the parks with a packed lunch. Is this really true? Or can you only bring water and snacks. We are leaving Sept 27 for my DBF 1st trip, and DD 2nd trip to MK and 1st to everywhere else.

Thanks

Not sure about the cooler. Don't remember seeing anyone carrying one. They will allow you to bring water in though.

 

[DizzDoll]

When I was there in August I saw more than one person hauling rolling backpacks. Can't tell you what was in them.

 

[honey11dog]

I keep a little soft cooler in my stroller basket that holds some juice boxes and a few snacks that need to stay cool. I put the freezer packs in to to keep everything cold.

 

[prekteacher]

I did not think that glow sticks could go on planes? I found at my local Dollar store mickey pens and sticlkers.

 

[shanhop]

Glow sticks may or may not be allowed in carry on luggage, but I'm sure they're allowed in checked baggage!

 

[TSNCS]

If you are driving, take your pillows from home. You get much better sleep with your own pillow.

It seems like the pillows in different hotels are either too small, too flat or too fluffy.

You will appreciate having your own!!

You can also do this if you fly! We went in April, and I fit 4 standard pillows in a space bag I bought at WalMart. I put them in, and they went down to nothing! I put them in my suitcase last thing, right on top of my clothes. I have to have my own pillow, and the space bag was awesome!!!!

I took a backpack with me, and put 2 waters and 2 cokes everyday, and even going through the searches, they let us take the drinks into the parks. It saved us a few $$$.

One tip I would recommend is to make sure you have your ADR confirmation number. At Crystal Palace, another person checked in under our name, and they were not going to seat us, but I had the confirmation number. I really don't know how this happened because we are a family of four, with 2 girls 9 and 6. They had this info in the computer at the restaurant, but the cm told me the person that checked in was an adult party of five. HOw that happened, I don't know, but I was sure glad that I had my ADR number!!!!

We wore crocks, and none of us had feet trouble! AT ALL! It was great. They may not be the prettiest shoes in the world, but they are easy on the feet!

I can't think of anything else right now, but I loved the tip about the binder clips for the maps!!! Great idea!

 

[ILoveDisney&Cruising]

I have read either on here or another disney discussion board that you can bring a soft sided coller in the parks with a packed lunch. Is this really true?

Yes, we did that many times. After getting Uncrustables (frozen PB&J's) at several CS meals, we decided to go buy a box of them at the local grocery (in the aisle next to frozen waffles) and a small lunchbox. After that, we'd toss several Uncrustables in the box with some carrots & other snacks and saved some $ on the kids lunches for the rest of the trip.

 

[Windsor Hills 5/5]

You are on Main St or it takes hours to get out and get on the monorail.

 

[R.S.Winters]

god there r so many things id wish id have known...like mondays r quiet days in the animal kingdom, but generally busier in MK...
so many things to consider when planning...
D.

 

[gigsmoke]

A pre-trip tip for young children.

My wife sent my son a post card from Mickey and Minnie before we left for the trip to WDW. The card said "Can't Wait to see you" "Your Pal mickey" She copied the autograph of the characters from previous trips.

My son was so excited that he decided to make his own cards to give to Mickey and Minnie..He is 5. When he gave his card to Minnie Mouse in Tune Town she acted as if she had been given the greatest gift ever. I was so worried that she would drop it on the ground but instead she left her post to give him an additional hug as we left. We bought the photo that the WDW photographer snapped. His smile so big that I it touched his ears. He now refers to her as his girlfiriend, Thanks Minnie!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[planetcaravan19f]

I ordered a "Media Package" from Ticket Mania's website back in May/2007. I paid around $11 and got a few magazines about orlando, a few restaurant guides, all the major park maps/brochures, area maps, coupon books, and flyers for almost all of the other "attractions/dinner shows/family fun" in the Orlando area. Its well known that all of these articles can be picked up for free all over Orlando, but I havent been there in over 10 years and the information alone was worth the price!!!

The downside was that almost all the coupons expired in/around August 2007. So this month I ordered another package ($11) hoping the coupons would be good for another year (or at least til our trip in Feb 2008) (when I called thier number to find out for sure the guy told me they didnt sell the package anymore, even though I ordered it right after that and its already arrived ) , sadly the coupons are AGAIN only good for a few months (they expire in 11/07). Oh well!! Also I didnt get as much as I did the first time so order at your own risk.

In my opinion STILL I got my moneys worth in maps and information!!

I will use all the extra maps to cut and paste to my homemade personal Itineraries to carry around the parks, and my DS7 is cutting out extra pictures and using them to paste to his disney journal and photo album his gramma bought him!!

Here is the link: http://www.ticketmania.com/mediapackage.shtml