What is the biggest boo-boo you commit at Disney???

[dislover8943]

Some great advice on here! So much about footwear!

Almost forget this great little tidbit: bring your ponchos along every day, even if DW makes fun of them and complains about them. That first time you need them and don't have 'em is killer! Boy can it rain down there!

I couldnt agree more! We brought our ponchos everyday and never needed them. Of course the one day we didn't bring them it down poured. We ended up having to spend something like $30 on ponchos...what a waste!

Also I would suggest letting the bank know that you will be traveling. When we went on our honeymoon they froze my card because of unusual activity. They did unfreeze it but, I had to waste precious Disney time on the phone with the bank

 

[Mamapapa]

Don't travel with extended family that has a vastly different touring style than yours

Amen to that! On a related note, don't tell family about your trip until the week before you leave so they don't go behind your back and book a trip for the same time at the same hotel!!!

 

[FigmentChick]

Choose your shirt and bra carefully on water rides.

Related note, no jeans on water rides

I second this!!!! (from personal experience) I was an idiot and wore jeans on the rapids ride at Six Flags years ago. The pain was unimaginable by the end of the day.

I couldnt agree more! We brought our ponchos everyday and never needed them. Of course the one day we didn't bring them it down poured. We ended up having to spend something like $30 on ponchos...what a waste!

Also I would suggest letting the bank know that you will be traveling. When we went on our honeymoon they froze my card because of unusual activity. They did unfreeze it but, I had to waste precious Disney time on the phone with the bank

You said the exact same things I was going to say!!!! On our second trip, I had ponchos....they were just back at the house. So......$30 later we were covered for the day. Expensive mistake that I made (and you know the only day it rained was the day I forgot the ponchos. UGH).

Also....I found out about fraud protection the hard way. On our first trip, I was buying something in EPCOT at the end of the night. My card was declined. Knowing there was $5,000 in the checking account, I said "please run it again". She did. Four more times. Declined every time. So, thank goodness I had cash on me. Bought whatever it was and moved on. We stopped at the 7-11 on 192 on the way home. I checked the balance and, sure enough, there was plenty of $$$ in there. I had to wait until 7am to call the bank because it was well after customer service hours when it all happened. In the morning when I spoke to them, the nice lady said they had turned off my cards becuase they feared fraud. So, she turned the fraud protection off for the Orlando area for the 10 days we were down there.

So...word of advice: call your bank (and any credit card companies you may use) to let them know you are traveling to the Orlando area. You also may want to find out what your charge limit is per day. We use our cards for everything and some banks will actually turn off the card if a number of small purchases are made fearing fraud.

 

[Dizneefamily+4]

Do NOT take dramamine in the morning on Epcot day in order to try and prevent the horrible motion sickness from Mission Space orange version. Even the LESS drowsy formula makes you walk around like a zombie and fall asleep on EVERY ride. That. Was. Awful....

 

[LuvLuvLuv]

do not underestimate the need to drink water--i found out that i am not invincible and coke doesn't cut it in the heat. we had to box up our meal at yachtsman steakhouse and get a taxi back to kidani because i felt like i was going to pass out. i ended up very sick and it could have been avoided.

take pictures of your room keys, photopass cards, your kids (so if lost you can show a picture), and anything else you might lose!!

do not inhale the water at the water parks, lol. it will burn your nose/throat and you will have a fierce sore throat and nose for a week!! ((not that it was on purpose--but you shouldn't laugh when that big wave is coming at you, lol))

pack your own gum---they don't sell it there.

 

[gpeters93]

When you're choosing a parking space in the lot at BC, don't pick the shady spot under the little tree because it's also the sole resting place for about a hundred little birds who have good aim and no sympathy for the hood of your car.

 

[Stinger5]

When you're choosing a parking space in the lot at BC, don't pick the shady spot under the little tree because it's also the sole resting place for about a hundred little birds who have good aim and no sympathy for the hood of your car.

LOL! Great advice!!!!

 

[dislover8943]

I was so embarrassed standing in line to buy a 25$ Minnie watch and my card being declined. I knew I had the money. Lesson learned!

I second this!!!! (from personal experience) I was an idiot and wore jeans on the rapids ride at Six Flags years ago. The pain was unimaginable by the end of the day.


You said the exact same things I was going to say!!!! On our second trip, I had ponchos....they were just back at the house. So......$30 later we were covered for the day. Expensive mistake that I made (and you know the only day it rained was the day I forgot the ponchos. UGH).

Also....I found out about fraud protection the hard way. On our first trip, I was buying something in EPCOT at the end of the night. My card was declined. Knowing there was $5,000 in the checking account, I said "please run it again". She did. Four more times. Declined every time. So, thank goodness I had cash on me. Bought whatever it was and moved on. We stopped at the 7-11 on 192 on the way home. I checked the balance and, sure enough, there was plenty of $$$ in there. I had to wait until 7am to call the bank because it was well after customer service hours when it all happened. In the morning when I spoke to them, the nice lady said they had turned off my cards becuase they feared fraud. So, she turned the fraud protection off for the Orlando area for the 10 days we were down there.

So...word of advice: call your bank (and any credit card companies you may use) to let them know you are traveling to the Orlando area. You also may want to find out what your charge limit is per day. We use our cards for everything and some banks will actually turn off the card if a number of small purchases are made fearing fraud.

 

[queendisney]

now this thread has had me laughing out loudly a lot!! I know its prob wrong to laugh at others misfortunes but hey......

as for me..
NEVER EVER go with the in-laws who prefer to sit by a pool and do nothing all day everyday for weeks on end!
NEVER EVER go with the friend who eats next to nothing while you want to make the most of the free DDP and therefore you look like an absolute pig!
NEVER EVER go in July/Aug time, stay off resort with no car and rely on the hotels very infrequant free shuttle, remember that tarmac get very hot under your backside!

 

[jdmn2010]

If your child wants to bring a lovey for sleeping with, don't take the one they love best. Even with this advice, my DD took a blue teddy bear with her that wasn't her regular lovey and we left it in the hotel room on the day we switched to another resort. We called over the next two days to the hotel and it was never recovered. My DD was upset, but not like she would have been if it had been her favorite one. This is how we ended up with a Duffy to replace it!

 

[Colleen27]

* Don't let your child carry the precious stuffed animal she just HAS to sleep with! We lost my older DD's teddy somewhere in the hotel/parking/airport chaos on the way down to WDW and never did find him. It made for a tough flight but it was also the start of a fun tradition - she got to pick out a new stuffed friend to sleep with when we arrived, and now that she's outgrown sleeping with a lovey our youngest is continuing the tradition. The treasured critters stay safely at home and she gets to pick out a new addition to the bunch when we're down there, because not forgetting/losing things on the way home always seems easier than making sure we have everything on the way down.

* Don't take your child's word for it when it comes to shoes. We were last at WDW in March and DD10 insisted that her Calis were perfectly comfortable... She'd worn them all summer and hadn't yet outgrown her same-sized tennis shoes so I figured they were fine... Until about lunchtime on our first park day, when she was complaining about them rubbing. We ended up getting her a snazzy new pair of neon zebra stripe flip-flops at an Animal Kingdom gift shop.

 

[Chee Chick]

If you are traveling with other people besides your immediate family (in-laws, friends, etc.) and they are the type that usually sleep in, Don't wait for them to head to the parks. Let them meet you in the parks when they are ready.

My in-laws came with us for a few days on our last trip. The first full day we were planning to go to DHS for rope drop. We gave them a time to meet us in the WL lobby to head to the parks. So, my family was all dressed, fed, and ready to go. We waited and waited. They finally answered the phone and were just waking up! An hour later, they appeared and needed to eat. I thought that since we were all ready behind schedule that they would grab something quick. NO! They sat down and had a huge meal taking their good ole time. When we finally got to DHS it was almost noon. DS4 was already getting tired and hungry. Of course the TSM fastpasses were gone. I suggested that we go to see the Little Mermaid show. They didn't want to do that. So we went off in different directions. I was so ticked off after we had wasted our entire morning waiting for them. The following day was our MK day. I told DH that I was not going to wait for them again. Good thing we didn't because they didn't get there until our noon Crystal Palace ADR. Major boo-boo for me and lesson learned!!!

 

[BrerVixen]

I don't know if this has been mentioned, but don't forget about the time change! That was the biggest mistake I made when we traveled from California to Florida the last time we went. 3 hours is a huge difference!

Haha, try 5 hours BACKWARDS when coming from the UK!!

 

[44disney]

You can get dehydrated even at the end of November! Please remember to drink frequently!

2 years ago we went to WDW for Thanksgiving week. On Tuesday it was maybe 75 degrees (can't remember exactly) and it felt very comfortable. By supper time my DD10 started to feel poorly, then we recalled that all she had to drink all day was a glass of milk at breakfast and a soft drink at lunch. The rest of us were drinking throughout the day but she just never took any sips of water apparently.

We are pretty sure that it was dehydration based on her symptoms, and did get better after drinking a lot but it took about 20 hours or so for her to feel normal again.

We have actually been to WDW in the summer and have never had that problem (because it is so hot that you have to drink frequently) but now we will pay attention even when the weather is moderate. And she definitely learned her lesson!

 

[jandel]

I've got a few

1. Don't forget the sunscreen even in January!

2. Always, always, always take your Blackberry out of your pocket before you bonzai bomb the resort pool!

3. To a two-year old Mickey can sometimes be perceived as a six-foot rat (borrowed from Robin Williams but proven to be true!)

 

[burnaroonie]

My worst stayed with me for a while as after riding the river rafting ride at AK I noticed some people were pointing in my direction and talking behind raised hands. After about 20 minutes of this I realized something must be amiss and checked myself over from top to bottom. Yup, light colored cotton pants and extremely dark undergarment. Not much to do but keep going until I dried out. Worst part was that my family had noticed immediately after we got off the ride but, decided not to say anything and wait to see if I would notice.

 

[SCDisneyMom]

Don't forget to pack underwear for your kids. In 2002 when DS was 4, we arrived at our resort around 4 PM, threw our suitcases in our room and headed to MK. We got back to the room around midnight, and I put DS in the shower to wash the germs off him. After his shower, I started digging around in the suitcases for his pajamas and realized in horror that I had not packed that child a single pair of underwear. So after 8 hours of driving and nearly as long in the parks, guess who got to get back in the car and hunt down some undies for her son?

 

[scion5220]

Don't forget to pack underwear for your kids. In 2002 when DS was 4, we arrived at our resort around 4 PM, threw our suitcases in our room and headed to MK. We got back to the room around midnight, and I put DS in the shower to wash the germs off him. After his shower, I started digging around in the suitcases for his pajamas and realized in horror that I had not packed that child a single pair of underwear. So after 8 hours of driving and nearly as long in the parks, guess who got to get back in the car and hunt down some undies for her son?

What? I thought everyone around here endorsed going COMMANDO?!

 

[SCDisneyMom]

What? I thought everyone around here endorsed going COMMANDO?!

It was midnight and I was exhausted...don't think for a minute that I didn't try to convince him to do just that.

 

[BigKid45]

Never, never, never hop a rope, rail or fence to get somewhere. I lead a group of 9 over a movable fence once to get to the monorail at WDW and a plain clothes security guard came out of no where and sent us around the "right" way to enter the monorail. I'm not a line cutter, but "helped" our group thru a "short cut".....I was so embarrassed.....where did he come from....learned my lesson!