What tips did NOT work out for you & why?

[It's A Happy Day]

Everyone has an opinion and what works for some does not for others.... in reading another thread similarly titled, it made me wonder...

What tips were you given - either by friends, family, coworkers or reading all the "help" online that just didn't work for you.

 

[natfrac]

1. We never return to our room for a mid-day break, even when the kids were little. We found just having a nice leisurely lunch was enough of a rest.
2. Now that the kids are grown, we are never at a park for rope drop. That's not our touring style, and we still manage to do everything we want.
3. The dining plan "can" be worth the money. My husband has health issues which require him to eat a very protein rich diet--which usually means the more expensive meals. It's been a money saver for us in the past.

 

[RedStars]

We are not rope drop people and we never return for midday breaks (and we have little ones). No regrets!

 

[eyehartdisney]

We never use a touring plan. We always go on the off season, and if we get there by rope drop, we've done 90% of the major attractions before the park gets busy.

 

[LSchrow]

our biggest lesson learned:
real life is too hectic to not relax on vacation

we stopped doing rope drops, queues more than 5 minutes, overly noisy and crowded restaurants, rooms without a balcony and a stunning view, resorts not within walking distance of a park.

now our WDW vacations consist of a bit of planning, and a (very) healthy dose of impromptu activity:
- watching street performances
- doing the twinnings (and other free) tours
- taking photos, really looking at details
- outside dining (BRG, tangerine cafe, etc)
- strolling.....
- playing mini-golf
- laying by the pool
- we found buying LoS (normally 11-12 days for us) refillable mugs worth it, as we drink lots of coffee, hot chocolate, iced tea. DD & DH also drink soda.

- sitting on our balcony, enjoying the view, the atmosphere, and one another's company

 

[Mousemom]

1) Over planning sucks the fun out of our vacation (per my son)
2) never do rope drop, we would rather sleep late and stay until park close
3) be willing to spend 3 dollars for a bottle of water without feeling guilty
4). Pack less when going - even though we never feel like we buy much there we end up with so much extra to bring home

 

[mello]

our biggest lesson learned:
real life is too hectic to not relax on vacation

we stopped doing rope drops, queues more than 5 minutes, overly noisy and crowded restaurants, rooms without a balcony and a stunning view, resorts not within walking distance of a park.

now our WDW vacations consist of a bit of planning, and a (very) healthy dose of impromptu activity:
- watching street performances
- doing the twinnings (and other free) tours
- taking photos, really looking at details
- outside dining (BRG, tangerine cafe, etc)
- strolling.....
- playing mini-golf
- laying by the pool
- we found buying LoS (normally 11-12 days for us) refillable mugs worth it, as we drink lots of coffee, hot chocolate, iced tea. DD & DH also drink soda.

- sitting on our balcony, enjoying the view, the atmosphere, and one another's company

Well, that sounds heavenly!

We're working toward that, slowly, the more times we've been the closer we get. But somehow I always manage to get sucked in to a bit too much pre-planning.

 

[ZoZo]

I rarely follow the "take a mid-day break" advice. I usually go during slower times of the year (October, February) when the parks close early. You waste so much time taking afternoon breaks. If the parks close at 7:00, 8:00, or 9:00 pm (or, in the case of Animal Kingdom, at 5:00!) taking an afternoon break makes no sense.

 

[mousekatool]

We also don't really do afternoon breaks. Our kids were 4 and 2.5 on our first trip, and we did try it, but even the little one was too excited to nap. They did much better napping in the stroller, and it gave us some time to soak up the scenery. Last time, they were 7 and 4, and were little commandos! They wanted to keep going in the parks as long as possible. Overall, we found it works better for us to rope drop, tour all we want, then either freshen up in the room for dinner or just hang out in the parks to "rest" before dinner, then all of us go to bed at the same time.

 

[Lisa71]

Rope drop when our kids were little ..time change and lack of sleep meant early meltdown. We now tour a bit later and stay later...and spread it out.

 

[Kristina4109]

Splurge on an expensive hotel thats close to the parks so that the little one can take a nap! Tried this with my 2 year old. She lay in her crib singing It's A Small World at the top of her lungs. No nap.

 

[Shagley]

The tip that never seems to work for me is when people say to call Disney reservations and ask if you have a pin code attached to your name. I have tried three different times over the years, and each time I have had a CM that is totally confused and had no idea what I was talking about. I explained to them each time that I was wondering if I had a special code attached to my name that will give me a special deal for a vacation package, and each time they have told me that if I had a code that I would have to tell them what it is, they wouldn't be able to tell me what it is. I always hang up feeling like a total idiot .

 

[Jrsy Boy]

The tip that never seems to work for me is when people say to call Disney reservations and ask if you have a pin code attached to your name. I have tried three different times over the years, and each time I have had a CM that is totally confused and had no idea what I was talking about. I explained to them each time that I was wondering if I had a special code attached to my name that will give me a special deal for a vacation package, and each time they have told me that if I had a code that I would have to tell them what it is, they wouldn't be able to tell me what it is. I always hang up feeling like a total idiot .

I wasn't even aware of this tip but fortunately my TA was and, when she called, it turned out that I did have a PIN code. Saved us about $200!

 

[Kpskyman]

To buy the PH add on to tickets. With 2 DDs under 8 years old there was an entire days worth of things to do and see in each park We also go in the off season when not as busy and parks close earlier.

 

[visitWDW]

1. Rent a stroller at the park.
That doesn't work for us. It's so much easier to have one right when you get off the bus, plus all the WDW strollers look exactly the same.

2. Take an afternoon nap
I'd rather just let the kiddo fall asleep in the stroller. It takes too much time to go back and forth from the hotel to the park.

 

[Mrs. Ciz]

Go all day with NO afternoon break - Does not work for us at all!

I have teens so unless I want them to miss lots of school we have to go when it is hot and crowded. On our first trip we tried to go open to close, but couldn't do it. We missed almost all the night time fireworks type shows - managed Wishes once in 7 days .

The next trip we decided to do rope drop, stay until 1:00ish, go back for a 1.5 to 2 hour nap (yes, we all slept) and then go back to the parks around 5:00 until close. We averaged 9 to 10 hours a day in the parks - I kept track - which was longer than we were able to stay when we tried to power through with no break. Plus we were out of the heat during the hottest, most crowded part of the day. We really enjoyed the evenings in the parks when the temps cooled down. My family is so much happier when we take afternoon breaks!

 

[dhardawa]

1. Taking a stroller for a child who wouldn't usually use a stroller. I just ended up pushing around an empty stroller all day. So, when my son came along, we stopped doing it and at 3, he did a whole week with no stroller and no issues.

2. Rent a stroller in the park. Have you seen those prices??? I could buy a high end stroller and throw it in the lake on the way out cheaper.

3. Autograph books. Did it once when my daughter was 4. She didn't care about the book, I did. Within weeks of getting home, it was mangled on her bedroom floor. Never did one with my son and he never cared.

4. We don't wait in lines for characters. You can spend your whole vacation standing in line. We do a few character meals and that's it in.

5. As others have said, we don't do rope drop or afternoon breaks. We go off season.

6. Cooking meals in the room to save money. I'd rather do a cheaper resort and pay for food. I don't cook on vacation.

 

[Ajawi]

We did autograph books once, the cousins seemed so into it, so we went along. In hindsight, I don't think my daughter cares much now that the trip has past. Live and learn.