What would you do differently on your trip?

[MaryKatesMom]

1) Take more pictures! Our first trip, I didn't want to spoil it by dragging the video camera around or stop to take pictures. Now, it is killing me not to see more of that first trip.

2) Don't pretend to know what the DD's will like. I thought they would love Lion King and Tarzan would be OK. Just the opposite. Not to mention my daughter is CRAZY about the world showcase players. We've seen the King Arthur skit about a dozen times and she laughs like crazy every time.

3) One thing I did do that I appreciated, was more character meals. The extra money was worth avoiding any character lines. Three character meals (CP is my favorite) every trip and the autograph book is good to go.

4) Now that the DD's are 5 and 6. I can handle counter service better solo. Having too many PS's is a stressor.

 

[Misty89]

HA!

1- we will never go back in June! - just about died from the heat and the crowds were awful

2 - buy what you want! - we were so worried about spending our money ( we were on a 9 day orlando/ ft lauderdale wedding /vacation we drove up the turnpike for 4 hrs and back again 3 days later) we did not want to run out of money, so we spend nothing...DD's got a few sovies. I have thougt about that cinderella castle photo frame almsot everytime i think of WDW and darnit this year i AM going to buy it LOL

3 DONT eat somewhere cause its close ( offsite) we ate at a steakhouse right next to our offsite hotel, never again.

4 dont take your whole family including in-laws along LOL nuff said.

5 relax and enjoy....i was so stressed even my kids got crabby as the days went on.

6 - DH was sick ( probly from the heat) 2 of the 3 days we were in orlando..we stayed in the hotel with him all day and night and missed out on the other parks and universal....if he gets sick this time we will be at CR so if he gets sick again us girls will just go and let him sleep. ( he was not deafly ill, just stomach ache and slept all day )

7 - sunblock, and loads of it

8- take lots breaks, i KNOW my family does better on often breaks, sitting etc and for some reason my mind flew the coup last year. that 2 hrs we sat in the A/C at caseys was the best 2 hours of my life last trip!

9- i would have like to have found the DIS boards last year...i kick myself for not being tuned in for that trip form not knowing about this place and all the great help and plans you all share!


THIS time we are going to do it right! - I HOPE

 

[Luckymommyx2]

From our first trip (corrected on our second trip)...

stay longer...four days is not enough which lead to problem #2,

do not go commando-style...didn't know when we would be back and we tried to fit everything in during one trip

went with another family which was okay but limited what we really wanted to do

we will not go end of May/beginning of June again...over 105 degree index!

Luckily we corrected all of these when we went back in March of this year. It was a completely different and magical experience!!

 

[bubba's mom]

what would i do differently?? not go when there's a hurricane!! .....i know, i know, not my fault, but, hey, it's true!!!

 

[Montana Minnies]

Having too many PS's is a stressor

MaryKatesMom, I totally agree with you on that one!
15 PS's in 9 nights was just too much for me! We ended up canceling 2 of them.

 

[Mainebound]

I can't believe how much food I wasted on our last trip. We had all kinds of snacks and breakfast food in our room. Most of it ended up in the trash before we left.

[/B]

I totally agree!! Same goes for the toys I bring. The toys have gotten their own suitcase each year. Next time I'll try to remember the obvious -- our little ones are not interested in their toys when they are at DISNEY!

Also -- next time -- do not overpack for my boys! We buy a lot of t-shirts for them anyway while we are there.

 

[SlightlyGoofy]

I will not put things off on this trip. In May we never did get to see Spectromagic or Wishes (from the park) because we kept putting it off and then it just plain did not happen. This time it is scheduled for the first couple of days of our trip and even though it will be showing three other times during out trip we ARE going at the first opportunity.

Have often thought of giving dh his ticket and letting him wend his way alone for at least a day. It is a downer to have a companion whose main focus is where he is going to eat next and is not able to see the magic all around him. I feel sorry for him, I really do. I am 'proud' to say that I am married to possibly the only man to be almost kicked out of the Fountainview restaurant. I think the poor clerk is still tramatized. The new family rule is that he waits outside while I get our food. Laughter is irritating to him, unfortunately I do an awful lot of it, especailly at DW. (grin)

Slightly Goofy/Linda

 

[blanq]

Things my family will do differently next time:

1) We will not bring food items from home, or do a grocery stop for breakfast and snack items. We decided we hate to arrive in Orlando and head right for a grocery store. We just want to get on property in the worst way and our DS whines all the way through the grocery store. Also, we always end up throwing too much food away. We will look forward to eating what we want when we want.

2) We will not get to the parks before opening (either for regular park hours, or for EMH) only to wait in long lines. We will try to time getting to the parks 10-15 minutes after opening.

 

[bubba's mom]

Originally posted by blanq
Things my family will do differently next time:

1) We will not bring food items from home, or do a grocery stop for breakfast and snack items. We decided we hate to arrive in Orlando and head right for a grocery store. We just want to get on property in the worst way............

ever try sending yourself a care package with food in it to your resort?? seems to work rather well for quite a few people!!

 

[jobanana]

I bought snacks and hardly any got ate. We'd go to the park and they would buy chips, when I had snack bags of them in the room. I brought 90% of the stuff home. So, no snacks.

I'd bring a m&m container of quarters and pennys. So, we would always be ready for the penny machines.

Not go at Easter. It wasn't too bad. But more crowded then I have have experienced. Plus only one hot day. We were in jeans most days. Even jackets sometimes. In our pics we don't look like we are in Fl.

Stay longer!

 

[bubba's mom]

Originally posted by jobanana
I'd bring a m&m container of quarters and pennys. So, we would always be ready for the penny machines.

OR....use empty film canisters.....i used these (had plenty of 'em) and wrote 25 cents on one (to pay the penny press) and 1 cent on the other.....worked out really well!!

 

[mickeysaver]

Last trip December 14th - 21st, 2003.

I would have packed warmer clothes. The weather turned really cold a couple of the nights.....down to around 35. We were miserably cold the night of our CP package. The steel benches made it a less than inspiring event.

I would have added Disney Dollars to our packing check list. We left almost $700 worth of Disney Dollars in the safe at home. We realized this about 4 hours down the road, almost to the GA-FL line. We drove back home to get them and lost a day with the FL family in the process.

I would have arrived at Pop Century sooner so as to be the Original paying guests. But, being there as an opening day guest was cool enough.

I would have not pushed to see Lord of the Rings: Return of the King on opening night at the AMC theater at DTD. I had no idea that the freaks of Orlando would be out in mass that night. I swear, there were 30 year old men being dropped off by their mothers to see the movie. There must not have been a pizza delivery driver working anywhere in Orlando that night. Anyway, the worst part was that we were out until almost 4 am and it really took a lot more out of us than I figured that it would. We had the following day to sleep in and do a pin chase, but it was a really tiring. But, I did it to fulfill a promise to my honey.

I wish that my honey had been well. She had some sort of cold/sinus bug the entire time. Needless to say, pixie dust can only do so much.

Other than that, it was a great trip. Maggie

 

[Ducky4Disney]

Let's see -

From our trip in Dec 2000 - FL gets cold like everywhere else - especially in December, so bring some warm stuff to wear. 5 days is a good start, but we needed to stay longer.

From our trip Oct 2003 - MNSSHP is LOTS of fun, buy tickets for two of these events before hand. We wanted to go a second time but it was sold out by then. Buy Brita water bottles to save $$$! 8 days was even better, let's see if we can beat that.

From our trip May 2004 - getting a trip to WDW paid for by your employer for a conference is a great thing. BUT! Don't expect to see much of the conference! The Brita water bottles were great! 5 days is good for an in between trip.

Overall things I've learned -

Don't go commando. Relax and enjoy the scenery.

Take pics with characters! Just do it!

Get up and go to the parks, go back to your hotel and take a nap, or swim, or both then go back out around 5 pm. Get dinner and close out the parks!

 

[jann1033]

Originally posted by bubba's mom
OR....use empty film canisters.....i used these (had plenty of 'em) and wrote 25 cents on one (to pay the penny press) and 1 cent on the other.....worked out really well!!

i did the same but used black with silver top for quarters all black for pennies and clear for pressed pennies. they worked great , were free and were fairly easy to find in my pack.

 

[missypie]

I need to stop and let my kids watch the street entertainment. They always like it and I find myself rushing them away to hit the next ride or show.

 

[HenDuck]

I would not buy every little thing my DS showed any interest in. Actually, my DM and DH were more guilty of this than me. DS would have been happy with a couple of things, but we all went overboard and bought everything WE thought he wanted.

All he wanted was to see Belle. And he did.

 

[The Duchess]

I would relax more and not be so nutsy about my itinerary.

 

[pumpkinfish]

I have another to add:

Stop worrying about the weather and just be prepared. Whatever happens, happens. Just plan for the worst and expect the best!