what you wish you had known........

[tonysgal34]

I thought that it would be interesting to start a thread about anything that anyone wished they had known before they went to Disney. Mine is that after all my research, I had no idea that we had to take a monorail from the parking lot to the main entrance of Magic Kingdom. I wold have gotten there much earlier on early-entry morning if I had known. From the time that we parked our car to the time that we entered MK was over 1/2 an hour and it would've been even longer during busier times of year, I'm sure. I also wish I had known that like everyone in creation shows up at MK for the fireworks and stuff. During the day, we were there with a regular sized crowd, then after dark it was jammed packed.......actually I felt a bit chlosterphobic(sp?).

 

[frenchy]

When were you there that it was so crowded? Month?

 

[2MuchOhana]

Okay. Had I known better I wouldn't be spending a week at WDW with my In-laws! Oh the stress of it all!

 

[mickeysaver]

Originally posted by Soltwisch Family
Okay. Had I known better I wouldn't be spending a week at WDW with my In-laws! Oh the stress of it all!

OMG! I know what you mean. My honey loves her family so much, but it made the last day of our trip into a mega stress-fest for me. When my mother outlaw tried to invite herself along on our Epcot day this year, I went into meltdown. Luckily, all I had to do was blow the surprise that I had planned just for her and tell her that we were taking her to the Afternoon Tea at the GF the day before our Disney vacation begins. That pacified her, THANK GOD!!!

I like my honey's family just fine, but I don't want them to taint my pixie dust. lol Mickey

 

[mickeysaver]

I wish that I had not listened to all those that claim that Animal Kingdom is a "1/2 day park" because for us, it is a 2 day park this trip. I am so in love with the beauty of the park and the animals are so amazing. I literally walked through the Oasis stunned and just kept saying, "OMG, I wish we had come here sooner so that we could spend more time."

Not everyone "gets" the Animal Kingdom park experience. We are among those that do. Mickey

 

[Pooh67_68]

What had I wished I had known...

How addicting DISNEY really is!

 

[magic kingdom park]

I know what you mean . We took our first ever trip to Disney World in Oct., I have been planning to go back since we got back, it is so addictive can you believe such a place could do that. Anyway I am trying to save up to go back next year, forget the yearly trips to the beach, I think I am going to spend it with Mickey.

 

[Lisa AF]

How much my family would love Disney Quest!!! (dds are 7 and 10, younger children wouldn't find it that fun)!

 

[cowtownmom]

I've got to say that, thanks to this INCREDIBLE site, there wasn't anything we weren't prepared for when we went in July! If you're new to the site - read, read, read and ask questions on this site. Every kind of topic is so well covered. I'm so glad a friend told me about this site before our trip - it made it wonderful!!!!!!!

 

[Lswilmot@aol.com]

I generally stay on-site, and when others ask about a hotel listed as "5 minutes from Disney", I tell them that it's 5 minutes to Disney property, then a drive to the right parking lot and then the walk or ride to the gates and then the walk into the park. So that 5 minutes could be as long as an hour or more. This is never posted in the guide books.

 

[bkcwilliams]

I have to agree that this site and all of our friends helped plan every little detail. My wife was amazed at how much information that I knew about WDW thanks to this site.

 

[me me57]

Mickeysaver, I agree with you about AK. I am one who gets AK. I just love it. We were there a full day and didn't have time for everything. I like all the little things there and not just the major attractions. We're going again in March and I want to make sure I see it all this time.

 

[lulu71]

I wish I would have known that if you buy a rain poncho and it rips, WDW will replace it free of charge. I was there last December when it rained for an entire week and I just bought more ponchos, but then I read on these boards somewhere that they do this. I can't vouch for how true this is or if they still do this, but that's what I read.

 

[diznee25]

I wish I would have known.......

--how much time to estimate for travel between resorts and parks.
(Example: We were around Cinderella's castle when we decide to go back to POFQ to change out of our wet clothes before our PS for dinner at Cindy's castle. It was 3pm when we left Magic Kingdom and it was around 4pm when we got back. We were in our hotel for 10 minutes of that hour! Meaning with all the walking, waiting for a bus, and traveling time took 50 minutes.

--how cool of a park Animal Kingdom is. I've spent a total of 2 hours there. Trust me, on my upcoming trip, I'd like to spend a few days there!

--what DisneyQuest was! I saw the big sign, but I was never curious about what was inside.

--that it rains in Florida! We were caught w/o ponchos on our last trip. It was raining HARD.

--how much time it takes to see all of Epcot! We planned one day for Epcot on our last trip, and it wasn't enough time.

--about the chicken exits on some of the thrill rides. My fiancee' get motion sickness, and he can't ride rollercoasters or Tower of Terror. I've been wanting to show him the preshow for TOT, and now he can see it!

--about the Disboards! I didn't discover the disboards until after we got back from WDW in July 2002.

Diznee25

 

[BamaTigger]

I wish I would of known about hidden mickeys before my first trip. I would of been looking for them!

 

[mommystieg]

...the importance of a stroller cover during the rainy season. I didn't find this site until after our first visit or I would have asked
On our very first day of our very first trip we went in the Mexico pavilion to have lunch. We left our backpack in our stroller along with all of our rain gear. When we came out from lunch it was pouring rain Our stroller was soaked and there was at least two inches of water in the basket. We had to return to POR to dry the stroller as best we could. We learned two very valuable lessons that day
-Always cover the stroller no matter how sunny it is
-Never leave the backpack in the stroller

All the info I read suggested a stroller cover but I couldn't for the life of me figure out why

 

[bratdeb]

i wish I had found out sooner that it was so much cheaper to plan everything separate. I learned tjat very hard lesson a few years ago

 

[shelleyz]

I also wish I would have known how addicting Disney is. Went October 18 -25 and already planned to go back Jan 26-30. This time with NO KIDS. I also agree AK is more than a 1 day park. Maybe 2 adults can get it done faster but with 3 adults and 4 children we didn't get to see everything.

 

[DisFam95]

I read on another site (Deb's) that they offer infant stollers w/ attatched car seat carriers!! I've been to Disney numerous times and read the boards almost daily and don't recall ever seeing this mentioned! My friend is coming with is this winter with their 3mo and this might be an option!

 

[Dana49]

On our first trip in '89, I wish that we had known to bring two pairs of shoes for each of us. If it rains, or if you develop a blister, that extra pair of comfortable shoes comes in very handy.