Disney Do's & Dont's

There is so much.... I just got back from Disney on the 23rd of June. We had a great time. I would strongly recommend packing breakfast-y items so that you wouldn't have to buy them in the parks- big money saver. Are you staying on property? I would also recommend bringing along a water bottle for each person and those kool-aid or Crystal Light flavor packets. My son, who is 4. loved his squirt bottle fan to keep him cool. Let me know if I can help more. Being that I just got back, it is fresh in my mind.

I have a great tip that a friend told me, you have to reserve a spot at the crystal palace within disney. They have the BEST and cheapest breakfast around. The puffed french toast is to die for. My mom and dad who are very picky, even loved the place and wanted to go back again.

First, have a great time! Second, it is winter in Brazil and you will see lots of teenagers on tours on their witner break. If you get behind them in line, it triples your wait time.

We've been to Disneyworld about 35 times since it opened and had two kids work there, one as a VIP character.

1. Water bottle idea is good. Fill with ice when you leave hotel and by the time you need them, you'll have cold water. When you stop for lunch, refill with ice. It does save a lot on drinks especially at this time of year.
2. Go first thing in the morning and hit the most popular rides and/or sign up for the special passes that give a specific time for ride. Second best time is during parades and thirdly, just before closing when there are no lines. We have always found it good to leave in early afternoon when crowds are at their worse and return to hotel for a swim and rest period before going back in evening to see fireworks. If you are not staying on Disney property, you can take the monorail to one of their hotels and sit on the beach for a bit.
3. Use your park hopper passes wisely. Each park has a down time when rides are less crowded.
4. There are lockers when you enter the park. Get one and put all your extra stuff in there so you easily get on rides. You should have extra shirt, flip flops, and rain poncho for each of you as well as sunscreen, mosquito replellent (yes they have mosquitoes) etc. You know you can save a few bucks by making a lunch and taking it with you. Put it in locker and get it when you're ready.
5. When you are leaving the park as it closes, expect a HUGE crowd. If you get in this crowd you will feel like you are being vacummed out. You have monorail, boats, ferries and buses and they all get immediately packed. Find a park bench or patch of grass and sit down and relax. Nothing stops running until everyone is out and parking lots are empty. If you go with original rush, you will be very uncomfortable and accomplish nothing but standing in line and getting pushed. If you wait till the end, you will get right to your car and traffic will be flowing without jams.

It will be a long day but you will enjoy it. Kids tend to get overstimulated because they are seeing so much so take a few breaks throughout the day.

Oh, there are a few spots where you can usally find a place to sit down. One is by Space Mountain and one is near the Pirates ride.

Have fun! You'll love it!

Love love love Disney! Been there about a dozen times with the hubby and kids. Take advantage of the early morning/late evening hours at the parks that the hotels offer to people who are staying on property.

* Year of a million dreams is still going on.....for some of the bigger prizes, there is registration online. You can win a night at the castle (very cool!) or cruises, big prizes. Keep an eye open for these people at the park. (i.e. cotton, button down shirts, short sleeved in white or light blue-they sometimes have a big, round sticker on their briefcase) You can win immediate give-aways (they walked up to my daughter and gave her two keep-sake pins for her collection; I won a shopping spree for a shirt of my choice!)

* If you are going to Fantasmic, my best advise is book a dinner through one of the few restaurants at MGM who offer a package deal. These meals aren't any more expensive than other meals that you will purchase. (I know one restaurant is "Brown Derby", another is "Mama Melrose"-Italian (?) -I think that's the name. Doesn't cost anymore but they have a special section that they seat people and it avoids the cattle-run that happens before Fantasmic.

* We have learned that two days of Disney needs to be followed by one day away at the parks (or just go to a park for only two hours that night for the evening events). You want to do it all but the pools are wonderful and Disney is overstimulating for the parents too. It's amazing what you can accomplish in a day with a good map person and time management skills - that's my husband. He keeps us on track! Our Disney best record is 15 hours and 20 minutes at the parks and we still all liked each other!

*Good suggestion someone gave for the fast passes - use them wisely. Go get your fast pass immediately when you enter a park if it is a ride that you must go on. We wanted to go on SOARING - if you delay getting a fast pass in late morning-you may have to wait until early evening to be able to utilize that fast pass time. (you can hold two fast passes but, I think two hours has to pass before you can attempt to get a second-if you haven't used the first-worth checking on!).

* See a 3:00 pm Magical Kingdom parade-sorry lots of crowds but it will make you smile (and when you go on "It's a small world ride" - see how long it takes to get that song out of your head!)

Have a fantastic time - wonderful times await!

E.,

I am so jealous! That is my favorite vacation spot, though we've only been there twice.

As far as what to bring? COMFORTABLE shoes. You will be doing alot of walking and alot of just standing. My feet were fine by the end of the day but the next moring when i stepped out of bed.. OH BOY did they protest!

Sunscreen! You can burn very easily in the Florida sun.

You didn't say how old your kids are or how long you are going for, but pace yourself. If you're going to be there for more than a few days and you have the time to visit the parks more than once, I suggest you split the park time up. If you're staying on property, take the shuttle back to the hotel and rest in the heat of the day or take a swim to refresh yourself.

There is a great website dedicated to Disney. www.AllEars.net They have tips and updates and pictures. I got alot of information from there before our first trip.
They can answer any question you may have. You can spend hours on thier site and still not see it all.

Have a great time and make sure you slow down enough to take in all the sights, not just the rides but the little things that make Disney so special. I made sure we didn't run from ride to ride but took our time looking at everything.

Give Mickey a Kiss for me!

My friend goes to Disney all the time, and she is an expert! She is also a mom to two girls, one being a baby, so she knows the ropes when traveling to somewhere like Disney with kids.

Check out her website, disneysavvy.com. Lots of good stuff on there.

E.,

I don't know if your children are girls/boys. If you do have a daughter in there do the Biddi Bop Salon. There are 3 different packages. We did the 50.00 package. It was well worth the money. It is so magical. They do a lot for the children and give them a great little bag of fun stuff at the end.

They take professional photos of you through out the park, so set money aside to buy those after the trip. They put them on the internet for you to view and buy.

I would highly suggest buying one of those water bottle fans from Wal-mart where they are $7.00. At the park, they sell for about $25.00.They keep you cool while standing in line.

We rented a stroller for &20.00 and it was nice because we were able to set our belongings in it while we walked around. You may find that too cumbersome being as your children are older though.

That is all I can think of right now. Might send more info later.

D.

I agree wholeheartedly with all the advice given so far.
In addition, I would suggest bringing snacks to nibble on during the day, ie prepackaged (you can prepack yourself in little ziploc bags or buy them prepackaged in the store) pretzels, chex mix, granola bars, trail mix, fruit snacks peanut butter and crackers, etc. You can nibble on them in line to save yourself from stopping all the time. I don't know if they allow backpacks, if so, just pack them in a backpack for easy access. Have a wonderful time and take lots of pictures.
REMEMBER WHERE YOU PARKED THE CAR!!! THE LOT IS HUGE!!

The best piece of advice I received when we took our kids when they were 6 and 4 was to bring water bottles. I brought my own water bottles and the kool-aid you can mix in. Saved us a ton on drinks.

Hi E.,

We are regular Disney goers - every couple of years we make the trip. I have 4 kids - 18, 14, 8, and 5 and am also married to a police officer. One thing to do if you are staying on or near the property is to take a break during the day and go back to your hotel. We happened to have a time share that was furnished, so we bought some food to make a meal or two to save $$$. Not only did the kids need the rest, but so did the adults. We were there for Spring Break this year and did the craziest thing...During the day you are waiting in line 45 minutes plus (more the plus)to see certain things. My girls had to see the Disney Princesses (a 75 minute wait). We went home the first night to take a much needed break and went back as the fireworks were about to start. Once you get through the fireworks crowd you have free reign of the park. We did the whole right half of the park with absolutely little (15 minutes) or no wait that night. We stayed until the park closed at 1 am. The next day we slept in, went during the day for a bit, and did the same routine in the evening. Messing up their sleep schedule was worth keeping our sanity, not to mention it is cooler at night. My husband hates crowds!

Get the book Disney Passporter!! Its an awesome book. It gives you all sorts of inside tips on where and when to do things during the day. It also is great for planning your trip and keeping all your tickets and coupons and papers for the trip. The book rates all the rides for kids and adults of all ages. It gives telephone numbers of resteraunts in parks and when to call.
I bought the book when my sister and I went a couple of years ago and I highly recommend it!!!

Another tip: The lanyards were a big deal when we went 3 years ago you can buy and trade disney pins with disney staff and other vacationers. some one gave me the tip of go on ebay and buy some of these pins early. You can useally get them cheaper on ebay and then you have some to trade with the employees there are employees who ONLY trade with children.

Buy the book Walt Disney World with kids 2008. It is by Kim Wright Wiley. We took our 2 yo in February and had a great time. The book gives you advice on everything, and it was dead on!

Kim

Definitely get the book previously mentioned from the library! It will be your best friend for the week just remember to take it with you to the parks cause it's handy to keep looking up things.

Plan on spending more for food than you had already. It will be VERY hot. Lots of sunscreen. Go to the parks when they first open, lines are shorter on the popular rides. If you are staying on property DO THE MEAL PLAN...We go to Disney annually and would not go without the meal plan. If you are not on the plan eat a big breakfast and plan to have dinner around 4:30..then have a snack around 8:00 or so. Snacks in the middle of the day can be easy...if staying at a hotel wiht breakfast load up on the fruit buffet and put the whole fruit in you bag. Again if staying on property you will be entitled to extra magic hours. USE THEM..it is a great time to go with the parks being less full. Also, utilize fast pass as often as you can. It is wonderful.

Get the Unofficial guide to Disney World not the Official guide. It is the best book. We used it for each of our 4 trips to disney and we were through the park and did all we wanted before noon...but you are going in one of the peek seasons....so it may take you longer. Disney is very expensive so this book allows you to see more of the parks than you would without knowing all their tricks. We even used this book with my two handicapp relatives and the trips went smooth as silk. Take a rest during the day then head back to the park at night.

Regardless of what you bring/pack keep in mind a few things.

It sounds hokey, but color coordinate if you can. It's easier to keep an eye on everyone if they are all wearing red, or yellow or another bright color.

It will be HOT. Regardless of what you are used to, it is not the same inside that park. Pirates of the Caribbean is a great place to sit and cool down. (So is Small World and Haunted Mansion).

If you don't already have two-way radios, get some. That way if you guys decide to split up (after all, 7 and 11 will not necessarily want to see the same things), you can keep in touch. The kids LOVE to be in charge of the radio. :)

Don't overplan. Be flexible. If you structure things too much, you lose out on the chance to say "Hey, let's go here NOW!".

Have a blast!

bring a lightweight backpack with some packaged wipes that you can wipe off the sweat! also, don't forget the sunscreen! if your hotel room has a minifridge or freezer, freeze a couple of water bottles! you can periodically refill a bottle at a water fountain. it will save you tons of money! also, small fruit roll ups, fruit snacks, granola bar(no chocolate) helps to stave off the hungries as you are walking and waiting. we have even used a cooler bag and packed our own sandwiches and stashed in a locker. then, we have gone out to the front of the park for lunch. since you can get your hand stamped, it really helps to save money. utilize the fast pass thing every chance you get!

My advise for Disney is to plan out what attactions your kids want to see and work your days around that. Get books or fliers and know ahead of time, before you get there. keep an idea on places to eat too in mind. also if the ride has a fast pass get them too, it will save you some time so that you can see and do other things while you wait. The most important thing is to HAVE FUN!!!!!!!

Just read everything you can before you go. I did find the guide book very helpful, it tells you what attractions to avoid at certain times of day, etc.

Go to the Disney website and read up on all the rides/shows, that way you can have an idea if it is something your kids want to wait in line for. Also go to every other site that has advice, and you can take the info that suits your family. Read, read read.

If you do all the legwork ahead of time, you can "relax" when you are there.

Our family chose to schedule it differently than those that recommend taking a break in the middle of the day to return to the hotel. We got up early each day and were at the parks at opening. There were no crowds and it hadn't gotten hot yet. We didn't think it was a good use of time to travel back and forth twice each day. We finished at 3:00 and were done for the day. We just hung out at our hotel and swam or napped and got to bed early, ready for the next early rise. The parks start to fill up before lunch so we got 2-3 hours in before it was crowded.

There's enough for a month of touring in Orlando, so don't try to cram in too much. Just enjoy what you are doing, and if you don't get to everying on your To Do list, don't sweat it.

Lots of good advice already. I highly reccomend using the Fast Pass option whenever possible. If there is a certain ride you know you want to go on, and the line is long, check to see if Fast Pass is an option. You basically get a ticket for a particular time, so you can roam around the park until your ride time, then bypass the long line with people waiting and go thru the Fast Pass lane.

My family and I just got back from 8 days in the parks. (We didn't have time to see everything--we stayed the longer hours every day, getting back to the hotel between 1 and 2 am, and starting out again around 10. Getting an early start is great advice, but my family doesn't do well in the mornings). The other advice is great. Make sure your youngest knows that everything is pretend. When we took our kids at age six, they understood about the scary parts, and freaked out. Make sure they understand that the bad guys won't really hurt them, the aliens are all pretend, etc.
If you can still get reservations for dinners, do it now. We had dinner inside the castle, and it's really not as expensive as you'd think. The cost includes a 5x7 photo of your family with Cinderella (which may not be exciting if you have boys, but my teen girls loved it.) The dining plan with one snack, one counter service meal, and one sit down table service meal is a fantastic way to save a lot of money. If you're staying at the park (a wonderful way to not fight traffic-we do enough of that at home), keep in mind that the cheaper your hotel room is, the further your bus stop is from the gate. You'll do a lot of walking no matter what. The water parks were a great way of cooling off--the family raft ride at blizzard beach was a real crowd pleaser, and I'm a big chicken. If there is lightening, the water parks close altogether; at the other parks, the roller coasters and outdoor rides shut down until it clears up. Some days it poured for less than an hour; two of the days there were thunderstorms with lightning, one day it rained all day long. Be aware that it rains or storms every day in Florida; rain ponchos helped a lot, but it's so hot that you're almost as wet from perspiration as you'd be from the rain.
The world showcase in Epcot offers a "kidcot" station in each country. There's a craft to do (free), and if you buy a "passport" at the gift shops(Under $10), you can have it stamped in each country. They come with stickers, and even my teens enjoyed getting the greeting, seeing their names in Chinese, etc.
Keep in mind that you're on vacation. When I decided to stop stressing about doing everything, (because it is simply not possible), I found that I really enjoyed the rest of the trip. Have fun!!!