Disney World tips!

[springmama]

I need your best tips.

 

Here is more info- we are going to stay in a rented house with 4 bedrooms and a full kitchen, pool in the back yard, etc. Yay!!! No cramming into a motel 6 like we normally do. There are 6 of us.

 

I'm thinking we'll pack lunches every day, but would love some creative easy to pack, easy to carry ideas.

 

We'll eat dinners at the parks or in restaurants in Orlando.

 

My kids are 2, 5, 7, and 16. Dh's two brothers and their wives will be there with their kids, ages 11 and 1. Dh's father and his wife will be there and her kids and grandkids will be there too.

 

I'm nervous about the crowds. I've spent lots of time in WDW but never in a crowded season. Do we avoid the parks that open early and stay open late? I can't remember.

 

We are not getting a park hopper. This time we are getting only a 6 day pass, which is new for us. I'm used to park hopping as I please. FIL is paying for it so we just take what we can get, lol! I doubt we are going to Animal Kingdom. Aside from the safari ride, there isn't much we'd like to do again.

[olan719]

When are you going? I am assuming it will be in the summer since you are worried about crowds.

 

I highly recommend Tour Guide Mike (subscription is around $20) or Touring Plans (it costs less) to help plan your days. TGM has the best/worst park days and his advice is spot-on. Yes, you want to avoid the EMH at each park! These sites also have great advice for which rides to hit first, what to fast-pass to maximize your time, etc.

 

Good luck planning your trip! I love Disney, and am trying to talk DH into going back in Sept. for homeschool days. :D

[springmama]

Yep, summer. I've been there at the end of August before...so we only had to deal with the heat and not the crowds.

 

I'll talk to dh about TGM. thanks!

[ChristusG]

Are you going soon? When it is hot? If so, bring some of the spray bottles with fans attached. Seriously....it is HOT in the summer at Disney World. We have passes but do not go during that time due to the heat and crowds.

 

The counter service restaurants will give large cups of ice water for free. We do not bother carrying around bottled water because of this.

 

Definitely bring your own snacks. We rarely buy Disney ones because they are so expensive. You are allowed to bring in small soft sided coolers. We just stick ours in the stroller. You can find a place to sit and eat your lunch or snacks in one of the counter service restaurants where it is nice and cool.

 

I'd get there when the park opens (get all the cooler hours you can) and go to the back of the park and start there and work your way forward. Most people will start at the front and stop at the first rides they see. Take advantage of fast passes.

 

When we do not have hoppers, I try to coordinate our schedule so that we are going into parks that have evening extra magic hours. But you said you were staying in a house, right? So you wouldn't be able to do the extra magic hours.

 

If you want, make your own autograph books before going to Disney. It will save lots of money, especially if you have more than one kid who will be wanting autographs. Make your own book, bring your own pen or marker. Plus, it's just neater to have your own book. Sometimes the characters will make over the books if it has their photo or something!

 

I'm drawing a blank....that's all I can come up with LOL.

[katilac]

If you want to do a lot and minimize time in line, you have to do two things: arrive early, and have a plan. The Unofficial Guide to Disney World is great for helping plan.

 

Whether or not you avoid parks with extra hours kind of depends on your plan. The extra morning hour is always good, imo, b/c the morning hours are golden for getting a lot done. People are even less likely to be at the park for 8 am than 9 am! No matter what the crowds are in the morning, they increase as you get to lunch/early afternoon.

 

Late evening hours do tend to get very, very crowded. We use that time to visit less popular attractions and shop, pin trade, meander, etc. (none of which we do in the morning). We don't go during peak season, so check the disney boards for more advice on that.

 

Make use of Fast Passes, definitely. Don't always 'complete' one land before moving on to another; instead, try to visit visit the most popular attractions in different lands. It's more walking, but you'll get tons done.

 

Snackwise, nuts are a great choice for something filling and good for energy levels. Individual snacks are worth the extra price; big bags get crushed, dirty, stale. Peanut butter and cheese crackers, mints, gum, pretzels, chips, trail mix. No chocolate, it melts. Lots of water.

 

You might consider buying late lunch rather than dinner. That way, you don't have to miss the last bit of 'good' time before the afternoon rush, and you partially avoid both lunch and dinner crowds, and the worst of the afternoon heat.

 

Parade times can be good for visiting certain lands or shopping, you just have to plan carefully.

 

Man, I need to go back to Disney!

[blessed2fosteradopt]

I have been to Disney more times than I can count - 50+ since I was a child(we are also DVC members) and can tell you that the summers are very rough. You definitely need a game plan. Without a doubt, I would recommend Tour Guide Mike's as suggested above. It is WELL worth it. We used it one time during the summer and another during the week between Christmas and New Year's and it was awesome. This tip is included in the plan but you should definitely designate someone to be the fast pass runner. One person collects all the tickets and heads for the fast pass machine while the rest of you proceed to your ride of choice. Then that person can join you back in line.

 

I also recommend bringing swimsuits for the kids. In Epcot and MK, they have water play areas (in Epcot it is just those little fountains that shoot up in the air) and it is a nice break for the kids (they have this in downtown Disney, too). Also, when it is super hot we bring an insulated lunch box with ziplocs full of previously frozen washcloths which are very refreshing and great to have.

 

For lunches, if your children can eat PB&J I would recommend Uncrustables. We pack them right out of the freezer and they are ready to eat for lunch. Also, frozen grapes are usually a hit.

 

Finally, check out this site. http://www.disboards.com/ . There are tons of tips, strategies, schedules and so on. Just about everything you would ever want to know can be found here.

 

I hope you have a wonderful time!

 

Blessings,

 

Lisa

[Jennifer in MI]

WDW!! My happy place! We did a trip just like what you are doing last January. Are you staying at Windsor Hills? We just loved it there!

 

We took our own lunches in every day. I have a soft cooler and we put it in the stroller. We have some allergy/intollerance issues, so I packed some interesting things, but they worked for us! PB and J, tuna, carrots, chips, etc. We carried our own water bottles so I wouldn't have to wait in line for ice water. Since we had the stroller, it was easy just to throw them in the bottom.

 

I would definitely get the book WDW for Families. They have GREAT suggestions about how to get the most out of your day. It worked very well for our family. We never had to wait more than 5 minutes in line. Of course, this was in January, so YMMV!

 

Have fun!!!!

[whitestavern]

When are you going? I am assuming it will be in the summer since you are worried about crowds.

 

I highly recommend Tour Guide Mike (subscription is around $20) or Touring Plans (it costs less) to help plan your days. TGM has the best/worst park days and his advice is spot-on. Yes, you want to avoid the EMH at each park! These sites also have great advice for which rides to hit first, what to fast-pass to maximize your time, etc.

 

Good luck planning your trip! I love Disney, and am trying to talk DH into going back in Sept. for homeschool days. :D

 

I also recommend Tour Guide Mike...totally worth every penny. We have not gone during very crowded times, but I know those who have and who used his suggestions and did just fine. You won't need park hoppers if you tour well. Oh, and yes, avoid those EMH parks! Have fun! I can't wait to go back :)

 

As for lunch ideas, we brought peanut butter and jelly, cold pasta salad w/chicken and veggies, the tuna in a pouch (though I cannot recommend it--thought it tasted bad). That's about all I can think of right now.

[LibraryLover]

We are having a fam reunion at WDW. How fun for you all! I'll be listening for your tips! There are 16 of is, and I know it's going to be fun, if crazy.

Edited June 17, 2010 by LibraryLover

[C_l_e_0..Q_c]

don't carry any drinks. They are heavy. Carry individual sachets of Cristal Light (or any other powder that fits your family). Stands will let you have iced water for free, whenever you want. Pour the cristals into it, and instant drink! Discard glass when you're done. No weight to carry around.

Since the iced water glasses are usually pretty big, we would only take one each time, and share it between ourselves. It makes for a quick drink, which can be done many times during the day.

[i.love.lucy]

Hope this isn't a hijack... If you experienced folks had to pick a favorite time of year to go, when would that be? I am thinking about it and want to put together a proposal for dh for next year. I'm guessing the last 1/2 of next year is best because we need the time to save.

 

We went to Land in Feb a couple of years ago and were a teensy bit disappointed that quite a few really good rides were closed for refurbishing, and no parades or fireworks at all. So while it was cool (pouring rain one day) and no lines at all (we rode Space Mountain 4 times just walking right on) I do feel like we missed out on some favorites. We missed Small World, Haunted Mansion, Matterhorn and more. And no parades was a real drag. One of my favorite memories as a kid was Tinkerbell flying down from the top of the Matterhorn and all the fireworks. Not to mention the Electrick Light Parade.:glare: It was a real bummer to miss those things.

 

Is late October good? Early November? Our anniversary is the first week of Oct, that might be nice to plan around.

[olan719]

Hope this isn't a hijack... If you experienced folks had to pick a favorite time of year to go, when would that be? I am thinking about it and want to put together a proposal for dh for next year. I'm guessing the last 1/2 of next year is best because we need the time to save.

 

We went to Land in Feb a couple of years ago and were a teensy bit disappointed that quite a few really good rides were closed for refurbishing, and no parades or fireworks at all. So while it was cool (pouring rain one day) and no lines at all (we rode Space Mountain 4 times just walking right on) I do feel like we missed out on some favorites. We missed Small World, Haunted Mansion, Matterhorn and more. And no parades was a real drag. One of my favorite memories as a kid was Tinkerbell flying down from the top of the Matterhorn and all the fireworks. Not to mention the Electrick Light Parade.:glare: It was a real bummer to miss those things.

 

Is late October good? Early November? Our anniversary is the first week of Oct, that might be nice to plan around.

 

October and November are good times to go. I think Epcot has its Food and Wine Festival in October, so that may be more crowded. Last year, we went the week after Thanksgiving/first week of Dec. It was more crowded than I expected (I think the secret's out!), but we really enjoyed seeing the Christmas decorations and doing the special Christmas shows and events. September is also a great time to go, but still HOT. This is when Disney typically offers free dining, and they also have homeschool days and you can get greatly discounted tickets.

 

You can gets lots of great info and feedback on the disboards.com

[rwjx2khsmj]

I can tell you what worked for us. We packed snacks and made reservations for late lunch around 3pm. Making reservations in advance was so key to having a successful stress free meal and day. We knew where we were eating and when. We knew someone would be taking our order and bringing us everything we needed. We knew that it would be cool and we'd be able to sit, rest and regroup. That was priceless. If you are trying to be thrifty steer clear of the buffet restaurants. The sit down, order from the menu places have HUGE servings and are about half the price.

 

We had a good breakfast, snacked when hungry and had an ice cream treat around 7pm. We put a cooler full of drinks and sandwiches on ice in the car for when we were done at the parks.

 

Our favorite snacks were granola bars, hard boiled eggs, cubed cheese, tortillas with ham rolled inside, nuts, dried fruit and pepperoni rolls.

 

We rented a locker each morning and unloaded everything. It was a worthwhile investment. If you have a stroller, you might not want to do the locker. Be sure to mark the handle of you stroller with a bright scarf or something because they all look the same in the stroller sea.

[whitestavern]

Hope this isn't a hijack... If you experienced folks had to pick a favorite time of year to go, when would that be? I am thinking about it and want to put together a proposal for dh for next year. I'm guessing the last 1/2 of next year is best because we need the time to save.

 

We went to Land in Feb a couple of years ago and were a teensy bit disappointed that quite a few really good rides were closed for refurbishing, and no parades or fireworks at all. So while it was cool (pouring rain one day) and no lines at all (we rode Space Mountain 4 times just walking right on) I do feel like we missed out on some favorites. We missed Small World, Haunted Mansion, Matterhorn and more. And no parades was a real drag. One of my favorite memories as a kid was Tinkerbell flying down from the top of the Matterhorn and all the fireworks. Not to mention the Electrick Light Parade.:glare: It was a real bummer to miss those things.

 

Is late October good? Early November? Our anniversary is the first week of Oct, that might be nice to plan around.

 

We have been twice the very end of Feb into the beginning of March. It is a low crowd period (in between all the spring breaks). We really like to go in the winter, when we can escape the cold weather for the beautiful FL sun! Not sure where you are from though. We never encountered more than 1 or 2 closures and they had all the parades/fireworks, etc.

[dansamy]

I like February, but this year we are also going the 1st week after T-giving to see the Christmas decorations.

[kwickimom]

Make sure you check the dimensions of your coolers. Disney does have rules about sizes. Also be aware they look through every single bag when you get there and it will take a little time so get there super early.

 

We have a timeshare in orlando, but it is not a disney park so we do not get to go on the open early stay late days. Thus the best days for you to go is the day AFTER those days, because all the people at the resorts will take advantage of those hours and are less likely to be at the parks early the next day.

 

We went in the middle of July, it was 100+ degrees and super crowded. I planned it all myself by reading on www.disboards.com. The longest we waited in liine was half an hour!! You need a ride plan. Take advantage of all Fast passes, but make sure you plan for rides that dont have fast pass. We only had one day at MK and we got 8 autographs AND rode every ride we wanted to with no prob. I made sure to be first in line when Tinkerbell opened for autographs, went and got fast passes early, etc.

 

Alwats bring swimwear/change of clothes if you are going when it is hot and buy your own spray fan misters (these were life savers) We had a stroller and I will always bring one even if we dont have kids. Load it up with the coolers and extra clothes, etc. I also recommend rain ponchos as it rains off and on all the times there. There are little water areas everywhere and you will need them when it is so hot.

 

We never eat at the parks. We pack coolers with snacks and sandwiches, and then take a break midday and go back to the car to eat and refill. I pack big coolers in the car with lots of food and drinks. We are AAA members and y9ou can get prime parking passes from them. This means you are in a special lot up front so very minimal walking. We only wasred about 30-45 mons to go to the car and eat and it was a well needed rest with kiddos.

 

I also second bringing in plain water bottles and using the kool aid or crystal light packets. Less to carry. I bought an insulates backpack to carry with on all rides. That way we could have cold drinks in line and we also did the frozen washcloths.

 

From now on we will be going in september. This is a good month because everyone goes back to school and there will be little crowds and yet it will be hot enough to enjoy the beach for sure :)