Disney tips/advice

[farrijc]

We are headed to Disneyworld in two weeks, our kids have never been - they are 9, 6, and 4. I'm planning on renting a double stroller and carrying a hipster with my camera, wallet, and phone in it. I'm thinking DH will carry a backpack with everything else.... I'm assuming he will just be able to leave it in the stroller while we are on rides? Any tips or tricks you've learned that you'd like to share? We are going with family that have been before and have let them take control of the planning. I'm asking more in terms of things you'd recommend packing or actually taking to the parks.

[webseitler]

I wouldn't. I try to pack light, so we can take our bags on rides.

You can take water into the park. :thumbup: You'll want it, even if it's cooler out now. Because otherwise, it's $3.50 a bottle for filtered water...

[nesser1981]

Go to the disboards.com, so much great info. That was my main source of info when we went on Keira's Make A Wish trip! We froze bottles of water to take in the parks, they thawed by the time we wanted it. We left our bags in the stroller when we went on rides.

[BrattyMeg]

Have they made dining reservations and such for you? Where are you staying? On property or off? Makes a difference in transportation to/from the park

I recommend using an app for wait times and best parks to visit...I use wdwlines which you have to have an acct with touringplans.com or there's also easywdw to give you the best parks on what days.

[eranslow]

I don't really have much to add - but Steph from the daily digi just started up a new site - capturingmagic.me and you might be able to find out some answers to your questions there :)

[Txcorey]

Just got back Sunday night from Disneyland. This isn't what you asked, but my biggest piece of advice is to get to the parks right at opening if not 20 to 30 minutes before they open. The parks are so much less crowded the first couple of hours they are open and you are able to get so much done without the crazy crowds. I took a large tote bag into the parks with me and took at least 2 bottles of water and a few snacks each time we went into the parks. We didn't eat much of the snacks, but definitely drank the water. The nice thing about the stroller is that you can probably store the water and snacks in it and not have to lug it around. You may also want to think about an autograph book for the kids. I used Julie's premade pages and also made some of my own that we had the characters sign. My son is 6 and he really enjoyed getting autographs this year. We even got all the princesses autographs. He was the only boy in the line but he was all about those signatures ;0)

I actually enjoy the planning part. You may want to at least familiarize yourself with the rides and what's at each park so you'll know what your family will enjoy. I highly recommend The Unofficial Guide to Disney World. It's my favorite guide book. The disboards are also a wealth of information.

Hope you have a great trip!

[BrattyMeg]

I agree about getting to the parks early...the days we made rope drop were our best days

[Nettio]

When we went to Disneyworld we took our Camelback backpack filled with water and Adam just took it on rides with us. Ours wasn't that full, mostly just coats, a few snacks etc but we didn't run into any problems.

[farrijc]

We are staying at one of the value resorts. We are definitely planning on being at the parks when they open. And yes, my SIL made our dining reservations 180 days out. We are doing an early breakfast at both the magic kingdom and at animal kingdom... If I remember correctly.

My kids haven't expressed any interest in getting autographs. Maybe they will change their minds once we get there... Who knows?

[julifish]

You can take a mini cooler in the park with you. So you could freeze juice boxes or water bottle if you have fridge/freezer and take that in the park. We used to leave ours in the cooler and never had any issues. Same with our back pack full of snacks. Just don't leave anything in there you don't want to part with.

If you can find a spiral bound unlined notebook pack it with some Crayola markers (the fat ones). Your kids could share that for autographs if they decide they want them. If not you can use it to play pictionary when you are waiting for rides, at dinner, on the bus. I found little ones at Target many years ago that had color paper in them and we still use them now (it's been like 5 years).

I always start my day at the one thing we really want to see so we don't miss it. In Magic Kingdom that is Fantasyland. Our day was always much better once we got those rides out fo the way and if we wanted to come back to them we could. Ending in Tomorrowland is fun (night time with the lights) but you'll want to send an adult to get Fast Passes for the bigger rides.

I take a picnic blanket with me, just put it in the bottom of the stroller so the kids don't have to sit on the plastic. I use it when it's time to find a spot for the parade. Much easier to send one person with the blanket to find a spot (Adventureland/Liberty Square is good place for this). Just put the blanket down and you've saved room for at least 4-5 kids easy. You could use a towel from the hotel as well. If it's cold you can use it for cover, if it's hot it keeps little butts from being burned by the pavement (but it shouldn't be that hot this time of year).

In Magic Kingdom at the Barber Shop on Main Street, it's $5 to get sparkles and color in your hair. They will even put girl's long hair in a bun, stripe the top and then sprinkle with glitter/confetti. For boys they spike their hair with gel, add color to the tips and a put a Mickey head on the back of their heads with color. What a great treat for the kids for a low price!!!! We make it treat for the day - if they are good the day before then they get that as their treat the next day. 3 strikes and there is no treat. Everyday I had a treat in mind. EPCOT - slushies at the Coca Cola tasting center, MK - Sweets shoppe or hair, Hollywood Studios - Carmel apple to eat while watching Beauty and the Beast, Animal Kingdom - ice cream during the parade.