Best Kept Secrets & Tidbits of Info...

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-27-2003
Best Kept Secrets & Tidbits of Info...
15
Thu, 08-31-2006 - 10:44am

I must say that reading through this board has given me some great insight into plannig my Disney trip next year.

andrea1.gif picture by ascherm 

Pages

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-27-2003
Tue, 09-05-2006 - 8:44am
Thanks everyone!
andrea1.gif picture by ascherm 

Avatar for snowbabies97_98
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-26-2003
Tue, 09-05-2006 - 3:43pm

First thing that comes to my mind after our trip last week is, Dining Plan, Dining Plan, Dining Plan!


We stayed at Ft. Wilderness Campground, with the good intentions (hah!)

Rebecca

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-26-2003
Fri, 09-08-2006 - 10:23am

i didn't read all the other posts, sorry if repeating...

#1... if staying on-site, do MK extra magic hour in the morning. if not staying on-site, be there a little before opening time. the crowds start coming in around 10am - 11am. you can get a lot of rides done before that, then take it easy the rest of the day.

#2...plan on the afternoon rest everyone talks about. even if your little guy doesn't nap anymore, the mental and visual stimulation of the parks can be exhausting for the kids. We've done it a few different ways... we'd have an adr for 11:30am in the park, and by that time we were pretty much done riding every important ride since we had been there since opening or extra magic hour. we were ready to sit down and eat. a character meal is nice, since you have to eat anyway, then you won't have to stand in lines in the park to get pics and autographs. if eating counter service, eat at off-times (11:30am is good for lunch). Then we left the park for naps/swimming/rest, then back to the park (or a lot of people 'park hop' at this point and go to another park, we haven't done that yet too much). then you're ready for an evening at the park. OR we stay in the park after lunch and watch the 3pm parade, then leave and we're done for the day. then it's evening swimming at the hotel and dinner.

#3... the fireworks from MK... if your little guy isn't too scared of the noise (you can use ear plugs too), the noodle station is a great place to watch from, because Tink flies right over your head. plan to get there early and get a table right against the balcony, and you can eat a late dinner then, or get your little guy a simple toy and snack to pass the time. If he's scared of the noise, the Poly beach or Grand Floridian Marina are great places to watch from. you get a whole different perspective from out there (seeing the whole show instead of standing under it in the MK). we try to do both ways, because they're both great! you can get a snack from the fast food place "gaspirillas" at the Grand Floridian and get a table to watch from, or grab a hammock or beach chair at the poly beach.

#4... strollers... if renting at MK, when getting off the TTC ferry (or walking down from the monorail), there are stroller cm's who you can pay and get a ticket and nametag from right there, then go right up to the cm's who hand out the strollers and avoid the counter line for purchasing your rental. get a multi-day ticket if you'll use it. I'm not sure if they have these cm's at the other parks. OR bringing your own umbrella is nice too (or buying one down there, even at disney)... and depending on how many days you'd be renting, would come out cheaper buying and ditching at the end of the trip then renting. depends on your child, if you feel you'll need it at DTD, the resort, etc.

#5... Dinner at Tony's in MK... make an adr for 1 hour or so before parade will start, get there early and ask for a patio table outside and watch parade from there.

#6... i haven't done this yet but plan to my next trip... watch the parades when you can from the back of the park (frontierland? adventureland?)... they have maps w/ the route so you'll be able to see where to grab a spot. Main Street and the castle area are always SO crowded and people are grabbing spots an hour or more before parade time. we could never do that w/ our kids. you'll miss tink flying at night though, but the daytime parade i'm definitely doing that this next trip.

#7... ask to sit up front on the monorail... you ask the cm at the station and you might have to wait, but it's great fun for the kids.

#8... have a general idea where each ride is in the park, which ones have fast pass, and which ones don't and you need to hit early on in the day. example... race track cars (i always forget the real name) in MK - that line is ridiculously long all day, and is slloooowwwwwww! Hit it first if your ds wants to ride them, which he probably will. Dumbo is slow loading too. If barnstormer if very important to your ds, find out when Toontown opens (usually an hour after park opening) and be there for the rope drop. It's just such a waste to wait in any line for a half hour... we've never waited more than 20 minutes, and that was only once or twice. we usually have 10 minutes or less waits and use fastpass and see everything. getting there early is the key! i know i've said that a lot, but i just cannot stress it enough.

#9... use fastpass!!!!! I cannot stress this enough too! Example: Since buzz has a fastpass, don't wait on the standby line... grab a fastpass, eat, shop, ride TTC and see Carousel of Progress, then do buzz. you'll do all of tomorrowland in the time you would have waited for the stand-by line for buzz. Just be aware that fastpasses can run out for the day, depending on the ride and time of year. Or can be hours away and you cannot grab another one till a bit before the 'window' comes up for your current one (make sense?)... so always check the times listed above the fastpass machines. BUT if you use extra magic hour in the morning for MK, or at least get there for opening, you'll not have to do many fastpasses anyway because you'll get on most everything before crazy crowds hit.

that's what has popped into my head for now. enjoy your planning!!

Liz :)

Avatar for snowbabies97_98
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-26-2003
Fri, 09-08-2006 - 3:40pm

Ooh!

Rebecca

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-27-2003
Thu, 09-21-2006 - 9:51am

These are great!

andrea1.gif picture by ascherm 

Pages