Disney tips everyone should know

[peg110]

Wait, do you apply the moleskin directly onto your skin? I've applied it to the inside my of shoes but it doesn't stay put for too long. Have I been doing it wrong?

Well you can put it on the shoe or other material which is rubbing, but it works best (and stays best) by putting it directly on the affected area.

 

[UmmYeahOk]

Downtown Disney Marketplace

If possible, go here the very first day. They have almost everything offered in the parks as far as souvenirs go, sometimes more. Because we did this the first day, I didn't feel compelled to shop everywhere at the parks. Sure, I'd walk in the gift shops just to confirm it was something I hadn't seen, but pretty much, yes, I had seen it. This meant more time could be spent going to other attractions, and I didn't feel like I was missing out because time was limited.

I noticed that as the years and decades go by, the diversity in souvenirs has become less and less, and most stores have the exact same merchandise in several places at several parks. Each park (including the Disney Marketplace) will even have one store dedicated to nothing but Frozen merchandise (didn't that movie come out, like, 2 years ago?)

HOWEVER, avoid going here a weekend. You don't need to pay admission to be there, so a lot of locals will go there for shopping and entertainment, treating it like a normal weekend activity. Theme restaurants like Rainforest Café and T-Rex will have 3+ hour waits because in addition to the weekend shoppers, people will make reservations for birthday parties and such. So, if its a weekend, try going to Animal Kingdom instead, and catching a bus since that park closes early.

 

[UmmYeahOk]

Characters

If you are staying at a disney resort, and go to MGM/DHS during magic hours, head over to the Disney Junior Live building after the first Fantasmic. There is a pretty sweet dance party, with four different characters, which periodically change out for different ones. My daughter got to meet and dance with Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, Pluto, Jake (from never land pirates), Sofia (the first), and Jane (little Einsteins). They also bring out ballon artists that makes all sorts of wild things for both children and adults.

This was a definite must, and we only stumped upon it by surprise. Was able to spend an hour or two there, which gave my daughter some serious one on one interaction. I am extremely amazed at how well the characters can dance, despite the weight and heat, and also how they somehow don't step on any toddlers.

Forget the characters breakfasts! This was the first park we went to, but sadly wasted two hours at a character breakfast at our hotel, which had Minnie (which I missed waiting in line for a waffle) and Pluto. Brer Bear and Brer Fox were also there, but we missed them since our hotel wouldn't allow us to make reservations. But, most people don't know who those characters even are, let alone the fact that they are technically disney villains (Why do you never see Brer Rabbit?) So anyway, had I known, we could've spent two more hours at the park!

If you are the parent of a child who MUST see Anna and Elsa, god bless you soul, and pray that you can get a fastpass. When I did mine, 4 weeks before the trip, they were all gone, and despite being the less busiest time of year (first week of march) the fastpasses were all given out, and wait times peaked at 180 minutes. Best for any princess (there's two sets) was 90 minutes.

 

[mikepizzo]

Lol me & my mom were JUST talking about this literally an hour ago! I always make sure to be friendly and kind to the cast members, because they're human just like the rest of us. They try really hard to put a smile on people's faces, even if they're having a bad day themselves. I hate watching people be rude to them!

It never made sense to me why people are rude to the people who can make their experience more enjoyable.

 

[peg110]

It never made sense to me why people are rude to the people who can make their experience more enjoyable.

Or more miserable depending on your attitude.

I realize we all have bad days and get frustrated, but the CMs themselves are rarely the actual source of the problem. (although sometimes they could be), so why be mean/cruel to them. It's a sure way to NOT get what you want/need, at least not in a "Timely" fashion.

 

[ChimCher-ee]

This is a little off the "tips" topic, but I have to say, I always come away from a trip to WDW nicer (for a few days, at least) because seeing so many CMs being so pleasant most of the time makes me feel as if it truly is as easy to be nice as it is to drop a snide comment.

But...I didn't really appreciate how nice the CMs are until I spent three days at Universal. Several times, employees mocked me or others in our line as we tried to find the door/correct aisle/opening in a queue--I was struck by the thought that (1) I had never been set adrift finding the right spot to go in a WDW queue and (2) if I ever did, no one would make fun of me for it. There were other incidents, nothing major, but I did find myself comparing.

 

[harrison080699]

Props to my wife on this one: before you start your day, use your cell phone to log on to MDE and view your ADR's for the day, take a screen shot of the ADRs and save the photo as you background. Easy viewing access all day.

 

[UmmYeahOk]

Props to my wife on this one: before you start your day, use your cell phone to log on to MDE and view your ADR's for the day, take a screen shot of the ADRs and save the photo as you background. Easy viewing access all day.

This. I remember going to WDW in the past and having no cell phone service simply because the network was full. So before I went, I took a screen capture of every fastpass I had, as well as took a picture of our tickets and receipts, just in case. I was able to send these images to my husband, so he didnt hafta constantly ask me "what's next and when?" I also had instant access to this info and did not hafta wait for the site to load and log in to view them from the website, which is pretty slow considering we went during off peak times.

This habit is great, as I did the same thing for our flight back, which continually kept getting canceled. According to AA, our flight did not even exist until I showed an employee my phone. Helps finding your parking spot at the airport too. If you're driving to a park, be sure to take a pic of where you are and the parking sign.

And just because someone next to you decided that Philharmagic would be an awesome time to share all their photos they took that day on Facebook, does not mean that you will have Internet access or even regular phone service whenever you decide what a more polite time to use your phone would be. Just assume that even if your call can go through, odds are good the person you're calling can't hear the phone ring. So, if you're splitting up, even if its just to go to the bathroom, make sure your party knows where to meet/wait, like next to a lamp post, or trash can. I never once lost my family because I always told them where I was going and where I would meet them before splitting up.

I believe people mentioned powercells for recharging phones, I also would like to remind everyone to back up everything, and then delete your old photos/videos before you go. I was so paranoid that I was going to run out of room, that I lugged around an old iPhone 3GS with me as well as brought an old laptop to the hotel to store everything in. All I needed was just one phone, and still had plenty of room. Videos are great because you can capture the best frame for your pictures, so I tended to take a lot of videos for character meets.

 

[Accident]

If you purchased memory maker and end up not liking any of the photos, don't download them. Using memory maker doesn't start until you download a photo. It lasts 30 days from when you download the first image. Timing when to download the first photo or maybe skipping downloading any might be able to save you some money on future trips.

I have an unused memory maker in my account or over a year now and just confirmed on the phone that this is accurate and still available until 30 days after I download my first picture with it.

 

[UmmYeahOk]

I don't know if PhotoPass is different, but the pics from my March 2015 trip are no longer there. We seriously considered purchasing one of the pictures, but even just the digital download was crazy expensive. I ended up taking a screen capture of every photo that was taken, both on my phone, and on desktop. I'm not going to ever make a poster from it, so I really don't care how awesome the resolution may be.

 

[JustCor]

1. Bring a ziplock bag. If you're going on a water ride or it starts raining (it's Florida, it's bound to happen) you'll have a place to put your phone/wallet/random thing to keep it from getting potentially ruined.
2. Buy handkerchiefs. They can be found at Target in five packs for three bucks. They're handy to have and pack smaller than tissue.
3. An altoids tin makes a great, compact first aid kit that easy slips into a pocket. Pills, bandages, and lotions are some of the things that fit in the tins. A quick Google search can give you ideas of how versatile the tins can be.
4. Take at least three times as many pictures than you think you'll need. You can always delete the ones you don't want. You'll never get back the ones you wish you took.

 

[peg110]

Take at least three times as many pictures than you think you'll need. You can always delete the ones you don't want. You'll never get back the ones you wish you took.

The digital age makes this an absolute definite. Especially with how cheap memory cards are now-a-days. Get a 32GB (or larger) card. We go on trips with our DSLR (lower end but still very good) and I love that if I hold the button down it keeps taking photos (unless it requires a flash then it need to recharge before the next picture). We end up with hundreds of photos (some with eyes closed or someone not looking) but at least there is usually one or two that are perfect.

I still keep the goofy ones too. They're just as much a memory as the "Normal" ones.

 

[LoodlesNoodles]

I still keep the goofy ones too. They're just as much a memory as the "Normal" ones.

Sometimes they turn out to be the favourites for the hilarity.

 

[peg110]

Sometimes they turn out to be the favourites for the hilarity.

My kids don't like them but I try to tell them that they don't like them now and find them embarrassing but when they are older those are the ones they will want.

 

[patches07]

Love All the advice

 

[locashaina]

We took the kids two years ago for their first (our 2nd) disney experience. I found a few ways to make their experience better .
Before getting there I purchased them each their own gift card with $30 on it from the Disney store so if they wanted souvenirs they had the money and also had to decide how much they wanted it since they were spending their own money, worked great and I didn't have 3 kids asking for EVERYTHING they saw at each shop.I also purchased them each a princess or Minnie outfit on clearance to wear 1 day at Magic Kingdom on the day we went to princess breakfast.They loved this! From Party City I bought inexpensive disney trinkets and laid them out something each morning to discover including Minnie Mouse ears bought for about $5 less than the park charged. We heard alot about pin trading from others and how much fun it is for the kids especially (it was ! The kids and even us had a great time with this) so I bought some cheap lanyards at party city with princesses on them and to start everyone out I went to ebay and purchased a few bags of mixed lot pins they could use to trade. The pins they traded with cast members made not only great souvenirs but they had the experience of bartering and fun conversations meeting everyone and choosing which pins they wanted from the cast members.
Another thing I loved was finding and using Touring Plans , granted we went in late August but with that in hand and our fast passes we NEVER waited in line longer than 10 minutes. Look it up , it's great, you type in what you'd like to see/ride in each park each day , and it will organize your itinerary for the least amount of wait times and you can even schedule meals/breaks. We saw /did everything twice and had a few hours left over to just spontaneously wander.
I love all the others great tips and already found a good many to use if we get to go again.

I don't have kids yet, but I LOVE the idea of buying the mixed pins on Ebay to trade!

 

[jec6613]

The digital age makes this an absolute definite. Especially with how cheap memory cards are now-a-days. Get a 32GB (or larger) card. We go on trips with our DSLR (lower end but still very good) and I love that if I hold the button down it keeps taking photos (unless it requires a flash then it need to recharge before the next picture). We end up with hundreds of photos (some with eyes closed or someone not looking) but at least there is usually one or two that are perfect.

I still keep the goofy ones too. They're just as much a memory as the "Normal" ones.

Even in the pre-digital times, the best advice I got was, "Film is cheap!" 10 rolls of good film with an SLR, plus the lithium batteries to run the motor drive, will only set you back $100 with developing and scanning, and that's 360 images.

From a normal day's shooting while traveling, WDW or elsewhere, I'll come back with 300-400 images or so per day (about 15-20 GB with my body), but the corollary to the above that film is cheap, is that digital storage is also cheap. 1 TB is under $100 even for high quality storage, can store around 20,000 images at 24 megapixels in lossless raw, and my online backups (unlimited capacity) cost me under $100/year.

 

[KatyTheFairyPrincess]

Just a warning that MOST (not all) of the pins you can buy on ebay in mixed lots are fakes (scrappers). While a CM won't stop you from trading (they're not allowed to) it's just something to keep at the back of your mind.

 

[mattchu758]

My tip is to take a break from the parks after the 2nd or 3rd day of your trip, especially if you are there for a week. You're feet will be tired and you'll need some rest. My family and I would usually take the morning off, go to the mall and then go to a park at in the evening for some night time entertainment.

 

[LoodlesNoodles]

Just a warning that MOST (not all) of the pins you can buy on ebay in mixed lots are fakes (scrappers). While a CM won't stop you from trading (they're not allowed to) it's just something to keep at the back of your mind.

Thiiiiiiiiiissss.
Sure it seems great for your first trades, but the more people that do this, the more fakes there are in circulation and you could end up trading a legit pin for a fake and thats not fun!;