What Did You Wish You Knew Before Going?

[DoulaMel]

This is our first trip back in more than a decade and we will only be traveling with one teen rather than six kids. This will be a totally different experience.

I feel like we should stop reading and just relax and enjoy but I am also feeling that a certain degree of planning needs to happen based on how busy things can be in the park.

What did you wish you knew before going to any of the four parks?

 

[CrazyHare]

That I was going to have to go with the flow even more than I thought. I had stuff pretty organized and planned. But having some flexibility really made our trip magical.

If something isn't working, be open to changing something up.

You can modify your fast passes the day of. So when you use the first one, see if you can move the next one up. We were a party of 3 there during a slower time. So I used this a lot. We got our first 3 used quicker and got 4th, 5th and 6th ones pretty easily. I also used this to push one back so we could stop and do something my husband wanted to do. It made more sense to do that than to criss cross the park.

 

[pitpat]

the first trip I learned about rope drop made a huge difference for us

 

[Delirium]

Fighting mid-day heat and crowds simply is not worth it. Seriously, if you do't have a FP for something, and you've not ridden it before 11:00 A.M., you may as well wait until two hours before park close before getting in line. Spend your mid-day at the resort, eating at a table service (with reservations), or going to shows in the parks while everyone else waits in line 45 minutes for a 3 minute ride, often while standing directly in the sun.

 

[fractalpotato]

That I was going to have to go with the flow even more than I thought. I had stuff pretty organized and planned. But having some flexibility really made our trip magical.

If something isn't working, be open to changing something up.

You can modify your fast passes the day of. So when you use the first one, see if you can move the next one up. We were a party of 3 there during a slower time. So I used this a lot. We got our first 3 used quicker and got 4th, 5th and 6th ones pretty easily. I also used this to push one back so we could stop and do something my husband wanted to do. It made more sense to do that than to criss cross the park.

This was a big one, sudden rainstorms delayed our ability to ride Test Track the same time a Garden Grill ADR was suggested. I pushed back a later FP in DHS, hit Garden Grill and then TT after it dried off and still had plenty of time to hit Studios. Adjusting on the fly is actually pretty exciting.

Matt

 

[Ouida]

I'm surprised more people are not posting here. I'd love to hear some of the ways your current strategies were formed??
I can say our last trip, it's amazing how much time you waste dealing with little issues. Like finding a bathroom without a line. Getting a quick service meal is not so quick, especially if you have to stand in more then one line. And if you have little ones, the busses can be so crowded that we had to pass, wait for the next buss so our kids had a seat. This year we built much more time in our plans, so much things don't stress us out.

 

[Bob Dolewhip]

I wish I had known how much my little ones would want to watch parades, shows, and fireworks. This stuff is less interesting to me so I didn't really budget time for it. We had to switch up some plans when I saw their intense desire to see Minnie Mouse dance on stage.

 

[lynzi2004]

1. If you want to ride good rides multiple times, rope drop is a must! Our kids love BTMRR, we rode 3x one morning and Splash 2x by 10am during the first week of April. No, you don't have to rope drop every morning but if there are some things you would like to enjoy multiple times this is an easy way.

2. If you pass a bathroom and "kinda" have to go or someone in your party does, everyone goes. Not as big a deal with a small party but no one wants to sit and wait on bathroom breaks all day.

3. We like to do late breakfast 10:30-11am ADRs or early dinners 4pmish. It's a great way to take a break in the park without actually leaving.

4. Adjusting FPs on the fly is a great way to get more.

5.Dont underestimate the value of parades, shows, and kiddie rides, even with bigger kids. Nostalgia is what makes some classics so great!

 

[pitpat]

if eating Quick Service, go at off peak hours.

Don't leave with the masses after nighttime entertainment. Hang back and hit some rides, grab dessert, shop or just people watch.

 

[Ouida]

I wish I had known how much my little ones would want to watch parades, shows, and fireworks. This stuff is less interesting to me so I didn't really budget time for it. We had to switch up some plans when I saw their intense desire to see Minnie Mouse dance on stage.

When my youngest was 4, all he wanted to do was ride Barnstormer and the little Mermaid. Over and over, and they were not close together either. He liked nothing else about disney. Lol. You just can't guess these things in advance.

 

[msk]

2. If you pass a bathroom and "kinda" have to go or someone in your party does, everyone goes. Not as big a deal with a small party but no one wants to sit and wait on bathroom breaks all day.

Such a great tip! We usually go with our children and grandchildren so we are a group of 4 to 7 people. Our rule is if one person goes - everyone has to try!

Eat at off times! It is so much easier.

Especially in the summer heat - Go back to the resort during the middle of the day. It is wonderful to cool off, relax and many times miss the afternoon thunderstorms while in the parks.

Take as few things into the parks as possible!

 

[#1hoosierfan]

Uber and Lyft are readily available and cheap if you want to get between parks or back to your resort and you don't want to wait for a crowded bus.

 

[AppleSister1]

I haven't answered because my first adult/planning trip was so long ago! But here are some things we've learned over the years:

1) Rope Drop really works for us! You can get a ton done in that hour. Now that my nephews are teens, they like to sleep in sometimes, but even they know if we have a priority, they need to get up!
2) Park Hoppers. We really like the flexibility of leaving a crowded park and going to another, or eating in another park.
3) ADRs - at least a few for table service. Nice to know you have a few reserved, especially at busy times or with a big party.
4) Relax! As we've all gotten older, we've done our trips at a more relaxed pace. We reserve our FPs and plan our days, but if someone (or all of us) decided to skip one or two, or sleep in, no biggie!

 

[Gehrig1B]

1) Rope Drop really works for us! You can get a ton done in that hour. Now that my nephews are teens, they like to sleep in sometimes, but even they know if we have a priority, they need to get up!
2) Park Hoppers. We really like the flexibility of leaving a crowded park and going to another, or eating in another park.
3) ADRs - at least a few for table service. Nice to know you have a few reserved, especially at busy times or with a big party.
4) Relax! As we've all gotten older, we've done our trips at a more relaxed pace. We reserve our FPs and plan our days, but if someone (or all of us) decided to skip one or two, or sleep in, no biggie!

This is spot on.

Do not waste hours standing in line. We never get in a standby line of more than 20 minutes. To do that we always stay 8-10 days with hoppers and get to the parks early, FP+ rides during peak hours and attend shows at that time as well, and take advantage of EMH.

 

[alan68]

I wish I had known that DD6 was more interested in riding the rides than meeting the princess (although she was very interested in that too!) I would have tried harder to get fastpasses to 7DMT and other rides.

 

[SteveMP]

Nothing to add, just subscribing as our first trip ever to WDW is end of this month.

Have a great trip OP!

 

[TXDisneyFan1]

For all the planning I did, the best memories I took from our trip came from doing the things my kids wanted to do, or things that we did spontaneously. My two daughters and I had a great time waiting for SM to close so we could get the sling pack that my daughter dropped while we were riding.

Just keep a positive attitude and you can't help but have a great time and create special family memories no matter how far you stray from your "plans."

 

[mi*vida*loca]

ADRs. I had no idea WDW had restaurants. My xh had been every year as a kid but they ate off site or packed food. We went for the first time together in 2003 so I didn't know about the dis and the internet wasn't what it is today. When we went back in 2008 and found the dis a few weeks before. I made a few ADRs and we loved it.

Rider swap.

 

[leahlefler]

Definitely the ADRs. When we went in 2015, I had booked several on a lark, and we really, really enjoyed the sit down restaurants. More than we thought we would. After getting stuck in the rain with nowhere to sit at one lunch at a QS location, I vowed to make ADRs for all future trips. Our Feb 2018 trip has a scheduled sit-down restaurant for every lunch and dinner. We can cancel if needed (a day before), but at least we know we can sit, get a drink and good food, and enjoy the theme of the restaurant each day.

Flexibility - we keep an eye on the weather and crowd conditions, etc. and will cancel an ADR if we need to change our plan. Last year we flew in on a Sunday. We noticed the weather on Monday was going to be 83 degrees, so we canceled our LTT reservation at the MK and went to Typhoon Lagoon on Monday afternoon. It was a little spontaneous and extremely fun. We also found our 7 and 9 year old boys were really into the characters (we hadn't anticipated them to be), so we grabbed a last-minute reservation to a character breakfast. I will always remember that morning - they will be 10 and 12 at our next trip and are most definitely not as interested in characters now. I am glad I seized the moment when they were 7 and 9.

Having a skeleton plan. Making sure we know what park we're going to be in as the "main" park (even if we hop to a different one later), ADR's in place, and FP+ booked. It is easier to modify an existing plan than to be stuck in chaos without one at all.

How much we would like the on-site Disney resort. The high quality and theme were fantastic and we loved our evenings back at our resort.

 

[NH-to-FL]

First, based on what I sense from your self-awareness, I think you are ready.

I am going to add my vote for rope drop. You can get so much done in the first couple of hours. Add a couple of FP+ and you'll be amazed by how much you can do before lunch.

If you decide on rope drop, consider a mid day break. It is a vacation after all.

Unless you are a dedicated foodie, consider the possibilities of quick service food. There are a number of reasonable QS scattered around the parks. They save both money and time. Especially if you can eat a bit early or late. Getting lunch at 11am is what works for us after an early rope drop start. Perhaps consider one special TS dinner for you and your spouse.
Wishing you a visit!