Comments on: Disney World: Top strategies for a great family trip!

By: Minako Akiba

Minako Akiba — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 16:03:04 +0000

Hi… just happen to cross your site… I love Disney too!!!

Im planning to go to Tokyo or Hong Kong Disney this Christmas. Hoho and I found some Stickers from Hong Kong Disneyland as well:
http://disneysticker.cwahi.net

Disney is a Great place for even 20 plus year old like me! :-)

By: Grandma-Judy

Grandma-Judy — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 19:58:12 +0000

We’re starting to plan a trip with the 4 Grand-Kids ages 5-7-9-11. Anyone ever stayed at the Fort Wilderness Cabins? Pros & Cons?

By: DadsGuidetoWDW

DadsGuidetoWDW — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 02:30:28 +0000

t-bone – You might want to be careful booking the first week of December. There is a big cheerleader and football competition the first full week of December. All of the Value Resorts will sell out real early. The kids are busy during the day, but in the evenings the parks are over run with rowdy teens.

By: Emily

Emily — Sat, 06 Jun 2009 13:17:08 +0000

I have a tip for the monorail. My family visited Disney World over spring break. The monorail line from the magic kingdom to the transportation center was extremely long. There is also a monorail that goes to the resorts. This line is always short. The second stop on the resort monorail is the transportation center!! We took this train every night. You can also ask to ride up front with the driver if you have four people or less. He will give the children little co-pilot cards.

By: t-bone

t-bone — Sat, 06 Jun 2009 12:18:54 +0000

As someone who worked at WDW during my college years the best time to visit from a temp and crowd perspective is November(except Thanksgiving week) and early December. January will be slow as well but it has the potential for some pretty cold days. As for the ride strategies, pretty typical stuff presented in the article. I am always struck, however, by the objective in visiting WDW that riding the most rides is the epitome of a successful visit. To me, WDW is so much more than just rides. If you want maximum ride experiences there are a ton of amusement parks that pack in the thrill rides. Stop and look at the attention to detail Disney packs in the parks. Enjoy the beauty and cleanliness of the place. Enjoy a parade, guarantee it will be the best parade you ever see. Enjoy the fireworks, again some of the best you’ll ever see. I know doing these more mundane things with kids can be a challenge but Disney does offer things for all ages, if you bother to look for it.

By: Peachy

Peachy — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 21:27:17 +0000

P.S. My hubby and I are Disney NUTS! It’s our kids’ favorite too. We *have* to go every year and our favorite times to go are early to mid November – they deck their halls right after Hallowween!; and mid-January to late February, since it’s still relatively cool, before spring break, and not quite into the rainy season. We booked a hotel room at the last minute and got over 50% off the regular price.
As Far as bringing vs renting strollers – I love my double stroller, and the “stoller parking” areas are always manned (even though they don’t control who takes what) so I get a shopping bag and put the phone/camera, wallet, and other valuables in it. They usually let you take small bags on rides, or leave them with the attendants as you board.

I’m giving away all my secrets too! lol

By: Peachy

Peachy — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 21:16:50 +0000

I recommend a few things, having gone several times myself (both before and after having kids):

Bring your own bottled water, and granola bars (w/o chocolate) or fruit snacks – one (refillable) bottle for each person, and granola bars/fruit snacks b/c they can get bent or squished and kids will still eat them if they want a sweet treat. I actually saw someone dragging around a rolling cooler once!!!

Make sure your cell phone has a still/video camera and has removable memory; makes for fewer things to carry and a lot more room for pics and videos.

Bring your own journals and colored sharpies if your kids want autographs – WalMart sells journals of several colors and styles with unlined paper in their office supply section; let the kids decorate them, and paste pics of the characters inside after you develop your digi-prints. Sharpies come in a myriad of colors now.

Magic hours and fast passes are KEY. Take advantage of them.

I second the motion to bring your own ponchos all year round (walmart, 99 cents, package the size of a deck of cards).

Bring hand wipes (get a plastic ziplock bag and put baby wipes in it) – they do everything from cleaning hands before dinner, to substituting for TP, to wiping off sweaty painted cheeks when they fall alseep in your lap on the bus…

If anyone has special dietary needs, plan your meals in advance. You can call Disney (407-W Disney) and tell them what you need, and they can direct you to the best places. If all else fails, you can leave the park, grab a bite at the hotel, recharge, and go back!

Hats/sunglasses/sunblock – use all three, you won’t regret it. (And you won’t look like a tourist!)

Bring a jacket/sweater if going anytime between October and March – it may be warm during the day but it cools off quickly once the sun sets.

Bring a little extra cash than you expect you’ll need, just in case, but make a commitment to stick to your budget. Each person gets one special souveneir, and take advantage of the (sometimes free) delivery to your Disney hotel room.

Pace yourself and listen to your body. If you’re hot and tired, and your 4yo says, “Mommy, can we go back to Gramma’s house/the hotel?” your answer should be, “Sure honey.”

Most importantly – have fun! We always make a list of all the rides/attractions we want to hit in priority order, and we make sure to do our top 3 or 4 first so no one feels left out.

We were at Mickey’s House as well over Memorial Day Weekend; it was funny, we saw alot of people from Gainesville there. Dreams…come…TRUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUE!

Sorry for the long post! :o)

By: Mouse World Vacations

Mouse World Vacations — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 16:40:32 +0000

Why not let a Disney Certified Travel Agent help you do all that planning??? It saves all your time and energy for your actual trip!

They can help you make all the arrangements, plan all the itineraries and offer helpful advice. They will know more, will have seen more, and booked more situations then any “regular” person could ever deal with. Even someone with an annual pass that goes everyday to WDW will not have booked hundreds of hotel reservations, help hundreds of families, newlyweds, guests with specials needs, family and group trips and more like a Disney Certified Travel Agency.

Best of all if you find the right one (like at MouseWorldVacations.com) they won’t charge you extra for those services. They just do it ’cause they love Disney too!

By: teeincsg

teeincsg — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 13:23:33 +0000

I’ve done Disney without my kids. I see nothing wrong with it.
If you’re still a child at heart and like that kind of stuff, I say go for it.

By: teeincsg

teeincsg — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 13:18:56 +0000

Great tips!
Do you sit for the timeshare presentation when you get to Orlando? or is it given somewhere else?

We’re taking our kids in September for my daughter’s 5th birthday. It falls on a Tuesday, so we’re hoping the fact that school would have started and it’s the middle of the week will mean a decrease in crowds and an increase in fun!
This will be her and my 2-year old son’s first Disney World experience. I think I’m more excited to see their reactions than anything. Of course we haven’t told them or we’d be harassed from now until September! (LOL)