Best Disney tip you ever got!

[StarDarlingsFan]

Tips I've read in this thread so far (summarized for easy-readin'):
- Keep to the LEFT in queues.
- Take a break mid-afternoon and go back to your resort to nap/relax. Return to the parks in the evening.
- Alternative to above: Take a break mid-day and relax at an air-conditioned restaurant
- Glow Sticks at Nighttime/Fireworks shows for Little Ones instead of buying novelties @ parks
- View Illuminations from Paris
- Get the last reservation at Rose & Crown and request outdoor seating to watch Illuminations
- Buy ponchos at chain stores instead of at the parks to use in sudden downpours
- Big crowds start around 11am, so get as much done before then as possible. (MK)
- When staying late to watch fireworks/nighttime shows, don’t leave right after they’re over. Wait as much as an hour, then exit when the crowds have gone.
- Catch the “Kiss Goodnight” at Cinderella’s Castle (at park closing)
- If it starts to rain, try waiting it out inside a building. Sometimes the crowds will thin after a sudden shower.
- With little ones, do Table Service restaurants for lunch, then head back to room for a nap. Save Quick Service for nighttime.
- Dine during off hours to avoid long lines.
- Safari ride in AK is best at morning/during rain showers
- Ice water is available for free at any QS restaurant serving fountain drinks
- Go to the park that had EMH the day before. It’s usually less crowded
- Avoid MK on Mondays. Historically, least crowded day at MK is Friday.
- Unless you want to view the parades, avoid the route area. Know the times and routes before you go so you can avoid them.
- If you plan on riding Splash Mountain/Kali River, wrap your phone, etc in a plastic baggie
- Wear a poncho on water rides
- To avoid Main Street crowds, go through the gift shops and alleys
- Take turns carrying the backpack
- Bring washcloths to dry off seats/tables after rain
- Take a picture of your kid every morning before you leave for the park. This helps if they get lost.
- Take a picture of your car location in the parking lot so you don’t forget where you parked.
- Have a list of go to places when you need a break from walking, standing, the sun, etc
- Laminate park maps before leaving for your trip. You can also use a sharpie to mark things you really want to do, write dining reservation times and confirmation numbers on them, as well as parade/special event times. When you get home just spray hairspray on the sparpie-d area and wipe with a dry cloth- comes right off!
- The best spot for Celebrate the Magic and Disney Wishes fireworks has to be sitting right behind the Walt statue. Usually I actually stand because people can get in your way, but if you can snag a spot on the seats there, the view of the graphics on Cinderella's Castle and the fireworks are just spectacular and perfect for pictures.
- When you are exiting It's Tough to be a Bug, go to the left instead of following the crowd out to the right. Not only do you gets away from everyone but it leads you down a gorgeous path (discovery island trails) with some animal sightings that you might have missed otherwise.

 

[NonnaT]

Tips I've read in this thread so far (summarized for easy-readin'):
- Keep to the LEFT in queues.
- Take a break mid-afternoon and go back to your resort to nap/relax. Return to the parks in the evening.
- Alternative to above: Take a break mid-day and relax at an air-conditioned restaurant
- Glow Sticks at Nighttime/Fireworks shows for Little Ones instead of buying novelties @ parks
- View Illuminations from Paris
- Get the last reservation at Rose & Crown and request outdoor seating to watch Illuminations
- Buy ponchos at chain stores instead of at the parks to use in sudden downpours
- Big crowds start around 11am, so get as much done before then as possible. (MK)
- When staying late to watch fireworks/nighttime shows, don’t leave right after they’re over. Wait as much as an hour, then exit when the crowds have gone.
- Catch the “Kiss Goodnight” at Cinderella’s Castle (at park closing)
- If it starts to rain, try waiting it out inside a building. Sometimes the crowds will thin after a sudden shower.
- With little ones, do Table Service restaurants for lunch, then head back to room for a nap. Save Quick Service for nighttime.
- Dine during off hours to avoid long lines.
- Safari ride in AK is best at morning/during rain showers
- Ice water is available for free at any QS restaurant serving fountain drinks
- Go to the park that had EMH the day before. It’s usually less crowded
- Avoid MK on Mondays. Historically, least crowded day at MK is Friday.
- Unless you want to view the parades, avoid the route area. Know the times and routes before you go so you can avoid them.
- If you plan on riding Splash Mountain/Kali River, wrap your phone, etc in a plastic baggie
- Wear a poncho on water rides
- To avoid Main Street crowds, go through the gift shops and alleys
- Take turns carrying the backpack
- Bring washcloths to dry off seats/tables after rain
- Take a picture of your kid every morning before you leave for the park. This helps if they get lost.
- Take a picture of your car location in the parking lot so you don’t forget where you parked.
- Have a list of go to places when you need a break from walking, standing, the sun, etc
- Laminate park maps before leaving for your trip. You can also use a sharpie to mark things you really want to do, write dining reservation times and confirmation numbers on them, as well as parade/special event times. When you get home just spray hairspray on the sparpie-d area and wipe with a dry cloth- comes right off!
- The best spot for Celebrate the Magic and Disney Wishes fireworks has to be sitting right behind the Walt statue. Usually I actually stand because people can get in your way, but if you can snag a spot on the seats there, the view of the graphics on Cinderella's Castle and the fireworks are just spectacular and perfect for pictures.
- When you are exiting It's Tough to be a Bug, go to the left instead of following the crowd out to the right. Not only do you gets away from everyone but it leads you down a gorgeous path (discovery island trails) with some animal sightings that you might have missed otherwise.

Nice work! THANKS!

 

[IanDLBZF]

Here's some tips of mine:

• The top two best times to visit WDW with less crowds are in the months of May and September
• Be well rested, and have a goodnights sleep before you go to the parks!
• Make sure to have your phone fully charged, and make sure to bring a battery pack with you to the parks!
• Make you dining reservations early, especially for the more popular restaurants, i.e. California Grill, BOG, and others. If you can't find the one you want, keep looking around, especially in the days before you leave or intend have that reservation!
• Avoid going to WDW during late June, and the entire month of July, wherever practical. It will be very hot, crowded and busy!
• It is best to do 7DMT as early in the day as possible if you can't snag a FP+ for it!
• And finally, please be aware and attentive to your surroundings. Wheelchairs and strollers and others things are everywhere so don't wear your earbuds while in the parks!

 

[princesscaitlin92]

1. you CAN bring food in to every park. nothing glass, or anything that has to be heated. but you'll definitely save a ton of money by doing so.
2. go grocery shopping when you arrive so that you aren't eating out every night and you save some money there as well.
3. every park lets you bring in bags and water bottles. universal's parks provide you mostly free lockers where bags are not permitted, and disney allows bags on every ride, and provides lockers (at an additional charge) for water rides.
4. EXPEDIA!!!!!
5. rent a car, do not rely on the transportation that the hotel provides.
6. download the app
7. get magic bands
8. make fastpass reservations early
9. make dinner reservations early and check back frequently if you can't find what you're looking for.

 

[StarDarlingsFan]

Some more tips I've read around the 'Net:

- Empty Mentos or M&Ms containers to carry the pressed coins. Bonus: Soak/polish the coins before using in the pressing machines.
- Bring a stack of Take Out drink lids. Turn upside down, stick popsicles/ice cream pop sticks through the straw hole and the lid will catch all the drips.
- Shout wipes, Tide pens, etc for food stains on your clothes
- Bring a Power Strip if you have multiple phones, tablets, laptops, etc that need to be charged every night
- Over the Door shoe organizer (fabric, not plastic) for extra storage at the hotel room
- Pop Up hamper for personal laundry at the hotel room
- On hot summer days, freeze the water bottles you bring with you to the parks. They should be mostly thawed and still cold when you’re ready to drink them. BONUS: put the frozen bottle in a clean, white sock to prevent it from sweating on the other items in your bag/backpack
- Deodorant/Body Glide, applied to areas prone to chafing.
- Spray on deodorant, applied to feet to prevent sweating.
- Moleskin or blister cushion to prevent blisters on your feet.
- Battery-powered, handheld fans, especially the misting kind, OR stroller fans
- Noise Cancelling headphones for little kids that are sensitive to fireworks noise
- Earplugs for loud rides
- Kids’ collapsible stepping stool for use at the bathroom sink in hotel room
- Sharpie for character autographs, especially the retractable tip variety so you don’t have to keep track of the cap.

 

[hrusnica]

-Bring a bunch of ziplock bags. They come in handy for saving leftover dessert, carrying wet socks, keeping cell phones dry on water rides, and other unpredictable uses.
-Get in line for the resort bus at 7:40 if the park opens at 9:00. You'll be at the front of the crowd and get a ton done in the first couple hours.
-The pirate adventure at thePort Orleans hotel is only $37 per kid and it was great fun for the 4 and 5 year olds in our group. The 8 year olds enjoyed it too, but the younger kids dressed as pirates for the rest of the week and did their "pirate handshake" over and over. It is a great activity for an off day and gives the grown ups some time to relax.
-Don't put a large bottle of sunscreen in your carry-on. Don't forget this rule. TSA will confiscate it.
-Don't just ride the rides and leave. Take time to enjoy some parades, shows, characters and entertainment. The parks are so much more than just rides.
-Have a plan, but be flexible. Start planning and making reservations as early as possible.
-You will get soaked on Kali River Rapids, but not on Splash Mountain.
-I don't think anyone rides Stitch's Great Escape twice. It is a terrible experience. Unpleasant. Really. You've been warned.
-Akershus has amazing food AND princesses. Loved this place.

 

[danniyell]

My tips are;
- Always leave the MK if you feel crowded and visit GF \ Poly\ Wilderness lodge for a lunch break - there are quick service counter restaurants there and are usually overlooking a pretty area. You can also hire a Sea Racer and get have a lovely experience.

- if your staying on Disney property always use the car parks instead of the buses to get about....you get free parking and you can travel to a Disney hotel to eat after you leave.

- always take teabags if your from the UK - and ask for hot water at the restaurants - saves you money!

 

[Tyaloo]

Hello everyone! I just read the other day, that sitting in the center part of the monorail will get you off faster than sitting near the front or back (of the entire monorail, I mean). I will test this out this fall !

Also, have your children write in the Blue Fairy Wish Book in Pinocchio Village Haus. My daughter did it 2 years ago, and lo and behold - she got "Blue Fairy Wish of the Day" and was presented with a full sized Cinderella doll!

She wrote in that wish book again last year, and nothing - but you never know when a CM will see you and pick you! It was such a fun moment!

 

[Princess Lily]

My best tip is definitely the free ice water. As a family, my parents never really planned our trips out in loads of detail when we were kids, but our last visit I scoured the internet for tips and tricks and came across the ice water tip. It honestly saved us SO much money in the parks, I'd say well over $200 (at least)! There's 4 of us, and buying say, 4 bottles of water/drink 3 times a day in the parks on a 14 day holiday reeeeally adds up. We're not the kind to take backpacks and carry a lot round so we'd always buy water there, but since finding this tip we've never gone back to the bottled water! You can do the same in pretty much every park, we tried it at Busch Gardens, Seaworld and Universal and they all give it out

 

[Cowboy Steve]

For me it was choosing a spot near Paris for Illuminations in EPCOT, then exiting the park toward the Boardwalk. This saved us tons of time waiting for the buses in front of EPCOT, not to mention the crowds near the front exit.

Hi! Just had a quick question... Where did you catch a bus from the Boardwalk to other resorts? This sounds awesome as it is a loooong walk out to the bus stop after Illuminations

 

[Cowboy Steve]

One of the best tips we came up with was renting a locker each day in the park. We have a small lightweight backpack we carry with us... but keep our rain ponchos, snacks, water, jeans/sweatshirts/jackets (December can be chilly) in the locker. My family has been going to Disney World since 1972... and for the first time in 2011 we visited WDW in early December. WOW! My mom had always wanted to see the parks decorated for the holidays and we were not disappointed! This year will be our 4th trip since then and we always go the week after Thanksgiving! Neither my sister nor I have kids, so we have the flexibility to visit anytime, and I can't imagine visiting any other time of the year!

Another tip - some special dining event dates may not show up on the website for making reservations at 180 days out. But if you call the dining reservations phone number they may be available! In previous trips we had tried unsuccessfully to get tickets to the Wishes Fireworks Dessert Party. On our trip this year the website was not showing select-able dates during our visit. I called the reservation line to ask how far out they release those dates for the dessert party... and the CM was able to make reservations for us. HINT - she had to look under Tomorrowland Terrace... NOT Wishes Fireworks Dessert Party.

 

[SeanWM48]

so many great tips in this thread. had a hard time thinking of anything to add that hasn't been covered already.

-pack light for your park day. seriously. my first time around i had a backpack with me in every park and the second trip i didn't and i noticed right away how great it was to just travel light. i think a lot of people over-pack for these things and you end up lugging so much stuff around.

(i don't travel with kids so this might be easy for me to say at the moment though!)

 

[Cowboy Steve]

I figured something out yesterday. We had a change of schedule to our dining and were looking for available options. I had always picked a specific time when looking and my wife always picked "lunch" or "dinner". Well, we figure out that she got different results than I did! We prefer to eat on the earlier side, but when picking a generic meal, they didn't offer up the earlier times. When I would pick either 11am or 5pm for our meals, we found there were times available that weren't shown when the generic "lunch" or "dinner" was selected!

Yes sir... I stumbled across that as well. We just recently hit our 180 day window and the frantic Reservation Race game to try and get the ever elusive BOG dinner reservation lol. I was able to snag an early dinner reservation for BOG on the last full day of our trip... but it wasn't on one of our 2 MK days (we have a system for our days). Hopefully something will open up when we get closer to the trip - but if not we will finally get to have dinner in the mansion!

 

[nighttowll]

Best advice I ever got - Do research / buy a guide book / use a touring plan

Best tip I've only seen once, but was really useful:
If flying, pack a cardboard box or boxes full of items you will use up like snacks and breakfast foods, liquids you can't take on the plane, disposable cups / plates / silverware, paper towels, ziplock bags, etc. Get the return label ahead of time for the box. Ship the box straight to your resort 1 to 2 weeks before you are due to check in. Then after you use up all the items, fill the box back up with souvenirs and ship it back.

This worked so well for us. We packed 4 good size cartons, probably 12 x 12 x 8. Bellhop delivered them right to our room for us. Then we just stuck the return label on the boxes and took them back down to the desk to be picked up with the rest of the resort mail that goes out everyday. So much cheaper than paying to check luggage, and I didn't have to carry anything extra through the airport going or coming. Disney may pick up luggage on their end, but I have to do it on the other. This way UPS did the carrying, delivering all our souvenirs to the front door.

The trick is you have to remember to get the return labels. This way you don't need to worry about finding an actual package store. You only need to find a UPS / FedEx / or USPS pickup spot which all hotels will have.

Another tip along this same line is to order supplies straight from Amazon and have them shipped straight to the hotel if you don't need the souvenir return service having a pre labeled box gives you, this is a good option as well.

Useful advice I've heard over and over and used:
Free ice water
Ziplock bags
Rope drop
Take breaks
Buy ponchos ahead of time
Make a plan, book ADR in advance
Do at least 1 character meal even if you don't have kids with you
Use a small cross body bag or purse as you can wear them while you ride almost every ride
Lost card lanyards for small children
Explore the resorts
Breakfast in room
Before park opening ADR
Very long time ago - book Fantasmic Dining Package
Look for Hidden Mickeys
Let Tinkerbelle out for the day (believe this is no longer around)
Don't leave if it starts raining
And so many more that have been mentioned here in this thread

 

[Cowboy Steve]

Rope drop

Rope drop? Is that when the park first opens? At the amusement park I worked at, we called that the 'running of the bulls' lol.

 

[nighttowll]

Rope drop? Is that when the park first opens? At the amusement park I worked at, we called that the 'running of the bulls' lol.

Yes, sorry. I didn't go into detail, as most of the tips such as arriving early or before opening have already been mentioned and pop up all the time on the boards and in guide books.

 

[Variable]

Stay offsite

 

[NonnaT]

Stay offsite

Never! lol!

 

[Variable]

Never! lol!

The dark side has has a strong hold on this one!

 

[Scrungo]

Save yourself the struggle and watch the Magic Kingdom parades from Liberty Square or Frontierland. If you still insist on a spot on Main Street, try near the barber shop.

If you want to watch the Electrical Parade, plan to catch the second parade of the night, you'll be waiting an extra hour with the lines for the monorail and trams anyways since everyone lives after fire works.