Trip is paid off!!!

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mavlax20

Active Member
Original Poster
My girlfriend and I finished paying off our trip last night!!! We have just over 80 days until our trip, and it will be my first time at Disney since the late 90's, so a lot has changed. We have our dining reservations already set, and basically, it is going to be a memorable trip, I already know that.

Any tips or tricks the average joe doesn't know that willhelp make the trip even more memorable?
 
Weather_Lady

Weather_Lady

Well-Known Member
mavlax20 said:
My girlfriend and I finished paying off our trip last night!!! We have just over 80 days until our trip, and it will be my first time at Disney since the late 90's, so a lot has changed. We have our dining reservations already set, and basically, it is going to be a memorable trip, I already know that.

Any tips or tricks the average joe doesn't know that willhelp make the trip even more memorable?
Click to expand...

Congratulations! It's hard to give advice since I don't know what you don't know (you know?);), but if you haven't been there since the 90's, I'd make sure you were familiar with: (1) how Fastpass currently works; (2) which attractions in each park are the "headliners" that you'll want to get to first thing or else Fastpass (I'll attempt to list them below); and (3) transportation options to and between the Parks and resorts. Of course the biggest tip is always "arrive EARLY (or be willing to stay late)"! You can get more done in the first 2 hours after rope drop than you'll be able to do for the 4-6 that follow.

Attractions to visit first or else Fastpass:
- Magic Kingdom: Peter Pan, Adv. of Winnie the Pooh, Journey of the Little Mermaid, Enchanted Tales w/Belle, Buzz Lightyear, Space Mountain, Splash Mountain, Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, possibly Jungle Cruise and the character Meet-and-Greets, and do Astro Orbiter first if that interests you
- Epcot: Test Track, Soarin'
- Hollywood Studios: Toy Story Midway Mania, Rock 'n' Rollercoaster, Tower of Terror, possibly Star Tours
- Animal Kingdom: Kilimanjaro Safaris, Expedition Everest, Dinosaur
 
Soarin' Over Pgh

Soarin' Over Pgh

Well-Known Member
I'm with danpam!

The only 'tip' I can give you is to use cash NOW. Whenever you buy something, use cash. If something is $17.03, hand the cashier $18. Don't make change; save all your change in your piggy bank (mine is named Gilbert, and wears Mouse ears!) and KEEP SAVING. It's the easiest way to accumulate a nice little vacation sum without feeling the pain of putting away xx amount of dollars per paycheck.

I've been doing this for years, actually... last time I emptied Gilbert he had about 6 months worth of change... totalling over $170. He'll get another empty before my trip (May!) and I'll exchange coins for cash then.
 
Tink0102

Tink0102

Well-Known Member
mavlax20 said:
My girlfriend and I finished paying off our trip last night!!! We have just over 80 days until our trip, and it will be my first time at Disney since the late 90's, so a lot has changed. We have our dining reservations already set, and basically, it is going to be a memorable trip, I already know that.

Any tips or tricks the average joe doesn't know that willhelp make the trip even more memorable?
Click to expand...

Woo hoo!! We just finished paying ours off last week and right now have 87 more days. It was such a great feeling making that final payment.
 
ShookieJones

ShookieJones

We need time for things to happen.
I have two words: Rope Drop

I will elaborate (cuz that's how I roll) on those two words:

Be at the parks for rope drop and beat the those god forsaken crowds.
You'll have all the rides \ attractions (most of the awesome ones pointed out by @Weather_Lady ) knocked out by the time lunch time rolls around! Then you can use the rest of your afternoon to enjoy the park at a more casual pace.
Do some shopping, eat some premium bars, watch a show, grab a couple of fast passes and hit some of the rides again.
Head back to the resort - rest, swim, get all dolled up for your ADRs. enjoy a fine WDW TS meal then head back to the parks or perhaps one of the deluxe resort's bars for some libations and a midnight stroll.

Sounds pretty perfect to me.


EDIT: CONGRATULATIONS! Nothing like paying off the trip (except driving under the WDW welcome arch)
 
W

wdwfan4ver

Well-Known Member
weather lady is right what she said and that means I don't tell need to tell you some of the same things.

I don't know if you can do thrill rides or not, but I do have some advice for attractions and at WDW based on the little information I know about you trip outside not going for a long since I don't know the amount of day you are going.

1.) You need to print out a map of the parks before leaving or grab one at the park. It would help you for finding attractions.
2.) Be at the park when the Park opens because the first hours mean a lot for getting the busiest attractions done because they will getting worst as the day continues on. That means if DHS opens at 9:00 a.m., you need to be at DHS at 9:00 a.m.
3.) Grab a fast pass the first thing you go into the parks, but do it at a busy attraction that weather Lady mentioned.
4.) Toy Story Midway Mania is the busiest attraction at DHS. If you want to go on it, do it as your first attraction or grab a fast a pass.
5.) Soarin' and Test Track are the busiest attractions at Epcot and that means do them first if you want to do them. My advice is get a fast past for one of the two attractions, than do the attraction you don't have a pass for.
6.) Don't do the shows as the first thing in the parks because each show is timed and you can go there later on in the day.
 
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wdwfan4ver

Well-Known Member
There is something I wish I could help you with advice, but I can't. You are at WDW when Disney is middle of doing their Star Wars Weekends at Disney Hollywood Studios since you mentioned just over 80 days before your trip.

I never went there doing that time and I can't tell you how busy Star Tours will be as result or how DHS will be for that week. It might be busier than normal over there as I know.
 
DfromATX

DfromATX

Well-Known Member
mavlax20 said:
My girlfriend and I finished paying off our trip last night!!! We have just over 80 days until our trip, and it will be my first time at Disney since the late 90's, so a lot has changed. We have our dining reservations already set, and basically, it is going to be a memorable trip, I already know that.

Any tips or tricks the average joe doesn't know that willhelp make the trip even more memorable?
Click to expand...

What a good feeling to have it paid off, knowing you won't come home to any debt! Kudos to you! You'll have a great time!
 
Tiggerfanatic

Tiggerfanatic

Well-Known Member
Soarin' Over Pgh said:
I'm with danpam!

The only 'tip' I can give you is to use cash NOW. Whenever you buy something, use cash. If something is $17.03, hand the cashier $18. Don't make change; save all your change in your piggy bank (mine is named Gilbert, and wears Mouse ears!) and KEEP SAVING. It's the easiest way to accumulate a nice little vacation sum without feeling the pain of putting away xx amount of dollars per paycheck.

I've been doing this for years, actually... last time I emptied Gilbert he had about 6 months worth of change... totalling over $170. He'll get another empty before my trip (May!) and I'll exchange coins for cash then.
Click to expand...
I am a fanatic about saving change - everyone kids me about it. But last year, I saved $1000, enough to buy my daughter a new laptop when she left for grad school. And I'll have more than that, just in change, for the Dream Girls Cruise in September.
 
Figgy1

Figgy1

Well-Known Member
Congrats!!!!!!!!!!!! Target charge card can save you 5 percent on Disney gift cards! So what I do is buy a few cards walk right over to cs and pay them off so they won't charge me interest! Stars Tours lines can be brutal durring SWW the the rest of the park will be quite manageable!! I practically walked right on to TOT and RnR! ROPE DROP be ther about 45 minutes before and you will get so much done!! Have a magical trip and remember you won't get everything done so pick what looks the most important to you and get them done! In EPCOT Tangerine Cafe ans Sunshine Seasons has the best cs food!
 
M

mavlax20

Active Member
Original Poster
We have our ADRs already made, and I will begin saving change today. It's tough using cash in today's world but it is possible. We are going for 7 days/6 nights and have a general idea on which park we are going to visit each day. We are staying at PORS (which was called Dixie Landings the last time I was there). I'm an early riser and my gf isn't, so trying to get her up to make sure we are there for rope drop could be tough, but I'm sure it's nothing a cup of cold water won't fix...I know, I'm evil lol. But I do have one dinner that we will have to pay for out of pocket, a fancier dinner, but she doesn't know where, she just knows that I made a reservation to another place. Don't want to reveal too much since my gf may stumble upon this thread, gotta keep my secrets. I do have some change around my house, so I'll start putting that in a big jar or something, who knows how much I can find randomly lying around the house.

Also, we are actually going to be there after Star Wars weekends (dang jobs) but who knows when we'll make our next trip (hopefully 2014)

I will start saving today though, much easier to save coins than to try and save in your account when it's easy to overspend now and days.
 
Tink0102

Tink0102

Well-Known Member
GSP Guy said:
If you plan to do Kilimanjaro Safaris then try and do it first. The animals tend to be much more active in the morning.
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A friend of mine told me the same thing, so we have booked the Donald's Safari Breakfast for 8am on the morning AK has their EMH's. We plan to do the Kilimanjaro Safari right after breakfast. Do you think we need to get a FP before we go in for Breakfast considering it will be so early? This is our first trip so I havent figured out FP's yet.
 
GSP Guy

GSP Guy

Well-Known Member
Tink0102 said:
A friend of mine told me the same thing, so we have booked the Donald's Safari Breakfast for 8am on the morning AK has their EMH's. We plan to do the Kilimanjaro Safari right after breakfast. Do you think we need to get a FP before we go in for Breakfast considering it will be so early? This is our first trip so I havent figured out FP's yet.
Click to expand...
Given the time of year you are going a fastpass would be a good idea. This is a great plan. Last trip in November we did the same thing, breakfast then safari. It has been a while since I was there during the summer because my kids are grown now but I'm sure another poster will have advice on the logistics of your fastpass timing with your breakfast.
 

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