--Mistakes--...Learning experiences:
#1. Letting DH pack...(he wound up with 2 shirts, besides the one he was wearing at the time... i wound up doing laundry... which turned into kind of a good thing.. i got to "escape" after DS (5) and he had crashed.. walked to the laundry building, started them up, and did some shopping in the gift shop (blessedly alone), then put them in the dryer and spent some time pool side, on a warm november night.
#2. Having to buy $14.00 batteries because I left my replacements IN THE HOTEL ROOM! DOH!
#3. Thinking that higher price equals better food. It seemed the more expensive the food, the less appetizing it was. Our best meal: Burgers/Fries/Chicken at Starlight Cafe. Our best buffet: BOMA Our least favorites: Portabella Yacht Club, Rose & Crown.
#4. Taking a 5 year old to Epcot.
#5. Not a mistake, but something I will do in the future, is buy one (or two) more smart discs for my digital camera. I had to purchase two kodak picture CDs so that I could save my photos I'd taken the first three days. (and I have the largest memory size smart discs).
Things we did right:
#1. Not taking our huge fold up stroller. Cant tell you how many dads and moms we saw wrestling with their stroller getting it on and off the buses, trams, trains, etc...
#2. Using the buses. Even though we stood up for about half the trips we took, the relief of not having to navigate, use gas, find parking, etc. was soooo worth it. It was nice to get on the bus after a long day, and just relax too.
#3. Bottomless mugs as the Resort. DH is a major "coke head"...
#4. Not buying any souvenirs until the last few days.
#5. Using our Disney Reward Dollars for the bulk of the trip (our resort/ticket package, and about half our food).
#6. Stopping at Ormond beach on the way down for a few hours. As anxious as we were to get to WDW, it was a nice relaxing retreat before hitting the crowds. I think next time we'll do this on the way down, AND on the way back.
#7. Finding a good deal on a dorm refrigerator and borrowing a friends mini-microwave, for our week long stay at AllStar Music. Packing breakfast, snack, and lunch foods saved a good bit of money, and kept us from being too hungry and snacking too much in the parks.
#8. Not trying to do "everything" everyday. In fact, our first evening there we decided not to do a park, and instead went to DTD. We ended up not using two days worth of park tickets because we didnt want to PUSH all the time.
#9. Letting our son (who turned five while we were there) set the pace, and destination more often than not for "his day" in the MK. We only vetoed his choices when safety was an issue or when we knew something he didn't understand. We wound up having a very special moment with him and Mickey at the end of the evening in MK one night. This is the kid who refused to have anything to do with the characters.. wouldn't talk to them, get photos taken with them, or associate with them... so after trying to get him to "meet" several of them the first half day, we gave up... when picking the "next place" to go, he wanted the Judges Tent. We tried to tell him what it was, but he insisted... so off we went. He was tentative at first, but wound up shaking Mickey's hand, getting pictures with him and talking to him. Amazing!
#10. READING THE DIS BOARDS and listening to the DIS PODCAST!!