Let's make a "Firsts-Timers" Master Tip Sheet!

[toledo13]

Great tips! My biggest is use hand sanitizer! Often!!!!!!!!!!

 

[pamjb]

Actually, it is for putting on your skin...but not for putting directly on blisters or broken skin. I'm sure putting it on the shoe would cushion a saw spot, but medically moleskin is for people who have impending skin damage/sore spots. Have used it with clients who are immobile and rub the same place over and over.

I have put it on a blister and left it there. Didn't remove it till it came off. I was able to wear shoes without any problem.

 

[KigerKat]

Subscribing so I can find this thread when I have more time to review it!!

 

[peanuttrip]

I was curious what this photo shoot at the GF is all about? I keep seeing it on different threads and thought I would finally ask. What is it and how do you go about doing it? Cost and all of the in and outs would be nice too.
Thank you.

one of the disney photographers will take pictures of you and your family for 20 minutes. right now they only do it at GF. by the end of the month poly will be on board and more to follow.

 

[PrincessTigerLily]

TRANSPORTATION TIME! We've made this mistake a few times! I have underestimated how long it takes to get to various parks and other resorts for dining reservations. When the nice lady at Disney Reservations says "I recommend that you alot yourself at least one hour for transportation before your dinner reservation" it would be a good idea to plan on it! We've made it in less time, but every time we figured it wouldn't take as long as they said, we ended up being late. It's better to be early rather than late!

 

[snickerboo]

Listen to the advice on this thread and others from your fellow DISers. Honestly, the best advice I got from booking to how to do WDW all came from these boards, not the guide books. There are ways to do Disney and ways NOT to do Disney!

My best piece of advice that I haven't seen yet in perusing this thread:
the thing you need to bring to WDW most is.........your sense of FUN. You will enjoy WDW so much more if you let yourself be a kid at heart. Ride rides, meet characters, savour the experience! You've planned so long and paid so much, just enjoy it and don't sweat the small stuff. Too many people look for the negative, or they worry they'll look silly, or they think, "I don't like rides". I don't like rides but I found out that Soarin' is the coolest thing I'll ever do, and that Splash Mountain is the most fun 15 minutes I've ever spent in my life!

Oh yeah, I forgot, and be polite! There's nothing worse than somebody being pushy to get their kid first in line or being rude at WDW. And the CMs are definitely nicer to the nice people-I've seen it first hand.

 

[PrincessTigerLily]

snickerboo - I second the "being polite" tip! That one is golden! Everyone comes to have their "magical dreams come true", and nothing ruins it more than rude and pushy people!

 

[Maves Wife]

my DH and I dont have kids. Lat year he bought me a huge mickey balloon on our last day - I didnt fancy my chances of fitting it up my jumper to try and smuggle it on to the plane SO as we were leaving the park we decided to give the balloon to the first child we seen that didnt already have one and wasnt acting like a brat (!!!!!) We chose a little girl who was sitting with what appeared to be her mum & gran, the look on their faces when we walked up and gave them the balloon was fantastic - and it was a great way for us to share a bit of disney magic. both of us got pleasure out of the balloon and poor mickey didnt get abandoned in our hotel room & pinned by a maid on the day we left

 

[dylanlogan]

I would recommend checking the website of whatever airline you use prior to departure for rules on what you can/cannot carry on. We travel quite a bit and thought we had this squared away but there are a few minor differences beween airlines that can REALLY jack up your packing and make getting through security a NIGHTMARE!!

 

[2BoysMom]

One of my favorite tips from my first trip to the world after children was to check out the character breakfast at the Crystal Palace very early in the morning. You get to go into the park way early, walk almost alone up Main Street to a wonderful breakfast, and then you are already in the park and all the way to the hub before the park even opens.

You can be first on whatever ride you like best, or wake up Tinkerbell. Now, I wouldn't incur the cost of the character breakfast just to get into the park early, but if you want to try it anyway, working the timing like this is a really fun thing to do.

This is a great idea. We have also eaten a light breakfast early in our rooms and then had an early LUNCH (11:00) at the Crystal Palace. Most people don't "think" about lunch til after 12:00. But the early lunches are less crowded and hectic (meaning more time with the characters), and as you are leaving you can smile, relaxed, as you walk by the later, long lunch lines. And you are riding rides, while a lot of folks are eating lunch! `

 

[Millie12591]

This is a great idea. We have also eaten a light breakfast early in our rooms and then had an early LUNCH (11:00) at the Crystal Palace. Most people don't "think" about lunch til after 12:00. But the early lunches are less crowded and hectic (meaning more time with the characters), and as you are leaving you can smile, relaxed, as you walk by the later, long lunch lines. And you are riding rides, while a lot of folks are eating lunch! `

We do the early into the park thing too! Love having Main St. and the Cindy's Castle all to ourselves.
Wanted to mention if those of you taking 2BoysMom advice on the early lunch idea (GREAT idea btw) you can have the best of both worlds if you get there around 11:30 or 11:45 because you'll get the last of the breakfast and get the beginnings of lunch! Now that's eatin!

 

[pegryfun]

If on the DDP, share your counter service meals. My DH and I did this towards the end of our last trip. Before we dicovered this, I would be so full by the time we had our sit down dinner, I never could finish and wasted most of my meal. Spread the CS meals and snacks throughout the day. I hope this doesn't sound crazy, but it worked for us.
Also, like others said, Ziplock bags, Index cards with plans on it.

 

[summerlandjeff]

Our essentials:

1. Pack "personal sized" toiletries (deodorant, toothpaste, sunscreen, disposable razors) to use on the trip. They last about a week and you can simply throw them out before leaving. Remember, all this stuff is very $$$$$ at WDW.

2. Pack a collapsable shoe tree. Never trip over flip-flops on the way to the rest room at 2:00 AM Again!

3. What ever you need, do with less! (like shoes! hope DW isn't reading this )

4. Organize, organize, organize! "A place for everything, and everything in it's place" is my motto! We always make sure our park passes are in the same place, wallet, purse, glasses.... no scrambling around wasting precious time!

5. Always have an alternate plan! What if it rains? Go to DTD for indoor fun. What if it's unGodly hot? Hit the water parks. We learned flexibility quick!

I could go on for hours, these are a few highlights!

 

[PrincessTigerLily]

These are all such great first-timer tips! Keep them coming!

On a food budget but still want to get that "Disney thrill" of character dining? Try a character breakfast, they are the cheapest, and if you plan it right (like a previous poster noted) at a place that serves lunch as well, you can get both breakfast and lunch offerings. I have yet to be disappointed by a character breakfast, and they run around $18 an adult and less for a child.

Also, a not-often mentioned place to eat is the Trail's End Buffet at the Fort Wilderness Campground. One of the most reasonable table service meals available at the world.

 

[Amps]

Here's my best tip for the men out there who need to shave on vacation:

There is no such thing as cold water at the value or moderate resorts, or at least never when I've been there (May, Aug, Oct). If you're like me and like to splash some cold water on your face after shaving to cut down on iritation, you'll find yourself lacking anything suitable. Instead, as long as you have access to a fridge, take one of the face cloths and soak it in water and then put it in a ziplock bag in the fridge overnight or while at the parks. Then after shaving, you can lay down on the bed with a nice cold compress on your face to help you relax and give you that babies bottom smoothness.

 

[PrincessTigerLily]

Amps - awesome and very useful tip! Great for everyone to freshen up when back to the room for a break from the parks!

 

[Condiment Queen]

I actually posted this advice on another Disney board but I think this could be some fantastic advice for first timers!

Some folks hate planning as it takes away from the spontaneousness of a trip... Me, I HAVE to have a plan. And you SHOULD always make sure you have SOME reservation for dinner. Keep in mind not always will plans work, but you can try your best to maximize what EVERYONE wants to do that way.

I agree with you to some dregree. Don't overload your schedule or you won't have the magical disney expreience but dont go without any plan or your not going to get to do everything you want to do! Best advice I've ever heard came from a Disney Planing Book (sorry, forgot whitch one) but chunk your schedule into Morning, Afternoon, and Evening! Have some idea of what your going to see and do but leave room for randomness! :wink:

For example, If you do MK and you are dead set to ride Space mountain, put it in your chunk scheudle and hit it when you can and not at 7:05 sharp! Becasue you never really know who you might see or when you may get caught in the middle of the parade (like the High School Musical Parade I got stuck in last year. Sorry for any HSM fans but I'm not a big fan!) And although we got held up for a bit we still got everything done becase I had alloted time for that Randomness! 8)

The key is to have a realistic game plan without runing the fun! Talk with your party about the things they want to see and do the most and pencil them into your blocks first saying "Ok, this morning we are going to the Magic Kingdom to ride Space Mountain and Stich, that afternoon we're going to ride Pirates and the Magic Carpets before we go to lunch at the Crystal Pallace, and that evening we will ride splash Mountain and watch the Spectro Magic parade!" Then you can use your best judgement as to anything else you would like to pencil in to that day, "Oh we still have a few hours before the parade starts, let's ride Space Ranger Spin!" or "Hey Stitch is out signing autographs, let's go meet him!" or even "Looks like they are getting ready to do a show, let's check it out!" Just a million different things that could happen! :lol:

This stratagy worked WONDERFULLY last year. We got to ride everything we wanted (minus the TOT, :lol: ) and more! We were never really rushed and could enjoy the trip. And Dinner reservations are a MUST! Espeically if you want to have dinner at Chef Mickey's or something like that. You just go right on in and enjoy yourself and the AC! They also help you too keep track of the time but not to the point where your parranoid about it. I would recomend donig one big resturant a day on the dining plan! Lots cheaper, very convienent, and lots of fun! It helps to keep enthuseasm in the younger ones so they are not constantly asking, "What are we going to do now? Where are we going next? where are we eatting for lunch?" :wink:

One last tip I can offer is to try and avoid backtracking. It my require a little more homework but it's easier on the feet. Try staring your day going in one direction and making a big loop blocking the attactions in the order you'll be seeing them. Again I use the MK as an example, let's say you want to start your day with Pirates! Start in adentureland in the morning, work your way to fronteeir land, then hop around in fantasy land, and work your way down to Tomorrowland to ride Space Mountain that evening. Turst me, your feet will thank you! :mrgreen:

 

[PrincessTigerLily]

During our first few trips, I was determined to prove it to all the planning books and naysayers that, YES, I could do everything gosh darn it! And we pretty much did, although we burned ourselves out. Nowadays we take a much more relaxed approach.
But, if you want to "do it all" and you have little ones, here is what we would do: As soon as the Magic Kingdom opened, we would pick up our little ones, and hoof it back to Fantasyland, DO NOT stop at the attraction board, DO NOT collect a stroller, and DO NOT collect go! Once you get to Fantasyland, go directly onto Dumbo (if it is on your agenda), follow that up with Peter Pan, Pooh, and the rest of the Fantasyland attractions. You can usually get onto all the rides if you go straight back with minimal crowds since they are pretty close together. Then, we would walk sweating and swearing back to the front of the park to get our stroller. Crazy? Yes. Effective? Heck yeah.

 

[elainefair]

Hat and Sunglasses. Hat and Sunglasses. Hat and Sunglasses.

I always need them. It is the thing that I am MOST LIKELY to forget.

hat and sunglasses.... hat and sunglasses ... hat and sunglasses

 

[Hunny]

Hat and Sunglasses. Hat and Sunglasses. Hat and Sunglasses.

I always need them. It is the thing that I am MOST LIKELY to forget.

hat and sunglasses.... hat and sunglasses ... hat and sunglasses

Don't forget your sunglasses and a hat!