This post is more for myself than anything else...These are things I want to remember if we ever go to Disney World again. (And I hope we do!!!)
- Planning - plan ahead! Do your research! There are tons of resources out there about WDW and it can be overwhelming. Choose one or two to keep it simple. I used Tour Guide Mike and The Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World 2012. Both were very helpful!
- Our schedule - Since we were traveling with 5 kids (ages 7, 6, 4 1/2, 4, 2) we knew we would have to take a break during the day. We got up early and arrived at the park when it opened (or before for our two breakfast reservations) and stayed until about 3:00 each day. Then we went back to the hotel to rest, swim, and freshen up. We went back to the parks around 5:30 each evening for dinner and nightly entertainment.
- Strollers - We used the WDW strollers...each family got a double. We paid for all four days on the first day, and then just showed our receipt every day to get our stroller. On the first day, I honestly thought it was going to be annoying to keep up with, but I was wrong! It was a lifesaver! There were times when all five kids were piled in our two strollers! It was also helpful to hold our backpacks and drinks!
- Photo Pass - There are Disney photographers everywhere who will take your picture anytime. They will give you a card that they scan each time they take your picture. We prepaid and got the Photo Pass Plus, which included a CD of all the images taken and photo packages at all of the character meals! It was kind of pricey, but well worth it.
- Disney Dining Plan - We got the dining plan that included one counter service meal, one table service meal, and one snack per person for each night of our stay. It was worth it because the cost of eating at Disney without the meal plan is outrageous! We used all of our table service and counter service meals, but we had quite a few snacks leftover. We ended up cashing them in at The Confectionery on Main Street in the Magic Kingdom on our last night. The kids ended up getting some fun Disney treats to enjoy after we got home.
- The Polynesian - The hotel was fabulous in every way! It's beautiful! The pools are wonderful! The location was great - being able to hop on the monorail at the hotel was so convenient. It is a luxury hotel though, so if you're on a budget, it may not be the way to go. You don't spend much time in your room so it really shouldn't matter where you stay.
- Fast Pass - Take advantage of Fast Passes!!! It's free and saves so much time! This is where my planning was helpful. I knew what attractions we should get Fast Passes for and which ones we shouldn't. One thing to remember about Fast Passes is that you can only have one at a time. (You can't get another one until the Return Time on your current Fast Pass.) We usually had one person take everyone's tickets (cards) and go get Fast Passes for all of us.
- Character Meals - Strongly recommend! Kill two birds with one stone - eat and see characters at the same time so you don't waste time in the parks waiting in line to see them. For character breakfasts, choose the earliest seating so you can enter the park before it opens. You get a head start on some of the attractions because you are already inside the park when it opens AND you get to take pictures in the park while it's empty!
- Number of Days - We spent 4 days in the parks, and we all agreed it wasn't enough. We needed one day in the middle to rest and take it easy, or to make up for things you really want to see/do.
