I have been lucky enough to travel down to Walt Disney World a few times in the last year. With every trip, I learn a little more about what makes a trip extra special for our family. I’ve also learned what can turn the best day ever into a not so great day and how to avoid those mistakes.
Here are 7 mistakes I won’t repeat on our next trip to Walt Disney World:
1.) Not scheduling enough rest breaks or down time:
We hadn’t been to Disney World in 10 years ago, when my youngest was too young to remember. So, I really wanted to make this trip a trip of a lifetime in case it was her only trip to the Mouse’s House. I jam packed our schedule with lots of time in the park and only scheduled small amounts of time for breaks. We were staying at the Boardwalk Villas and barely even checked out the resort, never mind the boardwalk area.
2.) Not sticking to the schedule
Although I believe in not being too rigid in your planning and going with the flow, we stayed longer than we planned to almost every day in every park- which also contributed to mistake #1. Even on the days I had scheduled pool time or just down time, we ended up staying in the park and trying to do more. While in theory this may seem ok, we were all overtired by the end of the day.
3.) Buying too many groceries for the room
I wanted to cut some costs by buying groceries and having some breakfasts in the room, as well as having some snacks on hand. Unfortunately we didn’t really eat breakfast in the room and no one ate the snacks. So, I ended up with food coming home with us and some getting tossed (which I hate). Maybe if we had spent more time at the resort, we would have eaten those groceries but it probably cost me an extra $50-$75 when I could have just bought a case of water and not the food.
4.) Making a reservation for the Pirate’s Cove during MNSSHP
My daughter wanted to be a mermaid (or a pirate, or a mermaid pirate) for Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party. We made a reservation for a little before the party started. Only, so did a lot of other people and they were running behind meaning we missed about a half hour of time in the party. After sitting there waiting for 45 minutes to have her make-up done, my daughter was also very grumpy. Next time we’ll schedule it for earlier in the day or just skip it altogether.
5.) Making a FastPass+ Reservation for Mission Space
Honestly, every time except one that we wanted to go on Mission Space, we got on in about 5 minutes, even for the orange team. This was true in October as well as February. Maybe during the holidays or peak season, you need a FastPass+ for Mission Space but we sure didn’t. I could have used that FastPass+ for Spaceship Earth, which surprisingly always seems to have a line.
6.) Following the herd
When staying at the Port Orleans Riverside there are several bus stops. Our routine was to walk over to the dining hall, get a coffee and head to the main bus stop which was always busy. A few times we waited 20 minutes for a bus going to the park we were headed to for the day, as the buses would be full by the time they circled through the resort. We could have headed for one of the other stops and gotten on quicker but just stayed with the crowd. This was a mistake that cost us time in the parks.
7.) Going to Disney Springs on a hot day
I am not big on shopping and Disney Springs was something we left for our last day of our trip in October. It was close to 90 degrees. Walking around a large outdoor “mall” is not fun in that kind of heat. I would definitely reserve Disney Springs for day where it’s cooler out.
With all these mistakes, you’d think we had a lousy time on our vacation! Not at all! With everything we did wrong, there was more than a few things we did right.
1.) Buying the refillable mugs
Our second trip in February we didn’t buy the meal plan, but purchased the refillable mugs. Those quickly pay for themselves if you have a quick-service restaurant at your resort that is easily accessible. We used them for our coffee in the a.m. and refilled on our way to the park. Then we’d refill them again when we got back to the resort with soda or iced tea and we even made our own iced coffee.
2.) Paying for Disney Express Transportation
This is relatively new, so they didn’t have it for our Fall trip but in February we decided to go ahead and purchase the Express Transportation for traveling from park to park. This was so easy and quick. They take you directly from inside one park to another, so no need to go through security or wait in line again. The bonus was that we used it to get from Epcot to Hollywood Studios and were able to meet Mulan, Jasmine, Aladdin, Pocahontas, Snow White, and Mary Poppins behind the Sunset Showcase.. all with no waiting because they just happened to be there!
3.) On-line check in
Being able to go right from the Magical Express Motor Coach to your room is so wonderful. Our room was ready before we even got to the resort and being able to skip waiting at the front desk was another time saver. We quickly checked out our room, used the restroom and headed for the parks! That is a huge perk.
Everyone is sure to make a few mistakes on their trip to Disney World so don’t kick yourself when it happens. But learning from other travelers like me, will hopefully make it easier to avoid some of these pitfalls and enjoy your trip that much more!
(Thanks Tara!)