Trip Saving Tips- Disney

[BiggerPiggyBank]

Here is a post I wrote in 1997. It was our first trip to Disney. I think we
did that trip, (for 3, direct flight, car and hotel) for under 1200.

This
post is dated, but some of my advice is solid. I did a lot of research on
how to get the most out of the trip, and how to save money. What I learned
from my second trip is to use the speed pass for some of the rides.

On Sept 19th, my family, (husband and 5 year old son) went to Magic
Kingdom, only. Thanks to tons of research and preparation from this
newsgroup and other websites, we had an excellent time.
First off…I cannot imagine being there during tourist season. we went
off season and it was crowed still, but not overly so.

we arrived at ten
a.m. and took the ferryboat to the park, and son enjoyed that.
my biggest piece of advice is not to allow yourself to get overwhelmed
at first. get a map, and get orientated, make a plan and go. we were able
to ride all the rides we could, (due to size restrictions, and some twice).
i suggest you blow right by main street right off the bat.

some radper
suggested one go straight to fantasyland, and that is what we did.
merrygoround was first. we did not eat a breakfast and so had to eat early
there…we ate at pinocchio’s house. food was good, except the fries were
overly salted. that time was used to look at the map.
we hit fantasy land, and the top part of liberty square.

haunted house
was scary for son, but he did ask to ride it again. we then ventured to
micky’s toontown fair where we saw micky. i made my own autographbook,
using the excellent clipart website, by aaron.

(the only problem with
aarons page is that there are no pictures of chip and dale). micky gave me
a thumbs up on the book!!!!!
all our lines for the day moved quickly, and i was surprised to find
outdoor air conditioning. utilize the train!!!!

this will save you from
walking especially if you have to back track.
we missed, on purpose, the first parade, “remember the magic”. we used
that time to hit the pirates (twice), and the jungle cruise. absolutely no
lines during the parade.

be aware that the pirate ride dumps you right out
into a shop…where we had to buy our little pirate lover something. we
bought him a pirate flag, huge mistake. it was an awkward iten to carry
around, and it was dangerous.
it looked like rain about 4:00 p.m.

and we went to our Character Dinner
at Liberty Tavern one half an hour early. The food was excellent, service
was fine, and the characters were terrific. We had Minnie Mouse, Goofy,
Pluto, Meeko, and Chip and Dale.

I called ahead to get priority seating,
and hence, knew in advance which characters would be there. They spent ALOT
of time with my son, and the atmosphere was relaxing. Minnie Mouse fed my
son macaroni and cheese.

The character meal made the day, I cannot
recommend it highly enough, although it is pricey.
Be prepared to do some relaxing things after eating to let the food
digest. We did the Lion King and the Hall of Presidents. Tom Sawyer’s
Island closes at 7:00 p.m. so schedule at least an half an hour to spend
there.

It is alot of running and having fun, so don’t do it in the heat of
the day.
We totally avoided Tommorrow Land, simply because most of the rides had
height restrictions on them. The lines again thinned out right before the
spectro magic parade. we were able to reride “it’s a small world”, (my
son’s favorite ride) and peter pan’s flight.

we then took the skyway to
tommorrowland just to walk around. tommorrowland is cool in the dark with
all the lights and strobes. we intended on missing spectro magic, but ended
up in an excellent viewing spot, the road from tommorrowland to the center
courtyard.

we then learned that tinkerbell comes out of the castle right
before the fireworks, and would fly right over where we were. at that
point, we waited there the half hour between the fire works and the parade.
do all your shopping at the end, don’t waste the day shopping. the
stores on main street are open till eleven, even though the park closes at
9:00.

(Of course hours vary depending on the time of year). Shops were
packed…and service was understaffed and slow. More advice…..don’t buy
anything there, you can get Disney stuff everywhere, i.e.

Walmarts cheaper,
and every airport it seems has a Disney store. We have one where I live in
a local mall.
Make sure you get your free lithograph if you go this year. They are
nice, I will have my framed.
take with you to the park…..

water bottle, rain gear, (we had folded
ponchos), sunscreen, bug spray, a hat, autograph book, two auto keys, in
different areas, a pen, camaras, cash, wet wipes, tissues, asprin, and
anacids. be prepared!!!! have good walking shoes!!!!
my son was at a terrific age to go to magic kingdom.

he really bought
into the magic, and i had a terrific time watching him. i would not want to
subject my youngster to magic kingdom if i had an older child that might
ruin the day for him, like by saying “micky is not real”…”this is stupid”
or “queer” etc…i am having another child in january and in five years we
will take her to magic kingdom, alone, so she can have a special time,
without an older brother picking it apart for her. i cannot imagine taking
an infant!!!
hope this helps, or at least does not bore you to tears…be prepared
for sore feet and to be exhausted at the end of the day.

be able to sleep
in the next day.
thankyou radpers for giving me a great time at disney!!!
mary

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