Tips For Disney World First-Timers

Tips For Disney World First-Timers
by Cara Goldsbury

So you’ve finally decided to head to Walt Disney World. With so much to see and do, coming prepared is essential. Here are some excellent tips to make your trip one that will be remembered for a lifetime.

• Plan. Decide ahead of time what your priorities are and plan action.
• Get to the parks early! It’s impressive, particularly in the busy season, how many popular rides you can knock off before half the “World” gets out of bed.
• Take the time to rest in the middle of the day. Stay at one of the Magic Kingdom or Epcot resorts, and you can return in the middle of the day for a nap or dip in the pool.
• Call exactly 90 days prior at 7 AM Orlando time for priority seating if breakfast at Cinderella’s Royal Table in the Magic Kingdom tops your child’s list. If you are traveling in the extremely slow season, you might get away with sleeping in and booking a bit later for this highly coveted character breakfast.
• Come prepared for an afternoon shower during the rainy summer months, even if the sky looks clear in the morning. Rent a locker to store your rain gear and reevaluate if skies start to look threatening. However, if caught unprepared, every park store sells inexpensive rain ponchos.
• Use Fastpass, Disney’s free, nifty timesaving device. It’s offered at all four theme parks and is a great way to save hours of waiting in line. Just insert your park pass in one of the machines located at each Fastpass attraction and receive a ticket printed with a designated one-hour window in which you may return and enter a special line with little or no waiting.
• Pre-arrange priority seating, Disney’s answer to dining reservations, by calling 407-WDW-DINE. On arrival, you’ll receive the following table available for your party size, thus saving hours of frustration and waiting.
• Allow plenty of time to reach the theme parks each morning. If you don’t allocate enough time, you’ll likely miss your breakfast priority seating.
• Be spontaneous. If something catches your eye, even if it’s not on your daily list of things to do, stop and explore. If not, you could miss something extraordinary.
• Realize your children’s limitations. If they’re tired, take a break. If their feet hurt, get them a stroller (forget that they outgrew one years ago). If a ride scares them, don’t force the issue. Such precautions will make your day and the day of other park visitors a lot less stressful.
• Bring pagers, two-way radios, or cell phones. If your party plans on splitting up, these are perfect ways to stay in touch.
• Wear broken-in, comfortable footwear. Better yet, bring two pairs and rotate them. Nothing is worse than blisters on your first day and then nursing them for the remainder of your vacation.
• Most importantly, slow down and enjoy the magic. Resist the urge to see everything at breakneck speed. You can’t possibly cover it all, so think of this as your first trip to Disney, not your last. There will be time to pick up everything you missed on the next go-round.

About The Author

Cara Goldsbury is the author of The Luxury Guide to Walt Disney World: How to Get the Most Out of the Best Disney Has to Offer available at 800-247-6553, www.luxurydisneyguide.com, Amazon.com, or your local bookstore. Visit her at www.luxurydisneyguide.com.