I’m a Professional Disney Adult. These Are the Mistakes I Would NEVER Make in the Parks Again.

It is my job to go to Disney World every day. While my home office is mainly at one of the four theme parks, two water parks, or the hotels at Disney World, from time to time, I get to venture out and explore other Disney parks, such as Disneyland in California and international parks like Tokyo Disneyland and Hong Kong Disneyland.

If you are doing the math, I have been to 11 Disney parks worldwide: Magic Kingdom, EPCOT, Hollywood Studios, Animal Kingdom, Blizzard Beach, Typhoon Lagoon, Disneyland, California Adventure, Tokyo Disneyland, Tokyo DisneySea, and Hong Kong Disneyland. While I visit Disney parks a lot, I do it because I love to help you have a better vacation! While I get to share all the good tips and tricks, I also want to share my mistakes so you can avoid them!

No matter how much I and the rest of the AllEars team plan for something (and trust me, we have a Plan Z for everything), sometimes things just do not go the way we hoped, or we think of things that could have made it better. 

Here are four mistakes that I have made and how you can avoid making the same mistakes!

The first mistake I have made is not planning Advance Dining Reservations. I know this is one of the biggest tips we tell our readers, yet sometimes I still forget to plan for them. 

Advance Dining Reservations can be made 60 days before your trips at both Disney World and Disneyland. If you are looking to dine at popular restaurants like ‘Ohana or Space 220, you are going to want to make sure that you plan and go for these dining reservations when your window opens. 

If you can’t get the reservation you are looking for or forget when your window opens, don’t lose hope! Reservations can pop up each day; just continue to refresh the My Disney Experience app. You can also join the Mobile Dine Walk- Up Waitlist on the day of, if the restaurant offers it, although both these options are never guaranteed. Making dining reservations in advance can help make your trip easier.

This next mistake is shocking since I am such a fan of bringing my own water bottle to the parks. But sometimes, I forget to bring it, and I end up spending ridiculous amounts of money on water bottles in the park.

You can bring your water bottle into the parks to stay hydrated throughout the day. Disney has free water bottle refill stations all around the park. If you are looking for ice water, you can pick up free water at different quick-service locations as well.

While we know a lot about planning trips to Disney World, we have been learning the ropes when visiting international Disney parks. Most recently, when we visited Tokyo Disneyland, I wish we had done more research on what to do in the parks. We ended up missing out on a lot of cool entertainment because we did not do our research beforehand. 

Don’t be like us! We have so many great resources on what entertainment you can enjoy all around Disney World to help you plan what you want to see and do before your trip rolls around. 

We Rank All the Disney World Stage Shows

While I got to the Disney parks for work, everyone deserves a rest day, and they are a great addition to your vacation. A lot of times, we have so much to cover that we do not have a rest day planned to take in everything. Don’t let this be you!

Adding a rest day in between park days is a great way to rest and enjoy your resort. You can also use this day to shop and dine around Disney Springs or resort hop.

So take it from me, and make sure to avoid these four mistakes the next time you visit Disney World or any Disney parks.

It Pains Me That People STILL Make These 5 Mistakes in Disney World

What are the Disney parks mistakes that you will never make again? Let us know in the comments!