Tips for Disney Parks & Cruise Lines

A few months ago someone suggested taking a soft-sided cooler with Ziploc bags to use in your room in lieu of renting a fridge at $10 a day. We took the suggestion one step further. I purchased a cooler with a plastic liner, took it home and put it in our luggage. Lo and behold it fit perfectly, which meant we would not have to worry about leaking Ziploc bags. And by packing our unmentionables inside the liner we did not lose any precious packing space. It worked out wonderfully and we saved $110 in the process. - Vonnie

My 3-year-old daughter and I will be going to Walt Disney World for the first time next month. To get into the Disney spirit, I've been having the "Disney princesses" send her little cards every couple of days. I print a blank card and write a little note from a princess saying how excited she is to hear that my daughter is coming. Sometimes I mention a specific ride that we can go on (i.e., Snow White's Scary Adventures, The Magic Carpets of Aladdin, etc.) that features the princess. Then I enclose pictures. Some pictures are of when my daughter met the princess at Disneyland. Some pictures are of the specific ride that I mentioned in the card, and some are just images of the princess that I found on the internet. My daughter loves this and we've been taping the cards on our wall next to the calendar where we're marking off the days until our trip. It's been a fun way for me to get her excited about the trip. - An ALL EARS® Reader

When we were planning for our WDW family vacation in 2002, we saved Disney Dollars. We realized the grandchildren would ask us for souvenirs if their Mom and Dad said "No," so we decided we better plan ahead! We wanted to give each grandchild the same amount of Disney spending money, and build anticipation for the trip as well. For a year in advance, each time there was a birthday, a lost tooth, a good report card or special event, we cashed in real dollars for Disney Gift Cards at our local Disney store and put them in a card. By the time we got to WDW, they had more money than we did! They all had a great time spending their Disney Dollars in the parks on snacks and souvenirs. It was nice to be able to say, "YES, you can spend your Disney Gift Cards," instead of "NO, we can't afford it, it's too expensive!" - GrandmaryB

To involve my children in the money saving, we posted a chart on the fridge and every week their earned allowance is tallied. We also decorated a coffee can with Disney stickers and ALL loose change from every family member gets dropped in. We figure come time for the trip it will pay for several meals! - Sue Maclaughlin

When my family was planning to go to WDW last Thanksgiving, my wife, Kathy, started a game we would play at the dinner table called "Who Am I?" The rules are simple. Describe yourself, either a character, ride, resort, restaurant, or anything that is found at WDW, with the fewest clues and have the others guess who or what you are. Some are simple like, "I'm small, green and fly from Cinderella Castle." Answer: Tinker Bell... It puts the family in a WDW frame of mind for the trip. We started playing it this past weekend, because my girls and I are trying to convince my wife to go during Thanksgiving this year! - Mark Oldmixon

I bought my kids inexpensive Disney character watches before we left home. I wrote their names and my husband's/my cell number on the inside of the band. I explained to them that if they got lost, they could take off the watch and show the phone numbers to a Cast Member (or a person from the airline in the airport). One of my daughters is extremely shy and would probably start to cry and not talk to a stranger if she was separated from us. This gave her a way to communicate in both the parks or the airport. - Hope

Even though my 5 year-old daughter has been to Disney four times already, she's a little scared about getting lost. Trying to think of a way to relieve her fears, I thought of a great idea. We have those two-way FRS radios that we got before our cell phones. The kids know how to use them, so I just thought that we could put one in a fanny pack (from previous Disney trips) for my 5-year-old and my 7-year-old son and get another for us to hold. They know to look for a Cast Member if they get separated from us, but now we can still be in constant communication with them and have them lead us right to where they are. When I told Amanda about this idea she went right to her room and found her pack and put the radio in it. We don't leave until July! Talk about prepared! - Jenn B. from Philadelphia

This isn't a new tip, just some feedback on a tip I saw last year on the ALL EARS® newsletter. The five of us (mom, dad, son and 2 daughters) recently spent Christmas and New Year's at the Contemporary. Even with the larger room, things were a little crowded, but thanks to the tip to hang an inexpensive shoe bag over the bathroom door for storing everyone's 'stuff', the bathroom was clutter-free. I think my oldest daughter took up half of it. This is by far the best tip we've taken away from your informative newsletter. - Keith Link

This isn't a new tip, just some feedback on a tip I saw last year on the ALL EARS® newsletter. The five of us (mom, dad, son and 2 daughters) recently spent Christmas and New Year's at the Contemporary. Even with the larger room, things were a little crowded, but thanks to the tip to hang an inexpensive shoe bag over the bathroom door for storing everyone's 'stuff', the bathroom was clutter-free. I think my oldest daughter took up half of it. This is by far the best tip we've taken away from your informative newsletter. - Keith Link

This is both a tip and Magical Moment. While waiting for the Main Street Electrical Parade to begin the other night, I noticed I had lost my cell phone. While trying to decide what to do about it, I saw a cast member slowly walking by, scanning the crowd. We thought he was looking for folks who had sneaked in to the FastPass+ reserved section without FastPass+ (they ask these folks to leave). When he stopped in front of my son-in-law and two grandsons, no one was more surprised than we were to hear him say, "Did you lose a cell phone?" He said they had found it at the Fast Pass+ entrance for the parade and since my screensaver was a photo of my son-in-law and grandsons he was looking for us before turning it in to lost and found. He figured we were somewhere in the crowd. This is why we love Disney! So my tip is: Keep a photo of your family as your screensaver! - Sherri Prykryl

Know your "high" seasons intimately! I called recently to get a room for a business trip to Orlando from November 29 to December 4, and was told by WDW reservations there were no rooms available. Same story from Shades of Green (I work for the Navy).

When I called back later that day and asked for November *30* to December 4, there were all sorts of rooms available (including discounted ones), in both Disney hotels and SoG! Seems the Thanksgiving crowd doesn't check out until Saturday. Bottom line: be flexible about your arrival and departure dates (stay in an off-site hotel the first or last night, if necessary), and don't be afraid to keep Disney personnel on the phone, asking about availability for this date or that date, as long it takes to get the answer you want!

Also: If you're active or retired U.S. military or a civilian working for the U.S. armed forces, and you don't already know about Shades of Green, you need to! All the details are at shadesofgreen.org. Right now SoG is being remodeled, but this actually represents an extraordinary opportunity! SoG is still taking reservations, they're just placing all guests in rooms apportioned to them from Disney hotels, at the normal SoG price (based on your rank or pay grade). A friend of mine got placed in Coronado Springs, but I scored what I consider the jackpot: the Contemporary Resort -- at $95/night! - Brent York

EDITOR'S NOTE: Additional information on Shades of Green can be found at:
http://allears.net/acc/faq_sog.htm

Of all the tips I have gathered over the course of our trips to Disney, this is my favorite: Buy one of those cheap vinyl pocket shoe organizers and hang it over the rod near the sink to keep all toiletries not only organized and neat, but most importantly, away from the sink area. - Debbie from Massachusetts

In most hotel rooms we have to play the game to find the electrical outlets. We usually have two chargers for cell phones and have to recharge the battery for the camera, so we always carry an extension cord with the extra receptacles on it. This way everything can get charged at the same time, plus they are all in the same place so you don't forget one that is on the floor behind a chair or something. - Enid Hadfield

To help create a trip report complete with all rides and activities done throughout the day,take a digital photo of each ride sign before you ride and each place where you eat or snack. This will help you create a timeline of activities done throughout the day and in the correct order. If your camera has a clock on it you can have it listed in the photo as well. We usually can't remember which ride we rode and in what order. This helps greatly for us. - Laurie Hoffman

If you have a question about WDW and cannot find the answer, email Disney directly. I had questions two separate times and they responded very quickly, within two days. There is a link on the official website to contact them at Guest Services. The email address is [email protected] This was a great money-saver since WDW does not have a general toll-free number!! - Melissa in PA