Tips for Walt Disney World

Being back from Disney World for about a month now I want to share some tips that will make your trip amazing!

1. DO RESEARCH (Obviously youre already doing this so thats good lol) I cannot express this enough! When you do research it helps you know ahead of time what to expect or even gives you an idea of what you would like to do while you are there. This makes your trip go a million times smoother! And I personally think the research is fun to do! Some great websites that I looked at while researching for my trip were...

Disney Tourist Blog
Disney Dining
Mouse Savers

2.GET FAMILAR WITH THE MY DISNEY EXPERIENCE APP This helped immensely! Just get the app and play around with it, learn how to look at the different parks and the wait times, look at the different things you can do, check park hours, etc. Just get familar with the app it helps a lot while you're in the park. I can imagine trying to learn how to use it while already in the park can probably get frustrating. And I do know you can schedule your fast passes if staying on the resort 60 days in advance and off resort is 30 days in advace so thats another good reason to get the app ahead of time, but I didnt do that, I booked all my fast passes the night before each park and it worked perfectly...

3. HAVE A REST DAY Technically we didnt have a rest day where we stayed in the hotel, but we did have a rest day where we played the whole thing by ear. Our stay was a Sunday through Saturday so we spent Wednesday at Downtown Disney it was a nice break from the parks but we still had the "Disney Magic" with us that day.

4. BE PREPARED FOR THE WEATHER I know this is on everyone's tip list! And that should let you know to be prepared! In the summer in Florida it can rain almost everyday for an hour each day sometimes even longer! Many people would advise to buy the $1.00 ponchos from Wal-Mart to save money, but I would not! The friends we went with bought them and they were hot and sticky from them and they ended up buying some from the park stores I believe if I can remember they are $8 but are totally worth it! We actually had some from my last trip so we saved on that :)

5. SAVE THE LONG QUEUES FOR LAST This is just a little something I learned to love to do. With the new Fast Pass system fast passes can run out by midday in the park, so we didnt sweat it when we didnt get a fast pass for the new Seven Dwarf Mine Train we actually did it after watching Wishes, the wait was 80 minutes but it was totally worth it! The ride was brand new (like a week old) when we were in Disney World and we are so glad we rode it! Now I can see if you have children with you they can get tired and wont want to stay late so it may not work for some people but the lines for most attractions have some fun activities for kids as well.

6. TAKE SNACKS We actually ate at least once inside the parks at the quick service dining restaurants, but taking snacks helped because if we didn't have the little snakcs to hold us over I'm almost positive we would have spent a whole lot more on food! We didnt take that much either, we took a big bag of pretzels, some chips, granola bars, and fruit snacks which luckily for the two of us those lasted the entire week and it was nice. We actually didnt spend any money on drinks because Disney World offers cups of ice water for free and theyre not the small clear cups you actually get a large cup so not only was it free but we kept hydrated which is a must when you're there.

7. TAKE PICTURES AND VIDEOS This is an obvious one but it is a must! I love looking back at all of our pictures and videos to reminisce on the magical times! We did take our canon camera but we actually only used our cell phones! The day before our trip we got the Samsung S5 and our pictures and videos came out great! I love that camera! Now if you dont have a great camera phone definitely take a camera! The cast members will happily use your camera to take pictures with characters and I also found that strangers are more than willing to take your picture too! Everyone is there to make memories so dont be afraid to ask! And also take advantage of the Photo Pass its completely free and when you get home from your trip you can look at all the pictures and if you want you can purchase them!

8. RELAX Walt Disney World should not be a place to stress! Yes you are spending a good amount of money to be there and want to do everything in sight but I promise you wont. If you go with an idea of what you would like to do and see your trip will be great! Have fun if you end up having to stand in line for 80 minutes for the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train but you really want to ride it then do it! Make the best of your trip enjoy seeing your kids dream come true, or spending quality time with your significant other...Disney World is not called The Happiest Place on Earth for nothing :)

Have fun on your next trip! Can't wait to start planning mine again!

Much love, Annette!