“Wish I Had Known… About Walt Disney World before I arrived!”

What did you wish you had known before your last visit to Walt Disney World?

Fans of the AllEars® Facebook page had this discussion and here are their tips!

THEME PARKS

I wish I had known……

… that you can walk between Disney's Hollywood Studios and Epcot!

… there is a LOT more to Epcot World Showcase that I just missed somehow.

… the lines for Toy story would be so long so that I could have gotten a fast pass first thing.

… it is cheaper to buy your water park passes the day you go if you are only planning on going to one water park, I would not have added the water park and more option.

… the lines for the Princesses and the fairies (Magic Kingdom) were going to be so long I would have went there right for when it opened

…..that my daughter would be terrified of Splash Mountain (and still to this day – almost 5 yrs later is)

…..about pin trading sooner and really understood it better – I still kick myself for not buying the Opening day Sorin pin.

… about Club Cool in Epcot and the free soft drinks from around the world

… more about the shows/parades/fireworks. Now that we have taken the time for them, I realize how much they are worth seeing!!!

… you can get a pretty good view of the MK fireworks from Toontown – especially while riding the Barnstormer!

…. the better seats for Playhouse Disney Live are in the back, not the front. The kids can't see over the edge of the stage in the front.

… not to be scared away from the FastPass machine lines for Toy Story Mania in the morning so we actually could have gotten fastpasses and ridden it! We were even there at park opening, but by the time he doubled back, the fastpass return time was 7:00 or something so we didn't get to ride it.

… to see the Magic Kingdom opening show.

… not to get on the Magic Kingdom railroad at 3:00 and got stuck sitting on a parked train for a half hour. (Trains don't run during the afternoon parade)

… long ago about how magical park openings are.

… long ago about the magic of a Dole Whip Float.

… long ago about the sinful goodness of a Grand Marnier orange slush in France….

… how much my son would love the parades, so we could have scouted out seats earlier, for him to get a better view (especially the AK parade- our favorite)

… just how HUMID it is in August, our next trip is in February 2010

… you could you your fastpasses after the end time on the ticket.

DINING

I wish I had known……

… you can get more for snack credits than chips or ice cream bars. I too wish I had known that I could get more than just chips and drinks for snack credits

… listened to my dad when he told me you cannot go to Disney at Christmas without Dining Reservations! While we did have some amazing meals there were places that my daughters would have loved. (I did not plan this well enough).

…..there were so many wonderful restaurants that you really MUST have ADR's for (we didn't make one for each night on our first trip and regretted it)

….that my son would LOVE the lobster at Nacrossi's (Grand Floridian – which is way to expensive to visit very often – but the look on his face when they brought out the whole Maine Lobster – priceless)

… that Tusker House in AK was soooo delicious, would have eaten there earlier and more often!

… how good the sandwiches are at Earl of Sandwich. I don't usually like sandwiches, but these are GOOD!

… I could eat at Wolfgang Puck Express on the DDP.

… I could snack credit my way through Epcot on the DDP.

… how awesome it is to dine at Cinderella's Royal Table…worth every penny!

… about Yachtsman"s Steakhouse this last trip when we did the Dining Plan.

…..that the dining plan was such a good deal

… you could buy candy from each country in Epcot so that I could take it home and do a menu from that country every couple of week and relive the magic.

… how much of a pain getting to Mickey's Backyard BBQ on Disney's transportation system would be. I probably wouldn't have gone.

… I'd have a TON of snack credits left at the end of the trip. I would have eaten a lot more Mickey bars!

… Magic Kingdom stopped serving food an hour before the fireworks! I wouldn't have ended up with hungry kids who wouldn't eat the peanut butter sandwich at the Main Street Bakery.

RESORTS

I wish I had known……

… you could eat or even sight see at any resort!!!

…..that I'd love Boardwalk so much and want to stay there every time we go!

… how cool Pop Century looks. I would have tried it last time.

….that I would end up really not likely Saratoga and should have gone with my gut and waited for a Boardwalk opening to buy DVC.

MOUSECELLANEOUS

I wish I had known……

… about the AllEars Facebook page before.

… how long it would take to get anywhere.

… that the amount of time start to finish it took us to fly there is the same as the amount of time it would have taken to drive, and we could have brought as much stuff as we wanted.(we are driving next month – not flying wish us luck:))

… about Mickey's Mart at DTD.

… no amount mental preparation gets you ready for Disney world with an ADHD/ODD child

… not everything in DTD accepts your KTTW card for payment.

… long ago that if you freeze juice boxes and pack them in the stroller by 11:30 am they are perfect.

… to stay for 10 days instead of 7.

… never take your first trip on Xmas week.

… once we started this WDW train it would be hard to stop and that I would want to go every year.

… the photopass CD was a better value than individual prints. I would have used it more.

… how hard it would be to buy my toddler a swimsuit in AUGUST before our trip. I should have gotten one before now.

… to bring a mister fan before now, too!

… found this website before my first trip. It is invaluable and a wealth of information. It also lists every restaurant in Disney and all the menus.

… much I was going to love it there! I am totally addicted. I have taken 2 girl scout troops there, family friends anyone who wants to go! (going next Month for MNSSHP)

… that at Disney I never have to grow up..lol.. We van all be children once again.

… I could apply the $429 a night we spent at Beach Club to my DVC purchase if we had done it before we checked out many years ago on our first trip

……how much my kids would enjoy mini golf! we actually just last year did Fantasia Gardens last December and had a BLAST

…..that it's so nice to really take your time and enjoy things instead of pretty much running from ride to ride – we've found so many wonderful little side paths, the rose gardens, the bunnies etc

… how BADLY I would want to live there!! Not in Florida, actually IN Disney World. Think I could get good rent on the Cinderella suite? I'm willing to sign a lease! LOL!

….that my family would fall in love so much because i would have done it 5 years sooner. We thought waiting until our youngest was 5 was best but in hindsite we missed the preschool stuff which my kids would have loved.

… no matter HOW long we went for, I would never get to see/do everything and that just gives me an excuse to plan another trip!!!!!!

Thanks again to the AllEars Facebook Fans!