So you’re going on your first trip to Disney World?! Congrats! Here are a few tips from us. Welcome to the Disney First Timer’s Club!
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Dole Whip Duey says:
Here is a list of things that would be helpful to bring!
- Emergency Ponchos— mostly you’ll need these if you go during the rainy season in FL (Wikipedia says May through Oct). But they could also be good to just have on hand anyway.
- Wristlet— I like to bring a small pouch with a band that goes around my wrist rather than a purse to the parks. They’re great for keeping your phone, your debit/credit cards, ID, and any other information you may need all in one place. Easy to carry around, and easy to take on rides.
- Ziplock baggies (gallon size)– So this one may be a bit unusual. I like to keep plastic locking baggies in my backpack for two reasons. First, I like to have them on hand for leftover snacks or meals (usually like extra GF waffles, or GF cookies and brownies that come with a meal). And the second reason is in case it rains. Or if I have to bring my stuff on Splash Mountain and I have merchandise or my phone that I don’t want to get wet. I can partition the different things out into the different baggies in my backpack and keep them dry.
- Backpack— This is a pretty wide-known fact. Many people bring in backpacks to the parks. It’s a great way to carry a light jacket or sweatshirt, any merchandise you buy, extra water bottles or snacks (Disney is great about allowing you to bring in your own drinks and food! Just no glass, which means no Kombucha for any of you fellow booch lovers!). It’s also great for those emergency ponchos and ziplock baggies.
- The last item is comfortable shoes— This one is probably a given, but I thought I would mention it anyway. Some feel most comfortable in Birkenstocks or flip flops. While others need socks and athletic shoes. I’m the latter. Just do what is best for you, and will help your feet last all day and help prevent blisters. (Just know you will do so much walking. Probably the most you will ever do in a day!)
One last tip I’d like to mention, if you’re not used to walking in large amounts, you may want to start adding a couple thousand steps to your daily routine, or set walking goals each week before your trip. On one trip, on one particular day, my friend and I walked 30,000 steps! It can add up, especially if you’re doing long days, or park hopping. Adding in some walking sessions before you make it to Disney World will definitely help!
Castle Kara says:
Your first trip to the happiest place on Earth is such a special event! Don’t let it overwhelm you as you plan for it. I do highly recommend that you plan it though, just winging it will mean you miss out on a lot of what Disney has to offer!
My biggest suggestion for anyone wanting to go to Disney, is using a Disney travel planner to help you book your trip. They are highly knowledgable and can greatly reduce the stress of planning a Disney vacation. And the best part? It’s free to you! They make their money from Disney so it won’t cost you a cent to use a Disney travel planner! You can get a free, no obligation quote and get connected with an agent that would love to help you by clicking HERE.
My next piece of advice is, it’s never too early to start planning. As you take a look around our site, you’ll see there’s a lot that goes into planning a Disney trip. And a lot of these things can get filled up far in advance of your travel dates (like rooms at the resort you most desire, Advanced Dining Reservations, and FastPasses which give you shorter wait times on some of the rides) so you want to start planning early, if possible.
Another thing I like to advise first timers is that meeting characters isn’t just happenstance. There are certain places where they will be and there is almost always a long line you’ll have to wait in to meet them. To learn more click the following link Character Meet-N-Greets.
A great tip that even some more seasoned Disney visitors don’t know, is that you can get free water inside the parks if you have a water bottle or cup for them to fill. This can save you some serious dough, especially for larger parties, so you don’t have to purchase bottles of water once you’re in the parks.
Which also goes with my next tip, stay hydrated! It can get extremely hot in Florida, especially during the summer. So make sure you are drinking enough water!
My final piece of advice goes along with Dole Whip Duey’s emergency poncho suggestion. Having lived in Florida for four years, sudden rain storms are a frequent occurrence, even when it isn’t the “rainy season.” So having that poncho is a great thing! But I wanted to add that you shouldn’t let the rain ruin your visit! Some of the best times we’ve had, have been when it rains in the parks. The reason for this is a lot of people end up leaving and the lines get shorter! Throwing on a poncho keeps you mostly dry and enables you to enjoy the smaller crowds. And if you absolutely hate to get wet, a good thing to remember is, most storms don’t last very long, so you can usually wait them out in a nearby restaurant or an indoor ride or show.
Those are my tips for Disney newbies, if you have any questions, feel free to leave them in the comments below or email us at dolewhipandcastle@gmail.com.
And be sure to share this article with anyone you know who is thinking about going to Disney for the first time!
Other Disney Content
Along with this helpful article for Disney Firs Timer’s Club, we’ve got other great Disney content. We offer other advice for traveling to Disney. If you’d like to see our food related Disney advice, check it here: Treats and Eats.
And you can’t forget our Tips and Tricks for visiting the parks. We’ve got a lot of great help that can make you next Disney vacation the best one ever! There’s a ton of advice about Disney you won’t want to miss.
Also, interested in making Disney food at home? We’ve got a lot of Copycat Recipes on our site that you can check out. Once you’ve tried Disney food, you’re gonna want to make Disney Treats and Eats at home too. A lot of people don’t realize how much great food Disney has to offer. But we are here to right that wrong. We obviously love Disney, the rides, the atmosphere, the magic, but the food, oh my Disney, the food! So if you’re in love with the food as much as we are, you aren’t gonna want to miss all our copycat recipe videos. Wait, you didn’t know about the epicness of Disney’s food? Then you need our videos even more so you can check out what all they have to offer.
We’ve got a lot of other great Disney content too besides tips and food. We also have DIY cute Disney Crafts that you can make at home too. So if you enjoy craft time as much as we do, you’ll love making our fun Disney crafts.
There’s also our YouTube channel that is positively bursting with Disney happiness. So be sure to check it out and join our YouTube family!