Disney Florida tips

[florida94]

Hello, we're off to Florida in 3 weeks staying in a basic Disney hotel. Please tell me all your hints and tips! We're 2 adults in our 30's, last went to Florida 8 years ago.

So far we've booked our park reservations and one fancy meal on our last night.

Thank you! 😃

Never been, it’s not my cup of tea, but a friend has just returned. She pointed out that it cost them far more than she expected - eg you can’t take bags on rides, they have to be put in lockers that you have to pay for. There were 5 of them and they had to use individual lockers as they’re too small for more than 1 bag. You have to do this on every ride though, not just once! Bottles of water = 5 dollars, fast queueing 5 dollars etc etc. so be prepared to spend far more than you’d expected!

You’d be best going on the DIBB forums. They have lots of tips.

Book dinner at the California Grill in the Contemporary Hotel. The food and service is excellent - a very special experience. Also, no matter what time you dine, they allow you back into the restaurant to watch the Magic Kingdom fireworks from the outside balcony - this was one of the highlights of our trip.

Get their when the park opens, go straight to the back of the park to the furthest ride. Start there and work your way to the front. Most people go to the first ride,

Is the locker requirement a new thing? I've not been since 2018 but I took my backpack on most rides no problem, just put it down at my feet and put a leg through one of the arm straps with my foot on the floor to keep it in place. The only ride I couldn't take a bag on in Disney was the river rapids one in Animal Kingdom.

@florida94 Usually bags are allowed on all rides, even rock n roller coaster which goes upside down so I don't know where the bags in lockers bit has come from as reported by soon. They might be confusing it with Universal. They have much faster rides and a locker system but most of them are free depending on the size of the locker.

No need to buy bottles of water. There are water fountains everywhere and iced water is free from all the quick service restaurants. I do love MN but for all things Disney World The Dibb is a UK forum for all lovers of Disney. It has been 3 years since we went, it has changed a bit with Genie plus etc so best asking and reading on there. We have been lots of times and absolutely loved it.

People who complain about queuing etc usually haven't planned it and treated it like a UK theme park. It isn't. It does need thought and research. Magic Kingdom has an average of 60,000 people a day (pre-covid numbers and a while since I looked this up but it won't have changed much). That's not capacity, just visitors in a day. Chessington over here has a maximum capacity of 14,000 ish just as a comparison. Being on Disney property is advantageous because of the air conditioned Disney transport which is fantastic.

Waves from Florida xxx.

I went in June and this wasn’t true. You can take your bags on all the rides pretty much.

Are you talking about universal? There bag policy was much stricter.

Absolutely not true, I cannot think of a single ride at Disney that you cannot take your bag on with you. You need to use lockers for a number of rides at Universal studios, but I am pretty sure they are free for a reasonable length of time, sufficient to get through the queue and go on the ride anyway.

The title of your post is Florida tips so here are a few -
Take a 4/6 outlet electrical extension lead that has USB sockets.
Take one adapter plug to use on the extension lead
Allow at least twice the time to charge if not more
If anybody is likely to be fussy about diet take sandwiches, crisps and biscuits on the flight
The airline will tell you that their menus are wonderful and prepared by international chefs. It is, but you might still not like it at 40,000 feet
Depending on age of children take lots of different bits/toys that will amuse and distract them. Load up ipads with games tv programmes etc
Take your own tea bags
If you are staying in hotel and fussy about your tea take a travel kettle
Plan the whole trip on paper so that every day has an event/action, even if it is sitting by the pool
You will need time to sit by the pool, go shopping or visit a water park
Any part of a day not inside a park is a rest period
Plan to do Discovery Cove in the first week, if your day gets cancelled because of bad weather then you have time to re-plan
Plan to do the fireworks in the first week, if they get cancelled because of bad weather then you have time to re-plan
When you decide on a date that you are going research insurance before paying any money out and buy it on the same day that you pay the deposit
Do not be quick to take the cheapest insurance or be less than honest when booking if you believe that you have or have had a medical issue that might give concern then declare it. They can refuse to pay out if they decide that you have not been honest. I know a person who had a slip and trip, a visit to A&E by ambulance, a number of x-rays, an overnight in hospital plus having her new top cut off cost £37K+
Download your insurance document onto your mobile. It will be one of the first things that is asked for in case of an accident. If you do not have the details they will transfer you to another hospital. They will ask for your credit card details and photocopy your driving license.

If you are going to book a vehicle use a hire company that is reputable and will allow you to cancel without losing any money I normally book at the same time as the flights, I know that the price will come down during the year
US cars have smaller boot space than UK cars, allow for this
Be extremely careful if you use an American company, you may not have sufficient insurance. They do not allow you to drive out of the garage unless felly covered and it could cost you at least another £1,000.
Do not be bullied into taking out the car hire additional insurance
Read the contract before you sign
Check out how much you will be charged for tolls. Dollar charges are prohibitive.
Buying water in the parks is expensive, go to a supermarket and buy it beforehand
Research a site called the DIBB. It is full of people who visit Disney and Florida every year sometimes twice. They will happily share all of the knowledge that they have learned from many visits, covering park tickets, parks, hotels, villas, eateries and the list goes on. It is free to join, all you need to do is sort out a user name and you are good to go. It is a friendly site, no question is seen as daft. You will find a lot more advice there.

You’ll have an ace time! We went last May, and it was HOT!

-buy cooling towels and handheld fans from Amazon, wet the towels each evening, pop them in their bags and into the fridge overnight

• also buy packing cubes & ponchos from Amazon, the weather is very changeable and the parks will charge a fortune
• take those mini Robinsons squeezy squash bottles, the water is very chlorinated, and park water bottles are $5!
• Make Kilimanjaro safari your first ride at Animal Kingdom, the animals are most active/visible early when it’s cooler
• take powerbanks for phones, especially if planning to use Genie+ as it’ll drain your battery
• speaking of Genie+, watch YouTube videos in advance so you get the hang of how it works
• purchase the refillable resort mugs on your first day, they’re $20 each bit will save you tonnes on soft and hot drinks at your hotel
• take a trip on the Skyliner even if it doesn’t run from your hotel
• take a midday break, even at your hotel or visit a deluxe resort near the park you are visiting (Magic Kingdom especially good for this as you have 3 hotels on the monorail loop)
• order food via the app to avoid queues
• eat offsite, it’s cheaper and much better food. Friendlys (on iDrive) and Millers Ale House are our favourites

Recently there, did not use one single locker for any of the parks and went to almost all.

It’s super expensive. If hiring a car, it’s $25-$30 per park per day to park on top of entry costs.

We got awful sickness from filling our water bottles up at the water fountains.
We froze bottles of water overnight in the villa and took them into the parks. Melted during the daytime heat, gorgeous.

Queues as pp have said are horrific, it’s SO expensive for “fast pass” type tickets but you can use the Apps to see busy times to plan around rides.

Water parks are fab for down time, relaxing days.

Habe the best time, it’s brilliant.