Disney Tips

OK, here are some things I did that I truly think helped our trip OR things that I learned along the way while we were there.  I'll also include some things that I will change for the next time we go.  There is no order to this
- PLAN, PLAN, PLAN- I visited any and every blog that anyone has ever written about a Disney trip, there are tons of pins out there on Pinterest that will help you gather your info, I used the Unofficial Guide book, I went to Barnes and Noble and just glanced through a ton of books they had to offer, I made a spreadsheet with each days plan, we also used a travel agent to book our hotel and meal reservations, oh and I downloaded a ton of apps for my phone
- take a stroller for everyone, both our boys rode in the stroller a lot.  A lot of the blogs had said to tag your stroller for an easier way to find it.  I put ribbons on both of ours, but I really didn't feel like they were necessary
- take your own souvenirs.  The boys got a little something each day after their rest time.  I had bought goodies from the dollar store, target, and the Disney store before our trip
- pack snacks to take into the park.  I had all my boys favorites, but I'm not sure we would pack as much next time.  If you have older kids and are getting the meal plan, you probably don't need this.  We actually had about 7 credits left at the end of our trip for snacks that we should have used each day
- take dish detergent with you.  We had our kids cups and also our meal plan cups.  We used the boys cups in the parks each day and our resort cups were used to get coffee, hot chocolate, juice and drinks anytime we were at the hotel.  I was able to wash the cups (sometimes multiple times a day).
- take a hanging shoe organizer.  I put it up on the door and put snacks and cleaning supplies
- on that topic, bring wet ones and clorox wipes and hand sanitizer, not a germophobe but I like knowing I could clean our hands quickly
- pack ponchos and a shower curtain.  The ponchos sold in Disney are expensive.  The shower curtain is to drape over your strollers when you go inside rides or restaurants.  it rains a lot in Florida.  We forgot to cover ours when we went into the Lion King show and ended up having to lay the shower curtain on the seat to Ben on because he had fallen asleep
- don't stress autograph books if your kids are small.  My mom made ours and they were perfect.  we only got 5 signatures, we didn't see that many actual characters, and my boys weren't all that excited about meeting them.  I think if you have a daughter and she's old enough to be interested in the princesses, this would be different though
- use the baby care centers, they are nice and clean and cool.  I didn't utilize these enough, but looking back I wish I had
- visit the other resorts, we chose to eat dinner and visit Art of Animation (if your kids are into any of the movies themed there, they will love it) and we had dinner at Fort Wilderness
- get the dining plan.  if you do go visit the other resorts, just use your cup to get a fountain drink, but grab a bottle of water to count as your drink and you can take it into the park the next day
- in the parks, you can ask for a cup of ice water anywhere for free.  we walked up to a few different little food places when we were hot and thirsty to get some drink
- have a rest day, especially if your kids are small.  Our kids were troopers and did a great job, but that day of rest was very necessary.