Any insider tips about disney world?

Travel Info
We are going on a family trip to Disney World this July. Its my first time so I don't really know what to expect. My husband and daughter (8 yrs) will be going. We are staying at the All Star Music Resort and have passes for: Magic Kingdom, Animal Kingdom, Epcot, MGM, and SeaWorld. I'm trying to see if anyone has any cool ideas or insider tips (i.e. things a little off the beaten path, or perhaps things most tourist miss out on). I want the trip to be a memorable one for all of us.

Travel Tips

I just got back from All-stars Music this week. Its a WORLD of difference from All-stars Sports which was filled with teenagers making noise throughout the night. Music was quiet and very enjoyable.

Make sure that you book reservations for dinner NOW. They fill up fast, especially for the nicer places (Try Canada in Epcot's World Showcase!) Also you may want to consider disney's meal plan which gets you a counter service meal, a table service meal and one snack for 40bucks/day. You can eat cheaper than this if you do just counter service but the table service meal includes a drink (non-alcoholic), appetizer, entree, and dessert. You wont go hungry and wont have to worry about how much each meal costs...you can pick anything from the menu! Also if you want to see Fantasmic at MGM, which i HIGHLY suggest, you can guarantee yourself a seat by booking a dinner for the same night as the show at Mama Melmroses (also in MGM) which would count as your table service meal of the day.

Other tips:
Take a small bag and put bottled water and snacks in it, this will save you a small fortune. Its HOT in Florida in July and you dont want to dish out 3 bucks or so everytime your kid is thirsty (not to mention you will have to toss it out if you dont finish it before your next ride/show if its in a paper cup as opposed to a bottle)

Be sure to see Philarmagic in Magic Kingdom, its an awesome show

What worked for us was to rush into the park and get a fastpass for one star attraction and then wait in line for another. By the time we worked our way through one line, it was time to fastpass the other. Epcot's Fastpasses will go FAST as there arent many thrill rides there. (Test-track and soarin were all gone for the entire day by 2 pm, mission to mars lasted a bit longer) Another fast one is Aerosmiths rockin rollercoaster, be sure to fastpass this one.

If you have the park hopper option, you can do Animal Kingdom in just half a day so this is a good day to go back to the hotel in the middle of the day and relax at the pool and just take it easy as Disney is the kind of vacation where you will be tired from all the walking and will want days like this.

One other thing...if you havent done so, call Disney and tell them you want the Magical Express service. Its FREE and what they do is send you these yellow tags that you attach to your luggage and Disney will take care of it for you! They take it from the airport and drop it off in your room (you need not be present - you can hit the parks, just make sure if you need anything shortly after arriving, you take it as a carry-on). They also pick you up from the airport and to the resort and give you the trip back. Did this for the first time on this trip, it was very nice. Source(s): I've been to Disney World about 15 times

Other Travel Tips
make sure you utilize disney's fast pass and early hours for resort guests...i find if i go to the ride i want to do twice if i get an early fast pass i can then wait in line a save time. look at the maps of the park and head to the back and work your way to the front...if you can, eat at the sit down resturants in disney....a little more but worth sitting in a/c with a waitress, especially in summer.
I just answered this question and it disappeared!! Let me try again! Be prepared for long lines, very hot weather and cranky kids. Summer is not the best time to go.

Check out www.mousesavers.com
Books:
Hidden Mickeys
Disney on A Dime
Frommers Guide To Orlando/Disney

Also do a Google search on Disney World Secrets and you will find all kinds of interesting tips and tricks! Have fun!
I live here.
My first suggestion since you've never been to DW before is to get the latest edition of Birnbaum's official Disney Guide. You can get this at any book store. I know the Disney stores used to carry them and I imagine they still do, though I'm not sure. This guide will give you all the tips you're looking for plus a description of all the rides and attractions. As your trip approaches go to the Disney World website and look for the July calendar to see what parks will have Extended hours (a great perk exclusively for guests staying at one of their resorts). Since there will be tons of people in July I think it would be great if you can familiarize yourself with each attraction and ride before you leave home, select the rides you really want to experience and head for those first when you get there.

Get to the parks early is my next piece of advise. You'd be amazed as to how many people start lining up 2 hours before the parks open. As soon as you arrive head over to your "must do/must see" ride or attraction and get a Fastpass if the lines are too long. I posted this for someone else yesterday but it is worth repeating. It is EXTREMELY important to get a Fastpass if you want the opportunity to ride those at the top of your list. We have been there (in low season mind you) and they've run out of Fastpasses for the more popular rides. What a disappointment if you don't get to ride what you want. So get there early, run to your favorite ride, insert your park ticket into the fastpass machine, take the slip of paper w/ the return time, then relax. Remember, too that you are only allowed one Fastpass at any given time. So until you've used the one you're holding on to you are not allowed to get another. There is no way of beating the system either. Every park ticket in your party will have to be inserted into the Fastpass machine if all of you want to ride. We usually hand all our park tickets to my husband, he runs to the machine and gets Fastpasses for all of us. Disney has programmed these "smart" machines to not hand out another Fastpass until after your return time is up. After that you can run to the next attraction and get another Fastpass.

Another suggestion is to book a Fantasmic dinner package. If you eat at one of the participating restaurants at MGM you're given a pass to see a fabulous and popular show called Fantasmic. Anyone can see this show in the lagoon. However, if you would like to avoid the crazy long wait in line then I suggest you reserve this package. Our favorite participating restaurant is Mama Melrose (Italian food). Their food is wonderful!!!!!!! Just today my daughter was saying how she craves their pizza.

To avoid the long wait in restaurants make sure to make your priority seating (reservations) before you leave home. Now is probably not too early. Depending on the season many of the restaurants may still have a wait with priority seating. To avoid these our family will have a late lunch or early dinner with little to no wait. Sometimes we'll sit at Tony's restaurant (also Italian) in Magic Kingdom, ask to sit outside and see the parade as we have our meal. I think the parade on Main street is at 2:30 or 3:00. However, in July the temperature will be so hot you just may favor sitting indoors under an a/c vent rather than seeing the parade.

Speaking of parades, the electrical parade on Main street at the Magic Kingdom is a must see. Stake your spot about an hour and a half before the parade starts in order to get a good view. I know it seems like a waste of time to sit there for so long but the wait will be worth it. This is the parade to see if you can only do one. They're all good but truly there is no other quite like this one. I was fascinated with it as a kid and am still fascinated now.

As far as souvenirs are concerned and my gosh you'll find you'll want it all; one of our favorites is Mr. Potato Head. All the little parts are Disney related. For about $18.00 (I think) you'll fill a box with all the little parts as well as the potato. The more clever you are (and I'm not) the more parts you're able to take home. Heads up, (no pun intended lol) Mr. Potato Head has a compartment that you can fill too. We crammed so much stuff into the little guy as well as into the box we really got our money's worth. It always brings a smile to my face when I see our Monsieur Pomme de terre. It reminds me of how smart my hubby was to shove all the parts into the box. Your husband will have fun figuring it out, too. It becomes like a fun challenging game to see how much you can stuff.

Another cool thing is a Legacy tile. At the entrance of Epcot you'll see walls and walls etched with a picture, the name and date of a family's visit, and/or a message. You can mark your visit by getting one, too. What they do is take your picture or name depends on you (for a fee of course) and next time you visit you can view it on a wall. It's always fun to see our little girl's picture when we go as well as our name on another tile. I think these are supposed to be up for 15 years or so. I don't think Disney even knows what they plan on doing with them after that. Anyway, it is an extravagance and a great marketing tool to get people to return to see it. I'd only suggest it if you do plan on going again, otherwise what's the point.

Your little girl is going to love DW! Save your money because she will want it all. We always give our daughter X number of dollars, let her see everything and make her wait until a day or two before the end of our trip to make her purchases so she'll be sure to know what she wants. If your daughter happens to want a Disney Girl, (these are very similar to the American Girl doll but in Disney clothes) I highly discourage it. My daughter got hers home and immediately the arm broke off at the socket. It literally broke; it cannot be placed back on. I felt so sorry for my daughter. She waited until the last day to spend the bulk of her money on this doll and clothes and now all she has are the clothes. Actually they happen to fit her American Girl doll so it's not a total waste. I'm going to try to return the Disney Girl on our next trip. Hopefully Disney will be understanding.

Have a fabulous trip with YOUR little doll! :)

We have been to DW around 20 times. There's too much to do and see in one trip.
They give samples of the frozen drinks if you ask.They have sour watermelon flavor which will make you pucker up.Ask them to top up the drinks at the counter service places because they do not fill them completely.I do not purchase draft beer anymore because there is too much foam on top.During rush hour they make many drinks in advance and the ice was already melted in my ice tea.If you like ice that is another reason to remove the lid and complete the last mile of quality.