I have been lucky enough to travel to Walt Disney World many MANY times during my life, and throughout those trips I have done and seen it all – rode all the rides, eaten all the foods, and seen all the shows. I have also made some mistakes along the way, and trust me when I say, there are certain situations you will want to avoid for sure!
When you’re heading to Disney World, do NOT make these 4 rookie mistakes:
Wearing Flip Flops: Yes, it’s hot out, and your feet want to be free – but wearing flip flops (or any other unsupportive/flimsy footwear) is a BIG no no at Disney World – you will be walking a LOT – and you will want to make sure your feet stay happy! I recommend newer (but broken in) sneakers, and cotton socks. May not be the cutest or coolest choice, but your feet will be a lot better off for sure!
Leaving Your Days Up To Chance: Not doing any planning for your WDW vacation days is a big mistake – as there are a lot of things you can take care of before you even arrive – which will save you a TON of time. The first is making Fastpass+ Reservations – which is a way to essentially “pre-book” a spot on certain rides/attractions – which is something you will really want to do as sometimes lines for the more popular rides can boast a 2 hour wait or more! And you can also pre-book some or all of your sit down meals using the Disney Advance Dining Reservation system (a must do, as most sit down restaurants have few to NO walk up tables available on any given night) – learn more about ADR’s here. Now I’m not saying you need to plan out every minute of every day (in fact, I do NOT recommend that!) but at least planning which Parks to do on which days, and utilizing the Fastpass and ADR programs too – these are things that will help you get a lot more enjoyment out of your trip
Not Packing For The Parks: Being prepared is important, and there are some items you you will DEFINITELY want to bring along as you head out to the Parks. Sunscreen, a refillable water bottle (or 2!), snacks (granola bars, fruit snacks, etc are good choices that won’t easily melt), ponchos for everyone (they are available at the dollar store!), ziploc baggies in assorted sizes (for stashing valuables during “wet” rides and rainstorms), and extra socks are things that I always pack for WDW. It may be a pain to lug a bag full of this stuff along with you all day, but they are all things that are necessities, and at the end of the day you will be very glad you brought it all along
Trying To Do It All: When you’re in the planning stages of your WDW vacation, it’s easy to say “Oh yeah, we can do 3 or 4 Parks in one day, no problem!” – but the reality is that most of the time, that is just NOT a good idea. Dragging yourself and your family from park to park to park means a LOT of time spent in line waiting for buses/boats/monorails, plus long rides on said transportation – and that’s no fun for anyone, really! You’re better off sticking to 1 Park a day and taking the time to really enjoy all the theming and magical details that go into every ride, attraction and Park at WDW
Mistakes in planning or execution can cost you time, money, and fun. I have been there and made ALL of these errors (and many more too if we’re being honest!) – so learn from my mistakes and avoid the above situations – it will help make your time at Disney World MUCH more magical!
complete first season.
