What ideas, tips, etc...have you learned on this forum and added to your own vacation?

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AnnielovesDisney's picture
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What ideas, tips, etc...have you learned on this forum and added to your own vacation?

My DH just informed me a few days ago that he really wants to go to WDW to experience the new Frozen activities at HS. So, with no arm twisting at all wink ,I immediately started planning a weekend trip to WDW. While I was making my FP+ choices, arranging our parks for the weekend and planning all the other little details that go into one of our Disney weekends, I realized how many new experiences my DH and I incorporate into our trips now, all because I found this awesome forum. yay DH and I had spent between 130-150 days in WDW before I joined this forum last October, and I can't believe all the things we didn't try before then!

What new attractions, food, rides, etc.... have you tried, or will try, based on information you got from this forum?

Here is a list of several new things we've tried at WDW, all because of the wdwforgrownups forum:
1. DOLE WHIP
2. TOY STORY MANIA
3. SPLASH MOUNTAIN
4. BE OUR GUEST
5. PETER PAN'S FLIGHT
6. PIN TRADING

These are just a few of the things that I now incorporate into every WDW trip. So, thank you to everyone for sharing their experiences, because it's made my own Disney world weekends even better. stars

Magic Mirror's picture
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I agree that this site has added an incredible amount of knowledge to my WDW vacations!
My list is long... but I'll match your 6 !

~Spending a day touring the deluxe resorts, eating/sampling, enjoying their themes
and Christmas trees

~Touring the parks by starting to the left instead of right

~Riding the rides during the first parade and watching the second parade

~Making better use of alternate transportation other than buses, Love those boats, monorails and walking.

~Garden Grocer for breakfast in the rooms

~Carmel Corn in Germany, Churros in Mexico, the food list is long wink

Thanks to all who make this site the BEST! yay

The Watchmaker's picture
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Well I also agree that reading other people's stories and their invaluable tips, keep me up to date with what's going on at WDW...It's surprising that in our two year gap between visits how much new stuff there is to do,and eat of course..My list seems to get bigger every trip..Example..This year I've got to try the Zebra Dome..The school bread at Norway..And lots lots more..Thanks to everyone on here for all there information... clapping

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The Watchmaker wrote:
This year I've got to try the Zebra Dome..

My favorite!!! You will absolutely muchlove muchlove muchlove them.

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jhugo's picture
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Well I have to say I have learned a lot from everyone here. I love to talk Disney food and have found some amazing places to eat by talking to everyone on the forum. I am trying school bread for the first time on our September visit. I also would never have tried the Magical Express if not for the forum. The list could go on and on. I hope I have helped a few people out with my hints and ideas also.

alicemouse's picture
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This was a more difficult task than I thought it would be. I've internalized so many great ideas and suggestions from this site (and a few others) that it's hard to remember what came from where anymore! There are a few that still stick out as WDWFG exclusives, though...

*Convinced me that I wouldn't die if I rode Dinosaur, but convinced me that EE was a bad idea (both are 100% accurate)
*We're trying 'Ohana and Whispering Canyon in the Fall
*I'm not a fan of wine or beer, but I actually drank an entire glass of wine in Germany and I LIKED it (Thanks, MagicMirror!)
*We will be doing the Marceline to MK and Magic of the Steam trains at some point.
*Meet-ups--this forum was the first time that I ever met people online prior to meeting them in real life. Meet-ups have been such a fun part of our trips since I "met" all of you wonderful people!

I'm sure there are many others, but they've just become a part of our Disney "norm" and I can't distinguish them any more!

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Trip Reports:
December 2013: 10th Anniversary, 1st DVC Stay | April 2014: Birthday on the Boardwalk | May 2014: Star Wars Weekend, Navigating WDW with a wheelchair | August 2014: Villains Unleashed | September/October 2014: MNSSHP, F&W, Tower of Terror 10-miler | March/April 2015: Disneyland and California Coastal Cruise | November 2015: Wine & Dine Half, Food & Wine, 1st Disney Cruise | February 2016: Presidential Classic Gymnastics Meet | March 2016: "Work" Trip, Tours, F&G Festival | April 2016: Conference at Disneyland | Fall 2016: Festive Fall Fun | January 2017: Festival of the Arts | May 2017: AbD Backstage Magic | July 2017: AbD San Francisco | Sorry I had to give up doing trip reports. Too many time commitments right now.

oldtink's picture
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Hmmm

1) tipping suggestions (we did something before, but the ideas here are better)
2) left to right at MK
3) Insider info about rides and former rides
4) help with new FP+

Alice is right, too many that I have absorbed......

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Magic Mirror's picture
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alicemouse wrote:
This was a more difficult task than I thought it would be.

*I'm not a fan of wine or beer, but I actually drank an entire glass of wine in Germany and I LIKED it (Thanks, MagicMirror]

yeah bighug yeah

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Wow this is not easy but I would say....Learning about Marceline Tour and from that us doing; suggestions on restaurants...why to many to mention; making suggestions on your plans if there was a better option and the biggest one is 2 things...knowing am not the only one who loves Disney and that am not married to the only husband who isn't crazy about Disney.

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AnnielovesDisney's picture
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alicemouse wrote:
*Convinced me that I wouldn't die if I rode Dinosaur

laugh

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A few things, mainly food though:

1. Signature dining places, mainly California Grill which seems to be the consensus fan favorite. Never really considered making it a part of my plans because of price but by the looks of it, I should give it a shot.
2. Yak and Yeti: Being Asian-American myself, I kinda written off the place because of assumptions that their Chinese food would not be up to par but thanks to the Kobe Beef burger recommendations, now that's a place I'll visit because I love burgers overall and people consider it to be Disney's best burger!
3. I can go single rider in a tea cup on Mad Tea Party....if I want to!

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*To try out the Cali Grill
*Fastpass+ help
*Get to the park at opening, go back to the resort to relax in the afternoon and then go back after all the rush

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JMed's picture
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I have WAY too many to list...

With this being our first trip coming up as a couple, I have learned SO MUCH from you all. We've done a lot in the bubble but not to the extent we will be.

ADR's (I had only ever done ONE, for Cinderella's Castle. For this trip I already have 9 LOL
So many of the snack ideas school bread, cronuts and a cupcake crawl
DRINK FLIGHTS
Thinking of adding a tour

I just can't even list them all. You have all been a huge help!!! THANK YOU! mickey

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That is a tough one! I've picked up lots of little things that have made many trips a bit more special. . .

One tip - and I realize it goes against what many think is required for Wishes viewing at MK - is to be in Frontierland, out on the walkway/dock area. You can't see the 'choreography' of the fireworks, but it isn't as crowded there and you have a railing/rope to lean on. Kinda a cozy spot, too!! We snagged done whips and then ducked through the passage between Adventureland and Frontierland and walked right to a great spot. Great view of Tinkerbelle's flight from there!

Another was a food tip earned me some serious trip planner cred. Kim had a serious OMG reaction after her first bite and asked me how I knew about the 'ambrosia' on her plate. Yep, you all gave me that one!!

Grey Goose / Grand Marnier slush at Epcot. Those stopped us in our touring tracks on one trip. Yep, we got as far as France and pretty much stayed there until Illuminations. Good thing the Patisserie Boulangerie was so close. . . awesome

Decorating our room at Christmas. We sent a box down with a small artificial tree, some lights, decorations, colored paper, stockings, etc. We made paper chains for the tree, and hung more around the room. We cut out snowflakes for the windows and the tree . . . We also packed some cocoa mix and a bag of Aunt Shelly's pecan Carmel corn for Christmas morning. It was awesome and made our first Christmas trip to WDW very special. Santa

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MandaLynn's picture
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Oh wow...too many to mention, as others have said. The ones at the top of mind are:

Renting DVC points (heard about it here, did it, loved it!)
Staying at the Boardwalk (JanJ and KenJ's Trip Report last year had us drooling!!)
Free Dining Plan offer (got it for the whole family for this fall...saved us over $2000!)
Many new snacks and treats (BOOZE!! biggrin)
Tips about Food and Wine/Flower and Garden Festivals (more booze...haha)

I've probably learned much more than I remember about resorts, transportation, food, and overall Disney planning! I also agree with kathys...

kathys wrote:
...knowing am not the only one who loves Disney

mickey

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Glad to oblige MandaLynn! wink

For us, I can think of a couple of things:
1) Marceline to MK tour - don't know that we would have done that one without learning about it on here first
2) Having dinner at the Yachtsman steakhouse - that's thanks to Mrhub
3) MNSSHP - sounds amazing from all the TR's I've read
4) Meet ups with other Disney enthusiasts
5) and dole whips!

Edited to add:

6) Kobe beef burger - now a must have from Yak & Yeti (can't believe I forgot that).

Kris1971's picture
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Hmmm...I've learned so much here, but a few things that pop into my mind right away are:

1) Dole Whip
2) Cappuccino cupcakes at Pizza Planet (thanks, Jess & Mase)
3) Rope Drop (can't wait to give it a try on my 2015 trip)
4) Trip Spreadsheets and Countdowns

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oldtink's picture
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Oh yes! ROPE DROP at MK is special. I am not so thrilled with the others, but MK is a must for at least one day!

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"At some point in life you have to decide if you're the Tigger or the Eeyore."...Randy Pausch

"George Banks and all he stands for will be saved. Maybe not in life, but in imagination. Because that's what we storytellers do. We restore order with imagination. We instill hope again and again and again." Walt Disney

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Oh jeez. . .

CUPCAKE CRAWL yay

How to goodness could I forget that? Thank you, Kris1971- your cappuccino cupcake reminded me!!

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Staying at a WDW resort. We always did a timeshare exchange into a non-Disney resort, and had a great time, but when Disney affiliated with RCI we exchanged on property and loved it. I can't say we'll never stay offsite again (the next time sister and her family come along we'll have to), but finding a way to stay at a WDW resort is now a pretty high priority for us.

Dole whips. I didn't even know where to get them before I read about them here. But...I was kind of underwhelmed. They're good, but I wouldn't go out of my way for one or make it a priority - there are other things I like better.

Flame Tree Barbecue. We still haven't tried it, but it's now on the short list. We love Asian food so much, we've always done AK counter service meals at Yak and Yeti, but I think we need to try the barbecue at least once.

And on our upcoming trips, we have several new to us restaurants we're going to try thanks to recommendations from you all. In fact, I just added The Wave to our September ADRs based partly on a discussion that went on here a day or two back.

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JanJ wrote:
Glad to oblige MandaLynn! wink

awesome

designedbydisney's picture
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Just a note on why going left always works, this is because most countries drive on the right hand side of the road so it's natural to go that way. You will notice all left hand queues and walk ways are just British people.

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CrazyCat - my husband thought the same about Dole Whips until he realized he had gotten the orange swirl. He took it back and got the pineapple float and literally floats for a long time after.

We LOVE Flame Tree, but just so you know it's a rub, not a BBQ sauce. I love the BBQ chicken salad when it's really hot! awesome

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"At some point in life you have to decide if you're the Tigger or the Eeyore."...Randy Pausch

"George Banks and all he stands for will be saved. Maybe not in life, but in imagination. Because that's what we storytellers do. We restore order with imagination. We instill hope again and again and again." Walt Disney

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Philhowelldesign wrote:
Just a note on why going left always works, this is because most countries drive on the right hand side of the road so it's natural to go that way. You will notice all left hand queues and walk ways are just British people.

And us lefties. laugh

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Philhowelldesign wrote:
Just a note on why going left always works, this is because most countries drive on the right hand side of the road so it's natural to go that way. You will notice all left hand queues and walk ways are just British people.

We tend to start on the left for some reason - at least at Epcot and Animal Kingdom that tends to be the way we go. DHS, who can say, that place is a maze. But at MK my morning route back in the days of paper FPs took us first to Buzz Lightyear, with a stop at Monsters Inc. if we had to wait on a Buzz FastPass, then to Fantasyland for a Peter Pan FP and ride other Fantasyland stuff while waiting. This route always seemed to work well for us.

oldtink wrote:
CrazyCat - my husband thought the same about Dole Whips until he realized he had gotten the orange swirl. He took it back and got the pineapple float and literally floats for a long time after.

We LOVE Flame Tree, but just so you know it's a rub, not a BBQ sauce. I love the BBQ chicken salad when it's really hot! awesome

I did get a pineapple Dole whip. And also a pineapple float another time. Funny thing is, I love pineapple, but the Dole whips just don't thrill me.

I use a rub when I make ribs at home, although I do finish with a light coating of sauce. But just rub is okay by me.

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oldtink wrote:
We LOVE Flame Tree, but just so you know it's a rub, not a BBQ sauce. I love the BBQ chicken salad when it's really hot! awesome

We eat at Flame tree BBQ all the time and my DH ribs are always swimming in BBQ sauce and he doesn't ask for it that way. There are also little containers of BBQ sauce in the sitting areas, by the napkins and plastic utensils.

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I just told my hubby the other day....

"I need to either "unfirend" all these Disney pages and delete my WDWFG account or we are going to have to add a few more days to this trip!!!"

I keep learning so much and and seeing so many amazing dinners that I keep changing and adding things to do and see.

Thanks everyone!!!!!

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"I do not like the cone of shame."

"I want adventure in the great wide somewhere. I want it more than I can tell."

"It seems to me that we have a lot of story yet to tell."

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The biggest thing our forum has added for us is a great little sense of family. I so love getting to share my disney addiction with those that are as excited about all of it. But since this was about tips mine are below.

1. Cute tip ideas for mouse keeping: this is now a ritual to help get prepared.
2. Add a tour: this year will be the marceline to mk.
3. Staring rolls: how amazing can a cupcake be?
4. Star Tours: As a long time fan of all things Jedi I really was interested but the unknown kept me off. Thanks to Jess and Mace that galaxy is no longer far far away.

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AnnielovesDisney wrote:
oldtink wrote:
We LOVE Flame Tree, but just so you know it's a rub, not a BBQ sauce. I love the BBQ chicken salad when it's really hot! awesome

We eat at Flame tree BBQ all the time and my DH ribs are always swimming in BBQ sauce and he doesn't ask for it that way. There are also little containers of BBQ sauce in the sitting areas, by the napkins and plastic utensils.

Hmmm, I even have their recipe....and my husband has a pic somewhere on his maze of a computer without sauce. I know there is a tub of it by condiments. Wonder if it's changed since we went there two years ago or I am thinking of the chix with rub????
confused

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"At some point in life you have to decide if you're the Tigger or the Eeyore."...Randy Pausch

"George Banks and all he stands for will be saved. Maybe not in life, but in imagination. Because that's what we storytellers do. We restore order with imagination. We instill hope again and again and again." Walt Disney

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oldtink wrote:
AnnielovesDisney wrote:
oldtink wrote:
We LOVE Flame Tree, but just so you know it's a rub, not a BBQ sauce. I love the BBQ chicken salad when it's really hot! awesome

We eat at Flame tree BBQ all the time and my DH ribs are always swimming in BBQ sauce and he doesn't ask for it that way. There are also little containers of BBQ sauce in the sitting areas, by the napkins and plastic utensils.

Hmmm, I even have their recipe....and my husband has a pic somewhere on his maze of a computer without sauce. I know there is a tub of it by condiments. Wonder if it's changed since we went there two years ago or I am thinking of the chix with rub????
confused

I always get the chicken and that does have a rub. Maybe that's what you were thinking. I can't speak for the ribs because, you know, chicken...

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Be good at something. It makes you valuable. Have something to bring to the table because that will make you more welcome. --Randy Pausch

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Trip Reports:
December 2013: 10th Anniversary, 1st DVC Stay | April 2014: Birthday on the Boardwalk | May 2014: Star Wars Weekend, Navigating WDW with a wheelchair | August 2014: Villains Unleashed | September/October 2014: MNSSHP, F&W, Tower of Terror 10-miler | March/April 2015: Disneyland and California Coastal Cruise | November 2015: Wine & Dine Half, Food & Wine, 1st Disney Cruise | February 2016: Presidential Classic Gymnastics Meet | March 2016: "Work" Trip, Tours, F&G Festival | April 2016: Conference at Disneyland | Fall 2016: Festive Fall Fun | January 2017: Festival of the Arts | May 2017: AbD Backstage Magic | July 2017: AbD San Francisco | Sorry I had to give up doing trip reports. Too many time commitments right now.

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oldtink wrote:
AnnielovesDisney wrote:
oldtink wrote:
We LOVE Flame Tree, but just so you know it's a rub, not a BBQ sauce. I love the BBQ chicken salad when it's really hot! awesome

We eat at Flame tree BBQ all the time and my DH ribs are always swimming in BBQ sauce and he doesn't ask for it that way. There are also little containers of BBQ sauce in the sitting areas, by the napkins and plastic utensils.

Hmmm, I even have their recipe....and my husband has a pic somewhere on his maze of a computer without sauce. I know there is a tub of it by condiments. Wonder if it's changed since we went there two years ago or I am thinking of the chix with rub????
confused

Here's a pic of the ribs Erik got this past November. They had more of a rub (he says they weren't very messy)

PreviewAttachmentSize
Flame tree ribs
Flame tree ribs631.28 KB