Disney World Tips from a First Time Visitor

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This past month we took our first vacation to Disney World. It was both Luke’s and my first time there. Sean had been when he was younger than Luke, so he only remembers a little bit of it and a lot has changed since then. Considering that, all three of us were Disney newbies and researched what we could before going. In the end we did some planning and some we just ended up winging once we were there. I decided to write a few tips and recommendations that we found worked really well for us. Hopefully some of these tips help you out on your next trip!

Consider renting a stroller.

Luke is 5 and hasn’t used a stroller in almost 3 years now. This recommendation was actually given to us by a friend who was at Disney last year.

A couple of weeks before our trip, I rented through ScooterBug Rentals in Orlando. I picked a date and time and since were staying at a Disney resort they delivered right to the front desk of the resort. We returned the stroller by leaving at the front desk of the hotel the morning we were leaving. It was so simple and easy to use. The stroller was clean and in great condition. I have only good things to say about this rental company.

Now why does a five-year-old need a stroller? Well, there’s a ton of walking, a ton of people and a ton of waiting in line. It wasn’t as much as Luke got tired of walking (he did…we all did), but the stroller was nice to keep him with us while walking through the crowds. We were able to walk to our next destination without having to worry about him running ahead, lagging behind, getting lost in the crowd, etc. Also, he could eat and drink a snack while we were walking. The other great part about it was the sunshade to help keep him from getting overheated in the sun. We brought a backpack cooler with snacks and drinks, so we were able to keep that in the bottom of the stroller as well. All in all, it worked great for us.

Bring your own snacks and drinks into the park.

Another piece of advice that was given to us from a friend was to bring your own water bottles. We ended up bringing a small backpack cooler that we filled with water bottles, some snacks and a couple of PB&J sandwiches.

The day before our first park, we ordered Walmart grocery delivery to get some water and the sandwich fixings. I had also brought some yogurt and applesauce pouches in our luggage.

There’s a ton of food to eat at Disney, but we figured it would save some time…and some money to bring a few things into the park. The snacks definitely helped while standing in line since it seemed like every time we got into a line Luke was hungry.

One thing we didn’t realize was that the refrigerator in the Disney hotel didn’t have a freezer. We grabbed some ice from the ice machine and put the ice packs in the bucket overnight. This kept everything cool enough throughout the morning and into the afternoon.

I couldn’t find our exact backpack cooler since we had it from a while ago, but I found a similar one from Amazon.

The Magic Kingdom Fireworks Show...it's a must!

Initially I thought that we would try and see the fireworks show at Magic Kingdom, but if we missed it no big deal. Honestly, it was the best fireworks display I have ever seen. We went to Magic Kingdom on our first full day at Disney and spent the entire day at the park starting from rope drop. We were tired and considered just heading back to our hotel. We got to the castle just before the show started it ended up working out in our favor because we got a spot dead center in front of the castle. I’m not sure how to describe the fireworks show except for it’s a must see!!

Take advantage of rope drop or early access.

When staying at a Disney resort you get early access to the parks. I recommend taking advantage of this, or at least trying to get to the park at rope drop. For both parks we went to, we were able to get in line for a lightning lane ride with very limited wait…basically walking onto these rides. We also chose the first ride to be one that was furthest from the main entrance to limit the crowd size at these rides. This seemed to work great for us.

Genie Plus

If it fits into your budget, I recommend using Genie Plus. With the help of Genie Plus, we were able to get on every ride that we wanted to with very little wait times. We didn’t use Genie Plus for every ride so we booked what we could throughout the day and then stood in line for the shorter wait time rides in between the Genie Plus rides.

I won’t try to explain how to use it because I’m by no means an expert, but there are several YouTube videos out there showing you how to use this option. We watched a couple before going and just kind of figured it out as we went along.

Memory Maker Photo Pass

If you choose to purchase the Memory Maker option, make sure you take the time to stop for pictures. On our first day at Magic Kingdom, we kind of forgot about this until late morning. Then whenever we saw a photographer with a short line or no line, we stopped to get a picture. The “magic” photos were an added bonus, and it was nice to have pictures of all of us together.

Tip for kids wanting all the souvenirs.

I’m no expert when it comes to kids and parenting, but I will tell you one tip that helped us with Luke wanting every toy and souvenir. We chose not to keep our trip as a surprise to Luke. Because of this we suggested Disney gift cards as Christmas and Birthday gift ideas from family members. Luke then had his own money to use at Disney. He knew he only had so much money to spend and was able to decide what he wanted to buy while there. An added tip is to make sure you have a little bit of room in a suitcase if you plan on buying any souvenirs so you can easily bring them back with you.

Save money by buying certain items ahead of time.

Obviously, you’ll probably end up buying some souvenirs while at Disney. Some items I bought ahead of time from Amazon to save money. I bought my Minnie ears and all our Disney shirts prior. I also bought a Disney backpack that I brought with me to keep my wallet, tickets, snacks and ponchos in. Everything is compiled and linked below. Happy shopping!

Hopefully some of these tips help you for your next trip to Disney! Comment below on what your best Disney tips and recommendations are.