When you are planning trip to Walt Disney World, there are many things you need to plan for. From park tickets to resort stays to packing, you need to make sure to take all of these into account so you are all set for a wonderful time! When planning your trip, there are some additional things you may have not thought about that will be important to keep in mind. Pink and Pixie Dust is here to help with our list of five things you may not have thought about when planning a trip to Walt Disney World!
1. Plan to Stay Hydrated
Water from Starbucks at Disney’s Animal Kingdom
During busy days at the parks, it’s important to stay hydrated! Spending long days walking in the Florida heat requires you to make sure you drink plenty of water throughout the day. If you don’t stay hydrated, it can be easy to become sick with heatstroke, which is something you truly do not want to happen during your visit.
While at Walt Disney World, there are plenty of options to make sure you stay hydrated. First, you can bring your own reusable water bottle. Throughout the parks there are water bottle refill stations where you can continue to fill these up throughout the day. Secondly, you can ask for a cup of water at any quick service dining location at Walt Disney World. Disney cast members are more than happy to give you a free cup of water if you ask kindly. You can only ask for a cup of water at quick service dining locations, such as Satu’li Canteen, as they are not available at locations such as snack kiosks or Epcot festival booths.
A third option is by purchasing water bottles. Plastic Dasani and Smart Water bottles are available for purchase a quick service dining locations and merchandise locations throughout the parks. These are a slightly more costly option, but are another possibility that allows you to bring water everywhere you go if you forgot to bring a reusable water bottle.
2. Plan Ahead for Rain
When you are visiting Walt Disney World, make sure to plan ahead for and expect rain! Although Florida is beautiful and sunny most of the time, it is very common to experience downpours of rain. Sometimes these rain showers may last all day, while other times they may last only a few minutes. If you are visiting the parks between June and November, which is the Florida hurricane season, plan for a brief downpour of rain most days in the late afternoon. These down pours usually last around an hour. Make sure to keep an eye on the weather forecast during your visit, as this will provide the most up to date information as to whether you should expect rain and when!
Rainy Day at Epcot
When preparing for rain in Walt Disney World, you will want to be prepared with rain ponchos and umbrellas for your group. These will help to keep you dry as you travel through the rain at the parks. If you happen to forget these items at home, both rain ponchos for children and adults, as well as umbrellas, are available at most merchandise locations at WDW.
Some other items you may want to be prepared with are waterproof shoes, a stroller cover, and plastic ziploc bags. By having a second pair of shoes or wearing waterproof shoes, it will be much more comfortable, helping keep you dry! Some shoes that dry off quickly and are comfortable to wear are those like Tevas or Crocs. A plastic stroller cover can help make sure your stroller and little ones inside stay dry in the rain as well! Finally, having a plastic ziploc bag on hand can help make sure items such as your phone stay dry in the rain.
3. Plan Ahead for Transportation
Disney’s Skyliner
When visiting Walt Disney World, make sure to plan ahead of time how you will travel to and from the parks. If you are staying on Walt Disney World property, there are a variety of free transportation options you can utilize to get around. These include the monorail, skyliner, boats, and busses. Different transportation options are able to take you to different places. Make sure to check ahead of time where you need to travel to and when to plan which kind of transportation options are available to you.
One thing to be aware of is that if you are needing to travel from one Disney resort to another, there is generally not direct transportation available. In most circumstances, you will need to use Disney transportation to travel to one of the parks and then transfer to another transportation option to the resort you would like to go to. There are a few exceptions to this, such as you can travel between the Grand Floridian, the Polynesian, and the Contemporary via monorail. You can also use the skyliner to travel between the Riviera, Caribbean Beach, Pop Century, and Art of Animation.
Another transportation option is by Minnie Van. These are adorable vehicles decorated with red with white polka dots that can take you anywhere on Walt Disney World property, as well as to and from the airport. All Minnie Vans are driven by WDW cast members and include car seats for little ones to use during the ride. Minnie Vans are a paid service that can be booked through the Lyft app. You are also able to use regular ride share services, such as standard Lyft and Uber, to get around Walt Disney World.
4. Plan to Wear Comfortable Shoes
Each day at the parks, you will be doing lots and lots of walking. This may be much more walking than you may typically do at home, easily reaching upwards of 6-12 miles each day. To help you be able to do this walking all day, it’s important to wear comfortable shoes to the parks! Before your trip, make sure to test and break in shoes you are planning to pack. Wear them all day and go for walks wearing them. If they are not comfortable while at home, it is best not to bring them with. It’s important to bring your most comfortable pairs of shoes!
It is also helpful to pack at least two pairs for your trip. Sometimes if you wear the same pair of shoes multiple days in a row for long distances of walking, it can reduce their comfortableness and your feet may begin to hurt earlier on in the day. By alternating which pair of shoes you wear each day, the more comfortable your feet will be!
Check out our Guide to What to Wear When Visiting Walt Disney World for additional tips and advice to help you plan what to pack for your visit!
5. Plan Ahead to Book Dining Reservations
Sanaa at Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge
When visiting Walt Disney World, there are so many delicious dining options to choose from! At the parks and resorts you can find dining options including table service sit down dining, quick service dining, Epcot festival booths, and kiosk snack options. During your visit, you may want to be able to enjoy a meal at some of the table service dining locations, such as Be Our Guest at Magic Kingdom or Sanaa at Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge. These restaurants serve spectacular meals in beautifully themed locations.
One thing to keep in mind is if you would like to eat at table service dining locations, each of these require reservations in advance. If there are dining locations you would really like to have the opportunity to eat at during your visit, it’s important to plan ahead! Depending on whether you are staying on or off property will determine when you can begin booking dining reservations. Everyone can book reservations 60 days in advance, while guests staying on property can book reservations for their entire trip 60 days in advance of their arrival date.
If there is a restaurant you weren’t able to get a dining reservation for, it may still be possible to dine there! Just keep checking back in the time leading up to your trip, especially in the week leading up to it. People may cancel or modify their dining reservations closer to the date and time and, if they do, reservations will become available again in the My Disney Experience app!
Topolino’s Terrace Character Dining
At Pink and Pixie Dust, in the past we have been able to get popular dining reservations the day before by continuing to just keep checking! For example, we were able to get a breakfast character dining reservation for Topolino’s Terrace at Disney’s Riviera Resort one day before when we were hoping to eat there. This is a beloved character dining experience that can be somewhat difficult to get a reservation for. If you are able to obtain a reservation, we highly recommend this character dining experience!
If you aren’t able to get a reservation, some restaurants offer a walk up list you can join as well. To join the walk up list, you can visit the restaurant host podium to kindly ask about joining or you may be able to join via the My Disney Experience app.
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