Bring your stroller. Stroller rental at the parks is $16/day for a single, $31/day for a double. If you forgot one, head to the WalMart Supercentre and pick up an umbrella stroller for $15. That tip is from one of my PC hosts.
It is the happiest place on earth. Know why? Because every washroom on Disney property is clean. And every soap dispenser has soap, and every toilet seat cover dispenser has seat covers.
3 cheers for the Pampered Chef Suds Pump! It’s a must – the kids needed to wash their hands/faces 24/7 and it was fabulous doing it on the spot vs. finding a potty.
Bring a cooler. Your bags are checked before entering each park, but it’s for security. We brought a cooler bag with frozen water bottles, fruit and snacks. It’s enough to hold you over until you take your mid-day trip back to the house to eat a full meal.
It’s all about the FastPass. http://www.wdwinfo.com/wdwinfo/fastpass.htm Another time and sanity saver. It’s a wonderful thing, by-passing the 50-minute lines on a Saturday at Magic Kingdom…
Resist buying the souvenirs in the parks. They’ve strategically placed the exits of many attractions smack-dab in the middle of a souvenir shop. Resist. WalMart alone has a million tees, mugs, postcards and magnets. The only things we bought in the park were the ears, a $4.95 antenna Mickey head and three Animal Kingdom buttons (which are actually for donations that Disney matches).
Put on your happy caps. Accept that there will be some waiting. But something I did before we left on this trip was go over the park maps with the kids and have them pick out their must-sees, so that if we were strapped for time, we knew where to go. Really, these kinds of trips can be a dream or a nightmare. It’s a big investment – choose which one you’ll make it.

Our next trip is to Virginia for our cousin’s wedding this November. I think we’re renting a van with a built-in DVD player – much to my kids’ delight.

The next couple of years will be challenging – how do you top Walt Disney World?? Hubby and I have a few ideas……