Tips for Disney Parks & Cruise Lines

I'm planning a trip to Disney's Aulani, and I just learned that they now have the Daily 'Iwa, Aulani's daily activity schedule (sort of like the disney cruise Line's Navigator) online. This is a great way to try to plan your stay with all of the activities that are offered around the resort. The Daily 'Iwa shows events for the next 10 days, so check it just before your trip! You can find it HERE. - Debbie
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If you have planned multiple trips to Walt Disney World with tickets linked to your My Disney Experience account, be sure when you check in that the CORRECT ticket is linked to that stay. For example, I bought a 1-day ticket to use in November after a disney cruise, but before that I had booked a 7-night package with tickets in June. Both were linked to my account. (It asks you who the ticket is for when you buy it online at disneyworld.com.) When I went in June, my 1-day ticket was used inadvertently, and then 6 days were used from my ticket that came with my package. I discovered this when I went to use that 1-day ticket in November. Of course, the 7th day from my package ticket had expired, since more than 14 days had passed, so I had to buy ANOTHER 1-day ticket to use for November. WDW told me to make sure when checking in to specify which ticket you want to use for your MagicBand. I guess it's not obvious you would want to use a 7-day ticket for a 7-day stay. If you make multiple trips to WDW a year like me, you may run into this trouble. - Jill Benicewicz
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I always pack a collapsible hamper on our trips to Disney World and, more recently, on a disney cruise! At the end of our stay, I dump all the dirty clothes into one piece of luggage, which goes straight to the laundry room when we return home! The hamper really helps keep those rather smallish Disney rooms as tidy as possible! - Angela
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Having just returned from a disney cruise, I wanted to share a shopping tip. If you are serious about shopping in the ports of call, make sure to talk with the shoppers on board the ship and get VIP cards. A group of us in St. Thomas were trying to negotiate a fair price on several items and when the store manager said that was it, we pulled out the VIP cards and mentioned the disney cruise Shoppers by name. A further discount followed! - Deb Wills
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If anyone who has recently returned from Walt Disney World needs a fix, maybe it's a good time to go on AllEars® to rate/review your restaurant experiences, resort, etc. Worked for me! - Diana Schlosky Grinnell

EDITOR'S NOTE: Yes, please do share your experiences with the rest of us! You'll find our Rate and Review section, which covers not only Walt Disney World, but the disney cruise Line and Disneyland Resort as well, here: http://land.allears.net/reviewpost/
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I just finished reading Mike Scopa's feature about car rentals during a Disney World vacation. It is much-needed information, as I found out last year when planning my family's most recent trip. We spent six nights at Pop Century Resort and then took the three-night disney cruise. The cost of Disney transportation from our resort to Port Canaveral was extremely prohibitive and the thought of loading all of our luggage onto a Disney bus to get to the "moderate" hotels to rent an Alamo car was unappealing! The solution came from Enterprise Rent a Car. Their advertising slogan is "We'll pick you up!" and that they did. I made our reservation prior to arriving in FL and then called the morning of check-out and they came to pick up my husband to rent the car. It was very convenient and did not cost anything additional. Thank you for all the amazing information about everything Disney, you made our trip the, "trip of a lifetime!" and I would not have been able to do it without you! - Stephanie Lundgren Parker
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I just finished reading Mike Scopa's feature about car rentals during a Disney World vacation. It is much-needed information, as I found out last year when planning my family's most recent trip. We spent six nights at Pop Century Resort and then took the three-night disney cruise. The cost of Disney transportation from our resort to Port Canaveral was extremely prohibitive and the thought of loading all of our luggage onto a Disney bus to get to the "moderate" hotels to rent an Alamo car was unappealing! The solution came from Enterprise Rent a Car. Their advertising slogan is "We'll pick you up!" and that they did. I made our reservation prior to arriving in FL and then called the morning of check-out and they came to pick up my husband to rent the car. It was very convenient and did not cost anything additional. Thank you for all the amazing information about everything Disney, you made our trip the, "trip of a lifetime!" and I would not have been able to do it without you! - Stephanie Lundgren Parker
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I've had a few friends in the past ask me for advice on disney cruises (since we've been on a few). I always tell them to take a small bag of sand toys with them. I wish I would have known this the first time we went. They do sell sand toys on Castaway Cay, but they are very expensive compared to what you can bring from home. A friend who is recently planning a cruise told me this was a great idea. She's looked at a lot of websites and hasn't seen that posted anywhere, so I thought it might be worth sharing. Oh, you might also want to bring pirate stuff so your kids can dress up on pirate night. Very fun! - Esmeralda Corral
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I wasn't aware of this until our last visit a few weeks ago so I thought I would share with everyone. On our return Magical Express from resort to MCO we were put on a "disney cruise" bus. I didn't know that they used these buses for anything but transportation to the ships. As a result my daughter and I missed the first bus that left and only after questioning at bell services did we find out. - Joan
I wasn't aware of this until our last visit a few weeks ago so I thought I would share with everyone. On our return Magical Express from resort to MCO we were put on a "disney cruise" bus. I didn't know that they used these buses for anything but transportation to the ships. As a result my daughter and I missed the first bus that left and only after questioning at bell services did we find out. - Joan
I have a spending money tip geared to teenagers that is easier for them to manage than cash and easier for me than handing out cash. On our March spring break trip to WDW, I surprised my two teenagers with Disney Gift Cards that I purchased at the World of Disney Store at Disney Springs. They each liked having their own card and not juggling change. I learned the card is usable at Disney owned and operated merchandise, dining and recreation locations where credit cards are accepted, including the Disney shops in the Orlando Airport and disney cruise Line onboard the ship. (Some carts and outdoor vendors at the parks do not accept the card.) The balance prints on the receipt after each transaction, has no expiration, can be used with other forms of payment to complete a purchase, is reloadable ($5-$1500!), and can be kept as a souvenir. It's a cool card with Mickey on the front. Now that I know about the card, I plan to reload them for my daughter's high school band trip to Disney World next week. Purchase and use details can be found at DisneyGiftCard.com. - Sandy Marks
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A lot of people do not realize that once you unpack [on the disney cruise] you can actually store your empty suitcases and other luggage. The Disney Dream and Fantasy have storage space under the bed. If you are on the other ships, you may be able to ask your cabin steward to store your luggage for you. This is not guaranteed, but it never hurts to ask!


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We've become hooked on the disney cruises, and subsequently, we always book our next cruise while on the current cruise. We get a 10 percent booking discount (discount not valid for concierge room/suite), a shipboard credit and the comfort of knowing that next year's vacation is confirmed. It makes the ending of the first vacation less difficult, knowing that you're coming back for sure. And then, while on the ship, we buy albums, post-its, note pads, pens, etc., because we don't pay any tax on the ship. I also buy my new 16-month Disney calendar, and start filling in important dates, such as the newly planned trip, Advanced Dining Reservation call times, Castaway Club Member booking dates, and whatever else I may need. For us, Disney is our "home away from home." - Jackie Psarianos

EDITOR'S NOTE: If you normally book with a travel agent, just tell the cruise reservation specialist to transfer the reservation to them! Or once you get home, call your travel planner and request to have the booking moved. DCL only allows 30 days for you to transfer.


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I think it's really important to let your readers know that the disney cruise Line will let you build up your own onboard credit before you cruise. Just call the disney cruise Line with you confirmation number and credit card. This is a great way to save up for the special things you want to do on the cruise or even for necessities that you know you will encounter, like end-of-the-cruise tipping. If you booked your cruise a year in advance like I did, you'll have several months after your final payment to call in and add some cash onto your account. And if your family or friends want to give you a gift they can call the disney cruise Line with your account number and make a contribution to your onboard credit! My family always gives us cash for Christmas, so I plan to take that money and invest it in my cruise! There's no limit on the amount. As the Cruise Line representative I talked to said with a laugh, "You can give yourself as much money as you want!" - Buffy
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We just returned from a whirlwind Disney vacation including a 3-night disney cruise on the Wonder. Traveling with our 9-month-old son was obviously a different experience, but the Cast Members on the cruise made everything go as smoothly as possible. Here are a couple of tips for cruising with a baby: Disney has portable cribs available for your stateroom; just make sure to request one when you book. Something we do when out and about is bring zipper baggies for the stinky diapers -- this was a nose saver in the stateroom. We packed a bunch of those and the dirty diapers were sealed to prevent any odor problems. The dining room waitstaff were more than happy to bring bowls and heat up baby food at dinner. Finally, my main concern was cleaning our baby bottles while on the boat. One of the nights I asked our stateroom host if it was possible to get dish soap so we could wash the bottles. Instead, he took the bottles and had them sterilized. He also learned our son's name and always made sure to say hi to him every day. Everyone onboard made sure that we had the most relaxing trip you could have with an infant. - Tracey Perry
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