Tips about Disney Springs and Planning

Forgive me for recycling these old tips I learned a few years ago. I am a planner and before I leave home (UK), I prepare all my "mousekeeping" tips in separate envelopes with a little message of thanks and the date to be given. This saves a great deal of time -- more time for the World -- and a lot of scrabbling in purses and wallets for the requisite amount. Before travelling and when changing my currency I always ask for small denominations so I am prepared for those immediate gratuities (luggage, valet parking, etc). I am already writing my envelopes for our next trip, September '08 -- Boardwalk Villas!

We took a short trip to the Magic Kingdom and Epcot, and it rained quite frequently. We have two children in strollers, and the best thing we bought prior to the trip were two $10 stroller covers. Our girls were comfortable and dry, even when it was pouring and windy. There were a lot of people using ponchos, but we noticed that they did not stay on the strollers like ours did. When it stopped raining, we put them in the storage area under each stroller (ours are the larger umbrella strollers). - Angie

If you're a teenage girl (like me) and you're going to Disney, bring your cellphone or iPod with you! It's nice to be able to listen to your music while waiting in line. Another thing: make sure you put your name and address on everything -- with iPods or mp3 players, stick some white tape on the back and write your info with a pen or marker, because Disney will return items if they find them! - Stephanie

If you're a teenage girl (like me) and you're going to Disney, bring your cellphone or iPod with you! It's nice to be able to listen to your music while waiting in line. Another thing: make sure you put your name and address on everything -- with iPods or mp3 players, stick some white tape on the back and write your info with a pen or marker, because Disney will return items if they find them! - Stephanie

Most people like to visit Disney Springs during the late afternoon and at night. True, this is a good time to visit Pleasure Island and eat at the wonderful restaurants when you don't have any children with you. But if you are with a family who just wants to do some shopping this is not the time to do it. What I like to do is go to the Marketplace to do my shopping on the last day. Since we usually leave in the afternoon we have a few hours in between checking out and leaving on the Magical Express. By the last day you know all of the merchandise from the parks and what you really want to buy. Plus if you forgot something that you saw in the parks chances are you will find it in the World of Disney Store, they have everything! In the morning there is almost no one there and you can actually shop in the stores without someone breathing down your neck. This is the perfect way to end my Disney vacation and a chance for me to get some things to bring the magic back home with me! - Kara Tillyer

The Pin Trading store has the most complete selection on property and several sculptures are great for more photos. There is a kid-sized railroad ride that we love looking at. The atmosphere in Rainforest Cafe is unbelievable, but the lines are, too! A Tuesday or Wednesday night at the Cafe is easier to get seating. Don't miss their shop. There are other fun stores that we sometimes visit, too. - JanACA

I thought that Alice McNutt Miller's post about money saving tips was spot on. Our family has enjoyed Disney World every few years and I always consult the AllEars® tips database while planning. One tip that I would add to Alice's list is considering travel during the room-only discount periods. This way you can combine frugal and fairly extravagant if you're willing to move from value/moderate to deluxe for a few days (especially to the BoardWalk area). Our kids felt like it was two vacations in one. - Jack

We stayed at Port Orleans French Quarter, so we took the boat ride to Disney Springs, had dinner at Raglan Road and then spent the rest of the evening shopping. Raglan Road was phenomenal! In fact it was one of only two restaurants my boyfriend requested we go back to again this September! The bar was great and the service was excellent. - Betsy Ralph

We always end each trip with an afternoon spent shopping in the Marketplace. Usually at the end of each trip we have a handful of snack credits remaining from the Dining Plan. Instead of them going to waste we take full advantage of The Enchanted Dining Room at World of Disney. This room is divided into two areas, housewares and gourmet food. Here we trade in our credits for Disney cookies, pretzels, snack mixes, candy, or whatever else is available. This way we can take a small piece of Disney home with us to enjoy over the weeks following our return. - Brooke

Don't be too quick to dismiss the Deluxe resorts. For the UK visitor, free dining is usually not available at the Value resorts, while the Quick Service plan is included at the Moderates and the regular dining plan comes with Deluxe or Villas. We have found that it can often work out cheaper for us to book a villa when free dining is included than it would be to book at a Value resort and buy a dining plan or just pay for food as we went along. - Debi

My favorite and must shop store at Disney Springs is Disney's Days of Christmas. They have such unique and specialty items. My husband and I bought a large Mickey ornament which we had personalized with our names and marriage info (we were celebrating our 25th anniversary). I always know I can find such cool and unusual Mickey Christmas decorations. I go to the Christmas store early in our trip so that any personalization I want will be finished before I leave the world. If you love Christmas and decorating, then this is the place for you. Disney will ship purchases to your home, or just be sure to bring an extra suitcase and take any fragile items as a carry on. - Jodi Mooney

There are two full service Guest Relations locations in Disney Springs. They handle all the same transactions as the Guest Relations locations at the theme parks but the DTD locations are always less crowded. The Guest Relations offices at DTD are located in the Marketplace and in West Side.

The Marketplace location is between the Team Mickey shop and the Ghirardelli shop towards the Rainforest Cafe end of the Marketplace. This is a walk-up counter located indoors between the two stores.

The West Side location is on the outside left the Disney Quest building. - Jack Marshall

My tip is to make sure you remember where you park your car. One time we were at Disney Springs at night and didn't pay attention in which lot we had parked. When we came back to the lot, we exited through a different pathway. It was raining and we looked up and down the aisles, finally contacting security. Luckily, I had written down the rental car company, make and model and license plate number. Then the security guard said to go to the office to call the car rental agency and that's when we noticed another lot, with our rental car in it. Even though our kids were young, they still remember this story to this day. Now we always write down the lot number and section or which store we park near. - pletschdoc

The second day of our trip we woke up early and got the bus to Disney Springs Marketplace. The shopping there was great and since the stores were just opening in Once Upon a Toy the ladies let my boys turn on the train and be the conductors for the day... We had a great time sitting by the water and watching the lizards sun themselves. Then since we were staying at Port Orleans Riverside we got the ferry back to our hotel. It was very nice and relaxing. Truly one of my favorite moments at Disney. - Jennifer Clark

The LEGO store is a must visit! Kids will love the chance to play with LEGOs and the LEGO statues are a must-see (including a dragon statue actually in the lake!). If you see an item you want to buy, consider checking its availability online. One member of my party was swayed to buy a LEGO chess set after realizing it was unavailable online, even on the LEGO website. Also, LEGO enthusiasts (or people who lose LEGO pieces) will love the ability to buy individual LEGO pieces and create personalized LEGO people. On another note, when you buy a personalized light saber at "Once Upon a Toy," you get a free Sith or Rebellion pin at checkout. But if you want one or the other, be sure to ask. My cashier gave me a choice, but two other cashiers just gave my friends pins without offering a choice. - Tammy Ivins