What do you wish you had known before your 1st Florida holiday?

[scoobydooby]

Get up early and get in first. Even more important at Christmas.
You can’t do it all.
Rest is necessary to enjoy the experience.
How much money it was going to cost me over the next 20 years 😂

[apple-fan]

So glad I found this community before our first trip, some amazing tips and ideas...but like many have said, I honestly thought we would only visit once, so we did to much (Disney/Universal/Sea World/Discovery Cove).

It left me feeling like we had missed so much of Disney, even know after a few trips it feels like we still have so much to see and experience of Disney. So I guess my advice to myself would have been, slow down, take it all in and enjoy it, rather than trying to 'do it'. Always easy to say afterwards

[WDW365]

Like many others I wish we’d have realised that we will return and to try and do absolutely everything.

[Guest]

There honestly isn’t anything I would do differently. I don’t think like that though, I do what feels right at the time and don’t worry about it afterwards.

I do agree with some of the comments on this thread about packing too much in though. We didn’t, but I read the “itineraries” forum and quite often people are packing Disney, Universal, Seaworld, Dscovery Cove, Legoland, outlet shopping and a couple of days at the beach into a 14 day break.

[wobblywibbly]

best tip is the footwear, we regularly do over 10 miles a day. not fun in the wrong shoes

[techman47]

To take my time and rest, even if your in the park sit down you will only tire yourself out if you try to do everything at once.

Oh and I wish I had never listed to the woman in our hotel that said It a Small World is a fantastic ride, after an hours queuing we found out it wasn't.

[teamsingo134]

To get a Dope Whip from the little hidden shack in MK.

I didn't know of the dibb back in 2007 when we went on honeymoon so never found this delight. I read about the famous Dole Whip after and we have never looked back.

[ocaz]

As the old saying goes - remember to stop and smell the roses! As others have said it is easy to get caught up running around and trying to fit too much in that you can be guilty of failing to truly take in your surroundings. Take your time to soak it in (and not through the screen of phone/video camera) actually experience it.

Have a plan but don't be hindered by it - we now have a rough outline but go with the flow a lot more and happy to just change it on a whim if one of us is too tired/hot or whatever

[Luby-lu]

Originally Posted by Beth_Disney

I didn’t know about this website before my first visit but you’ve found it already!

A few suggestions -
Walmart is a great place for Disney souvenirs; good choice and much cheaper than the parks.
My sister went with her in-laws last year and they didn’t book any fast passes. I think having a bit of a plan and utilising FP+ adds a structure to the day.
A back pack is useful for putting all the bits and pieces in. I don’t take a hand bag now, hubby takes a back pack instead).
Dress for comfort, especially with footwear.
Plan for some lie in’s or relaxing evenings. We did opening until closing pretty much every day on our first visit and were shattered by home time.
And, sunglasses are helpful when trying to hide that little tear when seeing the castle for the first time, parade or fireworks. I knew that I’d found my happy place when I was watching the parade in the Magic Kingdom and shed a few happy tears!

Hope you have an amazing time

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Omg I see you have a Similar countdown to me! Soooo exciting!

[sydneymj]

You are going to go back so take your time and enjoy we have been going since 1992 and have still not seen it all.