Non-Disney but once when I was younger I was travelling with my family in Greece and in a small mountain town they had these small embroidered stools. I was desperate for one. My dad didn’t want to have to pack it into the van so said that we’d wait and buy it in Athens, where they would be plentiful and way cheaper. Turns out it was the specialty handcraft in this small mountain village. It’s been 35 years and I still have regrets over that stool.
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Been there, done that. DD saw a Minnie Mouse backpack at MouseGears at EPCOT on the first day of the trip. She was going to pay with her own money. Told her that we’d be able to get it later in the trip, that ever other gift shop including the World of Disney store at DS would have it.
WRONG!!! Sold out everywhere!!!
Luckily able to find it (with the help of two CM at the World of Disney) at the Marketplace Co-op. Even then, it was not on display, had to convince the CMs, they had it on a shelf in the back storage room.
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I wish I’d truly understood that it will rain at least one day, and that I needed to think ahead about that. I spent soooooo much time getting the perfect ADRs, which I had to work hard for b/c we missed the 6 month mark, and then the #1 day of good ADRs it poured, all day. We decided to tough it out and go to MK. I don’t regret it, but at the time there were times when I felt like we were being stupid. Now that we’ve been 3 times if this happens again I’d just change our plans b/c there is so much to do and we’d have fun doing something else.
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A lot of the good stuff has already been covered. I’d add lockers. I used to use my stroller as my “purse” to lug everything around, but even then I’d end up lugging valuables and all the family “bags” onto every attraction, particularly when all those stroller thefts were happening.
Now I walk around with what I can wear/put in my pockets. ie ID/passes/chapstick…not much else.
Sweaters in the morning/late night, great idea, but heavy and burdensome during the beautiful days, throw them in the locker!
Sunscreen Best to reapply unles you have that magical formula @ryan1 was talking about…chuck it in the locker!
Every dodad and magical fork, whosits and whatsits galore the family HAS to have at EXACTLY that moment…shove them in the locker. (Maybe the stuff too if you feel like it…KIDDING…my family are too diva to stay in the locker very long)
Do the splurge on Uber and Lockers…SO worth it!
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Packing cubes are various sized soft “mini” suitcases. Great for organizing clothes, etc in big suitcases, can be see through. When unpacking, you can place the cubes right into drawers. I think most people roll the clothes when packing the cubes.
No, not lines. Mostly applies to Magic Kingdom. The spoke and wheel layout at MK, when visitors enter the park, most people naturally go to the right. (Counter clockwise) So the heaviest crowds should be on the right side of the park in the AM.
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If you can, bring backup ticket media…from our first trip when I left a ticket in a paper FP machine to the last one where I lost my MagicBand somewhere…(and it finally arrived at my home today!!!) I have learned to order and carry card tickets even if we have MagicBands or now that we have a collection, to carry an extra MagicBand for everyone. Saves a trip to guest services and interrupting whatever was planned next when the inevitable (for us!) happens.
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We don’t roll our clothes into the cubes. They are just folded, bottom and top for the day are stacked together, lest I have mismatched clothes towards the end of the trip! 
We love cubes! We’ve been using them for a decade. Each of us has a set and each person has a different color. You know right away which cubes are yours.
We each got the pack it flat toiletry bag recently to match our cubes The larger one works better.
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Ive given this some thought. Maybe go center and work your way around is best (works much better with FPs). When I think about each park, this would actually be my strategy.
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Many someones mentioned Gold Bond powder. I’ll add Desitine to the list of helps w/ chafing. nuff said, you can figure out your own details. 
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I envy the folks who can just do Lyft / Uber! With two littles that still need car seats, it’s just not a very viable option. But the good news is kids grow, so someday we too can call up a bejeweled chariot and ride into the sunset. (That’s what it’s like, right? )
I suppose the Minnie Vans could be an option, but when we were there I think they were in short supply, and they’re much pricier.
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I still didn’t read the whole thread. Has @ryan1 been here? If not, I’ll add cargo shorts to the list, because we share the same sense of style.
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True-I do forget about those with littles. However we Ubered our first couple trips with a 2 yr old. We always fly so never have car seats. I think it’s called Uber Family or something and they are supposed to have car seats and boosters. But it does cost more $$$.
And yes, kids grow. It’s a glorious yet sad thing! 
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The “family” version of Uber typically only has one seat, so if you have two in carseats it’s a no go.
I hear you on growth bit. My youngest starts kindergarten tomorrow, and I’m both excited and sad!
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Aww so exciting!!! Good luck in K!!
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Thanks!
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agreed! I too dream of these days. Mine are still baby babies, so it’s a long way off. I was even willing to drop the $$ on a Minnie Van, but I know those weren’t running for a time with COVID, and as far as i know, they are still stopped.
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I wish we had stuck with our itinerary on our last trip. I thought I was being brilliant like @sanstitre_has_left_the_building, and made changes to our last couple of days and it went horribly bad.
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Im thinking my next trip, bc I dont have a car for once, we will uber to the parks (maybe brave they skyliner once, lol)
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He is brilliant, lol. He just gets a little cynical with his experience lately (but he secretly loves Disney, so not so secretly, but still, shhhhhh) 
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For this trip, way back in January, we sprung for the park hopper 5 day ticket. We figured on some afternoon R&R at the water parks and then going back to the main parks late in the day for the evening. None of that works now. In fact, our hopper pass upgrade is worthless. We can’t even go over to Epcot to eat.