I buried that Unofficial Guide referral deep in the post to avoid being too obvious. 
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My 15yo has the exact same bag in neon green. He picked it out for our July 2018 trip and I am happy to report it holds up very well. It is his go to bag when we drag him out to his older sister’s performance events. He can fit all his charging cords, phone, and Nintendo Switch in there!
Couldn’t find a WDW (or DL) picture w/ him and his bag, but here he is two years ago. Random dinner out and needed to have all his stuff! 
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For those of you experiencing withdrawal symptoms, here is a pic of DD2 enjoying her souvenir Belle doll.
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OMG just STAHP with the cuteness!!!
What are your kids’ names? (if you’re comfortable sharing)
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We need the other kids too!
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DS9 - Sam, DD7 - Karen, DD4 - Jane, DD2 - Anne. 
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was hoping for
DS9 - Darryl, DD7 - Darryl, DD4 - Darryl, DD2 - Darryl
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I’ll get on it! I’m back to the office though so I don’t have as many opportunities to take pics. (DW takes about 1000 a month on average though. 
)
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What about Larry?
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This is tiding me over until I can see the grand nieces and nephews later this month! Can’t wait to swim with them. Just hope it’s not too hot to get in the pool! You know that happens in AZ! (Well, we can get in but just not when there’s no shade.)
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I think you need to give us a weekly recap of their week every week from now on. I mean we’re basically family now.
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So funny that not only does DD7 have my first name, but DD2 has my middle name for her first name, even spelled the same way!
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No offense to the Anns out there, but we love our Anne with an E!
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In my opinion it’s the only correct way to spell it!
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My name at birth was Juliann. But my parents quickly realized people thought I was a boy named Julian. They went back and added that all important e to Anne to make it Julianne when I was still a baby! My official birth certificate comes with an attached affidavit of name change. So love the Anne with an E!
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Anne of Green Gables fans? One of my favorite childhood stories.
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TRIP RETROSPECTIVE
PART 7
Tips and Tricks
Or … What I Didn’t Know I Didn’t Know
There is so much information I researched and found out before my trip. But as I was going along, I realized there were many things I never thought to ask until I was already there. This is my attempt to summarize some of those lightbulb moments.
Disney’s Magical Express
- Your driver is typically the one who both loads and unloads your luggage, so you can tip them once at the end of the trip if you choose.
- If you are only staying at your departure hotel one night, you can get your DME documents at the front desk. While some people have reported getting on DME without this document, it is recommended to have it to avoid being turned away. (At the airport I provided only my confirmation number from my email and was allowed to board.)
Resort Hotels
- You can ship merchandise home from virtually any shopping location at WDW, including the gift shop at your resort. Doesn’t have to be the same location you purchased from, but if not, they do request a receipt.
- At Stormalong Bay, you receive a wristband for every member of your party the first time you enter the pool each day. The wristband color/pattern changes daily. Once you have a wristband, you have come-and-go privileges. Others may have to wait for capacity to open. If you are near SAB at opening (typically 10am), you can get your party’s wristbands, even if you are not going to SAB until later.
- You can bring your baggage to Bell Services (or call them to your room) to store your luggage or to transfer it to another Disney resort.
- At least during my stay at BCV, you could NOT pre-schedule bell services to come at a predetermined time. It’s worth a call Bell Services from your resort phone to check if this option is available at your resort.
Disney Transportation
- There are no direct buses from DS to the parks. If you are going to HS from DS, you can take a bus to Boardwalk and walk. (You can also take a bus to any resort - say, Grand Floridian - and transfer to a HS bus.
) - The ferry and Skyliner from the YC/BC/BW area does not currently run early enough to get you to rope drop at HS. Walking is the only reliable option.
- You may be paired with another party on the Skyliner, particularly if you are a party of 2-3 and at busy times. The wait for the Skyliner is typically minimal, except in the hour before park opening and the hour after park closing.
- If you are riding the Skyliner from CBR to Epcot, you do not have to disembark at the Riviera station. All riders must exit at CBR regardless of origin or destination.
- You are generally asked to fold your stroller when boarding the Skyliner. There may be exceptions, but you should ask a CM upon entry into the queue.
- There is a display board at each resort bus stop displaying the estimated arrival times for park and DS buses. The times are generally accurate if given, but are not always available (sometimes it just says, “Bus”). There are no display boards at the theme park or DS bus stops.
- You generally don’t have to fold your stroller on a Friendship Boat - you just park it in a designated area on board. You do have to remove children from the stroller, however.
WDW Theme Parks
- On Soarin’, Row 3 has 7 seats, Row 2 has 10, and Row 1 has 11. If your party is 6-7, they will almost certainly load you into Row 3. To increase your chance of Row 1 or Row 2, either travel with a party of 8-11 or split your party into groups of 5 or less when reporting to the CM who assigns seats.
- You don’t have to wait to get into the Mexico Pavilion if you have an ADR for San Angel Inn. A great time to ride Gran Fiesta Tour is after your ADR.
- You may get stranded on Tom Sawyer Island if lightning strikes in the area - they halt the ferry until the weather passes. Keep an eye on the forecast before boarding.
Rider Swap
- Rider Swap at all attractions allows you to take 2 repeat riders with the non-riding adult (3 total). Some CM’s may bend this rule at certain attractions, but the more popular the ride, the less likely they will accommodate additional repeat riders.
- If using Rider Swap, always get in line first, then send a runner to inquire about Rider Swap procedure. Usually one person can take the 2nd group magic bands to the CM to have them scanned while everyone else waits, then return magic bands and take the non-riding children to wait outside the queue. Sometimes (FoP, SDD) the entire party waits together until reaching the RS CM at the main attraction entrance (where the Standby Wait Time sign is).
- At RoTR, all party members wishing to ride must have a BG and scan in, then report to a separate CM to assign Rider Swap passes to the 2nd group. Only at that point do the non-riding adult and children leave the queue.
Motion Sickness
- On Star Tours, motion sickness is minimized in the front row, especially the center.
- On Flight of Passage, seats 6-8 and 9-11 are closest to the center of the auditorium. You can request to be near the center, which helps with motion sickness.
- On Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run, motion sickness is minimized in the pilot’s seats (front), or gunner (middle).
WDW Dining
- All straws offered on WDW property are paper straws (or sometimes alternative materials, like agave at Homecomin’). Straws are not offered for beverages that are served in bottles or cans - you have to specifically request additional straws (as well as utensils for shared entrees).
- You can check in using MDE starting 15 minutes before and up to 15 minutes after any ADR at a Disney-operated restaurant (i.e., NOT Rainforest Cafe, Yak & Yeti, or anything at Disney Springs). At this time, you confirm whether you need a high chair, have an ECV, have food allergies, or are celebrating a special event. You may be able to add one member to your party. You must be within a certain proximity to the restaurant to check in. At non-Disney operated restaurants, you check in with the host/hostess (no MDE check-in).
- After checking in for Oga’s, you may have to wait for a spot to open up (we waited 30 minutes), especially if you have a large party. There is no guarantee you will have chairs or a booth, even if you have multiple kids in your party. They do have high chairs available.
My Disney Experience
- You can use the Chat feature on the app to inquire about resort check-in, and they may even be able to expedite your check-in if you haven’t received your room assignment yet. You can try asking just about anything, like pool hours, and they can usually look it up for you. Great alternative to a phone call.
- To access the bus schedules, click on “Resort Hotel” on the menu and then click “Bus Times.” This will only be available for the resort you have a reservation for, not any resort you may happen to be visiting.
- If you have high-speed internet at home, it will probably be much faster to wait and download all your Photopass photos when you get home. It took forever over WiFi or cellular, but was near instantaneous at home.
- MagicMobile defaults to your own pass, even if you select someone else’s pass in your wallet. This is a bug that may get worked out at some point, but it caused some issues when trying to get Rider Swap passes, etc. Magic Bands are still much sleeker, especially if not every member of your party has a smartphone.
Universal Orlando Resort Hotels
- There is a ticket desk in premier (possibly other?) UOR hotels where you can purchase admission, apply the cost of unused / expired tickets to new tickets, etc. (Basically anything you can do at the park ticket booths.) Supposedly the prices here are the same as the advance / online prices, not the inflated same-day prices at the gate. (I did not verify so can’t confirm.)
- The ferry from HRH does NOT save time OR much walking distance, depending on where your hotel room is and which park you are going to. You have to walk through CityWalk if you use the ferry, and the route requires stairs or ramps to get up to the park level.
- When walking to HRH from the parks, you can enter from the pool and save a bit of walking distance. However this is only available during pool hours, so doesn’t work in the morning on the way to the parks. There is a door at the end of the Southeast wing, but it leads directly to a stairwell (i.e., not good for ECVs or strollers). There is supposedly another way to cut from the west wing near the Palm restaurant across the parking lot, but I never tried it.
Universal Orlando Resort - Theme Parks
- There are long lines to eat just about anywhere at lunch for quick service, especially popular locations. I recommend a table service reservation for lunch and quick service dinner.
- You can take a lanyard with you on the roller coasters that require you to remove all loose objects (RRR, Hulk, Velocicoaster), but you must tuck it in your shirt. Always keep your admission with you when you use a locker.
- If you buy a Pygmy Puff (plush doll), you can have a “naming ceremony” at Weasley Wizard Wheezes where the TM announces the name chosen by the purchaser to the shop at large.
- At Three Broomsticks and certain other quick service locations, you can do a mobile order any time (including while waiting in line to get in), then when you are assigned a table by the host, you click, “I’m here” and it asks for your table number, which you can either obtain by placing your phone near the RFID chip on the table, or by entering in the number manually. You don’t have to wait till you are seated to order, but you don’t pay until you confirm your table.
Volcano Bay
- You can leave your shoes, hat, and sunglasses in cubbies at the entrance to most slides.
- If you buy premier seating or a cabana at Volcano Bay, wait until about an hour after park opening to claim it unless you are among the very first guests in the park. You will wait in a long line and miss out on prime “ride now” time in the morning. Just grab free seating in the meantime if needed.
- If you are a single rider, you may be paired with another party by a TM at slides that require 2+, or you can ask a party in line if they mind if you join them.
- You will probably wait 10-15 minutes for most slides after reporting for a Tapu Tapu reservation, 20-25 minutes for popular slides.
If anyone has any suggestions for this list, I’d be happy to add them.
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Ever been to PEI?? Gorgeous up that way. Not easy to get to but quite lovely.
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Yep! My wife especially, but I enjoy it (in its many iterations, but especially Megan Follows) as well.
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