First, a disclaimer, I used to work for a company owned by the mouse, but did NOT work at the parks

RE Big parking at Disneyland - the WHOLE operation at Disneyland would fit inside the main parking lot at Disneyworld - so that should give you an idea of the size diferences

Disboards.com (in this case, no entanglements except as a member) seems to have the best tricks and tips

One big one at DW - the water there really stinks. There are water bottles with carbon filters available - they made the water fine - well worth the few bucks

"Off season" and "Peak season" times are that way for a reason - usually "Peak" is when schools are out - when schools are IN, prices, lines, etc go way way down. Pick a really odd time (like labor day week), when school is back in in most of the country, and the weather is still HOT can be cheap, and you can have NO lines, BUT - it's HOT!! We'd do the early AM, head back to the hotel and swim in the afternoon, and then go back to the park

IF it's in budget (BIG if - they are NOT cheap), staying at one of the Disney resorts - particularly on the higher end, can be totally amazing, particularly if you to the "go back to the room" thing, and get to experience some of the activities AT the resort

They are VERY good at seperating you from your Money, and at the same time making you say "gee, I'm having fun, I'd love to come back"

If you're germaphobic then hand-sanitizer, silver-impregnated synthetic gloves, and/or a personal air-purifier might be worth investigating.

Wein Air Purifier: http://www.weinproducts.com/

Anti-microbial gloves: http://www.nytimes.com/2006/07/23/business/yourmoney/23goods.html?_r=1

Yeah, winter hours aren't too accomodating. Nice thing is that typically you can do the park in one day, even IF it's a weekend.

I spent three day there right before Thanksgiving. (explaining my hiatus). We stayed at a DL Resort and I paced out hotel to park at 960 yards. Didn't start the car the entire time there. Made it much easier to come through Disney Town than commuting in from local hotel.

I actually took my full EDC with me. They searched me every time going in but never caught on. Well one morning I left my LED minimag in side pocket and they looked at that.

I agree to bring lots of water and snacks. Line are long, prices high. I found the fastest lines along main street. We brought an umbrella for the rain but you could also use it for sun protection.

I recommend bringing a small flashlight for each of the responsible ones and a different type of lighting for your stroller and kid(s) as its very dark there at night and everyone buys the same light displays making it hard to sort out. I used a Krill light for the stroller (180* extreme green) and put one of my cycling red rear light flashers on my 2 YO girl. I played big shot with my 120 Lumen SureFire.

Yes, they search you, but I don't think they worry too much about EDC stuff - they are looking for bombs/firearms from what I can see (disclaimer - althought I worked for a Disney owned company, I know NO offical policies involving WDC or the parks)

I know when I went to the park 3-4 years back, they looked in my backpack, and said nada about my first aid kit or my leatherman

My family and I were at DW from 11/12/10 to 11/22/10 this year and the only minor encounter I had with security going through the bag search was over my leatherman. The were cool about it and just recommended to me to keep it in the bag instead of on my belt. I didn't see the difference but complied anyway.

They probably didn't want a million reports from others about a "terrorist with a big knife" hacking his way to the front of the line.

Remember, not everyone at Disney is from America. Lots of countries are a lot stiffer, and any knife in public may be, to others, cause for concern.