BASICS
You are staying in-park, at Animal Kingdom. This is
awesome. Because you are staying in park, you will get the right to have
fast-passes, Fast Pass Plus (see below), get in the park early and late
(extra-magical hours), you can take the Disney’s Magical Express to and from
the airport, you will have all in-park transportation covered and more. Good decision. Are you doing the dining plan? More info. about that below too.
DISNEY’S MAGICAL EXPRESS & GETTING THERE
Disney offers a bus service to and from the airport. You get baggage tags in advance of your trip
and when you check your bags at your departure airport you will not see them
again until you get to your room. This
is pretty awesome, especially if you have a lot of stuff. This is free too. When you arrive in Orlando, you follow signs
to the Magical Express busses and you get on.
No need for car seats. The bus
takes you the 45 minute ride to your hotel.
Ideally, you get to your hotel and your bags are waiting in your
room. This all sounds wonderful.
Realistically, it is not the swift experience you might think
it to be. I think I titled it “Neither
Magical, Nor Express.” We did it twice
in the past five years, and both times we waited to get on the bus, then we
waited once we were on the bus for it to depart. Then we made multiple stops at other hotels
to drop off other people before we got to our hotel. Then, it took about 3-4 hours after we got
there before our bags got to our room.
This is really not the end of the world, but I just say it to let you
know that if your plane lands at 9:00am, it is more likely that you will not
really be in the park until at least 12:00-1:00pm… The last time we went we took a cab, we had
to wait a little extra for a cab with a booster seat, it cost $100 about, but
we were at the park within an hour and a half from landing which can mean a lot
if you are planning to start your vacation when you arrive. Going home, the Magical Express would have
been ideal regardless.
WHAT I KNOW ABOUT ANIMAL KINGDOM RESORT & BUSSES AROUND
THE PARKS
I hear that the villas are gorgeous, it has the best pools
and work out facility, and it is perfect for littles who will see a giraffe
outside their room. The lobby is supposed
to be the best of all the hotels. The
food is great. The bummer is you have to
take a bus to go to any of the parks.
Over the past four-five years that we have really been going frequently,
they have gotten better with this. And,
actually, I think they have a lot of Animal Kingdom buses, more than say the
Contemporary as from the Contemporary you could take the monorail or walk to
the Magic Kingdom, monorail to EPCOT. We
have waited in line for busses and have ran for busses and have been smooshed
into busses. Just a part of the whole
experience I think, so be prepared. They
also make you fold up your stroller on a bus (not so much on the monorail). See more information on strollers below. Buses are free, you do not need a car seat,
and everyone needs them. You can drink
as much as you want at EPCOT too! So, it
is not all bad! Just a warning, that’s
all!
SCHEDULE
Attached you will find one of my husband's iterations on our
plans for our trip in two weeks. It is not what we are actually doing
now, as he has since logged on at www.disneyworld.disney.go.com and he has moved
our schedule on there, and this is where we are working from now. This
will organize your fast passes, fast pass plus, your restaurant reservations
and your hotel reservations by date. It is a neat tool that they didn't
have even 6 months ago, so I suggest logging on and creating a page. You
should be able to link your current reservations using your reservation numbers
and ticket numbers. This will be a good guide for you to start planning
everything else. This is where you can
make your restaurant reservations too.
You may still want to create a spreadsheet, however.
Because this way you can map out the parks that are having extra-magical
hours. If you go to Disneyworld.disney.go.com/calendars – you can pull up
the park hours for each of the dates you are there. Find out when there are extra-magical hours
and then plan your 5 days around that.
If Animal Kingdom opens early at 8 for extra magical hours, you are going
to want to be there at 8. The parks are
generally much more manageable during this time as it is not for the general
public, and only is for those staying in the resorts. The busses will know to work early that day
as well so you should be all set. The
next day if the Magic Kingdom is open Extra-Magical until 2am. You might want to consider going late at
night. We have done this with Joel
Andrew and actually it was me and my husband that had a hard time staying
awake. But we could run on any ride,
from ride to ride no problem. Shopping
was nice and not crowded. It was lovely.
Please note that the busiest time at any park is between
11-3. This is actually ideal in my
opinion. For a few reasons: If there are
no extra-magical morning hours, but you want to get as much of the park done
before the crazy time of 11 starts – I suggest booking a reservation at a
character dining experience in the park you want to go to, before the park
opens. Say the Magic Kingdom opens at
9am. Book the Winne the Pooh character
breakfast at 7:45, so this way you will be out, and in the park already before
the park opens. In year’s past this was
awesome and we would run on all the rides before the park even opened. They have since figured out this is not the
best plan, and they will keep you roped in your restaurant area until the park
officially opens at 9am. But still, you
are already in-park and it does make a difference. We did ½ the rides in Fantasyland (It’s a
Small World, Peter Pan, Pooh, etc.) before any line happened. Each ride takes only 3-5 minutes. By 9:30 though, there were already
lines. By 10:30, forget it. I think, if you get up early, get in the park
smartly and hit the biggies first then you can relax the remainder of the day
and not have to fight with people.
Schedule your fast passes for 11 or so when you can breeze by the people
on 2 hour wait. Then go to lunch. Then go back to the hotel. Play in the pool, rest and relax – it is your
vacation. Do not fight with the crowds
at noon and get frustrated. I think this
is what makes so many Disney-haters, haters, it is all timing. Once you are well-rested and relaxed, then
you go back to a park (whichever one has extra-Magical Hours that night, a
different park is fine if you have the park hopper option on your tickets which
I highly rec) and you will arrive just as the crowds are dying down and you can
enjoy everything even more. You have
all of the transportation at your fingertips and you are staying in the park,
so you should take advantage of it as much as possible.
Enough of my rant, but you are getting the picture that
planning ahead is smart. Yes, it is
creepy to know what you will be doing every minute of your vacation 6 months in
advance, but it is worth it.
FAST PASS & FAST PASS PLUS
My husband is the KING of the Fast Pass. 5 years ago the way it worked is when the
park opened, all the dads would run to the rides that are popular, insert their
room key into a kiosk and out would spit tickets of a time window that you
could then come back, present your ticket, and get on the ride without any
wait. This is now in the process of
evolving. I hear there will be no more
Fast Passes and that it will only be Fast Pass Plus by April. Fast Pass Plus is now you can book where you
want to have your no-line experience on the popular rides well in advance of
your trip, online. We literally know
when we will be on Toy Story Mania now.
Fast Pass Plus puts the rides into two categories. You can only pick one park a day to use your
Fast Pass Plus at (so if you are in the am at MK and to EPCOT in the PM, you
can only use your FPP at one of those places).
And, each park has the Tier 1 FPP Rides (the extra-most popular) and
Tier 2 (popular, but not a 2-hour wait).
You can get 1 Tier 1 and 2 Tier 2 passes a day. If you have more questions about this system,
ask them – my husband is the expert here and I can have him field them for you.
MUST DO RIDES AND THINGS (FOR 3-5 YR OLDS) BROKEN DOWN BY
PARK
RIDES AND THINGS - MAGIC KINGDOM
Really will only focus on 3-4 year olds here. There is so much to do.
You pretty much want to move into Fantasyland. It’s a Small World, Peter Pan, Winne the
Pooh, Dumbo and the new Ariel rides.
It’s a Small World line goes quick, and you have to do it. Peter Pan is everyone’s favorite. Seriously.
Once you go on it, be prepared to go on it 15 more times. And walk your child the long way around the
park to avoid them seeing it and begging to go on it again. It is fun. but… The Winne the Pooh line area
has fun games and stuff while you wait.
Dumbo is now bigger and genius.
You go into a room, get a restaurant buzzer and your kid plays in a
jungle while you wait for your thing to buzz to tell you its your turn. BRILLIANT except if it is not a long wait and
your kid is having fun, then there is a tantrum to get the kid out of the play
area and on the ride. We have yet to do
Goofy’s barnstormer, but I bet you this year it will be a hit. Also, you really should go see Mickey’s
Philharmagic. Husband and I stumbled into this a few years ago and we LOVE
it. The kids love it too. There is usually no wait here either, a show
every 20 minutes.
Your kid will be old enough/tall enough as there is no height
restriction to go on Pirates of the Carribean, the Haunted Mansion, the Jungle
Safari ride, Aladdin’s carpets and more.
Joel Andrew did cry at the Haunted Mansion but only because I made
spooky noises and freaked him out (I am a great mom). I am worried now that he seems more sensitive
this year than last, how he might react at Pirates and the Haunted Mansion this
trip… Also, in Adventureland, I LOVE the
TIKI ROOM. And, I am glad to say that
they brought it back to more like what it used to be, but it still is not
perfect. We go in (there is never a wait
and a show every 15 minutes), sit by the exit, hear the first tiki room song
and then duck out….
Go on the Country Bear Jamboree for a fun sitting
moment. Still haven’t been to the Hall
of Presidents.
There is a buzz lightyear ride here that generally does not
have a wait and it is awesome. Kind of
like a Toy Story Mania. We have been
known to go on and on this over and over.
DO NOT go on the stich ride unless you want to be scared and have smelly
things sprayed in your face. Those are
our tops in the MK.
We like shopping on Main Street here the best out of all the
stores in the whole DW. Of course there
are parades. Characters like Mary
Poppins, Pinocchio, Mad Hatter, Pluto, etc are usually around. Acutally, when you come right in there
usually is someone like Pluto right there.
Awesome.
The Ariel place is all new to us, this is probably the most
popular and crowded. Cant wait to see!
RIDES
AND THINGS – EPCOT
I break EPCOT down into two places. The Countrys and the not.
Starting with the Not.
This is the land, the sea, the car test track thing, the Captain
Eo. This part is usually open earlier
than the countries, and closes earlier than the countries. Good places to go here are to see the
aquariums in the sea, the Nemo ride at the Sea and a must – Turtle Talk with
Crush. The littles will LOVE this
one! The land has a few different things
to do with the little guys, especially if they like dinosaurs, but eh. Soarin’ is fun, but they have to be a certain
height. Soarin’ is definitely a fast pass
thing. Nemo is supposed to be a fast
pass thing too but I wouldn’t waste it, we have never waited more than 2
minutes for Nemo. It is just an
efficient ride.
There is a place to go try things of the future, and a soda
fountain. There is the Michael Jackson
show which FREAKED Joel Andrew out. We
were all wierded out about Figment, but that has no line and at the end of the
ride is a fun place to play around in with the kids for a bit. Test track is for taller kids, so this is
pretty much all we focus on. I am sure
there is more though. We usually go to
my favorite from here, the countries!!!:
I love the countries.
This pretty much involves eating and drinking, but I will tell you there
are other fun things for the kids here too.
Mexico has a little boat ride (think cross between It’s a Small World
and Pirates of the Carribean). And,
Norway has a ride with a small drop also in the same vein as Mexico. The Norway one, because of the large drop, is
quite popular and you will want a Fast Pass here.
But, there is much more beyond the rides and something fun
for kids at each house. There is some
sort of scavenger hunt thing that I think you might need to be 6+ for… But there are arts and crafts at many of the
houses, and at China, Japan and France there are “street performers” which you
could sit and watch for hours. The women
who do the drums in Japan fascinated Joel Andrew. There is also usually live music in America.
Characters that frequent this area include Aladdin, Alice,
Belle and the Beast, Mulan, and a bummer but I hear they took away Ratatouille
which is a big bummer for my kids. The
times they are available will be published in your calendar that day and let me
tell you, the wait gets long. So, you
may wish to shield your child from that character as you briskly walk by to
avoid waiting on the ridiculous line.
Joel Husband can get me a drink and I will wait on line and call him
when I get close to bring the kids.
Of course, there is a pretty awesome fireworks show at night
here too.
RIDES
AND THINGS – HOLLYWOOD STUDIOS
Toy Story Mania. Fast
Pass it now. Done. This ride is awesome, but the wait can get up
to 2-1/2 hours!!!! Really?!?!?! You will need to do this at least once. Fast Pass is the only way.
There is a lot of Disney Junior stuff here, including a show
in which Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, Handy Manny and bubbles play central
roles. I am thinking my 4 year old might
be too old for this now, but when he was 3 it was the best. I wonder if they updated it.
Joel Husband took Joel Andrew on the Star Wars ride and he
loved it but I am guessing it is really better for the 6+ realm. All the other rides are also for the biggers
here, Tower of Terror and Rockin Rollercoaster.
There is a fun Indiana Jones show, and the Lights, Camera Cars show is
fun too. But I hear they might really be
revamping all of the shows there.
There is an awesome Honey I Shrunk the Kids playground –
which is great for the kiddos to take a stretch and get some energy out if they
have been on rides, in restaurants and on lines.
Characters include Woody and Buzz (big lines, be there
first!) and Monster’s Inc. See Character
experiences below for more tips.
RIDES
AND THINGS – ANIMAL KINGDOM
You will want to go right to the safari as the animals are
typically the most active in the morning.
There are lots of signs that says this ride is bumpy, I do not think it
was bumpy at all. The Safari is awesome.
Next to the safari is Rafiki’s Planet which is awesome. Lots of animals wandering around. My son loved this.
The Tree of Life, right in the center of the park, is
hysterical. I love it. My then 3 year old HATED IT. Cried the whole time. It is based on A Bugs Life and as you are
walking in there are lots of warnings that this maybe scary for little
kids. We went anyway, and when the
theater went dark and “bugs” started spraying things at you which husband and I
found funny, we soon realized 3 year old Joel did not.
There are lots of zoo-like paths to see animals, and there
are spots to see characters like Baloo, Rafiki, more. There is A Bugs Life playground and DinoLand
playgrounds which are awesome places for the kids to play. I know, you did not spend all this money to
have them go on a playground. But, they
are cool spaces – they have good lighting for photos, fyi – and it is good for
you to get a break and them to stretch their legs after some rides.
There is also a carnival area to either go to if you like
that sort of thing or avoid if you don’t want to spend any extra money.
They have the Little Mermaid show which is fun.
A lot of the other rides are for bigger kids. Joel Andrew was tall enough to do the River
Rapids and he LOVED IT. But I thought it
was scary!
DISNEY DINING PLAN
Are you considering this?
We did it twice, but are not doing it this time. Let me know and I can tell you more. Pro for sure – you get a refillable mug to
use (only at your hotel) and you get more snack points than you know what to do
with. You also get more food than you
know what to do with and you don’t have to worry about costs while in the
park. Con – you get way, way too much
food! Even I had a hard time with it.
RESTAURANTS BROKEN DOWN BY PARK
Obviously there are a bazillion restaurants. I will only tell you about the ones we love
and have gone to and that come to mind first.
If you have questions about others, let me know as likely we have been
there too.
Note – they will celebrate anything at any of the
restaurants, so do not be shy. You can
map out where you want to eat ahead of time and instead of booking online you
can book with a Disney person by calling the 407-WDisney line and tell them
things like seating preference, wanting a special ice cream for a celebration,
etc. Disney loves to customize for you, and many of this customization is free
so do it!
Also to note, a trip to Disney is not complete without a
Mickey Ice Cream pop.
MAGIC
KINGDOM RESTAURANTS
No booze in this park!
Except now at the new Be Our Guest restaurant. We love the character breakfast at the Crystal
Palace where you can see Winne the Pooh and friends. I like the food here too and it is good to
get into the park before open hours, time your meal so you end at opening time
and then run right to Fantasyland rides.
Be Our Guest has just opened and we will be trying this in
two weeks. We hear it isn’t the
greatest. I will let you know. Very difficult to get reservations, so
reserve now.
Cinderella’s Castle is the most special experience for the
little princess in your life. You get
private time with Cinderella, then you go up and eat in the Castle which is so
neat, and all the other princesses visit your table too. The Fairy Godmother does a special song and
will announce anything special – like birthdays, anniversaries, we announced
the sex of both our babies here. You might want to make something up to
celebrate to ensure you are not left out!
Ideally paired with a visit to the Bibbty Boppity Boutique.
EPCOT
RESTAURANTS
So many cannot even begin to name them. Going off of the two parts to EPCOT thing
again. Non-country part: we like the
Garden Grill Restaurant which spins around (slowly) and you get to meet Chip
and Dale. They have delicious food here
which is sustainable/sourced from the Disney gardens. The Coral Reef place is fun to eat in front
of a giant fish tank, but only fun if you get a table right next to the tank,
so if you go there, request that.
We usually stick to the country part of EPCOT. Frankly, I start in Mexico and get a themed
drink of choice at each house and by France, I am toasted when I toast with my
champagne. No, not really, but sort
of… anyway, my all-time favorite since I
was a kid has been the San Angel Inn Restaurant (not to be confused with the
San Angel Cantina). The Inn is inside
the building and it is dark and mysterious.
I lived in Mexico, and this actually has authentic Mexican cuisine. Yum.
The Italy restaurants are great (the more causal one Via Napoli has
amazing pizza), Japan has the hibachi place which is pretty cool, we will be
trying the Chinese place for the first time and I hear Morocco is amazing even
though my husband will never let us go there.
Those are the more casual places.
For fancier, Chefs du france is good, as is Le Cellier Steakhouse in
Canada. Everyone raves for that, and Joel
Husband loves it to but we hear prices have gone up here and it is
expensive. Good wine selection though at
Le Cellier.
Themed dining is at Askerhaus for the princesses, we are
trying that this year. And, Biergarten
has a buffet, no characters, but a live band where they encourage the whole
family to dance.
At EPCOT, you can make your own food and wine festival
too. (that happens in October and is
awesome – but even if it is not going on you can still do a taste here and
there). Don’t sit to eat and instead
just get snacks at all the places.
Germany has a great pretzel. France has amazing desserts. America a turkey leg. Fish and Chips in Great Britian. You could snack/drink your way around and be
just as happy too. Pretty much, I could
just stay here the entire time I am in Disney I love it so much it is so good
with the food and the drink. Ah, moving
on.
HOLLYWOOD
STUDIOS RESTAURANTS
There are actually a ton of places here too. For characters, the Disney Junior character
meal is here, but has notoriously bad food.
We are trying to avoid it this year…
For lunch, there is no better place in the whole Disney
World. You like burgers? Primetime 50s Café is my favorite where you
can get milkshakes and burgers and meatloaf with peas and you sit in your own 1950s
kitchen with mini-tvs playing 50s tv shows and the waiter yells at you to eat
all your veggies like grandma would. I
love it here. My husband loves the
Sci-Fi Drive in Diner where you also get milkshakes and burgers but you sit in
a drive in theater, I think the people serve you on roller skates, you are in
your own mini-car and you can watch sci-fi movies and cartoons the whole
meal. Fun. We like the big family style Italian place
there too – but the two tv and milkshake options usually win out.
For fancy/dinner there is the Brown Derby which is delicious
and great for some martini drinks. A lot
of people get the Fantasmic Dinner package.
If you are having dinner here, request this package and you will get
prime seating for the Fantasmic light show at night.
ANIMAL
KINGDOM RESTAURANTS
Everyone says go to the Rainforest Café. But, as we have one of those near us I do not
see the draw and I rather do a Disney/character place. So, we usually go to Tusker House for their
character dining. They have really good
food – and if you go about 11 you can have both the breakfast and lunch food as
they are switching over their buffets.
We love this. The juice they have
there is amazing. Anyway, beyond that it
has the best characters to see – Mickey, Goofy, Donald. If you go just for breakfast you can do the
get in early before the park opens here too.
The Safari is right near Tusker House too which is good.
We also love the Yak and Yeti. Best food in the whole park, really. The ribs are divine. Not so much there for the kids perse, so
maybe for when they are older. But we
still like it! Good drinks too.
HOTEL
RESTAURANTS
You can eat in any of the other Disney resorts – and you
should consider this. There are lots of
good dining options outside the parks. I
get it if you do not want to spend time going to a whole new place. But, the Contemporary, Polynesian and the
Grand Floridian are just a monorail (or boat) ride away from the Magic Kingdom
– and every kid has to go on the monorail on their visit to Disney.
Contemporary – everyone swears by Chef Mickey’s. This is walking distance to the Magic
Kingdom, and it has all the good characters.
Good buffet though I was never really wowed with the food. We loved the California Grill. This is a fancy night out place but it has an
amazing kids menu and they sit all the families together so you do not feel bad
if your kid makes noise. Kids dessert
included rice krispie treats with Swedish fish on top (sushi) loved it. Book during the fireworks at the magic kingdom,
and you can run out on their balcony and get an awesome view of the fireworks
from your restaurant, with your drinks, your family. Loved it.
Polynesian – Ohana is amazing food and a fun family
experience. Hawaiian music, games where
the kids chase coconuts with brooms, you eat delicious food and watch your kids
have fun. Drinks with umbrellas. They also have the luau here, and a Lilo and
Stitch breakfast, if you want to see those guys. They have a fun luau show but this is a
commitment, I think like two hours, so you may save that for another time/when
the kids are older.
Grand Floridian – there is a Alice in Wonderland themed meal
here which people love, I think this has a tea as well if your daughter would
like that sort of thing. And, the fancier
restaurants in the park which are good too.
But, we tend to stay away as they are more expensive and for some reason
we just think the Grand Floridian is too fancy…
Just outside the gates of EPCOT Country area/ by Great
Britian, you can be in the realm of the Boardwalk and Beach Club resorts in two
seconds and there are also many good restaurants there too. We are trying the Yachtsman this year as our
fancy restaurant. Will let you know.
There are also a ton of other off-monorail resort restaurants
worth going to as well, but for this trip I would suggest hanging out at your
own and focusing on the ones above/eating in the parks.
OTHER
THEMED DINING EXPERIENCES
They have the Hoop-Dee-Doo Review which is fun, and the Luau,
mentioned above. And, Fantasmic
(mentioned above too). I like
Hoop-Dee-Doo but seriously I am not sure about anyone else who knows about
this. Ha!
DOWNTOWN
DISNEY
Don’t forget about here!
Go here one night for shopping, dancing and fun. They have some good restaurants like Raglan
Road (actual irish pub with step dancing, awesome) and Rex which is like the
dinosaur version of Rainforest Café. If
you have a dino lover, you might have to go here. They usually have live music down there which
is fun for late night kid dancing. And,
they have lots and lots of shopping here too.
Disney busses go here.
HARDEST RESTAURANTS TO GET A RESERVATION AT: Ohana, Sci-Fi,
Fantasmic Packages, Cinderella’s Castle, Askerhaus, Be Our Guest. So, book now. Not sure which night? Book for both nights and cancel one
later. No problem.
CHARACTER EXPERIENCES
When we were kids you would get your autograph book and you
would mob the character as they walk down the street. No more!
Now they have specific locations and times for when you can see the
characters, and there are orderly lines that you wait on and then your kid gets
their 1-2 minutes with each character to high five, sign the book, take a photo
and move on. These lines can be lengthy,
so it is always good to get your biggies (Mickey, Donald, Goofy, Minnie) out of
the way during a character meal. But,
this is the way to see Monster’s Inc, Toy Story and more. When you get to Hollywood Studios, I would try
to be at the Woody and Buzz site when it opens, as that line gets LOOOONG. Check the calendar that day to see what the
times the characters are – and who else there maybe. They break out all the classics and in
certain locations of the parks at their pre-scheduled time you can see Alice in
Wonderland, Mary Poppins, Aladdin, Pinocchio, Tweedle Dee and Dum, tons more.
STROLLERS & PARK MOVEMENT
This is quite controversial!
To Stroller or not to Stroller, that is the question. I think the real question is to Double
Stroller or not to Double Stroller. This
year we are just taking one small umbrella stroller. For the two boys. It should be interesting. But here is our rationale.
Strollers only work once in the park, getting to and from
locations. You cannot have your stroller
open on the busses, are not supposed to have them open on the monorail (though
we always got away with this), and you cannot take your stroller in the lines
for the rides. So really, much of the
time your stroller is parked in stroller parking which is slightly nightmarish
and you are lugging your kids around from ride to ride and line to line
anyway. However, at the end of the night
when there is that long walk out of the park – there is nothing like a kid
falling asleep in a stroller. (though
mine still have yet to fall asleep anywhere other than the bed, and the car
ride there in Disney). Double strollers
are that much more cumbersome so which is why I think we are just going to have
the one always has to walk or ride on daddy’s shoulders rule this trip. We will let you know if that was a good plan or
not. If it is not, you can always rent a
double stroller in the park. I also
thought the stroller would be a good place to stash things like purchases but
you can have any of your purchases shipped back to the room automatically, so
not needed.
RANDOM TIPS WE LEARNED
·
When you buy stuff in the park at the
shops, get them mailed automatically to your room, no carrying it around! Free perk!
·
There are two places that will deliver
groceries to your room. Staying in a
villa with a kitchenette, this is ideal!
Save on breakfast and have breakfast in the room by having fruit,
cereal, milk delivered. We are clearly
using this service to have beer and wine in our room when we arrive. Also good for diapers, wipes, snacks,
sunscreen, soaps, etc – don’t lug it down, have it there when you arrive. Awesome!
·
Google “Disboards” and there is much,
much more information from even crazier Disney people than us. You can also google “Disney Mom’s Blog” to
ask specific questions like where are the nursing stations, etc.
·
Backpacks are cool in Disney. You will want to lug your camera, the
autograph book, a pen, sunscreen, the map, smart phone, etc. The easiest thing I have found (because my
camera is really heavy) has been a back pack.
Not hot, but gets the job done and does not hurt my back after a long
day of walking. You probably do not want
to leave any valuables in your stroller while it is parked. But, less is always more! Don’t waste your time lugging snacks and
waters around. (especially if you are on
the meal plan as you will inevitably end up with more snack points than you
know what to do with). Just buy your
stuff in the park when you need it and save room so that you can fit your bag
with you in your seat on the rides).
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There is a barber shop in the Magic
Kingdom which has a fun experience for the kids to get their haircut. We did this with Joel Andrew. They get their own Mickey ears.
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They will give you a photo pass and
professional photographers will take your picture, logging into your pass, at
various points throughout the parks. You
may not want to buy the photos – BUT we sent the links to our parents and they
could stop bothering me about sending her pics and instead order their own from
this site.
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Measure your child before you go – we
swear their measuring guides are 1 inch taller than what they say they
are. Prepare your kids if they cannot go
on the rides, or avoid them altogether and just focus them on the ones they can
go on. Creepy/bad parenting move – we
actually had “tall shoes” for Joel Andrew and that is how he got onto big
thunder mountain at the age of 3. He was
tall enough at the Drs and at home, but the Disney height was different. Shoes did the trick!
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Breathe and take breaks. If you are stressed, so will your kids
be. When I was younger and went to
Disney I always avoided parades and street performers thinking I rather be on
rides. With the kids I am learning to
embrace the parades as it is a nice time to sit and take a break and watch your
kids dance and have fun.
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We have a “one thing rule” to avoid the
inevitable constant asking to purchase goodies.
It is Disney, they will make you and your kid want to purchase things at
all times. I bought mickey light up ears
12 years ago and I keep them in a bag in my attic. When we go to Disney world I pull out the bag
and bring the stuff again – my light up ears, Joel’s ears hat, our Mickey
shirts. Good to go.
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Bippity Boppity Boutique – If you have a
girl, you probably have to do this. Just
take out your wallet now, and get prepared to have glitter in crevaces you
never imagined. It is hysterical
watching the fathers of girls – themselves covered in glitter, following their
little princesses around with empty wallets.
A right of passage, really. Your
girl gets to fell all special, gets the outfit, gets her hair done (think crazy
ballerina tight bun) and then is SPRAYED with glitter – and the price, I hear
$150+. I laugh, because I have
boys. But of course, Disney fixed that
and they now have the Pirates League where they learn how to swashbuckle or
something, and also still get covered in glitter. As I hate glitter, we are avoiding this…
We are staying at the Beach Club May of 2014, how did you like it?
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