Let me start by saying I am by no means an expert on Disney World. But, we have gone several times this year since we purchased Annual Passes. I have learned a few things about visiting the most magical place on Earth that I think I can share with you. Our last few trips have actually been relaxing, rather than feeling like we needed a vacation upon our return from vacation. Been there? Yup, that’s no fun.
Tip 1: Stay in a Disney Resort If You Have Littles
I am all for pinching a penny and Disney resorts are not cheap. For us, they are worth every dime. With two children 10 years apart, we have simultaneous Disney vacations happening within one family. The 13 year old wants to do certain things, and the 3 year old really needs his own set of things to do. Staying at a Disney resort allows me to head back to the hotel with the 3 year old for nap-time and bed-time without the 13 year old sacrificing a moment of his vacation. On this trip we stayed at the Caribbean Beach Resort. The room was clean but a bit dated, but worth the money. We had a great view of the lake on the property (although we weren’t in the room enough to really enjoy it). Those are my guys catching up with dad to head to the pool.
The resort has a lot of amenities that are worth taking the time to do. I picked this resort because it had a pool play structure that was worth it’s weight in gold. The other resorts with this type of play structure are the Polynesian and the Grand Floridian, both much more expensive. Having the play structure and a bigger slide poolside allowed us to sort of relax while the kids played. Otherwise, one of us would have constantly had to be in the water with the 3 year old. He was so happy to run around, lay down, and splash in this play area while we lounged on chairs. If you have a 3 year old, you know that is huge. Disney resorts also have lifeguards at the pool, so we were comfortable setting our 13 year old free to go down the slide about 200 times, no joke.
It also had a pretty good arcade that all three really enjoyed. It was a great way to have some fun while staying out of the sun and heat.
Tip 2: Fun On Schedule…For Real
There is so very much to do when you go, this is one trip where you really want to have fun on schedule and stick with the plan. The last thing you want to do in a Disney park is stand there and discuss what you think you should go do next. Beyond that, I think the biggest mistake we have made in the past is trying to do too much in one day. Everyone became cranky, tired, and it robbed the joy out of the experience. Let’s face it, Disney vacations are really for the kids. I essentially plan two vacations and my husband and I divide and conquer. He rides with the oldest and I ride with the youngest, meeting up to switch every once in a while. Here is how I start to plan a vacation.
1. I look at the park schedule and write down which park has Magic Hours (when the park opens early or stays open late for resort guests). This is another great perk of staying in a Disney Resort.
2. Plan strategically so everyone has enough time to sleep. Exhausted kids in Disney is a nightmare. Writing down a skeleton schedule where I block out time at each park is essential. This helps me determine the sleep schedule for my oldest. He wants to “close down” a park if it has Magic Hours (sometimes til 2:00 am). This would mean the next day I wouldn’t want to schedule a park opening and may want to plan some pool time where there really isn’t a schedule. They can sleep in while the little one and I head to the pool or grab some waffles.
3. Then I start to make lunch and dinner reservations to correspond with the schedule I have laid out (as much as 180 days in advance). Don’t sweat it if you don’t have 180 days, I have found I can usually reserve something even a month in advance. It won’t be your first choice, but I have found one sit down reservation per day for our family is a must. We fill in the rest of the visit with quick service meals. Even if we don’t have a reservation, I write down where we will eat a Quick Service meal. Character meals are fun, but there are lots of opportunities to meet characters in the parks. I would choose restaurants based on location and food rather than characters. The Character Spot at Epcot is a great place to meet characters in air conditioning.
4. As soon as it is available (60 days plus the number of days you are staying at a Disney Resort) I make our Fast Pass selections. Because I already know what park we will be in that day and I know when/where we will be eating, I can schedule them around the schedule. Before they “go live” I talk with both of my children to find out what their “must do” items are so I can Fast Pass the events they both really want. I create two sets of Fast Passes. One for my older son and husband and then one for myself and my younger son. There is usually one event each day where I book us all for the same event, like “Lights! Motors! Action!” and we meet back up to attend it together.
5. I create a typed out itinerary. I know you can create those cool looking maps, but I have found with two separate vacations happening it is easier for me to type things up on a regular word document. I actually type out everything with times, including flex time. I go over the itinerary with the family before we leave. I tend to tweak the plans right up until we get in the car. Sometimes reservations come available just a few days before your vacation starts because other Disney vacationers cancel their reservations before being charged a fee. My husband and I each take a photo of the itinerary each day with our phones so it is always with us and we really stick with it. It takes a lot of the stress out of the vacation and we don’t stand there “discussing” where we should eat. No complaints because we all agreed on it before we ever left home.
Tip 3: Don’t Wait In Line
I’m serious about this one. Standing in line in the middle of the day will not only make you hot, hot, hot, but probably grumpy too. Download the Disney App and start to look at wait times before you even go on your vacation (this is a favorite thing to do in our family). We will literally be hanging out at home and someone in the family will call out, “Space Mountain has a 20 minute wait time!” Generally, wait times are lowest first thing when the park opens and a few hours before the park closes. Save those big wait events for either a Fast Pass or head to them during these early/late hours or Magic Hours. Our rule of thumb is if there is a a 20 minute or less wait, we will hop on it. Otherwise, we put it on the back burner. We also utilize the single rider line quite a bit with my oldest son because he is old enough to handle that. We fill in a lot of less popular, yet fun events in this way. Even though our vacations are super duper planned out, there is always some flex time available to do these kind of things.
Tip 3: Find The Cool Spots
If you are heading to The World during summer, it is important to plan some cool spots into your day. In the Magic Kingdom one of our favorites is the Dumbo ride. There is an air conditioned playground inside the Dumbo building. In Animal Kingdom we take in the Nemo show which is inside and air conditioned. Hollywood Studios has several inside shows that can cool you down like Disney Jr. Live On Stage among others. Epcot has quite a few inside interactive areas that are air conditioned. If you aren’t heading back to the resort, plan these into your day during the height of heat.
Tip 4: Skip the Dining Plan
There are times of the year where Disney offers a free dining plan. If you are going during one of these times, you can’t really argue with free. However, we have found we come out much better without the dining plan. We aren’t deprived in any way. On this last trip we were in the park for 4 days and spent just under $500 on food. If we had done the dining plan, we would have been charged more than $700 just for the three older members of our party. We prefer not to always have dessert in the restaurants because we are hooked on other dessert type items in the parks. Specifically, Dole Whips in the Magic Kingdom, frozen chocolate covered bananas everywhere, and almost anything from France in Epcot. With the use of Magic Bands, it is just as easy and convenient. We bring some snack items and cereal bowls to our room. Disney Resorts have refrigerators in the room, so we stop and buy some milk, cheese, and yogurt for breakfast items and snacks when we arrive back at the room. There are no microwaves so plan accordingly.
Tip 5: Add Days To Your Vacation Without Going In The Park
There are some great things to do at the different resorts without ever setting foot in a park. See Yeehaw Bob at the Port Orleans Riverside Resort. The show is free every evening and is super fun. Take in the Spirit of Aloha show at the Polynesian, The Hoop Dee Doo Review at Fort Wilderness Campgrounds, and Mickey’s Backyard Barbeque also at Fort Wilderness Campgrounds. We check in to our resort really early in the day. Sometimes they don’t have our room ready so we head to the pool and relax until the room is ready (they will text your cell when it is ready).
Final Thoughts
We had a great time this past visit at the Star Wars Weekend. All of the stars were out and my kids really loved to see these characters first hand. These events are huge, so be prepared to deal with large crowds.
We had an exciting event on this last trip. My husband and son went to the Magic Kingdom for Magic Hours and didn’t return to the room until nearly 4:00 am! Why? They were stuck on Space Mountain! Did you know that Disney World is classified as its own city with their own Fire Department? They were actually so stuck on Space Mountain that they had to be harnessed by the Walt Disney World Fire Department and lifted off the ride. My 13 year old thinks it is the greatest thing that he has ever experienced at Disney. I guess some dreams are different but still come true at Disney.
This next picture was a once in a lifetime. Do you see what is missing? The people! They said it was surreal to be walking down Main Street when it was so quiet. Cool.
I would love to hear your Disney Tips! If you have something that could benefit all please share! Thanks for reading!
Nancy
