Disney tips :)

We just got back from a super fun trip to Disney World. We had a great time but being first time goers as parents we learned a few things a long the way. I took a lot of mental notes of what I'd do the same and what I'd do differently next time.

We booked our trip on Thurs night and left to drive (from VA to FL) the following Tues. Ha. 3 kids - 5, 3 and 1 and 3 adults (me, hub and my mom.) We stayed off-site b/c we had hotel points and got the hotel for free that way (breakfast included.) Thanks to some Disney fanatic friends (ahem, Brookie!) and friends who'd gone there recently with little ones (Heather & Dana!) I was able to catch up quick on the "what to do's/what not to do's" and what you MUST do before hand. Of course, the net is FULL of blog posts and forums about planning your trip!


Disney has definitely gone into the digital age - which I really loved! The Fast Pass + (FP from here on out) on the My Disney Experience website and app made our trip with small ones much easier. You get 3 FP choices where you get to go into that line (much, much quicker) and once those are done you can get 3 more (one at a time) from a FP kiosk in the park. The app was easy b/c I could just look down and see what was coming up next. We were VERY go with the flow seeing as we'd just decided to go and we have several kiddos but it still helped us make sure we got to see the things we thought would be the best for this age. The only thing I didn't love about Disney being so digital is that you have to book your dining reservations (for indoor, sit down places) pretty far in advance. We were able to get one character dining (the best for our kids - the Disney Jr cast with Jake, Sophia, Doc, ect) in Hollywood Studios but besides that it was a hope-they-have-a-table situation or quick service (QS from here on out.) But, food is clearly not that important to us seeing as the kids could/would eat pbj sandwiches or nuggets for every meal...and we didn't have a Dining Plan so paying for the more expensive sit down type meals wasn't all that appealing anyway.


Also Magic Kingdom = MK, Animal Kingdom = AK and Hollywood Studios = HS. Those are the three parks we went to.


So, with that long intro here's my list of things I'd keep the same and things I'd change in case it helps anyone else :)


What I'd do that same:

1. Rent strollers. One double, one regular so that all kids had a place to sit down and also we could go MUCH faster around the parks. We rented from Apple Strollers and had a great experience. They were there when we arrived at the hotel and we just left them at the front desk when we left. Plenty of storage and they laid down for the younger two to nap. Perfect.
2. Putting *everything* in Ziploc bags. It was so nice to not freak out and worry every time it looked like it was going to rain (it did!) or when we left the strollers to go on a ride. Esp important things like the autograph books, ect. Plus it made morning bag check easier. Panchos and chip clips worked perfectly as a stroller rain cover too :)
3. Bringing snacks. This not only saved us money (since we didn't have the dining plan) but it also warded off a few almost meltdowns. Lots of protein snacks - pbj sandwiches, pb crackers, cheese sticks and applesauce pouches, granola bars and some dum-dum lollipops were soooo nice to have on the ready.
4. We used a coat hanger from the hotel to latch our bag cooler to the back of the stroller. Worked like a charm and was easy access and kept the bottom for the other things we brought.
5. Frogg togg or Chilly towels. In that FL heat this thing was a life saver for this 6 mo preggo mama! The second day I got smart and left water in a big Ziploc so we could dip it and wring it out in the bag instead of having to find a restroom. We would put one behind the younger two when they were about to nap too to keep them cooler.
6. I'd make AK our last day park again. It's got a more laid back feel and we didn't feel bad at all leaving at 7pm that day b/c they don't have fireworks, ect. It was nice to get home and get the kids to bed early after 3 full days of parks before our drive back. (And we rode the safari twice...once in the AM, once in the PM totally worth doing twice b/c we saw different things!)
7. We "planned" for an upset kid at least once a day. Sounds silly but mentally it helped us all to KNOW that obviously someone was going to be overwhelmed, too hot, too hungry, ect. My kids did so so awesome and had a fabulous time but they are still KIDS! We also didn't expect to see *everything* - esp b/c we knew there would be lots of potty breaks, indoor breaks, ect that just couldn't be helped. It's their vacation too and the whole purpose of going there was to have a magical and fun trip.
8. Memory maker. Totally worth the money for us. You buy this before going and then you get ALL the pics that the park photogs take (with characters, at random spots, ect.) We ended up with less than 100 pics b/c we didn't stop at every place we could but it still was so worth it to not fret over getting the "perfect" pic when meeting characters and other shots. I didn't even bring a real camera, just my phone and the memory maker. So glad to not lug the camera in and out from the stroller, ect :)


What I'd change:

1. I would bring water. I read and heard to not worry about it since you can get water at every QS place but man this was difficult sometimes. I did bring the kids sippy cups and a refillable cup for the water but there were times we just bought water b/c the lines were too long at the QS places and we were dying for water. When we did get the free water we asked for like 3 or 4 and refilled everything and kept the rest :)
2. I would schedule more things for the AM - either FP or a show or some sort of "plan." Being newbies with kids (we'd both been but like as kids ourselves) we found that first hour or so was kinda wasted just getting the lay of the land and looking at stuff. Not that that isn't fun but at the end of the day we probably could have had more time if we'd had a FP for something in the AM. We did this for AK (safari ride right at 9:15) and we all liked that we had a specific destination that day (our last day.)
3. We would drive all days instead of taking the hotel shuttle since we were off site. It was a mess for us b/c we had two strollers, three kids and we had to be back at certain times to get a ride back. We were much happier driving the last two days.
4. I would take note of all the rides with play areas - esp the indoor ones - like Dumbo or Honey I Shrunk the Audience. It would have been nice to know of others and I know I could have found this out beforehand I just didn't think of it.
5. Our biggest obstacle was at HS finding places to eat b/c there seemed to be less and everything was booked. A meltdown or two occurred before we could find a place finally :( Also there aren't as many places you can walk around indoors in a stroller there so I would probably mentally plan for that.


We really had a fabulous time and I'm so thankful for all your lists, questions and answers. I thought it was the PERFECT ages to take the 3 & 5 year old - their faces - oh just the thought of their faces gets me all teary eyed! The characters and CMs made our experience so so wonderful - we couldn't have asked for more! Hope this helps one of my friends who goes to WDW in the future. It was seriously such a great trip - already excited for the next one! ha.