Guest Blogger: Disney World Survival Tips - Part 1

As parents of young children, the topic of a Disney World vacation - the possibilities, the interest, the insanity - comes up.  I'm happy to welcome my friend Laura Lueloff as our guest blogger for today. She took a Disney vacation this spring and is anxious to share her experience with all of you. This is the first of her two-part post for us.

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Disney World: the Mecca of Fun
by Laura Lueloff

“Disney is crazy”  “We are never going back”  “The line ups were insane”  “Our kids were cranky the entire time!” 

This is just a sampling of some of the feedback I had heard from people over the years about their trips to the “mecca of fun!” - Walt Disney World ….

Well, my family and I decided to take the plunge and just returned from our trip.  Not only did we survive, we loved it  and we are planning a 2nd trip for next spring!  Our week-long vacation went off without a single hitch and was a perfect trip. I thought I would share a few tips and tricks that helped make our time there so great….

1.      Read, research, plan & prepare!

• Think about the age & temperament of your kids and brainstorm what is best suited to them in terms of attractions, time lines, energy and patience levels

Check out these helpful resources:

http://www.wdwinfo.com/ 
http://www.allears.net/  
http://www.touringplans.com/

The Unofficial Guide to WDW with Kids 2011
http://ca.wiley.com/WileyCDA/WileyTitle/productCd-0470632372.html

2.      Be Sensible

Disney is a Las Vegas-type experience for kids (grown ups too!)  and it’s easy to get carried away with all the things to see, experience and be part of.  "YOU CANNOT DO IT ALL! " should be your mantra.

• Think about the most important attractions for your kids. What's worth the wait and what can you skip? -Be realistic about what you can accomplish in the time you have. Go into your days at the parks with a plan – it makes a huge difference! (We purchased a 2 day park pass just for Magic Kingdom -we could not “park hop” to other parks on those days-and decided 2 out of 6 days would be enough for us.)
• We focused on the Magic Kingdom as this offered the most age appropriate options for the 6 and under age group.  The 3 other parks (Epcot, Hollywood Studios & Animal Kingdom) will be tackled on our next trip.Read the detailed descriptions of the parks, the attractions and the height restrictions and you’ll be able to make the best decision for your family

3.      Take Breaks!

• Would you go to a place like Canada’s Wonderland for 7 days straight, all day, every day, in extreme heat?  Now multiply that experience by 1000% in terms of crowds, parades, activities and rides! 
• My advice:  do not go the parks on consecutive days with young kids.  They need a break and so do you!    Take a break in between park days – you might find your kids have just as much fun swimming & splashing – ours did!
• Midday Breaks -In order to catch the evening parade and fireworks display, we took a siesta in the afternoon at the resort and went back at dinnertime.  It was worth it to watch them experience nighttime at Disney without any meltdowns!

4.     Bring Your Own Food & Drinks

• You will go through a security check before entering the parks and they check your bag thoroughly, but they do allow you to bring food and drinks in.  I brought a cooler in each day with nutritious snacks and basic lunch items and lots of water too!  the food in the parks is very expensive and your passes do NOT include food!  i.e  bottle of water = $3!

5.      The early bird gets the worm….

• Go to bed early, set your alarm and get to the park at least 30 minutes before it opens.  I am not exaggerating on this tip.  Find out when the park opens and be there before the gates open.  Within 1-2 hours of the opening time the most popular rides already had 30 -45 minute line ups
• Reservations – if you are interested in any of the special character type meals (ie Cinderella’s castle) you must make your reservations about 6 months in advance.  No exaggeration here whatsoever.  If you change your mind you can always cancel, but if your little princess has her heart set on dining at the castle – 6 months out is the lead time! Call 407-WDW-DINE for more info

6.      Celebrate something!

• We arranged this trip for my son’s 6th birthday – something that none of us will ever forget!  Think of a milestone, a birthday, anniversary, graduation – anything that will make things even a little more magical while you are there.  Our son still thinks that the fireworks (best ever!) were specifically for his birthday – in our minds they were!

   

7.      Strategic Souvenir Shopping

• Everywhere you turn within a Disney park there is a store.  Some rides will end with you walking into a store – ridiculous!  We decided early on to not “give in” to the madness.  The entire city of Orlando revolves around Disney – even grocery stores carry Disney merchandise and the savings are huge.  Quick example – most character kids t-shirts at Disney cost about $20-$35 each – head to the WalMart Superstore and save at least 50%!

8.      Speaking of Shopping….

• The Premier Outlet Mall – 150+ stores and truly an incredible experience!  http://www.premiumoutlets.com/outlets/outlet.asp?id=17

GIVEAWAY REMINDER: Helen from Meringue Inc. has generously agreed to provide C&CS readers with a 15 % off discount (use Coupon Code cc15 at checkout) as well as giveaway a $50 gift certificate to one lucky reader.


To qualify for the giveaway, you must:
-be a follower or email subscriber of this blog AND
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 *Contest closes Sunday at noon. Good Luck and Happy Month of June!