I realize this is a pretty narrow topic that won't be helpful to everyone but there seemed to be enough questions about our trip to warrant a post. I know there are lots of you who have already done Disney vacations too so there are lots of "experts" out there. I'm going to just do this in list form and stick things in as I think of them...in other words, there will be no rhyme or reason to this post.
Here we go.
1. Disney DOES allow you to bring in your own food. We loaded ourselves down with food for all three days and ended up only buying cotton candy, a mickey rice krispie treat and two cokes during all of our time there. I am just too cheap to pay those prices! :) I know that they do have some sort of meal plan though so if you are traveling with a larger family or just don't want to worry about packing your own food definitely look into that.
2. Hearty snacks. I made sure to pack things for us that were going to hold us over for quite a while - in other words no 100 calorie packs for this trip! We packed a ton of granola bars (I love the kashi kind...they stick to your ribs), apples, oranges, nutrigrain bars, pretzels, etc. Typically I steer clear of prepacked, individual-serving foods but found them to be useful for this trip. Jif peanut butter makes individual 1/2 cup sized portions that are perfect for dipping pretzels or apple slices. They pack something like 380 calories so they're sure to fill you up. Also, I picked up a couple of tuna lunch packs for Brent and me. They come with the tuna, mayonnaise, relish and crackers (and even a mint to get rid of your stanky fish breath!) and don't need to be refrigerated.
3. Lots of water! For the three of us - plus enough for E's bottles we took about 6 bottles in per day. We stored them in the bottom of the stroller so we didn't have to lug them around in bags. If you wanted to bring your own reusable bottles though there are water fountains throughout all parks.
4. Early mornings. The earlier you get there, the lighter the crowds. We were there during spring break which is possibly one of their busiest times of the year. The parks open at 8:00 for most of the year. We got there around 9:00 and people were pouring in but the lines were still much shorter. By 11:00 things were really crowded.
5. Figure out the fast-pass system right away. All of the super popular rides and attractions have a "fast pass" option available at their entrance. This will spit out a ticket with a time slot telling you when to return. Then you can trot right to the front of the line and wait about 5-10 minutes versus upwards of 45 or even 90. Plan ahead the night before so you know what you want to do/see and then collect your fast-passes first thing so you have your day all planned out.
6. All of the biggest characters (Mickey, Minnie, Princesses, etc.) are positioned at designated stations now rather than wondering all over the park. The later in the day it is, the longer the lines so get there early if you want to see the characters. Sarah, of course, wanted to see Cinderella so we headed there first thing on our last day...the wait was 30 minutes but was still shorter than the 75 minutes we'd seen on our first day there.
7. Also, lots of kids in the park buy autograph books for the characters to sign with a slot for their photographs. If you want to save a little money it would be a fun project to help your kiddo make one before you go. Maybe buy some Disney stickers and pretty-up a regular 4x6 brag book. Our kids were too little to get into that but I'm sure when they're older we'll do something along those lines. There are Disney photographers stationed with all the characters and they'll take photos of your kids and then give you a link to check them out online. You're still allowed to take your own pictures though and you really should...I was less than impressed with the shots Disney did (and not just because I'm a photographer!)
8. You can bring your own stroller but you can also rent them. I don't know how much the stroller rental is but it really wasn't a hassle at all to bring our own. The only slight annoyance was having to break it down to get on the tram from the parking lot but that's just once a day. Also, if you have any sort of baby/toddler carrier, bring it. I love my Over the Shoulder Baby Holder. (recommended by J.J.)
9. Go at your kiddo's pace. We found that our days were much more enjoyable when we just let Sarah take the lead and do what she wanted. Granted she's little and was a bit overwhelmed but I'm sure the same is true of older kids too. There's definitely an adult desire to "get your money's worth" but I think that's what leads to Happiest Place on Earth meltdowns. On our last day there Sarah played in one of the little kid playgrounds for almost two hours. We kept trying to get here to go see Ariel or ride another ride and she wanted nothing to do with it. In the end, I'm glad we didn't push her. It pained me just a bit because I kept thinking "this playground cost me $500.00!!!) but she left happy and, therefore, so did we.
10. The above-mentioned playgrounds are really great. There are at least a couple in every park and are geared for kids ages 2-6 or something like that. Many of them have water features so bring a change of clothes for your little ones or even a swimsuit. They were never really that crowded and we found that they were great places to have lunch.
11. Ooh. This is a biggie. 2008 is the Year of a Million Dreams at Disneyworld. I'm not sure what all this entails but I do know that the gist of it is that they're giving away one million special things - big and small. For example, Sarah and I were waiting in line to ride something and the lady behind me politely asked the man running the ride how long the wait was. He said, "come right this way" and whisked her off to the front of the line and made her and her son the family of the hour for that ride or something like that. He got a hat, they made an announcement welcoming them to the ride and then they got to ride it as many times as they wanted. At one of the playgrounds I noticed a family who were all wearing "dream fastpasses" or something like that around their necks. I asked about them and they said that one of the workers handed them to them as they got off a ride...they were good for getting on any ride at any time all day long. So here's the thing: talk to the workers, often and politely. :) The workers are the ones who give away the "dreams" (big and small, remember) so the more you interact with them the greater your chances are of getting something neat. I even heard that each day they're choosing a family to stay in CINDERELLA'S CASTLE FOR THE NIGHT. How cool is that? I kept thinking that if I were Mr. or Mrs. Disney I would have the guy shining the water fountains or cleaning the bathrooms giving that away...you just never know! So get chatty!
12. At Magic Kingdom you have to ride either the monorail or the ferryboat to get into the park. They'll tell you that they both take the same amount of time but if you're traveling with strollered little ones definitely go for the ferry boat...it's just easier.
13. A couple of "stay-together" tips. First, we saw lots of families wearing shirts in the same bright color - totally made it easier to spot them. Second, when you get there pick an obscure, off-the-beaten-path place to meet in case your group gets split up. We chose Cinderella's fountain which is right behind her castle. It's so loud in the park that it would be difficult to hear your cellphone if you tried to call the other adult in your group. Of course, if a little one gets lost guest services has a place for lost children (wonder if Peter Pan hangs out there?) but it's a good idea for you and your spouse or whoever to come up with a meeting place. In a crowd that big you can step just a few feet away from each other and get totally lost in the sea of faces.
Okay, that's all I can think of for now but I may be back later to add more. Anyone else willing to share?
Buddy Posts:
Amy
And a few of the fam on our last day, just for fun...
34 comments:
I'm moving Stacey's comment from the previous post over here because it was really good...
"We just got back from Disneyworld and had a great time. Just wanted to mention how Epcot isn't the best place for kid rides, but it is the best place to meet all the characters. Mickey Mouse and all his friends are towards the Epcot entrance. Various princesses are throughout the park in the different countries. We also had lunch with the princesses at Akershus (spelling?) Royal Banquet Hall (it's in the Norway village) at Epcot. The fireworks were amazing! Epcot was also a nice break from the crowds at Magic Kingdom. I wish we did two days at Magic Kingdom...there's just so much to see!" - Stacey
Whenever we go to Disney I always check the website: allears.net It's a great go to site with TONS of information on accommodations, dining, parks, etc... All the menus for each restaurant are listed in the dining section... Park closings, special events, etc... There are a lot of insider tips and tricks and so much information on there!
Another tip for Epcot with kids - even if your kids are little - is to get a Passport for World Showcase - I think they are around $10. The kids can go around to each country ( they all have a Kidcot station nestled somewhere) and have it "stamped" and signed (with a little personal message) by a native of that country. There are stickers included too so they can add them to their passport. We did that this year with our two nephews and they had the best time!
Great post! One note on the fast-passes. . . we discovered that you can only hold a fast pass for 1 ride at a time, so choose judiciously what you absolutely have to go on. We picked up our Space Mountain fast pass around 10 a.m. to come back between 1:30 - 2:30. We tried to get another fast pass and the nice little machine spit out a card saying we had to wait until at least 12:30 before we could get another fast pass. :-( By then, most of the return times were 6:30 p.m. or later and we knew we'd be long gone from the park by then.
Also, not all rides (like Haunted Mansion or Small World) do Fast Passes. Definitely check the map the night before and plan your strategy. If you get to the non-fast pass rides early, you can minimize your wait!
I've never taken any children, but my husband and I went to Disney World for our Honeymoon (romantic, hu?)...we swore right then and there that we would never take a little one under 3 years old...virtually EVERY SINGLE one we saw was having a complete melt down (along with their parents)....Guess they needed all these great tips. I did want to say though...we got married in September and there were NO LINES at all, for anything. I think our very longest wait was like 10 minutes. Everyone had just gone back to school and it was great for us! It is hurricane season, but we only had to deal with rain one or two days on our 10 day trip.
Thanks for all the great tips! Who knows, maybe you can instill enough confidence in me to give it a whirl with my little (less than 3 year old) kiddies.
Oh my gosh Terah, Brent and I had the EXACT same experience for our (delayed) honeymoon in 2001. We laughed as we ran past all the haggard moms and dads pushing screaming toddlers. I was so afraid that would come back to haunt us on this past trip! Funny to hear you say the same thing!
We did the mathcy tees for our kids when we recently did Disneyland- wouldn't you know, we saw like five other families in RED throughout the day (that's the color we chose). Perhaps choose an not-so-common color, like orange, maybe?
ha.
I've never been to Disney--but am going to print this out today after more comments collect... we have plans to go in the next two years, probably! This is invaluable stuff, Erin. Thanks!!
Thanks for the post! We are thinking of doing Disney early next year so any advice is wonderful!
Love Disney World. Tony and I went on our Honeymoon and also said the same about taking younger kids and not being parents who force our kids through the park.
We went to Disney this year during the last week of Jan and the first week in Feb and went from a Sunday to Saturday. We took our twin boys Luke and Jack (age4) and Zoe (age 3)By Wednesday the very first thing we learned was if at all possible (and not sure if it is with kiddos) is to not go to Disney on Monday! It seemed as if EVERYONE was there and between the times of 8:00 and 3:00 we were only able to get on 3 rides, visit Ariel and hang out at Pooh Bear's Park. When we returned on Wed. we hopped on any ride our hearts desired without a line and had a much more relaxing day. We actually talked about flying down on a Monday and leaving on a Sunday the next time we go.
I cannot AGREE enough with the go out the kiddos pace. We had zero melt downs and the kids did not get anxious or frustrated. And yes, that meant spending quite a bit of time at the "park" areas so they could run.
We broke up our trip by going to Disney, Epcot and so forth on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Tuesday and Thursday were spent sleeping in and then at the pool! Will definitly follow this next time. Kiddos loved the themed pool and appreciated the down time. During the evening we would head to Downtown Disney, where they have TONS for kids to experiment and discover.
We did do the meal plan and stayed in the park. Tony and I both became quite tired of the food, however, I love to cook and we are very used to fresh, non-processed food. I'm sure that had a lot to do with it. But the positive is you received more than enough food and were able to use the plan for breakfast with the characters, dinner with Cinderella in her castle and tons more. On that note, breakfast with the characters is absolutly wonderful at the Contempory hotel!
Last one and then I'll stop let the kids sleep in! We have early risers, but they all chose to sleep until 8:30 or 9:00. We didn't get to arrive at the parks early, but I'm pretty sure it is the reason we were melt-down free! That and the pool days!
Yikes, that is a lot. I'll stop:)
those photos are so adorable. Dads and their daughters just KILL ME!
we just "did" disney in february. i had a work trip to orlando and they offered special discounts for the families attending if you did the afternoon/evening passes (kids under 2 were free, and over 2 were $42). we didn't have a lot of free time anyway, so that was perfect for our schedule. i took my best friend (who baby-sat ryan while i was working), and she brought her two kiddos, so we had two moms, a 3.5 year old, and two 2 year olds. we got to the park around 6, so it wasn't too hot. we bee-lined to the "little kid" area and rode every single ride back there that we wanted to with hardly any waiting. our longest waits were for "it's a small world" and "dumbo", but neither was longer than 15 minutes or so. i thought it was perfect timing for kids that age. yes, they were up a little later than usual, but we had zero meltdowns, got to ride what we wanted with no lines, saw the characters we wanted to see, saw the fireworks, and saw the parade. and they fell right asleep in the car. :) thanks to everyone for sharing great trips! we're planning to go back again this fall!
Thanks for your tips on Disney. We are going for Thanksgiving with a big group and need all the help we can get.
Brandy
terah, erin & amy, I can't belive you all did Disneyworld for your honeymoon too! i thought we were the only ones who did that. When I tell people we went there for our honeymoon people just laugh. We could have gone to Fiji for the same cost!! (that was 12 years ago!)
Anyway, we have been talking about doing a disny vacation with our 4 rugrats, we havn't been there since our 3rd (almost 4 yrs now) was 3 months. We have been hesitant about doing it with 4 kids but you guys gave some great tips. It is now up for discussion again. Disney here we come!!
The camera?? What did you lug your big ole camera around in? I can't imagine dragging my 6 mil crumpler through that theme park!
I heard of a lady who had her kids make necklaces with beads... using letter and number beads along with some fun ones, spelling out the parents names and cell #'s. And it sounded like a good idea for little ones... Someone asks, "What's your mommy's name?" they answer "mommy"
I just made sure the bigger kids were grilled on the important facts, like our names and what we were wearing and our phone #'s and they either find a worker or a mom if they were ever to get separated from us. And a meeting place was designated for us adults.
We did two character breakfasts and that was great! A bit of extra money, but worth it because we didn't hardly have to wait in ANY lines to see the characters. Every princess came to our table and at the other nearly everyone else came to great us. I think we only had to wait in line for Pooh and Eyore.
I also made sure the kids for lots of fruits and veggies because they weren't used to lots of processed foods.
We planned our trip for the end of Nov and the beginning of Oct. thinking that it wouldn't be too crowded... I was so wrong! At Disneyland they decorate for Halloween. The Hunted House was all decked out and the park was super crowded!
Thanks for all the great ideas!
This is awesome! I'll definitely be saving this post to refer to when we make the decisoin to take the twins someday!
On a side note, I noticed someone wrote about September at the park. My husband and I went for our first anniversary and we discovered that the meal plan is actually FREE in September...and I believe that this hasn't changed! Might be worth checking out since that seems like a less crowded time to go! Thanks again for all this great info!!
Sharon, I love that necklace idea!
Kimberly, I took my 6 mill crumpler (I pretty much take it everywhere!). It hangs pretty nicely on the back of our stroller so that wasn't a biggie. Also, if I only take the lens that's on the camera then I have lots of extra space to pile diapers and wipes and bottles on either side of the camera. It's a handy not-so-little diaper bag!
All those tips are great. We used to have annual passes to Disneyland while we lived in California. The biggest thing for us was to not have any big expectations while there. Now since we had passes we could go during the week when it wasn't crazy but still. I don't think this is for Disneyland but at DisneyWorld you can by fast passes for the major rides. I think that is what you were talking about with those passes around other visitors' necks. At least you used to be able to. I also agree with the photos that disney employees take. We didn't get those too often. It really can be a great vacation if you take your time and relax. Have fun while you are there and don't get too stressed. We can't wait to go back to Disneyland in October. I miss it almost as much as the girls do!
I also have to add that I love the Over the Shoulder Baby holder. It is easy to use and everyone is comfy. A good stroller is always a good idea. It doesn't matter where you vacation!
My 2 cents. We went in August last year with an 8 year old and a 15 month old. One thing we did that really helped us out was to stay in a resort on Disney property. We went to a local grocery store and stocked up on stuff so we could eat most of our meals in. If I had known then that you could take in your own food we would have saved a lot there too. Another reason that staying on site was so good is that we were able to come and go using their transportation rather than having to drive and find a place to park every time. This was convenient for naps and eating. We also took advantage of the extra hours for resort guests. One of us would stay at "home" with the baby while the other one would take our son out and ride rides. It worked out very well.
More helpful tips: Wear sneakers, you'll be doing lots of walking!! Wear loose fitting dark colored clothes so the sun can't get thru and burn your skin. Sunscreen, sunscreen, sunscreen!! You can't have too much. I lathered us up with a 50 SPF lotion before leaving the room. I used a spray (the kind you don't have to rub in) while at the parks. And I used a dab-on sunscreen for our faces, scalps and ears. I am very proud to say that none of us got even the slightest bit burned the entire trip. I felt sorry for the people walking around with beet red faces and arms. To help keep the kiddos cool I tossed extra wash rags in the diaper bag and wet them at the parks to put on our faces and necks when needed. I also ordered a small fan that clips on the stoller from onestepahead.com. That was VERY handy! Just don't forget to take the batteries with you because you will need them.
I forgot to mention that it's nice to stay in a place with a washer and dryer. That way you can pack light and save room for the souvenirs your bound to have. I didn't think we'd use it that much but boy was I wrong! Lots of sweaty clothes!
Add me to the Disney "love" crew althought it wasn't my honeymoon, it's where my husband proposed! :D My family are freaks about Disney so it was appropriate.
We did Disneyland in Jan, which I must say is an excellent time of year. I know sometimes it's unavoidable due to jobs, to miss the peak times but if possible pick the off season. We never had to wait in line more than 10 minutes and for most things we walked right on.
Now I definitely wasn't the "thrifty" Disney person at all. My number one concern was comfort and the less stress possible. I was barely pregnant and in the throws of morning sickness so hauling a bunch of stuff in and out of the park wasn't my idea of fun. So we went the pack light route and it ended up being fine. I did pack the essentials; diapers, wipes, bottles of water, some crackers and snacks for Katie, and sunscreen. Other than that we bought in the park. I know...ouch. But my parents were treating us and they are of the "it's vacation and we planned on spending a lot" mentality and so I blame them...haha!
Food...I actually think the food there is great! We hit up a lot of the cafeteria style restaurants and I was really impressed at the freshness and variety. They also have special kids meals which I thought were reasonalby priced (I think $3) and healthy. We didn't do much of the corndogs, popcorn, etc though. Ok maybe I had one corndog....they have THE BEST corndogs. Also there were tons of fresh fruit stands, which was awesome! We hit those up quite often.
We did rent our stroller and it was $10 for the day and you could leave and come back and get it if you wanted. We probably didn't need to but it had more storage than my umbrella stroller and worked quite nicely.
Something that I thought I'd add that I haven't seen anybody mention was that for people with food allergies...Disney does have options! My husband has Celiac disease (no gluten/wheat products) and we were really concerned about what he would eat. The restaurants all have options for most of the major allergies although I didn't really pay attention to others except for the wheat/gluten so someone can correct me if I'm wrong. We went to breakfast with the characters and they even made him gluten free pancakes which is a real treat for him away from home! I think somewhere on main street you can pick up a print out of safe foods for the various allergies.
California Adventure was a bust for a toddler other than the Playhouse Disney show and the Bugs Life play area. We spent maybe an hour in there and then we were done. It's definitely geared more towards bigger kids.
Oh and like I mentioned in one of the last posts.....don't take your toddler to any of the 3D movies...aye yi yi! Very scary and uncomfortable for those little guys. I felt like the worst parent!
Thanks for the tips! We are planning to take our daughter next year when she is 2 1/2. Glad to see that it can be done with a toddler!
Add me to the list of honeymooners who went to Disneyworld and SWORE we would never take little kids there. We're much closer to Disneyland so we'll start small and then go big once the kids are older.
Here are a few of our tips:
- If there is a "new" ride then get a fast pass ASAP in the morning. We tried for two days to get on the Aerosmith Rock'n Roller coaster with no luck.
- If you start your trip with a cruise and have rough seas stay away from the motion virtual rides (mission space). I've never gotten motion sickness before, but my husband and I were begging for a stop button!
- November was an AWESOME time to go. We went over Thanksgiving and we thought it was going to be crazy. It was a little busy most days but we went to Universal on Thanksgiving Day and we entered the ride via the exit (10 second wait) and even got to ride multiple times without getting off!
- (I can't remember if Disney did this, but Universal does) If the adults want to ride an adult roller coaster they have a waiting area so that one parent can ride and one parent can wait and then switch. So you aren't waiting in line twice as long.
Thanks for all your tips Erin. I think we'll try Disneyland once our baby turns three or so.
Your hair is growing out so nicely!!
i loved all your disney posts! I weant to go pack sooo bad!
Wow! Thanks for all the great tips! We've not taken the kids to Disney yet, so this will help us out tremendously when we do.
I don't have any input for your post, but I love your new banner.
We plan on taking the kids sometime in the next few years. As much as my girl loves all things princess sooner would be preferable. I would hate to miss the chance to take her while she's so enamored of Jasmine. Thanks for all the tips!
We have taken our 5 kids to Disney several times over the past 10 years and the best tip that I can give is this: if you are staying in any of the resort hotels DO NOT go to the designated park on the early entry days. Everyone who stays in the resorts are rewarded with getting into a certain park an hour before the general public. Well do you know how many people stay in these resorts and go for the early entry time park? More than I care to count much less bump into with every step I take! So pick a park that is not early entry and you will enjoy a crowd-free morning. Even if you are not staying on site, it is worth finding out the early entry schedule an stay from that designated park!
My husband and I went to Disney to "experience" it together before we had children. It was 2nd place honeymoon destination for us so we took a vacation there the following year. Like Erin said, we found the lines were short and the weather was cool early in the morning. However, we could not last early in the morning until late at night. We found it relaxing to arrive when the park opens and leave around 11:00 to eat lunch and take a nap. We returned to the park sometime around 5:00 to 6:00 (after eating dinner) and enjoyed the rest of the park's opening hours. We found that by this time, many had left or were leaving and the weather was again cooler. We were also well rested, avioded eating in the park, avoided the hottest part of the day and we were able to ride most of the rides quickly in June. I am not sure how it would work with kid schedules but it seemed to work for us "big kids." And I also agree with the Mission Space statement made earlier. NEVER ride that ride first thing in the morning. Since it was new we headed straight there. I was sick for hours and I usually don't feel sick on rides.
I'm not sure if this is only in California or if it's country-wide, but if you belong to AAA and get your tickets through them, you can get multiple fastpasses at once!! We got there early and got (I think up to 5) fastpasses for the most popular rides. Then we hit all the really busy rides (Indiana Jones, Matterhorn, etc) first thing before the lines got crazy - then we got to use our fastpasses on them to ride a second time without waiting. Also, they use to do it so that when you have one parent who has to stay behind with a child too young for the ride, you can tell the ride operator and they would give you two passes to go to the front of the line so the stay-behind parent could ride without having to wait all over again. This was before fastpasses though, so you'd have to ask if they still do it.
I saw a special about Disney on TV that talked about how you can get a private host when you're there. They take you all around and you get to see places that you wouldn't ordinarily know about. It didn't mention how much something like that costs though, but shouldn't be hard to find research. It also mentioned about how they have special "Mickey ears" all through the park - obscure things that are placed in groups of 3 so they look like the Mickey head and ears. Something fun to look for while you're there!!
Keep in mind the brightly colored shirts work great for school field trips and other busy places too! Dress your child in a shirt of bright red/orange/yellow (no green/blue/purple because they just blend) and you can pick them out in the crowd easily!!
Thank you for this Mommy Monday post. We are planning our first trip to Disney and have LOVED reading all the suggestions. Thank you. Also beautiful new banner! Amy T.
ohhh what a great post about Disney! I can't wait to take Alison in a few years!! and I HAD to tell you, I absolutely L.O.V.E that shot of your hubby and Sarah- the bottom right- it is SO full of emotion and beautiful!
Jen
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