As our trip gets closer, I have Disney on the brain! So today I bring you my top ten Disney tips. Without further ado…
1. Find a good guide book. My standard is The Unofficial Guide Walt Disney World 2009 
. I bought this book when we went in 2007 and bought the updated version when we started planning this year’s trip. It has great advice on where to eat, where to stay (even down to the preferred rooms at each resort), and what to do. It contains an entire section on traveling with young children, and has height requirements and level of potential scariness listed for each ride. The touring plans are the most valuable part of this book to me, though… for example, we can’t wait to use the “Dumbo-or-Die in a Day Touring Plan for Young Children” again. The plans detail exactly in what order to explore the park to make the most out of the day, and really do save a lot of time and hassle.
2. Read message boards. I can’t stress this enough. Whatever your Disney question is, you can find the answer on the various message boards. My stand-by is DIS Boards, but I know several Disney fanatics who swear by both PassPorter and AllEars.Net. Something to point out about AllEars.Net is the dining information – they have menus for each and every restaurant in all of Disney World, and I’ve found them to be very useful when planning our trips. Another amazing resource is the Disney Moms Panel. The 20 moms on the panel were chosen by Disney from a pool of 20,000 applicants, and they know everything there is to know about Disney. I’m friends with two of them, and believe me, they cannot be stumped. I’ve tried. The search feature on that site is something I’ve found particularly helpful, and is something that is lacking in the other message boards that I’ve mentioned. The Panel is a wonderful resources for planning any Disney trip, but especially one in which children are involved!
3. Consider staying on-site. I’ve done it both ways and I know there are pros and cons to both, but I am really a proponent of staying on Disney property. Disney does a great job of providing resorts of varying themes (there really is something for everyone!) and that span from the very luxurious to the very affordable. I’ve stayed at the Polynesian and the Beach Club resorts, which are deluxe, and they are absolutely amazing. The pools, the grounds, the rooms – amazing. When we went as a family in 2007, we stayed at Pop Century, a value resort, and we couldn’t have been happier. The value resorts start at $79 a night – really that is just hard to beat. They’re fun and a wonderful place for the family to stay. As I found out in May, All-Star Sports, another value resort, has family suites that sleep up to six people, so larger families can make their stay more affordable as well. In any case, staying on-site has so many benefits. First of all, since they’re Disney property you know they’ll be done right – they’re clean, well-decorated, and the service is great. Secondly, staying on-site means you can take advantage of a number of Disney programs that I think are wonderful, including the Disney Dining Plan (see tip #4), the Magical Express (Disney’s transportation service – not only do they bring you and your family to the resort, they handle all your luggage so you don’t have to!) and Extra Magic Hours – each day, one park is open an hour before opening or up to four hours after closing just for resort guests. This can be a huge advantage in terms of crowds and wait times!
4. Also consider the Disney Dining Plan. As I pointed out above, this program is one of the benefits of staying on Disney property. The dining plan has two options – one that includes one table service meal, one counter service meal and one snack per person per night of your stay, and one that includes three table service meals per day (that seems a bit much to me!). We did the first option the last time we went and we are doing it again this year, and I love it. To me, the best part is that we know exactly how much our trip is going to cost and we have it paid for in advance, which takes away the worry about how much we’re spending while we’re there. We can order whatever entree and dessert we want without being concerned about the price. I also think the plan is a good value – I did the math the last time and we saved a significant amount of money.
5. Watch for specials. We actually weren’t planning to go to Disney this year – we thought we’d wait until Sammy is older – but this spring they had a deal that we just couldn’t pass up. They ran a buy-four-nights/days-get-three-free special. So for our seven-night/eight-day trip, we’re only paying for four nights and five days of accommodations and park tickets. Right now they’re running another amazing special – free dining. Yes, you read that right – the Disney Dining Plan is free! You can find all the details about this plan on the Disney website here, and also keep an eye on MouseSavers to find about saving money on everything Disney.
6. Buy some peace of mind from Tottoos.org. I wrote a whole post about them here, but basically they’re high-quality, temporary tattoos that have messages that will keep your kids safe. I just ordered another set that say “To reach my parents, call {my cell phone number}”. The last time we went, I can’t tell you how many moms stopped and asked me where I found such a thing!
7. Surprise your kids. One of the things I look forward to most about our trip is surprising Kate with little presents. When we went two years ago, “Tinkerbell” left her presents while we were gone at the parks, and she still talks about that part of our trip! I bought little things before we left like sunglasses and light-up toys and necklaces, and each day left them on her bed as we were heading out to the park. I can’t wait to do it again this year! When I was at Disney in May, I learned that they now have in-room celebrations, where they’ll do this for you. “Mickey” visited my room while I was out during that trip, and I truly can’t describe what a wonderful surprise it was! Dawn from Mom to My Six Pack posted pictures of what our rooms looked like after Mickey’s visit here.
8. Find an extensive packing list. It’s hard to think of all the things you just might need. Fortunately, someone out there has already done thinking for you. I use this list, but if you google “Disney packing lists” or something like that, you’ll find many more. Obviously they have to be modified to suit your family, but these are a great start.
9. Pack in Zip Lock bags. I know that sounds weird, but this is a tip I picked up from one of the message boards, and it really works! Pack each complete outfit for your kids in a gallon bag – shorts, shirt, underwear, socks, hair bows, everything. That way when you’re getting ready in the morning, all you have to do is grab a bag and your kid is good to go. This also helps when Dad is helping the kids get dressed! It makes it so you don’t have to remember what goes with what, etc. It’s really a time saver, and the bags come in handy for wet swimsuits, snacks, or whatever during your trip.
10. Order food from Garden Grocer. We’ve used this service twice now and I just placed our order for our upcoming trip. It’s fantastic. I’ve ordered cereal, fruit, pop, bottled water, snacks, and even diapers and wipes – all of which will be waiting for us at our resort when we arrive! Here’s a tip inside this tip – you can take food and drinks into the park with you. You don’t even have to hide them under the diapers, you’re allowed to – Disney doesn’t care. Erin from the Moms Panel said it, so it must be true. The prices are pretty reasonable and there’s a $12 delivery fee, but the money saved from buying everything in the park more than makes up for that. There are other companies who provide this service as well so you might search around, but Garden Grocer is the only one I’ve personally used, and I have had great experiences every time.
So there you have it! My top ten Disney tips.
But now I must know… what are yours??
*****
For more Top Ten Tuesday fun, visit my fellow Magical Mom OH Amanda!
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We threw the crayon-ed clothes back into the washer with one of these babies (which I might add eliminates the difference in opinion regarding the appropriate time to pour in detergent I mentioned previously)… and what do you know.
