Hey Everyone! Been a while! Nice to be back updating you on some toddler fun!
I normally like to share local events– but today I need to tell you about our trip to DISNEY! I couldn’t wait to bring my little one to Disney World. I have so many great memories there when I was a child and I couldn’t wait to experience it all again through the eyes of my son. We planned a January trip (after postponing our trip twice last year) and finally made it to this happy place.
Here below are my top 10 takeaways for you if you are thinking of planning a trip for your family!
Save on the hotel. Disney has a LOT of hotel options on property and it is great to stay somewhere that runs on the Disney transportation system (monorails and buses). The different resorts run at all different prices and in single mom fashion, I wanted to make the best financial decision for my family. I opted for a Value Resort (All Star Movies) and honestly, it was perfect for us. The price was reasonable, the buses ran regularly and the property still had all the WOW factor with lots of Disney theming everywhere you turn. Can you get more room and extras at a moderate or premium property? Of course! But did we have everything we needed at our hotel for our stay? We sure did!
Do Disney Springs during the Week. Disney Springs is the nearby shopping area complete with amazing shops and high rated restaurants. Disney Springs is open to the general public so anyone can go at any time. What does this mean? Weekend crowds! We were there on a beautiful Sunday (immediately after it got nice following a cold snap) and it was PACKED. The line to get into the Lego Store was fully around the building! It made exploring significantly less enjoyable. I think my next trip, I’ll try to hit up this place on a weekday.
GET A LIGHTNING LANE PASS FOR EVERY PARK DAY! If you are going to parks with a toddler, waiting in line is not going to be fun and you want to minimize that as much as possible. For an extra fee per person, per day, you can buy what I call “skip the line” passes so you can receive an appointment to ride certain attractions during the day. You start out with 3 different appointment times for 3 different rides. Each slot is for an hour and you can enter the attraction any time within that hour. Your pass will hook up to your magic band which is the Disney tech you use all week as your park passes. You can also store your card on these bands for other purchases in the parks. I know it frustrates a lot of people that you spend so much money just to enter the parks and now you have an added expense– but trust me – THIS IS WORTH IT! We went at what was supposed to be a slower time and still felt the lines were long and the park was crowded. It was these passes that helped us get on every attraction on our list! For more details on these, I highly suggest DISNEY FOOD BLOG. They give a ton of tips on using these passes and other great park tips. They are honestly my favorite resource for Disney intel. Their blog and their youtube get an A+!
BOOK THE CHARACTER MEALS. Food is another large expense on Disney property and a great way to save is eating at quick service locations throughout the parks and hotels– however, meals are also a great opportunity to meet characters without having to wait in long lines! Character Dining is a great way to take a break, sit and have a great meal, and let the characters come to you! This is a great place for photos, autographs and memorable character interactions. During our trip, we booked breakfast at Tusker House (Animal Kingdom), lunch at Hollywood and Vine (Hollywood Studios) and dinner at Crystal Palace (Magic Kingdom). These were all buffets and very delicious. Not cheap, especially when your little one will no doubt eat like a mouse, but between the food quality and the characters, it was so worth it! You’ll need to make these reservations in advance starting 60 days before your trip.
Go to Florida in January and February. I don’t want to melt on vacation, especially when I am walking 20,000+ steps a day in Disney parks. I think 60’s and early to mid 70’s is a great temperature for traipsing around Disney world. No heat fatigue for us!
Check Attraction Closures. My little guy is a lightning McQueen fan and I was so bummed to learn that the McQueen Racing Academy attraction had been closed for good. The good news is though, that I learned about it BEFORE we went so I made sure to get my little one focused on other attractions. Had I not seen that, I probably would have talked it up and then really disappointed my little one. To check attraction closures, CLICK HERE.
You’ll Want 2 Days in Magic Kingdom. Magic Kingdom has so many great attractions for the little ones that one day just won’t do it. If time and money allows, I can highly suggest two days in this park to make sure you get to everything on your list.
See the Shows. You’ll want a break from walking around but your little ones are still going to need to be entertained. For this reason, plan to see the SHOWS! The shows in the Disney parks are SO MUCH FUN. Animal Kingdom has especially fantastic performances – they house The Festival of The Lion King and a Finding Nemo show.
Take a Break Day. Disney World doesn’t feel like a vacation because you will be pretty busy going from one thing to the next to make the most out of your money. You are going to get tired. Plan for a BREAK DAY in the middle of your trip to just hang at the resort, sleep in late, hit the pool or the arcade if your hotel has one and regroup. This is also a good day to maybe plan to do Disney Springs for dinner!
Know Your Must-Dos. There’s so much to do at Disney World you won’t be able to experience it all. I think that is by design to keep us all coming back year after year! I highly suggest talking with your party to determine the most important experiences you want to have and building your day around those. For us, it was the Characters and the Magic Kingdom Parade. Having a few must-dos on your list and treating everything else like a bonus is the best way to set yourself up for success on this vacation.
YOU NEED THE STROLLER! We bought a cheap umbrella one that we left in our hotel afterwards since my little guy doesn’t enjoy being in a stroller anymore– but I promise, you will not want to drag or carry your little one all that way. They have strollers available for rent, but my umbrella stroller was easy to fold up on the buses (yup– you need to fold them on the buses but not on the monorail!) and it worked perfectly for us.
Thanks for listening to my Disney rambles! Hope my tips help to make your family have a great time there! But Disney is still a LOT and having someone who can help you with your booking and answer your questions will also make a WORLD of a difference. For my trip, I used Jennifer McCrohan from Never Look Back Vacations and she made booking a breeze! She explained lightning lanes, dining reservations and gave me a TON of helpful tips all along the way. She even helped find me an extra discount! Working with Jen is at NO COST to you– she is paid directly by Disney! For her help, you can contact her at jennifer@neverlookbackvacations.com.
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