Disney Tips

To conclude our Disney posts, I thought it might be helpful to include some of our tips.  These are some things that we have learned in our 2 trips over the last couple of years.

1. Be flexible especially with young children.  I like to keep my girls on a schedule especially when it comes to sleeping.  Before our first trip in July 2011, I worried that 20 month old Brooke would not be able to handle any changes to her schedule.  She did great and even took naps in the stroller.  I was less worried this time with Anna Grace.  She also napped in the stroller.  She really loved staying up later too.  She was always in a great mood and seems to have gotten back on her schedule since we have returned home.

2.  Take your own food if possible.  We only took lunch to the park one day, but tried to eat fast food either before or after our visits on other days.  The food in the parks is ok, but it is just not worth the price in my opinion. 

3.  Don't bother with the park hopper.  We actually have never purchased the park hopper, but I really don't see how or why anyone would want to do this.  Maybe if you are only going to be in Orlando for a couple of days and want to do as much as possible, it is worth it. But if you are going to be in town for 3 days or more, I say stick to one park each day.

4.  Use the fast pass system.  Never wait in line for a ride that has a fast pass available.  Use the single rider line if that is an option. It is amazing how fast those lines move.

5. Don't put off a trip if you think your kids are too young.  Before our first trip, many people told us that we shouldn't go because Brooke was too young and wouldn't enjoy it/remember it.  It is true that she doesn't remember it, but we do like to look at the pictures for that trip and tell her about it.  As far as enjoying it, she had a blast as did Anna Grace this time around.  Now if you think you will only go one time in the next 20 years, you probably do want to wait until your kids are old enough to remember it. 

6. Consider walking from the parking lot to the park.  We noticed a few times that we seemed to be pretty close to the entrance of the park. Instead of waiting on the tram, consider walking to the entrance. This is especially helpful if you have young children in a stroller. It can be a pain to fold up a stroller and get into the tram with it folded up.

7. Decide what to do with your eyes, and not just your smartphone app.   A couple of times we made plans based on what an app told us our wait time would be.  We chose not to do something because it would take too long.   When we actually got to the attraction, the line was not as long as we were led to believe.  By the same token, go to the park YOU want to go to on the day YOU want to.  I think every day was a "red" or extremely busy day at the park we chose to go to.   The crowds and waits were never extreme.

8.  Know your restaurants ahead of time if you don't have reservations.   Our biggest moment of frustration was picking a place to eat Saturday. 

9.  Ask the cast members questions.  We found out about an unscheduled Snow White meet and greet just by asking a photographer.   Found out that Jasmine had a meet and greet scheduled that was not "on the board".   Don't be afraid to ask.

10.  Each park has a "Baby Care Center"    If you have an infant or toddler, know where it is, and use it.   Use it every time you get near it.  Sure you can change in the restrooms, but this is better....WAY better.  It is especially nice if you have more than one child.  We were able to take Anna Grace in to change her diaper and the other girls went in the play room and watched tv.