Walt Disney World is quite possibly the most magical place on the planet and with all the pixie dust floating around it is easy to get distracted. Before you get overwhelmed at the idea of all that Walt Disney World has to offer I suggest taking a deep breath and checking out these tips I shared from our first trip with our kids a couple years back, I used all of these for our trip again this winter and it totally saved my sanity. Here are
Part 1 and
Part 2 of my Walt Disney World tips and resources.
Taking a toddler along this time instead of a focused pregnant woman (I swear the pregnancy hormones give us tunnel vision for some things) meant there was a lot more planning, breaks, and unexpected detours. We learned a couple valuable lessons from our trip and for all the people who keep asking “What are your tips for taking kids to Walt Disney World?” here you go…
1) Staying at a Walt Disney World Resort and using the Dining Plan that allows for table service meals is a great way to meet characters. I booked every one of our table service meals as Character Dining experiences and not only did we get our money’s worth of food (most are buffet or family style meals) we also got to meet 23 different characters without waiting in lines!
2) Plan for down time. Disney Springs, ESPN Wide World of Sports, your hotel pool, and even the various resort properties can be interesting to visit and explore in the public areas. These non-park activities frequently made the list favorite list for our kids.
3) Use planning tools to plan out your days in the parks. Paid services and apps like like Ridemax or TouringPlans.com really can help you avoid crowded days, pick the shortest lines, and make the most of your FastPass picks.
4) If you are searching for the perfect souvenir explore the shops. There is now a Disney Shop Parks app that allows you to purchase park items online but some items still are PARK ONLY so pay attention.
5) Have fun! You’re at the most magical place on earth and with a little positive thinking you can make any experience fun for the family. We turned being unexpectedly drenched in a rain storm into an excuse to have a park photographer take our “totally drenched at Disney” photo and buy souvenir t-shirts.
Any Disney tips that you always share?
the foodie :: carinn is a married to her best friend and is the momma to 2 adventurous daughters and 1 go-with-the-flow son. a night owl in a house of *gasp* morning people she runs on coffee, chocolate, and prayers as she homeschools her children. when not off exploring the mitten state with her family she enjoys books, music, and binge watching shows on netflix. her love of delicious foods and a deep desire to fit into her pants motivates her attempts to keep up with simple mom ginny on fitbit.
Find more of Carinn on her blog, twitter, pinterest, instagram and Google+.
Tamra Phelps
January 19, 2017 at 2:30 pmI would love to see Disney World! I think I would spend all my time at Epcot–trying to convince myself that I really am in all those different countries, & trying lots of foods, lol.
Carinn
January 22, 2017 at 6:34 pmTamra – even my kids love Epcot and after our first trip asked to spend more days there this year! It really is a fun way “experience” all those countries without all that travel! When you make it to Epcot make sure to interact with the Disney cast members in each country, they are actually be from those countries helps to make it feel even more authentic.