Our trip is inching closer and closer and I am starting to get that anxious feeling like I have so much to tackle, yet so little time to do it. And yes, that includes stocking up on all the essentials, necessities, matching outfits for the entire fam [because that’s a given, right?!?!] and ensuring I don’t forget a must-have prior to take-off.
So, today… I thought I would post and see what tips, tricks, must-have, necessities, and such have you experienced Disney-goers recommend???? I’m all ears… get it, hahaha đ
And yes, I’ll be sharing all my favorites once we return from our big adventure to make sure you’re in the know of who helped make all our wishes come true… thanks in advance for ALL the help!!
Hi! When we brought our two girls (two years ago) one thing I thought that was really helpful was our suitcase of snacks. I checked one little suitcase of granola bars, pirate booty, goldfish, etc. and before we headed out of the hotel each morning I put a bunch of fresh goodies in our backpack. By the end of the trip the suitcase was empty and I used it to pack all the goodies we bought (i.e. Princess dresses galore) when we were there to bring home. I also kind of felt like it was nice to have those go to snacks that you know they love on hand so that we weren't eating churros around every corner! đ have a safe fun trip.
Emily
Mom to Elle and Isla
We bought our princess dresses ahead of time and took them with us. Saved a ton of money! We also packed comfy shoes to wear with those dresses (with walking, those matching princess shoes can make blisters quickly). Take your own snacks. We took glow sticks, bracelets for evenings to keep track of our minis. Don't forget sunscreen and hats. We made dinner reservations at night – such a relief after a long day to have a quiet place to eat and have dinner served rather than fight food court lines. Epcot has awesome choices! We did park hopper tickets so we could eat there in the evenings. Stay for the fireworks! Use pull-ups for newly potty trained kiddos – if you're standing in line or on a ride, accidents can happen! We put an extra shirt in the stroller basket – we had some big food spills and it was awesome to have those clean shirts handy! Take a stroller. Little legs get tired – plus you have a place to store snacks, hats, purchases, etc and the minis can crash for a quick nap when needed. Comfortable shoes, cannot say that enough. We took backpacks with "leashes" – the kiddos could tote their snacks and with the crowds we could make sure we kept them with us. The minis want to walk but don't want to hold hands. And ours had tendency to dart off when they saw a character…. After a few heart stopping moments, those bags were an awesome way to keep them with us.
Hope y'all have a magical trip!!
Leslie
We rented a double stroller because we don't have one for normal use, and it was the best thing ever. We used Kingdom Strollers, if I remember correctly. When we go again in 2018 we are renting a single because I don't want to have to deal with my stroller getting bumped and smashed all over the place.
We also got a lot of stuff mailed to our room, like bottled water (the baby was 9m and still on formula), protein bars, kids' body wash, diapers and wipes, ponchos, etc. Basically, everything that I knew wasn't coming back with us was sent to the room by Amazon Pantry or Prime.
Bring your own first aid kit for minor bumps and bruises. While Disney has that stuff for you if necessary, you have to go to a certain area, which can be a pain when really all you need is to slap a bandaid on it. It also helped my daughter calm down more easily because she could pick out her favorite princess to sport.
Bring a clicking sharpie for character signatures. It is the easiest for those big Mickey hands to use.
I know y'all will have a wonderful time! I can't wait to see the girls' outfits!
So exciting!! I cannot wait to hear how your trip goes! I live in Orlando and have been going to Disney my whole life (we haven't had passes for 2 year and we're DYING to get them again lol).
It's so incredibly hot right now so make sure to bring lots of cooler clothes. Also drink tons of water – I remember getting very dehydrated when I was a kid and had to miss out on the Beauty and the Beast show lol
I did a Disney how-to post with our tips broken up by park: http://hangingwiththehirsts.blogspot.com/2015/05/how-to-do-walt-disney-world.html
The new downtown Disney area is ah-mazing so be sure to stop by there. Feel free to ask any other questions!
Ah Disney is the BEST!! I did a bunch of posts on planning your Disney trip, but this one is specifically for tips and tricks đ
http://www.thishappylifeblog.com/2016/04/planning-your-disney-world-trip-few.html
We love our Disney trips. Please visit the blog and check out all our trips! We are a Disney family for sure!! Just like any other trips I use large ziplock to keep each day of matching outfits together (including bows). LOL! I pack the tackle box full of snacks for each kid even though we use the meal plan it's nice to have a few extra snacks. We always pack the autograph book in the carry on so we don't have to wait for Magical Express with our luggage if we want to head straight to park. We plan our food around being able to see the characters at the character dinings…it saves A LOT of time in line waiting to see them inside the park. đ Since we stay at different places in the park we are sure to MAKE GOOD use of Magic Hours. We also love doing the breakfast in MK EARLY so they let you in BEFORE the park opens since you have reservations and then you can get a picture in front of the castle with NO ONE else around. (best kept secret) Feel free to send me an e-mail with more questions-I don't claim to be a pro but we have quite a few trips under our belt and the oldest is only 6. LOL!!!
One fun thing we do each time at Disney or on the Disney Cruise, is leave small gifts from different characters in our room with a note. We stock up on these items before we go (a towel for the pool, a stuffed animal, pjs's, etc. Makes even more magic for the little ones!
I have a crazy list of notes in Evernote I can send you but the condensed version is this : We find it more fun to not over plan the whole thing. I do like reservations at least once a day for a nice sit down and recharge meal. I love the buffett restaurants that have characters, like Breakfast at Crystal Palace etc. Park Hopper Tickets are a must, that gives you freedom to move between parks, and pack snacks, water and DEF bring your stroller. It's gonna be so fun! Can't wait to see your pics on Insta!
We're hoping to take our first trip next February, so I'll totally be stealing all this advice and can't wait to hear all of your advice when you get back!!!
yessss! just booked our first trip for February and I can't wait to hear all of these ideas!!!
You guys will have the best time! We're annual pass holders so if you have any questions feel free to email me. General advice – if you're morning people, hit the parks first thing when the lines are shortest and it's not quite as hot. (They start letting people in a bit before the official open time so the earlier the better!) If you're staying on property a mid-day trip back to the hotel for a swim or nap in the heat and most crowded portion of the day is a good plan. Have a great trip!
So helfpful suggestions that I got before our trip last August. We knew that our 7 yo son would want to collect pressed pennies and they have the machines throughout all the parks – before we left home, I stopped by the bank to pick up a few fresh rolls of pennies and rolls of quarters. It made it so easy to use the machines and that way we ensured that our son had bright shiny pennies for his souvenirs. As everyone mentioned, we brought along lots of snacks and bottled water. We also packed ponchos which were a lifesaver one afternoon. Comfy shoes. Mid day plans to head back to the hotel. We also brought along glo sticks for the night time parade. Best of luck and have lots of fun!
The 2 things that I found also very useful were ponchos and the water sprayer fans. These 2 are MUST HAVES!