3 of the 6 cucumbers we've harvested since returning from Disney!
Too bad their size makes them a little bitter (we're trying to pluck subsequent growth quicker!)
Tuesday, June 30, 2015
Sunday, June 28, 2015
SLIDING REQUIRES SNACK BREAKS
Enjoying an interesting snack (giant block of sharp cheddar) because mama packed it and nobody else claimed it... Then back to swimming! Big boy conquered the slides at the YMCA outdoor pool today - and once he did, he didn't stop! He's so proud of himself, and Cora cheered him on every single time (until she moved on from the slides and got in line for the diving board - convincing James to join her over there is her next goal...) All that climbing (it's not stairs, but rather widely spaced platforms) wore him out! It's amazing he had any energy left to Skype with PawPaw this evening, let alone act as wild and crazy as he (and Cora) did - good thing PawPaw was amused!
Saturday, June 27, 2015
BIRTHDAY DUOS
We attended a TMNT birthday celebration for Mason (and Gage!) this morning! It was held at their church, which has a huge gym filled with a climbing walls, swing scooters, basketball hoops, and today, a giant bouncy slide. The kids had a great time and I got to see lots of mamas (and daddies) that I know, but don't usually get to hang out with. Fun for all! And the cake was delicious...
This was her first visit being able to reach the top of the wall!
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| Pretty sure, other than the boys' cousin and her friend, and our friend's daughter Autumn (also going into kindergarten this fall), James and Cora were the oldest of the group and set plenty of bad examples for the younger crowd (and there was quite the crowd - probably 2 dozen kids!) |
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| When you turn 4, it's time to start the Lego addiction! |
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| Mason and Gage blowing out their birthday candles! 4-years-old! |
After the boys' party, we went home to rest for a couple hours (and for me to prepare dinner for my boss' family - his wife had hip surgery just before we left for vacation), then headed out to the YMCA for Destiny's Elsa-themed swim party. Destiny is Cora's newest best friend (from Daycamp). It was a small crowd, and mostly family, so we were glad we went. All the parents and grandparents watched the swimming festivities through the windows while Jay and I entertained all the kids with games of sharks and mermaids. We were totally spent by the end, but it was fun!
Tuesday, June 23, 2015
DISNEY PLANNING TIPS
Planning our Disney trip was almost as much fun as going! Since I harassed everyone I know who had been to Disney this year prior to going ourselves (and there were a LOT of families!) and appreciated all of their advice, I figured I would compile it all here (plus our own tips and opinions) for anyone planning a future trip!
Team Lindsay's Disney Planning Tips
1. Get yourself a travel agent, AKA a Disney Concierge, before you do anything else.
It is FREE to you (Disney pays them, so you don't have to) and they make trip planning so much easier! There is no better person to give you specific recommendations for your family (based on the number and ages of your kids, what your ride style preferences are, what type of food you like to eat, which shows might appeal most to your crowd, etc.) because they travel to Disney often (so they have lots of first-hand experience) and they have all the inside info (they have access to websites and other resources that the general public does not).
Disney has changed over the years and you can now reserve almost everything in advance, but those reservation types (meals at restaurants, FastPasses for rides, appointments at the barber shop, etc.) each open up to you on different dates (a certain number of days prior to your scheduled arrival) and it can be difficult to keep track of when you can start making the different reservations. Your Disney Concierge knows all these things and tracks them for you meticulously, and will send you warnings ahead of time that you need to tie down your choices and let them know all your preferences, and then they sit at their computer and make the reservations for you. Why is that important? Because there are probably thousands of people online at the same time, all vying for the dinner reservation or FastPass time slot that you want. Your Disney Concierge lists out everything you want for each day and park, and what time/order you hope to do it in, and as soon as the reservation making window opens - BAM! - they've got you booked.
Then they mail you daily itineraries complete with walking maps to get you through your day as smoothly as possible, even listing rides that you don't want to miss, but don't have a FastPass for (since you can only reserve 3 FastPasses/day ahead of time), showing you the estimated wait times for each ride (based on the time of year you are visiting), duration of the ride, and how long it takes to walk from point A to point B, so that you don't waste any time (Jay loves this because he is famous for having a "method to his madness" when it comes to running errands around town - minimizing drive time and distance!) I must admit though, I changed the plans that our Disney Concierge sent us just a little bit... I'm just OCD enough that I wanted total control, so I dropped a few rides that I knew we wouldn't do (like the Mad Hatter Teacups and most of the "virtual reality" rides, which make Jay and I nauseous), gave us more time for lollygagging/sightseeing between rides (her itineraries were really down to the minute, so I tried to space things to every quarter hour, but at least rounded to the nearest 5), and rearranged the order a bit to further minimize our walking mileage (we spent 3 different days in the Magic Kingdom, and focused on specific sections each day, rather than crossing the entire park to visit all the lands in a single day). We didn't stick to the schedules exactly, but it really helped to know when our FastPass and other reservations were scheduled, and which rides were nearest to them, so we could check current wait times and jump in wherever we could best maximize our time riding/viewing attractions and minimize time spent in lines.
Your Disney Concierge will also know which rides will be closed for renovations during your visit (Disney is constantly updating their attractions, so there is always something closed - we missed Pirate's of the Caribbean and Maelstrom for that reason, much to our disappointment, but we were prepared ahead of time, so we were able to warn the kids).
One other perk is that the Disney Concierge can (try to) get you into your resort earlier than the standard check-in time (our room was unavailable early, unfortunately), and they have local connections that can deliver anything you need (we didn't need anything, but it was nice that it was offered to us!)
Our Disney Concierge (Tammy Cypher, Fairy Tale Concierge) is a friend-of-a-friend and I couldn't be more pleased with the time and attention she gave our family. We talked on the phone once when I originally booked our lodging, to discuss my family's general interests and preferences - to give her an idea of which rides/shows/restaurants she should recommend as we moved forward (because honestly, the Disney parks are HUGE and there are a LOT of choices - too much really, even for an intensive researcher such as myself). After that, we emailed weekly (sometimes daily leading up to reservation openings) to pull the trip together on paper, down to the hour (you know how I love a good itinerary, so this completely thrilled me!) - and if I emailed her, I was pretty much guaranteed a reply in the next 30 minutes (it's nice to feel important and valued as a customer!) Not only did she get us into everything that we REALLY wanted for our trip, she did it with genuine enthusiasm and excitement for us, and went above and beyond to ensure that Cora's birthday was filled with all the magic Disney has to offer.
It is FREE to you (Disney pays them, so you don't have to) and they make trip planning so much easier! There is no better person to give you specific recommendations for your family (based on the number and ages of your kids, what your ride style preferences are, what type of food you like to eat, which shows might appeal most to your crowd, etc.) because they travel to Disney often (so they have lots of first-hand experience) and they have all the inside info (they have access to websites and other resources that the general public does not).
Disney has changed over the years and you can now reserve almost everything in advance, but those reservation types (meals at restaurants, FastPasses for rides, appointments at the barber shop, etc.) each open up to you on different dates (a certain number of days prior to your scheduled arrival) and it can be difficult to keep track of when you can start making the different reservations. Your Disney Concierge knows all these things and tracks them for you meticulously, and will send you warnings ahead of time that you need to tie down your choices and let them know all your preferences, and then they sit at their computer and make the reservations for you. Why is that important? Because there are probably thousands of people online at the same time, all vying for the dinner reservation or FastPass time slot that you want. Your Disney Concierge lists out everything you want for each day and park, and what time/order you hope to do it in, and as soon as the reservation making window opens - BAM! - they've got you booked.
Then they mail you daily itineraries complete with walking maps to get you through your day as smoothly as possible, even listing rides that you don't want to miss, but don't have a FastPass for (since you can only reserve 3 FastPasses/day ahead of time), showing you the estimated wait times for each ride (based on the time of year you are visiting), duration of the ride, and how long it takes to walk from point A to point B, so that you don't waste any time (Jay loves this because he is famous for having a "method to his madness" when it comes to running errands around town - minimizing drive time and distance!) I must admit though, I changed the plans that our Disney Concierge sent us just a little bit... I'm just OCD enough that I wanted total control, so I dropped a few rides that I knew we wouldn't do (like the Mad Hatter Teacups and most of the "virtual reality" rides, which make Jay and I nauseous), gave us more time for lollygagging/sightseeing between rides (her itineraries were really down to the minute, so I tried to space things to every quarter hour, but at least rounded to the nearest 5), and rearranged the order a bit to further minimize our walking mileage (we spent 3 different days in the Magic Kingdom, and focused on specific sections each day, rather than crossing the entire park to visit all the lands in a single day). We didn't stick to the schedules exactly, but it really helped to know when our FastPass and other reservations were scheduled, and which rides were nearest to them, so we could check current wait times and jump in wherever we could best maximize our time riding/viewing attractions and minimize time spent in lines.
Your Disney Concierge will also know which rides will be closed for renovations during your visit (Disney is constantly updating their attractions, so there is always something closed - we missed Pirate's of the Caribbean and Maelstrom for that reason, much to our disappointment, but we were prepared ahead of time, so we were able to warn the kids).
One other perk is that the Disney Concierge can (try to) get you into your resort earlier than the standard check-in time (our room was unavailable early, unfortunately), and they have local connections that can deliver anything you need (we didn't need anything, but it was nice that it was offered to us!)
Our Disney Concierge (Tammy Cypher, Fairy Tale Concierge) is a friend-of-a-friend and I couldn't be more pleased with the time and attention she gave our family. We talked on the phone once when I originally booked our lodging, to discuss my family's general interests and preferences - to give her an idea of which rides/shows/restaurants she should recommend as we moved forward (because honestly, the Disney parks are HUGE and there are a LOT of choices - too much really, even for an intensive researcher such as myself). After that, we emailed weekly (sometimes daily leading up to reservation openings) to pull the trip together on paper, down to the hour (you know how I love a good itinerary, so this completely thrilled me!) - and if I emailed her, I was pretty much guaranteed a reply in the next 30 minutes (it's nice to feel important and valued as a customer!) Not only did she get us into everything that we REALLY wanted for our trip, she did it with genuine enthusiasm and excitement for us, and went above and beyond to ensure that Cora's birthday was filled with all the magic Disney has to offer.
2. Explore all possible offers/deals before you book. Your Disney Concierge will know what is available and when (off-season offers!), and what you qualify for, but you can easily do an online search to get yourself started. I have seen percentage discounts on lodging, free Disney Dining Plan added to lodging, cheaper tickets for Florida residents and military personnel, and more. We chose to use Jean's military discount because that gave us the best overall savings. As a military spouse, she qualified for discounted lodging and meal plans that our Disney Concierge was able to book for us (they just call a Disney military rep to confirm rates before taking your deposit), and she was able to purchase all our park tickets on base (both for Disney and Legoland) at almost half off the regular price. Another option for us (as Army Civilians), had we not had our hearts set on staying at the Animal Kingdom Lodge, would have been to book through the Armed Forces Vacation Club (and stay off site at a greatly reduced rate) or stay at the Shades of Green Resort (where we could also have purchased discounted park tickets at close to the same price that Jean secured). When we do this trip again (years down the road, when the kids are older and taller and less easily exhausted - we purposely kept our Disney trip on the shorter side this time around for this reason), we will likely use one of these options to reduce our lodging costs so that we can spend more days at the parks (and visit other local parks, like Universal Studios to see HARRY POTTER land!) and schedule in a rest day at the resort halfway through (since our kids loved swimming at the resort each night just as much as they liked the parks - and yes, we let them swim every night, even if we didn't get back to the resort until 10:00pm...)
3. If you are staying at a Disney resort, get the Disney Dining Plan - it makes meals easier and faster (reservations vs. having to wait for tables!) and opens up opportunities that you likely wouldn't have otherwise (such as the coveted lunch seating at Be Our Guest and the princess character dinners). We were perfectly happy with our meal plan. We did the mid-range plan, which provided one "Quick Service" meal (so we could keep our lunches to 30-45 minutes), one snack (available at many places throughout each park), one sit-down meal (reservations were for a 1-hour block of time), and unlimited drink refills at the resort. We estimate that our food cost would have been at least $350/day for the five of us, with the reservations we had made (the sit down meals totaled $180-230 before tip and the Quick Service meals were near $75! - you get to see what the actual price would be on your receipt before you cash in your dining credits) and the snacks we indulged in at each park. Considering what we paid for our lodging and meal plan combination, we definitely saved money on food (while enjoying some really wonderful meals, which we otherwise would not have experienced). Speaking of reservations, we chose to do 2 character meals (out of the 4 sit-down meals, because us adults figured that was plenty, but it turned out that our last dinner was a buffet-style character meal as well, so we ended up with 3 total): the princess dinner at Akershus Royal Banquet Hall (Norway, Epcot) and the Mickey and Friends dinner at Tusker House (Africa, Animal Kingdom), then the Hundred-Acre Wood characters at The Crystal Palace (Main Street, Magic Kingdom). The kids loved them, so they were worth it, but for me personally it was a once-and-done experience (I think/hope, since they are more time-consuming, and disruptive enough that kids who already struggle with eating well do even worse...)
One of our Quick Service meals was lunch at Be Our Guest in Fantasyland in the Magic Kingdom on Cora's birthday. It's the only restaurant that allows reservations for Quick Service, and our Disney Concierge was up extremely early the morning they first started offering the reservations to ensure our birthday girl could dine in Beast's Castle! We were even able to pre-order our meal there, to further save time during our first (and busiest) day at Disney.
Our Disney Concierge also gave us some great time and money saving tips in regard to the dining plan... We grabbed bottled drinks with meals when possible (to save for later while walking the parks, and just drank water with our meal), used the travel mugs at the hotel while swimming and eating breakfast (FREE refills on fountain drinks and coffee), saved credits here and there by having the kids split meals (all meals were huge, and included entree, dessert, and drink, and most Quick Service restaurants allowed kids to order from the adult menu anyway, which had even larger portions), and then used our "extra" (leftover) credits on our last day to bring home some special snacks and treats (more cotton candy - hooray!) Disney recently changed the rules on Quick Service credits too, so you can now get 3 snacks instead of a meal, if you prefer (which is really nice, because Disney's definition of a snack is very loose, and includes things like muffins and bagels, ice cream and frozen lemonade, fancy candy from the stores, you name it).
When we do this trip again in the future, we will likely get just the Quick Service plan and skip the Table Service meals. They were great (and we got our money's worth - steak and lobster!), but there were a lot of buffet-style meals and the character meals required a lot of waiting and watching for characters to visit the table. Not to mention, tips are NOT included in your dining plan, so we had to tack on $30-40 for each Table Service meal, which added up to almost $150 after our 4 dinners were complete. Since we've now "been there, done that" (and because the kids will be at least a couple years older next time we go), we don't have to do the character meals again (if they really want to meet a certain character, we'll get a FastPass for a meet and greet, which we skipped all together this time around in favor of using our FastPasses for rides and shows). My plan would be to use Quick Service credits for all but one dinner, and pay out of pocket for one fancy meal (Coral Reef had the BEST food we had our entire trip, and we'd love to try one of the other nice restaurants next time - either at Epcot, where amazing food is around every corner, or at one of the resorts, like The Polynesian Resort, where we couldn't score reservations to Ohana this time around). You get enough credits for one lunch, one dinner, and one snack each day, and since we used one set of credits our first night there at the resort, we were lacking in credits for lunch on our last day. Not a big deal, but it would be nice to plan for that (hence the nice dinner out paid via cash). We were warned prior to our trip that we'd be eating a LOT of food and would have tons of credits to spare at the end, but we really didn't (have tons of credits to spare, that is - we ate plenty of good food!) Maybe we didn't split enough Quick Service credits for the kids, since we often ordered them each a kid meal (because whatever menu we were looking at had better options for the kids under the kid menu - which does not provide enough calories for two children burning tons of energy all day long). Regardless, it was well worth the money spent (and saved!) and I recommend the Dining Plan to everyone!
4. Sign up for My Disney Experience (pretty much required if you stay at a resort, but convenient regardless!) to easily track your lodging, restaurant, and FastPass+ reservations. Military theme park tickets can now be linked to your Magic Bands, and I can't tell you how nice it is to have everything stored in one location to refer to (there is an app that goes along with the website, so you can access it while you're in the parks). You can even add things like parades, fireworks, and shows that you don't have FastPasses for, just so you can plan your day around them and not miss them.
5. Bring (or rent) a stroller if your kids are 8 and under. The Disney parks are enormous and kids have much shorter legs than us adults - thus, they get tired faster, and they whine a lot louder! Rather than rent a double stroller there, we brought our lightweight Maclaren single umbrella stroller and the kids took turns riding as needed (and occasionally sat on each others laps so that they could both ride). James is FAR too heavy for us to carry (for very long, anyway) and Cora isn't far behind him... There are guarded parking areas for strollers at rides, so your stroller and anything in it is safe. Because of this, we were able to stuff the bulkier items (sweatshirts for the kids for during shows in air conditioned buildings - not that we needed them!, a small cooler for extra snacks and drinks, sunblock, and insulated, well-sealing water bottles - don't bother bringing your Disney travel mugs into the parks - any vendor will give you a cup of ice water free regardless and they leak!) beneath the seat. This helped keep the stroller upright when the kids weren't in it, and made it possible for Jean and I to each just carry a small bag with our valuables (cameras, phones, portable charger, Advil, the kids' spending money, and her Epi pen!) rather than cart around a large backpack (we kept our small bags with us - we didn't leave them in the stroller). Bring an empty foldable/packable bag to throw all that "bottom of the stroller" stuff into as you get onto buses/trams/trains and before you get in line at bag check prior to entering each park. It's a pain to carry those items separately, and I was glad I had a bag to stuff it all into temporarily during those times. Note: as long as the monorail isn't overly crowded, you can leave your kid(s) in the stroller and not have to fold it up (Cora even napped in it during one ride between parks - it was great!) Another good item to bring is a carabiner (or two) to attach bags to the stroller handles. You just never know, and they're easy enough to clip on there - we used one the first day to clip Cora's Maleficent costume to the back of the stroller in a packing cube, so it wouldn't get too wrinkled.
Bringing some small candy items (for example, suckers and candy bracelets, which kept the kids happy and quieter during line waits) and a little caffeine (even for the kids) isn't a bad idea either...
6. Magic Bands are not available if you don't stay at a Disney resort, and I loved them so much that I'd want to stay at the resorts again just to have the bands... The Magic Band is waterproof and worn at all times while at Disney (even swimming). It houses all your info (resort ID and room number, credit card information, personal identification - great for potentially wandering/lost kids - restaurant reservations, FastPasses, etc.) so that you can use it to pay for meals and anything else you buy (shopping within the parks and resorts - side note, if you make purchases with your Magic Band, they will DELIVER your items to your resort so that you don't have to carry them around the parks!), as well as get into your room. No need to carry credit cards or cash or room keys, which gives you a lot of peace of mind while you're playing the day away! (And you can turn off purchasing on the kids' bands, just to be safe - the Dining Plan credits the group, not each individual, so you only need one band to "pay" for a meal - which is also nice, so Gramma and the kids can go find a table!)
Our Disney Concierge had us take photos of the inside of each band (showing name and band ID number), in case they got lost. We saved the images to our phones (and emails for backup). Peace of mind. To prevent the kids from losing their bands, you can custom fit them for tiny wrists by removing the gray outer band (that's the Disney way, which is how we did it) or using scissors/nail clippers to shorten the band (our Disney Concierge's way). The bands can also be customized/personalized with buttons (think "Crocs bling") or Sharpie marker or nail polish (whatever you want - Pinterest has MANY ideas), but we didn't bother with any of that. We decided since we all went with blue, we might as well just stick with matching...
7. Get these three awesome Disney apps before you go:
My Disney Experience (which links you to your itinerary and allows you to add more FastPasses as you go through them)
WDW Maps (helps you find your way if you lose your brochure map)
WDW Wait Times (for rides and shows, to estimate whether you have enough time to add things into your day in between FastPasses and restaurant reservations)
Our Disney Concierge told me about them, and they were all worth getting (and FREE!)
Hidden Mickey (an activity to do while waiting in lines to occupy the kids) We didn't get this one because our kids seemed not quite old enough to find the really hard-to-find hidden Mickeys, and they were perfectly happy pointing out Mickey logos that were semi-hidden - not to mention, on their first trip, everything was new and exciting, and we didn't get stuck in any super long lines that required additional entertainment, thanks to our FastPasses and the need to rehydrate and snack - lines were great times for that. (This app is about $8)
8. Get the same effect, but save some money while doing it!
Pre-purchase some things, if you want. For example, the Mouse Ears are cheaper on the Disney Store website than at the park (especially since Cora's were on sale and I found a promo code online), so we bought ours ahead of time. Plus, that way we had them ready for our very first family photo as we entered the Magic Kingdom! Disney princess dresses are cheaper elsewhere (and if you're taking a little girl, you need at least one princess dress or she will feel woefully left out, as costumed girls were EVERYWHERE!)
I also made a list of things we needed before our trip (like new sneakers for everyone to make all the miles easier on our feet) and planned ahead of time when to make each purchase to spread out the cost (since we started planning our trip 6 months in advance, we were able to save smartly and for the first time EVER not need to use credit cards for even a single vacation-related purchase). I was actually pleasantly surprised to check our bank account when we got back to Gramma's house because I had budgeted VERY conservatively for our trip, to ensure we wouldn't be tight OR feel guilty splurging on meals/drinks/snacks/souvenirs/etc., and we only spent about 2/3 of what I had planned for. (Perhaps this debt reduction journey we're on has taught us more than we realized already!)
Another money-saving tip our Disney Concierge told us about is skipping the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique and taking your little princess to the Barber Shop instead. Rather than 30-90 minutes and $100+, you can spend 10 minutes and $18 to get their hair up into a ponytail or pigtails coated in sparkles (and your boy can get a fo-hawk or sparkly spikes - they don't do hair color any more, as we discovered). Honestly, I was warned (by a friend) to just bring my own supplies and do Cora's hair myself, and I should have done that. All my practice at dance recitals means I can do a pretty nice princess bun, and the "glue" and glitter from the Barber Shop was still plastered to Cora's head a week later... Next time I'll just bring a can of spray glitter (and hair gel for James!)
9. Do some training with your kids before you go... We practiced "Disney Dining" (eating our meals without dawdling and complaining, so we could get back to the rides and shows faster), did training walks around our neighborhood (we got up to 2 miles before the trip, which doesn't compare to the 7-10 miles we walked per day, but it helped them learn to stay right with mama and daddy, since we would yell "You're lost! There's 5000 people between us!" if they lagged too far behind or ran ahead - this really worked, as we had almost no problems with the kids wandering out of our immediate sight during the trip), and re-learned "stroller etiquette" (not jumping in or out while it's in motion, or dragging feet on the ground, which hurts whichever adult is pushing it).
10. Dress comfortably. We couldn't fathom why so many people (many younger women) were wearing tight dresses and wedges... We wore wicking clothing (as much as possible) and sneakers. Particularly in the summer, Disney is HOT and HUMID, and EVERYTHING sticks to you and gets soaked in sweat. We walked through every misting station, sent the kids (and us parents) through the splash pads whenever we passed them, and took advantage of the water rides to cool off. Our "running gear" is quick-drying as well as sweat-wicking, so it was perfect. The sneakers recommendation is self explanatory, but when you're on your feet ALL DAY (and it's not just the 7-10 miles of walking, but also all the standing still in lines and awaiting parades and fireworks that really hurts the most), giving yourself some cushioning is crucial (and having some traction is also a good idea, as you're likely to walk across lots of wet sidewalks).
11. Research the scheduled park hours before you go. If you stay at a Disney resort, you get to participate in "Magic Hours" (where certain parks open an hour early or stay open up to three hours late, just for resort guests). This info is good to know especially if you don't purchase the Park Hopper tickets (which allow you to visit multiple parks in the same day, and is how we were able to eat at Epcot multiple times and space out the different "lands" at the Magic Kingdom) because you'll want to know which days to visit each park to maximize your time there (lines for rides are MUCH shorter during Magic Hours). It's also a good idea to know which rides your child(ren) will be allowed to ride, based on height, so that you can easily plan which rides to do (or skip) ahead of time (I'll also post my list of rides that are too scary for little kids below - based on recommendations from many friends and online forums, we didn't even attempt them!)
12. Speaking of the resorts, I highly recommend staying at one - for the convenience of their transportation alone, if nothing else (though there are plenty of great reasons to stay at Disney). Our worst travel delay (and biggest frustration and near heat exhaustion experience) was our final day at the parks, going between Hollywood Studios and Magic Kingdom (long story told earlier in our post for that day, short story that we drove rather than taking a resort bus, since we checked out that morning, and ended up waiting 30 minutes on a broken parking lot tram, 30 minutes on a broken ferry, and then 30 minutes on the monorail). Lesson learned. Take the resort bus. Always. Had we done so, we'd also have been back at our lodge and in our car before we'd even boarded the ferry after the fireworks show that night (there is a mass exodus at the end of the show, so lines for the ferry and monorail are insanely long).
Cora's Top Three
Snacks/Desserts
Red Velvet Cupcake (Starring Roles Cafe, Hollywood Studios)
Dole Whip (Aloha Isle, Adventureland, Magic Kingdom)
Mickey Mouse shaped chocolate-dipped Ice Cream (EVERYWHERE)
Funnel Cake and Nutella Waffle (Sleepy Hollow, Liberty Square, Magic Kingdom)
Chocolate Cake (Main Street Bakery, Magic Kingdom)
Frozen Lemonade (EVERYWHERE)
Cotton Candy (EVERYWHERE)
They Grey Stuff (Be Our Guest, Fantasyland, Magic Kingdom)
Quick Service Meals
Yak and Yeti (Asia, Animal Kingdom)
Peco Bills (Frontierland, Magic Kingdom)
Tortuga Tavern (Adventureland, Magic Kingdom)
Columbia Harbour House (Liberty Square, Magic Kingdom)
Pizza Planet (Streets of America, Hollywood Studios)
*Honestly though, it just depends what you like. The Quick Serve restaurants all seemed to be similar quality to us, so you can either try something new (based on whichever land/country you're visiting - and they all have kid friendly options, even at the more exotic places) or stick with something simple (burgers and pizza are plentiful)
Table Meals
Coral Reef (Future World, Epcot) - best meal we had the whole trip (and the restaurant is gorgeous and entertaining, as there is a wall-to-wall aquarium with sharks and divers)
Be Our Guest (Fantasyland, Magic Kingdom) - we did this as Quick Service lunch and ordered ahead (the food was great and it was fast!), but you can do dinner there too
Akershus (Norway, Epcot) - huge appetizer buffet, your chosen main course, and a dessert plate sampler to share (good food, but probably our most expensive meal)
Crystal Palace (Main Street, Magic Kingdom) - a buffet that was really good!
Ohana (Polynesian Resort) - we couldn't score reservations this time, so we'll be aiming to go there on our next visit! (it's just a quick monorail ride away from the Magic Kingdom) -dinner is a Hawaiian/Polynesian buffet-style meal (items are brought to your table, all you can eat, rather than standing in a buffet line) w/ games for kids
CLOTHING/BATHING
shorts/skorts (we brought pants too, but didn't need them)
dresses/costumes
shirts
sweatshirts (ha - we so did not need these in the Florida summer heat!)
pajamas
swimsuits/cover-ups (bring something you're comfortable walking around the resort in and even ordering meals in, to save time going back and forth to your room to change)
bras/undies/socks
comfy sneakers (two pairs, so you can switch out if one starts to hurt your feet)
Keens/flip-flops (for the pool and waterparks)
belts
toiletries/make-up
brush/hair ties/clips
MISCELLANEOUS
cots/pillows (we brought them for Gramma's house, and one set into the resort, but Gramma ended up sharing the king bed with both kiddos each night)
blankets/lovies
sand toys/trucks (for the beach!)
folding laundry baskets (to reduce hotel clutter: one for lights and one for darks)
ID wristbands for the kids (they have our cell phone numbers on them)
COOLER (for the car and hotel room)
drinks (juice boxes, coconut milk, and beer/wine for the resort to save money)
snacks (midnight snacks and kid favorites to stash in the stroller)
breakfast items (hard boiled eggs, cereal, fruit, yogurt, breakfast sandwiches... we hardly ate any of what we brought, but we should have!)
STROLLER (in the bottom or stash pockets, or on the kids)
kid leashes (borrowed, as a threat to wanderers... we didn't actually use them)
kid sweatshirts (for indoor shows w/ AC... again, we didn't use them)
kid change of clothes (there are splash pads and water rides, but they just air-dried)
wet bag (to store any damp clothing in)
small, collapsible cooler with portioned snacks/juice boxes
water bottles (bring insulated, well-sealing bottles for everyone, especially if you visit during the summer heat!)
sunblock and sun hats (LOTS of sunblock - we reapplied every 2 hours)
disposable ponchos (Florida can get serious afternoon thunderstorms - we would have actually enjoyed one of those, but it remained dry and sunny for us...)
BodyGlide (hot and humid Florida causes chafing if you're not prepared!)
Mouse Ears! (we pre-purchased ours at a discount)
carabiner (to clip things to the stroller - came in handy!)
PARK BAG/BACKPACK (for the ladies - Jay had pockets)
Advil/Epi pen
phones/portable charger
cameras
candy for the kids (so it wasn't too easily accesible to them!)
small brush/hair ties/clips (and sparkly lipgloss for Cora's princess dinner)
glow necklaces/etc. (to save money not buying them on-site during parades)
TOTE BAG (for the car while traveling to and from Disney)
books/small toys
Kindles/LeapPads/Gameboys/games/chargers/batteries
DVD player/DVDs
phone charger
neck pillow
LAPTOP BAG (to take into the hotel)
medicines/thermometer/vitamins
another phone charger (in case the others get lost!)
camera chargers
laptop/mouse/cords (to upload photos each night in case cameras got lost...)
RUNNING GEAR (Jay was training for a race during our trip)
running shoes/socks/tanks/shorts
sports bras/undies
visors
GPS watches
BodyGlide
Hydration belt/bottles
In summary, these are the things we will probably do differently next time:
- step down the dining plan to Quick Service only
- choose a less expensive resort (they ALL have pools...)
- skip the character meals (just dp meet and greets for special characters)
- make sure to get FastPasses for the big firework show at Magic Kingdom
- add a rest day at the resort (or at least take two half days there)
- maybe even add midday resort breaks for a couple hours...
- add a trip over to Universal Studios (to visit Diagon Alley instead of Legoland)
- add a day at one of Disney's waterparks (or 1-2 afternoons)
- NOT go in the hot and humid summer months (Oct. and Dec. are best, we hear)
- bring an INSULATED, SEALING water bottle for everyone (free ice water at QS!)
- pose for full family photos with the Disney photograhers
- use the resort transportation until the very end!
And these are the things we wouldn't change:
- using a Disney Concierge to make the reservations and plan it all out
- planning early (AKA making resort reservations at least 6 months in advance)
- staying on site (for the convenience and atmosphere)
- getting the Disney Dining Plan (saves serious money)
- taking advantage of as many FastPasses as you can fit in each day
- taking lots of pictures (of the kids' reactions to things, not the things themselves)
- making itineraries for each day (at least showing reservations and nearby rides)
- bringing the umbrella stroller
- bringing our own candy, extra kid snacks, and cheap glow sticks
- using the apps on our phones (the Maps and Wait Times were especially helpful)
- dressing for comfort, not style (but allow the kids to wear costumes if they want)
- budgeting ahead of time and saving up for the vacation
*Feel free to add your tips in the comments if you have any to share, I missed something, or you disagree and think future Disney-goers need to hear the other side!
One of our Quick Service meals was lunch at Be Our Guest in Fantasyland in the Magic Kingdom on Cora's birthday. It's the only restaurant that allows reservations for Quick Service, and our Disney Concierge was up extremely early the morning they first started offering the reservations to ensure our birthday girl could dine in Beast's Castle! We were even able to pre-order our meal there, to further save time during our first (and busiest) day at Disney.
Our Disney Concierge also gave us some great time and money saving tips in regard to the dining plan... We grabbed bottled drinks with meals when possible (to save for later while walking the parks, and just drank water with our meal), used the travel mugs at the hotel while swimming and eating breakfast (FREE refills on fountain drinks and coffee), saved credits here and there by having the kids split meals (all meals were huge, and included entree, dessert, and drink, and most Quick Service restaurants allowed kids to order from the adult menu anyway, which had even larger portions), and then used our "extra" (leftover) credits on our last day to bring home some special snacks and treats (more cotton candy - hooray!) Disney recently changed the rules on Quick Service credits too, so you can now get 3 snacks instead of a meal, if you prefer (which is really nice, because Disney's definition of a snack is very loose, and includes things like muffins and bagels, ice cream and frozen lemonade, fancy candy from the stores, you name it).
When we do this trip again in the future, we will likely get just the Quick Service plan and skip the Table Service meals. They were great (and we got our money's worth - steak and lobster!), but there were a lot of buffet-style meals and the character meals required a lot of waiting and watching for characters to visit the table. Not to mention, tips are NOT included in your dining plan, so we had to tack on $30-40 for each Table Service meal, which added up to almost $150 after our 4 dinners were complete. Since we've now "been there, done that" (and because the kids will be at least a couple years older next time we go), we don't have to do the character meals again (if they really want to meet a certain character, we'll get a FastPass for a meet and greet, which we skipped all together this time around in favor of using our FastPasses for rides and shows). My plan would be to use Quick Service credits for all but one dinner, and pay out of pocket for one fancy meal (Coral Reef had the BEST food we had our entire trip, and we'd love to try one of the other nice restaurants next time - either at Epcot, where amazing food is around every corner, or at one of the resorts, like The Polynesian Resort, where we couldn't score reservations to Ohana this time around). You get enough credits for one lunch, one dinner, and one snack each day, and since we used one set of credits our first night there at the resort, we were lacking in credits for lunch on our last day. Not a big deal, but it would be nice to plan for that (hence the nice dinner out paid via cash). We were warned prior to our trip that we'd be eating a LOT of food and would have tons of credits to spare at the end, but we really didn't (have tons of credits to spare, that is - we ate plenty of good food!) Maybe we didn't split enough Quick Service credits for the kids, since we often ordered them each a kid meal (because whatever menu we were looking at had better options for the kids under the kid menu - which does not provide enough calories for two children burning tons of energy all day long). Regardless, it was well worth the money spent (and saved!) and I recommend the Dining Plan to everyone!
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| (The kids picked out our characters) |
5. Bring (or rent) a stroller if your kids are 8 and under. The Disney parks are enormous and kids have much shorter legs than us adults - thus, they get tired faster, and they whine a lot louder! Rather than rent a double stroller there, we brought our lightweight Maclaren single umbrella stroller and the kids took turns riding as needed (and occasionally sat on each others laps so that they could both ride). James is FAR too heavy for us to carry (for very long, anyway) and Cora isn't far behind him... There are guarded parking areas for strollers at rides, so your stroller and anything in it is safe. Because of this, we were able to stuff the bulkier items (sweatshirts for the kids for during shows in air conditioned buildings - not that we needed them!, a small cooler for extra snacks and drinks, sunblock, and insulated, well-sealing water bottles - don't bother bringing your Disney travel mugs into the parks - any vendor will give you a cup of ice water free regardless and they leak!) beneath the seat. This helped keep the stroller upright when the kids weren't in it, and made it possible for Jean and I to each just carry a small bag with our valuables (cameras, phones, portable charger, Advil, the kids' spending money, and her Epi pen!) rather than cart around a large backpack (we kept our small bags with us - we didn't leave them in the stroller). Bring an empty foldable/packable bag to throw all that "bottom of the stroller" stuff into as you get onto buses/trams/trains and before you get in line at bag check prior to entering each park. It's a pain to carry those items separately, and I was glad I had a bag to stuff it all into temporarily during those times. Note: as long as the monorail isn't overly crowded, you can leave your kid(s) in the stroller and not have to fold it up (Cora even napped in it during one ride between parks - it was great!) Another good item to bring is a carabiner (or two) to attach bags to the stroller handles. You just never know, and they're easy enough to clip on there - we used one the first day to clip Cora's Maleficent costume to the back of the stroller in a packing cube, so it wouldn't get too wrinkled.
Bringing some small candy items (for example, suckers and candy bracelets, which kept the kids happy and quieter during line waits) and a little caffeine (even for the kids) isn't a bad idea either...
6. Magic Bands are not available if you don't stay at a Disney resort, and I loved them so much that I'd want to stay at the resorts again just to have the bands... The Magic Band is waterproof and worn at all times while at Disney (even swimming). It houses all your info (resort ID and room number, credit card information, personal identification - great for potentially wandering/lost kids - restaurant reservations, FastPasses, etc.) so that you can use it to pay for meals and anything else you buy (shopping within the parks and resorts - side note, if you make purchases with your Magic Band, they will DELIVER your items to your resort so that you don't have to carry them around the parks!), as well as get into your room. No need to carry credit cards or cash or room keys, which gives you a lot of peace of mind while you're playing the day away! (And you can turn off purchasing on the kids' bands, just to be safe - the Dining Plan credits the group, not each individual, so you only need one band to "pay" for a meal - which is also nice, so Gramma and the kids can go find a table!)
Our Disney Concierge had us take photos of the inside of each band (showing name and band ID number), in case they got lost. We saved the images to our phones (and emails for backup). Peace of mind. To prevent the kids from losing their bands, you can custom fit them for tiny wrists by removing the gray outer band (that's the Disney way, which is how we did it) or using scissors/nail clippers to shorten the band (our Disney Concierge's way). The bands can also be customized/personalized with buttons (think "Crocs bling") or Sharpie marker or nail polish (whatever you want - Pinterest has MANY ideas), but we didn't bother with any of that. We decided since we all went with blue, we might as well just stick with matching...
7. Get these three awesome Disney apps before you go:
My Disney Experience (which links you to your itinerary and allows you to add more FastPasses as you go through them)
WDW Maps (helps you find your way if you lose your brochure map)
WDW Wait Times (for rides and shows, to estimate whether you have enough time to add things into your day in between FastPasses and restaurant reservations)
Our Disney Concierge told me about them, and they were all worth getting (and FREE!)
Hidden Mickey (an activity to do while waiting in lines to occupy the kids) We didn't get this one because our kids seemed not quite old enough to find the really hard-to-find hidden Mickeys, and they were perfectly happy pointing out Mickey logos that were semi-hidden - not to mention, on their first trip, everything was new and exciting, and we didn't get stuck in any super long lines that required additional entertainment, thanks to our FastPasses and the need to rehydrate and snack - lines were great times for that. (This app is about $8)
8. Get the same effect, but save some money while doing it!
Pre-purchase some things, if you want. For example, the Mouse Ears are cheaper on the Disney Store website than at the park (especially since Cora's were on sale and I found a promo code online), so we bought ours ahead of time. Plus, that way we had them ready for our very first family photo as we entered the Magic Kingdom! Disney princess dresses are cheaper elsewhere (and if you're taking a little girl, you need at least one princess dress or she will feel woefully left out, as costumed girls were EVERYWHERE!)
I also made a list of things we needed before our trip (like new sneakers for everyone to make all the miles easier on our feet) and planned ahead of time when to make each purchase to spread out the cost (since we started planning our trip 6 months in advance, we were able to save smartly and for the first time EVER not need to use credit cards for even a single vacation-related purchase). I was actually pleasantly surprised to check our bank account when we got back to Gramma's house because I had budgeted VERY conservatively for our trip, to ensure we wouldn't be tight OR feel guilty splurging on meals/drinks/snacks/souvenirs/etc., and we only spent about 2/3 of what I had planned for. (Perhaps this debt reduction journey we're on has taught us more than we realized already!)
Another money-saving tip our Disney Concierge told us about is skipping the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique and taking your little princess to the Barber Shop instead. Rather than 30-90 minutes and $100+, you can spend 10 minutes and $18 to get their hair up into a ponytail or pigtails coated in sparkles (and your boy can get a fo-hawk or sparkly spikes - they don't do hair color any more, as we discovered). Honestly, I was warned (by a friend) to just bring my own supplies and do Cora's hair myself, and I should have done that. All my practice at dance recitals means I can do a pretty nice princess bun, and the "glue" and glitter from the Barber Shop was still plastered to Cora's head a week later... Next time I'll just bring a can of spray glitter (and hair gel for James!)
9. Do some training with your kids before you go... We practiced "Disney Dining" (eating our meals without dawdling and complaining, so we could get back to the rides and shows faster), did training walks around our neighborhood (we got up to 2 miles before the trip, which doesn't compare to the 7-10 miles we walked per day, but it helped them learn to stay right with mama and daddy, since we would yell "You're lost! There's 5000 people between us!" if they lagged too far behind or ran ahead - this really worked, as we had almost no problems with the kids wandering out of our immediate sight during the trip), and re-learned "stroller etiquette" (not jumping in or out while it's in motion, or dragging feet on the ground, which hurts whichever adult is pushing it).
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| "Disney Training" |
10. Dress comfortably. We couldn't fathom why so many people (many younger women) were wearing tight dresses and wedges... We wore wicking clothing (as much as possible) and sneakers. Particularly in the summer, Disney is HOT and HUMID, and EVERYTHING sticks to you and gets soaked in sweat. We walked through every misting station, sent the kids (and us parents) through the splash pads whenever we passed them, and took advantage of the water rides to cool off. Our "running gear" is quick-drying as well as sweat-wicking, so it was perfect. The sneakers recommendation is self explanatory, but when you're on your feet ALL DAY (and it's not just the 7-10 miles of walking, but also all the standing still in lines and awaiting parades and fireworks that really hurts the most), giving yourself some cushioning is crucial (and having some traction is also a good idea, as you're likely to walk across lots of wet sidewalks).
11. Research the scheduled park hours before you go. If you stay at a Disney resort, you get to participate in "Magic Hours" (where certain parks open an hour early or stay open up to three hours late, just for resort guests). This info is good to know especially if you don't purchase the Park Hopper tickets (which allow you to visit multiple parks in the same day, and is how we were able to eat at Epcot multiple times and space out the different "lands" at the Magic Kingdom) because you'll want to know which days to visit each park to maximize your time there (lines for rides are MUCH shorter during Magic Hours). It's also a good idea to know which rides your child(ren) will be allowed to ride, based on height, so that you can easily plan which rides to do (or skip) ahead of time (I'll also post my list of rides that are too scary for little kids below - based on recommendations from many friends and online forums, we didn't even attempt them!)
12. Speaking of the resorts, I highly recommend staying at one - for the convenience of their transportation alone, if nothing else (though there are plenty of great reasons to stay at Disney). Our worst travel delay (and biggest frustration and near heat exhaustion experience) was our final day at the parks, going between Hollywood Studios and Magic Kingdom (long story told earlier in our post for that day, short story that we drove rather than taking a resort bus, since we checked out that morning, and ended up waiting 30 minutes on a broken parking lot tram, 30 minutes on a broken ferry, and then 30 minutes on the monorail). Lesson learned. Take the resort bus. Always. Had we done so, we'd also have been back at our lodge and in our car before we'd even boarded the ferry after the fireworks show that night (there is a mass exodus at the end of the show, so lines for the ferry and monorail are insanely long).
Must-See Attractions
(for the younger crowd!)
(for the younger crowd!)
James' Top Three
Kali River Rapids, Haunted Mansion, and Test Track
Cora's Top Three
Haunted Mansion, Under the Sea, and Peter Pan's Flight
Magic Kingdom
Main Street
Festival of Fantasy Parade, Electrical Parade, Celebrate the Magic Light Show on Cinderella's Castle and Wishes Fireworks, Railroad around the park
Adventureland
Swiss Family Robinson Treehouse, Jungle Cruise, Enchanted Tiki Room, Pirate's of the Caribbean, Pirate School, Aladdin's Magic Carpets (similar to Dumbo, but with a water spitting camel...)
Frontierland
Splash Mountain, Big Thunder Mountain, Tom Sawyer Island, Country Bear Jamboree (for an air conditioned break!)
Liberty Square
Haunted Mansion
Fantasyland
Dumbo, It’s a Small World, Peter Pan, Carousel, Seven Dwarfs Mine Train, Under the Sea, Mickey’s Philharmagic, Barnstormer, Belle's Tales, Meet-and-Greet Gaston
Tomorrowland
Buzz Lightyear, Monster’s Inc. Laugh Floor, Speedway, Astro Orbiter (another ride similar to Dumbo, but in rockets) and the People Mover (James was bummed we missed these)
Things to skip
Stitch's Great Escape (too scary for kids), Teacups (too nauseating), Space Mountain (unless your kids are tall enough AND enjoy true roller coasters)
Animal Kingdom
Kilimanjaro Safari, Rafiki’s Planet, Kali River Rapids, Wildlife Express Train
Trails/Exhibits, Flights of Wonder, Finding Nemo (they have other shows too, like Lion King and Bug's Life), Boneyard Playground
Things to skip
Primeval Whirl (too nauseating), Dinosaur (too bumpy + too scary for kids), Expedition Everest (same reason as Space Mountain)
Epcot
Test Track, Soarin’, Spaceship Earth, The Seas with Nemo, Crush’s talk, Maelstrom (or whatever they replace it with once Norway becomes Arendelle from Frozen...)
Illuminations Fireworks
Passports and Passport Stamps in each country, Beer/Wine tasting in each country (for the adults - or at the very least in Germany!), Buying a Candy Item in each country (for a candy sampling party once you get home - we'll be doing this next time we go!)
Things to skip
Mission Space (too nauseating + too scary for little kids)
Hollywood Studios
Toy Story Midway Mania, Star Tours, Indiana Jones, Frozen Sing-a-long, Car Stunt Show
Jedi Academy (you need to get in the registration line first thing upon opening and secure a spot, since you can't make reservations ahead of time!)
Things to skip
Aerosmith's Rockin' Roller Coaster and Tower of Terror (both for the same reason as Space Mountain, but I would have loved to at least do the roller coaster - maybe next time), Ariel's show was OK (but not great) and we skipped the Disney Junior show
Magic Kingdom
Main Street
Festival of Fantasy Parade, Electrical Parade, Celebrate the Magic Light Show on Cinderella's Castle and Wishes Fireworks, Railroad around the park
Adventureland
Swiss Family Robinson Treehouse, Jungle Cruise, Enchanted Tiki Room, Pirate's of the Caribbean, Pirate School, Aladdin's Magic Carpets (similar to Dumbo, but with a water spitting camel...)
Frontierland
Splash Mountain, Big Thunder Mountain, Tom Sawyer Island, Country Bear Jamboree (for an air conditioned break!)
Liberty Square
Haunted Mansion
Fantasyland
Dumbo, It’s a Small World, Peter Pan, Carousel, Seven Dwarfs Mine Train, Under the Sea, Mickey’s Philharmagic, Barnstormer, Belle's Tales, Meet-and-Greet Gaston
Tomorrowland
Buzz Lightyear, Monster’s Inc. Laugh Floor, Speedway, Astro Orbiter (another ride similar to Dumbo, but in rockets) and the People Mover (James was bummed we missed these)
Things to skip
Stitch's Great Escape (too scary for kids), Teacups (too nauseating), Space Mountain (unless your kids are tall enough AND enjoy true roller coasters)
Animal Kingdom
Kilimanjaro Safari, Rafiki’s Planet, Kali River Rapids, Wildlife Express Train
Trails/Exhibits, Flights of Wonder, Finding Nemo (they have other shows too, like Lion King and Bug's Life), Boneyard Playground
Things to skip
Primeval Whirl (too nauseating), Dinosaur (too bumpy + too scary for kids), Expedition Everest (same reason as Space Mountain)
Epcot
Test Track, Soarin’, Spaceship Earth, The Seas with Nemo, Crush’s talk, Maelstrom (or whatever they replace it with once Norway becomes Arendelle from Frozen...)
Illuminations Fireworks
Passports and Passport Stamps in each country, Beer/Wine tasting in each country (for the adults - or at the very least in Germany!), Buying a Candy Item in each country (for a candy sampling party once you get home - we'll be doing this next time we go!)
Things to skip
Mission Space (too nauseating + too scary for little kids)
Hollywood Studios
Toy Story Midway Mania, Star Tours, Indiana Jones, Frozen Sing-a-long, Car Stunt Show
Jedi Academy (you need to get in the registration line first thing upon opening and secure a spot, since you can't make reservations ahead of time!)
Things to skip
Aerosmith's Rockin' Roller Coaster and Tower of Terror (both for the same reason as Space Mountain, but I would have loved to at least do the roller coaster - maybe next time), Ariel's show was OK (but not great) and we skipped the Disney Junior show
Favorite Foods
(from our experience, and as recommended by friends, if we didn't try them ourselves)
Snacks/Desserts
Red Velvet Cupcake (Starring Roles Cafe, Hollywood Studios)
Dole Whip (Aloha Isle, Adventureland, Magic Kingdom)
Mickey Mouse shaped chocolate-dipped Ice Cream (EVERYWHERE)
Funnel Cake and Nutella Waffle (Sleepy Hollow, Liberty Square, Magic Kingdom)
Chocolate Cake (Main Street Bakery, Magic Kingdom)
Frozen Lemonade (EVERYWHERE)
Cotton Candy (EVERYWHERE)
They Grey Stuff (Be Our Guest, Fantasyland, Magic Kingdom)
Quick Service Meals
Yak and Yeti (Asia, Animal Kingdom)
Peco Bills (Frontierland, Magic Kingdom)
Tortuga Tavern (Adventureland, Magic Kingdom)
Columbia Harbour House (Liberty Square, Magic Kingdom)
Pizza Planet (Streets of America, Hollywood Studios)
*Honestly though, it just depends what you like. The Quick Serve restaurants all seemed to be similar quality to us, so you can either try something new (based on whichever land/country you're visiting - and they all have kid friendly options, even at the more exotic places) or stick with something simple (burgers and pizza are plentiful)
Table Meals
Coral Reef (Future World, Epcot) - best meal we had the whole trip (and the restaurant is gorgeous and entertaining, as there is a wall-to-wall aquarium with sharks and divers)
Be Our Guest (Fantasyland, Magic Kingdom) - we did this as Quick Service lunch and ordered ahead (the food was great and it was fast!), but you can do dinner there too
Akershus (Norway, Epcot) - huge appetizer buffet, your chosen main course, and a dessert plate sampler to share (good food, but probably our most expensive meal)
Crystal Palace (Main Street, Magic Kingdom) - a buffet that was really good!
Ohana (Polynesian Resort) - we couldn't score reservations this time, so we'll be aiming to go there on our next visit! (it's just a quick monorail ride away from the Magic Kingdom) -dinner is a Hawaiian/Polynesian buffet-style meal (items are brought to your table, all you can eat, rather than standing in a buffet line) w/ games for kids
Packing List
CLOTHING/BATHING
shorts/skorts (we brought pants too, but didn't need them)
dresses/costumes
shirts
sweatshirts (ha - we so did not need these in the Florida summer heat!)
pajamas
swimsuits/cover-ups (bring something you're comfortable walking around the resort in and even ordering meals in, to save time going back and forth to your room to change)
bras/undies/socks
comfy sneakers (two pairs, so you can switch out if one starts to hurt your feet)
Keens/flip-flops (for the pool and waterparks)
belts
toiletries/make-up
brush/hair ties/clips
MISCELLANEOUS
cots/pillows (we brought them for Gramma's house, and one set into the resort, but Gramma ended up sharing the king bed with both kiddos each night)
blankets/lovies
sand toys/trucks (for the beach!)
folding laundry baskets (to reduce hotel clutter: one for lights and one for darks)
ID wristbands for the kids (they have our cell phone numbers on them)
COOLER (for the car and hotel room)
drinks (juice boxes, coconut milk, and beer/wine for the resort to save money)
snacks (midnight snacks and kid favorites to stash in the stroller)
breakfast items (hard boiled eggs, cereal, fruit, yogurt, breakfast sandwiches... we hardly ate any of what we brought, but we should have!)
STROLLER (in the bottom or stash pockets, or on the kids)
kid leashes (borrowed, as a threat to wanderers... we didn't actually use them)
kid sweatshirts (for indoor shows w/ AC... again, we didn't use them)
kid change of clothes (there are splash pads and water rides, but they just air-dried)
wet bag (to store any damp clothing in)
small, collapsible cooler with portioned snacks/juice boxes
water bottles (bring insulated, well-sealing bottles for everyone, especially if you visit during the summer heat!)
sunblock and sun hats (LOTS of sunblock - we reapplied every 2 hours)
disposable ponchos (Florida can get serious afternoon thunderstorms - we would have actually enjoyed one of those, but it remained dry and sunny for us...)
BodyGlide (hot and humid Florida causes chafing if you're not prepared!)
Mouse Ears! (we pre-purchased ours at a discount)
carabiner (to clip things to the stroller - came in handy!)
PARK BAG/BACKPACK (for the ladies - Jay had pockets)
Advil/Epi pen
phones/portable charger
cameras
candy for the kids (so it wasn't too easily accesible to them!)
small brush/hair ties/clips (and sparkly lipgloss for Cora's princess dinner)
glow necklaces/etc. (to save money not buying them on-site during parades)
TOTE BAG (for the car while traveling to and from Disney)
books/small toys
Kindles/LeapPads/Gameboys/games/chargers/batteries
DVD player/DVDs
phone charger
neck pillow
LAPTOP BAG (to take into the hotel)
medicines/thermometer/vitamins
another phone charger (in case the others get lost!)
camera chargers
laptop/mouse/cords (to upload photos each night in case cameras got lost...)
RUNNING GEAR (Jay was training for a race during our trip)
running shoes/socks/tanks/shorts
sports bras/undies
visors
GPS watches
BodyGlide
Hydration belt/bottles
In summary, these are the things we will probably do differently next time:
- step down the dining plan to Quick Service only
- choose a less expensive resort (they ALL have pools...)
- skip the character meals (just dp meet and greets for special characters)
- make sure to get FastPasses for the big firework show at Magic Kingdom
- add a rest day at the resort (or at least take two half days there)
- maybe even add midday resort breaks for a couple hours...
- add a trip over to Universal Studios (to visit Diagon Alley instead of Legoland)
- add a day at one of Disney's waterparks (or 1-2 afternoons)
- NOT go in the hot and humid summer months (Oct. and Dec. are best, we hear)
- bring an INSULATED, SEALING water bottle for everyone (free ice water at QS!)
- pose for full family photos with the Disney photograhers
- use the resort transportation until the very end!
And these are the things we wouldn't change:
- using a Disney Concierge to make the reservations and plan it all out
- planning early (AKA making resort reservations at least 6 months in advance)
- staying on site (for the convenience and atmosphere)
- getting the Disney Dining Plan (saves serious money)
- taking advantage of as many FastPasses as you can fit in each day
- taking lots of pictures (of the kids' reactions to things, not the things themselves)
- making itineraries for each day (at least showing reservations and nearby rides)
- bringing the umbrella stroller
- bringing our own candy, extra kid snacks, and cheap glow sticks
- using the apps on our phones (the Maps and Wait Times were especially helpful)
- dressing for comfort, not style (but allow the kids to wear costumes if they want)
- budgeting ahead of time and saving up for the vacation
*Feel free to add your tips in the comments if you have any to share, I missed something, or you disagree and think future Disney-goers need to hear the other side!
Monday, June 22, 2015
Sunday, June 21, 2015
RELAXING AT "OUR BEACH"
When you get home past bedtime, you usually go straight to sleep. After an entire week of theme park venturing, late bedtimes, and no naps, you'd think we'd be carrying sleeping beauties in from the car. But not so much. (Probably because they slept for the 3 hours it took us to get out of Orlando traffic...) Instead, they went hog wild to be back at Gramma's house, pulling out toys and running in circles. We gave them an hour to get the wiggles out, took some photos of their Disney souvenirs, and sent them to bed singing and kicking the walls...
(Yes, they are "on a ride" in that second picture, using the lightsaber as the lap bar...)
Luckily, they slept in. Late. And when we woke up it was a balmy "feels like you're on the sun already at 10:00" kinda day, so we slathered on the sunscreen and hit the beach!
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| (Throwing sand ball "snowballs" at the waves) |
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| Dig this child a hole and she'll happily sit in it forever. Or at least until the waves claim it. |
After a short rest at home and some lunch (and cooling off in the AC), we went back to the beach. Of course! And the tide was way out, so it was like a whole new playground!
After the beach, Gramma ordered pizza for her and the kids, and sent us out on a second date night (bonus!) We went to Tama's for sushi (our favorite local place), bumped into Ryan and Amber (and joined them for a dinner drink at Slider's), then went down to Jax Beach to check out a new brewery (Zeta) and order a sampler (of course!) Afterward we stopped by Rita's for gelato slushes, and that sums up the perfect evening out at the beaches!
The next morning was another glorious sleep-in day! (We thought it was adorable that the kids shared Gramma's recliner, without argument, much of the time we were there.)
Followed by more beach...
Then we had to pack up and head west. We stayed at a hotel halfway home so that Jay (and the rest of us) didn't have to be in the car for 12 hours on Father's Day.
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| Coffee and cake pops for the road. (Don't worry, she's teasing. That cup is actually filled with her Mixels set.) |
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| Thank goodness we bathed them before hitting the road and kept their Keens off... |
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