#1 - I needed help when planning. Disney is amazing but there are so many places to go, things to do, places to stay, eat, etc... I didn't really know where to start. Then my friend Erin suggested that I get in touch with Mindy. This, my friends, was the biggest and best thing that I did when making our Disney plans. Mindy is a vacation planner (who loves Disney) and helped me so, so, so, so, so much! She had so many tips and helped me think about things that I would have never even thought of. She also made all of our reservations and took care of us completely! She helped make our planning so easy. I really could not have done it all without her. If you are thinking of going to Disney (or I believe that she does other vacation planning also) GIVE HER A CALL!!!! You will thank me, I promise. (THANK YOU, Mindy for everything you did for us!)
Mindy Horner
Mindy@PixieVacations.com
704-989-6025
AllMouseAllTheTime.com
#2 - Food
Yes, you can take snacks into Disney. We took 1 bag that had waters, Diet Cokes, Juice boxes, and Disney themed snacks. Yes, I got everything Disney themed. Juice boxes, fruit snacks, cheeze its... I found them all at the grocery store before hand and my girls loved having Princess, Mickey, or Toy Story stuff that I didn't have to buy. My aunt and uncle had also gone on a Disney cruise a few weeks before and had some left over pretzels and Mickey "goldfish" that they sent. And I made Mickey shaped chocolate chip cookies and put oreos into the shape of Mickey using 1 double stuf oreo and 2 mini bite sized oreos. My girls loved those.
I would suggest that you get the Dining Plan. It was so easy to use and we always had more than enough food to eat! We did not go hungry at all and I believe the plan really did save us money. When it comes to restaurants, there are a ton of great places. And I only had 1 burger the whole time we were there. There are plenty of options.
#3- Our hotel.
We stayed at the Pop Century. We picked it because it looked like a lot of fun for kids. Plus, the price was good and we figured that we really would just be sleeping at the hotel, so as much as I would love to stay at The Grand Floridian or another fancy resort, the value resort worked great for our needs and our budget. I would stay there again. Every section is themed after a different century. We stayed in the 90s section. There was a big poster of Ariel in our room (which came out in the 90s) so Alyse was thrilled. The only tip that I would have about this resort is know that at every park it was the farthest away bus pick up. Josh and I started laughing about it every night when we went to get on the bus. Part of me was thinking, "We have walked all day. No big deal to keep walking." The other part of me was thinking, "Good Lord! Why do we always have to walk to the farthest bus pick up?! I'm tired!"
#4 - Shoes/clothes
This was a huge stress for me. I am not a sneakers/tennis shoes kind of girl. I also didn't want to wear flip flops around the whole time. I settled on buying some Toms. I was excited. Then I saw these Puma ballet flats. I bought them both. The first day I wore the Pumas, and my feet were good. The next day I wore the Pumas again. My feet were KILLING me! I was in a lot of pain and by the end of the day I told Josh that he was going to need to push the stroller and carry me at the same time because I wasn't sure I could make it. The next 2 days I wore my Toms. They were great. Very comfy!
The weather while we were there was nice. The first day was kinda over cast, breezy, perfect. I wore a skort thingy, a tank top, and a light cardigan. It was perfect. The second day was the hottest. I wore a sundress and another light cardi. I ended up taking the cardigan on and off a few times. The 3rd day I again wore a sundress and light cardigan. It was a little cooler than the day before but still warm. However, both days I was glad I had a cardi for when we were inside and at night. The last day it rained. Again, I was glad I had that light cardi, but I am a girl who wears one almost daily. All that to say I guess dress in comfy layers.
The girls clothes were easy. I ordered 3 shirts for them online. Look on Etsy and I am sure you can find cute Disney clothes. Again I made a few outfits for them:
#5 - We decided because of our girls age that this trip would be all about the characters. There are so many rides and fun things, but we knew that Breeley would not be big enough for a lot of them, and Alyse may not be either (Space Mountain, Soarin', Test Track, etc.) Since my parents were with us we did get to go on a few rides with just Alyse and by ourselves, but we knew that we would save the rides for another trip when they were bigger. Of course we hit the traditional rides (Tea Cups, Dumbo, Small World... there are a ton that "babies" can ride!) but we thought that characters were going to be a great option for us. They love Princesses, Mickey, and everyone at this stage in life. Now, the character lines take forever! There were some we didn't even get to stand in because they closed them. Characters took a lot of our time. (Josh was not always thrilled about this.) If you want to see characters, meals are a great way to go. (We had dinner with Pooh and friends, breakfast with Mickey and friends, and lunch with Princesses.) But you aren't going to get to see everyone.
For autograph books, I made them myself. I bought the books at Hobby Lobby and bought scrap booking stickers to decorate. I kinda wish they had more pages. The plan was going to be to put pictures by the autographs but there is not enough room for that. I am going to have to get new photo albums for them too.
#6- Entertaining children. I was worried about standing in line with the girls and bought bubbles, those travel activity pads that have 1 invisible ink marker (I got them at Cracker Barrel) and also notepads with pens. For night time I took glow sticks from the Dollar Store. My girls aren't really into it, but I saw a lot of kids playing with games on phones while we stood in line. The lines really were not bad! They moved fast. A lot had TVs or activities to do. Lines really were not a problem at all. Breeley did like to color but Alyse was fine just people watching.
#7 - Stroller - We decided to take our own and not rent. The stroller stayed parked a lot of the time, but I was still glad we had it. The girls got right in it to get some shade and rest. Plus we held them a lot in lines so it was nice for Josh and I to have a break from holding them. Plus isn't a stroller always wonderful to hold all your stuff!!! I had a little cross body bag (Alyse calls it my "satchel" like Flynn Ryder) that I carried with me. It had our camera, sunglasses, and important stuff in it. The rest we always left on the stroller and it was fine.
#8 - Spending. Yes, there is a lot you can buy, and trust me I could have spent a lot of money. Josh and I made a plan before we went. Mickey ears and 1 gift per child, and Christmas ornaments for me. Plus we got 3 gifts. We also decided what days we were going to buy stuff so that we did not have to carry them around the whole time.
#9 - Photo Pass. Yes, we bought it. While we were there it was great cause there was always a back up camera for me and I got to be in some pictures. Plus the photos are probably a better quality than mine.
#10 - Just relax and enjoy it! At first I was worried about Breeley not napping. And what about this that we didn't get to go do or see?! Then I remembered it was all about the fun and memories and I needed to enjoy what we did get to do. The girls won't know if we missed this show or didn't get to ride that ride. That was very important to me. Josh and I were relaxed and just took it all in. There really wasn't any fussing, fighting, or rushing. We just enjoyed every minute.
1 comment:
I will be referencing this post in the future! We are planning a small trip next March there, mainly due to ages of the girls, then go back some day and do the rest. Awesome tips, thanks!!
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