Disney We Go!
Going on your first trip with the kids to Disney can be exciting…and overwhelming! Here are four things you’ll want to consider.
My parents did not take my sister and I to Disney until we were both 14 and 17, respectively. We come from a working class family and just having the ability to go to Disney was cherished since our parents worked hard for us to enjoy the moment. We were both excited to go, even at that age, when Google didn’t really exist or Pinterest available to get ideas of what to do - our parents went with no plan in mind. So very early on - we learned to just wing it!
Now, she and I have kids of our own and we have taken many family Disney trips together! We have learned quite a few things with each of our trips and we want to spread that knowledge to others that are preparing for first Disney trip (and hopefully more!).
1. Where to Stay
Whenever we go to Disney in Florida, we ask ourselves a few questions. How many days are we spending in Orlando? Are we looking to get into the Disney parks early? How much time will we spend at Disney Springs? What is our budget? These are questions you should ask yourselves before you decide on where to stay. Take note though…
Early Park Entry and Reservations - If this is important to you and your family, our recommendation is to find hotels within Disney Springs ($$) or Disney Resorts ($$$). By choosing one of these options, you will get a perk of entering parks earlier than general admissions and also, you can get a head start at booking reservations for Bippity Boppity Boutique and restaurants (such as Beauty and the Beast, Cinderella Castle, etc.). Take caution though, booking a hotel in one of these options can be costly - so take your time to research options. We have stayed inside Disney Springs and outside the area as well. Both are great choices - if we were only spending 1 day at a Disney park, we chose to book hotel outside of Disney overall. Anything over 3 days - we opt for Disney Springs area and it works out well every time for us.
2. Which Parks to Go
If you’ve done your research you know there are 4 Disney parks you can choose to spend your time and potentially park hop. Each park will have specialty rides and live entertainment options so you really can’t go wrong. However, in my experience, each one caters to different audiences and interest.
I will tell you that Magic Kingdom was the first Disney park for us and we continue going as adults. But that may not be the case for you! If you have kids under 13, and this is your first time - we highly recommend Magic Kingdom. This is really a one stop shop and better bang for your buck. There are so many rides for kids of all ages and the great part is that adults can enjoy them too. It’s nostalgia of seeing Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, Donald, Daisy, Disney Princesses…(sigh)…it’s happiness and thinking about it just brings back childhood feelings! There are character meet and greets sprinkled through the park - make sure to have your cameras ready!
Disney Hollywood Studios is another great option if you have kids that connect more with Toy Story and Star Wars. They have Toy Story Land (the set is supposed to be Andy’s backyard) where you can ride on Slinky Dog Dash, Toy Story Mania (our favorite because we can be competitive!) and Alien Swirling Saucers. For those that grew up loving Star Wars, there’s the Millennium Falcon and Rise of Resistance rides for you (our husbands enjoyed them both!). Honestly, the aesthetics alone was enough excitement for our kids. However, with my daughter being really young at the time, she only enjoyed Toy Story Land. Like anything in life, it’s dependent on personal preference.
If you are more into animals and nature, Disney Animal Kingdom is the place for you. We went for the first time last year and didn’t know what to expect. My daughter can be skittish about animals and extremely loud noises, but I gotta tell ya - she had an absolute great time on the Kilimanjaro safari ride and Na’vi River ride. Other notable mention, Avatar Flight of Passage was a favorite for my older niece and nephew - however, be ready to stand in a very long line (unless you bought a fast pass) during peak season - they waited for 2 hours to ride the attraction. In addition, there are great shows as well! Our family enjoyed “It’s Tough to be a Bug” and the Lion King Show - both lively and entertaining. Be warned (SPOILER ALERT) - “It’s Tough to be a Bug” has a moment in the show where it gets pitched black. I can’t tell you how many kids started crying and parents having to carry them out. If you have a little one that doesn’t like loud noise and dark room, this may not be for them. Overall, a good park to go to if you want a more relaxing day.
At last, we have Epcot. I will say this park can be a hit or miss, depending on who you go with to enjoy. My husband and I took our daughter, then 5, to Epcot just to check out what it was all about since we have never been. My sister did warn me that it’s not as ‘magical’ as Magic Kingdom, but still interesting to visit. It was definitely a different ambiance but we still found some joy out of the experience as we got to ride Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure, Frozen Ever After, The Seas with Nemo & Friends to name a few. I was really looking forward to trying all the foods from around the world - however, in our experience since we got to Epcot early, not much was offered in the morning. We had to wait until noon before foods were really prepared but by that time, we didn’t want to walk all the way back and stand in line for food. So time yourselves if you’re thinking about Epcot.
3. What to Bring or Buy Leading Up to the Trip
Our trips consists of three women (my sister, my mom and me!), two men (our husbands), and four kids (ranging 3 - 15 years old). It’s important to note the ratio of adults and children - when we buy things, it ranges for everyone. To break up the categories, here’s what I focused on when making purchases a) necessary/efficient travel items, b) items to mark the occasion special, and c) items that will be helpful at the park.
Here are a few things I have bought ahead of our trips and has served us well:
Ponchos - we always travel with ponchos for just in case moments. We found that if we bought these in Florida or at the parks, they can be expensive.
Snack Organizer (great for little ones) - This helped with plane and car rides. I bought two of these, one for my daughter and toddler nephew, and packed them in their backpacks. It was organized and we didn’t waste money on buying snacks along the way. We just packed them with dry snack and chocolate (for special treat).
Hand-held fans - This came in clutch during hot summers at the park! The one I bought no longer exists but this was the closest I could find.
Cooling towels - For the adults in the group, these cooling towels were a must in hot weather. It helped us cool down while still finding the energy to make it through the day.
Packing cubes - When I started traveling with our daughter, I made sure I was using packing cubes (the ones I have are currently unavailable but these looked the same) and ziplock bags. This helped me stay organize and also helps my husband easily find what is where. Double win for me! If you have little ones, the best packing advice is labeling gallon ziplock bags for each day of your trip (for instance, if we were going to Disney Monday thru Thursday, I would have a bag labeled for Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday). In each ziplock bag, I’ll layout outfits and under garments for each day, fold and lay them flat in the bag, roll the bag to press all the air out and then seal. After sealing, you’ll unroll the bag and it’s almost like you’re creating your own vacuum seal but by hand! After I do this, I place them all into the packing cube. While we are on the trip, I use the same ziplock bags to put the dirty clothes back in so it doesn’t get mixed with the clean stuff.
For the girls, we got these cute Disney-like scrunchies that replaces our Mickey ears (as sometimes it can hurt our head)s. They are comfortable and really cute to wear in a baseball cap as well!
TIP: Sunscreen, travel shampoo, and other hygienic items - we buy in Florida so it doesn’t take up space in our luggage and we can dispose of them at the end of the trip. We opted out of lugging items that add weight to our bags during the flight. If you’re able to as well - we would suggest the same, unless you have special, medically needed items.
4. Quick Tips and Tricks
My sister is the guru when it comes to planning out our Disney trips. We call her the Itinerarian and I’ve learned a few things from her. First, she mapped out each park and what each park had to offer. She accounts for how many people we have in our party, time it takes to ride attraction, show times and most importantly, wonderful food options! She maps out how we can best utilize our time and ensure we get to see and/or ride as much attraction we can before the park closes. Unfortunately, we tend to only go during peak season - so having an Itinerarian is fantastic! Now - to help with her planning, we do get Genie+/Fast Past options as part of our ticket (especially Magic Kingdom). If used well, you can maximize how you use it and not feel like you’re always standing in line. Note: we only purchased Genie+/Fast Past for Magic Kingdom as we felt it had the most attraction we wanted to enjoy. It will be up to you and your party on whether it is worth buying the fast pass as it’s additional cost on top of your admissions. Second, she makes a list of all the food options and asks for input on anything we feel is a must to eat/try. We are a foodie family so this is a must for us to review. Realistically - there are tons to choose from but the goal is to narrow down the list to 3 must haves and a few nice to have/alternatives. However, one food item that is a staple - DOLE WHIP. No matter what we chose, Dole Whip is a gimme.
The most important thing to remember is HAVE FUN. While you want to make sure you hit up everything, you don’t want to miss out on the memories you make with your loved ones. Stay in the moment! Watching the smile on my daughter’s face is priceless - no matter how long we stand in line or deal with crowds…watching her enjoy Disney will always be worth it!
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