WOW: WDW

Words of Wisdom: Walt Disney World Edition

Having been to Walt Disney World somewhere around 20 times it is not uncommon for people to ask me for my Disney tips before they plan their trip. I think 9 times out of 10 people ignore my advice, but this doesn't bother me because, hey, it's your money not mine. If you want to go on a once in a lifetime trip to Disney, be my guest. I on the other hand, will enjoy going again and again and again.

So, here is what we do... free advice, take it or leave it:

We Stay in Kissimmee
Hotels in Kissimmee are ridiculously inexpensive. Because of the high concentration of hotels in one small area you can get great deals. They are insanely close to the Disney parks at a fraction of the cost. On our most recent trip we stayed in the Comfort Suites. We stayed in an executive suite which meant we had a small kitchen, living room, two bathrooms, and a bedroom. We were able to stay up late at night playing cards while Carolena slept peacefully in the bedroom. They have an incredible continental breakfast which serves pretty much anything you would ever want for breakfast (waffles topped with fruit and whipped cream! holla!). That meant we went into the parks each morning with a stomach full of free food. You won't get that if you stay on property. 

We go Prepared 
Some things are going to cost and arm and a leg when you get to Florida. Purchase sunscreen, rain gear, toiletries, etc. at home and bring it into the parks. I always bring a water bottle to fill up in the parks. It will be really hot and you aren’t going to want to throw down a few bucks every single time you want a bottle of water. In the summer it rains almost every afternoon and Disney rain ponchos will cost you. Bring your raincoat/umbrella from home.

We Don't Eat Every Meal in the Parks

People are really into the new Disney meal plans. I am opposed to purchasing these for several reasons which I will not fully go into here. Food is one of the reasons we stay in Kissimmee - you have much more choice and freedom if you aren't staying on property. No offense Disney, love you, mwah. That said, we don't get the meal plans. Here is what our eating looks like on a Disney vacation:

Breakfast: free at the hotel. One morning I hopped to McDonalds for a fancy coffee so for the entire vacation (9 days) that was the only money we spent on breakfast.

Lunch: in the parks. BUT we don't go overboard. We go with two ideas in mind: 1, share. 2, have whatever you want but not more. So, lunch often meant each person getting an entree (sandwhich, chicken fingers, whatever), one person getting a large coke (*ahem*chris*), others drinking water (free!), sharing some fries. We never went hungry. Not overeating at lunch left room for indulging in...

Snacks: in the parks and some brought in. Disney allows you to bring food into their parks. Not everyone realizes this because it seems so insanely generous! We brought in our own cokes (and then just got cups of ice if we wanted them), snacks for Carolena, and lunch if we were at the water park (more on that later). Having not spent an arm and a leg on lunch we would guiltlessly purchase snacks in the afternoon. This is once again a good time to share. Why buy popcorn for every single person? We would buy one or two containers of popcorn and share it. Typically no one wanted to buy more. No, that's not entirely true... typically we would finish the popcorn and then move on to sharing some ice cream...

Dinner: Same as lunch or outside of the park. If we weren't closing down the park that night or we'd spent the day in a park that closed early we would eat dinner in Kissimmee. Some nights we went out to eat, some nights we stopped at the grocery store, and some nights (okay, most nights) we ate Flippers.
*Note about our eating on vacation: we ate embarrassing amounts of food and came home with food hang-overs ready to just eat some salad. You can still be in vacation eating mode and not spend a million dollars.

We Go to Typhoon Lagoon

When you purchase your Disney park tickets you'll notice that the more days you purchase the cheaper they become. We throw in some days for the water parks. The water parks are cheaper and tons of fun. We prefer Typhoon Lagoon and on our last trip spent two days there. Personally, I am not one to bring lunch into a park. Chris and I made this mistake exactly one time during the first month of marriage. Sitting at Schlitterbaun eating soggy homemade sandwiches was so depressing we ended up buying lunch there and throwing away our homemade lunches. What a waste! That said, I actually prefer to bring my lunch to Typhoon Lagoon. On the way into the park I ran into Publix and grabbed fancy sandwiches and chips. It's just so darn hot outside and wearing a bathing suit doesn't get me in the mood to eat hotdogs and fries for lunch.

We Don't Buy Souvenirs

We bought exactly two souvenirs in the park: a Minnie stuffed animal and mouse ears for Carolena. Other than that we didn't buy a darn thing. No $30 t-shirts. No $10 light up toys. No $whoknowshowmuch balloons that won't make it home. Nothing. Nadda. BUT - Carolena didn't realize that. Here's what we did: we brought our own Disney stuff. Yep, a quick trip to Target and the Dollar Store and we saved a ton of money. Did Carolena wear a Cinderella dress to the Magic Kingdom? Yes! I bought it on clearance for less than $10 at Target. Did Carolena get to wear light up glow necklaces at the fireworks and parades? Yes! They cost $1 at the Dollar Tree. Did Carolena get a cool Minnie Mouse key chain, Minnie Mouse bag, and Disney Princess books? Yep, yep, and yep. They were secretly stowed in my bag when we left home. You can buy Disney stuff anywhere nowadays. Your kids won't know the difference but your wallet sure will.

Tips for Traveling with Kids (which I have now done only once and with a very easy-going traveler)

Most of the parks now have splash pads for the kiddos. Each day go into the park with a change of clothes so that they can enjoy the water. Be sure to bring extra shoes since some of the splash pads require kids to wear their shoes in the water!

Before we left for our trip we reminded each other often that we would have to chill out when it came to Carolena’s sleeping schedule on vacation. At home she takes a long afternoon nap every day. She refused to nap in the parks so most days we would give her a morning nap. She goes to bed at 7pm in normal life. On vacation she regularly went to bed between 8 and 10. Sometimes that meant she got grumpy so we would just relax and get a snack or let her run around. We didn’t push her or freak out when she was tired/annoyed/whatever. Go with a laid back attitude. You will have a grumpy child sometimes. You will wait in long lines. You will be hot and tired. Go with the right attitude and none of these things will stress you out.

We didn't fill her with crappy food. Well, we did... but not exclusively. Anyone is miserable and grumpy if you are only eating junk food. So we made sure Carolena had little fruit cups and healthy snacks to bring in to the parks. Most days for lunch she would sit and have some fruit while Chris bought our lunch. After having fruit she would then just have a couple of french fries and be full. I think she was less grumpy because she wasn’t full of fried food every single minute.

We brought our own stroller. The strollers for rent in the park are for bigger kids and don’t lay back for naps (not that my child took any). You can gate check a stroller if you fly. Plus, bringing in a stroller meant we could bring in snacks/drinks/etc. without having to carry them.

Sometimes Carolena just needed a pick me up. So I hid in my bag wrapped presents for her to open when she needed some “redirection” – books, mardi gras beads, whatever. When we were standing in line and she would get antsy I would whip out a present. Opening it and checking it out would kill a lot of time.

 

So here's the thing: we go to Disney World pretty often. When you go to Disney you won't be forced to spend money (except for parking and entrance). If you think $40 is too much for a stuffed animal, then don't buy it. If you think $20 for mouse ears is too steep, walk away without them. Don't want to spend $5 on ice cream? Then don't. Do what you want and spend your money on the things that matter to you. THAT is my best Disney advice. If it's important to you to stay at a Disney hotel, then do it. If you want to fork over the cash to have a character breakfast, do it. Just keep in mind that it doesn't have to be the most expensive trip of your life. If you want to spend a bazillion dollars you should go abroad. We don't miss out on anything in Disney, but we don't break the bank either. Seeing the parades, going on the attractions, and just being there is truly enough to have a great Disney vacation.

One morning at breakfast I asked Carolena if she wanted to go back to WDW sometime. "Yeah!" she shouted. "When do you think we'll go back?" I said, "in a couple of years?" I kid you not, the child replied, "like four."

It's a deal Carolena. Let's go back in "like four."