I have a lot of blog catching up to do! However, we JUST got back from Disney World!! I have had a lot of friends ask me lots of questions about our trip and planning so I am really going to break it down for you. I'm going to go from planning, traveling, park by park, and recovering.
First thing you need to know is Disney is not a vacation, it is a TRIP. For most families, it is not a trip you take several times. It is a special once or twice a childhood event. It is exhausting and rewarding. For this reason, I wanted to time the ages of my boys. I wanted them to be able to enjoy as well as handle the traveling and the parks. Moses at 2.5 would not have worked. Sutton at that age was perfect. Both boys were young enough to be amazed and old enough to appreciate all that went on.
The next thing I considered was the time of year. Summer in Florida is miserably hot and also a lot of our family's busy work time. Quickly ruled out. I then checked the calendar and numerous Disney websites to check slower times of year. We picked mid-October and it worked really well for us.
After figuring out our time, and checking lots of websites I was overwhelmed. I had a Mickey migraine. I had heard of Disney Vacation Planners from a few friends and a blog I frequent. Enter Ginger McKinney from TMC Travel. I have no idea how people go to Disney without Ginger. I could call her whenever and ask her anything. She gave me pros and cons of everything, but left the decision up to me. Oh, and did I mention her services are FREE. She is paid by Disney.
Here comes my first mistake. We should have planned sooner. There was only about a three or four month gap between us booking and our actual vacation. With Disney, you can begin booking dining reservations six months out and the favorites book QUICKLY. We were really lucky and got some amazing reservations with a lot of rechecking so never give up hope!
Remember when you went to Disney as a kid and you just kind of wandered around and did stuff? Nope, not anymore. You need to plan, plan, plan your every waking moment before you even dream about leaving. Picking your park days using touringplans.com or other Disney blogs and then planning dining accordingly will save you a mountain of trouble. Then, you can visit sites (I will list below) and plan your day and route. It saves a huge amount of time and you will leave feeling like you didn't miss much.
One of the best things I did before I left was hit up Target and the Dollar Tree. After July 4th, glow sticks and other fun things go on sale big time. I also searched the dollar spot at Target for Disney items. The next place I checked out was the Dollar Tree. Best.Decison.Ever. I found Toy Story tissues, Cars themed ziplock bags, great travel sized items, ponchos, Disney coloring books, and small toys, and even more random awesome things. On the bus ride home one night, we were handing out glow sticks to kids right and left. Waiting in line one day bubbles saved us and a few other families from major meltdowns. We were majorly popular while we were there.
When I started packing, I went day by day and put each outfit in a bag for the boys. This really helped me not to overpack. I have a chronic problem with this but I think I did really well this time. I even minimized my own packing by not bringing any jewelry besides my rings and one pair of stud earrings. It just made life SO much easier.
Next post will be how we decided to travel and how we survived it! Below are my favorite websites that helped me tremendously.
www.wdwprepschool.com
www.disneyfoodblog.com
www.allears.net
www.mousesavers.com
www.themouseconnection.net
