Disney World Do’s & Don’ts (according to Melissa)
Posted by Melissa Parlaman in July 14th 2008
I recently came back from a week long trip to Orlando, FL. PP experienced a lot of firsts during this trip: first airplane ride, first time riding in a bus, first weeklong vacation with her cousins, first trip to Disney, first trip to Universal Studios, first live show on stage, first 4D video, and first “explosive accident” while in the final dissent of our flight (more on that later).
We had a great time and I learned a lot along the way, so I wanted to share some of the dos and don’ts that I know I will keep in mind for our next trip…
Dos:
• Do carry your video camera & digital camera at all times: we only brought the video camera for Animal Kingdom but looking back, I wish we would have used it more (PP loves watching the videos now that we are back home)
• Do bring lots of sunscreen: with the intense Florida sun, you have to do many re-applications throughout the day
• Do pack lots of baby wipes: these are great for cleaning up your child throughout the day as they touch lots of (dirty) rides, eat ridiculously large lollipops, and lick very messy & melty ice cream cones. Oh yeah, and it also helps when you are on the airplane & your daughter has a mega BM & you only have 5 wipes left for clean up!!
• Do bring rain gear: sounds cheesy but there are so many times that I wished I had brought my rain jacket & a rain cover for the stroller. There were quite a few times that we got stranded in a gift shop as we waited for the rain to let up. (I would suggest finding a less expensive place to wait it out)
• Do your research - we stayed at off-resort housing which was cheaper upfront, but in the end, it forced us to pay for transportation and parking each day which really added up.
Don’ts:
• Don’t be tempted to buy a lot of souvenirs: there are so many gift shops in each park & it is hard to turn your little one down as their eyes light up & pick out toys that they “must have.” Or set a dollar limit (under $5) so they can get something small.
• Don’t rent a stroller at the parks: bring your own stroller. There are so many times it comes in handy other than the park - like at the airport as you keep your child contained & secure in the stroller as you zip through the airport & is much cheaper than the ones you can rent at the parks (most parks charge $12 a day & I wouldn’t say they are the cleanest either…)
• Don’t forget to do a little pre-planning: we knew what parks we wanted to go to & what rides we wanted to go on so we were pretty efficient during the day & got to most of what we wanted to see at Disney
Most importantly - Enjoy every moment: there is a reason why they call it the “Magic of Disney” - it truly is. It is such a different & wonderful experience visiting Disney when you have a small child (and you now have an excuse to ride all of the super cute kiddy rides!)
Loading ...
Wow sounds like you’ve learned alot in your first trip. Disney really is such a magical place. Sorry to hear about PP’s “Accident” on the way home. Sounds like she wanted to make her first trip truly memorable. I was in Disney in March and picked up a few pointers myself… Do try to go to your favorite rides early or get the Fast pass for they do run out for the popular rides. When traveling with small kids on airplanes, bring plenty of books, games and fun things to keep them entertained on the plane. You can also use these items to entertain the little ones at nightly dinners out. I agree that doing research prior to a trip can make or break your stay. There are so many online resources to find information about your destination that technology has made trip planning easier. I also stop by my town library and check out some travel guides. They may not be published in the current year but most of the information has not changed and buying these resources in a store can get costly. Good luck and safe travels in the future!
Melissa - loved the advice on the videos. we really need to take more of them too as the kids go crazy watching them again and again as they get to re-live the fun memories. so thrilled you had an awesome time. thanks for this great post. we are booked to go the first week of november. i am really excited and kenzie won’t stop talking about it. we should definitely pre-plan on rides etc especially as we’ll have kyle with us too…. not sure what we’ll do stroller wise (ie double or two singles) adn i’ll definitely bring the rain gear and sunscreen!
Love your tips! We did DisneyWorld and a Disney Cruise in March 2008 with a 4-yr-old and a 6-yr-old. To prevent the “I gotta haves” in every gift shop, we bought and brought along little Disney surprises. It was easy to find cheaper, small things at home and that way we could steer past giftshops, telling the kids that they would be getting something. Even a sheet of stickers IS something! We also bought a Disney-fied cup for each child and had it waiting at home for them in next to their toothbrushes when they got home — something to remind them of our terrific family trip!
Good tips… thanks a lot. I wanted to add a way that we always avoid buying a lot of junk for the kids in the parks. We do “Tinkerbell gifts” on the kids’ pillows at night. This would be Disney stuff that we get at the dollar store and pack before leaving for WDW. The kids love the idea that Tink came to see them before bed and they enjoy the toys so much that they don’t want everything in the parks.