Travellin' Soul - 9 secrets to a successful day at Disney

I travel. It’s what I love to do. I go near, I go far. I drive and I fly. I travel with my my family, and sometimes it’s just my husband and I.

I like to go places. I enjoy the escape. I work to vacation. I remember my parents taking me on my first big vacation, I was seven and we went to Florida.

We retuned off and on for years and ever since then it has been my sweet spot.

We have been fortunate as a family to be able to return to the sunshine state year after year, I cannot remember a time when our 5 year old didn’t have a passport, he like his mama has caught the travel bug. He’s yearning for a trip to NYC but I am not ready for this, having children is a big responsibility, having a too smart for his own good unpredictable wild child in New York City is just one big sweat mustache I am not ready for, and one on which until he can pee standing up I assure you he is not ready for. So for now….we are going to talk quick tips for a successful day at Disney.

Buy your tickets before you hit the parks: I recommend purchasing directly for the Disney website, but each to their own. Tip though – the price of tickets on the Disney website is what you are going to pay for tickets anywhere. Yes, you might find a $5 discount here or there, but trust me that $5 discount isn’t worth the time you spent looking for it and the reality is, the money you saved is probably made up in some sort of fee before the checkout process is completed.
Get that backpack ready: A backpack is ESSENTIAL for Disney with children. An essential to carry your essentials. My suggestions: bottled water we brought one for each person going to park when the bottle is empty Disney has fountains everywhere you can refill them with, never pay for water. Snacks – Low maintenance prepackaged snacks things that are not dependent on staying cold- granola bars, fruit snacks, crackers, pretzels, because when the kids are starting to get angry you don’t want to be paying four dollars for water and another five dollars for a snack. Snacks saved this mamas hangry mood on more than one occasion as well as that of her spawn. I also suggest sunscreen, wipes and a towel added to the book bag. We used a towel for something to prop our sons head on when he fell asleep in the stroller, or if we went on a cooler day our little guy covered his legs with it in the mornings, or of he took advantage of one of the water areas to cool off we had something to dry him off with.
Rise & Shine: You pack up your family and you hit those theme parks first thing in the morning. Crowds are thinner first thing, the weather isn’t at its peak for heat. You have children, your up anyways, make the most of those early mornings! When your children get tired out by 1pm you still have time to head back to your room/house/condo and then back for more magic later in the day.
Rent a stroller: if you are not bringing a stroller and you have a young child I would even go as far as saying six and under rent a stroller from Disney they are phenomenal, I loved it because it let me assert my space in crowds and practically eliminated all complaints. It also made us feel he was safer and we felt more in control, meaning we knew he wasn’t dashing off ahead and would not get trampled by masses of people as he walked around. I promise you it will make your day so much more enjoyable. It also give us a place to leave that book bag of essentials when on rides (nobody cares to steal your water and snacks), I do suggest you bring a small cross body purse for valuables.
Download the app: After you buy your tickets, download the app, link your ticket numbers and choose your fast passes before you go to the park. You are able to get up to three fast passes at a time and it eliminates wait time for rides. Disney also has a habit of releasing additional fastpass times throughout the day so if you missed a fastpass you really wanted, keep checking back.
Mentally prepare yourself for a meltdown or two or three – they too will pass. Prepare for the worst hope for the best and in the end it won’t be that bad.
Set aside money for your child- money allotted to them to allow them to pick out something of their choice. Spending their own money makes them accountable for the amount they spend and they are more cautious of what they are spending it on. Our little looked around all day and put thought into what he wanted so at the end of the day he was sure of what he was going to buy, he chose little things throughout the trip so that he always had money to spend. Of course we splurged on a treat for him, but he never expected it, and we didn’t say yes to everything.
Splurge and buy your kids that five dollar Mickey shaped ice cream treat. It’s nothing but an overpriced dilly bar but your at the most magical place on earth. Buy that treat if you are able to spend that little extra, I promise you will not regret it, they always remember those little extras.
Disney World serves beer. If you feel that mom and dad meltdown coming go get the beer, nothing brings you off the brink like ice cold draft beer.

Remember…the most magical place on earth is full of the most magical and magnificent meltdowns on earth. A little prep can make you less wicked Step-Mother and more Mary Poppins.

Janet

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Meet Janet

“The decisions of other moms do not need to dictate mine” – my motherhood motto.  Four months into my very new relationship with my now fiancé Trevor, we were blessed with a wonderful surprise we now call Sutter. Now five years old he is the sweetest, oldest soul I know. I work full-time at a job I love, with many of my friends and where, like life with a five year old – no two days are the same. I have found a great balance between family life, work life and me time, something I am very proud of as I find a lot of women struggle with taking “me time” without having the guilt that comes with it. Motherhood has brought out a confidence in me I never knew existed. I don’t know much about anything when it comes to parenting, I’m purely trial and error, find what works for our family and I stick with it. Most of my pieces will be about my reality and personal experiences, light hearted but always a lesson learned. When not working or “moming” I can be found hash tagging my way thru social medi a, sprinting….who am I kidding, jogging my way thru local running events, dining with girlfriends – bottle of wine in hand or planning my next getaway. I’m excited to have been selected as contributor to Mom Talk, out of my comfort zone and putting myself out there for the world to judge,#personalgrowth #adventure!