Because I Can - How to Do Walt Disney World

OK, I have been to Walt Disney World (which I shall here after abbreviate as WDW) 4 times, so I don't think I can call myself an expert. Having done it most recently at Christmas time with my daughters (their first time), I did learn a lot about how to get the most out of your trip, and thought it would be fun to recap and provide some insights at the same time. We had a wonderful time, and Christmas at WDW just adds a special dose of magic. I thought that it would be good to write about the trip here, both to share some tips and to keep a record of what we did. When I started this blog so many years ago I was into Top 10 lists, so I'll dust that off a bit and do my Top 10 Ways to Get the Most Out of Your WDW Trip.

In no particular order...

10. Gift Cards - I came up with this idea as soon as I learned that the Disney gift cards are good at their parks. You can load up a Disney card and use them at almost all their stores, restaurants, parks, etc. We did all four parks, stayed at a resort, and did Disney Springs for a day, and I did not find a place that did not accept them. The idea I came up with was starting when you decide to go to put aside some money each month onto a gift card. This way you pay for your food, gifts, and other purchases before you make the trip. You have budgeted what you are going to spend and avoid a lot of unnecessary debt when you come home. We gave the girls their own gift card to spend as they wanted (they both bought Minnie Ears and a bracelet), so your kids have their own spending money for treats and souvenirs (or, I guess in this case, souven-ears!). Being Canadian, the exchange rate only came into play the day we first used a card. Whatever the exchange rate was that day was locked into the card.

9. There's an App for That - In the last few years, I would say that by far the best thing that Disney parks have done is the app for your smart phone. With the app you can get current wait times for every ride and event at every park. You can find every character meet and great with times, find every show and attraction, plus pre-order food at the quick-dine restaurants. It saved us a ton of time. You can also manage your Fast Passes, which again saved us a lot of time. We were able to drop a FP and get something else easily. We could look at our photos (more on that in a moment), make restaurant reservations, and so much more. Get the app and combine it with the My Disney Experience on their website and planning your trip has never been easier (by the way, I am not getting paid by Disney to do this)

8. Down Time - You go on your vacation to relax, and then spend the whole time running all over the parks to the point where you get worn out. Sound familiar? If you end a vacation needing a vacation to recharge, then you need to schedule some downtime. If you are there for several days, I recommend at least one down day. This is especially true for children. Most, if not all, of the resorts and hotels have pools, arcades, and other activities for kids, so take a day to recharge yourselves. The parks can be quite exhausting, and after three or four days in a row you just don't have the energy. This could be a day at Disney Springs where you can watch a movie and do some shopping, or this could be a pool day at the resort. We took the Sunday off to go to church and just relax at the resort after, and our girls were more than ready to do Animal Kingdom the next day. In fact, they were able to get all the Wilderness Explorers badges and become Senior WEs, a feat that the people at the park said was almost unheard of (Hope, age 4, was so cute getting her Senior badge). Another strategy for this is arrive when the park opens, do a bunch of stuff, head back to the resort after lunch, hang out there for two or three hours, and then head back to the park. We did that on our second day at Magic Kingdom. Not only did the girls feel refreshed and were able to go longer, but we missed the busiest hours of the park (typically between 12 and 4). You don't want your trip to be too hectic, so give yourself a break.

7. Do Your Homework - The website for Disney is excellent at planning your trip. They give you so much information. I was using it several times a week leading up to the trip, and it helped me with FP planning, reservations, and which rides to go on. The website gives you an idea as to what sort of things you can do. For example, I learned where to go to get the girls registered for the Jedi training at Hollywood Studios, and that was our first stop at that park. It allowed us to get the time we wanted and help plan the rest of the day. I was able to see what rides the girls could and could not do, which helped us select the best FP options ahead of time. If there is something that the website does not help you with, they have the best people you can call (note, and I found this surprising, there are no 1-800 numbers for this, so it is a long distance call). 

6. Early Birds Rule! - Each park has designated days with early hour admission for resort guests. If your are staying at a qualifying hotel or resort, take advantage of those. We did Magic Kingdom over two days, and the second day had the early hours. Our first FP was at 9 am, and we arrived at 7:30. Before we used our FP, we were able to do Peter Pan's Flight, met Ariel in her grotto, did the Journey of the Little Mermaid, and went on the Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin twice (back-to-back). We then did our three FPs (Jungle Cruise, Pirates of the Caribbean, and Aladdin's Magic Carpets) all within a couple hours, plus squeezed in the Tiki Room, the Country Bears Jamboree, watched the Christmas parade, and met Tinkerbell all by 1 pm. That was a full morning! The early hours are worth getting up for.

5. Memory Maker - The Memory Maker is a special photo package that is a fairly pricey item, but if you are taking lots of pictures it is definitely worth it. Again, the app is helpful in finding all the different places that Disney has photographers around the park. Almost every character meet-and-greet has one (the only exception for us was Mary Poppins in Epcot), and you can often get magic shots that add a little something extra. You can see the photos on your app a few hours after you get them, you can add borders and stickers to them, and download all of them for over a month after they are taken. Special tip, though. It is important to keep track as to where the photos are taken. We had a photos taken with Chip and Dale at Hollywood, and the next day those photos were missing. Good news is that I emailed Disney about it, provided all the information they needed, and within three days the photos were recovered. 

4. You Can't Do It All, and That's OK - There is so much to do at WDW that you cannot possibly expect to do it all in one day, so don't fret about it. Go and have fun. This is where having a list or two comes in handy. Make a list of the must dos (typically these will involve a FP), and get those in. Keep yourself open to things that just happen (we were not expecting to meet Alice outside the Tea Cup Spin, but there she was and we had our first character experience!), and try something new. If you notice something has a short wait time, give it a go. Take a break from waiting in line and catch one of their many shows. And at the end of the day, if there was something you wanted to do but did not have enough time for, then put it on your list of must dos when you come back someday.

3. Snacks - Let's be honest, even with a dining plan food at the parks can be expensive. There is nothing wrong with bringing a backpack full of snacks and sandwiches for the group. We found that trail mix, fruit bars, cheese strings, apples, and those little oranges are quite good. I myself polished off two bags of beef jerky. It gives you something to do while you wait in line and keeps the budget in check. We found that by bringing along some simple sandwiches you only ate one big meal at the park, and occasionally a breakfast. We did find some nice pastries at the French bakery in Epcot that Heather could have (she has a soy and fresh dairy allergy), so we bought a few for her to have for breakfast. We bought a couple loaves of bread the day we arrived and used those for sandwiches. The girls just wanted jam or honey sandwiches, and lucky for us the resort we stayed at had jam and honey packets for free at their food court. We did treat ourselves to some treats every now and then, but for the most part our food prices were low thanks to some snacks. Oh, and bring a couple water bottles along. Stay hydrated on those hot days.

2. Respect the Cast - The workers, or cast members as Disney likes to call them, are a big part in making your visit enjoyable. Disney goes to great lengths in training the good people that work for them, and they have always done a fantastic job. Sometimes they tell you "no", like when we asked if Hope could go on Star Tours even though she just barely missed the height requirement (by less than a half inch). We got it, and they were cool about it, offering us a way to get both parents on the ride quickly by taking turns with Barbara. Sometimes they can give you a break on something. We ran from Morocco to China at Epcot so we could meet both Jasmine and Mulan. When we arrived at Mulan's stop, the guy had just closed the line. As I was explaining to Barbara (who wanted to meet Mulan more than any other princess there) that we would have to come back, the guy took pity on us and let us stay in line. We got our photo with Mulan, and the guy was also helpful in giving us some tips on how to meet other princesses. We found that by being pleasant and respectful to the cast members, they were able to do their job better. We met a wonderful lady at the Nemo Aquarium in Epcot who was a retired teacher. She and I had a great conversation about caring for the animals, and she was able to talk to my daughters about the importance of aquariums when my eldest daughter commented that it was mean to keep dolphins in captivity. This lady treated my daughter's comment with respect and dignity  and patiently explained all the good that aquariums do. My daughter left with a better understanding about these things, and I am grateful for this lady taking time to talk to my 6 year old like a person. One noteworthy tip is being ready at the security check points by having all the zippers on your bags and backpacks open before it's your turn. Each time we did that the security people expressed a sincere appreciation for that. Talk to the character actors as if they are the characters (you don't want to spoil the magic for others). Say thank you to the people serving your food (I was impressed with how diligent the chefs were when it came to my wife's food allergies). Just be good to the people who work so hard to make your experience as magical as possible.

1. Remember to Enjoy Yourself - Yes, there will be long lines. Yes, stuff is expensive. Yes, there is more to do than you can cram into one day. And yes, your young children will have a melt down every now and then. Mine did, and so did other people's. Take all of that in stride. How enjoyable the trip is will largely depend on the attitude you bring. If the line is long, chat with people in it. I met a nice family from England waiting to ride Prince Charming's carousel. Talked to a lovely couple from New Jersey while eating nachos at Magic Kingdom. It was great! If someone in line with you has a kid throwing a temper tantrum, don't make it harder on the parents by shooting them dirty looks. We are all in this together. Just enjoy the magic of Disney. You paid good money for it, so choose to enjoy yourself.