Disney World 2018, Part 2: Tips, Tricks, Suggestions, and Advice

Hiya friends! In case I haven't mentioned it 5,682 times around here yet, we are back from our magical trip to Disney. For those interested, click here to see Part 1 of 2 of this blog miniseries, sharing our magical moments from the trip. 

But for this post, Part 2 of 2, I wanted to do the same thing I have done during our previous two trips: share every tip, trick, suggestion, and piece of advice I can, for any who may be planning a trip, whether it be next week, next month, next year, or any time thereafter. :) 

If you've read my previous posts sharing my tips and suggestions, some of the following may be redundant (but that just means I still think it's important to share!). In case anyone wants to reference those posts, here's what I learned during our first trip, with just our 3-year-old Banks in tow, in 2013: 

http://docmomma.blogspot.com/2013/02/disney-how-to-plan-navigate-make.html

Here's what I learned during our second trip, with 5-year-old Banks and 3-year-old Raleigh in tow, in 2015:

http://docmomma.blogspot.com/2015/02/disney-tips-take-2.html

And NOW, here's what I learned during our trip last week, with 8-year-old Banks, 6-year-old Raleigh, and 4-year old Harrison in tow, in 2018:

Use a Disney planner. During our previous two trips, I have no idea how many hours I spent researching, compiling our agenda, making reservations, etc., all on my own, all while trying to plan for things that I thought would be interesting for my kiddos for the ages that they were. A lot of hours, is the answer. I never even knew there were FREE Disney planners who would do all of this (and more!) for you. You don't pay them a dime. They are paid by their companies to do this work for you, and we just so happened to work with an amazing one for this trip, who I so highly recommend!!! Her name is Stacey Bowen of Moments of Magic Travel. She is an authorized Disney vacation planner, and she was absolutely fantastic, making every dinner, Fast Pass, and Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique reservation; saving us hundreds and hundreds of dollars on our resort stay when a great deal came out; answering any and all questions I had; coming to the rescue when we hit a snag while walking in our first park the first morning; coming up with an itinerary for which rides to hit at which times and in which order each day; etc. She was INCREDIBLE. Here is an example of part of an itinerary she created specifically for us based on our likes and interests, the ages (and heights!) of our kiddos, etc. Here is the website - make sure you request to use Stacey Bowen!!! 

Part of our Day 1 Itinerary 

Some of the first ones in MK on Day 1!

Empty park! 

If you're able: stay on a Disney property. Get the Disney dining plan. Totally worth it! 'Nuff said. (Stacey will be able to explain why, but it is 100% worth it!). 

Come prepared. All we carried with us into the park each day was a book bag. Within the book bag were bottled waters and snacks we had brought from home; health and safety items (e.g., mini first aid kit; hand sanitizer; sunscreen; etc.); ponchos in case of rain; portable phone charger; that day's itinerary and a park map; and sharpies and a photo matte for the characters to sign. We both kept our phones on us each day so we could pull them out to snap pics and check the Disney app for wait times, add Fast Passes, check our remaining Dining Plan snack points, etc. 

Front load your trip. We knew we wanted Park Day 1 to be all things Magic Kingdom, as this is our favorite park and we knew we'd be the most rested and most energized going into Day 1! We did the same thing on our previous two trips (Magic Kingdom on Day 1), but the last two trips, we only did two total park days, going to MK on Day 1 and then dividing Day 2 into Animal Kingdom and Hollywood Studios, before heading home on Day 3. We wanted to extend our trip a day this time; so, on Day 1, we went to Magic Kingdom; on Day 2, we went to Hollywood Studios (always a favorite of the kids!) for most of the day, getting back to our hotel that evening just in time for a fun swim before bedtime, and Day 3, we opted to give Epcot a try and then end the day by dining at T. Rex Cafe in Disney Springs. Doing our busiest park day first was really helpful, and we will undoubtedly do the same during our next trip!

Consider a photo matte instead of an autograph book. No matter their age, kids love getting autographs from their favorite Disney characters. But then what? They get their signatures in a notebook and then....it gets lost in the clutter of the playroom? The last time we went, and this time, too, I bought a simple white frame that came with a simple white matte. Then, we simply pulled out the matte whenever we saw a character, got their autograph, and it will be proudly displayed in the frame with a favorite photo of our trip, and hung on the playroom wall for all to see. :) (Note: We also ended up being gifted with three autograph books for our kiddos for this trip; so, we had the characters sign the books and the matte - they didn't mind and it only took an extra few seconds each time!). 

Character meals. Instead of waiting in long lines for quick meet-and-greet photo ops with characters, consider scheduling a couple character meals, when the characters will come straight to your table - no lines at all! For example, at Cinderella's Royal Table, we met five Disney princesses in a matter of moments, while meet-and-greet lines for a princes or two often had 45-minute-plus wait times! Not only that, but the food is usually great (whether a buffet or menu). 

Surprise them. You won't ever forget it. The night before we left, I tossed and turned all night, so excited to surprise our kiddos first thing in the morning. Although this was our third Disney trip, it was the first time we surprised the kids with the Disney news. We woke our big three, sat them at the bottom of the stairs, and broke the news, telling them we had bad news (no Boosterthon Fun Run for them this year), good news (they'd be missing the run but only because they'd be missing school that day), great news (actually, they'd be missing school the rest of the week), and the best news (because we're leaving for Disney World, right now!!!!!). They were SHOCKED and so, so pumped! 

Friends, if you are planning a trip and are able, I highly recommend surprising your kiddos with the big news! I will never ever forget their faces when we told them, and I have watched the video over and over again! Such a special moment. <3 After we broke the news, we lead them to the kitchen for their first of many surprises throughout the week...

The surprise bags. Over the summer, I picked up little Disney trinkets, snacks, and toys whenever I saw them, compiling surprise bags for each of my big three to help keep them occupied on our long drive. I used my trusty Silhouette Cameo to add their names to their bag and water bottles and included individual items I thought each would enjoy (check out the sneak peek of Raleigh's swag, below). This was a great way to keep the surprises coming AND to help keep them occupied in the car. And you can find Disney stuff EVERYWHERE!!!

Make it special. I know this is a personal preference, but I also loved surprising my kiddos with the outfits they would get to wear each day. I ordered a few things from etsy and found some cute things at other retailers. For example, I wanted them to be comfortable on the way down to Florida since we had quite a drive ahead of us, so I picked up some cute Mickey Mouse tees at Target earlier this summer, when I noticed they suddenly started carrying the cutest Disney line! 

For our first park day (at Magic Kingdom), we just had to do a sweet, personalized dress for Raleigh and special tshirts for her Princess Protection Agents, all ordered from etsy. ;) 

For our second park day (at Hollywood Studios), I wanted to get them each a flip shirt to wear, seeing as how (1) they are obsessed with flip shirts these days, and (2) we knew we'd be taking in the Jedi show (hence Banks' Star Wars flip shirt). They LOVED these!

For our third park day (at Epcot), we decided to go big or go home and do family shirts. Heck yeah!! :) 

And now, they can wear their thematic clothes throughout the year. Raleigh re-wore both dresses this week and Harrison has already re-worn two of his shirts! Banks wears football jerseys almost everyday, but I have a feeling that Star Wars flip shirt will be part of his regular rotation. ;) 

Consider the ages of your kiddos. For us, we didn't want to have to battle going back and forth to hotels for naps, or lugging a stroller through the parks. We also wanted to focus on, and celebrate, our Big 3 for how amazing they've been since our Lu Crew grew by one member last year; so, it just made since to leave our baby girl in the loving arms of her Nana and Pop for this trip. She still naps and there's no way she was ready to take on the heat, exhaustion, and non-stop fun that is Disney, not to mention, we didn't think she'd remember much of the trip in the years to come. So, for us, we felt confident in our decision. But there were kids of all ages at all parks; so, it's definitely a personal decision as to what age may be best to take kiddos. But also? It's a great excuse to have to go back to Disney in a couple years. :) And our littlest Lu had so.much.fun. with her Nana and Pop; so, win-win for all!! :)

When to go. This is also a personal decision, but for us, we will always either go in February or September, when the crowds are the smallest. Do we have to miss school? Yes. My kids were scheduled to miss four school days while we were at Disney (which ended up only being three after school was cancelled on Friday due to the hurricane). The second we received our teacher assignments in August, I emailed their teachers and let them know the dates we'd be out. I also collected all notes and homework assignments they would miss, and we knocked out homework on the way down. From what I hear, missing school days is SO much harder on the kids during the middle school and high school years; so, we have chosen to take advantage of our elementary/preschool ages while we can! The biggest perk: like I've mentioned, there are virtually no lines. We maybe averaged 5-10 minutes per ride, with so many rides allowing us to just walk on and so many others we had fast passes for. That doesn't happen at Disney during the summer or holidays; so, February and September are great months to go, in my opinion!

YOLO. If you are hoping for a laid-back, relaxing week at Disney, then this Lu Crew is not the one to travel to Disney with. We recognize that we are only there for a short time and will only get to take our kids to Disney a few short times during these young, magical years. So, we pack.it.in. Allllll the fun we possibly can. We walk 7-8 miles per day, ride/see/do as much as we can, and then crash each night. It's how my Lu Crew does Disney. And I wouldn't have it any other way! 

I hope that was helpful, friends! Have a great weekend. Here's hoping your Disney dreams come true soon, too! <3