1st ever Wilkins Family Trip. Were dreams come true...DISNEY WORLD!
I always wanted to do family vacations & now I get the opportunity to do so with my own little family. It was amazing! I may have had more fun than the kids. We went with Dom's family, totaling 13 people. I'm sure you think that must have been expensive & complete mayhem, but it wasn't. I'm going to share a few tips on why & how to make your Disney World Trip worth it.
Fortunately, I'm one of those OCD people who over plans (I guess there are some who think Unfortunately lol). It probably bugs the crap out of those around me, but hey I feel like If I'm going to experience something might as well get the most out of it. First, I asked people at work & friends that I knew had been before. Gathering their tips & ideas really helped some of them are shared below. I did blog search a bit. I found a ton of tips on thedisneymoms.com. Now everyone is different, but hopefully you can use at least one of these tips to make your trip the best success for your family.
1. Save on Food: Eat before you head to the park. For a smaller group take backpacks so that you are able to pack the things below. For a larger group take a ice chest. As inconvenient as this sounds it really isn't. Near every ride there are stroller areas to keep the chest while you ride rides.
Water bottles for summer freeze them overnight. I bought us each 34oz bottles $1 @ The Dollar Tree.
Sun block
Portable fan
Snacks: Pack things like crackers, granola bars, chips & peanuts. Bought from both Walmart & The Dollar Tree.
If you are doing a more all inclusive vacation get the meal package with 2 snacks & 1 meal. The snacks are more like meals (i.e. burger & fries). The meals are like 3 course meals.
2. Pre-Buy Souvenirs: We bought Disney t-shirts, lanyards & handheld fans from Walmart. One thing I didn't get to do that a friend mentioned was to buy pins to wear on the lanyards from Amazon. There are tons out there. I just waited to late. You can swap pins throughout the park with workers & characters.
3. Keeping cool in the park: Visit the parks in the morning and evening and take breaks mid day. If you are staying on the resort consider going back during the high temp times & take a swim. We stayed off site, but had we been in the park I would have done this. You can also take a break in one of the Baby Care Centers throughout the park.You can get a free cup of ice water at any Quick Service restaurant
Here are a list of things to do that are cool spots inside the park:
Animal Kingdom: Finding Nemo, The Musical
EPCOT: Most attractions are inside and air conditioned.
Hollywood Studios:All of the attractions in the Animations Courtyard area are inside & air conditioned – Voyage of the Little Mermaid, The Magic of Disney Animation, Disney Junior Live on Stage, Walt Disney: One Man’s Dream
4. Shoes: Wear comfortable worn in shoes. Wear a different shoes each day.
5. Living: We chose to stay off site at a rental home that was more suitable for our large group, but while looking & speaking with others choose a value or moderate hotel. They are just as great as the premium, but cheaper. The cool thing with staying on site is the hotels will have characters around. So if you don't make it inside the park you have the opportunity to see them there. Also, the Hotels will accept packages up to 2 weeks prior to arrival if you want to ship cheap Disney apparel or things instead of buying at the park or ship bigger items in case you are flying.
Also tell the hotel at check-in or reservation your celebrating an anniversary, birthday, 1st time, etc....they give you buttons & those come w/special perks. Like front of line, character interactions & free stuff.
6.Park Passes: Off top do not waste money on the park hopper passes. There is way too much to do in each park. We spent 2 days at Magic Kingdom & I still feel like we missed a lot. The parks have FastPasses. These allow you to skip the line on 3 attractions per day. Download the app "My Disney Experience" link everyone's park pass & you can schedule your group for FastPasses.
7. Adulting: if your travel party allows you time without the kids you must enjoy time at EPCOT. The many countries are amazing, but not many young kids will be enthused. Not to mention there are adult drinks. Also, I heard downtown Disney was a good adult spot, but we didn't make it there.
Last & best tip is go see Fantasmic @ Hollywood Studios. They play 2 times in the evening. I guarantee the family will love it! Hope that this is helpful.
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