Disney is a complete escape from the real world. The streets are litter-free, the people who work there are pleasant, and music fills the air. Siblings, spotless and smiling, stroll hand in hand while parents watch from a safe distance, discussing how to spend the extra time together that they’ve accumulated now that the world around them is problem free. If it weren’t for the stretching of the shadows, time would seem to stand still. At least, that’s how I’d imagine it to be every time.

But, as with everything, there are always a few snags here and there. An afternoon tantrum, melted ice cream sticking in my biggest little’s hair. Tired feet and and a sudden, but expected, midday Florida thunderstorm. But it’s these hiccups that really end up being the stories we carry forward as a family. And it’s these hiccups that helps us plan our next trip. Through the past seven years of visiting Walt Disney World a number of times a year (for any number of days, any time of year (except summer…we just don’t do Florida Disney sticky, sweat-inducing summer heat)), we’ve figured out some questions we ask ourselves each and every time we book a new trip. Only after we’ve figured the answers to these questions out, do we really get to the task of actually making the magic happen.

How much time do you want to spend at the parks?

Is this going to be a relaxing vacation? It can be. As a couple, without children, we used to go hard at the parks. We started in the morning (of course this was non-kid morning, so not until 10 or so) and stayed out until the wee hours of the night (yes Magic Kingdom is open at all hours of the night and it is an incredible time to go), but still managed to make it relaxing. There was strolling through the parks, sleeping in, sitting down. But when you’ve got three little people, this travel style can be hard to maintain when surrounded by giant mice and princesses with luxurious hair.

So, as we added little people into the mix, we had to change it up. With one, we used nap time to walk around shops. There was no, “I want” and no boredom as we picked through walls of mugs or shelves of kitchen accessories. This was the golden age of shopping. It was easy. A nice air-conditioned break even.

 

 

Suddenly, little person two showed up and things changed (ok, maybe not so sudden as we had a nine month warning). He was a serious napper (oh how I wish I could say is a serious napper, but alas, those days are behind me now–he just needs naps now but refuses to take them–it’s delightful). Anyway. He was serious about his naps. And his sweating. So every third or forth day we’d have to go back to the hotel mid-day for a proper nap in an air conditioned bedroom. This meant the older needed to be entertained as well, which really meant we needed a pool for her to pass the time in. And now that we have little person three? Those naps, and that relaxing pool time, are essential for everyone’s well being. Every. Single. Person. Parents included.

That being said, knowing how much time will be spent at the park is key in choosing an appropriate hotel. Generally, when we know we’ll be having mid-day hotel breaks (so when we’ll be at WDW for more than three days), we stay on Disney properties so we can make the most of our travel time.

Additionally, we try to avoid having to be in the car because the very last thing that I, or anyone else in my family, wants is to wake a toddler up who accidentally napped in the car. And try as we might, sometimes we just can’t keep them awake. Also, we look for hotels that have easy and quick access to at least one or two parks (the Epcot properties for example), so that when our napping one wakes up, we can all shower off the pool water and head over to the closest park for dinner and a little pre-bed exploration (Park Hopper passes are a must for us).

Finally, when we’re planning a trip to Disney when we know we’ll need to take that mid-day hotel break, we look for a good pool (and, no, not all pools are the same, research is important here) and other kid-friendly amenities that are in walking distance since one grown up has to stay at the room with the napping child and the other takes the big ones exploring for an unknown amount of time. It can be too cold in the winter to swim some days, so finding locations close by to take the littles to play is super important. If the options are sitting in a hotel lobby looking at a fancy fountain or walking a pretend boardwalk with an ice-cream shop, bakery, and bike rental along a duck-filled waterfront, I know what I’d prefer to pick if I have the choice.

What will your transportation situation be like?

One of the big aspects of navigating Disney World is transportation. Do you prefer to walk? Take a car (and usually a tram from the lot)? The monorail? We’re a family of walkers, basically because we like to get ourselves situated and just head out. With three littles, we still have a fair amount of stuff (though we get by with the minimal amount possible), and the last thing this momma wants to do is unpack strollers, fold strollers up, repack strollers and then do it all again when we decide to go home. (Admittedly I hate disorganization so I cannot just be one of those people who tosses a bag over the handle bars and moves on…everything has a place so it’s easy to grab in a frantic minute, which is like every sixth or seventh.)

Getting to the parks from Disney properties means that if it’s not on the monorail and it’s not walkable, we either have to take a bus or take a car. Each of these requires unpacking and folding strollers–either on the bus or on the parking lot tram (in and out of the car isn’t such a big deal as we have the room to just toss our stuff in and spread out). The buses can get jam-packed and it can be difficult if dealing with two strollers (as we do because even the oldest, at five, would get exhausted at some point during the day…oh and she’s slow as molasses). Imagine holding bags of stuff, a stroller, and trying to keep three little people (all under five) safely situated on a slippery-plastic-seated bus that is packed with people just as excited to start their day. Not pretty. And going home can be even worse with exhausted children who want to be held and all the same stuff that again needs to be held and the folded up strollers and the stuff and the other stuff and then the other stuff still.

In terms of having a car, the good news is, the parking lots look bigger than they are, so if you don’t want to fold your stroller and squeeze into one of the tiny rows of seating on the tram, walking is usually quite doable. Generally speaking, we try to stick to places where we can walk to most parks or ride a monorail (this just is not possible with Animal Kingdom in any way though). And a helpful bonus to eliminate some of the excess baggage we’d have to cart on and off the bus/tram/car/monorail/stroller handles? When we stay on Disney properties we shop early in our trip and then ship our packages back to our hotel, leaving us with just a few less things to carry. (Take advantage of every advantage given by staying on property.)

And speaking of advantages, Disney has, fortunately, just implemented an Express Transportation option for a fee. This allows park goers to move from park to park without having to go in and out of security each time (which, trust me, is a huge hassle when you have to unpack strollers…again…and wait in long lines behind a ton of people who have to unpack their strollers…again…even though you already did this earlier in the day…).

On the other hand, having a car opens a world of doors. First of all, for our family, it means staying at Animal Kingdom Lodge which can only be accessed through the WDW buses (and I think I’ve made it clear how I feel about those). When your middle little has a deep and serious love of giraffes, waking up to them outside your window can be a huge deal. Life altering even. And having access to a car also means easily getting to and from other Disney hotels to have dinner (because the restaurants in the hotels are also not to be missed; in fact, most of the best food is found outside of the parks themselves). After pool time we just jump in the car (just joking, we have three kids, we never just jump into the car anymore), head out to a different Disney hotel, explore a bit, and have a fabulous dinner before heading back.

With a car, too, park goers can take a break from the parks and head to local restaurants for dinner or pre-park breakfast. Having a car can save a bit of money (if the car is your own rather than a rental).  And, perhaps most importantly, it makes staying at properties outside of Disney much more feasible. And some of the off property hotels have amazing amenities, beautiful pools, and their own incentives.  As a side note (our little people are a bit too little to take advantage of this part), having a car also opens the doors to all the other theme parks that are in the Orlando area.

What age will your little people be? What are their interests?

While we loved Epcot as a childless couple (the food, the drinks, the festivals, the food…), we quickly learned that this isn’t necessarily the case with little people (though that has significantly changed with the recent opening of the Frozen ride at Epcot). We tend to stay at Epcot properties and found that we spent most of our time walking to Epcot, going through security, leaving Epcot on the monorail for Magic Kingdom, changing monorails at the transportation center, getting to Magic Kingdom, going through security again, (but no more thank you very much Express Transportation), and finally settling in at the park our little people preferred.

After a few times, we learned that we should get out of our Epcot groove and head over to the Magic Kingdom properties since so much of our time was spent there. And we could actually get there earlier (it takes my family about four hours from wake up to be able to leave the house as each little loses his or her shoes approximately six times before we can get out the door). Getting to the parks early is a huge advantage as it means getting on some of those coveted rides easily, line-free. And once those rides are ridden, if we have a fast pass for them later in the day, we quickly log into Disney’s “My Disney Experience” app and search for a different ride to take its place.

Additionally, our biggest little spent a good deal of her visits through age four placing more value on meeting characters than on riding rides. (And those she wanted to ride were usually those with smaller lines.) As a result, most of our fast passes went towards meeting Princesses. What we’ve discovered is that the lines to meet the Princesses in Magic Kingdom are rarely less than an hour, and the estimated wait time posted out front of the lines is generally quite a bit off (unfortunately in the opposite direction we’d like). Since we don’t do lines if we can avoid them, this provided us with two options: we could either use our fast passes to meet Princesses or we could book a meal and dine with Princesses.

We’ve found that eating meals with characters, though a bit pricey, is worth it in terms of accomplishing few special tasks: the need to feed the littles, the need to take a real break, and the desire to get close with some much admired characters. If we determine that there are some specific characters our little people want to meet, we make reservations as soon as possible, as they can be difficult to get. So, in advance of booking, we have a solid idea of any places we’d like to eat (both character and non-character), so we can make our reservations as soon as the opportunity arises. (If you don’t get in, or want to change a time, keep checking even up though the day of on the “My Experience” app as openings do pop up now and again.)

Is this a trip of a lifetime, or will you visit again?

Since we come back to Disney often, we get the privilege of not having to race through Disney World and see and touch every aspect of every park. The thing is, we’re New Yorkers. We don’t do slow. So we’ve still managed to figure out a few ways to maximize our park time and a few ways this can be accomplished. First of all, we never take off our children’s shoes as it is a guarantee they will be lost for hours. Joking (not joking).

What else have we found that saves time? First of all, we take advantage of the Extra Magic Hours offered to those who stay on property. These extra hours either in the morning or in the evening are when the park is open for only those who are staying on Disney properties, so we try to stay on Disney properties whenever we can. An added hour in the park before it gets filled means that we get to hit up a few rides or a few special characters without too much of a wait. And, as noted, we don’t like the wait.

We also, when booking fast passes, attempt to book all three as early in the day as possible, because after the first three are used, more fast passes can be booked. If we were to book a fast pass ride for 10 am, 11 am, and 7 pm, we wouldn’t be able to book another fast pass until after that 7 pm ride. By booking all three early, we are able to squeeze in one more fast pass ride before the end of the day. The exception we make to this plan is if the 7 pm fast pass is the only time available for a ride that usually has an hour or longer wait and it is a ride we are not willing to give up on (think Mine Train). We begin booking our fast passes the day that it is available to us (7 am EST 60 days out if staying on a Disney property and 30 days out with a valid ticket linked to your Disney account).

Another way to maximize time at Disney is to try to book the trip in an off time so the crowds are thinner. Fewer people means fewer lines. As I stated, we don’t do summer. While I blame it on the heat, it really is combination of the heat and the sheer number of people, all hot and uncomfortable, who will be there. Generally, the three times of year we go are in early October, between Thanksgiving and Christmas (though not during the week of either of those holidays), and February or the beginning of March. One year we happened to go to the park during the week of the Easter holiday and the park was at capacity by 11 am. It was our most unpleasant experience and we’ve vowed since then to always go to the parks only on low-volume days.

A final tactic we use to maximize time is we place some value on attending the “parties” at Magic Kingdom that require special tickets such as the Halloween party and the Christmas party. During these events, the number of people allowed in the park is strictly controlled, so the park empties out a considerable amount. This frees the rides up, and we usually are able to get on some of our most coveted rides during this time.

What are everyone’s “must dos”?

Scour maps. Watch videos of the park. Read blogs. Talk to friends. Gather as much info as possible on this ever-changing place. Then, when planning a trip to Disney, start a list of “must dos”. Is it a ride? A restaurant? An event? A special makeover at Bippity, Boppity Boutique? Jedi school? The Disney Jr. characters? This list will determine the overall map of your stay. What days will you be at which parks? Which parks should be on the days that are a half-day out at the parks and a half-day in the hotel at a nap?

We always begin by considering the time of year and any special events going on like “Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween” or Epcot’s Food and Wine Festival. (Note: on weekends, Epcot Festivals can get extremely crowded with adult groups drinking around the kiosks. I’m talking barely able to move in some spots crowded. It can also be loud and chaotic, but not little people chaotic, think more, drunk grown up chaotic.) Any given time of year then can be a number of activities, some of which only occur on certain days of the week or times of day.

Festivals impact us in two ways: it helps us determine where we will stay. For example, when we go to Epcot’s Food and Wine Festival, we stay at the Epcot properties so we can easily get there for dinner a few nights. When we’re going to one of the Magic Kingdom parties, we try to stay at one of the Magic Kingdom properties so that when our little people are exhausted it is quick and easy to get them home (the parties start at seven and go late into the night). Additionally, it helps determine what days we will be at what parks; thus, essentially determining where we should book fast passes for those days. It also tells us where we need to make reservations to eat.

Speaking of eating, if there is a coveted place to eat, like Be Our Guest in Magic Kingdom (the only place you can meet the Beast), then book as soon as you can (for those staying on Disney-owned properties, 180 days in advance of arrival and up to ten days following the first day (so up to 189 days out) and 180 days for those staying at other hotels (so you must call each day to book for the 180th day)). Once the coveted restaurant reservation is made, all other fast passes can be made based upon that reservation (time and park). (Note: it is a rarity to be able to walk up to a full service restaurant and get seated; reservations are a must for this type of dining experience.)

We have encountered some issues with wait times at restaurants, even with reservations, so factor this into your day as well. For example, we have had to leave after waiting over an hour beyond our reservation at Epcot’s Biergarten Restaurant in the Germany pavilion. We booked an earlier time during a recent trip and still had a short wait. The hostess explained to us that as the night went on, the discrepancy between reservation time and actual seating time will continue to grow, eventually leading to situations such as we had previously experienced. With that knowledge, when we are planning a trip to Disney, we usually make reservations for a bit earlier than we’d like, knowing there will still be a wait (and there’s always a place to get a pretty delicious snack later).

Planning a trip to Disney World isn’t as easy as simply deciding to go, booking a hotel, and getting a ticket. There’s so much going on, around every corner, that it’s essential to read up, prepare, plan, and then be amenable to breaking those plans if you need (we had to and it was the best decision we could’ve made: read about it here). Download the “My Disney Experience” app, and in those moments of waiting (which are inevitable no matter how much planning you do), check them to see if you can move things around if need be (yes Disney World has wifi in its parks). Get a better time for a ride. Find a new restaurant. Find any restaurant to sit and take a break. Get back to the pool and swim. The point is, know what you want, what you’re willing to compromise on, what you’re willing to give up entirely. Expect hiccups, but try to remind yourself that these hiccups are the stories that your family will some day sit together and reminisce about.

 

Do you have any tips for those who are planning a trip to Disney? What do you think is important to ask yourself before you begin?