This week is going to be all about Disney World! As some of you know, I recently got back from a trip to Disney World. It was extremely fun and exhausting and we got to do almost everything we wanted. That being said, Disney World is a huge place (it's the size of San Francisco) so in order to get the most out of your trip, you need to plan accordingly. My first post is going to be about planning and packing.
Planning
Hotel, Flight, & Tickets >> The first thing you need to do is go to
the Disney World website and look up dates for your stay. Make sure to sign up for a MyDisneyExperience account as this will help you plan for your trip. The website allows you to book hotel, flight, theme park tickets, dining plan, memory maker, transportation, reservations, fast pass, etc. I decided on a 7 nights/8 days stay at
Disney's Art of Animation Resort, 6 day theme park tickets (one park/day) plus the water park fun package, and the
2014 Disney Dining Plan (1 quick service, 1 table service, and 1 snack/day). More on each of those later. I decided to book the flight separately through
Expedia because it was cheaper. After you've booked all the major stuff, it's time to plan out the little details of each day.
Disney's Art of Animation Resort - it's the newest resort and you're surrounded by beautiful sketches, artwork, and figures everywhere
There are four themes to the rooms/suites - The Lion King, Finding Nemo, Cars, and The Little Mermaid
The lobby has a huge wall of sketches
Another wall with colorful movie stills
Dining >> I highly recommend that you choose a dining plan because it helps you save some money and time (more on the different types of dining plans
here). For a family of five, a regular lunch time meal at the park (4 adult entrees, 1 child entree, 5 desserts and 5 drinks) costs about $90-100 and dinner can range from $100-250. The
dining plan that we chose costs about $60/day per adult and $20/day for one child, and includes 1 quick service meal, 1 table service meal, 1 snack, and unlimited refills with your drink mug/day. A quick service meal is like ordering at a fast food restaurant - you order at the counter, then bring it back to your table. A table service meal is like dining at any restaurant with a waiter/waitress and ordering at the table. There are numerous quick service and table service restaurants to choose from at each park and Disney resort. To make the most out of your trip, I recommend planning out which park you'll be at each day so that you can make reservations for your table service meal accordingly. You can make reservations for the restaurants on the Disney World website. Note that there are several types of dining plans and I chose this specific one because some table service locations include character dining (meet and greet with the characters), which is something that the little ones really enjoy (some require 2 table service/person such as Cinderella's Royal Table). After ordering, the staff just scans your MagicBand (more on this later) and you don't have to worry about bringing cash/credit cards; but at the table service meals, you are required to leave a tip separately. I will note which restaurants I went to each day at each park later (in future posts).
FastPass+ >> Another reason why you should plan out which park you'll be going to each day is because you can book your
FastPass+ selections up to 60 days before your arrival. You can book it through the Disney World website or on your mobile phone using the MyDisneyExperience app. You can book up to 3 per day and I think one more at the kiosks after those three have been used. It is important that you go to the attraction at the designated times because once the time has passed, the FastPass+ is no longer valid and you'll have wasted a FastPass+. Booking the FastPass+ ahead of time saves a lot of time and allows you to experience more during your trip. Make sure you use your FastPass+ wisely and only reserve the rides/attractions you absolutely must go to. FastPass+ selections include rides, character meet/greets, and shows. I will also note which rides/shows I used for my FastPass+ selections later.
Schedule >> I used an excel spreadsheet with time for the rows (every half hour) and days for the columns. I detailed everything including what time to wake up, what time to leave, what time each FastPass+ slot was for, what time the reservations were for, etc. This really helped keep everything and everyone on track. However, things don't always go according to plan so be sure to leave some time for anything that might come up. Based on our 7 night/8 day stay, I had planned:
Day 1 - Arrive
Day 2 - Hollywood Studios
Day 3 - Epcot
Day 4 - Animal Kingdom
Day 5 - Magic Kingdom
Day 6 - Typhoon Lagoon & Blizzard Beach
Day 7 - Magic Kingdom, Epcot, or Hollywood Studios
Day 8 - Animal Kingdom, Leave
Like I noted before, things don't always go according to plan but that's ok!
Pins & Vinylmations >> If you love to trade pins and vinylmations (like my family) I recommend you purchase these on eBay before your trip because it helps save A LOT of money. I purchased 200 pins for about $85 and 10 vinylmations for about $40 (including shipping for both). If I were to purchase these at regular price at the parks it would be at least $1,400 for 200 pins and $130 for 10 vinylmations. Make sure you have enough time to browse through several sellers before purchasing because you want to be able to get the best deal. Also, it's important to read through the listing description before hand to see if you can make special requests, shipping times, etc. Don't get me wrong, I still purchase pins and vinylmations at full price at the parks, but they're not for trading and they're usually unobtainable through trading.
Transportation >> If you're staying at one of the Disney resorts, it is unnecessary to rent a car at the airport. There will be a shuttle, the Disney Magical Express, to take you to the hotel and back to the airport at the conclusion of your stay. There are also a number of shuttles at each resort and park to take you around Disney World. However, the only caveat is that there is no set bus schedule so you may have to wait around 10-20 minutes for a bus to arrive, and then each trip may take around 20-30 minutes, so just getting from one place to another can take up to an hour. Also, some places may require you to transfer or take an alternate mode of transportation (i.e., ferry or monorail) so be sure to plan ahead! Some tips for riding the bus: 1) make sure to bring a light sweater because it is always freezing on the bus, 2) don't sit on the seats reserved for the handicap until everyone has boarded otherwise, you may be asked to move and you'll have lost a chance to get another seat on the bus, and 3) always check with the driver to make sure you're getting on the right bus, as some will have multiple destinations.
Packing
MagicBands >> About a month before your trip, your
MagicBands will come in the mail (if you ordered the Magic Your Way tickets through the Disney World website). You can customize your MagicBands almost immediately after you booked your tickets, up until about a month before your arrival. You can choose the color of the band and what name you want written on the inside of the band. Make sure to have these in your carry-on bag as you will need these to enter your hotel room, because if you signed up to have your luggage delivered to your room before you arrive and your MagicBands are inside your check-in bag, you will not be able to enter your room.
The darker grey area of the band can be removed if the colored area can completely wrap around your wrist - in other words, there are two sizes. These bands have replaced the traditional paper tickets you scan at the entrance, and will give you access to all the theme parks, FastPass+ rides, meals for your dining plan, your hotel room, photo pass and even shopping. Overall, I thought these were extremely useful; I didn't have to carry any extra key cards, FastPass cards, dining cards, etc. they were just all conveniently located in one place. And for those of you wondering, "What if I lose my MagicBand, does that mean someone will gain access to all my stuff?" First of all, unless that person is a stalker, they won't know which resort and room number you're staying at. If they try to scan your MagicBand at a restaurant, they will still need to know your four-digit pin before checkout is complete. And finally, they can't use your MagicBand to enter a park without your fingerprint. Therefore, I do believe these are fairly safe and confidential and Disney has thought about all those safety precautions beforehand. Lastly, I love how you can customize these beforehand - it just adds to the Disney experience. You can even purchase additional accessories to customize your MagicBand at the parks.
Clothes & Shoes >> Depending on when you go, Florida weather can be very bipolar and unexpected. When I went in January (a few years ago), it was extremely cold (40 degress F) and drizzled a lot throughout the day. When I went this month in August, it was extremely hot (90 degrees F) and heavily rained for about one hour each day (thunderstorm rain with lighting and thunder). So depending on when you go, be sure to pack accordingly. Luckily in January, I had packed my North Face jacket and I wore a bunch of layers. This time, I wore shorts and tank tops/t-shirts everyday but I also had to pack a poncho in my backpack. The rain does put a damper in things/plans (some rides/shows may get cancelled) but it's all about enjoying the moment. If there is light rain, I recommend wearing closed toe shoes, like sneakers. But if it's heavy rain, I recommend wearing flip flops or sandals because once the rain stops, your feet can dry fairly quickly, but wet socks and shoes take a long time to dry once they've been soaked in the rain. Remember to pack a swim suit if you're going to the water parks (one pieces are recommended if you plan on going on the crazy water slides). Hats and sunglasses are highly recommended to shield you from the hot sun. And no family trip would be complete without matching outfits! You can order them on the
Disney Store website (although it might be difficult to find matching prints/sizes) or other retailers that sells Disney licensed products such as Zazzle, Old Navy, Uniqlo, Etsy, etc. I ordered mine through Zazzle and the t-shirts (American Appareel, v-neck) were about $25 each. Finally, remember to pack at least one light sweater or jacket just in case of the colder nights or freezing buses.
Essentials >> In addition to all your regular toiletries, don't forget some hairspray (humidity might make your hair frizzy), sunblock (regular and travel size), water bottle, deodorant, and hand sanitizer. You can bring a camera or use the one on your phone to save space. The Disney photographers are happy to take pictures with your camera/phone as well, albeit, sometimes they purposely do a better job with their own camera so that you'll purchase their shot.
There's all my tips for planning and packing, I hope you enjoyed this very detailed post. Let me know if you have any questions!
