Forgive us . . . this may be our most rambling post to date! Yet, we want to “document” some helpful hints / suggestions for those heading to the “Most Magical Place on Earth” {or, better yet – for us . . . whenever we make a return trip!}.

When we began to plan our trip, we were fortunate to have several self-professed Disney Vacationing addicts as colleagues  / co-workers that were available and ready to answer any questions we could thing of along the way.  That said . . . ASK! Ask the experts . . . there are so many people that just love to be helpful when planning a Disney vacation. Besides our personal resources, there are a plethora of Disney vacation blogs, facebook pages {Disney Dining is one of our favorites . . . and no, it isn’t just about food}, forums, etc. that were a click away. Yes, we KNOW that someone else could have planned our vacation for us. BUT . . . who knows us {and the nieces} better than ourselves?!?! So, we decided to forge ahead with our planning.

We spent 4 days at the Magic Kingdom and 1 day at Animal Kingdom. Since the girls were so young and we weren’t sure of their “park stamina”, we did not think the “park hopper” option {giving you access to various parks within the same day} was worth the effort / cost. We arrived mid-day, yet didn’t take advantage of the park upon arriving. This is what we would consider some “lost time” for us . . .and would head to the park instead.

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More than 180 days in advance: Make resort reservations and create a My Disney Experience account.

*We stayed at a Disney resort. The benefits outweighed the cost. The Disney Magical Express took us to and from the airport. Luggage was delivered directly to our room, and the Disney transportation system {monorail and buses} ran seamlessly.

180 days in advance {on the 180 day mark}: Make “hard to get” restaurant / activity reservations.

Since the girls were in the “characters are important” age range, we opted to reserve a lunch reservation at Cinderella’s Castle {Magic Kingdom} and Chef Mickey’s {Contemporary Resort} during our stay. Both of these lunches were great – for the character interactions alone!! The characters came to your table . . . and it was a constant barrage of characters / photos / etc.

We also made a lunch reservation for “Be Our Guest” {Magic Kingdom}. This was not a “character meal” – the Beast makes an appearance at dinner. It is a “counter service” meal, but you can place your order ahead of time! Pre-ordering was WONDERFUL!! We went to the left upon entering, and literally checked in, went to a table, and were served. The right side of the entrance was busy with those placing their orders on kiosks, so the pre-ordering circumvented some of this “delay time”.

We purposely selected lunch reservations for these meals. Mid-day is the busiest time in the parks, so why not spend it elsewhere . . . instead of a hot, long line with impatient children?  We utilized the early park hours for slimmer crowds before heading to lunch.

The only other 180 day reservation made was for a dinner at O’Hana, a family style meal at the Polynesian Resort. These three meal reservations were pricey . . . but, our other meals were on the “cheap side” – splitting 3 “counter service” adult entrees between the five of us, and having water to drink {psst: water is free, throughout the park}. Our breakfasts consisted of Garden Grocer  / packed foods. Garden Grocer is a grocery service that delivers directly to your hotel room. You must order a minimum of $40 of groceries, and there is a delivery charge. We purchased fruit, liquids {milk, orange juice, and apple juice}, and a few other snack items to get us to our $40 minimum. We had packed other snacks {such as peanuts, smarties, crackers, rice krispie treats, drink packages, cookies, and gum} in our luggage / carry-ons. We DID NOT purchase a meal plan for our trip, and saved money by not doing so. That is a personal preference . . . and one based on your eating habits. We DID purchase refillable mugs however . . . what’s a vacation without some diet coke?!?!

60 days in advance: Make “Fast Pass” selections.

Research the “fast pass” options, and see what are the “hard to get” ones that you are interested in. Then, make those “fast passes” – even duplicating your selection over multiple days. You can always change your “fast passes” for less popular attractions. For instance, we secured 2 fast passes for the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train and 3 fast passes for Peter Pan’s Flight. Well, after riding the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train early one morning {without a “fast pass”}, CL and Emily {suzanne} changed their “fast passes” for something else.

Elsa and Anna’s character “meet and greet” was the hardest one to secure. When making your selections, start with the hardest selection and look for a “fast pass” opening near the end of your stay.

We tried to make our “fast passes” between the hours of 10:30 – 3:00 since lines are the longest during mid-day. Then, after using your last “fast pass” for the day, you can make singular “fast pass” selections as late as they are available.

**If you do not stay at a Disney resort, you will have the option to make your “Fast Pass” selections 30 days in advance.

A few weeks before departure:

Purchase “photo pass” {if you want this service}. Although we take LOADS of photos {and have a nice camera}, we purchased this package . . . and were tickled with doing so. If you are going to several character interactions, we would strongly recommend this option. The benefits? Everyone gets in the photo. The photographers have the appropriate settings ready to go when taking photos {especially in low lit character interactions}.  Family and friends can “follow along” through the day – as a general rule, photos are uploaded within a matter of minutes! Be warned however . . . once the children see Tinkerbell in their hands, personal photos may look like this:

Our 1st Disney Ride

Order Garden Grocer foods {see information above}. The earlier you order, the more of a discount you receive!

Make invitations for the girls to open, inviting them to eat at Cinderella’s Castle {to be placed on their bed the day before the reservation}.

Packing for the trip:

Besides the aforementioned snacks . . .we purchased SEVERAL ponchos from the Dollar Store. While ponchos are available at Disney, we liked being able to wear and dispose of wet ones as needed. And, if it rains during your stay, be prepared to go to the park!! Crowds were non-existent when we braved the elements one day.

We also packed two pair of tennis / walking shoes for each of us. Between Florida’s afternoon showers, the humidity, and water rides, shoes get wet!! So, a backup pair is important!! We all needed our second pair {the second day :)}.

To save time in the mornings, we prepacked outfits for the girls in gallon-sized ziplock bags by days. That way, it took the thought out of what to wear, and the girls could grab the specified bag and be fairly independent in the morning process!

Each girl had a set of Disney Golden Books that were character specific, as well as a Disney autograph book, for characters to sign. The Golden Books created conversations between the girls and characters. Not to mention, they were great to read / look at while waiting in lines. We also packed several sharpie retractable pens {easy for “gloved characters”}, yet came home with one!!  So, pack lots of these . . .no matter how careful you are, some will be misplaced.

1st Character Autograph: Ariel

We packed a rechargeable phone charger, an extra camera battery, and camera memory sticks. These were in our backpacks that we took to the park daily.

Upon arrival:

Request a morning wake up call from a character {preferably towards the end of your stay – when getting up is more and more difficult}. While you can’t select the character, it is just another way Disney adds some magic to your vacation.

Ask the hotel lobbyist for a commemorative pin that documents an event that you are celebrating. Since it was the girls’ first trip to Disney, they each received a “1st trip to Disney” pin. It seems everyone is celebrating something at Disney, so don’t hesitate to ask.

Backpack supplies:

We took two backpacks to the park. One had the girls’ Golden Books {specifically selected by whom we would potentially see that day} and several retractable pens. The other one had a change of clothes for each girl, a “first aid” kit {with bandaids, neosporin, tylenol, advil,chapstick etc}, sunscreen, wipes, germ-x, snacks, ponchos, phone charger, camera battery, camera memory sticks, coins to make “souvenir pennies”, and a map. A small cooler was placed under our stroller with juice / water for each of us, and we kept our phones in our pockets.

While at the park:

1. Allow enough travel time {especially with the bus schedule} to get you to and from areas of interest.

2. Take advantage of the many parades available to see {unless you’d rather ride the rides . . .lines will be shorter during “parade times”!! Disney always goes “over the top”, and their parades are no exception. The parades were some of the girls’ favorite experiences of Disney. Characters WILL interact with guests along the parade route, and the girls were lucky enough to experience some of these interactions. If you don’t “fast pass” the Festival of Fantasy parade {3:00}, you may be able to secure a good seat in Frontierland closer to when the parade begins, rather than trying to see it on Main Street.

Other TERRIFIC parades the girls enjoyed: Move It, Shake It Dance Party {several times daily . . . check schedule through My Disney Experience}, Electrical Parade, and the Water Pageant on the Seven Seas Lagoon.

3. Look for memorable moments along the way! One of our favorites came from “Glenn”, a cast member that gifted us randomly with packaged Haunted Mansion spider webs {aka: green apple cotton candy}. He convinced the girls that the bag was indeed cobwebs, and if they “got a crunch”, it was just a spider. Two hours later, we pulled it out to eat. . . and the gagging commenced. EA almost lost her breakfast with just the thought of eating it {while the adults of the group were howling with laughter as we tried to convince her it was “just” cotton candy}. CL decided she would eat a little . . .but not the crunchy part! The best part? We saw “Glenn” a few days later and were able to tell him what had transpired. He gave each of the girls one of his Disney trading pins. Cast members like “Glenn” are everywhere at Disney . . . you just have to slow down enough to enjoy the moment.

4. Leave thank you notes for cast members at the “guest relations” desk. We left a few for some cast members that went above and beyond to make our trip extra-special. It is helpful to know the cast member’s name, where he / she is from {it’s on their name badges}, and the area of the park in which he / she works. That way, the note will make it to the right hands!

When in doubt, ASK!

Our best suggestion while at the park came from another Cast Member, “Victoria”. We had “fast passed” the Electrical Parade {the one day we saved our 3rd “fast pass” for the end of the night}, but wanted to see the Wishes fireworks show afterwards. Our dilemma: How in the world would we be able to finagle a double stroller into a good viewing position for the fireworks show? So . . .we asked. “Victoria” shared with us her secret of securing a good view of the fireworks, and it was golden! “Become a part of the parade”. Okay, those weren’t her exact words . . . but it was the essence of her secret. After the last float, follow the parade down Main Street. When you get to where you want to view the fireworks, stop. It was that simple . . .and it really worked! We veered slightly to the right of the castle – to see Tinkerbell fly above us. To quote EA, “that was worth staying up late for . . .”.

Then, after Wishes was complete, don’t rush out of the park! Linger!! Let the “exit crowd” die down. Ride one more ride, take a bathroom break, etc. This is a great time to ride some rides quickly.

Some FAVORITES of the trip:

Foods: Columbia House fried shrimp, Sleepy Hollow’s nutella and fruit waffles, Cinderella’s Castle smores child’s dessert and the chocolate milk {that made the “Top Three” list of both girls} and Dino Treats {chocolate chip cookie ice cream sandwiches}. Our shocker was how much we liked the Dole Whip {pineapple “frozen yogurt”}. We aren’t even “pineapple people”, and it was DELICIOUS!

Rides: Anything that went in a circle – Dumbo, Flying Carpets of Aladdin, Triceratops Spin, Astro-Orbiter, etc. {aka: practically the same ride, but with a different name}. CL liked the Carousel and Teacups, while EA preferred the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train and Thunder Mountain.

The Festival of the Lion King was terrific at Animal Kingdom, and a “must see” in our opinion.

The Resort’s pool / splash pad area. Oh. My. . . the girls thought that WAS Disney! Ummmm, no! But, they would have enjoyed spending more time there.

Note to self: Make time for . . .

Photo of girls and Cinderella’s pink ballgown {near Bibbity Bobbity Boutique, Magic Kingdom}

Tom Sawyer’s Island and Swiss Family Robinson’s Area {Magic Kingdom}

Kali River Rapids and Maharajah Jungle Trek {Animal Kingdom}

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Don’t say we didn’t warn you with this post . . . and we are sure our feeble minds have already forgotten something important! Still, perhaps this will help you plan a Magical Disney Vacation of your own!

Next week, we’ll be back to our “normal” / non-Disney blogging. And, we’ll begin with a “FIRST SEW” for us . . . Any ideas?!?!

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