~40 days before first trip to WDW! What should I be doing?

[Jen81NYC]

Hi! Going on my first trip to WDW as an adult in April and this will also be my kids’ first trip! One is almost 7 (will turn 7 on the trip) and the other 4.5 and we’re surprising them with the news the day before (no desire to secretly pack for them!) What should I be doing 40 days out that I may not be aware of! Only started planning beginning of January so hasn’t been very long.
Staying at the Poly, Deluxe Standard Villa, FPs have been booked along with a few ADRs although I have some alerts to hopefully adjust one or two times. Pirate & Pals booked on bday night along with one kids nite out evening. My friend is sending a room request at 30 days (or should I do that myself? Is there some magic to it?) Anything else? The only thing I’m still unsure of, which is probably a big one, is footwear for my kids. I think they’re good with their current sneakers but probably outgrew their crocs and when I get new ones, they won’t really get a chance to break them in in advance due to NYC weather limitations.
Please me know if I’m missing something important that only more experienced Disney goer would probably know of!
Thanks!!

 

[omniscientmommy]

I'm not sure what you'll wear crocs for other than the pool or walking around the resort. We ditched the double stroller when ds9 turned 8. I know some families ditch strollers sooner but 9-10 miles every day was still hard on ds9 last year. We only wore tennis shoes. We did a surprise trip last year. Ds9 seemed to understand and get excited, ds6 was like... Ok there's candy in my bag! Kinda sad there wasn't more excitement overall. We've found that they enjoy the buildup and talking about the trip in advance. To be fair we have gone a lot to Disney world so they enjoy the planning almost as much as Mom!