Happyinwonerland
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jul 1, 2014
- Messages
- 2,662
First, take a deep breathe in and slowly let it out.
Ok, now, the most important thing to remember is that your kids will have a blast, because it is freaking DISNEYWORLD!!!
I'd say the first place to start is your budget. I'm a frugal minded gal, so we stay off site, and you know what? Our trips are very magical. I don't think being off site cuts into the fun at all, and we save thousands over the contemporary. We rent a 3 br townhouse with a private pool, disney themed rooms, and enough space to relax for less than $1000 for the week. It is 15 minutes from the magic kingdom parking lot.
The other big factor is dates. When can you go? When do you want to go? I use to spend a huge amount of time worrying about crowd calendars and weather. Now we just go when we have the time and money, and we realize we will have fun and make it work.
I think the biggest thing is to not stress. It is a vacation. Have fun. Miss your fastpass because the kids wanted to spend an hour at casey jr. Ride dumbo 8 times in a row for that smile on their faces. Let them wear their favorite dress 3 days in a row ( washing at night of course) because they love it so. Cry every night from nostalgia at the castle projection show. Eat mickey bars. Basically, use this time as a time to have fun and enjoy each other as a family. That's why Walt made the parks. He wanted a fun, safe, stress free place for families to reconnect and spend a few days in a fantasy.
I'm going to go against the grain and say skip ADRs. I find them very stressful. Moreso with kids who have high needs. WDW offers plenty of counter service options to feed a family with variety. The salmon and vegetarian chili at CHH are wonderful, the rotisserie chicken at cosmic rays is tasty, Epcot has more quick dining options than you could ever need. You can feed the kids when they are hungry instead of waiting for your adr time.
Also, spring for the memory maker. We love all the photos, and I actually get to be in them!!! I use to be a pro photographer, and our first trip I thought I would skip memory maker. When we got home, i loved all the photos so much that i paid full price for it. I should've just bought it ahead of time at the discount.
Ok, now, the most important thing to remember is that your kids will have a blast, because it is freaking DISNEYWORLD!!!
I'd say the first place to start is your budget. I'm a frugal minded gal, so we stay off site, and you know what? Our trips are very magical. I don't think being off site cuts into the fun at all, and we save thousands over the contemporary. We rent a 3 br townhouse with a private pool, disney themed rooms, and enough space to relax for less than $1000 for the week. It is 15 minutes from the magic kingdom parking lot.
The other big factor is dates. When can you go? When do you want to go? I use to spend a huge amount of time worrying about crowd calendars and weather. Now we just go when we have the time and money, and we realize we will have fun and make it work.
I think the biggest thing is to not stress. It is a vacation. Have fun. Miss your fastpass because the kids wanted to spend an hour at casey jr. Ride dumbo 8 times in a row for that smile on their faces. Let them wear their favorite dress 3 days in a row ( washing at night of course) because they love it so. Cry every night from nostalgia at the castle projection show. Eat mickey bars. Basically, use this time as a time to have fun and enjoy each other as a family. That's why Walt made the parks. He wanted a fun, safe, stress free place for families to reconnect and spend a few days in a fantasy.
I'm going to go against the grain and say skip ADRs. I find them very stressful. Moreso with kids who have high needs. WDW offers plenty of counter service options to feed a family with variety. The salmon and vegetarian chili at CHH are wonderful, the rotisserie chicken at cosmic rays is tasty, Epcot has more quick dining options than you could ever need. You can feed the kids when they are hungry instead of waiting for your adr time.
Also, spring for the memory maker. We love all the photos, and I actually get to be in them!!! I use to be a pro photographer, and our first trip I thought I would skip memory maker. When we got home, i loved all the photos so much that i paid full price for it. I should've just bought it ahead of time at the discount.
