Disney Adventures: The Before you Go Edition

 

We are back from an amazing vacation from Walt Disney World. The little girl in me was on an all time high of fun and memory making. My family and I enjoyed ourselves. It’s something about being on a Disney property that the magic of Tinkerbell’s dust illuminates you in the most magnificent way. So what was the preparation to get there, my recommendations for families, and more?

Before you Go-Hotel Accommodations

There are a million and one places to stay near Disney. Some people opt for Airbnb which are not my personal preference. Others find cheaper accommodations for hotels and motels. We took staying on a Disney property route because in the long run it saves you money on park accommodations. It’s really about your own preference. We stayed at Disney All Stars Music Resort. There also have Sports and Movies too. This is considered a budget hotel for families mostly. We had a family suite that worked perfect for us. The kids were comfortable and the hotel had a lot of amenities.

For one, they had an outdoor pool on site that opened from 9am-11pm. This was great because on down days, or after being at the park the kids loved staying up late and going to the pool. The pool staff also had activities to do in and out of the water starting daily at 1:30pm. The cafeteria style dining was on location near the pool as well. For my adults it had a dedicated bar. One of the things I highly suggest is to get the reusable cup.

It will cost you about $20 as a one time fee but you can refill your entire trip as many times per day you want. The hotel also had a lot of activities like Movie nights, s’more pits and more. So budget it may be but you got a lot for what you paid for. In addition if you stay on a Disney property you can get into the park 30 minutes before the public.

Disney All Stars Hotel Must Know

You don’t need a traditional key. We had magic bands. These bands are great to use for entrance into the park, Lighting Passes which I will talk a little later below, and so much more. You scan your band and enter your room. You also can use your phone too if you don’t want to get the magic bands. For a family of 5 we spent maybe a little over $120 for the bands. The bands will be more or less depending on which one you get. They come in characters, glitter, colors, and more.

I loved it and honestly highly recommend them. As far as safety on the hotel property I felt safe. We did have an incident where a guest thought our room was there’s. They never gained access to our suite. The hotel also sent security over to handle it right away. I always travel with extra hotel security for the doors and more. Every person who sleeps in any room not theres and even in your home should use them.

Packing for Disney

It goes without saying especially if you go in the Summer that you are going to pack heat friendly items. However a few items may not be on your horizon that we found were absolutely amazing to have and that is one of those cold fans that blow air and sprinkle water. My husband has been using one for years in the Summer in Philly. He actually got two of them to take and he was on point for it. You can purchase one in the park that may be over $20 or you can get one from Target or Amazon and pack it in your suitcase too and save money.

Make sure you pack ponchos. These are necessary. It rains followed by sun. The rain can last for a few minutes to a few hours. Ponchos are your best friends. I got a pack of 5 from Amazon and we used them just about every day. They were money well spent. Cooling cloths are a must. You take them out, drench them with water and refresh throughout the day. These cloths can hang on your neck helping to keep you cool throughout those hot days. Florida heat hits differently due to their humidity. Again I ordered all of these things before going to Disney saving money.

Compression Bags for Packing

I used to be an exclusively packing cube girl but I have since added compression bags. You do not need a vacuum to suck the air out. I packed all 3 of my kids into one suitcase. To give you prospective my bag was only 35 pounds right under that 50 pounds to avoid that extra heavy bag fee. In their bags had their clothes, shoes, and more so I must say, it’s a must for packing to go anywhere.

Disney Must Dos and Haves

My recommendations are what worked for my family of 5 to help you with keeping things into prospective. One we used our amazing, Disney travel agent. She booked everything for us. From the hotel, parks, dinner reservations and more. I can’t thank Liz enough. There will be plenty of people who will say you don’t need a Disney travel agent because you can do it on your own. Disney is its own journey. You can navigate it on your own but I like to leave things to the professionals.

You have to choose what’s important to you. I like things mapped out for me and it made for a smooth time. Liz was available to use almost night and day the entire time we were there. She handled things that came up while there. So she’s not a book and leave you. She answers questions and uses her Disney Pixie dust to get the job done. You can use her no matter where you live and contact her on her website.

To Lighting Pass or Not

This is the question. I am going to be honest and say that we tried it on our first day at Magic Kingdom and used it for every park thereafter. Genie Plus is what you want to avoid buying individual lighting passes. It saves you money in the long run unless you only want it for specific rides. It is a must. As bougie as it sounds I will never do Disney without it. Lighting Pass is helpful for bypassing the lines for rides, booking some meet and greets, shows, and even front row for the Disney parade. Some people understand it for rides but think its too pricey. It ranges a little over $20 per person. You will need a pass for everyone in your party to use it. We loved it. We were able to hit every ride that we wanted some of them twice with it. It made us flow easily as you can book your times and do the park the way you want.

Disney Parks

We did them all: Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Animal Kingdom, and Hollywood Studios. You can also get hopper passes where you can spend a day in one park and hop to another one mid day. I for our first times spent a day in each park to maximize the time. Again when we go back we most likely will use hopper. For first timers from spacing out your time, seeing shows, resting, eating I would recommend spend a day in one and enjoy your time. One goal for us what to maximize your time and make memories. We didn’t want to feel rushed or do things on anyone else’s time but ours.

Protect your Feet

There is a lot of walking in Disney. Get some comfortable shoes.  Leave the cute and uncomfortable shoes for at home. We wore sandals once while wearing sneakers the rest of the time. In addition, everyone of us had insoles even my youngest which had to be ordered online from Amazon. They made for a better walking situation. According to my Apple Watch we walked about 10 or so miles per day. It made for an active week while on vacation. So be prepared. We did include  a rest day where we spent time at the hotel, laid by the pool, ate, and enjoyed our time. I highly recommend that you add time for down time.

Disney Springs

Do not leave Disney without going to Disney Springs. It’s like an outlet shopping and entertainment hub for Disney. We got our Disney ears from here on the Sunday that we got here. We also enjoyed eating at the Rainforest Cafe. Since we came on Father’s Day it was helpful to have a great sit down meal here. We shopped and enjoyed our time. You can eat and drink while walking, and have a really good time. We even got a family ornament here that we got specially made. There are so much to do so don’t count it out. We went twice and enjoyed it.

Overall Disney was good to our family. We made memories. Celebrated our oldest graduation from 8th grade in addition to meeting up with a friend and her family to celebrate her and her son’s birthday the day before we left. We ate well, drank well and had a blast.

General Motors, Chevrolet and Test Track

I loved every ride we got on but a special shout out to Chevrolet for Test Track. My kids loved this one. It allows you to feel as if you work for GM as you test out different driving hazards. We really like this one. Plus you know how I feel about GM being a GM driver myself. The fact that Chevrolet allowed people to design their own cars in addition to having the experience to drive and see some of the ways they make sure their cars are safe was great. I love a red car so you already know. Trust me the next thing is to test drive one of the electric cars.

Few other recommendations:

• Eat breakfast in your hotel by using Instacart for groceries or at the cafeteria-it saves time to explore right off the bat (if you instacart the hotel will hold it for you or even drop it to your room)
• The staff especially Brandon who welcomed us and showed us the ropes made our time wonderful
• You can take food into the park. We packed drinks and 2 snacks per person, allowed each to have at least one Disney snack in the park, ate lunch and dinner in the park. It saved us money. There are many dinner reservations to be made. Make them ahead of time before you go if there is a place you really want. Each park has character breakfast, lunch, and dinner spots. See what you want and make your experience what you want
• We enjoyed a character dinner at Chef Mickey’s the night before we left-it was a buffet, and we danced, sang, and took video and pictures with Mickey, Minne, Pluto, Goofy, and Donald Duck. It is pricey but it includes delicious food and interactions with the characters. Definitely doing it again when we go back.

Thank you Disney for making our Summer bloom in such a way. A special thank you to for our family t-shirts: Storrs take Disney. Thank you Liz for all you did to take this planning to the next level. The years we saved so we could do what we want and how we wanted a special thank you to my co-pilot, husband, Marques. Follow me on socials as I release content from our time. Disney owes me nothing. The little girl in me was let out and she cried and had the time of her life. Is the hype of Disney real? Yes, yes it is! Remember being at the happy place doesn’t mean that you can travel and forget your mental health. Do what works best for you at all times.