Tag Archives: Disney Travel Tips

Surviving the Heat at Walt Disney World

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RM-Meg-Eating-Ice-CreamIf you’re planning a summer vacation at Disney World…or one in the spring…or fall, it’s gonna be HOT!  Sure, you should have strategies for beating the heat and avoid roasting and burning in the sun, but you can also make sure you carry just a few supplies in your park bag that can make coping with the whole sweaty, sticky, hot mess you (and your loved ones) will become much easier.

Surviving the Heat at Walt Disney World

Besides staying hydrated – which is the #1 thing you must focus on either by carrying your own beverages or taking advantage of Disney’s free ice water (available at restaurant counters upon request), here’s a list of what I make sure I keep with me on super hot days:RM-Baby-Wipes

1.  Baby wipes – I cannot tell you how much these mean to me!  I’ll wipe off sweaty arms and legs – oh, how heavenly a fresh neck feels!  Little ones perk up with a cool wipe-down and the overall advantage of toting around some wipes is that we feel instantly more…well, presentable.  If there’s no time to freshen up at our resort, these babies will do in a pinch and make us feel more suitable for a table service dinner.

2. Zip Lock Bags – For so many reasons!  You can carry a few of those baby wipes if you’ve invested in a large package of those.  You can pack your basic first aid supplies (see #3) in a zip lock.  You can even keep Disney pins for trading or Sharpies for autographs easy to find by toting them in a zip lock bag.  When traveling with little ones, sometimes a baby wipe just won’t do the trick.  Carry a clean washcloth in a zip lock bag – moisten when necessary and do a great big wash-down.  Then pop the dirty washcloth back in the zip lock so it doesn’t ruin anything else in your park bag.WDW Park Touring Necessities

3. Mini First Aid Kit – This has come in handy more times than I can say!  When the sun, heat, humidity and walking begin to take a toll, you’ll be ready.   Ibuprophen or Tylenol, band-aids, anti-chafing balm (oh, stop it with the “T.M.I” thing – you may appreciate this someday), sun screen, lip balm, blister relief, antacid, and even blotting papers (Thanks, Heather!).  You can find everything in travel or sample-size, bundle it up and be prepared to save the day!

4. Hair-aphernalia – I’m not talking about a huge inventory of hair products.  All you may need is a comb.  I like a brush and a travel-sized hairspray or, at the least, a ponytail holder or hair clip.  Call me old fashioned, but my mother raised me to be presentable at the dinner table.  Everyone can take a sec to tidy up – especially if we’ve been soaked on Splash Mountain or Kali River Rapids or we’ve been tossed about on Rock’n’ Roller Coaster or Test Track.Building at Disney's Old Key West Resort

5. “Plan B” – This may come in many forms.  The first Plan B is that we might want to abandon the park during the hottest time of the day to enjoy a leisurely meal, go swimming, or just explore other resorts via monorail or boat.  Many rides like Big Thunder Mountain Railroad or Seven Dwarfs Mine Train are just as, if not more, exciting at night when it’s at least a little cooler.  Other Plan B’s may be carrying a change of shoes and socks, a rain poncho, fresh shirt, or perhaps opting to watch things from afar rather than up close.

Once again, I’d be right there with you if you’re an obsessive planner!  In the warmest months, I’d advise you to plan to be ever ready to escape from, recover from, hide from, guard against, or otherwise cope with the heat.

Experienced Disney vacation fans!  What are your best tips for coping with the heat at Walt Disney World?

At Disney World – Do NOT be THAT Mom!

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Vacations cause stress.  Seems in direct opposition to what’s actually supposed to occur when you have time off from work and school to escape for some fun and relaxation, but there you have it.  There are a lot of moving parts to a vacation – a lot can go wrong…and therein lies the problem.  In theory, we’re supposed to be happy, carefree, and fully enjoying the experience purchased by our investment of time and hard-earned money.  HA!  Right.  If you’re a mom, that’s a nice thought, but virtually impossible to pull off.  Why?  Why do we make this so hard on ourselves?  Why do we make it even worse by going on vacation and letting things get to us and make us less than our best (to put it nicely).  Not that I’d know from experience or anything.IMG_2475

If you’ve ever had an episode on vacation, ever lost your cool, ever blown up or melted down, ever wished you’d just stayed home where you could be your own worst enemy in the peace (and privacy) of your own home, this post is for you!  These tips may or may not be derived from my own experience as a mom – I can neither confirm nor deny any allegations.LADL Computer pic

You can’t do it all.  You can try, but you’ll be exhausted for vacation.  Even if doing for others brings you immense gratification, you can not do it all on your own.  Here’s one idea:  Make a packing list and distribute it to everyone in the family.  Let each person pack their own suitcase to the extent their age allows.  My kids started packing on their own as soon as they could read the list – they’d bring everything to a central location and we’d check off everything as it went in the suitcase.  As they got older, less double checking was required.  By high school, they were self-sufficient vacation preppers.  I still make the list, but I only ever have to worry about packing my own suitcase.FastPass+ Mailer Envelope

Sweat some of the small stuff.  It would be ridiculous for me to suggest you go cold turkey on sweating all the small stuff.  It’s what we moms do!  You’ll be worried about a million tiny details.  It’s important to take some time to prioritize what’s really important among those tiny details and focus on just a few bits of minutiae.  Let the rest go!  I’ve cautioned a million times the perils of over-planning.  Please, I’m begging you – don’t worry about things you cannot control, like the weather, ride breakdowns, character fears, and picky eaters.  Focus on being ready to go with the flow, having a flexible schedule, and not allowing unexpected obstacles like meltdowns, rain, or longer-than-expected lines keep you from enjoying all the wonderful, magical details that Disney vacations have to offer.Dad checks his watch at the Grand Floridian

Enlist help.  Shared responsibility means shared control.  Do your best to embrace this as much as you can.  We control freaks super organized vacation planners like to do things our own way.  We pretend we’re flexible, but secretly know that if we want something done right, we have to do it ourselves.  This is a lonely existence during vacation prep – loosen up a little!  Get input on dining, FastPass selections, character meet-and-greet choices, etc.  Best of all – let someone else take over some of the vacation planning completely.  I know, it’s scary to think about, but do your best.Disney-Travel-Suitcase

Use Pinterest sparingly.  You’ll never be able to pull off all those fantastic Disney vacation preparation ideas.  The fancy DIY countdown calendars, tie-died Mickey shirts, picture frames, character autograph ideas, photo suggestions, Disney-bounding outfits, and so much more!  Narrow down those hundreds of amazing choices to a couple of things to try that are within your abilities and budget.  Then stop looking.IMG_2157

Remember whose vacation it is.  If you want it to be all about you, go on vacation alone.  If you take your children with you, the term “family vacation” applies and that means you need to let them feel like they have choices, time to burn off steam, at least a little time to do what they want to do (not what you think they should be doing).  There’s no vacation from parenting when your children are with you.  We actually got mad at Megan when she was five for wanting to leave Magic Kingdom and go back to our resort to go swimming – not our finest moment as parents.  She was hot, rarely got to swim, and sincerely thought the pool was more fun than rides and attractions.  It was her vacation too.  We still feel bad about how we reacted.Disney Character Autographs - Mickey

I’ve seen moms at Disney World yell, scream, taunt, berate, and even cry.  Please, please, for the sake of your family’s vacation happiness (and memories) do NOT be THAT mom!

Have you had a bad mom moment on a Disney vacation?  Tell me about it…we’re all friends here.

 

Magic Kingdom – Wait Here Not There

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IMG_3279The opinions expressed here are my own (as if you didn’t already know that).  I’m crazy about Walt Disney World’s Magic Kingdom and it’s probably my favorite park, followed closely by Animal Kingdom.  Don’t get me wrong – there’s plenty of fun to be had in Epcot and what’s currently left of the Studios, but Magic Kingdom holds the most happy memories and has so much entertainment to offer me when I’m there.  When I daydream about being at Walt Disney World, I’m almost always in Magic Kingdom.

It won’t be long before we’ll be selecting FastPasses for our next visit to the World and that got me thinking about how I’ll be weighing the pros and cons of different attractions – including the entertainment value of specific ride queues.  This is just me now, but I’m much more willing to wait in some queues than I am in others solely based on the quality of the wait.  If we start in Adventureland and work our way around the park, land by land, here are my recommendations for:

Magic Kingdom – Wait Here Not There

RM-Adventureland-Magic-KingdomAdventureland – Wait for Pirates of the Caribbean not Jungle Cruise.  Yes, if we are strictly speaking Adventureland attractions, I’d much rather FastPass Jungle Cruise and wait for Pirates.  The queue for Pirates is cool and dark with excellent mood-setting elements – it’s actually an excellent place to cool off on a hot day and let your face rest from the pressure of your sunglasses on your nose.  WDW Jungle CruiseThe wait for Jungle Cruise is hot and has less to enjoy.  Personally, I find it somewhat frustrating although I do enjoy the announcements.

Frontierland – Wait for Big Thunder Mountain Railroad not Splash Mountain.  Big Thunder’s queue is interesting with loads of interactive elements to enjoy – in fact, I enjoy it so much, I sometimes wish the line were moving a tiny bit slower.Interactive Queue for Big Thunder Mountain Railroad Interactive elements for Big Thunder Mountain QueueSplash Mountain’s queue, while possessing some cute features (like the adorable bird houses) is not nearly as interesting.

Liberty Square – Save your FastPasses!  Haunted Mansion is the only attraction that will ever have a significant wait and the queue (unless the day is super hot and humid) is great! Check out all the interactive components, search for the Bride’s Ring on the ground (embedded in the pavement) as you move along.  RM-Liberty-Belle-Haunted-Mansion-ViewPay attention to the excellent (and plentiful) Disney details.  If heat and humidity are factors – cool off in the Hall of Presidents during the day and save Haunted Mansion for after the sun goes down.

Fantasyland – Hmmmm…This is the toughest one!  Seven Dwarfs Mine Train is going to have the longest wait – maybe for the entire park.  Seven Dwarfs Mine Train SignThat being said, it also has an excellent, highly entertaining and interactive queue.  Peter Pan’s queue has just been “plussed” and is worth waiting for.IMG_2542If you have little ones, The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh has a very kid-pleasing wait.  IMG_0899Personally, I’d burn a FastPass on Dumbo if it’s a must-ride attraction.  I hate the wait for Dumbo so much, I’ve never made it to the ride.  (You can read the story here.)  Based solely on time-savings, excluding Dumbo, the FastPass would have to go to Seven Dwarfs Mine Train.

Tomorrowland – Remember that FastPass I told you NOT to use in Liberty Square?  I’d use it here for Space Mountain.  While the queue is dark and cool, it’s also a snooze-fest.  Even though it was one of the first attractions I can remember that got a few interactive parts added to the queue, they’re not all that interesting.  RM-Space-Mountain-SignOnce you reach the top of the upward climb to the boarding area, the queue reverts to old school back and forth, metal-partitioned, waiting.  And waiting….and….you get the idea.

Your turn to weigh in!  Where would you select FastPasses in Magic Kingdom – and where would you stand in line?

5 MORE Ways to be Irritating at WDW

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Belle and GastonDisclaimer:  I’m joking.  This post is for entertainment purposes only and should in no way be misinterpreted as containing advice I’d actually like you to take.  This information is directed at the rude, uncouth, coarse, and inconsiderate among the general population – none of those people read this blog.

Many of you will remember this post where I helped readers here at Living a Disney Life learn how to be irritating at Walt Disney World.  So well received and, based on my last couple of visits to the World, well heeded.  You were listening and you are beasts at being annoying!  So proud of you.  You deserve a little something special.  After mastering the first set of annoyances, I will unlock for you the next steps necessary for you to master the program and reach your full irritation potential!  Today I give to you…

5 MORE Ways to be Irritating at WDW

1.  Sit in the Middle.  You won’t be sorry!  It is SO annoying!  Have your camera ready to capture the wide variety of dirty looks you will receive.  RM-Mickey's-PhilharMagicAfter those Cast Members in Mickey’s PhilharMagic (or any and all other movies and shows) tell you to move all the way to the end of the row before sitting down, stop in the middle – the best seats are right there and you paid the same as everyone else to be there.  You deserve the best seats in the house!  If anyone dares to say something to you or suggest that you get up and move, respond with complete silence.  Pretend you don’t speak English!  Sitting in the middle of ride queues, on railings, on stairs…it’s all good.  And irritating.  Do it!

2. Feed the Birds.  I’ll let you in on a little secret – the birds at Walt Disney World are no where near aggressive enough!  The really – I’m talking seriously dangerous – aggressive birds are at Sea World.  Those winged devils will dive-bomb your head and smash into you to make you drop the fish you just paid a fortune for (not for you to eat, but to feed to the sea critters) and then they’ll actually laugh as they gobble your expensive fish up off the ground.  Disney birds are tame!  DSCN3907They love people and merely want to make friends – Like Snow White and her band of helpful woodland creatures, go ahead and be buddies with your new feathered friends.  Especially in Epcot’s Mexico pavilion at the Cantina de San Angel…those birds are the best!

3. Get that Perfect Picture – No Matter What!  Everyone understands how crucial your Disney vacation photos are and you’ve paid big bucks to be here – make the most of it!  Line your little ones up for that perfect shot in front of Cinderella Castle – who cares if it’s in the middle of the walkway or how long it takes – everyone else will either stop or go around.  No worries!  These are your vacation pictures!  Make sure every single person in your party of 15 gets an individual photo with every character!

4. Never EVER Walk in a Straight Line.  You are on vacation!  Mosey, meander, zig, zag, and don’t neglect the ever-important diagonal walking!  Didn’t they tell you to pay close attention to all those Disney details?  While you’re getting from points A to B, look up, look right and left – for sure, look down at your cell phone – that My Disney Experience app needs your attention!  At all times.Walt Disney World Summer Crowd

5. Personal Space?  Nah!  Look around you – Disney World is one über-crowded place full of happy people having fun!  This is not the time or the place to worry about getting too close to your neighbor.  If you leave too much space between you and another guest, someone else might slip in there and cut in line!  Go ahead, we’re all friends in a Disney park, move on in there and aggressively guard your place in every queue.  Or for parade viewing. Or during a character meet-and-greet.  ‘S okay!  ‘Cause I said so.IMG_2614

Bonus suggestion:  You’re going to be hot and sweaty at Walt Disney World during most months of the year.  Here’s a great way to save time and money while being incredibly irritating at the same time – forego personal hygiene until you get home!  (Oh, and don’t forget #5!)