Having just spent sent six days in Florida taking our two children (ages 1 ½ and 4 years old) to the four major Disney parks there, I thought I would write down some of the lessons I learned as a husband and father.
General Lessons:
-Men, it’s all about the kids. I know we are the one’s paying for the trip and we want to check out this show or ride that ride, but you’re an adult… get over it. With young kids at least, let them dictate the pace and what rides to visit or not visit. I guarantee if your wife and kids are happy, you will be happy. (Kind of like “happy wife, happy life.”)
-Prepay and schedule as much as you can in advance. This isn’t as much to save a lot of money, as it is to LOWER YOUR STRESS LEVEL. Walt Disney World is stimulation over load. The sights, the sounds, the crowds, the heat, and the prices. We purchased through Disney the flights, hotel, park passes, and dining plan. With that it included all the transportation. Because we purchased a dining plan as well, my wife was wise enough to make reservations for all of our sit down meals. Let me show you by doing all of this how we were able to eliminate our stress levels drastically. While we were packing at home, Disney sent us luggage tags to put on all of our bags so that when we checked in our luggage at the airport in Detroit, we would no longer need to worry about it. With the tags Disney provided, they picked up our luggage for us in Orlando and delivered it to our room. Once we got to the airport in Detroit and checked in our luggage, we had nothing to worry about until we were in our hotel room. Disney takes care of the luggage and they take care of your transportation from the airport to your hotel. (as long as it is a Disney property) Once you get to the hotel and check in, you are presented you ‘key’ cards to the park. Each member of your party gets their own card. It is your room key, park pass, dining pass, and even charge card is you so choose. Each dining plan is different. We chose the one quick serve, one snack, and one sit down meal plan. By doing this it eliminated all the stress of the outrageous prices of food at Disney World. On a previous trip my wife and I took on our own there several years before, we did not do this. Because we are very conscious of what we spend, we did not eat very well. Some of the least expensive food items at Disney World happens to be fried food. Now don’t get me wrong, I love some fried food. But walking all day in the heat and only eating fried food, not a good combination. This time with the dining plan, because the meal was already prepaid, we just ordered what we wanted. By prepaying and eliminating the need to constantly look at how much each plate is, you just order what you want. It doesn’t matter if it is the $20 chicken finger dinner or the $38 roast beef mash potato dinner, it’s all a part of the plan. Then when your trip is over, and you pack up your luggage, there is bag check in for the airlines right at the resort. So we brought our bags to the main building, checked in the airline and checked in our bags right at the hotel. We did not see our bags again until we picked them up in Detroit. So we were able to eliminate as much stress as possible. Here is a summary: Book everything through Disney. It will eliminate the stress of baggage lugging, transportation around the Disney properties and to and from the airport. It will eliminate the stress of having to juggle airline carriers. Disney already has a great schedule worked out with the airlines. Get a dining plan. It will eliminate the stresses at meal time. ( I know, I know. some people will say they can save more money by just purchasing food when they want it. This may be true, but I guarantee you won’t eat as well (health wise) and you will have a lot more stress managing it. Plus if you actually order the good stuff, you break even or come out ahead) And finally make reservations at restaurants that you want to go to. That way you don’t have to sit for 45 minutes to an hour or more just for a table. The key is to eliminate as much stress as you can a head of time. It will make the trip much more enjoyable while you are there.
-For those with younger children, BRING A STROLLER. When the kids get tired, and they will, you don’t have to carry them.
-Buy good walking/running shoes. Your feet and back will thank you. If you don’t run or don’t already have a nice pair of walking shoes, go get fitted and buy them. Not just the cheap target or payless brand, but a pair that you have a professional watch you walk and fit you with a good pair. They will probably be a little more, but they are worth every cent. Once you’ve had a good fitting comfortable pair of shoes for a long walking trip, you won’t regret it.
-Bring sunglasses, sun screen, and a hat. The sun can be brutal.
-Help your wife. It is your job to be that guy behind the scenes making sure everything is going smoothly. Make sure everyone else is having a good time and they are stress free.
-Go to bed early. They kids will be worn out at the end of the day and should fall asleep as soon as you can get them in bed. Make sure you go to bed right after them. A quiet room will help everyone sleep better.
-Speaking of bed time, let the kids tell you when it’s time to go to bed. Not necessarily verbal, but you know your kids best and can tell how soon you have until they start to melt down. For example we planned on staying at both Magic Kingdom and Epcot late so that we could watch the fireworks. The kids could not have stayed up that late. We didn’t talk about the fireworks, but they were tired and we ready to leave, so we did. Everyone was happy.
-Smile all the time and don’t argue with your wife. Again this is about the kids. If it looks like you are having a good time, it will allow the kids to feel free to enjoy themselves as well. And then in the end everyone is happy.
-Take breaks. There a number of playground type things at all the parks. Use them. Let the kids literally run around and get out the pent up energy they have from waiting in line and sitting in the stroller. While they play, you can finally sit and take a breather.
Parks:
Walt Disney World: This really is the happiest place on earth. There is so much to do there. This is probably the best park for younger kids. Make sure to check out some of the shows or short movies. It gives everyone a chance to get out of the sun and into some A/C.
Epcot: There are some fun rides here like GM Test Track and Soarin. But most of Epcot is very educational. From technology and agriculture to the many different cultures of the world in world showcase.
Hollywood Studios: There aren’t as many rides here but there are a lot of shows. And for guys none is better than Lights, Motors, Action. This is a 30 minute stunt show featuring lots of cars drifting, doing burn outs, jumping ramps and precision driving. You don’t want to miss it. For the smaller kids, check out the Toy Story Midway. It was our daughter’s favorite ride. Also check out Tower of Terror and Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster.
Animal Kingdom: This is pretty much a zoo but a lot more fun. The main ride to see here is Kilimanjaro Safaris. You ride on a truck through basically an open zoo with roaming animals. Also check out Dinosaur and Expedition Everest.
Food:
The sit down restaurants are very good at Disney. Our favorite was Boma at Animal Kingdom Lodge. It was a buffet but everything was so delicious. It was a selection of Indian, Middle Eastern and African inspired dishes. We also visited Liberty Tree Tavern in Magic Kingdom. This was a pleasant surprise. It was like thanks giving dinner. Served family style, you get a salad, green beans, mash potatoes, gravy, mac n’ cheese, stuffing, turkey, roast beef, and smoked pork loin, oh and desert too. Epcot probably has the most amount of sit down restaurants you could ask for. Almost every country in world show case has a nice sit down restaurant. We ate at Teppan Edo (Japanese steak house) that our daughter loved watching the food cooked in front of her. We ate at San Angels Inn (Mexican). Very good. And we have also eaten at Marrakesh for some delicious Mediterranean food. Best lamb shank I’ve ever had. Those are just the one’s we’ve tried. Spend a little time reading up on what Disney has to offer, and you won’t be stuck eating chicken fingers every night.
I hope this helps any of the guys out there getting ready to take their families to Disney. If you have any questions please leave me a comment.
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