In less than two months (55 days according to my Disney countdown calendar), my family, including my two kids, ages 4 and 7, will be making our first multi-day trip to Disney World. We've taken our oldest on a couple of one-day trips to the Magic Kingdom [1], but my son has never experienced the magic of Disney [2], and he's starting to get pissed about it.
Hence the four-day, four-night excursion that we're coupling with our extended family's annual holiday beach trip [3]. It could count as the kid's Christmas present [4], I rationalized to my husband, who hasn't forgotten how expensive one night at Disney was [5] with one child and is fairly adept at doing the quick maths of multiplying that by multiple days and kids.
Making the decision to go for it, I quickly realised, was just the first of about a million totally overwhelming and ridiculous steps to actually getting my family to meet the mouse . . . and I consider myself a Disney pro [6]! If you're planning a Disney trip [7] like I am, you'll probably find yourself doing some, if not all, of the following 20 crazy things before your trip even starts. Sanity be damned in the name of Mickey!
Decide Your Baby and Toddler Are Totally Ready For a Disney Trip
Sure you're excited to take your (really) little ones to Disney for the first time, but at 3 months [9] and 2 years old, we're warning you, it's not going to be easy. They won't remember the sweaty diaper changes, the in-line meltdowns, and the firework shows they slept through, but you might be traumatized for life. Tip: consider waiting a year or two.
Call Every Friend You Know Has Been to Disney in the Last Year For Advice
You're going to Disney. Now what? You start calling every friend of a friend whose Disney pictures you spotted on Instagram in the last year for advice. They're happy to give tons of it, and bam, you're already overwhelmed.
Spend Hours Researching the Best Disney Planning Tips
The internet has an endless amount of information about how to best plan your trip to Disney World [10], and you decide you're just going to have to read it all. Twelve hours later, you're in a Disney spiral and remember there is such a thing as TMI.
Book the Most Expensive Hotel Room of Your Life
Sure, Disney offers some reasonable hotels, but can you see Cinderella's Castle from them? No, no you cannot. So you decide to go for a deluxe resort, then realise you're spending more for that room than any room you've booked in your life!
Realise You'll Spend More on Your Disney Trip Than You Did on Your Honeymoon
You start doing the maths (or just using the Disney online holiday planner [11]), and the numbers start climbing. Between the resort, the park tickets, the meal plan, and the Memory Maker PhotoPass, you start wondering if you're going to have to pick between a Disney trip and paying for college.
Make Dining Reservations Six Months in Advance
A solid half year before you're going to Disney, you look at your daily calendar and realise today's the day you're supposed to book dining reservations, and oh sh*t, it's already 11 a.m. You run to your computer only to find that Cinderella's Royal Table and Be Our Guest are already booked unless you want to eat breakfast there at 10:10 a.m. or lunch at 2:40 p.m.
Pay More Than $200 For Your Family to Eat Lunch With Characters
Screw it. You're not going all the way there and not eating with Rapunzel and Snow White. Remind yourself to bring Ziploc bags so you can sneak extra rolls and leftovers out with you.
Strategize Your Park Days So You Can Cheat the 60-Day FastPass+ Window
You're going to every park Disney World has to offer, but it's Magic Kingdom your kids are most excited about. You decide that it should the last park you visit thanks to this tip your buddy gave you: you can book FastPass+ reservations for all your park days 60 days out from the first day of your trip. Since Magic Kingdom is day four, that means you scored yourself a 64 day window, you sneaky parent.
Set Your Alarm For 5 in the Morning to Score That FastPass+
FastPass+ booking starts at 7 a.m. ET 60 days before your trip starts, and you're prepared, setting your alarm for 5 a.m. so you're logged on and ready at the first possible moment. Bring on the coffee, Mickey.
Almost Cry When FastPass+ Is Booked For Your Kid's Favourite Ride
Despite your early alarm, you still don't get FastPass+ reservations for Toy Story Mania or Avatar Flight of Passage, and the only time you can get one for Peter Pan is during the fireworks. WTF?! You book your second choices and hope you can make changes later.
Download and Get Super Familiar With the Disney Apps
You spend hours familiarizing yourself with the My Disney Experience app [12], which links up all your dining, park, FastPass+, and resort reservations and gives you park maps and ride wait times. Plus, you download the new Play Disney Parks app [13], which offers themed games, Disney trivia, and an audio experience with Disney music and classic sounds from the parks.
Consider Buying Matching Disney Outfits For the Entire Family
Do you want to be that family with matching shirts for every day of your trip? Or do you not want to be that family? You just can't decide.
Make a Full Schedule With Park Arrival Times, Ride Order, and Estimated Wait Times
You've spent a good chunk of your life savings on this trip, and you're going to make the most of it. You make a minute-by-minute schedule of when you need to arrive at the parks, which rides you'll visit in what order, taking into account usual wait times and your FastPass+ reservations, how long you can spend eating meals, and where you should stand for the fireworks show. This trip is going to be as magical as possible, even if it kills you.
Decide to Wing It
Maybe you take the opposite route, get totally overwhelmed, and just decide to wing it with no dining or FastPass+ reservations and no plan whatsoever. You arrive at the park around 11 a.m. and head straight for your kid's must-ride attraction, which happens to have a 2-hour-plus wait, then try to eat at the park's most coveted restaurant, which has been booked solid for six months. Good luck with that.
Expect You'll Just Run Into Mickey, Minnie, Anna, and Elsa
This is Disney World, and surely characters will just be strolling through the park greeting children who happen upon them, right? Wrong. If your kid is dying to meet Mickey, Minnie, Anna, Elsa, or really any of the princesses, you're going to have to wait in line . . . even if you have a FastPass+. If you didn't score a magic line-hopping ticket, you'll probably be able to catch those characters at a parade, performance, or fireworks show from afar.