There are a lot of posts out there offering advice on how to make the most of your Disney World vacation. And a lot of them say the same things. But there are five pieces of advice given a lot, that you may want to reconsider:
Bring Disney Trinkets From Home To Give Kids When They Ask For Things In The Parks
At face value, this sounds like a good idea. But there are a few reasons you may want to reconsider:
- What’s more expensive and less fun than buying stuff at Disney? Paying oversized baggage fees. Sure it all fits in your suitcase, but that weight limit can be brutal.
- Kids are still going to want things at Disney. The dollar store stuff just isn’t the same, and part of the fun is buying things AT Disney.
- Do you really want more cheap knick-knacks in your house when the trip is over? Maybe you do, and that’s cool. But if you’re like me, you don’t.
Instead, if you’re concerned about the budget, consider giving your kids a limit on what they can spend on souvenirs. In fact, you can buy them Disney gift cards at Target before you go, with your Red Card, and get the 5% off.
Rent A Stroller – Bringing Your Own Is A Hassle And You Have To Leave It In Stroller Parking
This one I went back and forth on before we brought my daughter for the first time, and I can tell you I am SO SO SO glad that we brought our stroller from home. Why? Because:
- Getting through the airport is so much easier with a stroller. And you can gate check it, so it’s right there when you get off.
- She ate in her stroller a lot. Which means she dropped stuff in the stroller, picked it up and put it in her mouth.
- Renting a good stroller isn’t cheap. In fact, the rental cost alone could have gotten me a long way to buying a totally new stroller. Bringing it was free.
Disclaimer: We have a Britax B-Agile, and it folds REALLY fast and easy for the bus. If yours doesn’t, maybe that’s something to consider.
Get The Disney Dining Plan – You Will Save Money
For this one, you REALLY need to think about your family and how you eat. Take some time and research the Disney Dining Plans available, and do an honest assessment of how well they fit your plans – not if you can fit them.
Here’s why we DON’T purchase a Dining Plan:
- We don’t eat three big meals a day (Deluxe Plan)
- We definitely don’t eat an appetizer, entrée and dessert with every meal (Deluxe Plan); We don’t even eat an entrée and a dessert at every meal (Regular Plan)
- The included beverages are non-alcoholic, and therefore often wasted on grownups who like a drink with dinner (or on people who drink water with meals)
- Often, our snacks don’t fall into the included list of Dining Plan snacks
- Some of the more expensive restaurants have restrictions on what you can order if you are using a Dining Plan, or charge two meal credits
- You can’t get the Dining Plan for fewer than the number of nights of your stay, so even if you know you won’t use some credits, you’re going to pay for them
- If we ate what we wanted to eat, where we wanted to eat it, we would pay WAY more money on the Dining Plan – trust me, I crunched the numbers
I’m positive there are families for who the Dining Plans make sense. They are wildly popular. But they aren’t for us. So think this one through, because you know your family.
Be There For Rope Drop And Stay Through Fireworks – Make The Most Of Your Vacation
On our most recent trip, we were waiting for the Wishes Fireworks and the lady standing next to me told me that they didn’t get back to their room from the park until 1AM, were back at the park for rope drop, and had been there all day. She boasted like she was proud of completing an IronMan.
This is where my version of a vacation CLEARLY differs from some others. I hear (and read) often how you should cram as much Disney magic into your day as possible. Except for us, it stops being magical when everyone’s tired and cranky and their feet hurt.
Rope drop can be great, especially if its Extra Magic Hours or if you want the best chance of seeing animals on the Animal Kingdom Safari during hot weather. And Wishes is almost always one of my favorite parts of our trip. But if you’re hitting both in one day, I recommend a nap, or relaxing with your feet up by the pool for a while.
Don’t Pay For A More Expensive Room – You Spend All Your Time In The Parks
This ties in with the tip above. If you are at the parks from the break of dawn until Cinderella turns into a pumpkin, then this might be good advice. If not, make sure you look at what amenities you are giving up to save money (often a pool, square footage, restaurant and bar options, and proximity to the parks).
We have spent some fabulous Disney days hanging out around our resort and enjoying the pools and other amenities, so consider the perks before you write the Moderate, Deluxe and Deluxe Villa resorts off completely.
