Hello Mickey Mouse Lovers!

This January we decided to take a trip to Disney, which we’re SO glad we did because who knows when we’re going to be able to travel again! It was sort of impromptu as my brother’s family decided in November that they were going to go at the end of January and got a great deal on our family timeshare that we have so we figured hey, why not?! Financially, we should have put that money to paying off our last debt which is our van but we’ve never been great at saying no to a trip. Besides, my parents ended up coming down so it was really nice! We got great deals on flights and passes to Disney and since my parents bought all the groceries it ended up being a reasonably priced trip to Disney. We were about 10 minutes away from Disney and although I always wanted to stay on the resort (and I hope to one day) this was actually reallllly awesome because it gave you a little break as well. Plus the rooms all had kitchens in them which is really nice with kids. It gave us the opportunity to have breakfast there and a few dinners. We also ordered in a few times because going to a restaurant with 3 kiddos under 4 can be a circus. In total we think we spent about $5,000-$6,000 for our 8 day trip to Disney with 2 adults and 2 kids.

Now, full disclosure, I am NOT a Disney Master. If you wants 100s of tips from Disney Masters you should go to Pinterest as you will find SO much information. However, after our trip, these are some important tips that I wanted to share:

1. Even though your kids might be too young to remember, they will still have SO much fun. My little one was 16 months when we went and although she didn’t really understand what was going on, she still had a blast..especially when we gave her a donut the size of her face. As for my 3.5 half year old, this trip was the most magical time in her life. She still talks constantlyyyyy about Disney and keeps asking us to go back. When we told her it was expensive she informed us that she was rich and had lots of money to bring us. Apparently $1.32 is what the average trip to Disney costs according to her. However, I will say watching her experience Disney was one of the greatest memories of my life. She was at an age where she was old enough to know what was going on, but young enough to really believe in the magic. When she met a princess or Minnie Mouse, it was like she was actually meeting the REAL deal. It was so beautiful and pure and I’m tearing up just thinking about it.
2. Instead of bringing our big double stroller, we took our single stroller and our little umbrella stroller which was AWESOME. First of all, the 3.5 year old got tired walking around the park (I don’t blame her I was exhausted by the end) so it was nice to be able to push her around. What was reallllly amazing was that, say she wanted to do one thing and the baby couldn’t go on the ride, we could separate and meet up afterwards since we both had strollers. It gave us so much more flexibility which was fantastic. Plus my mom didn’t go on the rides so she would just push around the baby in one stroller and then would just sit with her while she napped on it which was so kind of her. FYI if you can bring a Nonna (Grandmother) DO it, so nice having the extra hands.
3. We went to Magic Kingdom twice, on the first day and on the last day which was the best decision we made. In my opinion, Magic Kingdom is the best park for kids as it’s just so magical and enchanting. The problem is, when you only have 1 day you’re so stressed trying to get to everything and it can sort of ruin the day. By having 2 days we were able to just enjoy the day and experience everything we wanted. Furthermore, on the first day we got there before opening and saw the opening ceremony with all of the characters which was a really neat way to start our Disney adventure. On the last day we went a little bit later so that we were able to see the fireworks which were just incredible. Seeing my little girl on my husband’s shoulders while the music was playing and the fireworks were going off was just unbelievable. For the other 2 days we went to Hollywood Studios (Hubby was SO excited to go to Star Wars Land- you best believe he made us get there for like 5am in order to get on their new ride) & Epcot. Both were a lot of fun with kids and had lots to see and do. Next time we go back to Florida, the Hubby and I want to go to Epcot on our own and spend more time travelling between the countries and trying different food.
4. We brought snacks for the kids, but in general we bought food at Disney. I know it’s super expensive BUT when we travel, food is one of the best parts so we didn’t want to miss that. We went to 2 fancy restaurants while we were at Disney and the rest we just went to whatever stand looked good.
   The first fancy restaurant we went to was at Epcot called the Coral Reef Restaurant. It was pretty expensive and I didn’t think the food was amazing but you were surrounded by the giant fish tank so it was kind of neat watching a shark go by while you were eating your lunch. However, I did get a little nauseous while eating our lobster macaroni and seeing his brother looking at me from the fish tank so I sort of had to look away and eat it quickly.
   The 2nd fancy we went to was Tony’s Town Square Restaurant which was SO good. It was definitely pricier, especially with the exchange rate but everything is made from scratch and the food was fresh and delicious. Also, the service was incredible and really made the experience wonderful.
5. If you’re going in January, bring warm clothes as well as summer clothes. One day we wore sweaters, coats hats and mitts. The next day we wore shorts and a t-shirt. It was a wild ride.
6. Bring rain ponchos from the dollar store. They were handy in keeping us dry as well as our strollers and stuff. We also brought a travel towel which was great for drying stuff off after it rained.
7. Bring an autograph book. My oldest didn’t really get the concept at first but once she did she was SO excited to get autographs. I also saw some parents who brought the border of a picture frame and had characters sign that and afterwards they would put in a picture from Disney in it which I thought was super cool. ALSO DO NOT FORGET A PEN OR MARKER FOR THE CHARACTERS TO USE. If you do you’ll end up spending $10 on a pen; granted I still use that Minnie Mouse pen so not the end of the world.
8. Set a budget for spending money for kids. We did not do that and spent a lot of money buying toys and memorabilia for our kiddos. Thankfully their Nonna was there to spoil them too or else we would have been in trouble aha. One thing we didn’t spend money on was the Bibbidi Bobbidi boutique which I think is absolutely adorable for kids but I couldn’t justify spending that much money on a 3 year old. Will probably do it the next time we go when she can really enjoy it.
9. Book your 3 free fast passes early in the morning so that after those 3 fast passes are done, you can see if there are any other available ones. Helps you get on all the rides faster and see what you want to see.
10. JUST ENJOY IT!! Don’t set super high expectations for the day. Go in the with mentality that you’re going into the most magical place on earth and whatever happens happens. In the end, your family won’t remember the ride they didn’t get to go on or the princess they didn’t get to see, they’ll remember the smiles and the laughter and the magic.

Love,
Talia