Our family went to Walt Disney World on a Family Vacation, and we had so much fun! As it was our first time, I learned so much from planning, and here are some tips to help you plan your family vacation.
Trip Overview
Our family spent 5 days in Orlando, with a 4 day pass to Walt Disney World and a 1 day pass to the neighboring Universal Studios. There are four parks at Walt Disney World. Linked is another post of our top 10 favorites at each park. We did not go to Animal Kingdom but went to Universal Studios Islands of Adventure instead. So click that link to see what we did there. There’s a section below on Animal Kingdom.
- Magic Kingdom
- EPCOT
- Hollywood Studios
- Animal Kingdom
How to Plan your trip to Disney World
Planning a trip can be overwhelming, especially for the whole family. We decided to go last minute and only had 4 weeks to plan it. There is lots to consider and plan. Here you’ll find information and tips on:
- Food
- Hotel
- Clothes
- Park Hours
- Disney App
- Special Needs
- Souveneirs
- Disney Characters
- Strollers
Food
Walt Disney World is completely happy to have you bring in food to their parks, so that was really great to find out! Here’s what the parks allow:
- Non-alcholic beverages in non-glass containers
- Snack foods such as chips, fruit, sandwiches, and granola bars.
- Meals and other food items that do not require heating.
We planned ahead and brought a bunch of snacks in our backpacks. Of course there are so many fun treats and unique foods there, I wouldn’t plan to only eat from packed items, but it definitely helps. You can by a food plan at the parks, we chose not to do that, but it’s an option if you are planning on eating a lot in the parks. With all of our walking, we got extra thirsty. If we couldn’t find a fountain, most of the restaurants were happy to fill up our bottles with water or ice.
Ideas of food to bring in the park:
- Granola bars
- Ritz cracker sleeves
- Frozen Gogurts
- Trail Mix
- Sandwhiches
- Chips
If you’re going to have small kids in strollers you can bring a small cooler that can be stored in the stroller. If you are not bringing a stroller just bring what you can fit in a backpack.
Hotel
We stayed on Disney property at the Pop Century Hotel. Depending on the room, it’s about $230-300 per night. I felt it was pretty reasonable. On site still meant a 10-20 minute shuttle bus ride to each park, but it was nice to have that shuttle and not have to worry about parking and such. The hotel had restaurants on site, a large shop with Disney clothing and other fun items, but no workout facilities. Staying on property, we were privy to early park hours a few of the days which was was really nice. Something I thought was pretty fancy, was that your room key was also your park ticket. Your fast pass ticket could also be your credit card. If you so desire, you can make your park ticket/card able to purchase items all around the park as if it were a credit card and charge to your room. Then all of those transactions would be on your room bill at the end. Nice and dangerous all at the same time. It had a unique pin # that I chose.
Clothes
Disney World is so fun because there are so many fun and creative Disney themed outfits. My mom made us some fun matching shirts. If we had more time we probably would have made more. Here are my tips on things to bring or wear:
- Bright colors: If you have lots of small children I would suggest bright colors for everyone. This helps parents keep track of kids, but also gives kids something easy to look for in case they get separated.
- Comfy shoes: You will be walking tons! I would suggest good walking shoes that are already broken in.
- Appropriate for weather: Florida is hot and humid most of the year. So be prepared to wear something that is light and airy.
- Ponchos: Along with the humid weather is heavy rain storms. We brought ponchos and rain jackets just in case. They sell some at the park but they can be a little overpriced.
Special Needs
I didn’t realize how accommodating Walt Disney World (and likely other theme parks) are for special needs. My nephew has some social anxiety, and my sister in law had heard that she could go to Guest Relations and mention his need, and got a pass that would help make it more manageable in some lines/rides. This goes for children with Autism, Downs Syndrome, ADD, etc. I thought that was wonderful. My mom also had a bum knee, and got to ride around in a wheelchair pushed by my dad. On many attractions, they (plus 6 guests respectively) got to join in the fast pass line, or often go to the front. They are also very accommodating for wheelchair users. They have some rides they can add special parts to make it wheelchair accessible.
Meeting Characters
There are characters all over all of the parks. I was shocked and amazed at all of the characters we saw. When I wasn’t sure how it would all work, I wanted to MAKE SURE that my girls met, got to chat, and photograph princesses, so I researched Character Meals. I knew they’d be a bit pricey, but I figured I’d just do one, just with my girls. I’ll go into more detail of that on the day we went, but I worried I also wouldn’t be able to book a character meal because everyone said they book so far in advance. They were pretty booked up, but I called 2 weeks before and got a time slot. They get last minute cancellations and changes a lot, even the day before. In my mind, moments, and pictures, with the princesses were priceless. They were so cute with my girls, below, Cinderella commented on my daughters fluffy dress and asked her to twirl–which she did without hesitation. I love Cinderella’s expression and the motion of the twirl from my girl.
Souvenirs
There are a million things to buy around Disney World, but were were there for the memories (and accompanying pictures taken). I told each of my kids that they could have $20 and find one thing all week that they could take home to enjoy. I didn’t tell them, but I was a bit flexible on that amount (went up to $34 for my son and a unique wand) but encouraged them to find something fun (not food) that would remind them of our trip. My girls got Micky Jewelry/princesses and my other son got a zipper pouch.
Pictures
Speaking of pictures, there are Disney photographers everywhere taking pictures with Disney Photopass system. As with many roller coasters snapping pictures of crazy faces, you can buy one image. But they also sell a package for $200 ($150 if you pre pay online before you go) that you can get every single image taken by photographers, and that could be up to 200 pictures. I didn’t realize what this was til the last day, so we didn’t have photographers take our pictures, but if I were to do this again (even though I’m a photographer and I know how to use my fancy camera) I’d do this. A week of memories captured for $200 is pretty fabulous, in my opinion. Since I didn’t do that, I’d hand off my camera to my family members or strangers. I am passionate about moms getting out from behind the camera and IN pictures with their children. I love this moment my my daughter and I skipping. With my DSLR, I brought my 35mm lens and kept it on the entire time. It is wide enough to capture the tall castle when I’m right in front of it. I prefer prime/fixed lenses, but if you don’t have this, another wide lense (28-75) is also great.
Strollers
Though I rarely take my almost 4 year old out in a stroller at home, I made sure we hauled it to Florida for this week. Not only does it help her when her little legs are tired, but it carried all of our bags and jackets all day long. I think I may just take a stroller even when she is 12. There are lots of stroller parking spots all over the park, people just leave their junk in the strollers and get on rides.
Early Park Hours
Staying on Disney property granted us early admission to Magic Kingdom and Epcot. Though some say to avoid the parks on early days because it will be more crowded, that first hour is GOLDEN time to get in the rides that you really want to ride first. No matter when the park opens get. there. early.
Whether or not you are staying on or off-site, I would suggest getting to the park as early as you can. It is nice to get there right as it opens and beat a little bit of the crowds.
Fast Pass and Apps
The free Disney Genie service, accessible through the My Disney Experience app, helps guests plan their day with personalized itineraries, forecasted wait times, and dining recommendations. Genie will suggest attractions, dining options, and entertainment based on your preferences, helping you make the most of your day. What used to be called “Fast Passes” is now the “Lightning Lane”.
Some of the most popular attractions are not included in Genie+ but can be accessed through Individual Lightning Lane purchases.These individual selections are also priced dynamically based on demand, with prices generally ranging from $7 to $15 per attraction per person. You can only purchase access to two different attractions per day through Individual Lightning Lane selections.
Availability can vary, so be prepared to adjust your plans based on what’s available.Use the app to monitor wait times and optimize your schedule throughout the day.
The cost of Genie+ varies by date and demand, typically starting around $15-$20 per person per day. Prices can be higher on busier days.
Timing
Waiting in line for the shuttle, riding the shuttle, unloading the shuttle, waiting in the park line to check backpacks, line to get in the gates, then lines for food and rides. Plan on it, then maybe it won’t annoy you so much. Walt Disney World is going to be busy with lines all year long. Maybe slightly better in off season, but it’s Disney World, it’s going to be busy, period.
Happiest Place on Earth
Sometimes people get cranky when tired or hungry. Kids are being dragged from here to there and everywhere, and adults are stressed at all of the dragging (and money spent). Have expectations to have fun, but also expect some of the grumpiness that comes along with running ragged and be patient with everyone–including yourself! I saw some cranky faces on parents, stern “talkin’ to’s” as well. Just have fun and relax, and make memories!
Tune in to the rest of the series this week as I highlight the parks and our favorite rides and attractions! Do you have General Walt Disney World Tips? Tell me in the comments and I may edit to add!
