Stop and Smell the Roses
I want to talk about one of the biggest hindrances to enjoying Walt Disney World–time. Too many people race through Disneyworld! I saw it all around me while there the last two times. I read it on boards and websites, hear people talking about it all the time. They race through Disney, and wonder why they come home needing a vacation from their vacation!
Disney is not your average theme park. You can’t do all four parks in three days. Not if you want to enjoy yourself. I met so many people on the bus ride to and from the hotel who were harried and upset–they were there for four or five days, and had planned in stops at Sea World, Universal Studios and a water park too! Somehow they thought they’d get in all of WDW and would still have time to do the others.
I’ll be very honest with you–its just not possible to do it all like that. Orlando is a wonderful place, with many attractions. But if you want to have a sane vacation, one with as few stresses and as much fun as possible, don’t overpack your vacation. There is a big difference between ‘doing’ Disney, and enjoying Disney.
Both times we went to WDW we had 8 days/7 nights. And we still did not do everything we wanted to at WDW! But I will say that our vacations weren’t frantic–we had time to pick what we wanted to do, and to do it more than once. The kids loved Buzz Lightyear? Great, we can ride it 4 or 5 times while we’re there. Adults want to ride Soarin’ again? Sure! There’s time! Daughter wants to stop and twirl with Cinderella? Absolutely! Kids hot and cranky? Let’s go take a nap!
Did we get to all of the water parks? Did we ride every single ride? No. We didn’t. Did we feel like we missed something? Sure! We would have loved to have more time in Epcot going through the countries, or to have had some more time in Hollywood. But I don’t regret the choices we did make. Every day we woke up at a reasonable hour–breakfast at 9 am. We weren’t racing for the buses or worried about being at the early admit park each morning. We ate breakfast in the room most mornings, as we found that was less chaotic. We headed for the buses about 10 am, had a 10-15 min wait, and a 20 minute ride to the park. (We were in All-Star Movies.) We’d ride rides until about 1, grab lunch in the park, then head back to the hotel. We’d learned on our first trip that not only was the 2-5 pm period the hottest of the day, it was also the busiest for the park, and most likely to run into rude and cranky parkgoers. We took a swim, had a snack, took a rest. Then at 6, as everyone was headed out of the parks for dinner, we’d head back in. We’d ride a few more rides, then have a late dinner at a sit-down restaurant.
The late dinner is one of my favorite tips. If you have the dining plan, dinner is a great time to take advantage of the sit-down meal. (I love lunch too for the sit-down, as you have reservations in an air conditioned location–no fighting for tables or balancing trays overstuffed with food!) Many of the sit down restaurants are perfectly positioned for fireworks viewing. We’d eat a little, wander out and see the show, then come back in and finish our meal. Our favorite was to do this at Epcot, which clears out and closes after the fireworks. We could enjoy our meal and then wander back to the bus at our leisure. It was like having the park all to ourselves!
Remember to take your time. Disney costs too much to try to do it in a rush. You won’t enjoy it if you have to make sure you don’t miss a thing! So many times I saw kids crying because they were being rushed from big moment to big moment. Too many times I saw parents sniping at each other because there was too much stress on their time. Saving a few hundred dollars by staying fewer nights is not the way to go. I know I’m LittleMiss Frugal, but really, if you’re not going to enjoy the experience, its a waste of your money. Spend the extra money now to have some real magic at Disney–time to enjoy it all!
Do you want to know more about what they have at Disney? Want to plan out your trip in advance? Visit Disney’s website to order the free planning DVD. While you’re there, take some time and order the free custom maps of the park–you can mark out just the things your family will enjoy. An added bonus? The maps look a bit like pirate maps! My kids LOVED having these in the months leading up to our trip. They’d watch the DVD, then look up favorite rides on the map and plan it out. (Or visit Google Earth for a satellite visual of WDW!)
And while you’re there, don’t forget to stop and smell the roses at Magic Kingdom and Epcot!
that was marvelous. I completely agree. as a kid, I remember that my parents gave me a full day in each of the parks and a couple extra days for universal, sea world and the beach. it is one of my favorite memories of childhood and i still hold disney close to my heart. i’m dying to go there and share the experience with my husband…but we’re waiting until we can save up enough money to thoroughly enjoy it. and when we do, i know it will be marvelous.
I totally agree. Either stay longer or prepare to do less. There are whole books on how to rush through…
I took just 6 yo DD in December – we were there 4 days (and several asked me if that was too long for just the two of us – Nope.) and with the scheduled character meals being mostly at Epcot and WDW we didn’t make it elsewhere much. We also ate breakfast in the room (unless we had a character meal breakfast) and generally took a little time off each day; she wanted to swim so badly.
I really wanted to do more but had to stop and remind myself that it was vacation and it was her vacation and we should do what she wanted too. She still has awesome memories, and dinner with the princesses was “the best day of her life!”
We’ll go back, we’ll do things we enjoyed this time and find new things. DS will be older and we’ll take him too and it will be a whole new experience again.
This is a great post. I completely agree! Also, the hotel plan for 2-5pm is a great idea. With the addition of ‘Fast Passes’ at the parks, it seems to have made it a bit easier to hit the major rides that everyone wants to go on. It allows you to not have to wait in line too long. By nature I’m a ‘have to see it all’ person, however, with the Fast Passes, I was put at ease. In our spare time while waiting for our Fast Pass times, we were free to do spontaneous rides, food, & character meetings!
Thanks! We are headed to WDW for 8 days/7 nights and can’t wait!
We actually built in time to hit one or two of the Disney Outlet stores that are down there before we went to the parks which was really helpful. I had bought my daughter a book of Disney Animated Characters to use as her autograph book (which turned out awesome!) so I bought her a large autograph book at the outlet store to use to journal in. Each night she wrote about what we had done that day and then I could put photos on the opposite page. It is a great keepsake.
My family goes to Disney multiple times a year, and we have passes there. We are all about making the most of our Disney trip, and I feel we have learned all the ins and outs of how to make the most out of your Disney experience. While you seem to have enjoyed yourself, there are a few things you could have done to get more out of your experience. Not getting to the park early is a disadvantage to your family. Most people do not want to get there early, so park opening to early afternoon is the least crowded time of the day. Also, you should have a plan of action each day. Map out what rides you absolutely want to ride, and be sure to get fast passes to those rides.
You know, I think the books help plan some, but you shouldn’t be racing a 4 year old from one side of the park to the other. The books help you understand that hey, this ride is packed in the mornings while a short line in the evenings, but skip this other after 4 pm. But trying to do those touring plans with little kids in tow is madness. I was so sad for the people who had that frantic look on their face–the I-must-do-it-all NOW face. The we-can’t-miss-anything face. Oh wow, were those people stressed out. They missed so much of the Disney magic!
Mae, I appreciate that, and I’m sure it works for many families. However for us, sleeping in a little allowed us to stay out much later at night with the kids, without them being so cranky. That way they were able to see fireworks, parades, and still ride a few rides after the parade/firework crowds cleared out.