BEFORE YOU GO:
If you have a princess-obsessed daughter, go to the Disney Store before you leave. There, you can let her pick out a princess/fairy/enchanted gnome queen costume for a fraction of the price it will cost you in the park itself. The park is TEEMING with little princesses, all dolled up in their own fancy dresses, and it's easier to have this in your suitcase for when your daughter notices this, and wants to be one, too. Which will happen. I have a Tangled lover on my hands, as you can see. This was basically the highlight of her life, and I may have gotten a little teary, myself:
- Shit be expensive in the parks. Order a case of water and other essentials from a local grocery delivery service. I am in no way receiving any compensation for this, but we used Garden Grocer. They make a point of the fact that they deliver to Disney resorts, and the stuff gets there whenever you want it to (provided you order with sufficient advance time). Having cold water and other snacks on hand, and in our bags before we headed out for the day was so convenient.
- Location, Location, Location. If you can stay on-premises, do it. We were in a great suite at The Bay Lake Towers, in the Contemporary (we went with my parents, who are awesome), which I highly recommend. The rooms, views and the pool were great...
...it was under a ten minute walk to the Magic Kingdom, and the monorail runs right through the lobby, which, in addition to the convenience factor, will blow your kids' MINDS.
WHEN YOU GET THERE
- Get a stroller, oh my god, get a stroller. It just makes everything easier. Also, while I did not procure leashes for my kids, I did tape our last name and cell phone number inside their shirts each day, with the instructions that if they somehow got lost, that they should find someone with a name tag and show them the tape. (It didn't happen, THANK GOD.)
- Fireworks strategery. Fireworks are beautiful and magical, and also the main viewing area (in front of Cinderella's castle) where everyone congregates is a horrifically frightening crowded deathtrap with no lights (they turn them off for the show). Basically, you are probably going to get pickpocketed and/or pregnant, is how close you are crammed in to the people next to you. Instead, watch the fireworks from BEHIND Cinderella's castle, right by the carousel. There is basically NO ONE THERE, you can pull up a chair from the (empty) restaurant-thing, and enjoy. And the view is still great. See?
Okay, that's about it in terms of useful advice. And now, for some useless observations!
USELESS OBSERVATIONS/STUFF
- People are weird. Can we talk, for a brief moment, about how super weird it is to see adults waiting in line to meet, say, Ariel and Prince Eric (somehow this was weirder with the "real" people characters, as opposed to, say, Pluto), and then having lengthy and earnest conversations with them? And then getting their autographs? For this is super weird.
- Your children may not have the same irrational childhood fears as you. Donald Duck's beak: Not scarring a new generation!
- You can, however, develop new fears. Getting stuck on Spaceship Earth next to a humanoid moving animatronic...thing for an excess of two minutes will haunt me for a very long time.
- FINE. FINE. I WILL READ HARRY POTTER. YOU WIN, SOCIETY.
- Sometimes, a little self-imposed time out is a good thing.
All in all, I can say without a shred of irony that it was the best vacation I've
ever had. I've been lucky to have gone on some great trips, and visited some
beautiful places, but for pure feel-good, cheek-hurting smile
enjoyment, oh my word, Disney with your kids is where it's at.
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19 comments:
Oh yeah, adults meeting characters, super weird. BUT! At Disneyland the line to meet Cruella was almost entirely adults, save a few brave awesome little girls, and I can kind of see why. She was totally hilarious and the best. I, of course, just stood back and laughed and did NOT get in line to meet her.
We just discovered that there is one thing better than Disney park visits - Disney cruises! We went on our first cruise last year for our daughter's birthday and it was so amazing and we had such great time (we had never been treated so well in our lives and had a relaxing vacation - hard to do with a toddler!) that we just booked another cruise! The characters are just walking around and it's a lot easier to meet them without waiting then at the parks. There is also a character breakfast included, tea party with characters, shows every evening, fireworks, basically all of the disney magic on a ship where 24 hr room service is included :) We're in so cal and cruised on the Wonder, their older ship so it will probably be even more fun if you take a trip on the new ships on the east coast.
I love this so much. And I've been wondering about the new suites at the contemporary. Did you eat at the california grille? That used to be one of my favorite restaurants in Disney but my last experience there was so/so.
I can unabashedly say I love Disney more than anything.
I'm laughing at the tape in their shirts...we went to Disney twice growing up, and both times we played a game at breakfast. The game consisted of my brother and I memorizing what my parents were wearing (prize to the person who could memorize it first & recite it with their eyes closed) so if we got lost we could describe our parents to the Disney staff. Haaaaaa. Oh days-before-cell-phones.
I just read the Harry Potter books for the first time last month. They're totally worth reading. You'll love them. :-)
I've never been to Disney World or Land. I know, I was deprived as a child. I can hardly wait until I have kids of my own because this sounds absolutely MAGICAL (pun intended).
Aww, I love that y'all had so much fun. I am dying to take my girls to Disneyworld someday, but I'm trying to figure out the right timing (when is Lucy going to be old enough to enjoy it, and at the same time, Catie won't be too much of a big kid to get the whole "magic" of the experience?). I'm thinking next year, maybe.
So, adults wait in line to meet characters? For real? I mean, surely they KNOW that those people are just actors in costumes and not... wow. I'm now a little worried about people who've detached from reality that much.
P.S. Donald Duck's beak never scared me. Howard the Duck, though? I'm freaking terrified of ducks for LIFE now.
I love this post! And I loved seeing all your photos! The joy on your kids faces is priceless!
Glad you had such a good time!
I am not even kidding when I say that your photos as you went along inspired us to start a savings account for a trip. My husband and I have NEVER been ourselves (.. in an odd twist of fate, our FAMILIES both went without us), and we're just now starting to get the youngest kid involved in Disney characters.
So that's my question. Did you think your kids' ages is prime? Should we wait a year? Tony (our youngest) would be five if we continue on our plan. Jack (our oldest) will be 12, so EMO IS COMING.
Aaaaaand... now I can't wait for my daughter to grow up just a bit more so we can have this kind of vacation!
(Ok, OK. I totally don't want her growing up any faster. But I DO want to take her to Disney some day!)
I love this. Going to Disney World with my dad when I was a little girl is one of my very best memories and I can't wait to experience it with my little boy.
I'm so glad I read this because I am placing a grocery order right now. Yogurt for everyone!
Your pictures are wonderful. This post really made me want to go there, and I had very little desire to do so before. I think I will see how the grandparents feel about joining us...
I've been to Disney twice; never to the parks but I stayed at the hotel for a friend's conference. The last time we stayed at the Tiki themed one which is close to the park and on the Monorail. They also have a beach where you can see the fireworks. The first time we stayed at the riverboat themed place and I liked it better; but it's further from the actual parks. Although there's a boat between that and downtown Disney where you can drink and take your drinks with you.
Oh, this looks fabulous. Too bad my daughter is all grown up. I shall have to borrow a child & go.
OK, so I have the best adult-meeting-Disney-character story of all time. Prepare yourself.
I once worked with a woman who had spent time working at Disneyland as various characters. One day, she was dressed as Pinocchio and was told that someone had purchased a private meeting with her (Pinocchio). Apparently for something like $250, one can purchase a private meeting with any of the Disney characters (it was $250 in 2002-ish, maybe it's more now).
So, she is shown to the private room where she will be meeting the person who has paid $250 to meet Pinocchio and it turns out that it is a grown-ass man. Who she then had to entertain for 20 minutes, dancing around, whilst he clapped his hands and repeated "You're a real boy! You're a real boy!"
That right there is some WEIRD.
@Banana
That is pure GOLD. Oh man.
I worked at Disneyland's Autopia ride when I was 17. I sure wish I had some stories like that.
I resisted commenting on your post announcing your trip - but I can not resist now! I LOVE DISNEY. We did 2 weeks at Christmas and that was our 7th trip. It is by far our favourite destination. I really enjoyed your pictures.
Janet (first time commenting!)
Dreaming of bringing my kids in this Magical Land.
Hope we make it this year.
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