so my family and I are active Disney lovers. we could eat, sleep and breathe Disney if our bills and mortgage would allow it. We've been annual pass holders for almost year now and other than a new dryer its the best purchase we've ever made. We probably find ourselves at the 'happiest place on earth' around twice a month. Yup we pack up our huge SUV with all our crap and a 9 month old and two year old that often. If you ask any of or friends and family they would easily tell you we are more than likely insane... but we love it!! We have a system that works for us and some days it feels like I spend more time changing diapers and applying sunscreen rather than enjoying the park but its still always enjoyable. So here's some tips and tricks I've come up with using our experiences.
1st pack pack pack.
It's all about what you bring that will make or break your day. I cant tell you how much it sucks to spend your souvenir budget on two baby jackets cause you forgot yours... baby wipes are always handy even without kids so you can wipe off a table at a restaurant or clean off your sticky fingers from that dole whip or mickey mouse ice cream cone. If you are looking to save money you can bring in small soft sided coolers with pretty much anything you want other than liquor. We tend to cook a pizza at home the day before and pack the slices in zip lock bags for a meal that's easy to eat and still yummy cold, or lets face it luke warm at the park later.. Also if you don't want to spend a whooping $ 3.50 every time you get thirsty for a soda or water, You can save tons of money by simply bringing in a Tervis or other cup/water bottle and refill it at the many water fountains throughout every park. Kids are always hungry so make sure not to break the bank by packing some snacks, we normally pack goldfish for toddler and puffs for the baby then buy the rest. The trick we normally use is to buy a popcorn bucket for $10 as soon as we walk in the park and refill it throughout the day for only $1. We also make sure to get our moneys worth by filling it up one last time on the way out to snack on on the way home.
2. Restaurants
There are baby friendly restaurants and not so baby friendly ones.. We have been to our fair share of both between date trips up there and our regular family trips . Kid friendly ones I would say
*ABC commissary (Hollywood Studios) the food is yummy and one of the faster places to eat, lots of seating and easy food for the kids such as burgers, chicken nuggets and grilled cheese. They have lots of booths which to me is easier to wrangle my toddler in.
*Casey's Corner (magic Kingdom) Honestly my favorite place to eat. The hot dogs are out of this world with a separate bar to put toppings like cheese sauce and chili on your hot dogs and fries. aka cheese fries every time! Something to check first is the heat. Though the food is yummy most of the seating is outside so definitely not a great pick for a hot Florida day.
*Peco Bills (Magic Kingdom) not our favorite but not bad either. has a topping bar similar to Casey's corner but for burgers and more Mexican style food. the seating is a little harder since its a smaller area but always do-able for us.
*Pinocchio Village (Magic Kingdom) We just discovered this cozy place on our last visit. It was super easy to find a table and the food was so good. They serve lots of comfort food like chicken parm, spaghetti, buffalo chicken sandwiches and still some chicken nuggets for the kids. If your lucky a seating area in this restaurant has a giant glass wall watching over the its a small world ride.
*Cosmic Rays Starlight Café (magic kingdom) This is normally our go to place at the magic kingdom,. They serve burgers, chicken nuggets and BBQ. But our favorite part about it is the entertainment. They have this adorable alien (that seriously reminds me of Alf) that sings and plays piano in the dining room. My kids adore him and it keeps them easily entertained while my husband spends 15 min with hundreds of other people trying to get us lunch.
* Rainforest Café (Disney Springs) T-Rex café (Disney Springs) both of these places serve a wide verity of food from burgers to fajitas and pasta. The animatronic jungle animals or dinosaurs come to life about every 15 min and really liven the place us! Though the atmosphere is incredible be careful with small children as they might get scared from the noise leaving you spending lots of money to be miserable...
*Pizzafari (Animal Kingdom) Just as implied in the name this restaurant solely sells pizza and is so yummy. Very easy to get food quickly and find a seat easily. They also have options to eat inside or outside making it easy to have lunch or just sneak the stroller over to the outside table while the kids are napping to sneak a mommy and daddy snack.
Nap time = mommy snack time
Now for adult restaurants:
Sci Fi Café (Hollywood studios) The atmosphere in this place is absolutely incredible! your table is a car set up as if its parked outside in a drive in theater. little sci fi clips play while you eat your meal keeping you busy, even the servers have vintage waitress dresses on. Love Love Love this place. (picture below)
Be our Guest ( Magic Kingdom) Completely submerge yourself into the world of one of your favorite princesses as you enter the breathtaking castle. The atmosphere in here is indescribable. you truly feel like a princess here and even get to take a picture with your prince The Beast after your meal. The castle also includes the beasts study with the famous rose and torn picture from the movie which you can walk around to take pictures of.
3. Fastpasses try to plan with rides that have the longest lines like: peter pan, its a small world, Winnie the pooh, Dumbo, space mountain, thunder mountain and character meetings. The earlier you plan them the better cause as soon as you use your 3 fastpasses you can go to any fastpass machine in the park and create more throughout the day and night. I cannot stress using a fast pass to meet a character the most. It really sucks when you finally get to your child's favorite character and Hershel is passed out asleep in your arms from waiting in line for 45 min. Speaking of characters set very low expectations for your child's reaction to characters... My 9 month old is all about she squeaks and smiles while meeting new characters, my two year old is the complete opposite. He is absolutely terrified of foam head character aka mickey mouse... Yet he loves Peter Pan, Aladdin, Princesses and other face characters. Seeing there real faces really gives him a sense of familiarity about the character and makes him less uncomfortable and scared
Things they don't tell you:
The tram sucks for strollers my husband and I more time than not opt to just walk from our car to the gate rather than try to take down our double stroller and hold it with our two children and backpack..
monorail also not stroller friendly and they normally make you fold it down same as the tram which leaves us with,, The ferry boat! though it is much slower than the monorail the fact that I don't have to balance my two year old and nine month old and stroller and backpack/baby carrier makes it 100% worth the wait!
Huggies baby centers. There are baby centers in each park filled with highchairs for feedings, changing tables, a quiet room with rocking chairs for feedings, a small room with a movie and coloring area for toddlers that need some A/C and a store with all the diapers, baby food, formula, bottles and sunscreen your mommy brain could forget.
Baby's on rides : everyone knows the worst part about bringing a baby to a park is ride time.. someone is normally stuck with the stroller while everyone goes on rides and lets face it.. its normally us moms.. But the great part about Disney is all of the "any height" rides which is surprisingly almost all of them at Magic Kingdom (other than the big roller-coaster) you and your baby can go on!!! Yup, you read correctly no more stroller sitting! As long as your infant is strapped safely into a forward facing baby carrier you can join the rest of the gang to hit up almost any ride in the park!!
It is possible to stay on property without breaking the bank. The All store resorts and pop century resort have most of their regular room rates at about $75 a night! So you can give your munchkins a mickey room to look forward to for the same price if not cheaper than the holiday inn down the street. The trick is that they change prices throughout the day. bumping them up to more expensive at times people are typically on lunch break and getting off work and cheaper during mid afternoon.
Well that's all the tips and tricks I have for today but check back for more!!
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