With a little under six weeks to go before we depart on our disney vacation I thought that I would begin to get in the swing of 'blogging" by send out a few blogs of our past Disney experiences.
Greg's initial 7 Disney rules to live by:
1) Have a plan. Do the research
In most cases I would recommend not only having a plan A but also having a plan B, a plan C and even a plan D if needed, improvise only when absolutely necessary. There will always be someone in your group that will say a plan isn't needed. They're wrong. These people will walk aimlessly throughout the parks, who see and experience very little, and come back to tell everyone what a terrible time they had.
There are a variety of websites out there that can be used as a resource. A couple of sites we have used in the past http://www.mousesavers.com/ and http://www.wdwinfo.com/.
2) Remember whose vacation this is.
I comment as a father. Going to Disney is for the kids, not the parents. I understand the cost of taking a family to Disney, however trying to explain that cost to a 4 year old, is like telling your mother-in-law her opinion doesn't count. It's just useless, they just can't comprehend what you are telling them.
3) You can negotiate with any type of circumstance except Hunger and Fatigue
A simple fact, children de-age when they become tired and hungry. Its similiar to having a pet bear. They look neat when sleeping, they are playful when fed, but poke it with a stick and you may be lucky if you only lose the stick. Remember Rule #1 (that's why it is rule 1) - have a plan. Stick to a schedule
4) There is a "wall" and you need to be prepared.
I also like to refer to it as "Four parks in Four Days your nuts".
Speaking from experience, the mythical "wall" is not that mythical. Simple facts, (1) the parks are huge, (2) when busy its like being in a mall the Saturday before Christmas, and (3) young children do not have the stamina of an adult. Dragging your children from attraction to attraction and telling them they will enjoy it, doesn't work, trust me I've tried.
It seems that planning (See Rule #1 - again that why its rule #1) a break day will go a long way to reducing the stress of the trip.
5) Disney World can be an amphifier to your family dynamic
Not such a rule, as an observation. Although Disney is deemed "the happiest place on Earth", the parks will amphify your family structure. In my opinion Disney, is not the place to mend a disfunctional families. The level of stress (yes stress) the overall cost, the knowledge that this is a "special" type of trip, the desire to have a perfect vacation, can be the start to the perfect storm. Now add, a factor that can be outside your control, a child getting sick, the weather taking a turn for the worst, a favourite attraction not being opened, and fireworks can commense. The key is remembering that not everything is in your control, and with a little understanding and some patience anything can be tackled. (See rule #3 for the exception).
6) Less is More
Like most things in life this rule was learned through experience. Our first trip to Disney and I tried to ensure that anything that sounded like fun was booked. Special tours, character meals, consecutive days at the park were only a start to this vacation. It hit home during the fourth day of our vacation. We had just spent three very good days at the parks, but the kids were fading and I knew it. However, I had booked a "Disney Magic Family Tour" and nothing was going to stop us from attending and having fun. So we arrived at the Magic Kingdom to go on an interactive tour, with two children under 5 after three days in the parks (See Rule #4), who are normally interverted, and for good measures, the weather was not looking too good. Here is the general recap of events:
9:00am - arrived at the parks, looks like rain, the three year old looks a little tired, better rent a stroller, might also need some rain gear.
9:32am - arrived at the gates, starting to spit, $30 for four rain covers, reminds me of garbage bags with a hood, trying to figure out number of garbage bags that we could buy with that type of money, head starts spinning on the calculation. Now need to get a stroller.
9:33am - wife tells me she ripped her rain gear, quietly swore
9:34am - it wasn't that quiet, got a look.
9:36am - found out that Disney will replace damaged items even if they were your fault. Will keep that in mind for future.
9:39am - was told a double stroller is $29 for the day, swore again, asked if it was a magical stroller, got another look, this day is not going very well.
9:44am - checked in and paid the $120 for the family (getting more expensive by the moment)
9:55am - starting to rain a little harder, hoping it is a passing shower, but the entire sky is gray.
10:00am - met with our tour guide, and given the premise of the tour, Capt Hook may take over Disney World if we don;t find his sword in the next two hours. Guide wants everyone to introduce themselves.
10:01am - three year old is sleeping in the stroller (no refunds), five year old is hiding behind mom... raining even harder.
10:06am - on our way to the first place, rain is now coming down sideways, the tour guide is unfazed.
10:15am - Five year old, is now hiding out in the stroller. The weather is taking a turn for the worst, I am thinking we are in a monsoon.. I want to give the park to Capt hook, its not like he can change anything. He still needs to get proper building permits. It appears that is not an option. Wife is giving me the look.
We did finish the tour, and there was no permanent damage done. If there was anything I learned, it was do the research, figure out the extras that you may like to do, pick an item or two, rather than doing many different things. Quality over Quantity.
7) Have a Budget.
A budget is necessary, but an unreasonable budget can be the first step to a disastrous vacation. The major costs would be finalized prior to your departure (travel, room and tickets). Now the next step is to budget for meals, souvineers, and other park expenses (parking (budget $15 a day), stroller rental (budget $30 a day) to name a few.
A reminder that almost every ride empties out into a gift shop. Telling a young child that they can look but can't get will only last so long before a complete melt down will take place. A strategy is needed for this as well.
We have countered this issue with pin trading (to be discussed in another blog). By prebuying pins (we save on the cost of buying them at the park) and having them available for the children to trade, has reduced the number of requests for purchases as they are to busy trying to trade pins.
