Doing Disney.... The Logistics

If you are at all considering selling out to consumerism then keep reading if you want our account of Disney trip planning. I personally want that the trip I want my children to remember when they are adults more than anything is tour of the major National Parks, camping and paddling our way though some of the most beautiful places in the country. Or, maybe when the kids are teenagers, a trip overseas for a month long trip country hopping taking in culture. I am on the other hand, married to a total child at heart that balances out my cynical side. Bill has seen/owns every Disney movie, I on the other had didn't even know some of the characters. I would much rather hang out with Tyler Durden not Dumbo.

This trip starting coming together as we made the long 14 hour drive back from Florida in August. Bill had downloaded several podcasts detailing planning a Disney trip. The more we listened to them, the more we talked about how we wanted to do a big family trip one last time as a family of 3.

We decided to go ahead and plan the trip in hopes that by the time we went I would be carrying a healthy pregnancy and Bill would have a new job, and would be physically recovered from his surgery. We also decided on a general budget knowing that the markup for this trip is ridiculous. Knowing friends that have been before and heard details of 100.00 hairdos for your child to be princess, we knew without willpower, you can drop serious cash.

Ok... the logistics by topic. I linked places that were helpful in trip planning.

Time to Go- Between the two of us we have been in March, April, July, and Christmas. We decided to try for Fall given that it is Value season and hotels rate are at the lowest rate of the year. Weather is 70/80s so we could still enjoy the pool, maybe. We had great weather the entire time, only raining once at night. To do again I would have gone before daylight savings time had ended as I think once it got dark, it was hard to be motivated to get out again. The only day the parks were even remotely crowded was Veterans Day. We typically had a 15 min or less ride wait at every park per ride. Using the FastPass system (more later) was a lifesaver to not spend oodles of time in line. I did bring line-waiting supplies like bubbles in case we had a wait.

Travel- We opted to take the overnight Amtrak Silver Star Line train from Raleigh to Kississmee for around 200.00 round trip for all 3 of us. Flying was going to be triple this at least. Had we flown we could have used free transportation to/from the airport since we were staying on property, called the Disney Magical Express. We met Bill's mom at the train station, as it was in the same place as the bus depot and then hired a Town car with a booster seat for around 70.00 round trip. Once on property we took the shuttle buses to every park. The buses were often not packed and we didn't wait more than 10 mins (until the last day) to board and then ride 15 mins. Our hotel had 4 shuttle stops and we always were the first to pick up and last to get off.

Lodging- We wanted to stay on property for 2 main reasons: We wanted to be able to able to go back for daily naps/rest and we didn't want to have to rent a car. We started by looking at the general categories of resorts and narrowed it down to the Swan and Dolphin near Epcot that offered a 25% Teacher discount off the room but didn't quality for Disney Dining as it is owned by Marriott.

I just happened to see a commercial pitching "free Disney Dining" if you stayed at qualified properties. I researched the lodging on line at allears.net which has extensive review and lots of Disney advice. I also read the Unofficial Guide to Disney which was HUGE help and resource. We settled on Port Orleans- Riverside which is classified as a Moderate property. Our room had 2 double beds with an additional trundle bed in a super close building to the main building, shuttle stop, and pool. We stayed in building 14 in the Alligator Bayou side (not the Maison side which caters to honeymooners.)Outstanding staff throughout including our daily towel creations that Ben loved until he destroyed on the last day.

Food- We qualified for Disney Dining pass for every member of the party, including Ben. We estimated this saved us around 500-$700. I printed off the listing of restaurants, character meals, and options and then researched each restaurant we were considering. Bill made reservations which was a major help. We had two character meals which normally would have cost us $20-40 per person if we had not had the plan. I also researched where we could get the most "bang for our buck" and quickly realized that a $4.00 milkshake and a .99 apple counted the same in the credits.

I even marked on our map where preferred eating locations were and then tried to plan where we would be in the park when time to eat. If we hadn't had this meal plan I am sure Bill and I would have split alot of food as the portions were huge. We also would have only done one character meal. If you are thinking character meal, the holy grail of the Disney Expericne according to some, RESEARCH! Each has different characters, food, locations, and some you can book 180 days in advance.

The plan gave us drink, meal, and dessert twice a day once at a sit down restaurant and one at a counter service/quick service place, plus an snack option for each member of the party once a day. Needless to say having a fridge in the room was a huge help. We barely touched the snacks I brought with me except for juice boxes.

We ate at the following restaurants by location: I don't think we had a bad meal anywhere, but to do it again I would have gotten a Character Meal at Chef Mickey at the Contempoty Hotel instead of the Pooh Extravaganza/endurance test at Crystal Palace.

Hotel- Great food court that served 6am-11 pm with really good pizza delivery plus full breakfast everyday. Thy also had a onsite bakery with custom made desserts. We ate at least 3 meals there and never ate that same thing twice.

Magic Kingdom- Lunch at Cosmic Ray's Starlight Cafe, Character Meal-Lunch at Crystal Palace

Epcot- Biergarten in World Showcase for Dinner
Character Meal-Dinner at Garden Grill- OUTSTANDING FOOD much of locally grown

Animal Kingdom- Lunch at Yak and Yeti- good, quick Asian with lots of outdoor seating

Disney Hollywood Studios- Lunch at Sci Fi dine In theater. Food ok, but sitting and eating in a car was appealing to Ben.

Tickets- Pay the extra and get "park hopper" passes. We got them with our package with the hotel and dining. We planned a daily schedule of one park when they opened and then another after naps. We never got out of the hotel for the extra hour that each opens early on given days, if it had been peak season we might have reconsidered.

Wingin' It- The night before we planned the next day. I had printed out and Bill had researched ahead of time what rides were most appropriate for Ben's age and the scare factor (great table in the book I mentioned before). I was the map queen and planned how to see the most with the least amount of walking. We made a list of most important to ride to ok to skip it for each park, by area with an estimate of when we wanted to be back for naps in time to make dinner reservations.

We took with us a cheap umbrella stroller that I clearly marked as ours. You can rent them for 15.00/single per day at Disney too, but I hated the design of them. You can't take them on Disney transportation (even the train that encircles the park.) We also carried a well organized backpack that Bill and I traded carrying.

We took advantage of the Disney Photo pass system that allows Disney photographers to take group pictures at famous landmarks. They scan your card and then you view online up to 30 days after you return home. If you buy a pic package it's worth it, or you want to create an online book to capture your trip. We got a few great shots that we might order but only if we didn't also get a good picture on our own.

Using your cell/texting. Many times Pam took Ben and Bill and I split up to go get Fastpass tickets for a ride we expected to have an line. We researched ahead of time which rides had Fastpass and tried using the system at the smallest park (Animal Kingdom) on our first full day there. I highly recommend learning this system and making it work to see the most and wait the least amount of time.

Many times Bill and I took a pic of a line, emailed it, and made a judgement call about getting in line. We also often saved a place in line while someone hit the bathrooms with Ben and then texted where we were to catch up. While we didn't use the pre-set touring plans in the book, I did look at them and if it was peak season I would have definately used them.

Souvenirs- I refused to spend a ridiculous amount on crap that once home was just going to take up space. Bill took Ben to the Disney store home at and let him pick our a plush Mickey to take with him on the train and sleep with at night. I went to Target the week before to get blister treatments and other first aid stuff, a glow stick/flashlight necklace for Ben to keep him occupied while waiting at night, and then the hit dollar bin where they had tons of Mickey themed things.

Each day I whipped out Mickey socks to wear, a pen necklace, notepad, stickers. Undoubtedly every ride spits you out into a gift shop so we let Ben often carry something around that he "wanted" and then made a big deal about putting it down so we could do something fun. Seriously bribed him at times with gummy bears to get him out of a store. We waited until the last night and hit the motherload of Disney Stores at Downtown Disney via a riverboat from our hotel and bought Ben a custom made ears hat that he picked out the patches and let him pick a t-shirt. I bought an tree ornament and Bill bought something Star Wars themed. Seriously, that was IT in the spending dept.

Overall I am really proud of the way we handled ourselves on the trip. We recognized that when Ben was starting to melt down that we didn't push it. No additonal ride was worth having to carry him kicking and screaming out of the park. While he did act like a typical 3 year old, having Pam along was often times the incentive that we needed. She was a major help and I highly recommend having not a whole family reunion at Camp Mickey, unless you are insane, but someone else along. It was amazing given this age what she could get him to do when Bill or I couldn't.

It was totally worth the money, time planning (esp on Bill's part). I typically over plan and I didn't this time which tells me that given next trip I need to trust Bill that he will do a fabulous job again.

As much as I joke that I hate all things kids related and Bill tells me I could be a Disney villain stand-in, I totally loved seeing the sheer joy and excitement on Ben's face. I totally get why parents want to do this trip for their kids. I hope that once the baby is about the same age and Ben is around 7 that we can do it again. Then I am planning that trip out West with the ground rules being you have to be able to carry your own pack and not poop on yourself.