just got back from my trip. since so many of you were so helpful to me in planning my trip, i hope that i can return the favor with this list. i tried to focus on advice that isn't too obvious. hopefully, you guys can learn from the things i did well and the things i didn't do well:
1. use kingdom konsultants - i got price quotes from about five different travel agencies and they came in cheapest. the service was great as well.
2. fly jetblue - the tv sets really kept the kids (and us) entertained and made the time spent flying pass much, much more quickly. also, after booking your flight, keep checking back to see if the airfare has dropped on your flight. if it does, jetblue will give you a voucher to reduce your fare on a future flight.
3. develop a spending money plan for the kids in advance - my boys are 8 and 10. three months before the trip, we told them that for every dollar of their allowance that they saved for the trip, we would match it dollar-for-dollar, up to $30/kid. between what they saved, what we matched, and birthday money they got from relatives, each boy had about $100 for the trip. we told them that this would be *all* their spending money for souvenirs and arcade games on the trip. by doing this, the boys learned about the importance of saving long-term for something, learned how to budget their spending during the trip, and it prevented arguing with them when they wanted to buy things. it was a great opportunity to give them some responsibility and control at the same time. both boys even returned home with $20 - $35 left over, which made us very proud of them and we praised them heartily for that too!
4. at disney mgm, eat at sci-fi dine-in - awesome theming, lots of fun. a great nostalgia trip for those of us who grew up with drive-in movies.
5. go the week before thanksgiving - the crowds were extremely light, most attractions we either walked on or had a very brief wait. we only needed to use fastpasses twice in 5 days! weather was in the 70's and 80's during the day and sweatshirt-cool at night. not once did we regret taking the boys out of school for a week.
6. don't book an adr at a dress code restaurant the first night - magical express took about four hours to deliver our luggage, and we got it just in time to change and get to the california grill for dinner. a stressful first night.
7. go to a waterpark - we almost skipped typhoon lagoon because we have a waterpark in our hometown, but we're so glad we didn't. typhoon lagoon was the best waterpark we'd ever been to. go for at least a half-day, you won't regret it!
8. bring earplugs - my son is sensitive to loud noises, so earplugs really came in handy during wishes, lights motors action and indiana jones.
9. bring dramamine - i wish i had done this, as several of us felt a bit woozy after expedition everest and rock n' rollercoaster.
10. if you're on the disney dining plan, schedule your dinners late - there's so much food (too much food for us), that even when skipping an afternoon snack, we were still full from lunch at dinnertime. next time, i'll schedule dinner adr's at 7:00 or 7:30 pm.
11. eat at boma - plan on arriving at the animal kingdom lodge while it's still light out so you can catch a glimpse of the wild animals in the savannah. then go inside and check out the amazing gift shop - really huge, really cool stuff. once it gets dark, take some time to walk around the hotel lobby - it's absolutely stunning at night. then go to boma and enjoy a fantastic african buffet dinner. next trip, we'll eat there at least twice.
12. take in walt disney one man's dream and the magic of disney animation at disney mgm - these lesser-attended attractions might not be the wildest or most popular things at mgm, but they provide fascinating insights into walt disney's achievements and the disney movie-making process. my wife and i loved them.
14. buy the book "hidden mickeys" - bring it in your backpack to the parks. we really had fun with this.
15. eat at chef mickey's on the day you leave - a fun way to conclude your trip to wdw and the breakfast buffet gives you a big meal that sticks with you while on your flight. plus, if you go on a day that you're going to the parks, you won't want to take your time.
here's the link to my trip report in well, in case you're interested:
http://forums.wdwmagic.com/showthread.php?t=117098
chuck
1. use kingdom konsultants - i got price quotes from about five different travel agencies and they came in cheapest. the service was great as well.
2. fly jetblue - the tv sets really kept the kids (and us) entertained and made the time spent flying pass much, much more quickly. also, after booking your flight, keep checking back to see if the airfare has dropped on your flight. if it does, jetblue will give you a voucher to reduce your fare on a future flight.
3. develop a spending money plan for the kids in advance - my boys are 8 and 10. three months before the trip, we told them that for every dollar of their allowance that they saved for the trip, we would match it dollar-for-dollar, up to $30/kid. between what they saved, what we matched, and birthday money they got from relatives, each boy had about $100 for the trip. we told them that this would be *all* their spending money for souvenirs and arcade games on the trip. by doing this, the boys learned about the importance of saving long-term for something, learned how to budget their spending during the trip, and it prevented arguing with them when they wanted to buy things. it was a great opportunity to give them some responsibility and control at the same time. both boys even returned home with $20 - $35 left over, which made us very proud of them and we praised them heartily for that too!
4. at disney mgm, eat at sci-fi dine-in - awesome theming, lots of fun. a great nostalgia trip for those of us who grew up with drive-in movies.
5. go the week before thanksgiving - the crowds were extremely light, most attractions we either walked on or had a very brief wait. we only needed to use fastpasses twice in 5 days! weather was in the 70's and 80's during the day and sweatshirt-cool at night. not once did we regret taking the boys out of school for a week.
6. don't book an adr at a dress code restaurant the first night - magical express took about four hours to deliver our luggage, and we got it just in time to change and get to the california grill for dinner. a stressful first night.
7. go to a waterpark - we almost skipped typhoon lagoon because we have a waterpark in our hometown, but we're so glad we didn't. typhoon lagoon was the best waterpark we'd ever been to. go for at least a half-day, you won't regret it!
8. bring earplugs - my son is sensitive to loud noises, so earplugs really came in handy during wishes, lights motors action and indiana jones.
9. bring dramamine - i wish i had done this, as several of us felt a bit woozy after expedition everest and rock n' rollercoaster.
10. if you're on the disney dining plan, schedule your dinners late - there's so much food (too much food for us), that even when skipping an afternoon snack, we were still full from lunch at dinnertime. next time, i'll schedule dinner adr's at 7:00 or 7:30 pm.
11. eat at boma - plan on arriving at the animal kingdom lodge while it's still light out so you can catch a glimpse of the wild animals in the savannah. then go inside and check out the amazing gift shop - really huge, really cool stuff. once it gets dark, take some time to walk around the hotel lobby - it's absolutely stunning at night. then go to boma and enjoy a fantastic african buffet dinner. next trip, we'll eat there at least twice.
12. take in walt disney one man's dream and the magic of disney animation at disney mgm - these lesser-attended attractions might not be the wildest or most popular things at mgm, but they provide fascinating insights into walt disney's achievements and the disney movie-making process. my wife and i loved them.
14. buy the book "hidden mickeys" - bring it in your backpack to the parks. we really had fun with this.
15. eat at chef mickey's on the day you leave - a fun way to conclude your trip to wdw and the breakfast buffet gives you a big meal that sticks with you while on your flight. plus, if you go on a day that you're going to the parks, you won't want to take your time.
here's the link to my trip report in well, in case you're interested:
http://forums.wdwmagic.com/showthread.php?t=117098
chuck
