Disney Vacation Do's and Don'ts

Weather you have been to Disney 100+ times like me or going for the first time you always find products and learn tips and tricks to make the next visit better. I may live in Florida now but I have traveled both with and without children by plane to Disney for vacation. I can tell you that this time was a game changer. Between toddler meltdowns, adult children with attitudes and a non Disney crazy adult we had to make some changes so everyone had a great time. Let me tell you what I learned.

Florida Mom Blog Disney must have's and must do's

Planning and over planning

Yes it's that hot

Do a rest day

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Planning and over planning

Ok so I am a planner and I am sure most moms out there are. I purchased the guide The Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World 2023 from Amazon, read it in detail making notes on pages and highlighting things I knew I wanted to do, eat, ride, see stay everything. I read their touring plans and mapped out how we should move about each park, noted the baby care centers, where to watch fireworks and parades. I felt so prepared, I had a plan and this vacation was going to be the best yet...and it was. The hours of planning, color coding, reservations made to eat along the route I had planned never happened. The reality, I had an over tired and over stimulated toddler, an overwhelmed partner, and frustrated teenager. I learned quickly the first day that we needed to slow down, enjoy the little moments. Did we get to every ride, nope. I just looked at it as we have a reason to come back and make the next trip a new experience. Once we slowed down and diched the plan it was much more enjoyable for everyone. I do recommend the guide book for sure. I was happy with the resort we chose and got the perfect room in just the right area of the resort for our family and I would have never chosen that without the guide. Also for eating, they let you know what restaurants need reservations, what kind of food they serve and what is recommended. I can tell you the brioche ice-cream sandwich I had never had in all my visits and I made sure to get it based on the suggestion in this guide and it was phenomenal. Buy the book and move at your own pace.

Yes, it's that hot

Listen, I live here in Florida. Until the past year I lived in South Florida but there ain't no hot like Disney hot. When your walking 16k-20k steps per day even a little sun makes you melt. Yes there are plenty of places to sit in the shade or you could jump in a shop or restaurant to get some AC. Spoiler alert...the AC no longer feels like the one blasting in your face in your car or the one you have set back at the resort so you can come back to a nice cold environment. Between the people and open doors most of the time the AC areas are just not cold enough to cool down. There is no number of Dole Whips or Mickey bars that can make you feel like your not dripping.

My must have for Mama's and girls. Yoga shorts. I know what your thinking, you don't want to wear them around all day and not put on that cute Disney dress but put them on under the dress, put them on under another pair of shorts. If your curvy like me its a life saver on the thighs. The ones linked here are soft and so comfortable, and only $20.99 for a 3 pack.

For those little ones that nap you must have a fan. We purchased a Stroller Fan and it was much needed especially when my toddler was napping the stroller. He's a hot sleeper and with the sunshade up on the stroller to block the sun from his face it just got too hot. And when he wasn't using it we could! I know everyone wants those neck fans or misting water fans. I just didn't want to carry all that around, the stroller was packed as it was. This particular fan was rechargeable with a USB we could plug in every night.

Do a rest day

To some it seems like a waste. You pay the money to travel, resort, park tickets, food. Adding a day to rest will cost more, one more resort night, one more day of food, but you will love it. For us, we stayed at the Contemporary Resort and we paid the price to be in a Deluxe resort so we wanted to explore the resort and enjoy what we were paying for. Yes the room was completely upgraded with a cool Incredibles theme and all the amenities you would expect but there is so much more beyond the room. We enjoyed our rest day with a late breakfast on site at Chef Mickey's which was probably the best part for my toddler. After breakfast we went to the pool where everyone got to relax both with some swimming and some frozen adult beverages. After a nap since sun and swimming is so tiring, we headed to Disney Springs for our dinner reservation at Chef Art's Homecoming. It was a nice break in our trip. We did 2 park days, a rest day and then 2 more park days. I don't think I would ever do a multi day trip again without one.