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Category Archives: Resorts
Disney Planning Tips: Don’t Forget To Pack For The Bathroom!
When people make their packing list for a vacation at Walt Disney World or Disneyland most people that I know just write “toiletries”. This is fine for some people, but for me, I need “toiletries” to be listed out specifically! If I just rely on my little brain to remember all the bathroom and toiletry needs for our family of 4, I KNOW I’d forget something.
I know Disney provides soap, shampoo and conditioner in each room but I always pack ours from home so we won’t run out and so I know how my hair will do! I also pack my own hairdryer even though some rooms provide one because I am familiar with my dryer!
So, here is a list of additional toiletry/ bathroom items for your next Disney vacation:
- brush/ comb
- razor
- toothpaste/ brush/ floss
- deodorant
- lotion
- make up
- cotton balls/ q-tips
- moisturizer
- mouse/ gel/ hairspray
- contact solution
- feminine products
- First Aid Kit: fever reducer, band aids, cold and sinus meds, antacids, prescriptions, Neosporin, thermometer, Benadryl, Dramamine, etc.
A few additional items I have added to my list are:
- Pump soap to make hand washing easier in the room.
- Lysol spray. You can buy travel size cans in the travel toiletry section at Target. It makes me feel better to use Lysol spray for smells and germs- especially if someone gets sick!
- Dishwashing liquid- if you have a baby or toddler who is using a bottle or sippy cup or if you buy the resort mugs or a bucket of popcorn, it’s nice to be able to wash it out with soap while on your vacation!
- Don’t forget potty training “stuff” if you will be potty training while on your vacation! Bring the portable potty or a seat that sits on the big potty, if you can. If you reward for using the potty, don’t forget to pack the rewards!
- Bath Toys for your kids! It makes bath time at night so much easier if they have familiar toys to play with in the tub.
- A pop up or plug in deodorizer for the room. This helps make your room smell fresh and when you return home you still have a smell from your trip to remind you of Disney!
What are some things you bring with you?
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Visiting Disneyland – What to expect from a Disney World point of view
Sleeping Beauty's Castle in Disneyland
Cinderella's Castle in Disney World
So you’ve been to Walt Disney World, and now you’ve decided you want to make a trip to the place where the magic began. Disneyland is as special and magical as can be, and it is also VERY different from Walt Disney World.
Here are some things to expect when you head to Disneyland:
Booking your trip: Things are different in Disneyland, the Dining Plan is actually meal vouchers (purchased at a discount rate then redeemed at participating restaurants), and their Advance Dining Reservations can only be booked via phone up to 60 days in advance (versus 180 days with WDW). They do have vacation packages, where you can book hotel/tickets/meal plan all together, which is similar to how Walt Disney World package vacations work.
Hotel Choices: There are only 3 “on property” hotels at Disneyland – The Grand Californian, Disneyland Hotel, and Disney’s Paradise Pier Hotel, and they aren’t grouped into “value/moderate/deluxe” classifications like at Disney World. However, Disney Land does give more lodging options with their “Good Neighbor Hotels”, which are hotels Disney recommends and are close to the resort, and these are listed by types (economy/moderate/superior/suites) to help you pick which one works best for you and your travel companions
Park Size: This was the first thing I noticed upon arriving at Disneyland – its so much smaller than Disney World! The Walt Disney World Resort sits on roughly 25,000 acres while Disneyland’s parks and resorts occupy just 430 acres. Instead of a huge parking lot like at WDW, you park in a tall parking garage at Disneyland, and instead of huge intricate indoor line queues, your wait times for rides at Disneyland takes place mostly outdoors (which might be in part due to the fact that California weather tends to be a lot less rainy/icky than Florida weather, but i’m sure its partly a size issue too!). It doesn’t really feel cramped or small, but there definitely was a limit on the amount of space Walt had to work with when building Disneyland – which was why he purchased so much land for the building of WDW – to make sure any and all ideas would have space to flourish in the future!
Theme Parks: There are 2 theme parks at Disneyland, the Disneyland Park (which is similar in layout and theming as it’s Walt Disney World’s Magic Kingdom Counterpart), and Disney’s California Advanture, which opened in 2001 and is divided into 6 districts, each of which represents various aspects of Californian culture and landmarks
Authenticity: Disneyland was where it all started, it was Walt’s ideas that created it, and he was there to see them executed and was there for the opening day of the park, to see all his hard work come to life in amazing ways. Sadly, he passed away before Walt Disney World opened, so while many of his ideas were brought to life in Florida as well, Disneyland is truly ‘the real deal’ when it comes to the man behind the mouse – Walt Disney.
Oh yeah, and one more difference – the castles! At Disney World, you stand at the base of Main Street USA and see Cinderella’s Castle tall and looming in the distance (and soon you will see the Beast’s Castle too, once they complete the Fantasyland expansion!), and in Disneyland, your view down Main Street is of Sleeping Beauty’s Castle.
There may be a lot of differences between the two Resorts, and it is these differences that give each park a unique guest experience. But at the end of the day, both places were created by Walt Disney, a man who knew how to create a truly special place for those of all ages to go to enjoy themselves and feel like kids again. The magic is abundant in both places, and no matter whether you decide the World or the Land is more your speed, you will have a great time!
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- DisneyWORLD vs. DisneyLAND – what’s the difference? (livinginagrownupworld.wordpress.com)
- Getting a Postcard from the Main Mouse (chipandco.com)
Adult Dining in Disney World – Top 5 Restaurants to try
Enjoying a Beer Flight at Big River Grille
Over the years, Walt Disney World has really worked on improving the dining experience for their guests, and they have done an amazing job, it really sets them apart from amusement parks where all you can get is burgers/fries/chicken fingers and the occasional grilled chicken sandwich. The problem they have now (if you can even call it a problem), is that they are so many choices, that a lot of people stick with what they know, which is the chicken fingers and burgers – which are still delicious, but not exactly adventurous.
One of the best things about going to Walt Disney World as an adult is the FOOD – now that you’re grown up you can decide where you want to eat, and what you want to eat, so to get you out of that bland theme park food rut, I have compiled the top 5 ‘different’ restaurants for adults to try at Walt Disney World, in hopes that you will get out there and experience some of the amazing food that WDW has to offer!
5. Via Napoli – This is a relatively new restaurant in Italy at Epcot’s World Showcase, and they are serving up some truly amazing and authentic italian dishes, like lasagna, chicken parmesan, and spaghetti with veal meatballs (yum!). They are also doing a variety of wood fired pizzas with everything from tomatoes and cheese to eggplant and artichokes. The smell of the pizzas is drool worthy for sure, and as if that wasn’t enough, they are serving a variety of wines and other italian inspired beverages to help you cool off after a hot day of touring the Parks.
4. Big River Grille and Brewing Works - Head over to Disney’s Boardwalk Resort and have a casual dinner at this microbrewery, where you can sample flights of their beer made on premisis. The menu isn’t huge, but the items on it are delicious – start out with the beer cheese soup, then an entree of hazelnut crusted chicken, and finish with a rich dessert of chocolate confusion (chocolate cake, mousse, chips, and then more chocolate!). If you aren’t in a food induced coma at this point, you can take an evening stroll down the idyllic Boardwalk, which is nice in the daytime but is even more beautiful when it’s all lit up at nighttime
3. Cape May Cafe – This buffet at Disney’s Beach Club Resort is a surf inspired character meal by day, and a surf-and-turf (character free!) seafood buffet by night. Enjoy a true New Englad Style Clambake with steamed clams, mussels, and other favorites, including chicken, ribs, salad bar, and dessert. What could be better than delicious all you can eat seafood in a beautiful resort setting?
2. Raglan Road – This Irish Pub is located in Downtown Disney and serves up Irish classics like Bangers and Mash, as well as crowdpleasers like New York Strip Steak. Their full bar has a wide array of beer and wine selections, and the Irish dancers and live Celtic tunes will keep you happy all night! OH and I can’t forget to mention their Bread Pudding Dessert, it is to die for, and worth going there just for that!
1. Boma – The bus ride over the Animal Kingdom Lodge is worth it for this buffet of African inspired dishes, including Bobotie – a spiced meat dish with an egg topping and the ever popular Zebra Domes, a dessert treat filled with a delicious custard with a hint of liquor in it! Boma has so many amazing dishes I had never tried before that it would be impossible to name them all, they were all worth trying (and most were worth going back for seconds too!), the meats and different salads and hummuses were out of this world! I wasn’t too sure about the ‘ethnic’ cuisine and if I would enjoy it or not, but I loved every single thing I tried and would go here again in a heartbeat, and that’s why it has received the coveted #1 spot on the list!
Honorable Mention:
Kouzzina - I just had to mention this little gem, with their Greek inspired dishes and ideal location at Disney’s Boardwalk Resort, I would highly recommend breakfast here – as many of the dishes were updated and some new ones were added (think gooey baklava and fluffy omelettes stuffed with feta and spinach!)
Now, I know there are TONS of other amazing restaurants out there, these are just some of my personal favorites that don’t abide to the standard “theme park cuisine” code, and each one is unique and does things it’s own way, which I love!
Dining in Walt Disney World can be an amazing experience, and I urge you to try something new and different, after all, you’re on vacation!
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- Eats Outside the Parks – Why They’re Worth The Trip (chipandco.com)
Top 5 Things to do while Riding from the Resorts to the Parks
With the exception of the monorail Resorts, it can take a good 30 minutes to get from your lodging to any of the Walt Disney World Parks. Factor in crowd levels, special events, hour of day and distance to/from your destination (and how many other stops there are along the way), and the amount of time you spend on the bus, boat or monorail can add up to a considerable amount of time. If you’re not prepared, that can seem like a lot of lost, unmagical moments.
To perk up the pace, here are my top five things to do while riding to the Parks:
- If you are healthy and able, get up out of your seat and offer it to someone who needs it more than you do. Days at the Parks are long and tiring—even more so to a mom carrying a sleeping infant, an ailing grandmother, someone with a handicap or a small child. Consider others before yourself.
- Chat with the people next to you. Sometimes people just stare at their feet to avoid conversation, but you know what? Most strangers don’t bite! If they’re staying at your Resort, you’re likely to bump into them again, and it’s always nice to see a friendly face. If nothing else, you’ll gain a new Facebook friend.
- Drill the bus driver. They are a wealth of Disney information and can answer any question you have about the Parks and surrounding area. They give great advice and tips on how to get around and make your stay even more enjoyable.
- Get your things organized and ready to present at the gate. If you’re carrying a bag, make sure it’s accessible, maybe go ahead and open it for the quick search. Make sure your tickets are out and ready to go so you don’t have to dig through your stuff. You’ll want to get into the Parks as quickly and as easily as possible.
- Sleep! Seriously. The average person walks eight to 10 miles a day while visiting Walt Disney World Resort. That fact alone exhausts me! Now consider all the things you’re doing while walking those miles. Add in the emotional excitement, the effort to keep your kids reigned in, the anticipation of the following days, keeping to schedules, and generally trying to do and see everything there is to see and do, and you’ll be begging for one of those ECVs by nightfall if you don’t rest up when you can. If you are parents of young kids, tag team it. Let Mom catnap on the way to the Parks and Dad snooze on the way back. They say a 15-minute nap can give you an extra hour of energy later on, so grab it while you can!
What do you do to pass the time on buses, boats and rails?
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Planning Your First WDW Trip: Where to Begin?
Planning your first Walt Disney World vacation can definitely be overwhelming – there is so much to do and so much information out there that it’s easy to get buried beneath it all. Luckily, help in planning the trip of your dreams is out there, you just have to know where to look!
Use this timeline as a guide in planning, and while its not all-encompassing, it will give you a place to start and some things you’ll definitely want to do along the way
1 year before your trip: Yes, that’s right, planning a WDW trip can take a year or more (but believe me, its 100% worth it!)! At this time, you should:
-Start doing some research as to where you might want to stay, and think about if you want to stay on property (personally, I always am an advocate for staying on property, the perks like transportation, extra magic hours, Magical Express, and being right in the middle of it all are too good to pass up!), and if so, where you want to stay. For help with that, check out This Article on how to pick your WDW resort
-Make your Budget – Maybe not the most exciting thing to do, but it is definitely an important part to planning a WDW vacation. The reason I like to do this so far in advance of the trip is so I can save up as much as possible, as a trip to WDW isn’t cheap, but its worth all the planning and saving! Some things to include in your budget: hotel, park tickets, car rental/parking, Plane tickets/other transportation, food, tips (this one is important if you’re on the Disney Dining Plan, as gratuities at table service restaurants are not included with the plan and will need to be paid out of pocket), souviners, and incidentals/miscellaneous.
*If you make your budget and find that you need to cut somethings out, Check out my tips for Saving money on your WDW vacation
7-8 months before your trip:
-Book it! You’ve budgeted your trip and you know where you want to stay, so it’s time to make your travel plans! As for HOW to go about booking it, you could do it all online yourself, or use a travel agent (not sure if you need one? Check out this article for Travel Agent Tips)
-Research Your Dining Options: This one may seem crazy, like how are you supposed to know what you might want to eat 8 months from now? But trust me, its very important to plan your Advanced Dining Reservations, or ADR’s, as the more popular places full up fast. Chip’s Guide to Disney World Dining and www.disneyworld.com/dining are both good resources for figuring out your ADR’s. Once you pick some places you might like, think about which day and meal you would like to eat there, and make a list of that information so you can have it handy when it’s time to make the reservations
6 months before your trip (180 days to be exact)
-Time to book those ADR’s – so here is a brief rundown on how this works. You have researched what restaurants you want to eat at and have your list handy. 180 days before your trip is when you can make your ADR’s, beginning online at 6am ET and via phone at 7am ET (1/407-WDW-DINE). What is an ADR, exactly, you might be wondering? Well, its basically like call ahead seating, where you arrive at the restaurant at your appointed time and are given a pager, and you’re paged when the next table becomes available
-Book your airline tickets – I have personally found this to be a good time to book a flight, the prices tend to be a little lower, and overall it works out well. This would also be a good time to research how you will actually get to the park, whether it be renting a car or taking a shuttle
From 6 months to 2 months before your trip:
-Research all there is to do – this is a really fun one, it’s time to actually think about all the fun things you will do while you are at Walt Disney World! Research the parks and the rides and the shows and everything else they have to offer. There are TONS of ways to do this, some of my faves are books – Specifically the Passporter Walt Disney World Guide, and also Birnbaum’s Walt Disney World, both of which are full of information in an easy to understand layout, and also the internet can be a great tool. It’s easy to get overwhelmed with the sheer volume of Disney World information online, so here are some sites I prefer to do my research on:
www.chipandco.com
www.allears.net
www.wdwinfo.com
www.disneyworld.com
Guide to Career Education has a lot of great information available for WDW junkies and others interested in getting into the travel and tourism profession.
-Plan to take some time for yourselves : Whether you are traveling with other adults or with children and the whole family, everyone deserves a little time to themselves on vacation, so take a look at these adult friendly WDW activites and think about incorporating some of them into your trip
1 month before your trip: You’re officially in the home stretch, Mickey is just a hop skip and a jump away! Don’t forget to:
-Make your list of things you need to pack....if you’re having trouble figuring out what you will need, start Here
-Go Shopping! Stock up on the things you know you’ll need, like extra batteries, sunscreen, make sure you have enough of any prescriptions you take, etc (It’s good to plan ahead on these things, especially the ‘essentials’ that cost next to nothing at home cost an arm and a leg at a WDW souvenir shop!)
1 week before your trip:
-Start packing: Utilize that list you made and make extra sure you have everything you need, doing this ahead of time can save you time, money, and headaches down the road!
-Check in online : If you’re staying at one of Walt Disney World’s Resort Hotels, this can be done up to 10 days in advance of your trip, and once you arrive at the Resort there’s a separate (shorter) check in line, and the process is a lot faster than traditional hotel check in
-Confirm ADR’s and transportation: You can check your ADR information online through Disney’s Dining website, and as for transportation, you will want to call your car rental company to make sure they have the correct information and vehicle ready for your arrival (because there’s nothing worse then getting a rental car that’s half the size of the one you were promised…trust me on this one!
-Check out these Last Minute Tips to make sure you’re fully prepared for your WDW vacation
The Day of your trip: Don’t forget to Have Fun, because above all else, you are going to the Happiest Place on Earth, and even if you forget something or forget to plan something, you will have an amazing time!
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- Spring Break At WDW – How to Deal With the Crowds (chipandco.com)
