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Category Archives: Tips and Tricks
Should You Take Your Children Out of School for a Disney Vacation?
If you have school-age children, at some point you have probably considered taking them out of school to visit Walt Disney World. It can be a tough decision, and in my experience at least, the right answer was different at different stages of our daughter’s life.
The “take them out of school” discussion is one that I personally struggled with. The first time we dealt with this dilemma was when our daughter was in middle school, and we made the decision to plan a 7 day Land/Sea vacation with Disney Cruise Line in October. Her school system had 2 days off during this one week, so I figured that she was only missing 3 days of school. We notified all her teachers in advance, she got her work from most of them before she left, and so she was able to do a good bit of it on the way down to Florida and back. No real problems.
I can’t say as much for the next time this came up, because by then she was a sophomore in high school…which is an entirely different ball game. I was going to be at Disney for a business conference, so we decided that we would all go. It was only for 3 days, in early December. She was an A student, so we figured that it would work out fine, and that she would have no problems.
We were wrong. In high school, the work load is a great deal more, and things move rapidly. Despite her best efforts to keep up with her homework while away, it was hard: who really wants to do calculus problems instead of seeing Wishes? And coming just a few weeks before Christmas break, every teacher was cramming to get things accomplished prior to the break. She was loaded with work before she left, and had even more when we returned.
She was able to eventually catch up, and her grades did not ultimately suffer…..but it was hard. We decided not to do that again. Our trips, from that point on, were during school breaks, and if that meant smaller 3-4 day trips, well so-be-it.
If you have younger children though, you may have more flexibility in scheduling your vacation. Many folks do take their children out of school to go to Disney World on a regular basis. If you are considering doing this, here are a few tips that I would offer that may help:
- Be sure to discuss your trip with your child’s teacher well in advance. Some teachers can give your child their homework prior to your vacation, so that he/she can complete it before you leave….or at least have it to work on during the trip there and back. It will really help when they return, if they are relatively caught up with their classmates.
- Depending on the age/grade of your child, see if there are “Disney-related” assignments that your child could do instead of regular work. Many teachers are very happy to encourage creative reporting on some of the educational aspects of Disney World: and there are a lot of great ways to do this! In fact, I think nearly everything at Disney World is educational in some aspect, so see if your child can take advantage of this by keeping a journal, doing a report or preparing a slideshow.
- I do think it is important to consider your child, and any challenges they face in school before you decide to do this. A vacation in the middle of the school year can be a real disruption to the routine of many children: how will your child handle this? Does he/she struggle for average grades? Some children can easily miss a few days of school without missing a beat, while others may be challenged for weeks afterwards trying to catch up. Again, there is no *one* answer here, it really depends on your own family situation.
So what about you? Have you taken your children out of school for a Disney vacation? What tips do you have to make it successful? And….would you do it again?
Do you like reading Nancy’s articles well check out her other website The Affordable Mouse, where she shares ways to make you next Disney Vacation affordable!
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Garden View Tea Room: 5 Tips to Know Before You Go!
Calling all girly girls! Ladies, it is time for you to start booking your advanced dining reservations for a simply divine experience! Read this first, but immediately after you read it…go get on the computer or dial 407-939-3463 to make a tea date! Afternoon tea is offered from 2-5pm daily at the Grand Floridian’s Garden View Tea Room. If you’ve never had afternoon tea, this is a great first experience. With choices from an a la carte menu or packages to cover your whole experience, this tea is not something you’ll want to miss. Today we are looking at my top 5 tips for tea…
#1 Trust your waiter!
As with most Disney cast members, our waiter at the Garden View Tea Room provided us with the best service. He made suggestions for our tea selection, taking the time to ask what flavors we liked and he even describe each tea. I ended up with the Mad Hatter Tea and it was a delicious ! Our waiter was right on! This fruity black tea with a hint of chocolate in the background, hit the spot!
#2 Maximize your selection
I recommend each person in your party select a different tea. This way you get more bang for your buck. I went to tea with 4 of my dearest friends, so we decided to each choose a different selection. As the individual tea pots were delivered to the table, we poured our first cup. After enjoying our own tea we sampled around the table. It was a lot of fun to compare the flavors (and even more fun to make plans for what tea to order next time!).
#3 Save some room
I wasn’t expecting to get as much food as we did! We went with the Buckingham Palace Tea package. This is a traditional tea served with with a savory course, scones, and pastries. There were 5 scrumptious tea sandwiches and an onion tart with the first course, a scone and strawberry tart with the second course, and we finished it off with a choice of two pastries! Not to mention, the tea! I was SO full! Luckily, we ate a big breakfast and skipped lunch! Next time, I am going to make sure to save plenty of room for all that tea has to offer!
#4 Enjoy the break
Taking time out of the parks may seem like a bad move. I am a full steam park enthusiast, on mission to make the most of my days in the parks! That said, I found the chance to slow down and enjoy the company of my best friends at Disney to be truly delightful! The relaxing piano music streaming in from the lobby added to the beautiful surroundings. It was good to slow down and I highly recommend this quiet spot!
#5 War of the Roses
I didn’t know that we would get a fresh rose at the end of our tea! I had plans to head to the Magic Kingdom with my friend, but where were we to put our beautiful roses? We decided to carry them into the parks (there was a lot of interesting conversation with the security guards at the bag check!). It was only a couple of steps into the queue for Space Mountain that we made a horrible call…we decided to stow the token of our tea away in a bag as we enjoyed the ride. Long story short, my flower, was…no more. I wish I’d taken the time to drop my beautiful flower off at my resort. Yes, it was just a flower, but it was a beautiful flower which I wish I could have enjoyed for more than just an hour! Heads up, take time to smell the roses or you’ll be left with a big mess like me!
Have you ever had tea at the Garden View Tea Room? If not, I hope you’ll take a couple of hours from the parks to relax and enjoy some tea with your friends! What are you waiting for…go make those ADRs now!
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- Guest Review: Grand Floridian’s Afternoon Tea at the Garden View Lounge (disneyfoodblog.com)
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Take the Wildlife Express Train at Animal Kingdom
When going to Disney’s Animal Kingdom theme park a great stop is the Wildlife Express Train. It is something fun to do whether it is raining or not and is often overlooked. It is found toward the back of the park in the Africa area behind the Tree of Life.
If you want to get out of the sun or someone in your group loves animals consider this option. If anyone in your party is not interested in rides or is ready for a break this is the place to go. If you have a little one that’s not quite ready for rides then this is a perfect location. Catching a ride on the train usually doesn’t take long. The seats are designed for guests a look straight to the land beside them as they travel. It is something for the whole family with the train ride lasting about seven minutes.
During your journey you will be able to see animal housing as well as animal care units while Disney magic transports passengers to the African Savanna. You travel to Rafiki’s Planet Watch and the train ride is the only way there. This location is dedicated to animal conservation and preservation complete with educational activities.
Habitat Habit!
This is a wildlife trail presenting guests, while on the walk, the opportunity of observing the cotton-top tamarin, which are South American monkeys.
Affection Section
Is more than a petting zoo — it is a Disney World petting zoo. Various animals include sheep, llamas, donkeys, goats, and chickens. Actually, this is the only location in Animal Kingdom that gives guests this opportunity. Just keep in mind flash photography is not permitted. Don’t worry either about petting all those animals because sanitation stations are available for hand washing.
Conservation Station
This is an air-conditioned building that gives guests a chance to see animals and learn more about them. It is an open area with various activities including a self-guided tour backstage with video cameras for real time animal viewing. Adults and children can also find it interesting when learning about how the animals are cared for with a look at the working veterinary clinic. Visiting the Conservation Station is good any time of day, but if you are really interested in seeing animal care consider venturing here in the morning. Most care happens before Noon with a schedule generally posted. If you have questions Cast Members are available to provide answers too.
Another benefit of this location are character greetings. Various characters have made appearances including Pocahontas, Terk, Lilo and Stitch. Many guests have been disappointed to learn Jiminy Cricket will no longer be appearing as it was the only location throughout Disney World to find him. The main character continues to be Rafiki though. Since this is often an area less traveled you can usually catch characters with little or no waiting, giving you quality time with the character. Check with cast members when entering the park and ask about who is appearing and when they will be available.
The Avatar expansion is beginning preparation with the idea of closing the train and Rafiki’s Planet Watch. Nevertheless, part of the charm of this area is you can get away from the hustle and bustle of the park’s bigger elements. This is really more than a train ride. When leaving this area it is a five minute train ride back to the rest of what Animal Kingdom has to offer.
This guest post was written by the C&C Fan Charity. Thanks for the article!
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Taking a Ride Down Main Street USA
Have you seen the Main Street Vehicles that ride down Main Street USA? These wonderful historic vehicles come in the form of a fire engine, omnibus, horse-pulled trolley or horseless carriage.
At Disney World’s Magic Kingdom park they offer guests an opportunity to take a one-way ride on a fire engine, omnibus and more down Main Street.
This is not something you are going to want to experience when you are in a mad rush at rope drop to head to your favorite ride, however if you take time to take it slow and hop on board and enjoy the ride you will not regret it.
There is no cost for this experience and you do not make a reservation. When you see one of these vehicles stopped, just hop on board and enjoy the ride!
You can get on board one of these vehicles in front of the Train Station by the main entrance to the park which will take you on a one way journey to Cinderella’s Castle or you can pick up a ride in front of Cinderella’s Castle to take you back to the front of the park.
Have you experienced this for yourself yet, if so, what did YOU think?
Lesley is a travel agent with Pixie Vacations, contact her for your next Disney vacation at Lesley@pixievacations.com or check her out at www.destinationmagic.com. She is currently offering generous booking incentives (Disney gift cards for Disney World/Disneyland, and Disney on board credits for Disney Cruise line)
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Five Rides for Little Guys (and girls) @ EPCOT
With its history as being Walt’s “future world”, EPCOT holds some fun rides for the little ones, too. At first glance, it seems that EPCOT may not be “fun” for the younger set-I mean, what little kid wants to stroll and drink their way through the World Showcase? Or you may think your little one will be bored with all the “futuristic” attractions at EPCOT. Think again!
Today, I’m sharing with you my top five attractions for the younger ones at EPCOT. I guarantee the adults and cool older kids in your traveling party will enjoy these too!
1. The Living Seas with Nemo and Friends. This one is our family favorite because ALL of us can enjoy it together. While riding in your clam shell, you experience all the highlights of Finding Nemo. We find this is a great ride for hot afternoons. Another great time to ride is “eating” time. While my daughter was still on bottles, we rode this so I could hold her and feed her in the air conditioning. At the same time, our family could enjoy the attraction together.
2. Living with the Land. Again, another fabulous ride for the hot afternoons. In our experience, our wait time here has been minimal. Our young children love seeing the plants and unique flowers growing in The Land.
3. Turtle Talk with Crush. As you exit The Living Seas with Nemo and Friends, you’ll be in a room with all sorts of oceanic life and stations. From there, you’ll be led into a theatre where a 3D, voice activated Crush will appear in front of the audience. He answers live audience questions, interacts with the littles in the room, and educates the audience on sea life.
4. Journey into Imagination with Figment. Figment, the cute purple dinosaur, pops up when you’ll least expect him. He’s so fun to watch out for, and the song will be in your head all day.
5. World Showcase. When it is nap time, we put the sunshade on the stroller, and my husband and I enjoy a leisurely walk through World Showcase. When the kids are awake, we do the Three Cabelleros in Mexico. World Showcase is also a great place to meet characters. We’ve seen Belle and Beast, Snow White, Mary Poppins, and some Aristocats in this area. The kids also might enjoy the German cuckoo clock show, and the small train moving through the gardens in Germany.
If you’re traveling with toddlers or preschoolers, I hope you won’t skip EPCOT on your visit. Not only does EPCOT hold some fun for the younger kids, it’s also a wonderful park to interact with characters. We’ve seen the “Fab Five” at the EPCOT Character Spot, near Innoventions in Future World. Also, princesses in their “home countries” and we’ve seen Stitch or Daisy Duck right at the entrance to EPCOT.
Do your children enjoy EPCOT? What is their favorite attraction?
Magically Yours,
Carrie
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