I realize that title probably doesn’t make me a professional but honestly I’ve learned a lot from our first trip as a family and had the help of friends that visit every year and our Disney Travel Agent. Now I must say, this isn’t my first trip ever. I came as a 9 year old back in the early 90s with my parents and it was an only child (my brother wasn’t born until 7 years later). The next time was when I was an adult and fairly newly married in 2009, when my husband and I came down and stayed with his snowbird grandparents and just visited EPCOT.
I’m literally writing this as I’m still on property and have a few hours left until we leave for our flight. This week had spectacularly high temps in the high 80s which is summer like for the Floridians in March. By today (Saturday), a big thunderstorm blew through this morning and ushered in unseasonably cool temps and by tonight it’s supposed to dip into the 30s and they have a wind chill warning. So the temps did a major swing the other way. But it’s helped us prepare for our rude awakening when we get home and have to indoor a white, snowy yard and temps in the teens at night. We also had a storm blow through up home in the way of wind and snow. Lovely.
Anyway, let’s get on with this blog post….
When to visit
I recommend aiming for March but avoiding Spring Break families and dance competitions is kind of unavoidable. We went March 5-12 and I thought that was perfect in terms of crowds and it being the 50th Anniversary. You still have some what cool temps but it is on the upswing and like we hit it this particular year- it was a heat wave for March. I’ve always visited in February or March and thought it was great. Now as far as what day to arrive- I’ve seen people do a Thursday-Thursday (I think this has to do with lower airfare). We did a Saturday-Saturday and our flight doesn’t leave until 10 so we basically got a whole extra day. However, we had to stow our luggage with Bell Services at our resort which is not a problem. They will simply take all your luggage and barcode it with a sticker. We made reservations for ‘The Boathouse’ at Disney Springs and did our ‘last minute shopping’ as I had been window shopping all week to make my final decisions that day.
Where to stay
This is solely determined by your budget and how close you want to be to parks or particular transportation. It also obviously depends on when you plan to go. We determined when we could go (keep in mind my husband sprung this on me in January and we took our trip in March) and looked to see what resorts were available. I definitely recommend staying on property. I have done both now (back in the 90s my parents and I stayed at a Radisson resort and the time with my husband in 2009 we drove in for the day). I don’t ever want to go back (unless someone was offering us a place close by and even then I think I’d have to really think it over). You have ease of access via the Disney bussing, Skyliner, monorail and boat systems. Now, some resorts are not connected to the Skyliner, monorail and boat system. However, basically all are connected via buses.
Now, with that being said we thoroughly enjoyed our time at Port Orleans French Quarter and would have liked to have stayed at Port Orleans Riverside but it wasn’t available the week we wanted to go. These two are moderate resorts (so middle of the road for budget) and they are sister resorts and you could each others pools if you wanted. They are connected by a walking trail along the Sassagoula River. I want to say it was less than a 5 minute walk between the two resorts. Or stay here just for the Mickey Beignets (my son is now addicted to them).
During our stay, we visited two resorts we were interested in- Boardwalk and Wilderness Lodge. I can honestly say, I wouldn’t mind staying at Wilderness and renting a week (something I want to look into) from someone and renting a villa. You could save so much on meals by having a kitchenette in your room. I’m not sure that I like being more closer to the hustle and bustle over closer to the Parks while at Boardwalk, Yacht and Beach Club but they were just as nice. Keep in mind these are Deluxe resorts, so they do cost more.
A nice perk for staying ‘on property’ is that you can enter the parks earlier and get in line earlier as well.
Oh and fun tip I didn’t know they had in the rooms is a retractable drying line in the shower to hang things to dry. Genius! I think this is also to prevent people from draping things over the balcony. However it might not help given the fact there are pop up thunderstorms in Florida!
Tips for What Moderate Resorts Do Have Compared to Value Resorts…
- Better pools (if your kids want a slide- moderates have them, values do not)
- Larger rooms
- More dining options
- Access to a toaster and microwave (in the food court)
- Have better amenities but still on the affordable side
- Various different types of resort themes
- I highly recommend packing snacks (I go to the discount grocer before trips and stock up) and then ordering from Garden Grocer (they deliver to Disney Resorts) and get perishable items like lunch and breakfast items, kids drinks etc.
Get the Refillable Mugs
We got these either our first or second night and we have saved so much money. This year they are styled in artwork for the 50th anniversary in two options. They have an RFID chip in the bottom and you use them at machines like ones they have at Wendy’s (probably other ones too but I don’t eat fast food that often) in your resort food courts (or any other ones you might be visiting or eating at for scheduled meals). They do not work in the parks but we found we don’t really drink soda or other drinks while in the Parks. We bring in our insulated water bottles and ask quick service places for ice water to refill. I also brought flavored hydration and energy packets.
I’m literally sitting here with my hot cocoa because of the previously mentioned cold front that came through.
This really came in handy in the morning for coffee and then soda or fruit drinks in the evenings or during the day if we were at the pool. Every morning my husband would run down and fill ours up with coffee or we would stop by before boarding the bus on our Park days. They used to be apart of the Disney Dining plan and each family member would get one. We just shared with our boys or let them pick their drink from time to time. They only work for your length of stay but make a great souvenior for at home. We plan on letting our boys use them for their drinks at home. Kind of like a ‘grown up sippy cup’.
Use the Disney Experience App and Do Mobile Orders
They actually kind of encourage this to keep lines down and it is super fast. You can see in the DE App at a glance what rides, restaurants/quick service/shops are available at the Park you are at. You can see at a glance the wait times for rides and look at the restaurant and quick service (think walk up/fast food) menus. This is also where you will be using Genie + if you choose to purchase that for your group. We used this in all the parks except for Animal Kingdom since there aren’t as many rides competing for our attention. Sadly Everest was closed for refurbishment during our visit. That’s another thing- check All Ears Blog to see what will be closed during your visit so you can be well informed and not have any disappointed folks in your group. Their blog and also Disney Food Blog are great and very informative. They both have YouTube channels as well and I got a lot out of their videos.
Use Genie + for some parks but not all
Like I said, we didn’t use it for Animal Kingdom and were fine. We even got on the Avatar ride twice (once first thing in the morning and last before we left). I think it was very confusing for some but now I think it’s easier to understand and it’s basically FastPass online instead of in the parks. However, act quickly, they go fast too- as it may refresh and your option will be gone. My husband got up at 6 every morning so we could be out at the bus in time to make rope drop and he could schedule our first Lightning Lane.
Our first park day was Magic Kingdom and we were planning to do Adventureland first, but they actually don’t open til later. So that threw our day off just a bit and we had to think on the fly. We decided to head over to Tomorrowland/Space Mountain when rope dropped and follow the Cast Members to a certain point and split from them (which they said was ok) however we got a bit of a scolding from the Cast Members over at Space Mountain and were told that we had to ‘merge’ with the Tomorrowland rope droppers. Talk about feeling like a parade of people were about to attack! We got on Space Mountain pretty quickly and all was well. Err, however we thought, we kind of scarred our 6 year old but from there on out he LOVED the rollercoasters in every park!
Things to Consider bringing that aren’t on every packing List
Listen up!
Cooling Snap Towel– Like I said, our week was unseasonably warm (ok HOT) and we brought a portable fan but should have brought a cooling towel. They do sell these at Disney but they are around $17 and buying one for all your family members isn’t cheap. Amazon sells 4 and 6 packs for a great deal or I think I’d prefer these a bit better and they look like the same material as the ones sold at Disney minus the Mickey ears print.
Ear Plugs– My husband mentioned this before we left but I didn’t think it was super necessary. Uh…it was. Some rides tend to be really loud even for kids. My six year old was holding his ears and trying to keep his 3D glasses on in some. We were pretty close to the fireworks on the right side of the castle in Magic Kingdom the one night too. They do sell these at the resort gift shops but they may not fit your child’s ears.
Another pair of sneakers per person– We didn’t need these but it might have been necessary. We got stuck in a downpour that we thought we got out of at Animal Kingdom. Let’s just say the Dinosaur ride queue line is deceiving! The oldest and I quick put on ponchos but my husband and youngest decided not to. But this does not obviously keep your shoes dry. Our sneakers were squishy by the end of the day. I didn’t think they’d dry by the next morning for Hollywood Studios. I actually hit mine and our oldest with the hair dryer to help them along!
Get a Magic Band…
Another thing that is no longer ‘free’ with your resort stay. Magic Bands (if you don’t already know) are like a Fitbit/Apple Watch bands. They have your Park Passes, Resort Room code and your payment information all ‘Magically” loaded onto it. However, they only work at Disney. These used to be free when you booked your resort and each family member received one in the mail prior to your vacation. They stopped doing this for whatever reason January 1, 2021.
When planning our vacation, we thought we would be fine with the App (and we were) but we wish we would have just gotten one. Using a Magic Band is sooo much faster for entering the Parks. You won’t be holding others up behind you to scan your family of 4+. Magic Bands are used for entering Lightning Lanes and opening your room (instead of going into your app). Also, I think the room scanner is more responsive to the magic band). Plus *spoiler alert * you will be back- (I realized what all the hype is about and why people go to Florida in the late Winter months) and want to plan your next trip before you even leave. So, you can use your Magic Band on future trips.
If you are interested in buying one, there are two style options. If you already wear an Apple Watch/Fitbit, you can get them where the sensor part just slides onto your Watch strap. Or there is the traditional full band version. There are also slides you can get on Etsy to keep the magic band in place. This is helpful for adding security. I think it’s pretty cool that there are slides available that are customized (like engraved ones) and some that glow in the dark. If you decide on your trip to get one and purchase one- you can purchase them at any of the Disney Stores (they do have them at the resort gift shops). Then you can activate them and use them with your DE app by linking them using the code provided with your band.
I hope this has been helpful for you as you plan your Disney vacation, especially for rookies like us.
Enjoy Disney,
