Part 8: Memories & Lessons Learned
5 days was tons of fun and we felt that we got a lot done. It was agreed that it would have been nice to extend and get a true pool day. We did make use of the pool but it was limited to quick swims and the am before departure.
The magic bands are adjustable for adult and kid. but only one time. My husband ended up wearing our toddler’s on his belt loop cause we made it kid size but he would play and chew on it. Should have left it adult size.
I brought my big camera but never pulled it out of my backpack I used my phone and the Disney photo maker package. I carried my phone with $10 cash and my ID in a cross body small purse. PS ended up using zip tie to hold it together broke the strap on day one.
Bathing Suits: If your kids are naturally drawn to water like mine toss in a bathing suit. It is nice to have some down time at your hotel pool and for those rides you’ll get soaked in. Ladies just remember that for the rides you are not permitted to wear just a bathing suit. We had one incident where my daughter got all the way up to the front of the line, past 4 cast members, only to be told that she had to go get a shirt for on top of her bathing suit. Rash guards and suit shorts work best with flip flops or crocs of some kind.
Notes: The refillable cups weren’t worth it to us because we’re not soda drinkers. And they can only be used at the resort not in the parks. Next time we would only get one drink package for my husband’s am coffee. These might come with the meal plan option or as part of a promotion, so check it out while booking.
Water refills: We would fill our water bottle at every breakfast with water and ice. We learned on the second meal that you can march up to any counter service and ask for ice water they have them all prepped; don’t wait in line. Grab 2 per person and refill you water bottles too.
Trading pins. I will say our first trade happen when I was wearing my daughter’s lanyard as she had just come out of Bippity Boppity Boutique. An older man approached me and asked if I wanted to trade. I think if she was wearing it he would have been turned off but she traded and he nicely explained how it all works. From that moment in she was hooked and not afraid to approach anyone. P.S. this man was a serious pin collector, I hand no idea it could be so intense. He had a special case and not one but 3 of them where he’d pull cork boards out like they were baseball cards. I am glad we had some extra backs too as we did catch one or two and there would have been tears if it was lost.
In the autograph book have the characters sign every other page and once you get home print a picture of them with the character. We did not fill our book so we will surely take it again the next time. It will be fun to see how the kids grow on each trip. Disney fun fact: Characters have to practice the autography so they all look similar park to park and year to year.
It was a wonderful and busy trip. Truly a place where dreams are made and the magic is all around you including the below… all tuckered out and seeing Cinderella’s Castle for the first time = our magic moments.
Part 1: Research & Booking
Part 2: Time to Plan & Book your Fun
Bonus Section: Special Adventures
Part 3: Time to Shop things I purchased ahead of time…
Part 4 Time to pack/hunt; things I brought from home…
Part 5: Final Countdown
Part 6: Here We Go!
Part 7: Visiting the Mouse
Part 8: Memories & Lessons Learned
Each royal guest decorated a pillowcase with fabric markers and puff paint. We did our craft at the beginning of the party and hung them to dry; so by the end they were safe to take home.
Strollers -Which would you rather roll in for the day? Photo credit: Mom Endeavors. Kingdom Strollers worked out to be awesome for us. I booked a city mini double. It arrived clean, on-time and was great. My 6 year old enjoys ridding and it was so much easier to just have both kids sitting safely when navigating crowded parks or late at night. It was nice using the stroller from our hotel room door and back. The park strollers have to be handed in prior to park departure where as we would keep ours as we stood in line for monorails, trams, and busses loaded with sleeping children. The 2016 pricing for a double was $18 a day for Stroller Kingdom and $27 per day for the Disney stroller. (Note that if you keep your receipt and are using a park hopper you can show it at the next park and get another stroller.) Also if your hotel is along the monorail you’ll never have to remove sleeping kids just roll them on and roll them off. A note that if you have 3 cuties you might consider the Bob Stroller. You can tuck a 3rd on top of the third wheel when all 3 start to fade on you.
Call your bank and credit card companies and put travel notices on your accounts. Nothing more frustrating that arriving for a week of fun and being frozen out of your accounts.
Creatively Dunn 