Well, I assume you are here because you’re lost. I’m sorry.

If you’re not lost, you probably are here because you have read the first two installments of my first Disney adventure. If you haven’t read them, you can find them here: Part 1 | Part 2.

This post will be devoted entirely to THE MAGIC KINGDOM! (You have to read that out loud like a football announcer in order to get the full effect. Go ahead…do it.)

I’m organizing this post into “Myths and Facts” because I started planning my trip under the influence of many myths. Read on, but only if you can handle the truth.

Please note: I originally wrote this post in 2013. I have since visited Disney World one other time and Disney Land. There have been some changes to the park since my original post, so I will try to indicate updates when necessary. 

Myth: If you only visit one Disney theme park, you’re a Disney loser.

Fact: Not true. We took into account the ages of our girls (3 years and 9 months), and we decided that they would get the most enjoyment out of THE MAGIC KINGDOM. Epcot, Hollywood Studios, and the Animal Kingdom didn’t really appeal to us or them. So, we saved the money and the heartache and we devoted our focus to THE MAGIC KINGDOM.

Myth: You have to spend at least 2-3 days at THE MAGIC KINGDOM (Ok, I’m done) in order to accomplish anything.

Fact: Nope. We spent only a day and a half at the MK, and we got to do everything we wanted to do. The first day, we arrived around 12:30 so that we could all go over together after Luke’s medical conference finished for the day. Keep in mind that this was July 4th and incredibly busy. However, we walked in during the 12:30 parade and ended up with an amazing view of the characters coming down the street. This set a great tone for our day. The second day, I got up and out early with the girls by myself and was there an hour before the park opened so we could get in a full day’s worth of fun. You’ll read more about that later.

Myth: You must strategically plan out every attraction to visit and every character to meet…or ELSE!

Fact: No…kinda. I saw people enter the park with notebooks, lists, and maps, circled and highlighted and dogeared and all kinds of crazy. I saw people make bee-lines to rides’ FastPass stations and nearly plow small children over in the process. I have to say that I think a lot of this was because people purchased expensive Park Hopper options and thought they just HAD to ride Space Mountain before they left to head to Epcot later on in the day. They didn’t allow themselves enough time to enjoy the park in its entirety. I didn’t have a scripted plan, but I did have an idea of what Noelle would really want to see and do, and I made sure to make that happen for us.

The first day, the half day, we didn’t plan on any princess encounters or really anything. We took the time to get a lay of the land, scope out what we wanted to come back to, and we rode any ride that had a quick line or FastPass turnaround time. If you can do it, I highly advise that you start with a half day to scope and scout, and then go back for a full day the next day. It took a lot of pressure off of us and allowed us to enjoy our time, even on one of the busiest days of the year.

Because I knew that the princesses would be a hot commodity and really the only reason why we were there, I made sure to get to the park one hour before it opened the next day to be ahead in the line and get right to the princesses. An hour early sounds excessive, but there were hundreds, if not thousands of people who had the same idea. If you want to be “first” or at least ahead of tons of other people, get to the park at least an hour before it opens.

Update: One tip I learned for the 2nd time we visited was to make a breakfast reservation for before the park opens. They will let you in early if you show them your dining reservation. So, we made reservations at the Beast’s Castle for breakfast prior to park opening, and all I had to do was show my reservation on my Disney app and they let me right in. This was awesome because we had the entire Main Street area nearly to ourselves for great photos of my kids in front of the castle without a billion people in the background. We also finished our breakfast just a few minutes prior to the park opening, so we were able to hop right in line to meet Anna and Elsa, (a FastPass we were not able to obtain prior to our trip), and I believe we only waited about 10 minutes to meet them. I highly recommend getting a breakfast reservation for prior to the park opening.

Myth: If you don’t use FastPass, you’re an idiot.

Fact: 110% true. Seriously. Why stand in line when you don’t have to? FastPass is a genius little system that allows you to get a ticket that gives you a return time (a 1-hour window) to come back, hand your ticket to a park worker, and literally jump the line to the front. Your wait is usually less than 10-15 minutes at that point.

Update: The FastPass system has REALLY changed since 2013. I am leaving the original information just for posterity’s sake, but it is all very outdated! Disney World now uses your Magic Bands (the little wrist bands you receive if you stay at a Disney resort) or your ticket cards to check in your FastPasses. 

A couple of things about FastPass.

1) I thought that the kiosks to print your FastPass tickets would be right next to the attractions. No. They are usually in a very random location in the park and you have to ask and follow signs in order to find them. Don’t look like an idiot…just ask someone.

Update: You still have to hunt for the FastPass stations IF you do not use the My Disney Experience App. You can coordinate all of your FastPasses on the app, but if you don’t use it, you can find kiosks throughout the park. 

2) You can only get a FastPass to one attraction at a time. You can’t go around to every FastPass kiosk right when you arrive and print a FastPass for each ride before you even start your day. That would be amazing, but it doesn’t work like that. You typically cannot print another FastPass for another ride until you have already used the current FastPass ticket. So, you do have to be somewhat strategic about which FastPass you print first. If you get one that has a return time in like 5-6 hours (like Peter Pan’s Flight), you won’t be able to print another FastPass for a different ride until you’ve used the Peter Pan one.

Update: You can now reserve 3 FastPasses at a time. Once you have used all 3 FastPasses, you can reserve 3 more. I still definitely recommend being strategic and getting your first 3 FastPasses done early so you can get 3 more. Maybe shoot for your first 3 before lunch and your next 3 after lunch. You can reserve FastPasses 60 days prior if you are staying at a Disney resort or 30 days prior if you are not staying on Disney property. I highly recommend reserving as early as possible. You can always switch your times or make changes later, but at least try to lock in those first 3 must-do attractions. You can make all your reservations on the Disney World site.

3) Sometimes you get lucky and feel like a real Disney genius. Example, on the 2nd day, when I took the girls to the park by myself in the morning, I decided that I would print the FastPass tickets for Peter Pan’s Flight for all of us right before we left the park to head to the hotel and get Luke. I knew there would be at least a 3-4 hour wait before the FastPass tickets could be used, which would be perfect since we would be returning later in the day. I scanned our park tickets and printed the FastPasses for Noelle and me. When I scanned Luke’s ticket, it printed a pass that said since his park ticket hadn’t been scanned yet (he wasn’t with us yet), he wasn’t eligible to print a FastPass yet. Well, I took the little pass it printed anyway and kept it. When we returned, I wanted to see if they would let us on anyway, so I just hid his little defective FastPass under mine and Noelle’s and handed them to the park worker. She didn’t even look at them and let us all on. We didn’t have to wait at all while the non-FastPass users were at a 90 minute wait. To be honest, I have NO idea why people wait that long for Peter Pan’s Flight. It really wasn’t any of our favorite ride, but we had to see what the fuss was about.

Update: You obviously can’t do this anymore since everything is coordinated with either the Magic Band or the ticket cards. It’s hard to “outsmart” Disney!

Myth: Disney World is the “Happiest Place on Earth” and everything is fairy farts and rainbows.

Fact: Do I really even need to give an answer? Disney World is an amazing place. Rides, attractions, characters, castles, great food, fun music, whimsy, joy, Tinker Bell, pixie dust, never growing up, $10 balloons…I mean, it’s all awesome.

However, kids will be kids. They will be tired and hungry. They will cry. They will request that you go back to the hotel pool while you are waiting in line for a ride. They will want a $10 balloon, $15 ice cream sandwich, and $65 princess dress (that’s how much they cost there…not kidding). They will scream at you, throw a fit, maybe even throw themselves on the ground. It is sad when this happens because you have so many great expectations. My best advice is to try not to let this get to you. It WILL happen. We even (gasp!) pulled Noelle out of line for Enchanting Tales with Belle (a 50 minute wait) because she was screaming and being selfish about an umbrella. We were embarrassed and didn’t want to do it, but we are not “Give 400 warnings and a glare” kind of parents. We act. If we threaten to do something, we make good on doing it. This doesn’t make us better or worse, but it is what we do. We didn’t change our parenting styles for the trip. I don’t recommend that you do either. At the end of the day, you will leave the Happiest Place on Earth and return home with your kid, and you need to make sure that your parenting balls are still there. We ended up returning to Belle once she calmed down and ended our day on a high note. Besides, outside of Beast’s castle made a truly picturesque place for a time out.

That said, you can do things to help your child have a good day. Bring snacks. Bring and drink lots of water. Use the mini spray fan that I advised you bring. Bring extra clothes, comfy shoes, and take breaks. If you stay on Disney property with transportation, it is a wonderful thing to use the monorail and go back to the hotel for a mid-day break or nap. We did this, and it really helped. The monorail, if for no other reason, is totally worth paying 3 times more for the Grand Floridian.

Also, adults will be adults. Some of the worst behavior I saw throughout the entire trip came from adults. They will push your kid out of the way to make sure that their kid gets in first. They will stand in front of children at shows and parades without considering the small people in the back. They will argue with park workers and make the poor college kids feel like losers (yet they’re not the one in adult-sized Pooh t-shirts…just sayin’).

For example, on the morning when I took the girls to the MK by myself to get there an hour before it opened, I was just standing behind the few people in front of me, minding my own business. It was hot already, the girls were squirmy already, and I was regretting this decision already. However, I had Noelle decently entertained by watching something on my phone, and I was just trying to keep them shaded and cool. I started noticing a ton more people filling in behind and around me as it got closer to the park’s opening hour. The next thing I knew, I stood up from talking to Noelle in the stroller to see a whole family of adults, no kids at all, standing so close to the back of my stroller that they were resting their hands on it. I stood up, whipped my backpack around and nudged them out of the way. They continued to press into me, trying to push forward and around me. I could hear them strategizing how to get around me and eventually they accomplished their goal. So, once the gate was opened and people began pushing through, I got behind my double jogging stroller and headed in. I may or may not have “accidentally” rammed the ankles of the family of adults who decided to cut me with my massive stroller, and I didn’t care at that point. Shoulda stayed behind me!

Another example was on July 4th when we decided to head back to our resort to watch the fireworks from there. We had no interest in standing shoulder to shoulder with thousands of other people to watch the fireworks inside the MK when we could easily see them from the shore of the bay from our hotel. We thought it would be fun to catch the water taxi back to our hotel, so we waited for it to come and get us. We were 2nd in line. Luke had to fold up our stroller in order to board the boat (HUGE pain in the bum bum and reason enough to never ride the thing again), so he was holding that while I was holding Charlotte with one arm and Noelle’s hand with the other. The other 20 or so people behind us decided to take advantage of us with our arms full and blew right on past us so that we were the last people on the boat. No one offered to help. No one cared about nearly knocking Noelle over to get on the boat. One lady even took her own stroller, threw it in the center aisle of the boat near where we were sitting, and ignored the driver when he told her that it couldn’t be in the aisle. She sat in the front of the boat and left Luke to hold it out of the aisle along with our own stroller and our two children. It was crazy! We were shocked at how rude and selfish grown adults acted.

My advice is to try not to be in a hurry if you can at all avoid it, because if you can take a step back, let pushy people through, or catch the next water taxi, you will be safer and probably less annoyed by the process. The thought of losing Noelle was ever present in my mind, and it happens to kids, especially when adults wedge themselves between kids and their parents so that they can be first for something. We brought a “leash” for her (one of the animal backpack things with the strap) but didn’t use it because the stroller helped to contain her for the most part.

Lastly, I will end by a simple take it or leave it rating system for THE MAGIC KINGDOM (had to).

TAKE IT!
Monorail (no stroller folding, fast!)
Characters (the princesses spent a quality amount of time with Noelle and were wonderful! Princess Tiana & Jasmine + Aladdin – didn’t have to park the stroller, so I could stand in line with it without unloading the girls!)
Parade (really fun to see all the characters up close and hear the music)
Buzz Lightyear ride (my favorite, so fun! FastPass!)
Under the Sea with Ariel ride (Noelle’s favorite, rode it twice! FastPass!)
Monster’s Inc. Laugh Floor (really cute, did it twice, usually short wait)
Enchanting Tales with Belle (a different take on the princess experiences…interactive play the kids can participate in…she just doesn’t sign books and no flash photography)
Dumbo ride (fun ride, FastPass!)
Aladdin’s Flying Carpets ride (similar to dumbo but no FastPass)
$10 Balloon (you have to)

LEAVE IT!
Water Taxi (have to fold stroller, annoying adults will push in front of you)
Peter Pan’s Flight (don’t wait longer than 5 minutes In the FastPass line for this)
Carousel (ride it at the mall or the zoo instead…)
Pineapple Dole Whip (got one because I heard they were amazing…waited in line for like 25 minutes…didn’t change my life)
Fireworks (stay if you can and/or you aren’t staying at the Grand Floridian or the Polynesian, but if your kids are over it and you don’t want to start finding a place to sit 2 hours before they start, I’d leave an hour before and watch them from your resort…less crowded and you can still see the amazing show)

I think I have said it before, and I will say it again, please always remember that this trip is for the kids. Take them into consideration and think about what they would enjoy doing…the characters they love…if they even like rides…their nap and eating times…their safety. Remember that you want them to come away with wonderful memories.

Noelle didn’t really care if she saw everything, but she did care that I spent that time with her and tried to make her dreams come true…even if her dream come true was a Mickey ice cream sandwich for breakfast. Make it happen, I did, and to her, that was magic.

Click here for Part 1 of my Disney Survivor Series

4) Finally, we made it to the gate. We had just enough time to visit the bathroom and give Charlotte a bottle before the plane began to board. We got to our seats, buckled our seat belts, and settled in for a 2 hour flight. I strategically began handing out my treats and activities that I brought along for Noelle. Charlotte was sleepy and fighting it, so we took turns trying to comfort and soothe her so she would fall asleep.

Everything was going well until Noelle decided to poop in her Pull-Up (Yes, I put a Pull-Up on her because I didn’t want her to fall asleep and pee all over the plane seat. What if we needed to use it as a cushion in case of an emergency landing on water?). It began to smell and Luke and I exchanged glances, our eyes saying something like, “You do it!” “No, you do it!”

I took one for the team and headed to the bathroom with Noelle, a new Pull-Up, wipes, and one of those little scented trash bags that I brought along for this very reason. Since we walked past about 16 rows of passengers on our way to the bathroom, I think every single person knew what was going down.

Have you ever tried to change a diaper in a plane bathroom? Holy ridiculousness. Let’s just say that between the 3 feet of space, the motion of the plane, and the “residue” left by other passengers, I was completely grossed out and highly uncomfortable. We got it taken care of and got the H out of there.

Moral of the Story: Bring scented diaper trash bags with you on the plane. ‘Nuff said.

5) Upon landing, we exited the plane and grabbed some lunch. We then made our way to the Magical Express transportation desk. Disney’s Magical Express is pretty awesome! It is a free service that you arrange ahead of time through your hotel. We were sent special information prior to our trip that we needed to bring with us upon boarding the Magical Express. We were sent special luggage tags that we attached to our bags, which meant that we wouldn’t have to wait for our bags at the baggage claim and they would be delivered to our hotel room later that day.

We waited for the Magical Express to arrive, which was a nice shuttle bus complete with TV screens and Disney cartoons for the kiddos. We had to wait for a while to allow for the bus to get filled up and on its way. The bus then began dropping people off at their hotels. We were the last stop of four hotels, but we at least got to see what some of the others looked like. All in all, it probably took an hour for us to make it to our hotel, but at least it was free.

Unfortunately, our luggage did not arrive until about 7 p.m. that night, which was 6 hours after our plane landed. The information said to allow for 3 hours. Thus, we ended up attending our Cinderella dinner at the hotel in our flight clothes (except for the girls…their clothes were in Noelle’s carry-on). The real bummer to this was Noelle’s storybooks that she had the characters autograph were in our checked luggage, so she couldn’t get autographs at our Cinderella dinner. However, we caught up with Cindy at the princess meet and greet at the Magic Kingdom and all was well.

Moral of the Story: Don’t check your bags with the Magical Express unless you’re OK with not seeing them for a really, really long time.

Traveling with little ones is awkward, messy, cumbersome, and sometimes smelly, but it is doable with the help of some drinking planning praying.

You know how you can tell a person has run a half or full marathon by the little 13.1 or 26.2 decal on the back of their cars? Those are cool and all…but I’m gonna get one that says…

Disney Survivor

…and everyone who drives behind me can either raise a fist in solidarity because they, too, are Disney Survivors, or they can drive on by and shake their heads and comment on my lame window decal.

Either way, I’m gettin’ one.

Because Folks, I did survive Disney. I survived Disney with two little girls, ages 3 and 8 months. I even did a half day at the Magic Kingdom with the girls by myself. BY MYSELF. (Note to self…make another car decal that says “I did the Magic Kingdom with two little girls without a spouse, and I lived to tell about it.”)

I also survived Disney with only a couple of months’ worth of planning and blog stalking. We didn’t have reservations for every meal, but we still managed to eat. We didn’t do a bajillion character dinners, but we did manage to meet tons of Disney peeps. We didn’t follow a lot of the “Disney Rules,” but we made the trip work for us and for our children. That is NUMBER ONE MOST IMPORTANT – Make it work for your family.

I am going to break down our Disney trip into four parts. Part 1 (this one!) is “Before-Trip Planning.” Part 2 is “Traveling with Little Ones.” Part 3 is “The Disney Experience” Part 4 is the part where I get all sentimental and describe what made the trip worth it and about how my husband and I both got teary eyed at the parade (what?!).

So…sit back…grab a glass of wine…and fasten your Mickey ears. This is how I survived Disney.

Let me start with a couple of disclaimers. 

1) My family was able to embark on this Disney adventure because my husband signed up for a medical conference at Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort. We tagged along and enjoyed the amenities while he got his learn on. We paid for the additional plane tickets, all of the Disney attractions, etc, etc. However, because he was participating in the conference, we got a DEEEEEEP discount on the hotel room. Like…50% deep. The Grand Floridian sells their rooms for $600 a night. You can do the math. Let me just say that without such a discount, we would NEVER, EVER be able to afford this trip at this time in our lives. 

2) Because of the conference, we didn’t choose what time of year to make our first Disney visit as a family. Therefore, we ended up at Disney during basically the busiest time of the year — July 4th weekend. I would never, EVER recommend going to Disney during this time of year because of the heat and crowds, but many people (clearly) do and it is possible to still have a great time. We did. When we return in a few years, however, we will come back on a Tuesday in September.

Alrighty. We booked our July trip in February-ish, which put me approximately 2 years behind in the planning process. No really. People plan these trips for years. Mainly because it takes that long to afford it. Knowing how behind I was, I started scouring blogs, websites, and asking anyone who had any Disney experience what I needed to know to make the trip amazing. However, once the person learned of when I was going (July 4th), they usually laughed nervously and wished me a sincere Good Luck. No really, they did. A few kind souls gave me sound advice, and that is what I am here to do — pass on what worked, what didn’t, and what I will do for next time.

I read a lot of blogs about what to buy before your trip to Disney. I wanted to be really prepared because I knew that anything I would need there would cost 3 times more than what it would here. With two little ones, I wanted to make sure that anything they would ever need would be right there with me. Little kids need a lot of things to keep them happy and healthy…Bandaids, toys, snacks, diapers, wine (oops…that’s what keeps me happy).

I took the advice of the expert blog writers and real Disney survivors who didn’t run and scream after I said, “July 4th,” and I bought all of the things. ALL OF THE THINGS. I spent a lot of money.

Here is what I bought (not including all the cute clothes my girls had to have and basic necessities such as diapers and wipes…!):

1. Bandaids (Disney Princess, of course)
2. Blister Bandaids (go on ankles and toes)
3. Friction Block (to prevent shoe/sock rubbing)
4. Moleskin (what the hell, right? It’s stuff you find by the orthopedic foot junk that supposedly helps if you get a blister or something on your foot)
5. Benadryl Itch Relief Gel (Noelle gets eaten alive by mosquitos)
6. Sunscreen
7. Aloe
8. Baby Tylenol
9. Rain ponchos (6 – 1 per person, per day at the park)
10. Hand-held mister & fan
11. Adult Tylenol
12. Small, cheap wallet for ID and Disney Tickets, FastPass, PhotoPass, WinePass (not really, but how awesome!?)
13. Lightweight, waterproof backpack
14. Spray Neosporin
15. Bug Spray
16. Gum for the plane
17. Snacks for the plane and park (Fruit snacks, GoGo Squeeze applesauce, granola bars)
18. Small Disney souvenir items (Minnie Mouse tattoos, Princess bath gel from Target trial size section, Princess PJs on clearance, Minnie Mouse snack container from Target Dollar Spot, Princess insulated water bottle, Ariel cold pack – meant for boo boos but used to keep her cool in the park)
19. Two large Sharpie markers for autographs
20. Disney Princess book for autographs
21. Ziplock Quart baggies
22. Travel-size Lysol disinfectant spray
23. Travel-size all purpose wet wipes
24. New coloring book and reading book for Noelle on the plane
25. Glow bracelets from Target Dollar Spot

Now, let me post that list again with all the things we actually needed and used on our trip.

1. Bandaids (Disney Princess, of course)
2. Blister Bandaids (go on ankles and toes)
3. Friction Block (to prevent shoe/sock rubbing)
4. Moleskin (what the hell, right? It’s stuff you find by the orthopedic foot junk that supposedly helps if you get a blister or something on your foot)
5. Benadryl Itch Relief Gel (Noelle gets eaten alive by mosquitos)
6. Sunscreen
7. Aloe 
8. Baby Tylenol
9. Rain ponchos (6 – 1 per person, per day at the park)
10. Hand-held mister & fan
11. Adult Tylenol
12. Small, cheap wallet for ID and Disney Tickets, FastPass, PhotoPass, WinePass (not really, but how awesome!?)
13. Lightweight, waterproof backpack
14. Spray Neosporin
15. Bug Spray
16. Gum for the plane
17. Snacks for the plane and park (Fruit snacks, GoGo Squeeze applesauce, granola bars)
18. Small Disney souvenir items (Minnie Mouse tattoos, Princess bath gel from Target trial size section, Princess PJs on clearance, Minnie Mouse snack container from Target Dollar Spot, Princess insulated water bottle, Ariel cold pack – meant for boo boos but used to keep her cool in the park)
19. Two large Sharpie markers for autographs
20. Disney Princess book for autographs
21. Ziplock Quart baggies 
22. Travel-size Lysol disinfectant spray
23. Travel-size all purpose wet wipes
24. New coloring book and reading book for Noelle on the plane
25. Glow bracelets from Target Dollar Spot

First, I will address all that we used and could not have survived without on our trip. 

1) Bandaids. While Noelle really never had an actual use for these, I wouldn’t have wanted to go there without them. They did come in handy when the glow bracelets (#25) didn’t actually come with the little connector to make the glow stick into a bracelet (they were a dollar…so…), I had to use the Bandaids to connect the ends together to make a bracelet. My middle name is MacGyver.

6) Sunscreen. DUH! You must have sunscreen at Disney Word in July. You must. We used SPF 50 on our girls and no one got a burn. My favorite kind right now is Neutrogena Beach Defense. It’s light and smells really good!

8) Charlotte is still teething, so Baby Tylenol was our friend.

9) Rain ponchos. YES. YES. YES. A must. Disney will see theirs for about $8-$10 each. Granted, they are a little thicker vinyl, but who cares. It rains nearly everyday in Orlando during the summer, and our 2nd day at the Magic Kingdom, we pulled out the ponchos. They really helped. I only spent a little over a dollar on each of ours. I brought enough for each of us to have one on each of the two days at the park. These kinds of cheap ponchos really aren’t reusable.

10) Hand-held mister & fan. We used this thing all the time. Again, Disney will sell you one of theirs for about $15. I bought mine at Target for $8. I’m sure these are seasonal in stores, but you can probably get one at Amazon very easily if you can’t find one in stores. It was so nice to use on our girls to keep them from overheating. We enjoyed it, too.

11) Adult Tylenol. Do I have to explain it?

12) Small, cheap wallet. I have a rather nice Vera Bradley wallet, but I wanted to leave that at home and get something pretty small and compact. I found one at Target for $5. It had a slot for my ID and a few card holders on the back. It was so slim it fit in my pocket, which was great for easy access. At Disney, you will get TONS of little “passes” for various things, and it’s nice to not have to dig for them. I also didn’t want to risk having all of my cards and millions of dollars stolen, so I only took one bank card with me.

13) Lightweight, waterproof backpack. I thought I was just going to bring one of my baby bags, but I realized a backpack would be easier to deal with. I found one at Target on clearance. It was a gray, fake leather material that actually ended up being rather waterproof. It had lots of pockets on the inside and outside, and it was a life saver. I didn’t have to worry about ruining one of my nice bags, it was easy to take on the plane and to the park, and it fit all of our stuff. With all the rain we had, it was nice to know my camera and other items were safe inside.

16) Gum. My daughter had never flown  before, so the gum helped her ears to pop.

17) Snacks. You can bring snacks into the park, so small items helped hold everyone over until the next $10 ice cream sundae. 😉

18) Small Disney souvenirs. Guys, shit’s expensive at Disney World, and it’s really not all that special. I’m not a big trinket person, so I knew that pin trading and Mickey salt and pepper shakers were not going to appeal to me. However, with small kids, they want everything. Disney is brilliant because after every character encounter, there’s a huge gift shop that you must exit through with every kind of toy and souvenir imaginable. I decided to head this off by bringing some small souvenirs along with me and planting them in the hotel room. I collected these smaller, less expensive items at various places before we left, and I made sure I had room for them in our luggage. Noelle still was thrilled with her new Disney stuff, but it didn’t have to cost a ton of money.

Anecdotal evidence: Everyone carries around these cute balloons, and Noelle wanted one. The first day, we didn’t bring cash, so that was a no-go. The second day, I went to the hotel ATM, got cash, and let her pick out a balloon at the Magic Kingdom. I nearly pooped myself when the balloon man told me it would cost $10. Yikes! It was a pretty smart purchase, considering we couldn’t take it on the plane with us. It would have been more entertaining and just as much money to tie $10 to someone else’s balloon and watch it float away.

19) Sharpies. I knew autographs were a big deal, so I bought two “fat” Sharpies under the advice of a blogger because some characters wear things on their hands and it is hard for them to hold small markers. These Sharpies had a skinnier end and a wider end. If I had it to do over again, I would get the click Sharpies that don’t have end caps. It’s easier for the character to just click it open and closed instead of deal with a cap.

20) Disney Princess book. Again, I don’t like trinkets and useless things that sit around. I have a hard enough time keeping track of my keys and wallet and phone and kids…I don’t need to track down other, less important things, too. I decided that instead of a traditional autograph book that will either get lost, drawn in, or thrown away, I wanted Noelle to have a Disney Princess book autographed by the characters she met. Noelle LOVES to be read to. We read to her every night and usually multiple times per day. At least this way, her autograph book would be useful to her. Thankfully, my mom had just picked up a nice Disney Princess book at a rummage that was in perfect condition. We took that with us and had all the princesses sign their stories. If a princess or other Disney character wasn’t in the book, they just signed the title pages in the beginning. Everyone thought this was a great idea, and Princess Jasmine and Aladdin nearly read their entire story to her. It was very special!

21) Ziplock Quart baggies. You have to have a quart baggie for your liquids on the plane to obey the 3-1-1 rule, so I bought a box of this size and put them to other good uses. I like to group toiletries together in baggies so they don’t leak in my suitcase. I used them to keep bottles clean, keep important papers waterproof, and for a variety of other uses.

23) Travel-size all purpose wet wipes. These were great for wiping down dirty tables, high chairs, foreheads, sticky hands, and even a few bottoms as we neared the end of our “baby wipes” supply.

24) New coloring book and reading book for the plane. Having something new helped to keep Noelle entertained on our plane ride.

25) Glow bracelets. I picked up a couple of tubes of $1 glow bracelets at the Target Dollar Spot. They were $1 for 15 bracelets. We discovered that they weren’t actually bracelets because there was nothing to fasten the two ends of the stick together, but I guess you get what you pay for. Noelle still thought these were fun, and we saved money and tears when we didn’t buy the expensive versions at the park.

Now, as for the items that I brought but didn’t use…

I’m not saying that you shouldn’t buy them, but I think a lot of the blister aid things would be better for people with kids who would do more walking. We rented a very nice double stroller (read below for more info), so Noelle wasn’t walking around a whole lot. All of us had nice, comfortable tennis shoes and good socks to keep our feet from getting blisters. Obviously, if you wear brand new shoes to the park or inappropriate footwear, you are going to get blisters and need the first aid, but we didn’t have a problem with that. We also only went to the Magic Kingdom for a day and a half. We didn’t do multiple days of parks with tons and tons and tons of walking.

Let me just take a moment to address the FASHION of Disney. I’m not saying you should be a model or that you should wear your nicest clothes, but GEEZ. I saw some outfits that would make the People of Wal-Mart look like couture fashion designers. If you just wear a bra, you will be steps ahead of many Disney patrons. Leave your spandex shorts at home and you are already looking better than 50% of the population.

I opted to wear some fashionable, yet comfortable shorts (khaki-like material but in navy and coral-red) and lightweight, flowy tank tops. I also wore (GASP), low-cut socks and tennis shoes, but my feet thanked me for it later. I initially didn’t want to wear tennis shoes with my outfits, but Luke convinced me to, and I’m glad I did. I saw plenty of people in flip flops and uncomfortable looking sandals, and I just didn’t get it. The Magic Kingdom is huge, you walk on pavement all day, and you stand and stand and stand and stand until you can’t stand it no mo’. Please wear tennis shoes that have been broken in. This tip alone will help you to have a much better time.

My SMARTEST decision, by far, was my decision to rent a double jogging stroller. I used the company called Kingdom Strollers. There are several other companies that rent strollers, but this company was great! Here are my reasons to rent a stroller from Kingdom Strollers.

1) You don’t have to mess with bringing your own stroller from home.
2) The strollers from Kingdom Strollers are luxury strollers that are probably nicer than yours. Just sayin’. The one we rented retails for $450.
3) Kingdom Strollers delivered our stroller to our hotel and picked it up for us.
4) Strollers are genius. You can stow all kinds of loot in the bottom, they have cup holders, and even your walking child will want a rest from the walking. They are great in crowds because you know your kids are safe, and they are great to ram ankles of people who cut you in line. I’ll tell you more about that later.
5) Disney rents strollers at their parks (of course they do!), but they are more expensive and you can’t take them back to the hotel with you!
6) It’s CHEAP. For $47 and some change, I had a stroller for 3 whole days. You will pay that much for lunch at Disney…if you’re lucky.
7) Kingdom Strollers put a bright orange tag with our last name on the back and included a mini cooler and a rain shield for the stroller for free. We used the heck out of the rain shield.

I hope you have found this post helpful and/or amusing. Disney is a huge undertaking, and you want it to be as enjoyable as possible. Doing the proper research and buying necessary items ahead of time will save you money, time, and years of therapy.

Check back for my post about Disney, Part 2: Traveling with Little Ones.