Disney Planning

Before we booked our upcoming trip to Disney, I had no idea how much thought, planning and prep work were needed to have a successful trip to the happiest place on earth!  We booked our trip 4 1/2 months ahead of time, and still had to be flexible when we made reservations for character meals (and almost weren't able to get Big Sister an appointment at the infamous Bibbiti Bobbiti Boutique).  I've since learned that it's best to book everything a full 6 months ahead of time; even though I'm a planner by nature, that just seems crazy to me!

We went to Disney a few years ago with my entire family (my parents and all of the aunts, uncles, cousins and some close friends that I've always considered to be family), and it was kind of a challenging experience for our little family.  We went the week of Thanksgiving, because that's what worked best with everyone's school schedules, and the parks and transportation system were insanely crowded!  Also, Big Sister was only 2 1/2, so her ability to understand the waiting in line process was pretty non existent.  I was also 6 months pregnant with Little Bud (my poor ankles were so swollen all week!).  Overall, we were just along for the ride that week; I didn't plan ahead or do much research (except I did find out ahead of time that most of FantasyLand was closed for construction while we were there!), so we just went with the flow and because of that we missed out on a lot of things that Big Sister would have enjoyed (she of course didn't know she missed out on anything - she was happy as a lark to ride It's a Small World no leas than 27 times; she also loved Dumbo, the Magic Carpet Ride, the Jungle Safari in Animal Kingdom, the Winnie the Pooh Ride, and she was able to meet lots of characters!)  But, I decided this time that I would research, research, research to make the most of our trip.

Since we're going to be there for so many days (we have 10 days of park hopper passes), I haven't scheduled everything out (for the most part I want to be flexible and allow the kids to do what seems exciting to them at the moment), but I have familiarized myself with the rides in each of the parks (and I know which ones Big Sister meets the height requirement for), and have highlighted on my handy MyDisneyExperience app all of the rides I think Big Sister and Little Bud will be most interested in, so it will be easy to navigate what we want to do on a particular day based on how crowded the park is.  I've also noted which park opens early each day, so that we can take full advantage of the extra magic hour that Disney offers to guests who stay on property.  I know where the toddler playgrounds and play areas are inside each of the parks (climbing makes Little Bud a happy camper!).  And, every park has an infant care center that's air conditioned and has toddler sized toilets; hallelujah for not always having to take Big Sister to the scary public restrooms!

I've been accumulating fun Disney gifts for both kids.  I'm making a little welcome package from "Mickey and Minnie" for each of them to add to the magic and excitement of the whole experience (they're only little once!), and I have a little gift to leave on their bed each day (I'm hoping this will keep the souvenir shopping to a minimum).

A few months ago I started buying Disney themed shirts/outfits for the kids too.  Big Sister already has a Minnie dress that my parents bought her on our last trip (and it still fits!), so in addition to several new Mickey/Minnie t-shirts, Grammie is helping to make her a few Disney princess inspired outfits that won't be as hot and scratchy as her princess dress up clothes (and I put together a Doc McStuffins inspired outfit for her to wear to Hollywood Studios!). I also ordered a few princess hair bows and some Minnie Mouse ear bows on Etsy.  She of course hasn't seen any of her new clothes (even though she was with me when I bought most of them!), and I can't wait to see her happy little face when she gets dressed each day!!  Disney boy clothes aren't nearly as fun, but Little Bud does have several new shirts and some cute new pajamas :)

My last project is to make autograph books for Big Sister and a little photo album for Little Bud.  After reading a bit about the autograph books that they sell in the park, I decided it would be best to make some for the kids.  I'm sure Little Bud won't be worried about getting autographs, but I wanted him to have his own little photo album so that he doesn't feel left out ;)

Overall, planning a Disney trip is kind of overwhelming, but it's also fun!  I know the kids (especially Big Sister) will have a great time, and seeing their happy little faces will be a great reward for all of the hard work we've put into planning this trip!!