Vacation Choices - What should you choose?

Preface: The reason for this rant post is simple. Once I booked our trip to Disney I followed every single FB page that is involved around planning Disney trips. I did this because although I have been to Disney several times, I have never planned, organized, made dining reservations, nothing. We've strictly gone to ride rides. Once you have a child who loves all things revolving around princesses, pirates and parades, you have to plan, otherwise you're going to miss out on a lot of special things and the "magic" of Disney.

I haven't been that involved with those Disney pages now that our trip is planned in it's entirety, however I still see the posts on my news feed and today someone posted about how they are now not excited about their trip due to the planning, the dining reservations they had to make, their ride selections, etc.

Are you kidding me?! 

I restrained myself from commenting because I don't know this person from Adam, and to be honest, there were hundreds of other people giving this person grief about their post that I didn't need to add to my opinions. However I felt the need to voice it here, after all it is my blog.

My blog stats show that my travel posts are some of my most read. So I felt the need to rant about it here because although I've given this advice before I'll give it again, and add some emphasis to it, here goes...

Disney is for everyone.

It doesn't matter if you have children or not, Disney is a blast. Tarl and I have gone three times since we have known each other. We went once when we were dating. Once after Cadence was first born and our most recent trip was two years ago with Cadence as a weekend trip. Our 2nd trip we had planned to go to Universal, but once we got to Florida we decided on the mouse instead and am so glad we did. 

This past March we went to Universal. It was fun. I'm glad we went, but we both agree'd, it ain't Disney!

Disney isn't the Beach!

If you're going for a weekend trip to getaway and ride some rides, have fun! Get a hotel, make your FastPass+ selections (gets you on the rides quicker) and go enjoy yourself. However, if you are going for more than a weekend, you need to plan. It's a necessity. Are you planning on eating in the parks? There are hundreds of restaurants, several of which are adult oriented and elite if it's just the two of you. If you have children planning is a must! Does your little boy love Mickey, then make sure you wake up at 180 days out to reserve Chef Mickey's where you eat and meet Mickey, Minnie and the gang. Reservations book fast and you have to plan. Disney isn't the beach. You don't go to relax, you go to have fun and ensure your kids experience the magic of Disney. Parades, fireworks, food, and fun. This doesn't mean you don't have fun because we have a blast, but it also doesn't mean you're relaxing on white sand with a cocktail in hand. If you're going for a week, then I suggest reserving one day of your trip as a "rest day". Ours is Tuesday of our trip. We will hang out at our resort pool and let Cadence play on the water slide. We will relax on the man made beach with hammocks. We will eat ice cream at the Beach Club and enjoy the lazy river at Typhoon Lagoon. Just because you're going to Disney doesn't mean you don't get to relax, but it also doesn't mean you don't have to plan, because you do.

Don't be lazy!

It's truly not that hard or time consuming. Once Tarl and I arranged our vacations at work I officially booked the trip by putting a $200 deposit down on it. Disney is similar to a cruise because you can pay as little or as much towards the trip as long as it's paid off in full 45 days prior to your arrival. Disney will then send you a packet, along with a customized magnet to place on your fridge with "important dates": Reservation Selections, FastPass+ Selections, Online Checkin, and the big one, your arrival! If you're like me and never pay attention to your fridge, put it on your calendar or set an alarm on your phone. I was so excited that I had the dates memorized, but some people call me crazy, so there's that too :)

The most important one, and most time consuming is the dining reservations. This is only if you purchased the dining plan. If you have kids and are staying for more than 3 days than I strongly advise you to get it. This allows you to have character breakfast, lunches and dinners and allows these meals to be paid in full in advance, so all you have to do is show up. 

You can make dining reservations at 6am on your 180 day mark. If you want any of the "prominent" restaurants, than you better do what I did, set your alarm for 5:30, brew some coffee, get out the credit card (just to confirm your reservation, they do not charge your card) and get ready. We are staying for 6 days/6 nights and here is our final dining itinerary:

Saturday - Hollywood & Vine - Lunch - MGM - Sophia the First/Doc McStuffins/Jake (Neverland Pirates)

Sunday - Akershus - Breakfast - Epcot - The Princesses

Sunday - Ohana - Dinner - Polynesian Resort

Monday - Cinderella's Royal Table - Dinner - Castle at Magic Kingdom - The Princesses

Tuesday - 1900 Park Fare - Dinner - Grand Floridian - Prince Charming/Cinderella/Stepmom & Sisters

Wednesday - Rainforest Cafe - Downtown Disney

Thursday - Chef Mickey's - Contemporary Resort - Mickey & the Gang

All of the above are hard to get into. All of the above book at 180 days, so wake your ass up and make those reservations. All in all it took me 10 minutes to do it online. Not that much time, you just have to wake up early. I have a friend going at a similar time. She waited until she got off work that night to make hers and the castle was completely booked for dinner. 

Also remember, just because it isn't a character dinner, doesn't mean it doesn't book quickly. Ohana is located in the Polynesian Resort. They serve dinner family style, bring it to your table and it's quite a feast. It's one of the hardest reservations to make, along with Chef Mickey's and Be Our Guest (we're doing Be Our Guest for lunch) so don't be lazy. Wake up and make em'. This was the most difficult planning part of the trip, and it wasn't even that hard to do. You just have to wake up early and who wants to do that?!

FastPass+ reservations are a breeze. I waited until I got to work to do that and you can periodically change those even up to the day, so no worries on that aspect. 

The biggest thing to remember is Disney is a vacation where you have to plan. I learned about Disney, read several articles, pins on Pinterest and FB pages. I did the work because I know Cadence is going to have a great time, as will Tarl and I. It's worth the 10 minutes making reservations and waking up early.

Just remember, if you want a quiet, relaxing getaway, Disney is not it. Don't bitch about it. Disney is a blast and you go non-stop while there but it's an experience you will never forget!