Original Post Date: 8/30/16
My "Why" (for starting this blog)...
After several requests from friends to help plan Walt Disney World (WDW) vacations for their families, I decided I should either a.) become a travel agent who specializes in WDW, or b.) start a blog that my friends, family, and anyone else needing planning advice can access. Since I have a full-time job, the travel agent option may not be feasible right now.
To start, I would like everyone to know that I do not work for the Disney company. I am not being paid by Disney to write this blog. I am by no means an expert, but I do have a love for Walt Disney World and wanted to share the knowledge I do have with others who are looking for tips or are completely lost in this whole planning thing. Plus, I research the you-know-what out of everything, so hopefully this blog will end up being a one-stop shop for those of you who would rather go to one place for your info.
I must state for the record that for the time-being this blog will be specifically geared toward families with younger (school age) children in terms of things to do since my children are young and that is the experience I have. With that being said, my husband and I have thoroughly enjoyed MANY of the attractions for the younger crowd...maybe because Disney finds such clever ways to inject adult humor to keep us engaged. Eventually, I would like to expand the blog to incorporate suggestions for other age groups and possibly even other Disney destinations (Disneyland, Disney Cruise Line, etc.)
Why Walt Disney World?
When you hear people say Disney World is the "happiest place on Earth", they are right!! Every time I walk into Magic Kingdom, I am literally overcome with deep-rooted happiness and can feel magic coursing through my veins. Cheesy (see what I did there?), I know, but it's the only way to explain the elation that comes from being there. Is it all fun and games? No (but mostly yes) - there are crowds and heat to deal with. Is it expensive? Yes, it can be expensive, though I do have some helpful money-saving tips (I will also discuss the money-saving tips from other blogs that didn't work out like I had hoped.)
Perhaps the most important question is this, though - Does seeing the most enchanted, mesmerized, magical smile on your child's face when the first Mickey Mouse encounter occurs make the extensive planning, crowds, heat, and cost worth it? My answer is undoubtedly a HUGE YES!! Maybe it's because when I look at pictures from our trips, I see that same genuine happiness in my own smile (and my husband's, which is a MAJOR win)! How could I possibly not LOVE being in a place where my WHOLE family is on another level of happiness? Life is about making memories and WDW has given my family some of our most incredibly memorable experiences that we will look back on and talk about for years to come.
Okay, enough of the sappy "this is why you should totally book a WDW vacation" stuff! Let's get on with it...
Oh my, where do I start?
If you are asking yourself that question, you are not alone. Planning a trip to WDW can be totally overwhelming, especially if you have never done it before. This is mainly due to the desire we have as parents to plan the most perfect Disney experience possible for all members of the family, along with trying to pack in as many "must-do" attractions, dining experiences, tours, etc. as possible. People without much WDW knowledge may have further anxiety because they are not sure what their must-do list should include.
Many people will suggest using a travel agency to book a WDW trip and I am 100% NOT disagreeing, but I booked my last two trips (May 2015 and August 2016) myself, so my tips are for all the self-planners out there. With that being said, there can be some perks to going through a travel agency that I will cover in a future post at some point. For now, I will stick to what I know based on my research and personal experiences.
I will cover things like staying in a Disney-owned resort vs. a non-Disney-owned resort, Disney's FREE transportation, booking a room through Disney vs. through a third-party (like Orbitz), how to make the most of your FastPass+ (FP) selections (and which attractions really don't need a FP), dining at Disney with dietary restrictions, and many other topics that I think will be helpful for people when planning a WDW trip. I will add links below to my posts as I write them so you can easily navigate to the topics that interest you.
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