Hey all, we’re back from our week away cruising the Inside Passage of Alaska and while I was bummed I didn’t have very good connectivity to share pictures with you as I planned last week, we did have lots of fun and saw a ton of cool things. This post is your one stop for all the posts in my trip report, and will be updated with links to each part as I get them up.

Cruisin’ North to Alaska
Part 1: Heading to the Pacific Northwest
Part 2: Exploring Seattle
Part 3: Bon Voyage, Seattle!
Part 4: A Day at Sea
Part 5: Iceberg, dead ahead!
Part 6: Gateway to the Klondike
Part 7: Whales and seals and glaciers, oh my!
Part 8: I’m a Lumberjack and I’m ok!
Part 9: Oh, Canada!

Got a question about the Disney cruise to Alaska or just cruising with Disney in general? Leave me a comment with your question and I’ll make sure to answer them!

In last week’s trip tip, I gave a few of my favorite tips for saving money on Disney cruise fares so this week I thought I’d focus on the things that are not included in your fare. The cruise fare is most likely going to be your biggest expense since it covers your room and all your food, but beware of the things that aren’t included – they can sneak up on you

Bingo - Disney cruise ships don’t have a casino like many other ships do, but you still have an opportunity to try your luck (and spend your money) by playing bingo. The bingo games are typically held each day and include cash prizes and other giveaways (spa gift certificates, Disney pins, etc.). The easiest way to save money here is to just not play at all, but it is fun and if your kids are like mine, they’ll probably drag you to at least one game. Don’t get taken in by the pre-game sales pitch – just buy a few cards and have fun. Also, make sure to check the personal navigator each day because they occasionally give away free bingo cards at the shops when you make a small purchase.

The Spa – There’s lots of great treatments you can book at the spa, but they can get spendy. One great option we’ve used is to buy the pass to the Rainforest Room, which will give you access to the heated loungers, steam room and showers for only $15 for a one-day pass. If you definitely want to do a treatment, but don’t have anything specific in mind, make sure to check your personal navigator – they include spa specials each day.

Pictures – The great thing about the cruise is that there are tons of photo opps and there’s a team of photographers that will take your picture for you. The bad news is that all the pictures they take cost money if you decide to purchase them (you don’t have to buy any if you don’t want to). You can buy individual pictures or purchase a package, but I’ve never really seen any deals, so I usually just include this in my budget. One thing to keep in mind is that most of the photographers are happy to take a picture with your own camera, so you can save money that way. The other thing that we do is group all our pictures together in one place and wait until the 2nd to last day to decide what pictures to buy. That way, we can go through everything from the cruise and only pick our absolute favorites.

Port Excursions - Every stop along the way has excursions available for you to book so you can see a little bit of the city you’re visiting. We’ve had some great excursions on our trips, but they can get expensive. I’ve covered a lot of the tips for saving money on these in a previous post, so I’ll just say here that it’s very important to do your homework. Look at all your options and make sure you’re getting the best possible experience for your money.

Alcohol – Adult beverages as well as some non-alcoholic specialty drinks like smoothies and lattes are not included in the cost of your cruise. Neither is bottled water or soda in cans that’s delivered via room service. For non-alcoholic drinks, make sure to bring your own cup so you can get refills at the drink stations on deck 9. For alcohol, Disney is one of the few cruise lines that allows you to bring on your own, as long as it fits into your carry-on bag. So, we bring on our own wine and save a ton of money. You’ll be charged a corkage fee if you bring the bottle into the dining rooms, but you won’t be charged anything if you just bring a full glass into dinner with you.

Palo/Remy Upcharge – No savings tips here. The $20 for Palo or the $75 for Remy is absolutely worth the experience, so just plan for it and put it into your budget.

Tips – Tips for your room attendant, assistant server, server and head server are all required. There is a recommended amount for each person that Disney will automatically add to your bill for your convenience but you can modify that amount, up or down, as you see fit. We have never not given the recommended amount to any of crewmembers we’ve had – they’ve all been great, so really, this is just another item to make sure to budget for. But, one thing I like to mention is that if you’d like to give any of your team something “extra” it doesn’t have to be money. They’re all on the ship for several months at a time, so think about things like pre-paid calling cards for calling home, iTunes cards or even candy (Hershey’s miniatures seem to be quite popular!)

So, those are some of the things you might encounter while you’re onboard. I haven’t included souvenirs on this list, but don’t forget about those!

To finish up, I wanted to share my favorite way for saving for these “extras”. Our secret weapon is Disney gift cards! Yep, they’re accepted in the shops and to pay for your onboard account, so we stock up on Disney gift cards during the months before our cruise whenever we have a little bit of extra cash. I put together a high-level budget for the things I think we’ll buy, based on what we did on our previous cruises, and try to grab a gift card whenever I can. And since you’re not saving cash or setting it aside in a savings account somewhere, you’re probably not going to need to dip into it before your cruise, so it really adds up quickly!

One of the hottest pieces of Disney news I’ve heard recently is about FASTPASS return times being enforced at Walt Disney World starting in March. Certainly this is going to put a dent into our tried and true touring methods and it’s going to be interesting to see how it all shakes out. But, outside of FASTPASS, there is another option that might help some of you, so I thought I would share it with you today.

A few years ago, Colorado Dad and I were on a solo trip to Disneyland and we were standing at the entrance trying to decide if we wanted to wait in line or get a FASTPASS for a much later return. As we were discussing it, I looked over and saw this sign

“Single Riders?” We went over to investigate and at that point learned about one of our favorite tips for busy park touring.

On a few busy attractions (the list is below), there are  “Single Rider lines” which basically allow people who are riding “solo” to go through a separate entrance for a typically quicker wait time. Why does Disney do this? Well, have you ever heard an attraction CM call out to people waiting in line to see if there are any singles or couples waiting? When they do that, they’re trying to be as efficient in loading a ride vehicle as possible, which means they want to fill every seat if they can. Providing a single rider line makes that whole process easier because the CMs can just pick individual people out of that line to fill in space as necessary.

So, this is pretty cool, but before you run out to your nearest Disney park and start searching for those single rider lines, there are a few things you should know:

• “Single” means one – While it’s perfectly fine for a group touring together to use the single rider line, just know that you WILL be split up. And, please, don’t get upset with the CM when this happens
• The Single Rider Line doesn’t guarantee faster access – While it’s true that riding solo will typically get you onto the attraction faster, it is not guaranteed. Sometimes it just works out that there are correct guest numbers in the regular line and singles aren’t needed. Be patient.
• Check-in with the CMs before entering the Single Rider Line – Single Rider Lines are handled slightly differently for each attraction, so make sure you check in with the Cast Member at the entrance to the attraction to find out what to do. Many times you’ll be handed a “Single Rider” card that you will need to give a Cast Member further along – don’t lose it.
• Don’t confuse “Baby Swap” with “Single Rider” – If you travel to Disney with kids, you may have heard of the “baby swap” option, allowing you all to stand in line and then “swap” adults so that everyone gets to ride without having to stand in line twice. “Single Rider” is completely different and should not be used as a “baby swap” option unless you’re comfortable with your “baby” riding by themselves

Ok, so with those tips out of the way, here’s the list of attractions that currently have single rider lines. While I haven’t seen changes to these in a while, you never know when something’s going to change, so it’s best to check when you’re at the park.

Disneyland - Indiana Jones Adventure and Splash Mountain

Disney California Adventure - California Screamin’, Goofy’s Sky School, Grizzly River Run and Soarin’

Disney’s Animal Kingdom - Expedition Everest

Disney’s Hollywood Studios - Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster

EPCOT - Test Track (at least until April/May when it closes for a re-imagining, which you can learn about on the Disney Parks Blog)

Colorado Dad and I have used this technique quite a bit in the years since we first learned about it. Sometimes we use it when we’re traveling solo and have limited time to tour the parks, but we’ve also used it quite a bit when we’re traveling with the kids and neither one of them has any desire to ride (like in the case of Splash Mountain, which Colorado Boy has declared he won’t go on until he’s 21 )

Happy touring!

I’ll admit, many of our Disney vacations have consisted of my family and I flitting from one attraction or character to the next,  barely stopping for a bite to eat unless we have an ADR at a sitdown restaurant. And bathroom breaks? No way! The kids just have to wait until we get back to the hotel! Ok, ok, I’m not really THAT bad, but I have been known to zip through the parks without really giving much thought to what we were seeing and doing. A few years ago, after we started visiting at least one Disney park a year, I realized that I didn’t HAVE to rush around to fit everything in, and that’s when I really started “experiencing” Disney.

Disney is famous for all the little details they put into their parks and if you slow down, you’re much more likely to see those things, and they will most likely make your experience that much better. But, even though I truly LOVE the little details, I think the thing that has really helped me “experience” the Disney magic more than anything else is talking to Cast Members. While you may run into someone having a bad day here and there, the vast majority of Cast Members love to spend a few minutes with you and often have great stories to tell.

During our vacation to Disneyland a few weeks ago, my husband let me head over to the park early to get some pictures while he fed the kids breakfast and got them ready for our day in the park. I got some shots of Main Street and then headed into the Fortuosity Shop to see what new watches they had in stock. I’m coveting one of the one-of-a-kind watches you can purchase, so I was hanging out over by the Artist’s Chair looking at some of the options. Charles, the artist-in-residence for the day wished me a good morning and called me by my first name (I was wearing a nametag from the D23 Expo on my lanyard), so we started talking about how observant Cast Members are and how he has learned to pick up people’s names as they browse in the store. That somehow lead into talking about his hometown back in Nebraska (which sounds an awful lot like a real-life Main Street!) and ended up back at the drawing his was working on when I walked in – the boat scene from Tangled, which I mistakenly thought was the Little Mermaid “Kiss the Girl” scene. While I didn’t purchase a watch from Charles that day, I thoroughly enjoyed our 15 minutes or so together and will keep an eye out for him the next time I visit.

After getting my Main Street pictures, I wandered over to the Tiki Room and struck up a conversation with Phil. We first started talking about pins and how it’s getting harder and harder to detect fake pins but that he has been doing it for so long that he kind of has a “sixth sense” about it. Did you know there are Cast Members who are designated as “Master Pin Traders” because of their experience? Well, there are, and Phil is one of them – go to him if you want an opinion on a pin you’ve traded for. There’s NOT a 100% fool-proof method to know for sure, but Phil can give you a pretty good idea. As we were talking he noticed my camera and asked if I was taking pictures of anything particular. I explained that I am just getting started with photography and still trying to learn. So, even though he was in the middle of setting up the queue ropes for the next show, he took a few minutes to take me through the entire loading area to show me some great vantage points for some nice tiki pictures as well as info on what time of day to come back to get the PERFECT shots. The light wasn’t quite right that day, so my pictures aren’t stellar, but I will definitely keep his advice in mind and will be back to shoot Pele just as the sun hits her exactly right. Thanks for the tips, Phil!

And finally, my favorite interaction from the entire trip. We were waiting for Mickey’s Soundsational parade to begin and the kids were starting to get a little antsy/crabby. A Cast Member noticed Colorado Princess in her Belle dress and came over to talk to her . We started chatting and found out that she has 17 grandkids. And they are ALL boys, so she doesn’t get a lot of “princess” time at home. As we were talking, she started edging over to Colorado Dad, reached into her pocket and quietly pressed something into his hand. Then, reached into her other pocket and put something else in his hand. She looked at Colorado Dad and I and said something to the effect that she can’t give things out to everyone, although she wishes she could. At this point, I was dying to know what she had given Colorado Dad, but I held back until she walked away to finish her pre-parade duties. I leaned over to see what it was and found that she had given Colorado Princess a small glass slipper. And for Colorado Boy, a Disneyland Resort pin with Dumbo on it. Wow, super cool!! Colorado Princess was instantly in love and slept with the slipper in her hand for the rest of the trip. I didn’t even notice the Cast Member’s name (unlike Charles, I am NOT observant ) and we didn’t see her again that night, but we will always remember that little bit of magic she gave us!

This past trip is probably one of my favorites so far and it really is in large part to the Cast Members I met. Not only do these folks go about their “regular” park duties, but they all help contribute to that Disney “magic” that we all love so much. If you haven’t taken the time to chat with a Cast Member on your previous trips, I really suggest you take the time to do so on your next trip – even if only for 5 minutes. Your trip is bound to be enhanced by it!

This post has absolutely nothing to do with Disney, but if you’re anything like me, you’re always looking for new birthday party ideas for your kids, so I thought I would share what we did for Colorado Boy’s birthday party over the weekend.

Originally, Colorado Boy wanted to do a “Paris” themed party, but I just couldn’t wrap my head around exactly what we would do for a French-themed party, so I asked him to come up with something else. Luckily, his 2nd idea – a “Clue” themed party – was MUCH easier for me to plan

The Theme
While inspiration came from the Clue board game, the basic premise was that the kids were detectives trying to solve “The Case of the Missing Birthday Cake”. The invitations and games were built around that idea.

The Invitations
To follow the detective theme, I created some simple invitations that looked like a memo you might find in a detective’s case file. I then designed the envelope to have the shape of a folder on it, similar to the “Confidential” sleeve in a standard Clue game.

The Games
I never know if there are going to be kids who show up a little late, so I like to have a few “warm-up” games to play while we’re waiting for everyone to get there. We came up with two games the kids could use to warm up their “observation” and ” questioning” skills to make sure their detective skills were sharp for solving the missing cake case.

“What’s Missing”: We gathered about 20 different household objects (keys, a banana, a screwdriver, a cub scout patch, etc.) and laid them out on a tray. The kids had 30 seconds to look at everything, then we took it away, removed an item and gave the kids 30 seconds to guess what item was missing. We played 4 or 5 rounds of this, making each round progressively harder with either less time or multiple items missing.

20 Questions: Each child picked a piece of paper with a famous person/character (think Mickey Mouse, George Washington, Indiana Jones, etc.) on it and then the other kids had to ask yes/no questions to figure out who it was. Whoever guessed correctly got the next turn to answer questions and so on, until everyone had had a turn. This game proved extremely popular and we played this for quite some time.

Once the kids’ detective skills were warmed up, they were ready to hunt down the culprit who stole the birthday cake. Before the party, I put together a set of clue cards that had pictures of each of the suspects (family members with names like “The Princess”, “The Driver”, etc.) along with a set of clues leading to different areas around the house. Each clue helped them determine if a suspect was innocent or not, and eventually lead them to the cake which was hidden in the culprit’s “getaway” car that happened to be in our garage. The kids seemed to really enjoy this and the only negative I heard was that it was too short. I only did 6 clues, but they got through those pretty quickly, so I probably should have added a few more.

The Cake
We are extremely lucky to have one of Colorado Princess’ daycare teachers who bakes cakes as a side business, so she was able to take Colorado Boy’s request for a “Clue” board cake and turn it into reality. I didn’t want anything super detailed and I think she came up with just the right balance. We were very happy with how it turned out! If you live in Northern Colorado and are ever in need of a cake, I highly recommend Sara. She can be found on Facebook at Sara’s Sweets.

The Goodie Bags
The $1 bins at Michael’s and Target are my favorite places to visit and I was able to find some great items for the goodie bags there. I found nice small spiral notebooks with pens, a Word search book and some mystery gummy candies there and then I also made “Honorary Detective” badges that the kids wore during the party and then added their fingerprint to once they had “solved” the case.

The Supplies
Other than the goodie bag items, the paper and envelopes were already part of my scrapbooking stash, but are available at Michael’s. The badge holders I got at our local Staples and then everything else was just a little imagination and a few Google searches for some appropriate “detective” imagery. I used Photoshop since that’s the program I have, and printed it all out on our home printer.

Colorado Boy and the kids all had a great time so I feel like this theme made for a pretty successful party!

Hopefully my ideas will help inspire you if your kids ever ask for a “Clue” themed party, but I’m curious, what kinds of parties have you done? I’m always looking for ideas, so leave me a comment and let me know what great ideas you have!

It’s officially one week into the New Year and I’ve been spending the last couple days evaluating various aspects of my life, including my new found blogging habit. On Monday, I’ll have been blogging for two months and while these past couple months have been a lot of fun, I must say that I really went into this endeavor pretty blindly. As I said to my sister the other day, blogging is a lot of fun, but it’s just about become a full-time job for me! I know for all of your veteran bloggers out there, this is nothing new, but for me, it’s definitely been a learning curve, so to help put a little bit of structure into my 2nd full-time job, I have decided to put together a better plan for my blog posts.

For me, a good plan means putting a repeatable structure in place, so I’ve come up with a structure for my blog posts that I hope will be a bit more maintainable and will make my life a little easier while also providing good content.

Before I talk about my new blog structure, I want to give a couple shout-outs to some folks who have inspired me to continue my pursuit of Disney blogging:

• First, a shout out to Tami, my fellow Coloradan who launched her blog Colorado Mountain Mom, not too long before me. Tami has started a very successful blog and her ideas and support have really inspired me to do more with my blog. Thanks Tami!
• To my younger (I won’t say little since she’s taller than me) sister, who blogs over at The Suburban Misfit. Thank you for your ideas, suggestions, support and the idea to put a better plan in place - you are my “blogging guru”.
• And finally, to all the Disney bloggers out there – I read many, many different blogs each day and you all give me great ideas and inspiration – thank you for all that you do!

Ok, now on to my new structure. I think this will help me be a little more consistent in my blogging and I hope I’m able to provide information that is both informative and helpful.

Tuesday Trip Tips: On Tuesdays, I’ll share a tip we’ve learned while traveling on a Disney trip – whether it’s to a Disney park, a Disney event or a Disney cruise.

Wordless Wednesdays: I’ll continue my participation in Wordless Wednesday with more of my Disney-based photos.

Thursday Thoughts: On Thursdays, I’ll share a review of a Disney-related item, or an opinion about the latest Disney news.

Fun Fact Friday: For me, part of the lure of Disney is the history and details that really make the magic, so on Friday I’ll share a fun fact dealing with some aspect of the Disney universe.

Weekend Wanderings: On the weekend, I’ll let my mind wander and share whatever happens to surface, Disney-related, or not.

So, that’s my new plan. I’d love to hear your thoughts on it and to hear how you come up with ideas for your blog. Leave me a comment below!

We’re leaving in two weeks for a surprise trip to Disneyland for Colorado Boy’s 9th birthday, so I’ve got attractions on my mind. We have a list of favorites that we always try to do and since they’re mostly good for kids of all ages (exceptions noted), I thought I’d share them with you. The list is kind of long, but I always like to share a bit of commentary, so bear with me

10. Disneyland Monorail/Disneyland Railroad
You might think of the monorail and train as just a method of transportation, but Colorado Boy absolutely considers these to be attractions all on their own. He LOVES riding the monorail and train and we’re pretty much required to ride at least once each trip.

9. Disney Animation Building - Hollywood Backlot in California Adventure
We passed by the door to this building MANY times on our way to Tower of Tower, but it wasn’t until 2010 when Colorado Dad and I were doing the D23 Scavenger Hunt that we ventured in and discovered all that was offered here. Boy were we missing something cool! There’s lots of fun stuff to do in here, including the Animation Academy, Sorcerer’s Workshop and Turtle Talk with Crush (which we LOVE). Really great for a rainy day, but we try to go all the time as a way to escape some of the afternoon crowds.

8. Pirate’s Lair on Tom Sawyer Island - Frontierland/Rivers of America in Disneyland
Another relatively new find for us, this is a great place to let the kids run around and stretch their legs a bit. There’s lots of caves to explore, bridges to cross, and, if you’re lucky, treasure to discover!

7. Pirates of the Caribbean – New Orleans Square in Disneyland
This is one of those rides that MAY not be for all kids. There is a small drop (although you never get more than a few drops of water on you) and the pirates and skeletens can be a little disturbing to some kids. As a matter-of-fact, I was SO scared of this ride when I was little that I refused to go on it. Somehow I got the idea that pirates actually shoot AT you, so that turned me off of the ride until I was an adult. After riding it for the first time, I felt very foolish for ever being worried about it and vowed to make sure that my kids would ride it, no matter what. The good news is that both my kids are pirate-crazy and LOVE this ride. I guarantee the whole family will be singing “Yo ho, yo ho, a pirate’s life for me” for the rest of the day

6. Soarin’ Over California - Golden State area in California Adventure
I’m including Soarin’ on this list only because it’s Colorado Boy’s FAVORITE attraction. It does have a minimum height requirement of 40″, so younger kids, like Colorado Princess, cannot ride. However, Soarin’ does have the “rider swap” option, which is very helpful if you want to enjoy attractions that aren’t appropriate for younger kids. For those of you not familiar, rider swap allows your entire party to wait in line together, but before loading the ride vehicle, one adult and the child who can’t ride are sent to a waiting area, where they wait while the rest of their party rides. Then, after riding, the adults “swap”, allowing the adult who waited with the child to ride without having to wait in line all over again. Waiting areas and exact procedures vary from attraction to attraction, so make sure you let every cast member you run into know that you want to swap so they can direct you in the right direction. Rider swap aside, Soarin’ really is a great attraction that we all love.

5. Peter Pan’s Flight – Fantasyland in Disneyland
I’m sure I’m breaking some cardinal law of Disney fandom by saying this, but here it goes – my kids don’t really love Fantasyland, so we usually don’t spend much time there. I know, I know – the Fantasyland attractions are CLASSICS, but quite honestly, most of them scare my kids So, while you won’t find attractions like Snow White’s Scary Adventure or Mr Toad’s Wild Ride on our list, you WILL find Peter Pan. Sure, the wait can be long, but there’s just nothing like boarding that pirate ship and heading off toward the second star on the right. My kids love the movie and they love this attraction so we try to make it one of our first stops in the morning.

4. Muppet*Vision 3D – Hollywood Backlot in California Adventure While I would LOVE to see this show updated, it still makes me giggle every time we see it. The kids love it and, amazingly enough, even my daughter is able to sit still for most of the show. One word of warning: There is a live action character that makes a brief appearance in the theater, but he doesn’t interact with anyone and stays up in the front. If your kiddos are at all scared of the characters, you might think about sitting a little further back in the theater.

3. Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters/Toy Story Mania - Tomorrowland in Disneyland/Paradise Pier in California Adventure
Toy Story + friendly competition? There’s pretty much nothing better in our books We LOVE Toy Story Mania but haven’t found out all the “secrets” yet, so we often find ourselves back over at Astro Blasters so we can challenge each other to hit those special targets. (sorry, not going to spend time on WHERE to find them…maybe in another post some day )

2. The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh - Critter Country in Disneyland
Just a nice, easy-going ride through various scenes from the 100 Acre Wood. Even now that Colorado Boy is out of his Winnie the Pooh phase, he still loves this ride. I feel like this is probably the best “dark ride” to try young kids on, because there’s nothing too terribly scary here and they can get an idea of what it’s like to ride some of the similiar rides in Fantasyland. It’s also situated right next to our favorite counter service restaurant, The Hungry Bear Cafe, so we seem to always visit around lunchtime

1. It’s a small world - between Fantasyland and Tomorrowland in Disneyland
And now we’ve come to the granddaddy of them all, the happiest cruise that has ever sailed the seven seas. It’s true, Colorado Dad can no longer handle it and I can only take it in small doses, but still, we ride every single time we visit because it truly is our kids favorite ride. They’ve updated and tweaked this attraction over the years, introducing the holiday overlay in 1997 and including dolls from some of the classic Disney movies in 2009, but in essence, it remains the same as it was back in 1964 when it opened at the World’s Fair which is cool because I really feel a connection to the “old days” when I ride. Even though the song gets stuck in our head a lot (THANKS Sherman Brothers!), I still really enjoy seeing all of Alice Davis’ wonderful costume design, so I will (grudgingly) admit, it’s not just my kids favorite, it’s one of mine too

Are any of these on your favorites list? Any must-do attractions for your kids that I missed? Leave me a comment and let me know

In the first post in this series, I talked about some of the things we’ve learned when planning travel to a Disney park with toddlers. In this post, I’ll continue with our lessons learned during our time IN the parks.

Get there early, on at least one day – This is harder for us to do at Walt Disney World, since we’re used to Mountain time, but it definitely pays to get to the parks early. First, the crowds are usually pretty light when the parks first open, so you can ride some of your “must-dos” without too much of a line. Second, several of the parks do a special opening show, like the one pictured here at the Magic Kingdom, which is a lot of fun for the kids to watch. Makes it that much more special for them!

Take a break during the day – I’ve heard some parents say this just doesn’t work for them, but for us, this is probably our biggest lifesaver. And, it’s not just for families traveling with young kids, it worked very well when we traveled with our parents back in May as well! It works best for us to completely leave the parks and go back to the hotel for a few hours, which is why we like to stay on property, but even if you’re not staying on property (or just don’t want to leave), you can find a quiet spot in the park and just sit and relax, perhaps while enjoying a cool drink or Mickey ice cream bar.

Know where the bathrooms are, and use them…often – ESPECIALLY before you get into a line that looks deceptively short but is actually 45 mintues long. We made this mistake with my son during his first trip. The line for Mickey was 45 minutes but Colorado Boy REALLY wanted to meet him, so we waited. He was really, really good during the whole wait but literally right as we got to the door that led to Mickey, my son said “I have to go potty”. Normally that meant we had about 5 minutes before he had to go, so we figured we’d be able to hustle through the visit and get him to the bathroom. And anyway, we had waited 45 minutes, so we weren’t going to give up at that point Unfortunately, this time, we didn’t QUITE have 5 minutes so we now have a wonderful souvenir of our first visit with Mickey, with all of us smiling…and Colorado Boy with a mysterious dark area on his jeans…Such a bad parent moment for me, but it taught us a valuable lesson!

Let the kids run some energy off - While having a stroller makes park touring MUCH easier, it can make for an antsy kid by the end of the day, so we always try to find a place in the park where the kiddos can run around and stretch their legs. There’s lots of good places for this – at Disneyland, we LOVE Tom Sawyer’s Island, er…I mean, The Pirate’s Lair. California Adventure has Redwood Creek Challenge Trail and at Walt Disney World, there are several places, like The Boneyard and “Honey, I Shrunk the Kids” movie set to name a few.

Don’t Park Hop - This is another tip that some people may not agree with, but after trying it both ways, we’ve learned that it makes for a much more pleasant day if we just stay in one park for the day (both before and after our mid-day break). I think, for my kids, the parks are a bit overwhelming because there’s SO much to see. Keeping the day focused on a single park makes it easier for them to adjust and leads to fewer meltdowns.

Don’t force Character interactions – For the most part, we haven’t had problems meeting the characters – my kids were pretty much ready to give Mickey a hug from a very early age. But, I think this is relatively unusual based on the number of unhappy kids I’ve seen meeting a character for the first time. From a young child’s perspective, characters are HUGE – way bigger than they appear on the TV at home, so let your kids dictate the level of interaction they want to have with the characters. Some kids love ‘em, some kids take awhile to warm up to ‘em!

Don’t stay late every night  – While the fireworks at Disney are some of the best you’ll probably ever see, I don’t recommend staying late to see them every night of your stay. Depending on the time of year you go, the fireworks may not start until 8:30 or 9pm, sometimes later, which, if your kids are like mine, is WAY past their normal bedtime. So, pick one night, maybe two if you’re there for a week, to see the fireworks. Oh, and if you stay late one night, don’t make the next morning your early day in the parks…that may sound obvious, but we did it without thinking one year and it wasn’t particularly fun

Don’t try to see EVERYTHING – There is A LOT to see and do at the Disney Parks, especially if you’re visiting Walt Disney World, and it’s important to understand that it’s virtually impossible to see EVERYTHING in one visit (even without kids). So, plan ahead, come up with a few things that are “must-dos” for your visit, but don’t try to do it all. The kids will be happier and it will give you a good excuse to plan another trip!

Although every toddler is different and some of these tips may not work for you, I hope there have been a few things here that will help you plan your next visit to the Disney parks! And don’t forget – take tons of pictures and as always, HAVE FUN!