Walt Disney World and Disneyland are respectively the most magical and happiest places on earth. Yet, I’m sure all of us have seen many of the grumpy guests in the parks. We hate to admit it, but at some time or another we have all been “that grumpy guest.” For whatever reason some days go sour, but even those bad days in a Disney park are better than a great day at home. Right?
Here is my simple guide to appreciating your stay on a Disney vacation. I have four basic suggestions that will keep you and your family free from frowns.
1. Pre-planning A Budget
Many guests get themselves worked up with how much money they are spending. If you don’t plan your budget accordingly it can get out of hand quickly. There are so many attractive things to spend your money on that you can leave thinking that you have to remortgage your house. This is why pre-planning how much you want to spend on the average day can help. When the final cost of your vacation doesn’t come at a surprise you can enjoy your vacation much more. Going into your vacation with a general idea of how much you should spend everyday will make you so much happier.
2. Understanding Your Constraints
Disney vacations can have more constraints than just financial ones. Some constraints in the Disney parks have little to do with the money, and more to do with what your family is capable of. Knowing you and your family’s limitations is key to not leaving the parks disappointed. A perfect example of this is height constraints. When traveling with small children it is important to prepare them for the fact that they might not be tall enough for every ride. Breaking the bad news to your child that they are too short for Space Mountain is better at home than in the Magic Kingdom. I highly suggest checking out the DIS’s Height Requirements Calculator in order to prevent meltdowns in front of attractions with height requirements. You know best what your family’s constraints are so plan accordingly.
3. Getting Enough Sleep
Take into consideration how much sleep you and your family needs. Not only knowing your limits, but more importantly the limits of your children. It’s fun to be at rope drop, and it is fun to be at Extra Magic Hours until 3 in the morning, but it might not fit with everyone’s sleeping schedules to do both. Speaking as a former Cast Member during Extra Magic Hours in the Magic Kingdom, I saw many small children pushed beyond their limits by staying up well beyond when they normally go to bed. I think to some extent staying up later than normal is fine, but I caution you that keeping a 5 or 6 year old up until 2 a.m. will not end well in the parks.
4. Not Recording Every Moment
Pictures on a Disney Vacation are important. Very important in fact, and I am not arguing that videos and pictures shouldn’t be taken, but if you are only looking through a lens your entire vacation you are missing out. Recording special moments with your family is significant, but recording what you can watch on YouTube seems to be overkill. If you want to want to relive the fireworks I suggests many of the great videos the DIS team has put up on Youtube. Putting down the camera and just soaking up the moment feels much more magical. There are exceptions, obviously for some photography is their passion, but otherwise limiting the pictures taken to the ones that are truly meaningful to your family will make for a much better vacation.
