by Sarah | Feb 7, 2019 | All About Family, All of Us, Blogging Life, Disney, DisneyTips, Redefining Perfect, Universal
I haven’t been to Disney hundreds of times (yet. Give me a couple years), but I’ve been my fair share.
I’ve done it with crazy intensity, and in a casual jaunt.
I’ve done Disneyland (finally), and Disney World.
I’ve picked up a few tips along the way. And while there re blogs across the web, I wanted to hand out my own Disney advice I’ve learned along the way, and tips I’ll be learning as I begin to go more frequently.
This months tip is one I picked up thanks to a coworker.
It’s only prevalent if you’re only planning to go for one day.
Go to an event – an after-hours event or one of the parties!!
Did you know that Disney offers such things as Disney After Hours at Magic Kingdom (and Hollywood Studios and now a new one at Animal Kingdom)??
These special ticketed events give you access to the park after hours when the crowds are gone – but as a special bonus, you can actually enter the park as early as 7PM before the park closes! Not as many rides/shows will be open for the after hours events – but the crowds will be lighter and it’s a great way to hit rides that usually have large lines…and do it at around the same price as a one day ticket! Also, they have treats available for free! This includes, popcorn, ice cream treats (the ever popular Mickey Bar is included!) and certain beverages.
You can start your day in Disney Springs (which is free to enter and wander around. Has great stores and restaurants, plus the opportunity to ride the car-boats!), and then head to the parks at 7PM to get your Disney on!
When it comes to the parties, Disney always does it right. From September through right before Christmas every year Disney runs their two big parties. The Not-So-Scary-Halloween Party starts in September and turns into the Very Merry Christmas Party at the beginning of November until December 21st(ish). These parties start earlier in the evening, and with your purchased tickets you can usually enter the park around 4PM to get your ears on before the party officially starts (you’ll be given a special wrist band to show you belong). Once again, this is a special ticketed event and though they are generally a lot more crowded than the after hours parties – most people are rushing around to trick or treat or see the special parades so the rides aren’t as busy. With fewer crowds taking up the lines you can get more rides ridden all while seeing the park decorated for the holidays.
If you’ve got a whole long vacation in Florida planned, but only ONE day for Disney – I have to say I think this is the RIGHT way to do it. My coworker/friend did this last year during the NSSHP and raved over how it went. She and her friends hung out in Disney Springs during the day, then headed over the park and had so much fun. They were able to get in a lot of rides and loved seeing the park decorated for Halloween.
Honestly, if you’re going for multiple days, this doesn’t make as much sense cost-wise because you’re paying extra for a ticket instead of folding it into your multi-day discounts…but if you only have ONE DAY…do it right. Pick up a party or an after hours even night and get more done!!
*~*~*~*~*
For more reference on what’s involved in an after hours Party, here’s a couple of posts from some of my favorite Disney Blogs about the After Hours Parties:
Animal Kingdom After Hours via Disney Tourist Blog
Hollywood Studios After Hours via KennythePirate.com
Magic Kingdom After Hours via wdwinfo,com
by Sarah | Jan 17, 2019 | All About Family, All of Us, Blogging Life, Disney, DisneyTips, Redefining Perfect, Universal
I haven’t been to Disney hundreds of times (yet. Give me a couple years), but I’ve been my fair share.
I’ve done it with crazy intensity, and in a casual jaunt.
I’ve done Disneyland (finally), and Disney World.
I’ve picked up a few tips along the way. And while there re blogs across the web, I wanted to hand out my own Disney advice I’ve learned along the way, and tips I’ll be learning as I begin to go more frequently.
My first tip is – Don’t Overschedule.
There is a LOT to do at Disney. So much, you could go every day of the year and not get it all done.
Once more for the people in the back…
You cannot get everything done at Disney in one trip.
Seriously.
My BEST trips have been when we didn’t have a ton of stuff planned. We had vague ideas of what we wanted to see, key points we wanted to hit…but there wasn’t “THE LIST” or reservations or anything like that.
Do your research, sure.
Make A reservation (maybe 2) of places you really want to eat. Don’t scatter your trip with reservations every day that you have to make it to by a certain time because there are so many variables like wait times and travel time and crowd levels and potty breaks. Though there’s flexibility in your arrival times…it’s still undue pressure you don’t need.
There are so many places at Disney that are counter service and don’t require a reservation and many of them are GOOD (and many also now offer mobile pickup, which we’ll cover another time because YAY). They’re scattered along your route in the park and easy to drop in, grab and get back on the route.
This is MOST key, I think, if this is your first ever trip – ESPECIALLY on your first ever trip with your kids.
Be flexible. Be open. On your research, take note of the restaurants in the areas you plan to be in so you don’t get a bad one (we did our first trip. We still joke about the awfulness…yes, it does happen).
OR…don’t plan.
AT.ALL.
Our first trip with the kids I had vague notes of things I really wanted us to hit, but otherwise it was a free-for-all. The good (and bad) parts of the trip are still ALL good memories. We joke about the bad food, we joke about the painful seats on Molly’s first roller coaster (in an area we had NO designs on going in originally). Nothing we did on that trip was planned. It was amazeballs (and not just because of the Genie pass).
Year 2 was still great…but much more stressful because we had PLANS. We spent 7 months researching and planning and making meal reservations (only 1 of which was worth it…and it wasn’t a character dining…and they were all $$$)…and I was so stressed about “having” to be here or there that I didn’t have as much…FUN.
I experienced the same thing when we went last year with actual passes. The first time we went, hubby and I were able to just take things casual. We spent a lot of time at our resort pool. When the power went out, we headed to the boardwalk for ice cream. Our days in the park were cool and casual, very little ‘planned’ along the way. Unfortunately, later that same year when I took the girls my son decided he had to schedule us fast passes for everything under the sun which led to a lot of flurry of activity that was stressful, especially in the high crowds of Christmas week.
I don’t make this tip lightly, I promise. I come from a long line of planners. My dad loves to plan out vacations to the minute. I was super excited for that second Disney year because Denver and I had planned so much…but the planning robs the spontaneity and fun out of Disney.
Definitely, do your research. Think hard about how long you’re going and the crowd predictions and think about your “must-do’s”. Make some general plans…what park(s) what day…what key things to hit. Make a reservation or two (I’ve got some suggestions in later posts)…sketch out days lightly, don’t set them in stone with Sharpie’s…
Because at Disney – the fun is in the spontaneous and unpredictable.
Let yourself get pulled off course – that is where the fun is.
by Sarah | Dec 21, 2017 | All About Erik, All About Family, Disney, Redefining Perfect
My husband has a big crush.
I suppose I should be jealous.
I mean, she’s super cute, sweet, clever, and talented.
It’s Tinkerbell.
I can’t compete with that…
except she’s a fairy.
So I can, a wee bit.
After all, he can’t forever live where they shrink you down to fairy size.
Right?
Right?
by Sarah | Dec 7, 2017 | All About Family, All of Us, Disney, Redefining Perfect
I finally got to get my happy butt to the original Disney property this year. It was pretty cool to see finally, especially with the Disney craze that has been this house the past few years. It got even better when I had company, who happened to be an experienced Land-goer.
Honestly, Disney World is still tops for me, mostly because it’s my first Disney memories, where I’ve taken my kids…but Disneyland most definitely now holds a special place in my heart.
Disneyland: Walt walked these streets. He lived in the apartment above the fire station when he did. He mingled with guests. His light is still on, always on, to show that he’s there. Always there.
Disney World: Walt inspired the concept of the parks, he was in the minds of the designers, and remains so, as they expand and change. He never walked the streets, he unfortunately passed away before it was built.
Disneyland: California Adventure Park. Once a bit of an embarrassment, it is pretty awesome these days. (Let’s just not talk about what they did to the Tower of Terror, ‘kay?). Cars land was really neat to see, as immersive as Hogsmeade at Universal…so, so cool. I spent a bit of time in Cars Land. The pier with the fair themed games and rides really made me happy. I loved every ride I went on here, pretty much.
Disney World: Epcot. Animal Kingdom. Hollywood Studios. Three parks to one. It’s sort of tough to beat. I have always been a huge fan of Epcot, and Hollywood Studios. Not so much Animal Kingdom, but it hasn’t really managed to get a good, thorough visitation from me for many reasons. Although, Mt. Everest is way, way at the top of my favorite rides. We’ll talk about the construction downsides soon.
Disneyland Magic Kingdom: Cramped. Nostalgic, yes…but cramped. Dead ends everywhere. Weird rides bundled together in a loosely-tied theming…just to keep ‘up to date’. Really liked my guided tour with my buddy learning the facts and one word: Matterhorn. I don’t know, it just felt like a cramped mishmash. I did really enjoy going on several classic rides and the Matterhorn, though. Single Rider is a lifesaver there, though. Do it, even if you’re in a group. You’ll save a TON of time.
Disney World Magic Kingdom: More open, less confusing, and really, I just prefer it, even if they don’t have the Matterhorn. 😉 The lands make more sense with the theme tie-ins, and the rides feel like they haven’t been shoved in because there’s no room to grow.
Downtown Disney vs. Disney Springs: No comparison. Disney Springs (although at times seems too big) wins. The end.
Construction in the midst of magic: We all know Disney has to innovate. I was fortunate enough to not see too much construction in Disneyland (I didn’t approach the SW or GotG construction areas), but scuttlebutt going around is there is about to be some pretty hefty work going down in DCA in 2018. Disney World has been overrun with construction. Last time I went I didn’t even venture into Hollywood Studios but for about two hours to do Star Tours and have lunch because there was so much closed. In the coming years, Epcot will be seeing a ton as well. Although, that needs it…but still. It’s a lot. A lot, a lot.
Clearly, going as an adult has its downside. You’re an adult and you notice these things. My kids? Not so much.
Still, I love both parks in their own way. I can now say I’ve been to Disneyland, enjoyed myself, and it will hold a special place in my heart. I’m not in a huge rush to return, though. Disney World, on the other hand…I’m going later this month, and I just went in September…so, I think it’s still a winner, winner chicken dinner in my book.
by Sarah | Dec 4, 2017 | All About Me, All of Us, Redefining Perfect
Around 18 years ago, I was a young single mom. I worked, I cared for my kid, I had no social life.
Right around that time I got into the internet. And I mean OG internet. AOL login and chat. Old school all the way.
At the time I happened to also be obsessed with the musical CATS. Seriously. I went and saw it about 11 times on Broadway before it closed when I lived in Maryland for a couple of years.
Those two things came together, and I found myself on a forum for musical lovers (musicals.net I think it’s still there, maybe?), and in their CATs forum some of the actors participated (how I got to meet them), and many, many fans. There were even a couple of RPG’s (yup) that I was involved in.
In this crazy world, I found Heather. We met in an RPG, and on the forums. She was funny, a little bit bonkers, a lot dramatic, and we formed an instant friendship. Our characters interacted in the RPG, we talked on the forum, and then we began to chat outside of the forum. We talked on the phone, sent actual letters in the mail (I know, RIGHT?). We never met.
A few years later, I had moved, she had moved, I was being stubborn about not joining Facebook (seriously, I held off for YEARS). We sort of lost touch, but I was always aware in the periphery. We’d find each other on twitter, or through email and a general “how are you?” type of communication. Then I finally joined Facebook and we reconnected…again, on a periphery.
Every time we’d chat it would be like no time had passed at all. She went on grand adventures. Moved to NYC to try her hand at Broadway. Appeared in movies (she can be seen in Bedtime Stories). Worked on cruise ships, Moved to Australia to be a nanny. I became a wife. I became a mom (again. and again).
Then, finally, this year I managed to find my way to Anaheim for the first time ever, right near where she happened to live. I knew this well in advance of it happening (like over a year) and started nudging her that we needed to FINALLY meet.
So, after 18 years we finally met. In person.
It was so amazing.
Turns out that despite our age difference (did I mention we’re like 8 years apart?), we had a ton in common.
We met at Disneyland, because that is what you do when you’re in Anaheim with free passes, and pretty much everyone in SoCal has annual passes (seriously. I’ve never been asked so often if I was an annual passholder on any other Disney trip. It IS a thing…but I’m digressing here.
Waiting nearly 20 years after our first online meeting meant that when we met, we could drink.
At Disney.
Drink.
Sure, I mean, we’re not animals. Our morning was spent riding rides, walking around the park while she told me some really cool facts and history about different parts of the park.
We found out that we are basically the same person leading two crazily different lives. She told me about the TV show she’d been working on (which I’ve now seen..it’s The Orville, BTW. She’s one of the medical officers, an alien. I’ve seen her. Several times. Yup.). About her auditions at Universal (which she got hired for).
We talked for hours, walked the parks, rode favorite rides like Pirates and Haunted Mansion. The conversation never slowed or felt awkward.
I swear, it felt like we’d just seen each other last week, when we’d never met ever.
Then, she knew “just the right place” to head…Trader Sam’s Enchanted Tiki Bar.
We found something we didn’t have in common…liquor. I like the fruity stuff (like the Piranha Pool shown above)…she goes for the kick you in the balls hard liquor.
Still, that didn’t stop us from ponying right up to that bar and chatting away, downing several drinks before we went back to the parks and spent the rest of the day.
It’s funny…once upon a time, Erik used to call the people I knew on the internet my “fake friends”. He didn’t get it. He didn’t understand how I could form a bond with people like you, who I interacted with. Even thought I’d met several in person. Had them come to my house, be in my wedding, I’d gone on trips with them to NYC, to Florida. One of them (a former Cats cast member) worked at Disney World and went with me to an audition…for Cats (as moral support, not to audition himself).
Now, I didn’t connect with everyone this way…but people like Heather? I’ll definitely meet them when I can. They are real. You are real. And though the connection may start out virtual…sometimes you just know…and when you meet, you know instantly why you knew.
I haven’t been to Disney hundreds of times (yet. Give me a couple years), but I’ve been my fair share.
