Gallery: Tips For Your First Disney Trip From An Anti Disney Mom

Author LauRen Merola

July 11th, 2023 8:56 AM

If you are thinking about taking the kids to Disney for the first time I am sharing my photos, tips and tricks for first time parents.

Well, it has happened. Hell has frozen over and I am back in Charlotte eating my hat because I said I would never take my kids to Disney. My husband and I aren’t what you would call “Disney People”. Sure, I like Disney movies, but we’ve always said it sounds like a nightmare of hot, sweaty crying kids and it’s probably where marriages go to die. Well I was wrong and I think we did Disney the right way.

After taking a road trip to Orlando, Florida (without my husband) I broke down and took the kids, holding my breath the whole time. If you want to do this trip, you have to be a proactive problem solver. You have to stay two steps ahead of the kids! Here are my mom hacks to winning the day at Disney!

• Walt Disney World

  Share

  LauRen's Mom Dana, Chiara, LauRen, Jax and Cash. We learned so much on our first trip to Disney. I now have a lot of tips and tricks. I personally think you need a 1:1 ratio. 1 adult to child because they might not want to do the same things and everyone gets a "buddy" to be responsible for this way.

• Walt Disney World

  Share

  My first recommendation might sound cheesy but it is both cute and smart. Get matching shirts.

• Walt Disney World

  Share

  Oma and Jax. Disney is BUSY! One of my biggest fears was one of the boys wondering off, but I knew if they did they would be easily identifiable since we had the same shirt on.
• Walt Disney World

  Share

  My second tip is to stay at a property with a free shuttle to the park. Parking is crazy there and you have to walk a country mile. With a shuttle they will drop you right at the monorail and ferry.

• Walt Disney World

  Share

  This is something that kinda surprised me about Magic Kingdom. There aren't a lot of princesses in the park, you have to register or stand in line for princess experiences. There are however less popular characters walking around. We saw Peter Pan, Tigger, Poo, and the evil step sisters from Cinderella

• Walt Disney World

  Share

  My next tip (if you can splurge) is the lighting line. I know people spend BIG money to go to Disney and I have to be honest... I'd rather do less days and have more time to ride.
• Walt Disney World

  Share

  The Lighting line pass lets you skip the long line. And even when the app said a ride was a 40 mins wait with the lighting we only really spent 10 mins waiting. My kids wouldn't have made it without. It's worth the money. If you're gonna spend on something do this!

• Besties

  Share

  Adults say their parents are their bestie

• Walt Disney World

  Share

  Next tip. Portable neck fans. I found mine at Home Depot because Amazon's shipping was late. These were a game changer for us. It is so hot in Orlando this time of year and they are easy to wear.
• Walt Disney World

  Share

  And no the fans don't get stuck in your hair. They are rechargeable and worked all day.

• Walt Disney World

  Share

  This is one of the princess experiences I was telling you about. Jax loves the little mermaid so we chose to do this one. However you legit just stand in line to take a min to chat and take a picture. Pick your favorites and stick to that. It was kind of a time suck but it was nice to get out of the heat for a few mins.

• Walt Disney World

  Share

  Stick to what you love. My kids could have spent all day in the circus section of the park and we didn't rush them.
• Walt Disney World

  Share

  Although I wasn't a huge fan of food in the park the snacks were good. Next time I go I will bring meals but buy snacks there. We bought a refillable popcorn when we got in the park and kept it on hand all day (we refilled 3x) for anytime the kids just need a snack from getting hangry.

• Walt Disney World

  Share

  Stay cool with , waters and ice creams. We saw so many people of all ages who over heated and had to be helped by emt.

• Walt Disney World

  Share

  Jax loves to eat so ice cream was a big hit. This was our 2nd ice cream stop of the day.
• Walt Disney World

  Share

  Don't take anything with you that you don't wanna lose. I lost a pair of $20 Target sunglasses that fell off my head into the water at the "It's a Small World" ride.

• Walt Disney World

  Share

  Enjoy the little moments. Jax LOVES princesses and wanted all the hugs and time to talk to the pretty girls. He is still talking about how he has to take diamonds to Cinderella's sisters.

• Walt Disney World

  Share

  Like I said the less popular characters are out and about in Disney. Don't sleep on these experiences the kids still enjoy these too!
• Walt Disney World

  Share

  RENT A STROLLER! Even if your kids are old enough to walk, you will keep them out of the sun and fresh with this trick. You can rent them ahead of time and have them delivered right to your hotel. This was one of our big tips of the day. Jaxson even took a nap in there while Cash rode rides.

• Walt Disney World

  Share

  It's a long day! Take breaks. Our kids loved the Dumbo indoor playground over by Dumbo and the Tea Cups. It's nice to just sit in the ac for a little.

• Walt Disney World

  Share

  Although I wasn't a huge fan of food in the park the snacks were good. Next time I go I will bring meals but buy snacks there. We bought a refillable popcorn when we got in the park and kept it on hand all day (we refilled 3x) for anytime the kids just need a snack from getting hangry.
• Walt Disney World

  Share

  Here is my biggest tip. Give the kids a full rest. If you want to see the fireworks at the end of the day this is key.We did 9-5 at the park, then we went back to the hotel for a rest. I ordered the kids door dash mc Donalds and they watched TV for a while. Then we went back to the park for the fireworks.

• Walt Disney World

  Share

  Fireworks is the parks busiest time of day. So Get there at least an hr and a half before the show. Not gonna lie to you it gets to be wall to wall people so if you are claustrophobic like I am you may want to grab a drink before going back to the park for skip all together.

• Walt Disney World

  Share

  You can see the fireworks from a lot of the hotels. Ours had a rooftop restaurant we could have watched from ... which I think we will do next time.
• Walt Disney World

  Share

  The fireworks were amazing don't get me wrong. I think it's something that you have to see at least once, but for this claustrophobia momma unless were up closer next time. I'm all set.

Sign me up for the Kiss 95.1 email newsletter!

Make sure you're not missing out on anything at Kiss 95.1 and become an exclusive VIP member. Enjoy all the perks and get exclusive insight into music news, contests, and more!

First Name *

Last Name

Email *

Subscribe

By clicking "Subscribe" I agree to the website's terms of Service and Privacy Policy. I understand I can unsubscribe at any time.

Author LauRen Merola

Category:

• KISS 95.1
• Lifestyle
• The MRL Morning Show
• Travel

Tags:

Disney,Hacks,parenting