How to Beat the Heat @ the Disney theme parks

The girls jumped right in!

For a large portion of the year, Florida is extremely hot.  Don't let the heat spoil your fun. Here are a few tips for beating the heat on those dog days of Summer:

1. Get to the parks for opening and play until 11-12 when the heat gets unbearable.  Then head indoors for a big lunch (reservation will be necessary if you want to eat at a table-service restaurant) and enjoy the time off your feet and out of the heat or head back to your resort for a dip in the pool or a nap.  Come back around 4 feeling refreshed and ready to stay till closing.  
2. Don't hesitate to ask for a free cup of ice water.  Any counter service restaurant will give it to you for free - no other purchase necessary.  Disney doesn't want people passing out in the heat!  And I always treat the kids(and myself!) to ice cream when they start to feel too warm.
3. Find a water attraction such as Kali River Rapids (Animal Kingdom), Splash Mountain(Magic Kingdom), Casey Jr. splash play area (Magic Kingdom), or the water play area near Mission to Mars (EPCOT).

Here are my picks for places to go during the heat of the day in each of the 4 theme parks:

Magic Kingdom:

Tomorrowland - the majority of the lines for attractions are indoors and covered.

Adventureland - the Tiki Room, Pirates of the Caribbean, and the Country Bear Jamboree (technically on the border of Frontierland) are all close together in this area.

Animal Kingdom:

It's Tough to Be a Bug - a nice, cool show.

Kali River Rapids - plan to get soaked! I recommend that you don't plan to go in any air-conditioned areas right after riding this attraction.

EPCOT:

The Land Pavilion - Soarin', Living with the Land, and a cute Lion King show are all inside of this air-conditioned building.  Plus, there's a great place to grab some lunch right downstairs.

The Living Seas Pavilion - Turtle Talk with Crush, the Nemo ride, and views of some amazing coral reefs are all inside of this building.

Hollywood Studios:

Magic of Disney Animation: a short movie about Disney animation, lots of character meet and greet opportunities for pictures and autographs, and a cast member who will teach you how to draw a classic Disney character are all inside of this cool area.  Bonus: the picture you draw makes for a great free souvenir and you'll be surprised at how well your drawing comes out!

Remember: even if you don't have a reservation at a table service restaurant, there are plenty of indoor counter service restaurants where you can sit down and enjoy a delicious meal in a nice, air-conditioned environment.  Here are my favorite counter-service lunch spots in the 4 parks:

Magic Kingdom: Be Our Guest or Cosmic Ray's Starlight Cafe
Animal Kingdom: Pizzafari
EPCOT: Sunshine Seasons
Hollywood Studios: Pizza Planet

When should take my child for the first time?

My 2-year-old watching Disney's Beauty & the Beast @ Hollywood Studios for the first time!

The one question I hear most often is, "What is the best age to take my child to Disney for their first time?"

The truth is, the answer to this question depends more on you than your child.

Just a few things to consider:

1. Are you a Disney fanatic? I am. It was very important for me to take my kids to Disney as soon as I could convince my husband that we would survive the trip.
2. Are you stressed with your stroller and diaper bag in your basic travels around your hometown?  If so, waiting until your kids are older may make your trip more fun.
3. Have you checked out the height restrictions for each park so that you have a realistic idea of what your child can ride on? (If not, check this website:  http://adisneyworld.disney.go.com/media/wdw_nextgen/CoreCatalog/WaltDisneyWorld/en_us/PDF/RidesAttractionHeightChartWaltDisneyWorld_0911.pdf )
4. Contacting a certified Disney travel professional such as the agency I work for (Wishdrawals) can give you a ton of help planning and arranging the itinerary for your trip that will enable you to make happy memories and avoid meltdowns!

My favorite 3 times:

1. They get in for free until their 3rd birthday.  I think taking them just before they turn 3 is a great time.  Hopefully they're potty trained, they will not be too upset if their nap schedule fluctuates slightly, and they are old enough to interact with everyone and enjoy the visit.
2. When they are 44" tall they can ride every ride in the 4 theme parks with the exception of Rock 'n RollerCoaster (48" - Hollywood Studios), Everest( 48" - Animal Kingdom), and Primeval Whirl(48" - Animal Kingdom).  It seems like most kids hit this height around 5-6 and that's just about the age they're ready to ride some of the bigger rides
3. Child prices until their 10th birthday - this adds up to more than you might think.  They not only get child price tickets, but also eat for less at character meals.  I think taking them before that 10th birthday is a great time because they can do everything and will remember it forever.  

Insider Tip: Disney gives a free badge to anyone on their first visit! It's a great free souvenir and don't worry if you have older kids with you who want one, too.  They also have free "I'm celebrating" badges they'll give everyone in your group who wants one.  Ask any cast member where you can pick yours up.

First Trip Tips

If you've never been to Disney before, there are lots of factors to consider in planning your trip!  I will gloss over a few in this post, but feel free to post questions in the comments section below if you want more specific advice.

1. How many days should I plan for my trip? Often I hear 7 days recommended if you want to visit all 4 parks and still come home feeling like you relaxed on your vacation, but 7 is long and expensive for a first trip.  I personally think 5 days/4 nights is best for a first trip. I always try to buffer one day of being home before you go back to work after a Disney trip - unpacking and recovering from the travel and exhaustion of the heat and walking takes longer than you might think!
2. Which parks should I visit? Magic Kingdom is all about creating magic - if you are going with anyone in the 10 & under crowd, this should be at the top of your list.  EPCOT is divded into 2 parts: Future World (character meet-and-greets, tours of future technology in Innoventions, and several fun attractions) and the World Showcase (11 pavillions of countries that consist of shops, restaurants, characters, and shows).  There is something thrilling for everyone at EPCOT.  Hollywood Studios is a stark contrast to the Magic Kingdom as it is all about getting an inside look at how the magic is made.  Hollywood Studios shows you how shows are set, gives you many chances to meet characters (and even see how they're drawn), and offers a few very fun rides.  I think that Hollywood Studios has the most to offer the teen/young adult crowd. Animal Kingdom doesn't have a large number of rides either, but it is a gorgeous place to spend a day.  Several attractions are good for families or kids and there are also several thrill rides.  The majority of its charm is its tours through Africa and Asia and the amazing settings.  I have more in-depth posts about each park on my blog, but this should help you narrow it down some.  In my opinion, Magic Kingdom and EPCOT are absolute musts to a first trip.
3. Where should I stay?  See my resort recommendations in my post http://disneybloggingmama.blogspot.com/2013/07/where-to-stay.html
4. Should I use a travel agent?  Absolutely! Why wouldn't you tap into the knowledge of a professional when it's completely free to you? Visit WDWplans.com or Wishdrawals.com for free professional help!
5. Where can I find Disney discounts?  The safest way to get legitimate discounts is to talk to a Disney travel consultant.
6. When and where should I make dining reservations?  Feel free to contact us for personalized assistance picking the best meals for you and yourfamily.  Dining reservations should be made 180 days (or as close to 180 days) in advance.  
7. How long in advance should I plan my trip?  Check out my timeline for planning your trip http://disneybloggingmama.blogspot.com/2013/08/planning-your-trip.html

Planning Your Trip

Believe it or not, the time to start thinking about your Disney trip is about 6 ½ months before your arrival date.  I highly recommend using the My Disney Experience service on the Disneyworld.com website and the app is a great way to keep track of all of your plans.

1. You can check the park hours 6 months + 1 week before your trip.  I allow this to determine which days I will go to which park (this is important for step 2 which is reserving dining in all the right parks on the right days). Feel free to contact us for a customized list of park hours including parade and fireworks times and extra magic hours (for guests who are staying on property).

2. Dining reservations need to be made 6 months (180 days) in advance.  If you're not sure what day that will be, give us a call or an e-mail and we'll help you keep track of all of the dates that are fundamental to your trip.  With character dining and newer restaurants (such as Be Our Guest), it's best to be as close to that 180 days as you can because even during off-season, they book up very quickly.  Insider Tip: The reason for this is that in order to maximize profit, Disney has fewer tables/reservations available during the off-season dates.


3.  If you are staying on Disney property, you can check-in online up to 60 days in advance.  If you're not sure which Disney resort to stay at, check some of my other blog posts for recommendations.  If you're interested in staying off Disney property affordably, I recommend Sheraton Vistana Resort for a condo or the Lake Buena Vista Holiday Inn or Caribe Royal Orlando for hotel rooms.  I've stayed in all 3 and they're very comfortable for the price.  That being said, none of them offer the perks of staying on Disney property, so be sure to take that into consideration when considering the price before booking.

4.  Make your Fastpass+ Selections!  You can make them 60 days in advance if you are staying in a Disney resort or 30 days in advance if you are staying off Disney property.  They can be made at midnight and we're happy to be the ones to lose a little sleep to make those selections if you don't want to stay up until midnight.

5.  Print your 10-day forecast before your trip.  Make sure you check out my packing list which shows what to have for rainy days, etc!

Tips for the Magic Kingdom

The Magic Kingdom is the most child-friendly park.  It's got fun rides for teens and adults, but a big part of its charm is the number of fun rides that kids can go on without being limited by height restrictions.

The rides at the Magic Kingdom that DO have height restrictions are:

• The Barnstormer (35")
• Seven Dwarfs Mine Train (38")
• Stitch's Great Escape (40")
• Splash Mountain (40")
• Thunder Mountain (40")
• Space Mountain (44")
• Tomorrowland Speedway (52" to ride alone/32" to ride with an adult)

Park Strategy: Arrive 10 minutes prior to park opening (this is great because walking in at the park opening allows you to ride several rides before the park starts to get busy).  Head to the "land" that has the most rides you want to visit first and do everything on your list in that area. We often send a responsible runner with our tickets to get Fastpasses and meet up with us at the next ride, but this tip may soon be obsolete because Disney is updating the Fastpass system.  We use the Disney Experience App from the iTunes store to check the wait times and head toward the higher priority rides on our list that have short wait times, but once we're in a land we generally stay in that area until we are done with everything we "must" do in to avoid walking so much that our feet fall off!

Magic Kingdom's rides that almost always have short lines:

• Pirates of the Caribbean
• It's a Small World
• Prince Charming's Carousel
• Philharmagic
• Stitch's Great Escape
• Monster's Inc. Laugh Floor
• Swiss Family Treehouse
• Hall of Presidents
• Tiki Room
• Country Bear Jamboree

Insider Tip: Did you know that Walt Disney was left-handed? Since he was left-handed he designed the best spots on most rides and shows to be on the left side and Disney has maintained the trend.