Our Best Disney Tips

Our family is currently having the time of our lives at Disney World for the Social Media Moms Conference and I was reminded of our family’s first experience visiting the Magic Kingdom and what we learned during that trip.

Are the tips I shared then still helpful? You bet! In fact, coming into this trip armed with the “insider” tips we learned during our first visit has made this one a lot smoother, even though it’s a bit different because I’m also attending a conference.

So I thought I’d take a moment to share again how we planned for Disney and what we learned (for further information on each tip, be sure to read the original post), and give you the opportunity to add any of your tips or tricks you’ve learned in visiting Disney World in the comments!

1. Advance Preparation Tips

• Financially: start saving and looking for deals as soon as you start thinking about your trip.
• Safety: print out current photos to carry of each child, bring a sharpie to write cell phone numbers with, and assign buddies.
• Meals: plan for snacks and drinks before heading to the park.
• Souvenirs: buy them at a local Disney store or the party store and pack them with you!
• Navigation: load all needed GPS info beforehand.

2. Ride Tips

• Make a family plan: list the rides everyone wants to go on by importance.
• Visit rides with longest wait times first.
• Use FASTPASS to get through longer lines faster.
• Add the Wait Time App to your mobile phone to check ride wait times.

3. Photograph Tips

• Capture your children’s view – not only of them seeing things, but how they see it (get down to their level).
• Capture the moment – as many of the hilarious ride moments as you can!
• Take pictures on the go, too – in the car and at the hotel – using both phone and regular cameras.
• Remember a family photo: scope out someone who can take a picture of your family in front of something you like.
• Capture the nighttime magic – do a bit of research in advance to know your camera settings so you can get some good memory shots of the fantastic light displays.

Now it’s your turn – what can you share with us about the best way to experience Disney?