Kids and Walt Disney World

The magic of going to Disney World for me as an adult is seeing it through the eyes of my children. I get more excited about seeing characters walking around than I ever did when I was there as a kid because I am excited for them. Seeing their faces light up when they realize that Mickey Mouse or Cinderella is right near by is worth every penny we spend to get there.

One thing you have to know about my kids is that they are talkers. Miss H quite literally never stops talking. Here are a few short quotes from the kids from our trip.

• I see Mickey, we're almost there B!
• It's okay B, I know you're excited.
• Is it starting yet? Is it starting yet? Is it starting yet?
• Maybe we could get a little snack? (Read: ice cream)
• It's so cool. You go from country to country to country, and at the end you go to Hawaii. (Miss H on It's A Small World)
• What's next guys?
• I'm not tired....I'm not tired....
• Mooouuuuuse! Duuuuuuuuuuck! Goooooofeeyyyyyy! (Lil' B)
• Heading into Epcot Miss H says, "Lil' B, we're going to see a big golf ball!"
• What was your favorite part of Disney World Miss H? EVERYTHING!!

Over the 32 hours (4 days X 8 hours each) we spent inside Walt Disney World, I also learned a few things about doing Disney with small children. This is by no means an all inclusive list, just some golden nuggets.

Be prepared.
Know what you want to do and when you should do it in order to minimize your waiting time. Make sure you bring everything into the park with you that you could possibly need like sunscreen, change of clothes, sunglasses, hats, diapers, wipes, snacks and drinks. You will pay $3.50 for a bag of chips and $2.50 for a large Diet Coke. Just sayin'.

Be gracious.
Yes, you will inevitably get hit by some lady with four kids pushing a stroller. Yes, you will probably almost get run over by a senior citizen in an electric scooter. You might possibly even get hit in the head by one of those fun characters that you are there to see because they haven't quite gotten used to their costume yet. You yourself will probably step on toes and bump into 100,000 people. Just take it in stride, be gracious, and move on.

Relax and embrace the crazy.
You may have a plan. You may have things you think your kids want to do. Once you get in the park, all those things may go out the window. It is OKAY. Just relax and embrace the crazy. Do what your kids want to do for the most part and throw in something that you think they'll like here and there.

Come to grips with the fact that you WILL spend money.
There are tons of websites out there telling you how to save money at Disney. Even if you use all their tips and tricks, including bringing everything you think you might need (see above), you will not get out of that park without having to buy something. There are ice cream treats and Mickey Ears for sale every 10 feet. Good luck with that.

So there you have it folks. Taking small children to Disney World is doable and so worth it. If you ever have the means and opportunity, I highly recommend it. You will not just make a memory; you will make a thousand memories!




This concludes my Disney subject posts. Thank you for bearing with me while I got it all down on paper. Now we return to our regularly scheduled programming. That is...until...we go back to Disney in two weeks with my parents. Aaaack! What was I thinking?!?!