I was really looking forward to the family experience… and dreading
it.
This “family experience” was the first trip to Walt Disney
World for our 7-year-old daughter and 11-year-old son, as well as their
first trip out of California. It was also the first real vacation with
just the four of us, since our previous trips had always been either my
going somewhere with my wife while my parents watched the kids, or we
would all go, along with my parents.
Let me first share two tips that really worked out well for us.
Tip #1: Our Good Point program
Mark’s daughter chooses Alien
Encounter in Magic Kingdom’s Tomorrowland as her Ride Pick. Photo by Brian
Bennett.
Three months before our trip, we started a “Good Point” program. Basically,
each week a “Good Point”—a small square with the Sorcerer’s Hat on
it printed on my color-printer—was awarded to one, both, or none
of the kids based on their behavior, school work, attitude, and so on.
At the end of each month, the child with the most Good Points won a “Ride
Pick” – another small square, this time with Mickey, inserted into
a plastic trading card sleeve and put away with their collection of Disney
Dollars. These Ride Picks would enable the child to pick which attraction
we went to first for that day.
My daughter won the first Ride Pick, and chose Alien Encounter at the
Magic Kingdom. My son won the second, and chose Test Track at Epcot. The
third and final went to my daughter, who chose Pirates of the Caribbean.
Tip #2: Spending money wisely
Second tip: Each child had earned or received $150 in spending money
before the trip. $100 of it was in Disney Dollars, and $50 in cash (for
Universal or Disney – their choice). Now you can imagine how quickly
this would disappear at WDW. My kids are the king and queen of impulse
buying. That money wouldn’t last past the Disney Store at Orlando International!
So we inserted into each child’s fanny pack a small stack of index cards.
And the cash went into Mom’s pack. Whenever they saw something they really
wanted, instead of purchasing it, they were instructed to write down where
they were, what it was they wanted and how much it cost. Then, on the
last day in that park—designated “Souvenir Day”—they could purchase
the items on their card that they had the money for. Eliminates impulse
buying and encourages some thought and budgeting.
The World of Disney in WDW Downtown
Disney is just one of many shops that sells irresistible souvenirs. Photo
by Brian Bennett.
Sounds wonderful, doesn’t it?
Well, it worked, but required equal parts of child psychology and parental
resolve on our parts. We purchased several things for them: their autograph
books, fat pens for the characters, Guest of Honor pins (more on this
later), matching T-shirts for all of us, and so on.
My son seemed to grasp the concept better than my daughter, but even
he had challenges. For example, he wanted to know how he—upon counting—only
had four things, while his sister had six. We explained that he bought
a very cool T-shirt at Universal Studios with Spider-Man on it that cost
$20, while his sister bought a small Cat in the Hat that only cost $10.
She bought small and more often. But his stuff was really cool, too.
As for our daughter, it was more trying to explain that writing down
20 stuffed animals at $18 each just wasn’t going to help her get them
all.
We also made a requirement that whatever they bought had to say somewhere
on it what park it was from. Otherwise we would have come home with three
spinning flashing thingies and a box of Legos, all of which we could buy
for 50% less at Toys “R” Us.
Still, it made our job of staying on budget much easier, and the
kids got some very cool swag.
Tip #3: Kids and Airplanes
30 minutes before departure, administer one tablespoon of Children’s
Benadryl. Amen.
Tip #4: Kids and going to the parks early
Worked out better than I had hoped, and I’m very proud of them. They
had no problems getting up each morning around 6:00. We made sure that
no matter how late we got back, they took showers before bed. So getting
up in the morning became a routine of going to the bathroom, getting dressed,
and eating breakfast. The only real challenge was the fact they had to
share a bed, and I often had to stop them from fighting at night when
going to bed. I just used the tried and true, “Stop it or we’ll stay here
tomorrow!” Snoring inside five minutes.
Tip #5: Kids and food
Chicken strips and fries. No matter where. Enough said.
Tip #6: Kids and Epcot
Miyuki creates a teddy bear holding
a heart, one of her artistic creations using pliable candy made from corn
syrup. Photo by Alex Stroup.
The biggest challenge we had here was in World Showcase. My daughter
would constantly ask where the next ride was. She didn’t care what the
ride was, as long as we were either in line for it, on it, or heading
to the next one. Hard to do if you made the right-turn from Future World
instead of left. And my son—now known as the “Map Keeper”—would
have his dog-eared, half-folded map out from his back pocket, and would
routinely remind me of the location of every attraction, no matter what
it was or where we were headed.
Still, they did fairly well, especially with the use of the Epcot Passport
program and the Kidcot Stations. We purchased these passport kits right
away, and spent the whole day getting them all stamped and signed. My
daughter also created a mask-on-a-stick, where a new item is added to
the mask in each country. We occasionally had problems extracating her
from a table where there were almost as many crayons and markers as in
her bedroom at home.
A big recommendation: Stand in line early for Miyuki, the candy artist
in Japan. She made a blue doggie for my daughter, and a golden scorpion
for my son. She’ll pose for pictures, and the kids loved it. But you
must get there early. 30 minutes minimum, and just stand right in
front of her little cart. Although she is scheduled for five shows or
so a day, she usually only has time for four or five animals, so again
get there early!
Tip #7: Kids and character breakfasts
Do it! It doesn’t matter which one, despite what many will tell you.
It doesn’t have to be Cinderella’s Royal Table or another expensive location
– the kids just want to have fun. We did three while we were there:
twice at Donald’s Breakfastasaurus in Animal Kingdom, and once at Hollywood
& Vine in the Disney-MGM Studios.
The food was all good, and the kids had a ball with the characters…
and the servers. Of course this is just my opinion, but I think they had
a great time, and we didn’t incur any of the stress of prime slots at
the Castle. We were first in the park with the earliest Priority Service
requests for the breakfasts, we had a great time, and it gave me an excuse
to totally stuff myself. Please do at least one. The pictures I have of
Goofy eating my son’s pancakes, of Chip and Dale playing with my daughter’s
pony tails while she tried to eat a banana (and laughing hysterically),
and even with me as Minnie kept coming by and kissing my head are, well,
priceless.
Tip #8: Kids and autograph books
Learn from our mistake, and do not mix Universal and Disney characters
in the same book. We tried to save money, but instead we ended up running
out of room (especially when you needed two parallel pages for Chip and
Dale, or Mickey and Minnie), as well as some strange looks from face characters
when asked to sign next to Spiderman or Popeye. If only Woody Woodpecker
would just sign his first name, we might have gotten away with that one.
Tip #9: Kids and Guest of Honor pins
Get them! No ifs, ands or buts, people. Go to Disney-MGM Studios and
the 5 & 10 Store. Either buy the ready-made red badges shaped like a cast
member’s oval pin if your child has a common name, or have them customize
your child’s name for no extra charge. We had the whole family done, and
it really paid off.
The cast members greeted the kids by their first names (and us, too).
One of the bellhops at the MGM Tower of Terror told my daughter her room
was ready, using her first name (freaked her out – I loved it!).
My son heard his name called, spun around, and received a handshake from
Bert standing next to a practically perfect Mary Poppins. Many of the
characters personalized the autographs in their books simply because they
knew my children’s names. My wife and I also started some very
cool conversations with cast members simply because we all knew each other’s
names. Don’t deny yourself this bit of magic: Get the pins!
Tip #10: Kids and Mickey ice cream bars
These are OK to buy. They will often help change an attitude or subject
quickly and effectively, but bring a bib or tuck napkins over expensive
souvenir T-shirts for all kids, even those of us who are 34… thank goodness
for eagle-eyed wife with a stain-remover stick.
Bonus tip
All in all, they had a great time. And so did we. If I could offer one
last piece of advice, it’s this:
Take a gazillion pictures and/or video. I bought a digital camera and
two 128Mb compact flash cards before going on the trip, and almost maxed
out the cards. I now have over 700 pictures that can never be replaced
(and have been backed up on CD immediately upon return), and which are
little pieces of memory that will never disappear, bringing the magic
back with each view. We made sure to share the photos—and our memories—with
the grandparents after Thanksgiving dinner.
The Wilkinsons—Donovan,
Mona, Mark and Ariel—meet Lilo & Stitch on their recent visit
to WDW. Photo courtesy of Mark Wilkinson.
