The Disney Store: The Dork's Perspective

My family frequents our local mall every couple of weeks, mostly to walk around and let our children blow off steam.  It is a pastime that we all enjoy -- mostly.  How does this relate to a blog devoted solely to Walt Disney World?  Well, this would be a true Disney Dork confession, one that my husband would again drop his head to his hands in embarrassment.  The mall has a Disney Store!

This feature is unsurpassed with all the other elements that the mall has to offer.  It is a store where we seldom make purchases, but ALWAYS visit.  My children actually believe for a small moment that they are back in the magical world of Disney World.  In their eyes, the other areas of the mall - hallways, bathrooms, department stores, coffee shops, photography studios and boutiques -- are all akin to the atmosphere of Downtown Disney.  Places that are fun to be, and that their parents enjoy, but don't matter much to them (except for when the DJ happens to be on stage leading the crowd in new dance crazes and handing out Mickey Mouse stickers).  The Disney Store for them is like entering into The World of Disney Store in Downtown Disney.  While these two stores are drastically different -- The World of Disney is Disney's largest retail space -- to my children any store with Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck in the window is a Disney World replica.

The Disney Store IS the mall for my kids.  In fact, when we mention that we might do a little shopping, my son and daughter both will assume their excited faces and squeal with delight, "We're going to The Mickey Mall!"  

On our last trip to "The Mickey Mall" my son took off as soon as he saw the place, and My daughter actually ran in and hugged the cast member who was greeting guests.  I, of course, in true Disney Dork fashion was parking the stroller in my unofficial reserved stroller parking space near the front of the store (Hey, if it happens at the real Disney World, it should happen at The Disney Store).  The kids moved from toy to toy, playing with anything in their reach.  They hugged EVERY "friend" in the back of the store, nearly squeezing their 2 for $25.00 stuffing out.  And we just let them.  Whether the store is full of shoppers or deserted, as it was this particular evening, the magical look on my children's faces is irreplaceable, lest we were actually at Disney World.

Muffin tries out the Toy Story Alien pens.

The look on his face says it all!

  

Following the suggestion of the sweet lady that hugged my child back as she ran to her with open arms and excitement written on her face, exclaiming, "She's my favorite one all day!" we began a new tradition of visiting the Mickey Mall.  We did what all pretend Disney World travelers should do: we rode a ride.  My husband coaxed the kids out of the store (where we purchased nothing) by allowing them to ride up and down the escalator that stands just outside the doors of The Disney Store.  They were elated.  It was the perfect ending to their pretend Disney World trip, and mine too.  

Our new "ride" at the Mickey Mall

  

 

WDW for Mommies

A friend of mine recently asked me about nursing a baby while at Disney World.  I must admit, as a self-proclaimed Disney Dork, I was so proud that she was willing to take her infant to WDW, and was really trying to find a place of solitude in which to feed her.  Most of the people who seek my advice when planning trips to WDW have children who are at least 2 or three years old.  But the majority of the novice Disney planners won't even breathe the words Disney World until their children are "old enough to appreciate it."  So many people believe that they can't go to Disney World until their children reach a certain "magical" age.  This couldn't be further from the truth!  Disney World can be a wonderful trip with children at any age!  Disney makes accommodations for everyone!  From changing tables to wheelchairs, Disney can make any age magical!


Both of my children took their first trip to The World following their first birthday.  While it is true that they will likely not remember this first trip to Disney World, the looks on their faces was incredible!  Sure, they probably won't remember the first time they saw Mr. Mouse himself strolling down the pavement at Magic Kingdom, but I will never forget the look of admiration, wonder, and pure MAGIC on their faces!  My son threw both arms in the air when he saw the sign as we entered into the Magic Kingdom.  He had just turned one, and knew that he was in the most magical place on Earth!

Entering the Magic Kingdom

Walt Disney world is designed for children of all ages, so it goes without saying that they have made great accommodations to families with smaller children.  Each park is equipped with Baby Care Centers at no additional charge.  These centers have everything a mother might need for her young children.  I have found that these are the quietest places at WDW, and provide much needed shade and rest for tired families with small children!  They are often difficult to find, unless you are really looking hard for them!  I wanted to be sure to point out where they are located in each park, and the perks that each provides.    


Magic Kingdom
The Baby Care Center at MK is near the First Aid Station near the front of the park, just at the end of Main Street USA.  There are four rooms: a waiting room with a sofa & chair; a kitchen with a microwave, sink & counter space; a private nursing room, which can accommodate up to 4 mothers, with rockers, and electrical outlets for breast pumps; a changing room with 5 changing tables, and a restroom.  There are highchairs in the feeding area, with room for the rest of the family while baby gets his meal. 


There are also items for sale in the kitchen area.  This was a great thing for us on our last trip, when we forgot our youngest child's pacifier!  A quick run to the Baby Care Center, and for a reasonable price (a Disney irregularity!), my husband purchased a new "nay-nay" and we were set!  


Epcot
This baby Care Center is much larger than other centers at WDW.  It is located near Test Track and it's size makes for a great rest haven for children of all ages while at Epcot.  It has the same rooms as found in other Baby Care Centers, but also provides a playroom with toys, books, and coloring pages.  At this Baby Care Center, you could easily find yourself staying for a while, away from the noise of the other guests!  I find that most of Epcot is relaxing, and nice places to rest abound throughout the park as well. 



Hollywood Studios
The Baby Care Center at Hollywood Studios is located near the main entrance.  This is a very small center with a main room with a television, sink, and microwave.  The changing area has 2 changing tables, and children's restroom.  There are two booths for nursing mothers and their children, and are not completely private.  Items cannot be purchased at this baby Care Center, but are available at a nearby gift shop.  In my opinion, this center was poorly planned, but works in a pinch with a screaming, hungry baby!  


Animal Kingdom
You'll find this BCC right before the bridge into Africa near the Tree of Life.  It is quite large, and you can even bring your stroller into the building, while the other centers require stroller parking outside.  Although there are fewer rooms (only 3), more space is offered than other Baby Care Centers.  The entry room sells Disney merchandise and other necessities.  The front room has a television, nice seating that lines the walls, and a children's table and chairs.  The back area has ample space for feeding and changing baby with several highchairs and changing tables available, along with a microwave, sink, and two private nursing rooms.  This BCC provides a great place to rest and take care of baby's needs in a quiet atmosphere.  




Overall, the Baby Care Centers at WDW provide a nice rest haven for weary parents and young children.  My last several trips have been with children under the age of 3, and I have visited these Baby Care Centers for feeding, purchasing items, and air-conditioning!  I must also say that to enter these centers, one need not have a baby in hand.  These centers are very well maintained and are very clean.  I opt for the centers as often as I can   for restroom breaks, and to refill water bottles in the kitchen sinks.  I couldn't stomach the water fountains as bottle refilling stations!  Moreover I would urge those who think that their children just aren't old enough to enjoy Disney, that they will have more magical moments that the adults on the trip.  You just can't replace the memories made at Disney World.  The Magic of Disney encircles us all!

  


Information supplemented by www.wdwinfo.com

Disney Doctor Visit

This morning I took my daughter to her 2-year-old well check at the pediatrician's office.  There were the usual activities that are associated with this sometimes monotonous trip:  We paid our co-pay, I chased her around the sick-patient waiting room trying to politely, in front of other waiting families, inform her that she was WELL, and did not need to be playing with the germ infested toys in this particular waiting room.  We settled into the well-patient waiting room while she played (nicely, thank Heavens!) with the other children who were also waiting for their finger pricks, vaccines, and "say ahhh"s.  


Finally our name was called and we went to the nurse's station to get her height, weight and temperature checked before being taken to the examination room.  All seemingly normal activities for any parent and child on any given day of the year.  But, least we forget, I am a Disney Dork and this spills into all areas of my life, even my parenting.  


The nurse reported my daughter's weight and temperature, then had her stand with her back against the wall to measure her height.  When the report came back that she was exactly 36 inches, a smile spread across my face.  Now, this is not the smile that most parents smile when their child reaches a milestone of achievement.  I mean, what kind of parent holds a silent celebration in the corner of the nurse's station at the news of her child reaching 3-feet?  The answer, of course, is obvious.


My child is only 2 inches away from the height requirement to ride Kali River Rapids at Disney's Animal Kingdom, a ride we have avoided altogether since bringing children to "The World" with us.  By the time of our next trip to Disney World (likely Summer 2012) she may very well have reached this height requirement and we will be able to ride Kali River Rapids for the first time since having children in 2007.      


I realize that this is Disney Dorkness at its finest.  Below is the complete list of rides that have height requirements, and thus are on our "Ride Swap" or "Avoid Altogether" lists.  

Park	Restricted Attraction	Height Requirement
Animal Kingdom	Dinosaur	40"
Epcot	Wonders of Life / Body Wars	40"
Blizzard Beach	Summit Plummet	48"
Animal Kingdom	Primeval Whirl	48"
Blizzard Beach	Downhill Double Dipper	48"
DisneyQuest	Mighty Ducks Pinball Slam	48"
Magic Kingdom	Tomorrowland Indy Speedway	52"
Typhoon Lagoon	Bay Slide	52"
Animal Kingdom	Kali River Rapids	38"
DisneyQuest	Buzz Lightyear's AstroBlaster	51"
DisneyQuest	Cyberspace Mountain	51"
Epcot	Test Track	40"
Epcot	Soarin'	40"
Hollywood Studios	Star Tours: The Adventures Continue	40"
Magic Kingdom	Space Mountain	44"
Magic Kingdom	Stitch's Great Escape	40"
Typhoon Lagoon	Humunga Kowabunga	48"
Animal Kingdom	Expedition Everest	44"
Blizzard Beach	Cross Country Creek	48"
Epcot	Mission Space	44"
Hollywood Studios	The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror	40"
Hollywood Studios	Rock 'n' Roller Coaster Starring Aerosmith	48"
Magic Kingdom	Splash Mountain	40"
Magic Kingdom	Big Thunder Mountain Railroad	40"

 

My WDW Non-Negotiable WDW - Volume 2

#4 -- Disney Dining Plan


Given that we are staying on Disney property, we will ALWAYS purchase the Disney Dining Plan (DDP).  This add-on plan to an existing package (known as a "Magic Your Way Package" is a great way to save money for our family when it comes to meal planning.  Each plan offers a combination of credits that are redeemable at any point during your stay.  


There are several DDP packages to choose from:

2011 Disney Dining Plan prices:
Quick Service Dining Plan Adults: $34.99 | Children: $11.99 Basic Dining Plan Adults: $45.99 (regular season) | $47.99 (peak season*) Children: $11.99 (regular season) | $12.99 (peak season*) Deluxe Dining Plan Adults: $78.99 | Children: $21.99 *Peak Seasons: 2/17/11 - 2/26/11, 3/11/11 - 4/30/11, 6/3/11 - 8/13/11,12/23/11 - 12/31/11	Premium Package Adults: $169.00 | Children: $119.00 Platinum Package Adults: $229.00 | Children: $160.00 Wine and Dine Plan $39.99 per night (cost is per reservation, not per person)

Quick Service Dining Plan

This option is the cheapest option, and offers the least.

2 Quick Service Meals	One entree, one dessert (lunch/dinner only), and one non-alcoholic beverage OR one combo meal
1 Snack Options	Examples of snacks: one frozen ice cream novelty, popsicle, fruit bar, popcorn scoop (single-serving box), single-serving bag of snacks, single piece of whole fruit, 20-oz. bottle of Coke, Diet Coke, Sprite or Dasani water, medium fountain soft drink, 12-oz. coffee, hot chocolate or hot tea, single-serving prepackaged milk or juice
Resort Refillable Drink Mug	1 per person, per package

Basic Dining Plan
This plan is a mid-range option, and offers more than the Quick Service Plan.  

1 Table Service Meal	Adult: One entree, one dessert (lunch/dinner only) and one non-alcoholic beverage OR one full buffet Child: One entree, one appetizer, one dessert (lunch/dinner only) and one non-alcoholic beverage OR one full buffet (must choose from children's menu when available)
1 Quick Service Meal	One entree, one dessert (lunch/dinner only), and one non-alcoholic beverage OR one combo meal
1 Snack Option	Examples of snacks: one frozen ice cream novelty, popsicle, fruit bar, popcorn scoop (single-serving box), single-serving bag of snacks, single piece of whole fruit, 20-oz. bottle of Coke, Diet Coke, Sprite or Dasani water, medium fountain soft drink, 12-oz. coffee, hot chocolate or hot tea, single-serving prepackaged milk or juice
Resort Refillable Drink Mug	1 per person, per package

Deluxe Dining Plan
This plan offers similar options as the Basic Dining Plan, but adds an appetizer and an additional snack.

Table Service Meal	Adult: One appetizer, one entree, one dessert (lunch/dinner only) and one non-alcoholic beverage OR one full buffet Child: One appetizer, one entree, one dessert (lunch/dinner only) and one non-alcoholic beverage OR one full buffet
Quick Service Meal	One entree, one dessert (lunch/dinner only), and one non-alcoholic beverage OR one combo meal
2 Snack Options	Examples of snacks: one frozen ice cream novelty, popsicle, fruit bar, popcorn scoop (single-serving box), single-serving bag of snacks, single piece of whole fruit, 20-oz. bottle of Coke, Diet Coke, Sprite or Dasani water, medium fountain soft drink, 12-oz. coffee, hot chocolate or hot tea, single-serving prepackaged milk or juice
Resort Refillable Drink Mug	1 per person, per package

The Premium and Platinum Packages add more than dining experiences to the Disney Dining Plan.  In addition, adding the "Wine & Dine" feature allows a bottle of wine per night from a select list.  


Before we had children, and were visiting Walt Disney World, we learned many tricks to help save money and maximize our dollar regarding food in "The World."  Once the kids came along, it was obvious that the tricks we had mastered were no longer an effective practice.  While some things are still a good idea, such as sharing entrees, and bringing our own water bottles, many just didn't cut it anymore!  We now always purchase the Basic Dining Plan and make it s  t  r  e  t  c  h throughout our stay (another post for another day!).    

My WDW Non-Negotiable WDW - Volume 1

Over the years of visiting WDW, several non-negotiables have emerged.  These must-haves are no longer discussed during the planing stages of an upcoming trip.  My husband knows that I will not budge on these topics, and he is usually in agreement - which is very helpful in keeping the peace in a Disney Dork's household!


A few of our must haves and why they have made our non-negotiable list:


#1 -- Stay on Property


We will ALWAYS stay on Walt Disney World Resort property if we have any say in the matter.  Now, this usually requires that our wallet is a little fatter than usual, thus we must save up for a resort stay.  We have stayed off-property several times, and it is okay for a shorter WDW trip, or if we intend to do other activities during our stay.  There are many very nice properties on which we have stayed, and have enjoyed them very much, but the Disney magic is definitely lost.  If our intention is to immerse ourselves in the magic of Disney, we will always choose to stay in one of the WDW resorts.  
As a side note, we also have a sub-non-negotiable here.  We prefer to stay in a moderate resort over the value resorts.  Again, this option requires financial saving, so if we are planning a true Disney experience, we will always choose to stay in a moderate resort or better.


#2 -- Bring Our Own Stroller
Yes, it is true that WDW will rent strollers to guests at every park on property, but we have chosen to leave this particular piece of Disney Heaven to others.  Single strollers can be rented each day for $15, and doubles for $31.  Guests can choose to opt for a length of stay charge, and pay $13-27 per day.


Some people adore the strollers at WDW.  In my opinion, these are the families who think that they can skirt by without bringing their stroller for their child/children.  They have entered the park with no saving rest haven for a weary child, increasingly heavy backpack, gift store purchases, and Dumbo-sized souvenir mug.  These individuals welcome the rented stroller - no matter the cost!  In all reality, the strollers at WDW are hard molded plastic tripods. They do not recline, and have a small canopy to offer some shade from the blazing Central Florida sunshine.          


Others argue that carting a stroller around the resort property is a pain.  While boarding and riding the buses while toting a stroller is a true nuisance, it is akin to standing in line with Disney-level excited young children, while waiting to rent a stroller before the daily dose of Disney magic can begin - at EACH PARK.  Herein brings up another non-negotiable regarding Disney Transportation, which I will save for later.  Another drawback to stroller rental is that it is only offered at the parks.  If you are visiting Downtown Disney or Resorts, you are simply out-of-luck!  These drawbacks are not worth the cost of renting a stroller in my opinion.   


For my family, it is important to have a comfortable stroller for my children, and space for  our stuff.  Regardless of the stroller we bring -- Our Chicco umbrella stroller or Baby Trend Sit and Stand Deluxe -- it will always be ours!


#3 -- Buy a AAA Diamond Parking Pass -- & Use It!
For many years we prided ourselves on being Disney Transportation folks.  We loved the ease of using the buses on Disney property, and appreciated the pickup at the airport, to and from Port Canveral on our Disney cruise, and the short waits at the bus stops.  Then...we had children!  
Once the first child came along, we found that riding the buses were more of a hassle than we had previously thought.  The short wait times, we realized, were really more like 20 minutes or more at each bus stop, which we ALL know is an eternity with a child in any state of Disney Euphoria or Distress.  The ease of utilizing the buses decreased as soon as we brought our stroller with us (see above).  With our Chicco umbrella stroller, we found we could semi-easily juggle it and a baby while squeezed on the over-crowded buses.  But when baby #2 came along, it was nearly impossible to ride the buses with two little ones and our double stroller (our first trip as a family of 4 was with children ages 3 and 24 months).  


It is my opinion that the Disney Transportation System is a great idea in theory, and was even a great system at its birth.  Walt Disney World Resort has spent a lot of time and effort advertising said system to it's guests and encourages everyone staying and playing on property to utilize it's internal buses.  While it is a dream for drivers in cutting down on the traffic backup that can happen on the WDW property, it has grown into a huge mess.  So many people clog the buses, and there just aren't enough butt spaces for every guest.  Great idea...needs some improvement.
Our last two trips, we resolved to use the Disney Transportation System as little as possible (we tried once).  We purchased a Diamond Parking Pass from Ebay for a very low price and were able to park very near the entrances of each theme park.  Given that we were staying on property, we were not charged the $14 parking fee.  By parking in the diamond parking lot we were able to bypass the long traffic lines to the regular lots, and in some circumstances (Epcot) we were even closer to the entrance than the buses!  We threw our Sit and Stand stroller into the back of our van, and drove to the front of the parking lots, and were into the parks in a fraction of the time.  These parking spaces were especially welcome when we headed home at the end of each day at the parks.  We NEVER had to wait on a bus, we NEVER had to break down our stroller, we NEVER had to share a seat with  a stranger, we NEVER had to endure dirty-looks from others at the behavior of our children as they rode the long bus route back to the room.  Get a AAA Parking Pass -- it will change your mind about Disney Transportation.