Category Archives: Travel

The Disney Dining Plan – 2018 Update

23 Friday Mar 2018

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I last wrote about the Disney Dining Plan in 2015 (and most of those points are still valid).  To recap, I’m referring to the standard dining plan which is one table credit and one quick service credit per night of your stay, plus snacks.

My complaint in 2015 was that there were too many desserts – one with every meal.  Now, thankfully, desserts are no longer included with the quick service meals.  Instead they’ve increased the snack credits per day from one to two.  We found this to be a ridiculous number of snacks, but still a better option than desserts we didn’t eat.

There are a few reasons this is a better option:

  • Disney meals are big so eating a dessert afterwards is not always possible.
  • Most quick service restaurants only offer one or maybe two dessert options.  You might just not like them.
  • If you want dessert, you can now use a snack credit for one at the quick service restaurants thereby getting exactly what you would have under the old system.
  • It opens up the whole range of snack options for whenever or whatever you wish to eat during your stay.

That said, it does have some downsides also.

First, two snacks per day is a lot, especially if you consider that you’re probably not actually in the parks one “day.”  (Disney counts “days” as the number of nights you are staying so if you fly in one evening and out early another morning you will have one table service credit, one quick service credit, and two snacks that need using.)

Second, like Disney meals, Disney snacks can be pretty large.

As in the past, we purchased a few items – mostly milk for breakfast and bottled water – from a grocery delivery service.  With the new number of snacks, I would recommend using your snack credits for bottled water in the parks instead.  It’s not the most bang for your buck in the snack department, but you will have plenty.  Note that if you are fine drinking Florida tap water, you can get it free in any quick service restaurant.

The second significant change to the Disney Dining Plan for 2018 is that now all meals (quick and table service) include one alcoholic or specialty beverage, if such are available at that location.  Note that quick service restaurants in the Magic Kingdom do not serve alcohol.

There are pros and cons to this.  The most obvious con is that Disney charges adult meals to anyone 10+; clearly those under twenty-one cannot purchase alcohol.  I’m not sure there are any specialty beverages that come close in price.  On the plus side, it is nice to have a drink included with table service meals.

Finally, I do have two requests for Disney regarding the meal plan.

  1. Juice boxes are available as a snack credit in all of the quick service restaurants.  However, they are not available at the ubiquitous drink/ice cream stands.  This should change.  Kids should not be forced to choose between soda and water (in large bottles) when juice boxes are available on property.  And, adults should not have to stand in long restaurant lines to get such a simple item.  Make them available at the carts!
  2. Figure out how to process meal credits, snack credits, and cash in a single transaction at quick service restaurants.  Note: online ordering through the app wasn’t quite rolled out when we went so it may be that this option solves this problem.  Somehow table service restaurants can take a single order and break it into meal credits and cash.  It is a real pain to all parties involved (including those waiting in line behind) to have to complete three transactions to get meals, snacks, and cash items in the quick service lines.  And, just about everyone has this issue eventually as their party runs out of meal credits at the end of their stay.

In summary, we still like the Dining Plan, and probably view the two changes as a net positive.  But, figure out if it is best for your group.  Make sure you will use your meal credits.  Make table service dining reservations; they are almost always necessary.  Paying for a few extra meals is better than paying for meals you don’t use.

Travel Extras – Disney

15 Thursday Feb 2018

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Like the other posts in this series, there will be no pictures.  Unlike the other posts, this isn’t so much about the hotel as much as it is about things you might not think to bring to enjoy your vacation.

I recommend reading the Family Hotels post also as many of those suggestions would be relevant to a theme park.  This post is written assuming you are staying on Disney property, so the Kitchen and VRBO information would be less relevant, but you can apply those to your specific situation as appropriate.

So, lets dive right in train of thought style.

If you have children, you will want a stroller.  I recommend a stroller for children through at least age 6, which may be much older than they would normally ride in a stroller at home.  But, Disney is huge and a tired, grumpy child will be no fun for the group.  Plus, the place is really pretty stroller friendly and it offers a built in base for your stuff.

We usually bring our own, but we have rented the Disney strollers also.  The kids found them comfortable and the double can fit three in a pinch, which is handy.  Some people like to buy a balloon to mark their stroller (they tend to get moved) so it is easier to find.  Our regular stroller is orange, which makes it reasonably easy to spot.  But, if you have a black stroller or are using a Disney stroller it is a good idea to tie a bright scarf or such around the handle so you can quickly differentiate it.

The unfortunate second topic is germs/illness.  Disney does a good job cleaning and is generally much neater than other amusement parks.  But, there are still thousands of people touching everything and you probably have small children who cannot be convinced not to touch.  Plus, because it is a once-in-a-lifetime trip for many, it is very hard to skip a day in the park even if you really should for illness.  Therefore, hand sanitizer and wipes are your friend.  I recommend a large supply of both and using them after every ride.

Another trick for preventing the spread of germs is to bring a sharpie to label the caps and bottles of all group drinks.  This way you know exactly whose is whose and are much less likely to share germs among your group.

Disney does allow you to bring a soft sided cooler into the park, which if you are clever can store food for the entire day.  Even if you do not do that, I recommend bringing a bottle of water for each person in your party (labeled with that sharpie).  Most days it is hot.  Even if you have the dining plan, which now has about a million snack credits, it seems wasteful to use a snack credit on a bottle of water.  The exception is to get a truly cold drink, which your stroller-stored water bottles might not be by afternoon.  There are grocery services which will deliver to your Disney hotel, especially if you order in advance.  Ordering by the case will be much less expensive than buying single bottles from Disney.

Continuing with the weather theme, you will be outside all day so sunscreen is a must.  You will want to purchase this at home and bring it as Disney sunscreen is also expensive.

Another thing to consider if you have small children is what will happen if they are separated from you.  I recommend safety bracelets.  These are custom printed (we put both adults cell phone numbers on them), waterproof bracelets that are pretty difficult for the child to remove on their own.  Your child will probably be wearing a Magic Band (more on that later), but the bracelets will allow any adult to help them, not just a Disney staff member.  This is particularly helpful in places like Tom Sawyer’s Island where staff members can be few and far between and places to get lost are many.

Now back to those Magic Bands.  If you are staying on Disney property every member of your party will get one.  If you are using Disney transportation from the airport, you will need them on to board the bus, so put them in your carry-on luggage.  You will also need your transportation paperwork.  And, do not lose your transportation paperwork as you need to present it to the driver on the return trip to the airport also.  Finally, if you are using Disney transportation they will provide you with luggage tags so you do not need to claim your bags at the airport.  Note, that your bags may arrive at the hotel much later than you so pack swimsuits, pajamas, or anything else you want use in the first few hours in your carry-on luggage.

A few final thoughts.  I prefer to bring printed copies of our itinerary rather than rely exclusively on the app.  This is especially helpful if you can’t get a signal at some point or if your phone gets low on battery.  Some people also like to bring a portable charger.

So, keep all this in mind next time you pack for a Disney vacation.  Hopefully it will point out some things you may not have thought of.

Travel Extras – VRBOs

08 Thursday Feb 2018

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Continuing the theme of this series, there will be no pictures today.

A VRBO is where you rent someplace to stay on vacation directly from the owner rather than staying at a hotel.  In many cases, there may be a management company that acts as an intermediary, but thinks like daily linen service that a hotel provides are not included.

Because it is someplace you are staying temporarily, most of the recommendations I made in the first two posts (Hotel Kitchens and Family Hotels) in this series still apply.  But, because it is not a hotel, there are a number of other considerations when packing for a VRBO stay.

First, VRBO listings should tell you how much is included.  Most, but not all, will include linens.  If there is a kitchen there should be a similar quantity of plates, cutlery, pots, etc. to a hotel kitchen.  But, the similarities pretty much end there.

Most importatantly, while basics are included they are not necessarily new for each guest.  This means you could end up with only a few sheets of paper towels in the kitchen, or half a roll of toilet paper.  If you have packing space (and nothing here is truly huge), I recommend enough supplies for your entire stay.  I.e., assume nothing is there.  It is generally easier and cheaper to bring these from home as otherwise you’ll be at the nearest Walmart buying single rolls or other small volume options.

  • Kitchen
    • paper towels/kitchen towel
    • dish soap
    • sponge/cloth
    • dishwasher soap
    • trash bags
  • Bathroom(s)
    • soap for both the sink and shower
    • shampoo/conditioner
    • toilet paper
    • trash bags
  • Laundry (especially if in unit)
    • detergent
    • stain remover/fabric softener, if desired
  • Misc other common hotel items, if desired
    • Pen/paper
    • Tea/coffee/sugar
    • Tourist information

On the other hand, there are things a VRBO often does provide that a hotel does not.  If you are near a tourist destination there may well be a stroller.  There might be beach or pool toys if those are relevant to your destination.  There might be DVDs or other TV/gaming options.  If there is a BBQ, it is probably gas and there are probably BBQ tools available.  If you are going to a destination that might suggest commonly used items, ask the owner what is included so you don’t have to pack duplicates.

Travel Extras – Family Hotels

01 Thursday Feb 2018

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First, none of these entities/products have paid me for or requested an endorsement.  These are strictly my opinions.

Families of five+ have all sorts of logistical issues that smaller families do not face.  Restaurants, cars, hotels, etc. are all arranged around families of four.  And, we went from three directly to five!

For years we tried to stay at Embassy Suites hotels.  We could put the kids in the bedroom (two queen beds) and at least have the pull-out living room couch to ourselves.  Plus, they usually have above average breakfasts.

Last summer we stayed at a Homewood Suites near Philadelphia.  It was not as nice a breakfast, but they have two bedroom suites.  So, the little kids were in bedroom 1 (two queens), we were in bedroom 2 (one king), and our oldest got the pull out couch.  Plus both bedrooms had a bathroom, which is great for so many people.  We would do it again if we found such an arrangement.

When those two options are not available, we get adjoining hotel rooms.  This gives us four queen beds and two bathrooms.  But, while you can ask for adjoining rooms, the standard line is, “we’ll do our best, but we can’t guarantee it.”  It has almost always worked out though.

All that being said, this post was not supposed to be about hotel room configurations, but what you might want to bring to a hotel with your family that you’re not thinking of.

First, what not to bring.  At home kids often sleep with a bedfull of stuff – toys, stuffed animals, favorite blankets, etc.  The fewer of these you can bring the better.  It is just too easy to lose things when you have a lot of people in an unfamiliar cramped space.  If you do bring such items, I recommend making a list of them so you can do a complete check before checking out.  We did have one hotel call us and mail us forgotten items, but I would not want to rely on that, particularly for sentimental items.

There are other things we have brought over the years.  When you have small children with bottles, sippy cups, etc.  you will need to bring your own cleaning supplies.  Bring some dish detergent, a brush if necessary, and gloves if you prefer.  I usually lay out the cleaned items on a washcloth from the bathroom, but you could bring a towel for that purpose also.  Realize you will be using the bathroom sink so you really will be making do.

Another thing you must consider with small children is baby proofing.  Your hotel room will never be baby proofed as well as your house, but you can improve it from its basic state.  Upon arrival, remove anything you can that will be dangerous for your child or that you don’t want them getting in to.  First on my list is almost always those pads and pens near the beds.  Next, you will probably want to move the TV remote to a less accessible location.  If they will be an issue for your child, you can unplug table lamps and put them on the floor of the closet.  Other miscellaneous items can be moved to the top shelf of the closet.  Ideally, these would be put back at checkout, but the hotel will understand if you don’t.  The things I’ve never found a good way to babyproof is the phone, which is always in a very accessible location and cannot be unplugged.  Since you are unlikely to use it, I’d recommend tucking it behind the nightstand/under the bed before the child notices it.

If you are staying for any length of time, you may want (or find you need) to do laundry.  For many years I brought Purex 3-in-1 laundry sheets.  They do fine for everyday wear.  You will need more if you have a true stain, like spaghetti sauce, or a sick child.  Today, I’d recommend throwing a couple of Tide pods in your luggage as well.  They’re not as mess free in luggage so double wrap them, but they’ll do a better job on your laundry if needed.

A couple of other things to consider:

  • laundry bags of some other method by which your kids will know dirty laundry from clean
  • a portable booster seat if you have a little one
  • a boot dryer comes in handy in ski country, but also if your sneakers get rained on
  • hangers with clips to dry swimwear in tight spaces

Apologies again for the lack of pictures.  I think that will be a theme with this series.

Travel Extras – What to Bring to a Hotel Kitchen?

25 Thursday Jan 2018

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This is the first of four “Travel Extras – What to Bring …” posts planned for four Thursdays.  I apologize in advance that I expect all of them to be pictureless.  I’m just not sure supplies make for super interesting pictures and I don’t have readily available pictures of hotel room interiors.

First, the definition of a hotel kitchen.  For purposes of this post a hotel kitchen includes a sink, full size fridge, microwave, and at least two burners.  It might or might not have an oven and/or dishwasher.  Some hotels have a microwave and mini-fridge.  Although useful (especially for breakfast) that is not what I’m discussing here.

We have stayed multiple times in hotels with full kitchens.  With the exception of a Marriott Residence Inn, I never felt like they lived up to the hope.  First, they are often stocked with exactly four of everything, even if its a suite with a pull-out sofa that can sleep six.  Second, what pans you have for the stove are hit or miss and usually low quality.  That being said, if you are committed to it, a hotel kitchen can save you some serious money and time over going out to eat each meal.

Let’s tackle breakfast first.  Lots of hotels these days have free breakfasts, even those that that offer in-room kitchens.  I tend to take advantage of those first.  If anything I might bring something back to the room for later and stash it in the refrigerator.  I’ve never met a hotel kitchen frying pan that I wanted to cook eggs on.  Oatmeal can be done in the microwave.  All in all the kitchen is not offering much here.

It’s a similar story for lunch.  The fridge is nice for storing drinks and lunch meat.  But, this is only useful if you will be bringing your lunch to your destination or at the hotel at lunchtime.  Again, this is not particularly useful for us.

Dinner is where the hotel kitchen should shine, in the sense of adding value for your trip.  You come back from your day out, make some dinner, maybe put the kids to bed while you eat separately.  Unfortunately, there are some serious considerations here.

First, the aforementioned pans.  Hotel pans tend to be a random collection of cheap stuff.  Probably a frying pan, a large saucepan/small stockpot, a small saucepan, and maybe a cookie sheet.  Cooking utensils are even harder to guess in advance.  Therefore, when I have the opportunity to cook, I go for heating vs cooking and stovetop options.  Spaghetti works well for us.  Macaroni and cheese would be a good choice if my kids would eat it.  Soup heats well in pretty much anything.  If I know in advance I have an oven I might consider chicken nuggets, frozen pizza, or other such things.  I’m not going to try to bake bread, make a casserole, or poach fish.

The second element to this is what, exactly, you are going to cook.  I prefer to bring as much as possible from home.  So, boxed spaghetti, canned sauce or soup, bread, peanut butter, etc. works well for us.  It’s fairly straightforward to find milk locally.  It’s much less straightforward to find obscure produce or deli items (especially if you cross into Canada where these items are sold by the kilo vs the pound).  Similar to the pan comment, knives tend to be very cheap.  So, this probably also isn’t the time you want to be dicing lots of onions, slicing steak, or otherwise breaking down food.

Third, one needs to consider the hardware to go with all this.  If you like, you could bring the proper pans and utensils from home.  Since you would know exactly what you were working with that would make meal planning a bit easier.  But, assuming you’re not going to those lengths, there are still a few non-food items I would recommend to make the kitchen more user-friendly.

  1. Paper towels – One tends to get what was left on the roll from the previous resident, if that.  Often you’re stuck with tissues or bathroom towels.  Paper towels can also double as napkins.
  2. Dish soap – You’ll probably get a tiny bottle at best.  If you actually plan to use the kitchen, this will not be enough.  And, even if the staff cleans up once a day, you may not have enough glasses (for example) to make it until the next time they come through.
  3. Rubber gloves – If you use them at home, you might want them on vacation.
  4. Dishwasher tablets – It’s much easier to bring these now that they’re single use vs larger boxes/bottles.  With the relatively small number of dishes, it is likely you’ll be running the dishwasher relatively empty, but its nicer than having to hand wash everything.
  5. Paper products – If you have more than four people you may want to bring some disposable plates, cups, silverware so everyone can eat without having to double use items.  It will also cut down on how much you have to wash.  It may seem wasteful, but think how much you’re saving just not eating dinner at a restaurant and you might relax a little.
  6. Bottle opener – If you may need one during your stay.  A bottle opener is usually included, but its small and when you need one you really need one.

Finally, consider your schedule.  If the kids will fall asleep in the car after a long day of sightseeing, odds are they won’t eat a good dinner after you’ve cooked it at the hotel.  Will you want to be cooking dinner, or do you want to spend the evening relaxing?  Do you want to listen to the dishwasher while you’re trying to sleep?  It is a vacation after all.

Hershey Park, 2017

17 Friday Nov 2017

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We visited Hershey’s Chocolate World the last time we were in Pennsylvania.  This time we skipped the Chocolate part and stuck to the amusement park.  Our logic is that we’d done a few days at Sesame Place, which is really more appropriate for the younger ones.  So we headed out to Hershey Park to satisfy the thrill ride appetite of the older ones.

Overall this proved to be a good decision.  We kept exclusively to the dry rides, so I won’t review the water park.  But, there were enough rides for the little ones and the oldest, specifically, was very excited by the big roller coasters.

We think we will go again sometime, maybe even stay at a Hershey Park hotel to get another day in the park and gain some of the benefits for hotel guests.  That being said, there were some issues.

  1. It is very hilly, especially the entry area.  This can be a real beast with a stroller.  The entry is so steep that even going down can be tricky to manage.
  2. There are six different ride heights, more than I’ve seen anywhere else.  With the kids spread across four of them it was trickier than usual to keep track of who could go on each ride.
  3. Along these same lines, the little kid rides are almost exclusively mechanical carnival rides so I would recommend your youngest being a Hershey’s Milk Chocolate Bar (48-54 inches) before you go.  This seemed to be the sweet spot where the most rides were available.  Therefore one could choose between the calmer kiddie rides and the bigger thrill rides, depending on your child.
  4. Our tickets came with meal vouchers.  It was annoyingly difficult to determine where these could be used.  Plus, once you did figure that out, it was almost impossible to find the establishment you were looking for.
  5. To follow up on that, the paper map is useless.  Nothing is properly marked, it’s by region at best.  In many cases we couldn’t figure out where the thing was even though we were in the correct region.  In other cases we could see a ride, but couldn’t find the entrance even with the map.  Somebody really needs to go over that again.

With all that in mind, we did have a good day.  Our strategy was to head all the way to the farthest point in and work our way back stopping at rides we liked along the way.  Doing this we did get almost everything we were interested in done before nightfall.  We did end up eating dinner in the park, which hadn’t been part of our original plan.  We also did manage to sneak into the place we found to eat dinner just before it closed.  I’m not sure why it closed so much earlier than the park itself.

Some of the rides had very long lines (1 hr +) on a summer day that was nice, but no so hot that you felt you needed to go in the water park.  They do offer FastTrack passes, but they are only available for a limited number of rides.  We did not get that option and I’m not sure how helpful it would have been, both because I’m not sure one matched the rides we went on and because I’m not sure one matched the height categories of our family.

Some of our favorite rides were:

Bigger Kids: Laff Trakk, Lightening Racer, Comet, Great Bear, The Howler

Smaller Kids: Tiny Tracks, Fun Slide, Red Baron, Traffic Jam, Dry Gulch Railroad

In summary, we enjoyed Hershey Park.  It offered ride options for all ages and was reasonably accessible.  It was also a good day trip distance from Philadelphia where we based most of our activities.  That being said, it seems like a place you need to go to a few times before you feel comfortable with the lay of the land, which is a bit unfortunate.

Philadelphia 2017

10 Friday Nov 2017

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Continuing our adventures in Pennsylvania, we spent a day in downtown Philadelphia.  Once again it was raining, but we decided to endure the weather this time to catch some of the sights.  First, we stopped at the Independence Visitors Center to pick up tickets for Independence Hall.  As it worked out we were done with our other stops with too much of a gap to our tour time, so we didn’t end up using them.  But, you don’t know what times will be available until you get tickets.

Once we had our tickets, we went across the street to the US Mint.  This proved to be an excellent tour.  I have no photos since they’re not allowed inside, but I can give an overview.  First, there was next to no line, which was especially nice since it was raining.  There is a security screening, but its not to cumbersome.  The main viewing area is on the upper level.  This requires two escalators separated by a mezzanine displaying historical coins.  An elevator is available towards the back of the gift shop (as are bathrooms) that accesses both levels.

Once you get upstairs the path is quite prescribed, but wide enough for strollers or wheelchairs to pass.  There is plenty to see and read so that if you did look at everything it would take well over an hour.  Where you will want to spend most of your time is in the viewing gallery that occupies about half of the upper level.  This gives you an excellent view of the coin making machines and process.  It isn’t too loud and the windows are big enough that even small children can see.  The machines are labeled so you can get a feel for what is being produced during your visit.  We definitely recommend a visit the next time you are in Philadelphia.

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Then we headed back across the plaza, in the rain, to the liberty bell.  Not sure this was worth the hassle.  First, you can see the bell through the glass from outside.  It is not as good a view, but one avoids the outdoor line and security.  We were here only 15 minutes or so, less time than the line took.  At this point we still had 1.5 hours to our Independence Hall tour slot and it was lunchtime.  After a quick look at the choices we decided to head across town to the Franklin Institute instead of waiting.

The Franklin Institute is an excellent, kid-friendly science museum that we have been to before.  But, we never seem to have enough time to see everything, so we had lots of new things to see on this visit.  First we had lunch.  They have an acceptable food court with plenty of choices for kids and adults.

The main downside to the Franklin Institute is that it is difficult with strollers.  Technically, everything is accessible.  But, the paths are not always clear and multiple times we ended up in the wrong elevator and therefore on the wrong floor.  On the plus side, because it has reciprocal benefits with The Museum of Science, Boston, our tickets were included with that membership.

Some of our favorite exhibits:

Your Brain, with its two story tall neural network climbing structure.  One of the best aspects of The Franklin Institute is the number of times gross motor for the kids is woven into the exhibits.  There’s plenty to read too, but all the activities really keep them engaged.

The Giant Heart, a walk through (not stroller accessible) heart model.

Sir Isaac’s Loft, with its physics experiments.

Sportszone, with many measurable aspects of sports, from running, to basketball, to surfing.

Space Command, where you can build a moon rover model.

And, The Train Factory, which gives you a better idea of just how huge trains are.

I can’t recommend The Franklin Institute highly enough.  One could easily spend an entire day there.

I think over our many visits to Philadelphia, the three places I would recommend anyone visit are The Franklin Institute, the US Mint, and The Philadelphia Museum of Art.

Sesame Place – 2017 Review

03 Friday Nov 2017

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We spent a week in Philadelphia this past August.  Over the next few Fridays I’ll review where we went.   Here’s the link to the review of our last visit.  So, some of the places we had been before and some were new.

Unlike our previous visit, we did no shows this time.  We didn’t even watch the parade.  We did have standard two-day passes.  The second day isn’t really necessary, but we spent two low stress days vs trying to cram it all in.  As before, we ate lunch at Captain Ernie’s Bistro.  This was the first time we had been in August.  The weather wasn’t too hot (which it certainly could have been) and the place seemed less crowded then when be had been before in June.

The older boys spent almost all their time on the water slides.  The Count’s Splash Castle was the hands down favorite.  This was reasonably popular with the younger ones too.  Though, this time we gave the older ones a bit more freedom to move between the rides even if we weren’t necessarily with them.

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Everyone who was tall enough (this included the four year old) loved the Vapor Trail roller coaster.  Cookie’s Monster Land area was also popular, especially among the younger set.  Oscar’s Rotten Rusty Rockets was by far the favorite with the Honker Dinger Derby and Monster Mix-Up coming in next.

Newly available to us was Abby’s Magic Queue.  This allows you priority boarding at most of the dry rides throughout the park.  Frankly, we didn’t see much use for us.  It usually saved one cycle of the ride, but none of these rides are very long.  I have seen reviews online where people report saving 30 minutes, but this definitely was not the case when we were there.  Now, if it could be used on the water rides that would have been a different story.  Those lines have always been much longer when we’ve visited.

While we like Sesame Place, and if we lived closer we would go more often, its probably time for us to branch out.  With the kids’ ages, we expect this to be our last trip unless the youngest develops a strong Sesame Street connection.

Disney with Kids – Disney with Strollers

20 Thursday Apr 2017

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Today is the last of a six part Disney with Kids series.  I hope you enjoyed the practical stuff, and found some new info.

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I wrote an overview of our experiences at Disney, as well as about the Fast Pass System (twice), our hotel, and the Meal Plan before.

The 2017 Disney with Kids series:
Disney while Pregnant
The Magic Kingdom
Epcot
Animal Kingdom
Hollywood Studios
Disney with Strollers

Disney Stroller Basics

In my opinion, strollers are a necessary part of the Disney experience for anyone six and under.  Even if your child gave up the stroller years ago, there are big advantages to having one at Disney.  First, and foremost, there is a lot of walking.  I cannot say that enough.  Your small child will get tired.  And, you might be tired too.  They can get some variety being carried, but nobody wants to do that all day.

A stroller also gives you a place to put things.  For example, you will want water for everyone in your party.  You might want snacks, sunscreen, sweatshirts, dry shoes (hello Kali River Rapids), guide books, park maps, or other items.  You might purchase items in the park (though, make everyone’s life easier if you have those items sent to your on-property hotel or the park pickup location if you are staying off property).  While there is always a chance of theft, we have never had anything stolen from our stroller.

The first thing you need to understand at Disney is that your stroller will rarely be where you left it.  If you do not leave it in a designated stroller parking area, a Disney employee will move it to the closest one.  Depending on where you are, this may not be obvious.  Do not assume your stroller has been taken; ask a Disney employee where stroller parking is.  If you do leave your stroller in stroller parking, it will still move.  Disney staff are constantly rearranging strollers to pack more in.  Or, it might be moved by a fellow guest needing access to their stroller.  If you can’t find yours ask.

Many people choose to flag their stroller with a balloon.  Personally, we have not found this to be necessary, even when using a Disney stroller.  That being said, even our orange stroller has been tricky to spot in the inevitable ocean of strollers so if this would be stressful for you, a balloon might help.

If you enter a building, you will generally need to leave your stroller outside.  This is true for most restaurants, even the quick service ones.  It is also true for most of the shops as they just aren’t spacious enough inside.  I’ll try to point out the few exceptions to this on a park by park basis.

Your Stroller (or outside rental) vs a Disney Stroller

This is a common question.  You can run the numbers, but you should also consider the pros and cons of both options.  We have done both; it highly depends on your needs.

Disney strollers

Contrary to what you may read, my children have never found these strollers uncomfortable.  The doubles are reasonably easy to steer and have plenty of storage.  They are neither lighter nor heavier than typical double strollers.  I assume the singles are similar, but we haven’t used those.  We have brought our double stroller and rented one from Disney to hold all the kids when we had many little ones.

Disney strollers are picked up and dropped off inside your park each day.  So, you do not have them on the bus/boat/monorail or through security.  If you ride the train around the Magic Kingdom you will leave them at your boarding point and pick up a new one when you disembark.  Remember to take your name card and belongings with you.  The disadvantage of this is that you are less able to race for a ride to start the day as you will be waiting in line to pick up your stroller.  You can send one person to pick up the stroller while those who want to ride go ahead.  I recommend this approach even if the rest of the group waits outside as the stroller pick up and drop off areas are somewhat small and can be congested.

Your own (or outside rental) stroller

Your stroller will be with you all the way from your car or hotel.  This means you will have it on Disney transportation and through Disney security and ticketing.

Your stroller must fold in an umbrella fashion to go on Disney buses, parking lot trams, and the Magic Kingdom train.  Sorry, the big Bob-type joggers don’t work well.  Essentially, it needs to fit like a single person, or in the case of the buses, fit under the seat.  Because even double umbrella strollers will fit under most seats on the buses, I prefer using my own stroller.  This way, you can roll your smallest children all the way to the park, and your sleepy children home at the end of the day.  The stroller will need to be unpacked and folded, but it still dramatically reduces the amount of carrying you will be doing.  For the parking lot tram, it may make sense to walk with the stroller while the non-strolling members of your party take the tram.  Many times I have arrived at our car at about the same time this way.

The stroller does not need to be folded to go on the monorail or boats.  However, the monorail compartments are small and usually jammed full.  If you have a stroller it is much easier to take a boat across the lagoon to your car or Magic Kingdom resort.  You do not have to cross the lagoon if you are using the Disney buses.

Disney security is pretty stroller friendly.  Specifically, you do not need to remove your children from the stroller for either the bag check or Magic Band stations.  You will need to remove any bags from underneath.

Park by Park

Magic Kingdom

As you might expect, the Magic Kingdom is full of strollers.  But, there are obstacles.  First, you will find Main Street USA is narrow and has real curbs.  You must also watch for the trolley tracks, which can easily catch a wheel.

Strollers can go on the Liberty Square Riverboat, but they cannot go on Tom Sawyer’s Island. If you choose to take the Walt Disney World Railroad, you will bring your stroller, but leave a Disney stroller behind and pick up a new one when you disembark.  During the parade, the boardwalk is the only way to move between Frontierland and Liberty Square (rest of Magic Kingdom).  While this is technically possible with a stroller, I do not recommend trying to enter or leave Adventureland or Frontierland during the parade.  It is just too congested and too many access points are closed.  Plan your day around the parade schedule.

The only buildings you might be able to bring a stroller in in the Magic Kingdom are Pecos Bill Tall Tale Inn and Cafe and Starlight Ray’s Cosmic Cafe.  Even then, probably only at off hours.  Both can be crowded, especially at dinner when dining options in the Magic Kingdom are limited.

Epcot

Counter-intuitively, Epcot is the most stroller friendly park at Walt Disney World.  The walking paths are largely open and smooth, and the crowds are not as packed in as other parks.  You don’t even need to fold your stroller to take a boat across the lake.

Unlike the other parks, strollers can go in many of the buildings.  You can explore Project Tomorrow and Innoventions in FutureWorld East. You can go in Imageworks, the Land Pavilion, and the Seas Pavilion in FutureWorld West.  In the Land Pavilion you can go to the Sunshine Seasons food court with your stroller.

In the World Showcase, you will find opportunities for al fresco dining.  You can also take your stroller in the Circle-Vision films inside the China and Canada pavilions.

Animal Kingdom

Animal Kingdom doesn’t have the curbs and trolley tracks of Magic Kingdom.  But, the walkways are similarly narrow, if not more so, and they are both hillier and bumpier.  That being said, Animal Kingdom is likely to be your most relaxing day so definitely take advantages of all the paths through the animal viewing areas.  They are all stroller accessible.  You can even take your stroller (not a Disney one) on the Wildlife Express Train.

Stroller parking does seem to be farther from the attractions.  In many cases this is because it is at the exit of the attraction and you have to walk back to the beginning.  At Kilimanjaro Safaris, you will hand your stroller to a cast member who will bring it to the stroller parking area.

I don’t believe any of the buildings in Animal Kingdom are stroller friendly.  But, most of the dining is al fresco and spacious enough to accommodate strollers.

Hollywood Studios

Despite being much newer, Hollywood has many of the same stroller problems as the Magic Kingdom.  Namely, curbs and narrow streets.  Therefore, it is not as stroller friendly as one would think.  Sunset Boulevard is shockingly narrow, especially with the vendor carts, and has actual curbs (as many Disney “streets” do, unfortunately).  It is also easy to get stuck in the Center Stage area also as it is mostly accessed by stairs.

Be prepared to walk/stand in line with your normally stroller bound children for the rides.  Stroller parking is clustered and therefore not really near anything.  Unlike other parks, it can sometimes be covered, which is nice on rainy days.  And, because the shows are rather long, they all have some level of line so your small children will be free or carried more often than at the other parks.

The only building you can go in with a stroller is Walt Disney: One Man’s Dream.  Frankly, though, unless you’re looking for stroller friendly AC, it’s not worth the time.

Summary

If you are traveling with kids (for admission purposes Disney kids are under 10), you will probably want a stroller.  This does not limit what you can do.  If you don’t need it much, use it as a home base.  In most parks, you can leave the stroller in one parking area and do multiple attractions around it.  If you would normally leave a baby/toddler in it all the time, realize that to experience most parks you will need to take them out.  Disney definitely tries to accommodate strollers.

 

Disney with Kids – Hollywood Studios

13 Thursday Apr 2017

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First, a disclaimer, which will be at the top of each park review.  There are plenty of websites that will give you the top rides or restaurants in each park.  So, I will cover three topics for each park: over-rated attractions, under-rated attractions, and nap strategies.

The 2017 Disney with Kids series:
Disney while Pregnant
The Magic Kingdom
Epcot
Animal Kingdom
Hollywood Studios
Disney with Strollers

Overview of Hollywood Studios

If you’re going to skip a park on a Disney visit with young children, it should be Hollywood Studios.  It’s not that its a bad park.  It’s that so much of it is geared towards elementary and up.  Young kids will have a lot of time on their hands.

For a newer park, it is not as stroller friendly as one would think.  Sunset Boulevard is shockingly narrow, especially with the vendor carts, and has actual curbs (as many Disney “streets” do, unfortunately).  Thankfully, it largely goes to attractions young children won’t visit, including the Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster and Tower of Terror.  There is a shady waiting area near these rides though, so if you make it through the crowd it is a reasonable place to pass some time with the non-riders in your group.  Fantasmic is also at the end of this road; we’ve never been.  One of the large theaters is about halfway down if Live Shows are of interest.

It is also easy to get stuck in the Center Stage area also as it is mostly accessed by stairs.

Over-rated Attractions

Young Star Wars fans may be interested in Jedi Training, which is offered for ages 4-12.  It is cute.  But, you and your child must race to the Indiana Jones Adventure Outpost first thing in the morning to register in person.  This can take a very long time – think an hour plus.  And, you may not be able to get a time slot that doesn’t conflict with your Fast Pass/Meal timeslots for the day.  With many of the attractions in Hollywood Studios being around 30 minutes, and only happening a few times a day, adding a random chunk of time at the last minute can really throw off your plans.  Get your Star Wars fix by going on Star Tours as many times as possible.

Instead, I’d recommend making a bee-line to Toy Story Mania, which will have a very long line later in the day.  Note:  Toy Story Mania has been closed for technical problems for significant chunks of the day each time we’ve been there.  If you have a Fast Pass, they will honor that if the ride reopens, or you can use it on another ride.  But, trying to go first thing in the morning also gets you in before the ride breaks down.

 

 

Under-rated Attractions

Everyone who is tall enough should ride the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror.  I know this is a bigger name attraction with Fast Pass, but a lot of people are scared of the name.  It moves around a lot, but if you can handle the Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster, you can handle the Tower of Terror.  The set design in the lead-up to the ride is fabulous.

Everyone should go on The Great Movie Ride.  You should not need to use a Fast Pass for this one; there are better Fast Pass options for all ages.  Spoiler Alert: With the exception of some fake gunfire and the Alien, this is a pretty tame ride.  Adults will enjoy seeing bits from famous movies and there’s still enough going on the keep the attention of the little ones who don’t really know what they’re looking at.

Nap Strategies

Napping is a bit of an issue.  First, if all the kids in your party still nap, this probably isn’t the park for you.  Get your Frozen fix over at Epcot.

The only show quiet and comfy enough for napping is Voyage of the Little Mermaid.  But, its only 17 minutes long so just as they get settled you’re off again.  There are plenty of smooth paths and shady areas if they will nap in the stroller.

Hollywood Studios is largely geared towards an older audience.  The height restrictions are taller and on most rides.  Small children will be largely limited to Theater shows.  To get those in you will need to check the schedules in advance and plan your day as each show is roughly 30 minutes and may only happen 2-6 times.  The shows are also very loud, which doesn’t work for all kids.  But, they are generally good so if one looks right for your party, definitely put it in your vacation plan.