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So you’ve done all the necessary planning for your Disney World vacation – picked dates, booked a resort, flights, dining reservations and Fastpasses. Time to sit back and wait for your magical vacation, or not. Here are 5 things to do before visiting Disney to help prepare you for your trip.
Pick-up Disney Themed Items
Before your trip be on hyper-search for anything Disney themed (Mickey, Star Wars, Pixar, etc.). I really enjoy following a theme so I picked up a lot of stuff before our trip. Target has Mickey shaped vitamins, Mickey band-aids and little Mickey containers. I also read a tip to bring your own glow sticks and necklaces for the fireworks so you’re not tempted to buy one from the park and stocked up on those.
Order Special Shirts
Again, I love a theme so of course we had to have Mickey shirts. B even talked his dad into wearing one. After planning our itinerary I planned outfits for B to go along with what we’d be doing that day.
- 1st Day/Magic Kingdom- My 1st Trip to Disney shirt
- Epcot- Space shirt
- Hollywood Studios- Star Wars shirt
- Magic Kingdom/Pirates League- Pirate shirt
- Animal Kingdom/Breakfast w/Donald- Safari Donald shirt
Watch Disney Movies
I liked the idea of B being familiar with the movies the attractions are based on at Disney. I found a couple of lists of must see before you visit Disney movies (kcedventures.com, touringplans.com) and combined them into one list. The combined list was a little overwhelming but we managed to make our way through quite a bit of it. It was fun to watch old favorites of mine like Beauty and the Beast and Aladdin that B had never seen before.
Make a Countdown Chain
The anticipation of a vacation is half the fun. We made a paper countdown chain to help B visualize how many more sleeps until our trip. Based on my countdown chain experience is it easier to use a stapler to put the chain together than glue. I cut scrapbook paper into strips, stapled and put a number sticker on each chain.
Download the My Disney Experience App
This app is awesome! It’s your digital guide to your trip. It’s got park maps, park hours, your FastPass+ reservations, dining reservations, attraction wait times, character locations, show schedules and you can add in additional itinerary notes. You can use the app to change or add FastPass+ options. The park maps even provide you with the little blue dot that tells you where you are so you can figure out if you’re heading in the right direction. Needless to say, we used it a lot! You’ll want to make sure you pack a phone charger in your park bag, it’s a lifesaver.
Now you’re planned, prepped and ready to go! Wait, you can also add “Extra Magic”.