Magical Blogorail Green ~ Ways We Prepare for a Disney Vacation

Welcome to those of you joining me from Disney Living and those of you just hopping aboard.  I am the final stop on our Magical Blogorail.

There are so many ways I prepare for a Disney vacation.  Since I have already written about how I prepare my children for a trip, I decided today to focus on how I, a mom of three, prepares for a trip to Disney.

1. As soon as we pick a date for our trip, I start talking to my kids about it.  We look through photo albums of previous trips and watch our trip montages.  This gives me a good idea of just what the kids loved about previous trips, as well as give me some insight into things we didn't try that they want to.  Even better, we start talking about attractions my children are finally tall enough to experience and get them thinking about whether or not they plan to try them out.

This is by far is tops on Joey's to do list

2. Order the Disney Vacation Planning DVD:  This is free and a great way to get into the Disney spirit.  We always watch it as a family and start making our "Must Do List."  Each of us has our own list of things we just have to do each trip.  Eventually, we create one family list to be sure everyone gets to experience at least a few of their favorites.  Luckily for us, there are a lot of overlaps in our favorites lists!

3. Packing List:  I am the one who packs for the kids.  I make a packing list for each child, as well as myself and a "family" list.  I use the same lists every year, though while in Disney I always seem to find things to add to my list!  (I'll share those in a future post!)

4. Dining Spots:  As soon as we decide we are going to Disney, the first thing we talk about is dining.  We all have favorites, but our goal every trip is to try some new places.  This takes a lot of research to be sure find one to appeal to everyone.  The more often we go, the harder it is to "squeeze in" a new spot amongst our favorites, but we make sure we do!

5. Our Itinerary:  I create an Excel spreadsheet based solely on the TouringPlans.com Crowd Calendar.  I find this tool to be absolutely invaluable!!  We have used it every trip and have yet to be disappointed.  I plan our days based on their park recommendations and also use my spreadsheet as a tool to keep track of our dining reservation confirmation numbers.  I give a copy of the itinerary to everyone traveling with us.  This itinerary simply lists which park we will visit each day.  Once in the park, we let the park take us where it will . . . this means wherever the kids want to go, we go.

6. In Flight Fun for the Kids:  This is a series I started a while ago on  this blog.  As soon as I know we are heading to Disney, I start looking for fun things to pack in the kids' carry ons.  Now this may seem like something to do to prepare the kids, but really it isn't!  If I didn't find fun things for the kids to do on the airplane, I cannot imagine how often I would hear, "How much longer until we are in Disney?" or "Are we there yet?"  So this is really a way I prepare for myself to have a fun flight to Disney!  If the kids are having fun (and not bored), I will too!


Thank you for joining Magical Blogorail Green this month. We will be back Friday, August 24th with an all new theme. Keep checking in with our blogs in between loops to keep up to date with our Disney info, photos and stories. If you are looking for more Disney magic, you can make your way over to The Magical Blogorail website to see all our members and their blogs, as well as all our previous loops.


Here is the map of our Magical Blogorail should you happen to have to make a stop along the way and want to reboard:

1st Stop ~ A Disney Mom’s Thoughts

2nd Stop ~Your Highway in the Sky

3rd Stop ~ Disney Living

Final Stop ~ Pursuing the Magic (You are here!)