Are you planning your family’s first trip to Walt Disney World? The Disney lovers in your life have probably started coming out of the woodwork, all of them full of tips and tricks and great advice. When I was in your shoes ten years ago, I had help from some of the very best, and they were super excited for us, just like your friends are for you.

Lessons for Your First Disney World Trip

Disney Friends are the best! They plot, plan, and share to help you have the very best family adventure. But if you’re like me, you might be starting to find it all a little overwhelming. After all, this is about making dreams come true and creating memories that last a lifetime. You want it all to be perfect, and that might just be starting to suck the fun out of this for you.

If I could, I would send Past-Gregg this message in a bottle back in time, but instead, I’m sending it to you to help you enjoy your planning as much as your Disney Friends do!

Don’t Keep It A Secret

If this trip is still at the “daydream” stage, feel free to keep it to yourself, just in case. But if it is actually happening, tell the kids. I know, some folks disagree. We’ve all seen videos of super-surprised children losing their minds with excitement, and I bet every one of those families had a great time.

We decided to hold out until a week before go-time to tell our kids (then four and seven). Truth be told, I think we were trying to avoid months and months of “How many days until Disney, Daddy?” In doing so, we created extra drama trying to avoid spoilers from extended family, and when the time came to tell them, the little stinkers didn’t believe us!

I am not the sort of Dad who pranks his children at all, but it was obvious that this seemed more likely than the idea that we were actually Disney-bound. I had to show them the reservation online before they accepted it. It was not a great video, and I had robbed myself of the chance for the next item:

Plan Your First Disney World Trip Together

We figured this out eventually, and from little ones to tweens and now teens, our kids have been the best planning partners we could have ever asked for. Sharing news about attractions both new and “new to us”, restaurant reviews, online resort tours and ride-through videos, we’ve had a lot of fun planning together even when we couldn’t be in the parks.

Planning for that first trip, though, shrouded in secrecy as it was, was “grown-ups only,” which made it tough to know which of the million things to do would be the most important ones to the kids. In the end, I got lucky, when my daughter volunteered some information.

“Know what I would want to do if we ever went to Disney World?” she asked out of the clear blue sky.

“What’s that?” I replied, wondering if this mission was no longer covert.

“Meet Anna and Elsa,” she said with grim determination.

I had no idea. We had not really been prioritizing character meets because they were both so shy, and I almost missed out on the thing she cared about the most because we were keeping it a surprise instead of planning together.

(She did meet Anna and Elsa. She did not speak a single word and then talked about it constantly for days. I cried like a banshee.)

Savvy Souvenir Shopping is Super

This is a tough one, because every day you will find yourselves in the biggest and most beautiful toy stores you have ever seen. It’s hard to set a limit when you don’t want to be the guy saying “no” all the time. My wife solved this one, of course.

“Grandma has given you each X dollars to spend on the trip, and you can decide what you want the most,” she said. I don’t remember what the value of X was, but I know it was something that seemed acceptable to Mom and Dad and like an incalculable fortune to a 4-year-old. Taking Grandma on as a co-conspirator was genius since she wasn’t there to change the rules. Some very careful shopping was done, the bank remained unbroken, and much-loved stuffies were secured.

Resting is Not A Waste Of Time

There’s so much to do, and it feels wrong to let any of it go, but leave room in your plans for naps, resort pools, and quality time flaked out in the air-conditioned comfort of your Disney Resort. Believe me, as a first-time visitor, you are not prepared for how much walking is involved in a visit to a Disney park, and your trip may be a multiple-day affair. Now, remember how much longer your legs are than theirs. Build in a rest plan and be prepared to adjust it as needed.

Photo by Danny Shuster

I learned this the hard way on the evening of day four at a dinner reservation at ‘Ohana, where my daughter fell asleep at the table from pure exhaustion, having eaten exactly one shrimp, easily the most expensive single shrimp I have ever bought, much too the delight of her brother.

You Can Do This

You are planning this adventure because you want to create something special for your family, and the pressure of trying to make everything perfect for your first Disney World trip can feel overwhelming at times. Just remember that no matter what happens, your kids are sure to have a joyous, memorable time because they will be with you. Find the good in as much as you can, and the humor in the rest, and you will share an experience you will always remember.