The Nickels
How often do you go to Disney?: We try to go every 2 years.
Trip Deets: This year we were at Disney World in early October. We stayed at Port Orleans Riverside for a week, arriving on a Saturday and leaving on the following Saturday. Our party includes 2 grandparents, 4 parents, and 4 children (3 years, 5 years, 7 years, and 8 years).
The Best Part of Your Trip?: This is the first time we have been to Disney during Halloween and it was truly a wonderful experience. The Mickey’s Not So Scary party was absolutely my favorite part. We loved the decorations, the shorter lines for rides and special touches, the dance parties, shows, fireworks, and lower crowd levels.
What Would You Do Different?: I wouldn’t have booked so many Character meals. We haven’t been since the before time when we had a meal plan. We always would talk about how full we were since we were trying to really eat every meal on the plan and as many snacks as we could fit in our bodies. This time without the meal plan we really just ate what we needed. We had a much more ride focused mindset this year since the kids are older and that was their goal. We loved being able to just grab something quick here and there. Seeing the bill for our Crystal Palace lunch made us realize the price didn’t match the experience for our large party of 10. Our younger boys aren’t very interested in character experiences and our girls have been there and done that. We decided to cancel the rest of the Character meals we had booked and it worked out perfectly for us.
What is the Best Tip you got from Well Hello Disney?: Well Hello Disney taught us everything we needed to know about the new Genie+ system which was priceless information. I was extremely overwhelmed and bummed about having to learn something new, but we were able to navigate with the knowledge we gathered from Jessica. It eased my stress level to watch the Mickelson’s navigate this new system in advance, we really knew exactly what to do when it was our turn.
Also, we really appreciated all of the tips she provided on how to set young children up for a successful trip. Although we didn’t completely listen about taking the day off before the party (lol), we did plan for a large chunk of time in the middle of the day to rest before we left and that was so great for us. We also ate a meal ahead of time so we didn’t have to waste any time hunting for food during the party.
Give us Your Best Disney Tip!: If you are doing the Droid Depot and have husbands like ours that will immediately ship the droids off after completion, maybe prepare your children better than we did. We had 3-4 crying children and it’s kind of funny now, but it really put a damper on our day. The good news is the droids were waiting for us on the porch when we got home from the airport! I do recommend the shipping service, but be sure to remember to include your children in the plan.
Also be sure to use Amazon or whatever grocery delivery for extra snacks and water. That was such an easy process and having those creature comforts allowed us to keep the kids fed and hydrated.
What was your most useful Platform on Well Hello Disney?: I love the convenience of instagram. I can open it quickly throughout my day when I get a minute here and there. Jessica always has stories I can just watch and quickly gather crucial information. Compatible with that busy mom lifestyle we all have!
Leave Well Hello Disney a review!: Well Hello Disney hooks you in with the pure cuteness of their family. You don’t even realize how much information you are absorbing. I love Jessica’s positive attitude and approach. She cuts the fluff and gets right down to the important information. I’ve never seen her be stumped by a question, she is truly a wealth of knowledge. She assures you that you CAN do it, you can plan the trip of your dreams and have the most magical time. And she’s correct!
COMPLETELY OPTIONAL! We would love to hear how you saved money, your budget, and any programs you used to help reduce the cost of your trip: This was a very expensive trip, definitely more expensive than ever. Last time we stayed at Animal Kingdom Lodge and really wanted to try Boardwalk or Contemporary this time, but we settled on a moderate resort instead. Also cutting some of those sit down meals was a great budget cut for us, and it allowed us to have more time for rides, shows, and rest. We still ate delicious food and met our needs.
