My First Magical Haircut...complete with Pixie Dust!

Moms and dads, if you are like me, you make a pathetic attempt each month to cut your child's hair.  And the odds are it's not the most professional look. But hey, my kid is 3.  People forgive a lot when looking at the face of a sweet 3 year old.

Researching our last Disney trip, I happened upon the Harmony Barber Shop located on Main Street, USA in the Magic Kingdom. I was aware of the shop, but never paid it much mind because I had the assumption that this was for men.

Ha ha, was I wrong.  Harmony Barber Shop cuts big and little people's hair.  Not only do they cut little people's hair, they have a My First Haircut package.

Parents, we live for the firsts.  And a real haircut is one of those firsts.  Leave it to Disney to throw a pinch of pixie dust on it to make it extra special.

Not only do the little ones have their hair cut, but they are given a certificate, Mickey Ears inscribed with "My 1st Haircut" and moms and dads are given a baggie of hair, sprinkled with Pixie Dust.

So you are thinking, this must be expensive, right?  Wrong!  It is so very affordable.

And, as you can see by the pictures, Dads (or moms) can have their hair cut alongside their prince or princess.  Creating those magic memories and capturing those firsts are so priceless.  Disney knows how to capture them and make them last.

Tips for haircuts:
1) They only cut dry hair, so make sure you've washed it ahead of time.

2) It is best  (but not required) to call ahead of time and make a reservation, especially if a parent will be having their hair cut as well. Walk ins are welcome, and they will give you timeframe when they can see you.

3) Make sure you choose a time when your little one is at their prime.  We made the mistake of waiting until late morning (before lunch).  Our little guy was tired, hungry and not in best form.  He refused.  So we stepped outside, had a snack, watched the Move It! Shake It! Celebrate It! Street Party.  After about 15 minutes he was ready.

4) Have your cameras and camcorders ready!

Character Dining

You are planning your perfect Disney trip.  You are researching the parks, rides and dining experiences.  As you research you come across character dining.  The question becomes, is it worth it?

The answer is YES.  YES.  Oh, and YES.

This is a really fun way for your kids to interact with the characters.  You get some great pictures/video and the food is usually pretty good.  Plus, if you are on a time crunch and can't stay at the parks long, it saves having to wait in line for the character meet and greets.

As I've said before, you MUST set your budget prior to planning...otherwise you can blow it out of the water pretty quick.  But, there are ways to make this happen.

• Keep in mind that most of the character dining experiences are usually buffet, which means children under 3 are free.
• Go during breakfast or lunch.  There is a price break between these meals and dinner.
• If you are going during the offseason, prices tend to be reduced a bit.
• If your budget is tight, consider getting pb&j and making lunch in your hotel room.
• If you are staying onsite, and not renting DVC, look for the special offers that include free dining (currently running for the fall months).

One great resource to check out menus and pricing is Allears.net.  Visit the Walt Disney World website and look at all the options.  Read through the trip advisor reviews. There are many options, with different character selections, that will be perfect for your little prince or princess.

Renting Disney Vacation Club Points

One of the best kept secrets to staying at Disney is renting Disney Vacation Club (DVC) Points.

The DVC is Disney's timeshare program.  Members buy points at their home property--Animal Kingdom Lodge, Sarasota Springs, Old Key West, Fort Wilderness Lodge, Bay Lake Towers, Beach Club Villas, Boardwalk Villas or the new Grand Floridian Villas-- pay a yearly maintenance fee and then stay in either a studio, 1 bedroom or 2 bedroom villa based on how many points they have.

Each year DVC releases their points chart.  Let's say you are a family of four and your two kids are ages 2 and 4.  You want to go to Disney for 6 nights and stay in a studio at Animal Kingdom Lodge (AKL).  You are going in January when the crowd levels are lower.

For the sake of this post, let's say you rent points at $13 per point.  You can stay at AKL in a studio ranging from 69 -125 points per week.  That translates to $897 for a standard view studio to $1625 for the concierge level per week.

By comparison, rack rates are currently $2565 for 6 nights at AKL with a standard view. That is a 65% savings!  If you opted for the Savannah View (which I recommend!) is $3536 plus tax versus $1326 renting DVC points.  That is a 63% savings.

Keep in mind each DVC property is different and the time of year dictates rates.  Members can secure reservations at their home resorts 11 months prior and 7 months prior if it is a DVC property that is not their home resort.  If you want to stay at Bay Lake or Wilderness Lodge, I suggest that you get your reservations in early.  If you are only a couple of months out, there is usually plenty of room at Sarasota Springs or Old Key West.

Where do you rent points?  There are a few options.  There is David's Vacation Club Rentals, DVC Rental Store, or you can contact members directly.  MouseOwners.com  is a forum for those who own DVC.  There is a thread for those looking to rent points.  The prices vary.  Just keep in mind, this is a direct person to person transaction which may involve risk.

Have you rented DVC points?  What are your thoughts?

Maximize Your Day: Magic Kingdom

 I have not used Fastpass+ so I do not know how that will affect things.  This is as of August 2013.

Kids are not exactly the most patient species on the planet. They don't understand the concept of waiting in line.  They don't understand why we need to hurry across the parks. They don't understand that time is limited and we want to see everything!

If it's your first visit to Magic Kingdom, walking through the tunnel under the train station and stepping onto Main Street USA gives you goosebumps.  The sights, sounds, smell are incredible.  There is a buzz of excitement in the air.  And you just want to see and do everything! Heck, you feel that way if it's your 20th time!

The question becomes, how do you meet the characters, ride the rides, see the parades and all with little ones in tow?

After some trial and error, I have put together an outline that allows us to ride the rides and see the characters in a fairly efficient manner.  Please note, this outline is not foolproof.  It is just a guide that has worked well for us.

Arrive before rope drop (the official opening of the parks) Try to get there at least 15 minutes early.
Head into Tomorrowland (save the Main Street USA browsing for later in the day).  It may be tempting to have your kids pose with the characters up front, but there are other photo ops throughout park.
Once in Tomorrowland, fastpass  Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin then head back to Fantasyland.
Ride Pooh first; this ride ALWAYS has a huge wait.  First thing in the morning it will be 5-10 minutes.
Exit Pooh and go back to Peter Pan's Flight. You will have a 10-15 minute wait.
Next up is Prince Charming's Carrousel. This is about a 5 minute wait.

At this point, check the time to see if you need to return to Buzz.  If you have time, there are 2 options; head into New Fantasyland and ride The Journey of the Little Mermaid or ride the Tea Cups.

Parents, if you want to ride space mountain (see 40" Tall Dilemma) send one parent to get the fastpasses while the other heads of to Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin.

Once exiting Buzz, head to the right for the Buzz Lightyear meet and greet.  The wait is usually 15-20 minutes.

At this point you should be about 1.5 hours in--5 rides and a character meet and greet.  Not bad.

Mom and dad, if you opted to ride Space Mountain than I would suggest the following itinerary.  

Tomorrowland Speedway (there is a 32" height requirement) next.  If you have two or more and one kiddo is too small, consider the rider swap.

If you did not ride the Tea Cups, you may want to do those now. Then I would go to Carousel of Progress and next The People Mover.  

By now it is lunch and nap time.

Mom and Dad if you by-pass Space Mountain I would suggest the following itinerary.

Head over to Adventureland.  Fastpass the Jungle Cruise.
Next ride Aladdin and then Pirates of the Caribbean.  Please note, if you have a sensitive child Pirates may be a bit much.  You might want to send one parent on ahead of time to check it out.

Next up is Swiss Family Tree House or the Enchanted Tiki Room.  Or, you can meet Aladdin and Jasmine.

Head back to the Jungle Cruise.  At this point it is lunch and nap time.

Upon returning in the afternoon feel free to mix or match the following.  If the Move-It! Shake It! Celebrate It! Street party is scheduled for the day...make this a must do.  It is so much fun and my little guys love dancing with the characters.

If you missed Adventureland in the morning, use the suggested guide above.

OR

I would hop the train upon entry and ride back to Frontierland.  

Mom and Dad, decide if you want to ride Splash Mountain or Big Thunder Mountain and get your Fastpasses.  Then mosey on down to the river and take the raft over to Tom Sawyer Island.  This is a fun place to let your kiddos run!  When you arrive back, go see the Country Bears.  It's cutesy and folksy and gives you a chance to cool off and sit a bit.  At this point it should be time to ride.

One parent go to the Fastpass queue and the other, head down to the Woody and Jessie meet and greet. You should both finish up about the same time.  Switch and the other parent go to the playground.

Hop the train and ride on down to Storybook Circus. This is really geared towards our little ones.  Here you can ride The Barnstormer (note kids must be 35" tall) and Dumbo.  Dumbo has an awesome queue and you may have a hard time getting your little one's out.

There is also Casey Jr's Splash and Soak Station. This is a nice way to cool off.  But you may want to wait until after you meet Minnie, Daisy, Donald and Goofy over in Pete's Silly Sideshow.

The other must do's that we incorporate are the Riverboat in Liberty Square, pictures with Mickey in the Town Square Theater, and Wishes fireworks.

There is so much to see and do.  Check out the listing of characters and their meet and greet times.  Also, look at the day's activities and see what is on the list that you want to incorporate.

If at all possible, I would highly recommend spending a couple days at Magic Kingdom (even if it means forgoing another park).  There is just SO MUCH to see and do and absorb.

Veterans...what are your thoughts?  How do you maximize your day?

Tickets--Days and Parkhoppers

Let's face it.  With little ones, we can't exactly power through a theme park.  And yet, we have a limited amount of days to go.  What to do?

If you can afford it, I say get a 5 or 6 day ticket.  The price points are significant per day until you get to the 4 day ticket.  After that, it's only an additional $11-$12/ day add on.

Current Pricing:  3 day ticket is $87.84 (plus tax)
                           4 day ticket is $69.75
                           5 day ticket is $57.80

My theory is, if you are already going to pay for a 4 day, just add on the 5th.  This gives you a bit of flexibility and allows you to feel like you have a bit of breathing room (for that inevitable meltdown day).

Next question is Park Hoppers...are they worth it?  This really depends on the family.  If you just have one child and they are the infant to baby range it may be worth your while.  Current pricing has it as a $59 add on per ticket  (regardless of child v. adult).

If you have toddlers/pre-schoolers and/or multiple children you need to consider your budget and realistic time expectations. It is nice to have the flexibility to go to Magic Kingdom in the morning and Epcot in the evening--but will you?

Personally, I'd rather use the money to buy 6 day tickets.  But that is a personal and budgetary preference.  Research, compile your must dos and then go with what fits your family.

Money Saving Tips

You want to go to Walt Disney World but fear the costs.  Here are a few simple ways to save money:

1: Go during the off season.  Disney tends to run special offers including discounted rooms at various resorts or free dining.

2: Consider renting DVC (Disney Vacation Club) points.  This is our favorite option.  DVC owners often are not able to use all of their points.  They will rent them, either directly or through a broker.  On average you can save between 40-60% off of the published rack rate. Check out David's Vacation Club Rentals, DVC Rental Store, or Mouseowners.com.

3: Purchase tickets through Undercover Tourist.  On average you will save a minimum of 5%. However, if you are taking advantage of a Disney Special, bundling tickets may be required.  Do your research ahead of time.

4: Don't eat all of your meals out.  Eat breakfast in your hotel room and bring PB&J and fruit to make for lunch.  Many rooms have mini-fridges so you can keep milk and other perishables.  Inquire at booking or check-in.

5. Pre-pack snacks.  I use zip-lock bags and pack 2 snacks a day for each kid.

6. Bring your own water.  Also, you can ask for a cup of water at most places that have fountain drinks.

7. Pre-purchase Photopass or Photopass+.  If you pre-purchase the cost is $120/$150.  If you wait until you arrive at the parks it will cost either $169 for regular photopass, or $199 for Photopass+.

8. Get the Disney Visa Rewards Card.  If offers 1% (or 2% if you are a premium card holder) cash back on all your purchases.  Plus, they give you a $50 or $100 Disney Gift card when you sign up.  I am not advocating the use of credit cards.  We were strictly cash, check or debit prior to this.  But now we exclusively use our Disney card, make weekly payments so we don't carry a balance and earn points towards our next vacation. The month before you leave for Disney, cash in those points.  They will come in the form of a Disney Gift Card.

9. If you can, bring your stroller with you so you don't have to rent one.  Trust me, the littles will need the ride.

10. Buy Disney gift cards (or ask for them for gifts) prior to arriving.  It is sort of like a savings account.  You prepay (which means you are spreading out the cash outlay--say you buy one $50 card a month for 10 months) and then when you arrive, you know exactly how much you have to spend.  This helps keep me on budget.

Do you have tips on saving money?  Leave a post in the comment section below.

Rides: One child can ride, the other can't. Now what?

In the previous post I discussed what to do when all of your kiddos were too small to ride.  But what happens when you have a child(ren) who can ride and a child(ten) who can't?

The one thing to keep in mind is that Disney is truly geared to families. They offer a fantastic option of the rider swap. Basically, your party stands in line and when it's time to board you inform the cast member that you wish to ride, but have a little one who can't.  The cast member will then board your party and instruct you to either stand aside and wait, or give you a rider swap pass (similar to a fast pass).  Then, when your group arrives, it's your turn to ride and you don't have to wait in the long line.

Perfect, right?!

Just keep in mind that every ride may be different.  Be sure to ask the cast member at the beginning of the queue what the policy is.