Tabitha

The First Aid Stations and Baby Care  Centerslocated inside Disney parks are  not a secret, yet they are overlooked by many. I know for us, when our first  child was little we never went to the Baby Care Center. If a diaper needed to be  changed we simply went to the restroom and used a changing  table. If we needed a break but didn't want to leave the park we found a quiet,  out of the way spot and people watched. The Baby Care Centers never even crossed  our minds. When our second child came along we took her to Walt Disney World for  the first time when she was just 4 months old and we still didn't use them. It  wasn't until we lived in Florida and started going to the parks every week that  we took notice of these wonderful facilities.  The thing that first lead my family to one of  these facilities was the need to store medication. Our daughter has epilepsy and  required medications through out the day.  I had read that the First Aid  Station would store medications for you and refrigerate them if needed. We  decided to check it out and we were very pleased [...]

  When you think of going to Walt Disney World®, the last thing most of us think about is our diet. However, for some, it is absolutely necessary. Many people today are on special diets. Some people are dieting to lose weight, while others may be on a special diet due to allergies, food sensitivities or disease.   None of these dietary needs should stop someone from visiting Walt Disney World®.  Walt Disney World® has not only made it possible for those with dietary needs to visit their parks, they have also made every effort to keep it simple.  Whether you are dining at a quick service restaurant or a table service restaurant, Disney does their very best to meet your needs.   When planning your trip, it is best to plan ahead.  If you are going to be eating at any of the table service restaurants, it is best to make Advanced Dining Reservations (ADR's), which can be made up to 180 days in advance.  I know that some of you are thinking you have no idea where you would want to eat 180 days from now, but if you sit down and starting looking at all of your options, you will find it is much [...]

Special Requests When I think about traveling as a family I automatically start thinking about where we need to sit in a restaurant, what things we need to take with us, what type of things to request for our room, etc. When planning our trip to Walt Disney World those same thoughts go through my mind but I also need to know how best to make sure these needs are met. Before calling Disney,  I sit down and think through what requests I needed to make. I start with what would make our dining experiences the most pleasant. You see, my daughter is developmentally delayed and can become loud at times, have melt downs or exhibit behaviors that may seems strange to others. She can be unpredictable. However, just like every other kid, she deserves to go out and enjoy herself and we, as her parents, deserve to be able to take her out and not have to worry about people complaining about her. This does not mean that we expect people to just deal with her screaming non-stop or having a melt down but a little understanding while we take care of her is appreciated. With all of this in mind we [...]

In this 3rd installment of my series Going to Walt Disney World with Special Needs, I want to talk about wheelchairs and strollers in the parks. As you may already know, Walt Disney World is a big place. It covers 40+ square miles. That is not all park, however, it still makes for a lot more walking than most people are used to. For small children it may be too much and they may need a stroller to ride in part of the time. For the person that cannot stand for long periods of time or walk long distances a wheelchair would definitely be a good thing to consider. You may worry about touring the parks and resorts with a wheelchair or stroller but don't. It's your vacation as much as everyone else's and if you need them to enjoy your time there then use them. Disney does an incredible job of making it as easy as possible for everyone. If you need a wheelchair/ECV or stroller and do not have one personally, there are many local vendors you can rent them from, or on a first come/first served basis, you can  rent them from each of the 4 parks. If you rent from [...]

If you have ever been on the Jungle Cruise® Attraction, then you know that it is the Skipper of the Cruise that makes this ride really great. Although each Skipper has a script that they follow, it’s their individual personalities that makes the difference. On my families last trip to Walt Disney World® Resort we had a wonderful cruise Skipper. She was hilarious and did an excellent job of bringing us into the “Jungle”. She was very engaging, making sure she included everyone on the Cruise in what she was saying and doing. The combination of her personality and the night time atmosphere really made for a fun ride that evening. This also made for a magical moment for my family, one that we will not soon forget. Recently, Disney announced that the Jungle Cruise® Attraction at Walt Disney World® Resort and Disneyland® Resort would be transformed into the Jingle Cruise for the Holidays.  I, for one, am very excited about this transformation. Although I will not be able to make it to Walt Disney World® Resort this Holiday season, this ride will definitely be put on my must do for future Holiday trips.   This is the first time ever that [...]

Summer is over and you still haven't made it to Walt Disney World® Resort?  No worries!  Vacationing at Disney during the school year is an excellent time to go.  While everyone may not agree with taking kids out of school for vacation,  Walt Disney World® is not just a vacation.  It is also and educational experience!  Instead of thinking of it as taking your kids out of school, think of it as taking your children on an incredible, multi-day field trip! In this post, we will take a look at each park and see what educational experiences we can find.  First, we'll start with Magic Kingdom® Park.  One big thing here that you can spend a lot of time on before you ever leave for your vacation is Fairy Tales. The Magic Kingdom® Park is full of Fairy Tales!  Most children know all about the Disney versions that are represented in the Magic Kingdom® Park, but what about the original versions of these fairy tales?  This is a great opportunity to find the original versions of a few of the stories and read them together as a family. (Parents, please read the story first to make sure it is appropriate for the age of your child/children.) See there?  You haven't even [...]

 Every kid, and even many adults, can get bored waiting in lines. Even at the Happiest Place on Earth, waiting in lines is not a favorite of most!  In recent years Walt Disney World has helped to rid us all of boredom in lines with the addition of interactive queues.  The interactive queues can be great fun and help that wait go by so much quicker.  Unfortunately not all of the lines have an interactive queue, or sometimes your child doesn't respond to the interactive queue, what do you do then?  Here is my list of my top ten favorite line boredom busters! 1. Handheld Device - iPad/iPod/iPhone, DS etc.   Although some people may not be for these devices, especially when we can be experiencing the world around us, they can be a great option for an impatient preschooler, a "too-cool-for-school" tween or a child with special needs. 2. Stickers and notebooks. Stickers are a big hit with our daughter. We bring a notebook along for her to put the stickers in. This is a great plan, of course, she would much rather stick the stickers all over herself and us. :) But it makes her happy so we are good with it! 3. Notebook and [...]

There is one must have snack for my family at Walt Disney World and that is Kaki-Gori from Kabuki Cafe located inside the Japan Pavilion at Epcot®. My family loves this snack! When we start planning our trip we are already looking forward to getting Kaki-Gori. When we plan out our day at Epcot® we make sure to plan on being in Japan, or close to Japan, right between meal times so we are ready for a snack, not too full from our last meal and not to close to our next one that we won't want to spoil our appetite. Why do we love Kaki-Gori?  Some people say, "it is just a snow cone".  Well we say, it is NOT just a snow cone, it is the ultimate shaved ice treat!  You will find no better than Kaki-Gori.  What makes Kaki-Gori so good you ask?  The secret, I think, is in the syrup (and just the right amount might I add)!   The flavors available are strawberry, cherry, melon, mikan (tangerine) and rainbow (three flavors in one).  This is also a great snack for sharing.  It is the perfect size for my family to share and each get our fill.  At just $3.50, [...]

Have you seen Disney/Pixar's movie UP?  Do you love Russell and his excitement for earning badges as a Wilderness Explorer? Well Russell is now bringing that excitement to Disney's Animal Kingdom! He loves earning badges so much he wanted to share that with all of us.  Disney's California Adventure already has a variation of this attraction, it is called Redwood Creek Challenge Trail.  Guests are given a pamphlet telling them the tasks they must complete to earn each badge. Once a task is completed the guest marks it off their pamphlet. This is done on the honor system. Once they have completed their tasks they go to the Senior Explorer Ceremony and are promoted to Senior Wilderness Explorer. When this attraction comes to Disney's Animal Kingdom guests are going to have the opportunity to explore this awesome park in a whole new way.  They will have the opportunity to tour the park as Wilderness Explorers, searching for the items on our pamphlets and earning badges along the way. Disney has had success with interactive attractions that allow guests the opportunity to explore the parks in a new way. At Epcot in the  World Showcase has been host to Kim Possible and now Agent P; at Magic Kingdom you [...]