Disney 101: Traveling with kiddos on a budget.

Let’s face it, a trip to Walt Disney World can be an expensive undertaking; a good budget is needed for most families. When considering where you want to stay, make sure you consider how long you will actually be in the room. If you will spend the majority of your day in the parks, opt for the least expensive resort that is on your list. We stayed at the Nickelodeon Suites Resort that was only 10 minutes away from Disney!

If you choose not to stay in any Disney resort... You can visit any Disney resort on property. You can take a bus or a monorail or a boat and browse the resort (you can also drive, just let the guard know you want to browse the resort. You are usually allowed 2 hours.). You can dine in the resort’s restaurants, shop in their stores, walk on their beaches. You just can’t swim in their pool.

In order to visit 2 parks in one day, you will need to add the Park Hopper option on your ticket. If you aren’t 100% sure that you will want/need/use Park Hopper, you don’t have to buy it ahead of time. You will pay the same exact price if you buy it before you leave or if you buy it at the gate. We like this because it's easier and more convenient for the kiddos, especially on a short visit to Disney. If you plan on staying at a park all day, save money and pass on the Park Hopper.

When you enter a park, you must first go through security. To make it faster, go ahead and unzip all of your bag’s compartments. Also the security guard will first check the bag to the person on his left and then he will check the person on his right. Try to go thru the shortest line! Don’t just follow the crowds.

It’s important to know where the crowds are going to go as soon as the park opens and especially crucial when you have younger kiddos. Lines can be a headache with little one's. They don't understand the concept of patience (trust me, my son didn't know what the word meant). At Magic Kingdom, the crowds will head towards Splash Mountain, Big Thunder Mountain, Fantasyland (mainly Dumbo and Peter Pan) and Space Mountain. At Epcot, they will head towards Soarin’ and Test Track. At Animal Kingdom, they head straight back to Kilamanjaro Safaris. At Hollywood Studios, Toy Story Mania is the main attraction with some people heading towards Tower of Terror and Rocking Roller Coaster. Get to the main ones before the rest of the crowd during the day gets there first.

Disney has a selection of special occasion buttons that you can wear. They have everything from Birthday to Family Reunion. You can pick up your button at the concierge desk or Town Hall in the parks. We took advantage of this the days we stayed. The first year we took our oldest to Disney for her 5th birthday she felt like a princess. All the princesses, cast members and characters wished her a happy birthday. Her favorite "tiana" (at the time), blew her a kiss all the way from the parade shouting "Happy Birthday Princess!" This year, our son felt the same experience except he was the Prince. He was always surprised that everyone knew his name and wished him a happy birthday...Shhhhh!

FASTPASS is a wonderful program that Disney offers all their guests. Fastpass reserves you a spot in a shorter line during a specific hour during that day. If you are staying on site, you can book your Fastpasses in advance. If you are staying offsite, you can book your Fastpasses when you arrive at the park that day. When the time comes for you to redeem your Fastpass ticket, return to the ride but use the Fastpass entrance. You will get to skip ahead of all the people in the regular line and you won't feel bad about it at all. Remember you get 3 fastpasses a day. We used all of ours the smart way. I'm so glad my son is old enough to ride the rides. He was having a blast on Space Mountain and Tower of Terror!

If you are going to Disney with little ones, you need to know about an unadvertised Disney amenity called Rider Swap. Rider Swap enables a parent to ride with the older children while the other parent waits with the younger child. After the older children ride, the parents swap places and they ride again. To use this feature, just approach the Cast Member at the entrance of the ride and let them know that you want to do Rider Swap.

Love to meet characters? Every single character meet and greet for the park is listed on the Times Guide that is available when you enter the park. You can also find the Times Guide by the register at many souvenir shops or you can even ask a Cast Member for one. You will also find the show times and parade times listed in the Times Guide.

Dining with the characters is a great way to collect autographs while feeding your family. Each park has at least one character meal. At Magic Kingdom, it’s Crystal Palace with the gang from Pooh and Cinderella’s Royal Table with Cinderella, Snow White, Jasmine, Belle and Sleeping Beauty (we went here for my daughters 5th birthday). At Animal Kingdom, it’s Donald’s Safari Breakfast at Tusker House. At Hollywood Studios, it’s the Playhouse Disney Characters at Hollywood and Vine (We had lunch here for my son's5th bday.) At Epcot, it’s the Princesses at Akershus in Norway or Mickey and the gang at Garden Grill near Soarin. 

You can make your own autograph books at home and save money! Characters will sign anything really… shirts, hats, pillow cases, canvas, etc. They just won’t sign anything that you are currently wearing, trust me (I had to take off a shirt right before Elsa signed my daughters). We were prepared when we met Ariel!

Downtown Disney contains many different stores that sell most of the souvenirs you’ll find in the parks.   There is no admission to visit Downtown Disney. There are full size statues of Disney characters that you can pose next too for memorable pictures. There is an amazing Lego store there with plenty of Lego structures that you can check out. My son was amazed, he loved it! They also have a big play area where kids can build Legos for free. Also be sure to visit the Ghiradelli Chocolate store. They are always giving out free samples! And if you walk towards Pleasure Island, you can watch the hot air balloon take off. It is also a great place to trade pins. There are so many things to do here!