Disney World

We chose to stay on property at the Caribbean Beach; it was the same price as two of the others but the rooms were bigger. And, if you stay on property and buy stuff while at the parks, they deliver it to your room - way cool!!

These hotels do not have free breakfasts; at least they didn't in 1996. So we took a cooler with milk & juice, a toaster with some poptarts, bread and bagels. That would get us started in the morning. We could eat while getting ready to head out.

The trick here is to take the bus to the park opening early for Disney property guests, ride the popular rides for an hour or two - then, go somewhere else. The early open park will be the busiest of that day. There are thousands of Disney property guests in addition to the regular people, so once the place is open to the public, it is swamped.

We would have mid morning snack; they are plentiful throughout the parks.

We ate our main meal of the day at lunch, usually selecting one of the better restaurants for the very latest seating. The family would make our decision the night before and I would make a reservation guaranteeing the correct timing for us. We would have had our snack so a 2:00 PM lunch was not a problem. The benefit here is that lunches are way cheaper than dinners.

I purchased a Birnbaum Disney World book and it was the best thing I did. It provided ride info, restaurant info with menu's, tips about the shows and so much more. Plus you can sit on it when some of the ride seats are a little wet.

Just to fill in after the late lunch. My kids liked the pizza.

Especially if you have younger ones, once in you can't get out. So know how much your kid (and you) can tolerate. During our trip there was an Alien one; we all did it once. The daughter and I passed on the next time. We probably shouldn't have done it the first time.

Select one or two of the shows to see. They are really well done and worth the time. Also, don't turn your nose up at something that sounds silly. There was a talking bird muppet show the daughter wanted to see, the guys were sulking about it but ended up liking it better than some of the other things we did.

We love the parades. The day time one at the Magic Kingdom stops along the way and involves kids. Our daughter got to be a participant and it was a highlight. Of course the Electric Light one at night is wonderful. Get some really good film; 400 or better. Epcot had a night time light show that was very cool.

Magic Kingdom is my favorite; I grew up going to Disney Land and have many fond memories of similar attractions. We spent a day and a half there. Epcot is more interesting for the little bit older crowd. There was an Ellen DeGeneres ride that was very interesting. We chose to do the MGM first and I was disappointed in it. Keep in mind this was 11 years ago; but at that time Universal was much better. However don't pass up the Tower of Terror; it is a must. Animal Kingdom was not built at that time and it was too cold for the water parks. Plus we would not have "wasted" our time at a water park.

We spent an evening on the island and shopping at the big store. Every one in the family got Disney stuff for Christmas that year. Again, it was delivered to our room, we didn't have to haul anything around with us.

The pool. The kids and I hit the pool one evening, it was heated, had slides, a hot tub area and was wonderful.

The telephone in the room has a "pizza button". It is so cool, you just push one button on the phone, tell them what kind of pizza you want, where you are and "poof" you have pizza. The kids LOVED this.

Disney characters to wake you up. You can ask for a character wake up call; we chose Goofy and didn't tell the Dad. That was pretty funny, him answering the phone at 6:00 AM and hearing Goofy.

I spent an evening in the laundry room. I think this was the same night as the pool when everyone else went to bed. It was worth it to not take as many clothes. The facility was very nice and secure.

Expensive passes. As Triple A members we got a break, worth the dues to Triple A. EVERY THING is expensive!!! I cut corners where ever I could.

Lockers. Since we were there in November the weather was iffy. I was shorts weather most of the day but would chill down at night. We would get a locker for jackets, water bottles, etc.

These people are there with the sole purpose of making your stay enjoyable. I saw a dad with a problem. He was there by himself with two young kids; the elastic in the little girl's shorts broke and they were falling down. The little girl was crying because she didn't want to have to leave the park. He asked a clerk for a safety pin. The clerk got new shorts that matched her top and gave them to the dad - no money exchanged hands. I was stunned. After they left she explained to me that they are allowed to use their discretion for things like that. Pretty cool.

Ask them the best place to stand during the parade. What rides are busy when. Whatever, they will be happy to help if they know.

Anyone who has read my lists knows that I am a stickler for good grammar and good manners. We have a different rule during vacations. Just don't fight!! If you kids get along we suspend almost all of the rules. Sure jump on the bed, sure you can have a coke with your toast, okay you can say ain't, etc. If the kids get along most every thing else with go smoothly.