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2 years ago: Sx hours in Magic Kingdom and we only managed to go on one ride

I'm so excited.  If you read my last post, you'll know we haven't had the most fun here this past month (everyone's been sick).   So my parents live in Florida, which is good and bad.  It's bad because I miss having my Mom nearby, but it's very good in that we have a great, warm place to visit at any given time. 

And Disney's always there to tempt us.  My parents live about an hour and a half away from Orlando - Orlando being one of the closer airports to their house.  We often fly in and out of there.  Twice we've gone to the parks - once to Sea World for a day when my oldest was 10 months old (so fun!) and once to Magic Kingdom.  We went to Magic Kingdom when my oldest was 2 - we went during Thanksgiving Week - drove in around 10 and made no reservations.  I'm sure no one will be surprised to hear that we spent 5 hours in the park that day and only went on one ride.  It was horrible.   I've since learned that's just not how you do Disney.

Still, I've been a little scared to attempt it - and I've figured we have time as we go often, and my kids are young.

But then Christmas happened.  We went and visited my parents for a week, in and out of Orlando.  A week after we go home, my oldest turned to me and said,  "Mom, how come we were in Florida visiting Mom-Mom and Oompah and we didn't go to Disney."  Apparently all the kids at school were asking him - and he hasn't forgotten!

So with all of our sicknesses this month, I decided to book us down to Florida in March -- we all needed something to look forward to.  And since the best deal was in and out of Orlando, I can't resist taking the boys to Disney for a few days.  We have 3 nights there and I'm trying to plan it right this time - ahead of time, and finding ways to avoid the crowds.

Of course going in March (spring break) isn't optimal but I've learned a thing or two from friends. The first thing I did was sign up for a website called Tour Guide Mike.  A friend of mine recently went and used his online service and raved about the tips he provides.  I went ahead and signed up (It's $21.95 for membership) and am amazed (and overwhelmed) at all of the info.   You can look at the dates of your trip and he'll tell you where to go what day.  Each park gets a green, yellow or red label on any given day - such great info as I'm sure the day we went to Magic Kingdom way back when was a red.  I won't give up any of his tips or secrets on here but I definitely recommend checking out this service if you plan on going to Disney.

I've also learned from friends that making reservations is key - so I'll be calling ahead to book us places for lunch and dinner on all three days.

So we're excited!  I'll report back about all of our experiences.  Since we only have 3 full days I have to pick 3 parks.  We're thinking Animal Kingdom, MGM (now Hollywood Studios) and Magic Kingdom but I'll report back what we end up doing.  All I know is that I'm getting organized and planning out our schedule and hope to avoid the crowds and exhaustion we've experienced in the past.