5 Things I Learned On My Last Trip to Disney: Mother & Daughter Edition

In the fall of 2018 I got to cross one of my goals for 27 before 28 off my list – I took my mother to Disney World. As with any vacation, I like to take stock about what I liked or disliked on the trip. Before I wrote about what I did right and what I did wrong from a previous vacation. However, this time I decided to try something new. I made a list of the top 5 things I learned on my last trip to Disney and I asked my mother to do the same. Here is the list of the 5 things that I learned.

If you know when you’re returning you are less stressed

This year I crunched the numbers and realized the price difference in being an Annual Passholder was minimal considering when I originally paid for tickets and all of the perks. Since I upgraded my tickets to an AP while I was there I knew I would be returning more frequently in the next year. This trip was always about what my mother wanted to do so we focused more on that in the first place. However, I started to realize, I didn’t feel like I was missing out on anything because I already knew when I would be back.

Disney capitalizes on this by their bounceback offers in the rooms. They also send you postcards a month after your trip to remind you of the fun you had. They are experts in maximizing that feeling you get from a Disney trip and making sure it makes you book more trips.


While I’m not suggesting everyone go to Disney and immediately book a trip to follow if you start to look at almost any vacation as a repeat destination it becomes less stressful. We went to Chicago over the summer and I didn’t feel bad about everything we couldn’t do because I knew I would be returning their eventually, even if no trip was scheduled.

Disney is no different. Chances are you will be returning to Disney at some point in your life, even if it isn’t for a few years. Focus on the trip you are on and who you are with. The hardest part of any vacation is being present for it and really taking it in.

The weather can change your plans

This is something we talk about a lot since you never know in Florida when it is going to rain or graduate to a thunderstorm and derail your ride plans. However, I am referring to the heat. We were there for the Food and Wine Festival and started to realize quickly that the heat was affecting our appetite. Now we did also have a Deluxe Dining Plan which filled us up from the meals, however, this wasn’t as big of a factor as the weather.

We were too hot to be hungry. I had absolutely no desire to try anything seafood related when it felt like it was over 100°. We bought a few drinks in the heat, but in then all I really wanted was to continually refill my water bottle.

We adjusted our schedules and realized if we took a break later in the day and returned to Epcot around 5ish, the weather was much nicer. It was cool even! We were able to enjoy the food and drinks during the festival and really take our time.

The Deluxe Dining Plan is way to much food

ALRIGHT GUYS, I know I have talked about how much I love the deluxe dining plan before and I stand by that. However, if you are there for any type of festival that has booths such as Food and Wine, the deluxe plan is just silly.

We typically purchase the deluxe plan because we enjoy the sit-down meals more than counter service. It forces us to take a break in air conditioning. The deluxe plan also gives you an appetizer.

The other two reasons we typically got the deluxe plan were that we had free dining so it made it cost $60ish per person/per day vs the $118 it normally is. So at that cost, it made more sense to upgrade to more food. The other reason was that I wasn’t an Annual Passholder. You get discounts on meals and are also eligible for a Tables in Wonderland card. So if you do want to buy an appetizer or an extra meal, paying out of pocket makes sense then.

While I still might get the Deluxe Dining Plan in the future (assuming I book free dining), it will definitely not be during the Food and Wine Festival.

Every Disney vacation is different

This one seems obvious, but it became more apparent to me the more I plan Disney trips. When I was planning a trip for my mother and myself I realized our priorities were much different than when I plan a trip for my boyfriend and myself. We care about different things and prioritize differently.

Our days are laid out differently. For example, my boyfriend wakes up at 7 am no matter what, sometimes much earlier. He would prefer to get an early jump in the morning. My mother is fine sleeping in and staying up later. This changes things from what fastpasses to get and if we are eating breakfast or lunch.

Another way it can be changed is the types of rides. My mother is not a thrill ride person. She very nicely agreed to do Tower of Terror and we did, but only once. When I go with my boyfriend we repeatedly grab fastpasses for it if possible.

I have said before that you can change your trip by doing a few different things. Such as picking a different place to stay, the time of year you visit, the restaurants you eat at, or even how long you are there. More importantly, you can easily change how you experience Disney by who you go with. A lot of people are surprised to learn how often others are willing to visit Disney. They don’t understand repeatedly going back to the same place. It’s because you have a different trip every time. And that is magical.

It’s okay to completly scratch your plans

One of the best pieces of advice I have gotten when planning a trip is that you need to remain flexible. This is sometimes easier said then done, especially if the thing you are scratching is on your bucket list. Again, knowing that you will be back definitely helps, but it is important to keep in mind.

On more than one occasion we realized we were too tired to do what we originally planned. We opted to just go back to the hotel. Instead of pushing ourselves to do more and possibly getting frustrated, we simply realized it wasn’t the end of the world if we skipped extra magic hours. Or if we didn’t eat somewhere we had originally intended.

You are still in Disney. You will still have a magical time.

I asked my mother to put together the things she learned from our last trip. It is interesting to see that we both came up with very different lists even though we were on the same trip.

If you are interested in learning more about planning a trip to Disney, I recommend checking out:

• 6 Things My Mother Learned On Our Last Disney Trip
• 5 Mistakes I Made On My Last Disney Trip
• 5 Things I Did Right On My Last Disney Trip
• Complete Disney Planning Guide