I thought it would be fun to touch on what you do after you have made that very fun and important phone call to book your vacation. Whether you did it on your own, or with a travel agent, your trip is booked and the excitement is mounting! We have been in the situation many a time, and we have always wondered what we could do to build the excitement.  We have found the following to be very useful and helpful- read on!

If you haven’t already, make sure to make your dining reservations as early as possibly in the 180 days allowance.  Having just done this, things went quite smoothly for us.  Have your choices written out for what day and what time you would like it for- be ready to list everything you wish to have to the Disney Cast Member so they can help you efficiently.  Make sure you are flexible with your times, such as 6 and 6:15 aren’t that big of a difference.  Be clear if you are on the dining plan or not, and make sure you have schooled yourself and family on what table service credits cover, meaning some places take one or two. Once those are booked, you can sit back and relax knowing your dining is taken care of!

Carl counts the days until vacation, and we write it on our Disney calendar in the kitchen.  From there, we get everyone involved and we make the old fashioned paper chain to represent each day until we leave.  We write on each paper strip a memory, a Disney park, or a character to decorate it. We hang this very long chain around the kitchen and one family member takes one down each morning.  It is a small thing, but to us it’s one more day to our trip, and this can help with those stressful, not so magical days.

Another thing we do to pass the time is save change.  We make a game of how many clear jars we can fill before we leave, throwing in as much change as we can get our hands on.  My husband and I will get 2 rolls of quarters with each pay check and drop them in- by the time we leave, we have enough for our spending money.  We love to count it the day before, then we all take it to the bank and watch the bank teller’s eyes as we bring all of it in…Always a treat!

We love to pull out the old Disney vacation movies and watch the magic unfold with our kids when they were wee little ones. It always brings a tear, and gets us quite excited for the next trip because we know there are so many more memories to be made.  The same goes with scrapping- I scrapbook all of my Walt Disney World vacations, and just looking at the pictures make me smile.

This next point is something that I just did this morning. I woke up cranky, moody, and I just wasn’t feeling well. I put my iPod on and listened to Epcot Park music… and I immediately was transported to the park in my head, and I felt so much better.  So the next time you wake up cranky, or you’re making dinner, throw on the Disney music – it will bring a smile. I promise.

Did you know that not only is Disney websites helpful with every point of information you can use, but they contain money saving tips and codes?  Disboards.com is a plethora of information that is an excellent source for your Disney needs. If you didn’t book with a code or some kind of deal, you will want to check this site several times to watch for deals that WDW releases periodically. You can save hundreds of dollars with deals such as free dining or percentages off your rack rate.

Listening to Disney podcasts will also keep you up to date on renovations, ride closings, character changes, and special events. We love to listen to Lou Mongello on WDW Radio, the DIS Podcast team on the DIS Unplugged, and Matt Hochberg, Mike Newel, Mike Scopa, and Len Testa on the WDW Today Podcast.  Carl is hooked on Be Our Guest Podcast, which I still have to find the time to listen to as well.  Make sure you email and enter contest as they have some great prizes that you can use on your next vacation!

I feel making a packing list for your trip can also get you very excited.  You can make one 6 months in advance, 1 month, or 1 day before- whatever you feel works.  I like to make mine about a month before so I can pick up my items over that following 30 days.   Doing it this way puts less stress on everyone to get it the day before we leave, plus it’s a lot of fun to bring the suitcases out early and know you are packing for your trip.

Enjoy counting down to your trip… we will too!