We’re revisiting a topic that gets requested often through our social media feeds, and it’s involves things that you may want to avoid during your vacation. From dining to retail and everything in between, it’s time to #RealTalk!
HAIR WRAPS
For someone who doesn’t have long hair, this has been something that I can just walk past and not really worry about…but as more of my friends have kids (especially daughters), it’s been topical! I’m not saying that Hair Wraps are a bad deal (usually around $2 per inch), but it’s a huge investment of time for something that you really don’t have to do while at a theme park.
I’ve seen families choose a hair wrap braid session (15-20 minutes) instead of doing an attraction or show.
Now, here’s the Steps to Magic difference! IF you think that your child would love to get a hair wrap…put it in the schedule as a “hidden activity”, visit a deluxe resort or in the theme parks and do it early in the trip. Make it fun and not spontaneous! 🙂
Disney Springs Shopping
Unique shopping at Walt Disney World is by far a worth-while activity, but if you’re looking at things that you really don’t need to do, it’s shopping at regular shops that you can get in your hometown or online.
Granted, there are product line that may be exclusive to the Disney Springs and entire Walt Disney World resort…but I’ve also seen the same Coach bags in Toronto as in Orlando.
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FACE PAINTING
Remember how I said that Hair Wraps aren’t a bad deal…this on the other hand is.
Why? Because face paint is temporary and can be affected by the weather. With 1000% humidity in Florida, the first place that your kid will wipe is their eyes…followed closely by their forehead. I’ve seen so many complete meltdowns because of face paint (from parents AND kids) that it’s just not worth the investment.
What can you do instead? I’m a fan of the “hey look – a clever distraction”, because there is so much to look at while at Disney World that you really won’t have to try hard. 🙂
TIMESHARE PRESENTATIONS
If you stay at a hotel off-property, you’ll be offered discount tickets to various theme parks and attractions in exchange for your participation in a timeshare presentation. From personal experience, don’t. It’s not worth the time or effort while you’re on vacation because you’re going to be put into a high pressure sales environment and it won’t be fun.
What can be worth it, is trying a Disney Vacation Club (DVC) presentation, as you’re going to receive things that can actually add value to your current vacation. From gift cards to Genie+, it may be worth the couple hours during the day instead of napping! 🙂
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Rapid Fire Time!
- Waiting more than 5-Minutes for a Disney Bus when you can UBER
- Tom Sawyer’s Island IF there’s a wait for the rafts.
- Turkey Legs – Not only are they hot and greasy…but then you have to carry it around in the Florida heat!
Final Thoughts
The Disney vacation that you talk about years down the road with your family and friends won’t include the Face Painting and Hair Wraps. Why? Because there’s so much going on during your trip that these distractions just can’t compete with fireworks, attractions and great dining.
In fact, most of the things that I have done while on research trips since starting StepstoMagic.com haven’t even found their way to the website! Eventually I’ll share all the random stuff that I’ve done (10k photos per day during a trip), but that’s for a future article! 🙂