When I was a little girl, planning our Disney vacation was a six month process. I would print out the latest Disney map (or hand-draw it from the computer screen... before the days of good printers) and literally draw out our path through the park. I would highlight which rides we would target first, and which dining locations we wanted to stop at. Yep, at the ripe old age of 8, I was dragging my poor family through the parks at an alarming rate, getting in all our favorite rides before lunch.
I still use the same process, but a little refined. Whenever I'm planning a full day at the park with someone, I lay out the latest park map, picking out the "Must Ride" attractions from each land. I will plug in any existing reservations we have, and make a rough plan for the other meals (counter service and carts don't require reservations). We also check the entertainment times and decide which showtimes we want to catch.
From there, I can draw a rough picture of what our day will look like. The most important time to have a plan is the morning, so you can make the most of lower crowd levels and cooler temperatures. Know which ride you want to hit first, second and third, then a rough plan of the direction you want to move in the park. The rest of your day will be dictated by FastPass distribution times, entertainment times and reservations, so be prepared to adapt according!
This method works great for planning a day at the park with any type of group. For example, my mom can't ride anything that whips around too fast, so we focus on the slower rides and entertainment. When my best friend was in town, she's a ride junkie, so we made sure to hit up rides like Tower of Terror early in the day in case we wanted to double-back for a second ride. And if I'm visiting the park with my little nieces? You bet our day will be filled with character meet-and-greets and storyteller shows.
To help me plan a Disney Day, I created the Disney Day Planner! I'm a planner junkie, so this is a totally normal thing in my world. Using this tool has helped me feel way more prepared and confident when in the parks with a new group of people. I can easily refer to the schedule to remember which rides we still need to fit in and make sure we don't miss any showtimes. I can even hand off the planner to the group if I need to step away for a bit (like to run home and check on the pugs). It definitely takes off the pressure as the go-to Disney planner person!
After months of researching party planning needs and gathering inspiration from Disneyland and Disney movies, I am SO excited to finally share the Mermaid Party Collection! Inspired by our favorite little mermaid, Ariel, this printable party kit is an easy solution for your next fairytale party. The kit was originally designed for a themed bridal shower because it is so hard to find printable kits that are for adults!
Throwing a birthday party? There is a special version just for throwing a fairytale birthday bash.
Interested in buying the items a la cart? Check out the following:
To complete our evening, we (almost) completed the 
