Top Things You Only Do at Disney

If you are like me, you might do certain things only because you find yourself in a certain situation. For instance, I would never paint my face but might if I went to a KISS concert. Or I would never proactively go to a ballet unless my daughter wanted her dad to go with her. Or I would never want to completely put down my phone but might if someone invited me to go fishing. The situation defines the behavior and this is definitely the case at Disney. There are some things that you will only do at Disney because the situation presents itself and we’re here today to make sure you’re not the odd man out!

Welcome to Believe Vacations’ weekly post where today, we will present 8 things that you will Only Do At Disney. For this list, we will present 8 situations that in and of themselves seem outdated, childish, foolish or a combination of all. But when they present themselves in a Disney setting, you find yourself joining right in with the fun and excitement. So get comfy on the sofa, feel around in between the cracks and pull out those coins because our first situation is:

8) Pressing Pennies – With the invention of debit cards and Magic Bands, loose change and pocket money is slowly going the way of Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride (too soon?). But every once in a while, pennies can come in handy. Like when you…..well….there’s that time when you…..hmmm….okay, so pennies just don’t have much use these days. But at Disney, pennies are a valuable commodity. You must be familiar with penny pressers. You actually pay $.51 but the penny gets flattened and reprinted to reflect a Disney design or character. And you’ll have no trouble locating these machines. Not counting the several within each park, each resort has its own penny pressing machine and they are all different. So it’ll take a few trips to collect them all. Maybe you should save up some of those pennies and use them to allow our Believe Vacations agent assist you with your next Disney vacation.

7) Point with 2 Fingers – Test yourself as you read this entry: If someone was to ask you directions for a destination within a few feet, how would you indicate which way to go? If we’re honest, the majority of us would take one index finger and point in a general direction. But that’s not the Disney way! The Disney way is to take both your index and middle finger and politely show the exact landmark of choice. Sounds petty but it really does feel more…polite, I guess? Seriously though, you’ll find yourself helping your family around the parks and resort with the infamous “Disney Point.” There is something heart-warming seeing people back in the real world still using the “Disney Point.” Almost makes you want to go up to them and share your favorite Disney stories.

6) Singing along with the songs – One agent said, “Although I have been known to bop to retail store jams, I am unashamed about singing along at the parks.” Extra so when those songs are from the Frozen soundtrack. But again, at Disney, all bets are off. You don’t have to be Mariah Carey or even sing in your local church choir to be able to sing your favorite Disney tunes. At the parks, music is constantly surrounding you, whether walking through the different lands or on your favorite attractions. That’s why it’s very common for you to hum along to Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah or, my personal favorite, There’s A Great, Big, Beautiful Tomorrow. Now granted, you learn those songs watching the movies and shows at home before the Disney trip but it just becomes infectious when you’re actually on the property.

5) Eat! – We live in a world where we are now so self-conscious about health, what to eat, caloric intake, being “fit”, and living to look like the models on the magazine covers at the grocery store. We force ourselves into believing kale is good, health shakes will provide us with energy and carbs are terrible for you. But ladies and gentlemen, all that nonsense and hulabaloo goes out the window the second you see the glistening, bronzed, high-caloric poultry of protein at a food cart in the parks known as a Turkey Leg. It looks unhealthy and feels like it’ll go right to your God-designed internal fat deposits. But you don’t care. It’s your vacation, it’s your money you spent and once the taste of that turkey leg hits your mouth, you’ll be wanting seconds and not giving a hoot if you use a napkin or not! And that goes for the other snacks as well. In fact, you will never be able to escape the incredible aroma of the buttery popcorn that permeates the parks. As one agent says “I indulge my kids’ incessant requests for popcorn. Ain’t no party like a Disney popcorn party!”

4) Accessorize – Hang with me here because I know we all get up in the morning and worry about what shirt goes which which pants and what shoes to wear with what belt and on and on. This is Disney levels of accessorizing. You may be the family who wears coordinated outfits, only to be echoed by her teammates. We love wearing themed outfits with our spouses and kids. We’d never do this back home outside of a sporting event. Agent Tiffany Bigelow brought up that you’d never wear a Magic Band outside of being at Disney. While that may be true, I do see many people at our local community pool use the refillable mugs. But one we can all agree on are Ears. Under no circumstance can I find one possible reason to wear a set of Ears when you are not at Disney. It’s a Disney staple. And if everyone in the parks wears them, then you won’t look as foolish will you?

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3) Make Reservations….6 months early! – “Where you want to eat?” “I don’t know. Where you want to eat?” And so goes every Friday night at our house. We can’t make a decision 15 minutes before to save our life. And even when we do decide, we can’t decide on pizza or nuggets or what the kids should drink and all these over first world food problems. But that’s not ideal for Disney. In fact, if you try that at Disney, you’ll go hungry without a plate in your hand. Well in most cases. But it won’t be at a Table-Service Restaurant. When booking a Disney Vacation with a Dining Plan, reservations open up 180 days in advance. That’s 6 full months before you get there. That means you have to look at the menus, select an appropriate theme your family may enjoy and then pick the DATE AND TIME! Insanity I say! But in order to efficiently use your time in the parks, it’s a must!

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2) Wake up early! – My weekdays start at 5:45 am. That’s because I have a job. That pays me. Which I in turn use for food, shelter, clothing and other essentials for both me and my family. Thus, vital for me to wake up at the appointed time. When I go on vacation to places other than Disney, the wake up time is definitely not 5:45 am. It’s a little later so that I can enjoy my rest and the fact that I have nothing going that demands my woken presence at that hour. But at Disney? You best be up if you want to beat the crowds in the park and get to your favorite attractions before the wait times quickly escalate. And it’s not just the attractions. As Agent Becky Willis said, “I did just push our O’hana breakfast back from 7:50 to 8:30 on Saturday.” And Agent Tiffany Bigelow chimed in on one of her “guilty pleasures” when she has to “wake up at 3AM to run” RunDisney events.

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1) Gladly wait – Notice the word “gladly.” Because in the real world, we hate to wait. We need our internet faster, we want out news to always be “breaking,” we want instant access and want it now, just like Veruca Salt! At Disney, we understand there will be lines. You’ll be in a line waiting for the bus to pick you up; you’ll be in a line waiting to get through security; you’ll be in a line waiting to get into the park; you’ll be in a line waiting to get on an attraction; you’ll be in a line waiting to get food; you’ll wait for parades; you’ll wait for shows; you’ll wait for fireworks; and then you’ll wait for the bus to get back to your resort. But again, it’s Disney. They are so smart, they actually made waiting fun. Thus, you’ll wait “gladly.” There will be interactions, games, music, contests, and people to meet. So slow down and enjoy the wait. And do it with a smile!

Did we miss anything? What is something you would only do at Disney? Leave your comments in the section below and remember there’s a great, big, beautiful tomorrow!

Brian Pavlick

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