CityView Magazine

56 | July/August • 2014 down and eat a full meal in a restaurant is sometimes difficult at home – never mind the distractions of vacation. It may behoove your family to pack a bag (and/or cooler) of items your children love and with which they are familiar. ere is no shame in prepackaged oat- meal in the hotel room each morning and peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for lunch, especially if that is what your children really want, anyway. 6 Adjust all expectations. It will be hot or unseasonably cold. It will be crowded. Inescap- able fatigue will settle over your entire bloodline with a dense- ness of Florida's humidity. e line to meet Anna and Elsa from "Frozen" will be four hours long. Adopt a man- tra when you feel yourself pressured to rush from one attraction to the next, like, "is is not a race." Ironically, if approached any differently, you, as a parent, will lose out. Focus on the un- adulterated wonderment in the eyes of your children. ey are impressed by deafeningly loud parades, Goofy- shaped topiary and mouse-shaped ice cream. Revel in it. 7 Set a daily budget for "stuff." From the moment you enter the park until you take that fi- nal, weary step into your hotel room in the evening, you will be inun- dated with opportunities to purchase memorabilia. Even adults may – no, WILL – be bamboozled by Disney's superb marketing tactics. Would they make adult-sized mouse ears if adults didn't buy them? 8 Download the Disney app and familiarize yourself with the features before travel. Gone are the days of navigating a paper map, even though they still have those, too. e app is amazingly user- friendly. With one touch, you have ac- cess to maps, wait times for rides, char- acter sightings and restaurants. 9 Personalize Magic Bands well before your trip and know how to use them. It's your room key, park ticket, meal plan, credit card, Memory Maker and Fast Pass. 10 Make reservations in advance. For every- thing. Some restau- rants don't even take same-day reservations. By the time you are hungry, wait times may eclipse three hours for popular restaurants at Downtown Disney and in the parks. It goes without saying that character dining experiences and personalized attractions like Bibbidi Bobbidi Bou- tique should be booked as soon as travel plans are solidified. 11 Purchase Memory Mak- ers three days in ad- vance of your trip for a discounted rate of $149, or $200 any time aer. At each char- acter meet-and-greet and hundreds of picturesque locations around the parks, Disney photographers are poised to snap your family's picture*. With Memory Maker, you can download all of the professional pictures for a flat fee. If you don't purchase Memory Maker, you can still purchase these pictures in- dividually, but it will be at a premium (think $15 per picture). *Disney photog- raphers will also use your camera to take pictures, if you ask them. If you don't buy Memory Maker, this is a great way to get everyone in the picture for free. 12 Make time to meet characters. Depending on the age of your chil- dren, you may spend a notable portion of your day stand- We Are Here For You 365 Days A Year!!! 3007 Town Center Dr. Fayetteville, NC 28306 (across from Jack Britt High School) Call: 910.354.1281 •Pediatric and adult urgent care •Injuries and orthopedics •Mild to moderate illnesses •Open 365 days a year •On-site digital x-rays •Accepts most insurance FastMed.com Follow us on: Friday, August 1 Saturday, August 2 (Set up on Thursday, July 31st) Charlie Rose Agri-Expo Center 1960 Coliseum Drive Fayetteville NC For more information go to www.ncmom.info Hosted by: The CARE Clinic Better Health Operation INASMUCH FAyETTEvIllE Dental and Non-Dental Volunteers Needed for FREE Adult Dental Clinic

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