Dana Stanley 00:00:01  Disney World is supposed to be the most magical place on Earth. So why do 22% of people walk away feeling disappointed? I went down a rabbit hole to find out. And let’s just say the difference between an okay trip and an amazing one starts way before you even step foot in the parks. In today’s episode, I talk about five steps. You can start right now for your next vacation. Hello and welcome to The Laid-Back Magic Way podcast. I’m your host, Dana Stanley, creator of Laid-Back Magic. As a mom of three, I know how tough it can be to find time to plan a Disney World trip that doesn’t leave you feeling stressed or overwhelmed. That’s why I’m here to help moms like you create Disney vacations that feel even better than they look on paper. Here we’re not chasing perfection, but creating our next favorite memories. So whether you’re brand new to Disney or looking to go deeper into the details, this podcast is your go to for simple tips, mindset shifts, real life trip recaps, and expert insights to make your trip magical and manageable.

Dana Stanley 00:01:01  New episodes drop every Monday, so be sure to subscribe so you never miss a moment. Okay, let’s dive in. Picture this. You told the kids you’re going to Disney World and they lost their minds. They’ve been talking about it at the dinner table on the way to school and climbing into bed at night. So you’re in full dreaming mode right now where you’re going to stay, the memories you want to make, the characters you want to see. And it’s all really exciting. But now you’re sitting here thinking, okay, but what am I supposed to do? You know that Disney World is magical, but that it’s not like a bucket and forget it type of trip where you just pick a resort. Book the flight and show up. You know that you need to put in a little bit of work to get the trip that you’re expecting. I found an interesting fact when researching for this episode. There’s actually a way to measure how people feel after their Disney trip. It’s called the Net Promoter Score, or NPS, and it sorts people into three buckets.

Dana Stanley 00:01:59  First are the promoters, and this ends up being 60%. And these are people that loved their trip and are encouraging people to do the same thing that they did. Then you have the detractors, and this is how it sounds. These are the 22% of guests that had a bad experience, and now they’ll actively discourage others from going. I feel like promoters and detractors, you know, both of these people, you’ve probably had both of them at like a family barbecue. And it is kind of polarizing how one can have such a good experience and one can have such a bad experience. And then you have the people in the middle, and this is 18% that didn’t love it, didn’t hate it. They just kind of feel neutral to it and to put it in perspective. The NPS scale is from a -100 to 100, and Disney scores at a 36 versus somewhere like six flags. That scores lower at a 13. So my first thought is wow, like 60% Promoters. 36 NPS score. That’s amazing.

Dana Stanley 00:03:06  Like, that’s really good news for those of us that are going to Disney World. But then my next thought is, what about the 22% who had the opposite experience? What made their trip so different? What makes a dream trip that you want to do again versus a trip that you say never again? I believe it starts before the trip even begins, before you book anything. So today we’re going to talk about five things that you can do right now to plan the best trip possible. And these are things that most people won’t even think about. Number one is to set an intention. I know this might sound a little like out there, but hear me out when the new year rolls around. We hear about vision boards manifesting and goal setting, and it’s been proven that people who set goals, which is really just another word for intention, are ten times more likely to reach that goal. And people who write down their goals are 42% more likely to achieve them. And when I hear these stats, I can’t help but think to apply it to a Disney World trip.

Dana Stanley 00:04:07  I am a total stress ball, so this is something that I started doing for my own trips, and that’s asking myself what feeling do I want my family to come home with? Because when you start to ask this question and you keep asking it, it cuts out the noise and will help you make all the decisions about your trip from your resort to the dining that you pick and even lightning lanes that you pre-book. So here are some prompts to get you started. My vacation will be worthwhile if blank. If I could fast forward to looking back on this trip, I hope I’ll say wow, I’m so glad we blank. The most important thing is for my family to have feelings of blank. This trip will be a success if at the end of the day, my family feels blank. So maybe your intention is to have an escape or feel connected, or it’s just to get your daredevil kid on some of those big rides. If you have a large group, this is really helpful because you can have intentions of spending time with grandma and grandpa, or welcoming a new baby into the family and like getting into the groove of things.

Dana Stanley 00:05:12  And then for each step of your planning, you can ask yourself, does this support my vision or intention? And this will help guide decisions later, like how much part time you actually need or what experiences are non-negotiable. And I would argue that even setting these intentions ahead of time can end up saving you money by helping you focus on what truly matters. And if you get stuck about these things, you could think back to your favorite moments from past vacations or even your camera roll. What are the things that you look back on the most? If it’s your kids holding hands, or being at the beach, or introducing your kid to new fun snacks to help you get started. I created a free journal to help you set clear intentions for your Disney trip. It will walk you through these questions that we talked about today, and some more so that you can plan a trip that’s actually magical for your family. It’ll help you come up with your own manifesto for your trip. So your biggest priorities, like we will not rush from ride to ride, or we will eat all the Mickey shaped snacks.

Dana Stanley 00:06:14  And there’s also a post trip section so that you can reflect on the best moments, including kid friendly little prompts that’ll make a perfect little free souvenir for you to treasure and hold on to after the trip is over. Download your free copy at laidbackmagicway.com/journal. Okay, so on to number two is to expect the worst and hope for the best. Have you ever gone to a restaurant and you had just an amazing meal? Like your cocktail was perfect. Your entree was perfect, the waiter was perfect. The weather was perfect. It was just like a magical night. And you hype up the restaurant to your friends, and you make a reservation for you all to go back. And then you’re like, completely underwhelmed, and you almost, like, end up apologizing to your friends. Like, I don’t know, it’s just like better last time or my steak was cooked better last time. The difference was your expectations. The first time you went in. You probably had no expectations at all because it was a new restaurant.

Dana Stanley 00:07:13  And then when you go back, your expectations are super high. Now, I’m not saying to lower your expectations when it comes to Disney World, because you’re spending thousands and thousands of dollars and you should be guaranteed a good experience. But there is value in knowing that things won’t always go according to plan. That way, you’re not caught off guard. If there’s one thing you remember from this episode, it’s this. Something will go wrong. I don’t care if it’s your first trip or your 250th trip. Something is going to go wrong on your vacation, and I could list off things that have happened to us that are completely out of our control, from hurricanes to food poisoning. I mean, I’ve literally had a bus get lost on its way to Magic Kingdom I. It doesn’t make any sense, but it happened. Here’s what I would keep in mind for 2025 specifically. First is that there’s just a lot of new experiences, lounges and attractions down for refurbishment. It’s exciting to have new things coming, but that does mean construction walls, cast members just getting used to new protocols.

Dana Stanley 00:08:21  Potential hiccups of just like new things, figuring out the kinks and just having more patience for those new things and things being closed. Another thing is that ride breakdowns are just increasing year over year since the closures in 2020, especially if you’re visiting in the summer, and outdoor rides could close for rain and then some indoor rides just close for no reason and you have to wait for them to come back up. I guarantee you, on your next trip you will be headed to a ride or on a ride and it will unexpectedly break down. It will come back up, but it is something that’s just kind of. There’s no other way to say that. It’s just annoying. I found myself hyping up a ride to the kids and just to get there, and it’s closed down. So just again setting those expectations. Expect for it to happen. Another thing is I just feel like the weather has been so unpredictable. It is Orlando, Florida. It’s always unpredictable. But with more hurricanes, stronger winds, there’s just been an increase in flight delays too.

Dana Stanley 00:09:26  So just traveling in general, I feel like we need to have a lot of extra patience, which is hard for me personally. And lastly, it’s just that Disney World is always changing. Like from Lightning Lanes, the app, certain protocols, opening protocols. When Jeannie first rolled out, I remember them constantly revamping it and adding things to the lightning lane list. And that most likely won’t stop with the new Lightning Lane multi pass. So a little flexibility and a kind of roll with the attitude will go a long way. If this isn’t you I completely understand because it’s not me either. It’s something that I have to work on every single trip. Third is to plan with help planning Disney can feel like you’re taking on a part time job, especially when you, mom, are the one in charge. Most likely. You have that added pressure of not only making your kids happy, but now you’re trying to keep your husband happy and hoping that you at some point are going to have fun too. That’s the number one reason why my guide Laid -Back Magic has support built inside.

Dana Stanley 00:10:31  The guide itself has simple, organized steps so that you’re not missing any details, but I knew that it needed more than that. Sometimes you just want feedback, like you decide something and now you’re sitting in bed trying to fall asleep like, oh, should I book this lunch? Or that dinner? Which one is better? What should I do? You’re making so many decisions, it’s nice to just bounce ideas off someone that’s been in your shoes. So whether it’s my guide, a Disney travel agent, or a trusted planning source, just get help so that you’re not drowning in decisions. Number four is to find your family’s rhythm. So instead of forcing Disney’s Disney schedule onto your family. Build a plan that works with what your family is already doing at home. So you could ask yourself, are we early risers or slow starters? Do we do better on like a structured routine or just kind of more spontaneity going with the flow? Can our baby handle late nights, or are they like freaking out by 8 p.m.? So, for example, if your kids are not morning people, don’t book a 7:30 a.m. character breakfast at Molinos that you have to book an Uber for.

Dana Stanley 00:11:38  If your toddler naps at noon, don’t schedule a Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique for their big sister at the same time hoping that they’ll take a stroller nap. Because I promise you, that will be like the one nap that he skips is the one that you’re depending on it’s vacation. So obviously your routine is going to be super different, but you can kind of hold to the same sleep times, meal times, so that they’re not completely thrown off. And lastly is to decide what you’re saying no to. So now that you’ve set an intention, your expectations Found your family’s rhythm and your planning with help. Saying no becomes a lot easier. So now when you see a viral must do on social media, you can ask yourself, does this actually fit into our priorities? Sometimes when I post on Instagram about just doing less in general or saying no to things, I’ll get a handful of messages along the lines of why would you only do you know one, two, three when you’re paying to be there? Like, I’m not going there to be chill.

Dana Stanley 00:12:39  I’m spending so much money and I’m going to get the most out of it. But here’s what every Disney pro knows. That skipping breaks because you paid too much to rest. It’s just going to leave you exhausted and burnt out. You will pay for it with a tantrum, kid. Or I don’t know. You’re crying in the bathroom for whatever reason. Tensions are high. It will happen if you’re cramming too much in. Have you ever heard someone say like, oh, I need a vacation for my vacation? Which I’ll admit I have said that before because Disney World is like not known for being a relaxing vacation. But that’s usually because they didn’t build in any downtime, like they’re actually exhausted when they get home. It’s good to remember that anything you say no to is you saying yes to something else. And that could be the thing that you and your family remember the most. thank goodness we canceled that dining reservation. Or thank goodness we skipped that park, because then we wouldn’t have had the chance to do that thing that we loved.

Dana Stanley 00:13:39  I recently read an article and I’ll link it in the show notes where the mom planning for Disney World said, like, I spent so much money and I still felt like I wasn’t doing anything right. And by the end of the article, it wrapped up by her realizing that the magic happened in the really mundane moments, like her daughter chasing a lizard and eating takeout on the resort couch. Everyone ends up having a story like that when they come home, and it ends up being the thing that they never planned for is their favorite thing. Because when you’re not just checking things off a list of we’re going to do this and then this and then this. You’re setting yourself up for a trip that actually feels good while you’re in it. I hope this episode was helpful, and if any of this resonated with you, send it to a friend who’s deep in Disney World planning mode and could use this reminder to help you start on the right foot with your trip. You can download that free journal at laidbackmagicway.com/journal.

Dana Stanley 00:14:39  Thank you so much for joining me on this episode of the Laid-Back Magic Way podcast. If you enjoyed today’s episode and it was helpful for you, it would mean the world to me if you’d write a quick review. Your reviews help more moms like you find the show, and I read every single one of them. Seriously. Thank you in advance. You can find me on Instagram at Somewhere Worthwhile and I’d love to hear from you there. DM me if you have any questions about this episode or what you’d like to see in future ones. Until then, keep planning for your next favorite memory and I’ll see you next time.