[00:00:00] Dana Stanley: Let’s talk about the Disney World propaganda. I’m not falling for the trends, tips and so-called must-dos that everyone swears by, but actually don’t really make sense, especially if you’re a beginner and especially if you’re a mom. The propaganda trend has been popping up on my feet a lot, so I thought it would be fun to apply this to Disney World Planning specifically.

[00:00:23] Dana Stanley: If you’re in the thick of planning right now, you’ll want to listen to this episode for all the things I don’t think you actually need to be influenced to do. 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.

[00:00:44] Dana Stanley: 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.

[00:01:07] Dana Stanley: New episodes drop every Monday, so be sure to subscribe so you never miss a moment. Okay, let’s dive in. Today I am walking you through some of the most popular advice around planning a Disney World trip. The kind that shows up when you’re researching and why I’m personally opting out of them. Not because they’re wrong, but because I’ve done all of them and learned the hard way that the quote magic everyone talks about comes from doing what actually works for you and your family more than copying what’s popular.

[00:01:38] Dana Stanley: Let’s get into it. Let’s start first with the clothes buying all new matching t-shirts for the trip. I have personally done in the past and now it is a no for me. And listen, I have friends who love doing this, and I know for some people the themed outfits and coordinating is 90% of why they enjoy planning for Disney World, and it kind of makes the trip for them.

[00:02:05] Dana Stanley: And I am not knocking that at all. But personally, and for me, and I think for a lot of people, it stresses me out and it hurts my brain. Trying to think of cohesive outfits for all five of us. When I tell you I have an entire Tupperware bin of Disney tees and clothes from Target and Etsy over the years, things I can’t stand to get rid of because I know how much money I spent on them.

[00:02:32] Dana Stanley: And a lot of them, I feel like I can’t give to Goodwill because they’re like too personalized. But I also know I’m never going to wear them again. They’re just out of style or they were trendy. Or I was pregnant or postpartum, and now they’re Disney themed and I’m just not gonna wear them in my day-to-day life.

[00:02:50] Dana Stanley: Now, when I’m packing and thinking of what to bring to Disney World, I do more of like a capsule style wardrobe. If you’re not familiar with that, it’s essentially like 10 to 15 key timeless pieces that you can mix and match. This was one of the things that I started doing after my first daughter was born.

[00:03:09] Dana Stanley: I actually like took a course on a whole like closet clean out thing and finding those key pieces that mix and match and the colors just go well together, and I feel like that’s trickled into how I buy clothes for my kids. I don’t like when things aren’t easily able to be put together. And in our everyday wardrobe, we still have like Disney ish things.

[00:03:32] Dana Stanley: We have a lot of vintage Disney tees that are just classic. We have some more subtle like h and m, Zara, Disney t-shirts, but they’re things that we already own and wear. Like the kids will wear them to school. That’s what I ask myself now when I feel pressured to buy something new for Disney is will I wear it before or after the trip?

[00:03:52] Dana Stanley: And if the answer is no, I skip it. I’ve packed dozens and dozens of times now as a mom and I feel better just bringing a carry on. That’s what works for us personally. Packing less, not having to check a bag and wait for our luggage, or the risk of it getting lost and just having fewer choices once we’re actually in Disney.

[00:04:14] Dana Stanley: Plus, if we wake up and it’s maybe hotter or wetter, or. A kid is sick and we have to like pivot completely. It’s not a big deal. Our Magic Kingdom outfit was already planned because I brought stuff that we already have and love and it all just kind of looks good together and we can grab it from the drawer and base what we’re wearing off for that day.

[00:04:36] Dana Stanley: My daughter is very into themes, so there have been occasions where if she knows that we’re doing something very specific. She will ask for a specific T-shirt, but it’s not for every single day of the trip of park and this and this and like the dresses and everything coordinating, especially me and my husband, like we are not coordinating with them.

[00:04:57] Dana Stanley: I just feel like this whole approach saves us a ton of money. It saves my brain a lot, and honestly it helps us get ready in the morning too, or just get ready faster because we don’t have. A ton of clothes and a ton of options. I want getting ready to feel as easy as possible, which brings me to mornings specifically, rope drop, if you’re not familiar, rope dropping, quote unquote, is when you get to the park before it officially opens, usually nine times outta 10.

[00:05:30] Dana Stanley: This is referring to when you’re using early entry, which is Disney’s perk. For people staying on site, you can get in 30 minutes earlier than everyone else. And rope dropping looks different in all four parks, but that’s the general definition is rope drop is being in the front of the line and the logic is you get there early to beat the crowds and ride something big before the lines get long.

[00:05:55] Dana Stanley: But here’s the thing and why I am personally not falling for this, and that is that you’re still waiting. And let me show you what I mean. To prove that it doesn’t actually save you time waiting though. Here’s an example. Let’s say me and my friend will call her Katie, go to Disney, and we both wake up at 6:00 AM because that’s when our kids naturally wake up.

[00:06:16] Dana Stanley: So we are not sleeping in in this scenario because you know, kids like you get up when they get up, she decides to rope drop Peter Pan’s flight in Magic Kingdom, which has an average of like an hour, if not more weight throughout the day and doesn’t really let up. This is seemingly like a smart move. She decides because she’s rope dropping this, that she’s not going to buy Lightning Lee Multipass because she’s going to quote rope drop and get a bunch of rides done in the morning.

[00:06:47] Dana Stanley: Doing this scenario, Katie knows that she has to be at the bus stop by 7:00 AM at the latest to make it to early entry and be towards the front getting in line for Peter Pan. And the cool thing about Magic Kingdom is they let everyone in at the same time. So you can head to where you wanna go. You can go get coffee, or if you have early entry, you can head to Fantasy Land or Tomorrowland or get pictures in front of the castle.

[00:07:10] Dana Stanley: Before our example, we’re going to pretend that Magic Kingdom opens at 9:00 AM early entry starts at eight 30. So let’s just say she gets to Magic Kingdom at seven 30 and full hour before early entry starts. She’s doing good in terms of her times and she waits 15 minutes until they allow everyone to scan into Magic Kingdom at 7 45.

[00:07:33] Dana Stanley: A 15 minute wait like just to get into the park is not bad. But let’s add that to our like waiting tally. Katie and her family head straight for Peter Pan’s flight. They drop off her stroller and start heading in line. And let’s say she gets in line at 7 55, give or take, and this is like their speed walking.

[00:07:55] Dana Stanley: The actual ride won’t start running until eight 30 ’cause that’s when early entry officially starts. So Katie is waiting in this line until it starts running. Let’s even say that the queue starts moving at. 8 25. ’cause like the cast members are being nice, she waited 30 minutes still technically for the ride to open.

[00:08:16] Dana Stanley: Once the ride starts running, she walks right on, like there is no wait, maybe five, 10 minutes tops. Now the problem with this is because everyone else is doing this, or most people are either rope dropping Peter Pan’s flight or seven D’s mind train that. If that cue by the time she gets there, let’s just say it’s 20 minutes.

[00:08:39] Dana Stanley: By the time she’s out of Peter Pan, early entry is essentially over or very close to being over. So all guests are now coming into the park and things are starting to creep up with the wait times. Now you can argue what we walked into Peter Pan. There was no wait, but you still waited. Add that 15 minutes for waiting for the actual park to open 30 minutes for the ride, if not more.

[00:09:04] Dana Stanley: To me in my brain, you waited 45 minutes for Peter Pan, which is probably what the average weight would’ve been an hour or two later. Anyway, my perfect morning starts seven days before our trip when I’m grabbing a lightning lane for Peter Pan’s flight. Instead, I’m being thoughtful with my strategy and I prioritize this ride.

[00:09:24] Dana Stanley: Let’s just say I get a 10:00 AM return time in my mind, that’s like the latest that I wanna be at Magic Kingdom is like. I just have to make it by 10:00 AM and that is just the difference in my morning, right off the bat, is that we’re not rushing, even though my kids are up at 6:00 AM I’m not subconsciously like, oh my gosh, we have to get to the bus.

[00:09:44] Dana Stanley: We have to get to the bus. I’m gonna grab coffee at the resort, eat some breakfast, and most likely end up at the bus stop around eight. So a full hour after Katie. Most likely I’m getting to Magic Kingdom when they’re already letting people into the park For sure. And early entry like just started. So they’re not holding people at any rides yet.

[00:10:06] Dana Stanley: People are moving, I don’t know if you wanna call this rope dropping, because I’m not being held anywhere, but it is when early entry starts, it’s most likely eight 30, like all in the dot when I get into fantasy land, which means I can head to any ride I want now and I’m going to head to Windy the Pooh.

[00:10:24] Dana Stanley: It’s gonna have a 10 minute wait, give or take, which really just ends up kind of like walking through the queue. And Wendy, the poo is gonna feel very chill because no one is rope dropping that when I get out of the ride, and this is key, early entry isn’t over. So now I’m gonna do probably one more ride.

[00:10:42] Dana Stanley: Maybe it’s the teacups, which is really short. I could probably get a third one if I did that. Or it’s small world, which is long. So I’ll probably just make that my last ride for early entry. So two rides, maybe three tops. Then we’re going to be approaching our lightning lane for Peter Pan. If it’s 9:00 AM I’m probably gonna head there right then.

[00:11:03] Dana Stanley: But if it’s 10:00 AM I’m gonna sit, get some breakfast at Friar’s Nook. That tends to be our favorite lately. We could go to Guston’s Tavern. We could maybe hit Ariel if we were wanting to go that direction and come back. But then I’m scanning into the lightning lane for Peter Pan, and it’s just like holding that reservation.

[00:11:21] Dana Stanley: I know I don’t have to worry about rushing there because I’m going to be using that faster line. So do you see the difference? We both woke up at the same time, but Katie had a real deadline to make it to rope drop and still waited about 45 minutes with kids. Remember, versus my less rushed version. With less waiting.

[00:11:42] Dana Stanley: And again, I’m referring to being able to move. We were never like sitting around waiting, doing nothing. Plus we most likely got one more ride. As a little bonus to boot Katie in this scenario, I should really just call Dana. A few years back. We did this exact same approach. It was a little bit different ’cause rope dropping has changed a magic kingdom.

[00:12:05] Dana Stanley: They used to hold you before the actual land, but now they’re letting people head to the ride that they wanna go to. And we had done this a little bit for testing for laid back magic, but mostly for thinking that it was something I had to do IE propaganda that I fell for. And if you’re thinking, well, yeah, Dana, you paid to use a lightning lane.

[00:12:24] Dana Stanley: That’s right. I did. And that’s another piece that I’m not falling for. And that’s that lightning lanes are only necessary when the parks are super busy. But honestly, that’s not how I use them or how I think of them. Even if we’re visiting when the park is slower and hopefully we’re visiting the park during the day of the week, that has less crowds.

[00:12:47] Dana Stanley: Disney World is never empty. It’s never dead. So lightning lanes are still going to save us time. Even if they only save me 10 minutes in line, that’s 10 minutes. I’m not standing with a cranky toddler in line. Multiply that by multiple rides and you still are saving hours in line. And there’s some rides that don’t have a long wait, but I don’t wanna wait at all for them.

[00:13:13] Dana Stanley: Like take magic carpets of Aladdin, for example, and Adventure Land. It’s usually only like a 10, 15 minute wait. But the line is in direct sun, both of them, the lightning lane and the regular line. If I have a lightning lane though, I’m just gonna be walking on instead of waiting even just 10 minutes and like maybe I’m being dramatic, but whenever we have to wait for that ride, I absolutely hate it.

[00:13:37] Dana Stanley: So some people might think that’s like a waste of a lightning lane because it doesn’t get a long wait and I don’t agree ’cause it’s still saving me time, like roasting in the sun when I could be headed to our next ride or going to Swiss family Robinson or getting do whip whatever. Same thing goes for animal kingdom.

[00:13:54] Dana Stanley: People say to skip Lightning lane Multipass there, but I always get one, just even for Navi River journey because A, we like that ride, we wanna ride it, and B, I’m not gonna be waking up at five in the morning to rope drop that park. It opens way too early and it’s just something that I’m not going to rush to.

[00:14:14] Dana Stanley: And having that lightning lean just makes me so much more relaxed knowing that I don’t have to rush to get there. And I’m a better mom when I don’t have to wake up early and rush. Which brings us to another thing that gets repeated a lot, and that’s that you have to do bi baity boutique if you have a daughter.

[00:14:34] Dana Stanley: I have two daughters and we have never done it. There was a window one year when they were into princesses and maybe that was like my chance, but they weren’t that into like the hair and makeup. They just kind of liked. Dressing up and or just the princesses themselves, not the whole makeover thing. And now that they’re older, they’re not sad about missing out.

[00:14:59] Dana Stanley: And I’ve asked them a lot because I think sometimes I really feel guilty, but they shrug like no. Like they know what bitty Bty boutique is now. And I realized that a lot of that feeling of guilt is just like outside pressure of seeing other people do it, or it’s just something that little girls. Have to do or love to do, but the reality is that there are little girls that won’t enjoy that.

[00:15:26] Dana Stanley: That being said, I have watched my niece do it and it was absolutely adorable and she loved it. So if this is something your kid is excited about, like obviously go for it. But if you’re only doing it because you feel like you have to maybe take a step back and think about if it’s something that you actually really need to do.

[00:15:44] Dana Stanley: Okay, next step is ponchos everyone and their mother will tell you to bring that little five pack of Dollar store ponchos. And I am not falling for it because I am Aunt Poncho. So I’m not saying don’t bring ring gear. And I’m not even saying to bring like the rain jackets that I have brought that kind of stunk, but I don’t know if you wanna call it like a sensory thing, texture thing.

[00:16:09] Dana Stanley: But the flimsy plastic of ponchos and like the plastic will stick to itself. And like you’re in the middle and then taking it off and putting it back on. Ugh. I cannot stand ponchos. If you see me in a poncho, just like make sure I’m okay ’cause there’s something wrong with me. Rain gear, absolutely.

[00:16:31] Dana Stanley: Stroller cover, rain jacket, waterproof shoes, umbrella, all of the things I just cannot, I cannot do the ponchos. I am on the hunt for like a very thin like packable rubber raincoat that is like a hundred percent waterproof, not like these water resistant things, and they’re long, so they cover like some of your legs.

[00:16:58] Dana Stanley: I learned this the hard way when we visited last October and got stuck in an actual hurricane. We were drenched and my raincoat did not. Uh, hold up. So I’m still on the hunt for that, and I will report back to something that is as convenient as a poncho, but doesn’t feel like a poncho. So, yeah, no, to poncho propaganda.

[00:17:23] Dana Stanley: And while we’re busting some myths, let’s talk about the Disney Dining Plan. I go into this more in episode nine, so I’m gonna leave a link in the show notes for you to go tune into that if you need more dining advice. But the short version is. It doesn’t save my family money for the way that we eat. So even if I hear free dining.

[00:17:46] Dana Stanley: It isn’t really free. Usually you’re paying rack rate for your room, so you can’t use other promotions, and it just sounds like a deal. But if you actually do the math, it may not come out in your favor, especially if your kids are sharing meals a lot, or you have picky eaters and you’re doing more like Instacart groceries.

[00:18:05] Dana Stanley: But like with most things in Disney, we all need to do the math first to see if it’s actually going to save us money or be convenient at all. I just don’t like the immediate of like get the dining plan without knowing all of the details in advance. The same rule applies to staying offsite. I think the general wisdom is that staying offsite is cheaper, and sometimes it is.

[00:18:30] Dana Stanley: If you’ve got a big group and you wanna do an Airbnb of like a big house, you’re not doing Disney every day. Maybe you’re doing universal and you want a pool and a kitchen and space, that can make total sense. But it’s not automatically cheaper. You’ve gotta factor in your rental cars, gas, parking fees, the fact that you can’t use early entry.

[00:18:53] Dana Stanley: So maybe you’re buying more lightning lanes because you’re not getting those resort perks and just like the value of your time driving to and from the parks, sitting in traffic, things like that. So the takeaway here is the same one I’ve been coming back to over and over is just don’t just do something.

[00:19:11] Dana Stanley: Because it’s what everyone says to do, or people just assume that it’s true. Do your research first and then make sure that it aligns and makes sense for your family. Specifically, if this episode made you question some of the things you’ve heard over and over about Disney. Good. That was kind of the point.

[00:19:30] Dana Stanley: I know it made me rethink some things when I think about popular advice and maybe things that I get influenced by and probably shouldn’t. The good news is that there’s no one right way to do this at all. The whole idea is that you create a trip that actually works for you. And that means saying no to the quote rules that you don’t like.

[00:19:53] Dana Stanley: I’ll drop any relevant links in the show notes, including the episode on dining if you wanna hear more about that. And as always, thank you for listening and I hope this was helpful in your planning. 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.

[00:20:14] Dana Stanley: 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.

[00:20:31] Dana Stanley: Until then, keep planning for your next favorite memory and I’ll see you next time.