29. Tips for a Multigenerational Disney World Vacation: A Birthday Trip Recap With My Mom

My milestone birthday trip to Disney World is complete, and my Mom joins me on the pod today for a recap. We had an amazing multigenerational trip to Disney World on Halloween and we have so many tips to share with you. From navigating the park as a senior, and cookie hacks, to character breakfasts, Mickey's Not-So-Scary Halloween Party, to some rookie mistakes...you’ll learn all you need to know to make your next Disney visit full of multigenerational magic.

Download my free guide: 10 Tips for A Luxe Disney Vacation or connect with me on Instagram @michelevisitsmickey.

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This episode was produced by The Podcast Teacher.

Transcript

Michele:

Hello, friends, and welcome to another edition of let me adjust My Ears. This is being recorded on Halloween, October 31st, which is my actual milestone birthday that I have mentioned on several previous episodes. And I am very excited to be recording this in Orlando, not at the Disney Vacation Club. Sorry. But at my vacation club where I have points. And sitting with me here is a very, very, very, very, very, very special guests. Her name is Sandra Schwartz. I think she prefers Sandy.

Sandy:

I do. 

Michele:

But AKA mom, my mom. I'm so happy that she has joined me here on my birthday trip to Orlando. So you heard Nikki and I speak very recently about our trip to Universal. That was literally a week ago in my lifetime, and then I came back to celebrate my milestone birthday with family, and that had actually been planned for pretty much a year now. So I'm gonna tell you all about what's New here at Walt Disney World and also a different perspective because I haven't been to the parks with newbies or people who don't come as often as I do in a really, really long time. So it gave me a new Effective, especially with my mom who as a senior, and I refer to her once as almost 80, and she refused to pay for my pedicure after that. She was so angry.

Michele:

So, mom, will you please tell us how old you are?

Sandy:

I'm a proud 78 years young.

Michele:

Okay. So not almost 80. We're Clear. I I do not think of her as almost 80 anymore. So traveling with my mom and my son and my husband, Bend. We had some multigenerational things going on. And, also, my husband who really doesn't enjoy theme parks and hates roller coasters and is susceptible to some motion sickness. So it was just a really good way to see the parks as I haven't recently through the eyes of you, my clients, who don't get to come as often as I do.

Michele:

And in fact, I just finished listening to the Follow podcast by Travel Weekly, which is actually a trade podcast. It's for travel advisers from the publication for travel advisers, which is Travel Weekly. And the reporter had been lucky enough to attend the destination summit for earmarked travel agencies. Earmarked is Disney's program. It's gonna be 20 years old in 2024 to recognize their highest sellers. And so there are several friends of mine who are earmarked, and I'm so Sighted for Them. It's definitely a goal that I have. There are some restrictions, and it's not an easy achievement to obtain.

Michele:

But on this podcast, the reporter explained how the 400 agents who were in attendance got to go to Epcot before the park opened to get on Guardians of the Galaxy, which is a fabulous, phenomenal ride roller coaster, probably the best on property right now. And then they got to go through the brand new Moana's journey of water inspired by Moana attraction and play there. And the thing is, They all got to go before the park opened. And so I did it this past week with Not only the park being open with other guests that we had to traverse, but not staying on property, Having to figure out the individual lightning lane for guardians that, like, couldn't buy until 9 because it wasn't a resort guest and how to traverse all of these different things with half the group liking roller coasters, the other half not, some mobility issues, And knowing that we were also going to the Halloween party later that night, we were out in the heat of the day doing food and wine festival and Maybe push ourselves a little too much and didn't actually sit down enough and have a good meal that made later in the evening a little more mobile. So there is something to be said for experiencing those unique fun opportunities that the Air March owners get to do, the doing them as an actual guest in the park because now I have different advice that I can offer to you. Before I get to that, I'm gonna come back to talk to my mom because she actually made a comment about some of the vehicles. And I think it was about the ride vehicles, wasn't it?

Sandy:

The roller coaster vehicles and the Wheelchair Vehicles

Michele:

Mhmm.

Sandy:

How to negotiate them. Particularly, if you're a senior, you have to be very careful where you're walking So you're protecting yourself from a fall, and you're looking down, and you could, from the side, have a negotiation with a wheelchair for a double stroller. So it's difficult. I had people to hang on to and hold on to and to help me maneuver. And I'm I'm a walker.

Michele:

She does. She walks our dog, Chase, every morning, noon, and night.

Sandy:

Yep. So I'm used to 2 or 3 miles at a time, which is one thing I would advise if you're gonna do a multigenerational trip together that you know what your limits are. You don't always have to do a 100% of everything together as Michele said previously, And that really helps if you understand that so that you're not necessarily together 100% of the time, but you're together for most of the time. I really do not understand how you could do a multi generational trip to Disney without a travel advisor.

Michele:

Hear That, Friends. That is what we call job security. I didn't pay her to say that. She's my mom, but I I really didn't it really is something that I think we learned that even for the youngest generation of our people who are obviously very tech Savvy and grew up with the tech. Found Universal and the Express Bus. PS, that's a throwback to the episode that just aired about the universal VIP experience and Express Pass and Genie plus episodes. All of them. All those episodes throwback to that.

Michele:

So anyway, our most tech savvy generation preferred the universal express pass because they don't know the parks. And so they were relying on me who knows the parks to make sure that they were getting in the attractions that they really wanted to get to and not making them walk all around the parks the way Genie, the free version does, but yet I was maintaining different lightning lane access for 5 people that weren't all doing the same thing at the same time, which kinda led me to believe that maybe there is a market for the service of If you can't afford a VIP tour and you are gonna be doing Genie Plus and individual lightning lanes that There is an opportunity for a travel adviser to assist you on that with a day by day scheduling and helping you for premium fee. Absolutely. I'll give you a very practical example. The young ones 30 year

Sandy:

olds. Yeah. Could use the app at Disney without a problem. I, on the other hand, had a band that I could just put in at the appropriate Time.

Michele:

She's talking about MagicBand.

Sandy:

It's not put in.

Michele:

It's just Mickey ears to Mickey ears

Sandy:

on a MagicBand. Could enter, and That was much easier for me. I didn't wanna negotiate the app, and Michele knew that. I mean, I didn't make decisions about how I entered the park or what rides I rode or how far I walked or what food I tasted without Talking to Michele. She was my adviser. Of course, I'm her mom, so she knows me, but I would think that with any guest going, she would say, Well, what do you like, and do you have motion sickness, or do you have back problems or hip problems? To stay away from certain rides. And she gave me almost perfect advice.

Michele:

Go ahead. What did I get it wrong on? Spoiler alert. It actually wasn't at Disney.

Sandy:

Yeah. It was a ride where is it a simulation or a roller coaster?

Michele:

It's a simulated roller coaster type experience, I think, is how they would describe it,

Sandy:

but it rocked back and forth.

Michele:

She's talking about the Journey through Hogwarts where Hermione enchants the bench and it rocks back and forth. I made a poor choice. And the funny thing is, Last week, when Nikki and I were there on our VIP tour, we both chose not to ride it. And I figured this time, I would ride it because it's been so long. And I had my patch on for seasickness and I thought, okay, this is the chance for me to ride it and not get sick. And I will say I did better than I've ever done on it, but it still I probably would choose not to go again. And I thought my mom would like it because she doesn't get motion sickness the same way that I did, but I was sadly mistaken.

Sandy:

Well, almost perfect is Pretty darn good.

Michele:

Sorry about that, mom.

Sandy:

That's okay. And I did try and get

Michele:

her on Guardians of the Galaxy, and I think we're glad that She decided no on that.

Sandy:

Probably, if it had been the 1st day, I would have gone. But these were days with 15 to 17000 steps, And I was going to protect my body, particularly my back. I already said it, know your limitations, but I'm gonna say it again. Know your limitations because I have a tendency to wanna do whatever everyone else is doing. And at 78, you Can't do what everyone else is doing, and it's okay because there's so much else to do there. There are other rides. There are other attractions. There's food.

Sandy:

And, you know, most of all, people watching. It is so much fun to watch the people go by, particularly at the Halloween party. That was super fun.

Michele:

We saw a family at our very first photo op who were dressed as Four different characters from the Haunted Mansion. It was great. There was a Madame Leota. There was the little woman on the tight rope from the stretching room whose name. I don't remember. There was the Hat Bach trick or treat ghost, and then there was the literal ghost host costume from the cast members that work at that attraction. And they were just I think that was my winning costume, and it was the first

Sandy:

one we saw. It's like when you go someplace and you see babies or puppies and you say, oh, aren't they cute? Well, this was someplace you could go Halloween night, and Almost everyone was cute. I mean, you could spend your day or your night, I should say, on a bench just watching everybody walk by and be perfectly happy. And on that bench, you could also see the parade and the fireworks, which were phenomenal.

Michele:

So I actually did make a rookie mistake with the Halloween party, Mickey's not so scary Halloween party, and I knew not to do them. I mean, I even talked about the strategy beforehand, and I I read the late night owl strategy that Disney put out and I still did it wrong. So way way way way back in the day when my mom and dad first brought me to Disney, we learned to always watch the parade in Adventureland. Usually, right on the patio of Country Bear Jamboree is always a really good spot.

Sandy:

It's Frontierland for Adventureland.

Michele:

Well, the parade starts kind of by what will be Tiana's Bayou Adventure. That's where it starts and it comes down. So it's kinda in between adventure land and frontier land. So then it comes through frontier land, turns at the hall of presidents, which is, you know, authentic Americana, and then it goes around the castle in front of the castle and then down Main Street. And so the best advice for Mickey's Halloween party, and I even said this on a previous pod about Mickey's not so scary Halloween party, is to do attractions, do all the attractions you want starting when you get there, and then do the fireworks, the 2nd parade, which is later, and then watch the show in front of the castle. And sure enough, I did the exact opposite. I was so eager to see boo to you that I stopped. And I stopped on Main Street instead of walking all the way down near the flagpole where there was plenty of seating or going over into near the haunted mansion to watch the parade.

Michele:

I stopped on main rate. I tried to find a place to sit on Main Street and ended up having to stand so I could see. And granted, I got a great view and I got to hear boo to you and watch the parade and then move forward for the fireworks. But would have accomplished a lot more than I wanted to do if I had listened to my own strategy. You know, those who can't do teach, which is to do the attractions, do the later parade, and then do the later Sanderson sister show. So I don't think anybody in our group necessarily realized that I was leading us astray. But later, I was a little mad at myself, And I didn't get a picture with Daisy in her fairy costumes, so I was really annoyed. But the bougie parade is amazing as always, and I don't know.

Michele:

Maybe I should've just stayed there and watched the second one all over again because it's so good. It's my favorite Disney parade, and I'm so happy that I get to see it every single year. It's my own personal birthday tradition. So I'm gonna back up because we got in town as a family, as I said on Thursday, Stay. And due to a flight delay, everybody was able to come to the character breakfast on Friday morning, but it was the first time that I had been back to Kate May Cafe since the theming changed over to Minnie and Daisy's beach party. And I have to tell you, It was one of the best character interactions I've ever had at Disney. The miss Daisy, who was there at Kate Mait Cafe, was phenomenal, and she made my mom feel super special too.

Sandy:

Yes. I can't remember how many times I've been to Disney because Michele worked there. We traveled to Disney on vacations, and by we, it was my husband and either my parents or his parents, And we were there with Michele, family vacations, and we've done a lot of character breakfasts. Character breakfasts are wonderful to do when you have more than 1 generation. I mean, no little grandchildren were with us, And that would be a bonus for you to watch, but I just got so thrilled watching Michele have so much

Michele:

fun. And

Sandy:

she draws in everybody around her because of her personality, and we all had such a good time.

Michele:

I wore my happy birthday button, my I'm celebrating button, which I remind all of my clients if it's your 1st visit, If it's an anniversary, if it's a honeymoon, if it's a wedding, if it's a birthday, if it's your 1st visit, if it's anything, get that I'm celebrating button at your resort when you check-in or at guest services or at guest relations in the park. You can get it at Disney Springs at the guest relations booth. Get that I'm celebrating button. I'm not kidding. Everywhere I go, People say happy birthday, and I made the most of it and wore it the entire trip. And so I did get some special pixie dust from the characters.

Sandy:

It was fun. We went to 1 character breakfast that was a buffet and another character breakfast that was ordering off the menu, and both of them were so much fun. The first, I think there were better interactions with Mickey and Minnie and especially miss Daisy and also Donald Duck. And the order off the menu, the food was phenomenal, and you also had the best character costumes. They were so cute. You know, even a 78 year old can appreciate the magic of Disney. It's like being there, and you're sprinkled with magic dust. I always think of Tinkerbell Sprinkling Me as I walk into the parks.

Michele:

The 2nd breakfast she's referring to is at the Disney's Riviera Resort, Topolinas Terrace, And it has Mickey, Minnie, Donald, and Daisy are the characters that go there, and they are all 4 different types of artisans that you could have met along the Riviera during the Renaissance. And I agree. They are the best costumes. One of the people that was with us Traveling. A friend of my sons asked me what my favorite Mickey was, and it's painter Mickey at the Riviera Resort breakfast. He's my favorite, Mickey. But the character interactions were very, very different at Kate May, and also it is a buffet, which makes the food different and the service different. So it's always fun to experience the different types of character interactions.

Michele:

For example, like, I had great time with Donald at both of these breakfast, but my favorite Donald is actually over at Tusker House, which is in the parks. And so whenever I'm trying to make dining reservations for my clients, I send out a dining questionnaire that a fellow travel adviser was kind enough to share with me, Dana. I'm talking about you, and I know you're listening. She shared that She had put together and created a dining questionnaire for her clients. And so now I send that to all of my clients and get very specific information on what type of character interactions you're looking for. And then because I am fortunate enough to have done them all. I know all the best character dining spots and where to go for them, so that's also very exciting for me.

Sandy:

The character breakfasts, walking around the grounds, and Hoop Dee Doo review, which is another great family event.

Michele:

Oh, yeah. I forgot. We got to celebrate my birthday at the Hoop Dee Doo.

Sandy:

That's family style, but When you go to a character breakfast or something like Hoop Dee Doo Review, your whole family is together. Every member, regardless of age, will enjoy it. And it's also a respite. I mean, you could spend a day if you needed to to rest by just Going to a breakfast in the morning, doing a gondola ride with a beautiful view from one Place to another where you can take in the different resorts and parks.

Michele:

We did that yesterday. We took the Skyliner, which is a gondola.

Sandy:

And then you could walk very slowly around the grounds without fear of bumping into anyone or anything, And it's beautiful. Another good thing

Michele:

that to do that we're actually gonna do later today after we finish taping this podcast is go to Disney Springs and get that Gideon's cookie. My favorite Disney hack is to put your name on the list as soon as you get there and then do your shopping. And they will call you back, and you can go in, and you can get your 6 cookies, and you should always buy the maximum number of cookies per person that you can because I promise you will want to bring some of those Gideons home with you and freeze them and have them and savor them for as long as humanly possible. But we also are gonna go to the Magic PhotoPass studio over at Disney Springs, which is something else I tell all my guests to do is get the magic pass, another multi generational, really fun photos that we got to have. And then at the photo pass studio, I'm sure because it's Halloween, there'll be some wonderful green screen special Halloween photo ops. Anything else you can think of?

Sandy:

I already said know your limitations. Dress for the weather. Wear the right shoes.

Michele:

Yeah. Wearing the right shoes So critical. How many times I've learned that the hard way?

Sandy:

You know, I wouldn't wear new shoes to the park. I would wear shoes where you broke them in and you were sure you were comfortable, Whether or not those are tennis shoes or a type of sandal, just make sure that they are the right shoes because you're gonna be walking a lot. Sunscreen, sun hats Stay hydrated. All the safety tips that you would know, but also a travel adviser will tell you. You know, I'm very proud of Michele, and I listen to the podcast. And I love them even though some aren't aimed at my age.

Michele:

That's true. She had to ask me what X-ray f meant.

Sandy:

But I will say that I don't get to see her in action that much, And I got to see her in action, and it puts an exclamation point or 3 exclamation points After. I don't understand how someone can travel to Disney, not only in a multigenerational trip, but any trip without a travel adviser. It is so complicated, and I said this every day after the trip to her. How does anybody do this without having a travel adviser. And, again, it's a must. You've got to have someone that knows what they're doing when you're going to these parks. To make the most of a trip? I mean, if you're gonna spend the kind of money to go to Disney, whatever the difference is in terms of a travel adviser, it makes Absolutely no sense to spend money without the help. That little extra will give you so much more in terms of a bonus.

Sandy:

But I loved every minute of it. I wouldn't do anything different because I got to spend so much time with Michele and my Grandkid, his friend, and, of course, my son-in-law, which I don't call my son-in-law. I call him Jesse.

Michele:

We call him mister Michele visits Mickey.

Sandy:

So it was great, and this was great fun. I was a little nervous, but it was just fun. Something I love about this podcast, it's Conversational. Whenever Michele has a guest and interactive, and it sounds like fun, and it is fun to do as a guest. So I'm glad I was here with all of you,

Michele:

and we will see you real soon.