Decide this now and stick to your guns. You have two options to spend your time at Disney. You can ride the attractions or wait in line to see the characters. On our first trip, we spent half of each day waiting to see all of the characters that were available. The second trip we planned differently and only permitted select favorites. On the third trip, we only saw the characters with no lines – if at all!

Seeing a character is magical and important to the trip. Like the rides, have your children list their favorite characters. Make plans to see that character. Or design your trip to see many characters and ride only a few attractions. Either way, decide early.

As you enter the park, look for the card that describes the events for the day. Each card will detail the parade times, character meet and greet times, etc. Take note of the time your character will be available and get there early! Your guest pass may not guarantee help when meeting the characters. If you want to avoid the character, then plan your route through the park accordingly. The character wish list will be critical here!

If you do want to see the characters, then read about the photo pass options in advance. This service is expensive but worthwhile. They take excellent photos. Consider an autograph as well. They are reasonably priced souvenirs and become great keepsakes. We used the autograph process as a means to practice social niceties with our son. We practiced hello, thank you, and eye contact. He became pretty good by the end of the trip!

Final tip – each time we went to Disney, I packed a backpack with the lists, maps, and guides. I also packed gallon zip bags. The guest pass and all papers were sealed in the bags to preserve them. The guest pass went into a sandwich zip bag I kept in my pocket for easy access.

The MOST IMPORTANT piece of advice that I can offer is flexibility. Keep yourself flexible and remember this experience is once in a lifetime and magical! Enjoy!