By Devo CabDisney

I often hear things from people who are Walt Disney World Vacation “first timers” or “once in a life timers”. Too many times I hear things from them that make me cringe! Some decisions can and will ruin your Disney vacation! Other times, these decisions or choices are made by people who go to Disney all the time. Either way, I’m here to call out the Seven Deadly Sins of Walt Disney World Vacations! All seven sins can be easily avoided by some easy planning! 

Wrath:

It’s 11 am and the 5-year-old is already bawling her eyes out and dad is already red in the face from yelling at her to cheer up since he just spent thousands of dollars for her to go to Disney. Welcome to Walt Disney World in central Florida! In case you didn’t know, the temperatures and humidity in Florida are high! If you’re doing Disney the right way, you woke up early, and chances are you just spent a fortune to have the most magical vacation ever! All this together can set your emotions on overdrive and make the most patient person lose their mind!

How do you avoid a Hades like wrath? Plan a nap! If naps aren’t your thing, at least plan some away time where you go back to your resort or work in a relaxing Table Service meal. Pool time, spa time, or a quiet walk around your resort are great ways to get away from the madness and relax for a minute. Deluxe resorts such as Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa offers some great areas to just sit and relax. But nothing beats a short nap to help reset and refuel for the rest of the day. You’d be surprised how helpful that can be! You may even want to take it a step further and work in a non-park day to relax or visit other areas of Walt Disney World property that isn’t found in parks. 

Greed:

Spending too much money can cause unnecessary stress. But don’t underestimate what spending too little can cause as well. Let’s deal with the latter first. Most people try to think of ways to save money at Disney. But if this is going to be your “once in a lifetime” trip, I’d suggest saving for as long as it takes to splurge as much as you’d like. If you’re going to have to wait another year to save a little more, do it! Because you’re going to regret not being able to do the things you want or buy the things you want, especially if you’ll never be back! Trust me on this one! You probably think you’ll be just fine but once you’re there, there’s nothing to do about it if you haven’t saved enough. You will regret it and it will cause unnecessary stress! Just don’t spend so much that you’ve got no money left because when you return home, you also return to the world of reality and bills. That’s why saving now (and planning ahead) is important! 

On the other hand, spending too much can also cause stress. Meet your best friend, Mr. Budget! Mr. Budget will help you get what you want without making Mr. Bill Collector call you every other day! But Mr. Budget will require some planning. 

Planning ahead and being realistic can make a world of difference! Know your needs and desires and be realistic about it! Do you really need to stay at a deluxe resort? Maybe you do, maybe you don’t. Is a value resort enough for your family’s needs? Maybe it is, maybe it’s not. Do you need the Disney Dining Plan? Maybe you do, maybe you don’t. Do you need sunscreen? Maybe you do, maybe you…no, you do! Trust me, you do! So buy it at your local store now and pack it in your backpack instead of paying double or triple for it in the parks. Just know what you need and plan it out. Set a budget for meals and souvenirs and don’t go over that budget! Find some budget tips for the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique here, Dining Plan Budget tips here, or tips for budgeting using Disney Gift Cards here! 

Sloth:

Don’t sleep in on park days! If you’ve worked in a non-park day into your vacation, that’s when you can sleep in but not on park days! The best times for shorter attraction lines without a FastPass is at park opening and park closing. If you sleep in, you will miss park opening! You can work in several attractions without FastPasses before noon! My FastPass strategy usually involves no FastPasses until late morning or early afternoon because that’s when lines are typically going to start filling up!  But regardless of how you like to approach FastPasses, you will miss out on a lot of opportunities if you sleep in! And let’s be honest, you spent a lot of money on those park tickets, so why in the world are you missing hours of expensive park time? 

Pride:

There are many ways that pride can effect your vacation and it will just make you look bad to others or cause you unnecessary problems. Don’t be so prideful that you aren’t willing to change the plans you made. People get tired when they when they least expect it. Sometimes a park is busier than you expected. Perhaps the weather isn’t exactly ideal and it’s keep you from really enjoying your time at the parks. Maybe you had a FastPass for Expedition Everest but one opened up for Flights of Passage. Don’t be a fool! Change those plans! Yes, Expedition Everest is very popular but FastPasses for Flights of Passage are much harder to obtain! Click here to find several articles with tips for planning your FastPasses! 

Perhaps pride will show up in the form of boasting how much you spent on your Disney vacation. This leads to people wanting to do things or stand in places that isn’t allowed. If you’ve every just paid attention to what’s going on around you about ten minutes before fireworks, I’m sure you know exactly what I’m talking about. “I spent $5000 to be here and I’ll stand where I please”. Honey, we all spent lots of money to be here, you aren’t the only one. We all have to play by the rules so that we can all have fun and be safe! No body cares that you think you’re special because you spent more money than anyone else. Disney isn’t cheap for anyone so don’t be prideful! It’s Disney! Just have fun and be glad you’re there! 

Lust:

So this can be taken a couple of different ways. One way to avoid the sin of lust is not dressing in such a way as to attract the attention of other people. Sure, you may be really attractive but that doesn’t mean you have to flaunt it just cause you’ve got it! Disney is a family destination and there are going to be kids around so be appropriate! 

Speaking of appropriate, make sure you’re appropriate with the characters! Many of the characters such as princesses or princes can be very attractive so don’t let your actions or words go to places it shouldn’t! This ain’t that kind of fantasyland! 

Envy:

Learn how the FastPass system works and use it to your full advantage! Envy will creep in when you’re standing in the regular queue line as jealousy takes over while you watch others in the FastPass line pass you up! 

And as I said before, make sure you’ve saved up for everything you could possibly want to do because the last thing you want to do is let envy get the best of you as you watch other do things that you really wish you would have saved and planned for! 

Gluttony:

This one will get you into a lot of trouble and make you down right sick! You might use the excuse that you’re doing a lot of walking so you can eat what ever you want. Not true! It’s hot, it’s humid, and there’s tons of food choices! You’re going to want to try this and try that in addition to your existing favorites. You’re going to need to pace yourself! Plan out your meals, including snacks, and make sure you stick to that. When you’re eating, stop eating when you get full! There’s not need to stuff yourself full of food because all you’ll do is make yourself sick! Plus, you’ll have to wait awhile before you can get back on your favorite rides because no one wants you to share your meal with them on Space Mountain. There are so many tips out there for planning your meals! Click here to find some of our best! 

So there you go! All seven deadly sins explained, and all of them can be avoided with a little forethought and planning! Avoiding these sins will make your Disney vacation much more enjoyable for you, your family, and those around you! 

If you’re looking for some help with your next Disney vacation, contact Patricia from All for Dream Travel, the OFFICIAL travel agent of Tips from the Disney Divas & Devos! Get your FREE QUOTE HERE!

*Disclaimer – We at Tips from the Disney Divas and Devos hope you enjoy reading our articles, and encourage you to share any you feel may be of interest to someone else. We do ask, however, if you choose to share the photographs attached to our articles, you give credit to the photographer. Thank you for your cooperation and sharing our love of Disney!

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