Travel Guides Family Friendly Disney
Bernadette Roe
There’s nothing like taking the family to Disney World. Even for an adult trip to Disney World, the place holds a special spot in people’s hearts, and for good reason. You can go all year round and celebrate all kinds of holidays there. Of course the summer is packed with things to do, but there’s plenty of autumnal fun, with loads of spooky Halloween events that you won’t want to miss as well as Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party At Magic Kingdom. There’s also a ton to do at Disney World over the Christmas holidays, so it’s not just a place for snowless months.
Disney hotel rooms are a whole experience worth exploring. There are club-level rooms, but it’s a good idea to pause and check if they’re worth the extra cost for you. If you don’t want to go all out, don’t fret — there are some more economical options. In fact, Disney’s cheapest accommodations are a lot nicer than you’d expect, so there’s room for all budgets. Once you’ve found a place to stay, be sure to get to know the many tips and hacks for making the most of your Disney hotel room. It’ll make your stay a heck of a lot easier, and it won’t cost you anything extra!
Making the most out of an ironing board
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In the spirit of making the most out of your trip to Disney World, it’s worthwhile to get creative with the everyday objects you’ll find in your hotel room. This is where the ironing board comes in. As anyone who’s traveled with kids before knows, surface space gets quickly gobbled up by everyone’s gear. If you need some quick surface space, simply spread a towel over the ironing board and use it as a snack counter for kids. Since they tend to be adjustable, you can seat your kids at the edge of the bed and lower the ironing board so they can eat snacks while they watch TV.
Ironing boards can also be a great planning tool. You can lay out everyone’s outfits on it the night before so that everyone can grab their clothes the next morning with ease.
The many ingenious uses for shampoo
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Those little bottles of shampoo that are in every hotel bathroom can actually serve several different purposes. Not only do they wash your hair, but you can also use shampoo to gently hand wash bathing suits after a day of swimming in the ocean or in a chlorinated pool. The same goes for hand-washing delicates — if you need to quickly wash something and don’t have laundry detergent, you can always use shampoo. If you plan on wearing makeup at Disney World, you can also use it to clean makeup brushes while traveling. The same goes for hair brushes — shampoo works wonders on cleaning these.
Shampoo also acts as a defogger, making it a great tool for cleaning kids’ swimming goggles. Simply rub a little shampoo on the inside lenses and buff it out with a cloth (nothing too rough — you don’t want to scratch the lenses). Kids will be able to swim without their goggles fogging up in the water. If you use up the small bottles of shampoo in your room, simply call the front desk to get more.
Using hair conditioner for other needs
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It’s not just shampoo that serves many different purposes. Hotel hair conditioners can work double duty on several different tasks on your trip to Disney World. Of course, conditioner is primarily used for hair, but it also acts as an excellent shaving cream — if you happened to forget yours or didn’t have space in your suitcase.
Conditioner is also useful as a makeup remover. Simply rub some on your face and remove makeup using a cotton ball or cotton swab. Then follow with a face wash to remove any additional residue. This also works if your kids get their faces painted — simply use conditioner to clean the paint off.
Since conditioner is so moisturizing, it can also soothe dry, cracked heels. After long days of walking around Disney World, your feet might need some TLC. At night, rub your heels in conditioner, pull on a pair of clean socks, and let your feet soak up the moisture overnight.
Don’t forget to repurpose your ice bucket
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Hotel ice buckets can hold a lot more than ice. For most of us, it’s helpful to have a catch-all container when we walk in the door, and the same need applies when traveling. Put the ice bucket near the door of your hotel room so that when you walk in, you can toss in your essentials. Throw car keys, hotel room keys, and even wallets into the ice bucket so that you know exactly where those vital items are when it’s time to leave the room again. That way, you don’t run the risk of misplacing them among the open suitcases or crowded tabletops in your room. If your kids need a catch-all for their smaller toys, an ice bucket works well for this too.
It might be wise to avoid using the ice bucket as any kind of container for food, however. They’re famously one of the more dirty items in a standard hotel room because they typically just get wiped down between guests rather than sanitized. So even before using it as a kids’ toy pail, consider wiping it down with a disinfecting wipe so that it feels squeaky clean for your family — however you choose to use it.
Ice bucket liners can serve many purposes
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The plastic liners that come with ice buckets also serve many useful purposes. You can tie up a dirty diaper before throwing it away. You can wrap up damp bathing suits or any other pieces of clothing that didn’t get fully dry before packing them into your suitcase for your return. Also, if you have any bottles of liquids that you need to transport back — like face wash — you can pack them in the ice bucket liners to prevent a mess should there be any leakage. If you need more, you can always call the front desk for extras.
If you’re road-tripping back home, consider taking one or two to act as a garbage bag in the car. That way you can grab the whole bag of contents and throw everything away at once instead of picking up things in the car when you get back.
Hair dryers can do a lot of things
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Hotel hair dryers also serve many purposes beyond the obvious one of drying your hair. Use them to quickly dry small items like socks or bathing suits or to dry steam off of a fogged bathroom mirror.
If restless kids are having a hard time sleeping in a new environment, warm their pajamas with a hair dryer so that they have something cozy to climb into before bed. The heat can act as a comfort and help them sleep better. You can also take advantage of the heat to remove price stickers from any purchases you’ve made on your trip — it helps to loosen the adhesive so that you can pull off the sticker more easily.
In another unexpectedly savvy hack, blow dryers can be used to reheat leftover pizza. Simply heat the bottom of the pizza with the hair dryer — place the pizza on a paper plate if you want, or just hold the dryer a few inches away — and you’ve got warm pizza without the soggy effect of microwaving it.
