Top Ten Things to NOT Do at Walt Disney World

Below you will find my Top Ten Things to NOT Do at Walt Disney World. I had eleven, but it didn't seem like a very popular number for a list. I took a vote, in my own head, and these are the top ten I came up with.

1. Park your stroller and expect it to be in the same spot you left it. In the "Sea of Strollers", Cast members like to keep things tidy. They will move your stroller to keep things looking nice and linear. I like to tie something to the handle of mine to make it easily identifiable among all the other strollers.
2. Forget what time the 3 o'clock parade is. When most people ask this, what they really mean is "What time does the parade pass by (Frontier Land/ The Hub/ Main Street etc.). 
3. Experience Captain EO. This may have been mind bendingly cool 20 years ago. Now, the MJ fan craze is over and it's time to move on. Seriously. 
4. Leave your tour group flag at home.  If you've never been to WDW, then you may have never experienced the impending doom of seeing a tour group flag approaching. If I see one, I run the other way, find another attraction or take a break. I imagine I'm not the only one. If you want to clear out a queue, don't leave your tour group flag at home. Bring it. Even if you're alone. Because, you never know when finding a person in your party could be made easier with a really tall flag on a stick that is retina burning bright. 
5. Get lost. Separating from your group in a place, such as Down Town Disney's Marketplace, with no plan as to where to meet or communication capabilities is NEVER a good idea. It is, however, a great teaching tool for your kids when their grandmother decides to go to the restroom and doesn't plan where to meet her family. She never shows up to where her family said they were going to be and has no cell phone. Which leaves her family to wonder where in the world she is and what they should do. Eventually all is well when she is found, however your children learn a valuable lesson at the expense of someone much older than them. True story. 
6. Resist making dining reservations and "wing it".  Make those reservations. A walk-up to Cinderella's Royal Table is virtually unheard of and Chef Mickey's can be just as rare in the busy times. If you wish to dine with characters, give in to temptation and make that reservation. 
7. Passive aggressive flash photos on dark rides. Flash photography on dark rides is not only annoying but also quite dangerous. It can alter the homing signal and that's not good. However, when flash after flash over your head and in your eyes has made your temper flare. After repeated requests to please stop, it's never a good idea to use your snazzy smartphone with LED flash to take a picture of the photo-offenders. The photo won't turn out very good. 
8. Miss the Stroller Derby. You won't find this on any of the park's Times Guide. It's something that only the most seasoned park goer will avoid. Every night, after the night time fireworks show (or afternoon parade in Disney's Animal Kingdom), throngs of strollers descend on the parks' exit. I like to wait to exit. Missing the view of the Derby and participating in it isn't something I relish. I would much rather watch than compete. I like my ankles too much. 
9. Have a bigger meltdown than your three year old. Kids get tired. In three days, my family and I walked over thirty miles on our vacation. The kids were troopers, they were full of energy and kept on going. The parents, well, we were ready for our nap and had some tantrums that only subsided after a trip to the candy store and some ice cream. We learned that mid-day breaks were a great way for parents to recharge and kids to burn off some energy. So many meltdowns could have been avoided with resting mid-day. 
10. Leave your sense of humor at home. Things happen. It's a family vacation and that doesn't mean that the pixie dust will make everyone happy all the time. The perspective with which you view your circumstances can either put a damper on your vacation or turn a less-than-stellar experience into something you can laugh about...someday. Maybe not today, but someday. Unless you don't find the Mother-in-Law. That might not be too funny. Then again.... maybe it could. 

At one time or another, I've done all ten of these. Most are memories that I can laugh about now. During some, however, I thought they would ruin my vacation. Then I read something on the internet. "A bad day at Disney is better than a good day in the real world". At that moment in time I disagreed. I wanted to pout, stomp my feet and whine. (Refer to #9). Then I changed my perspective (see #10) and made some of the best memories with my family. That's what a family vacation is about. Whether you're at Disney or not, making memories and spending quality time with each other can make any vacation the best of a lifetime.