5 Ways to Be the Best Disney Dad Without Losing Your Mind.

I see the Disney dads with the spreadsheets.

The checklists. The color-coded schedules. The plans that begin before the park opens and somehow already include where everybody will be standing at 2:17 in the afternoon. Honestly, I give them credit. It is impressive. I also usually think, “Man, that is going to be a hectic day.”

My wife, Megan, is the queen of checking wait times. She knows what is long, what is dropping, what we should ride next, and when we need to start moving. That is not really me. I am more of the dad who wants to be there in the moment.

Now, I do not wear the matching family shirts, but when I see an entire family walking through Disney with perfectly coordinated shirts, I respect it. That took planning, and somewhere out there, a custom Disney shirt maker is doing very well.

I have lived in the Orlando area for most of my life, so Disney has never just been a once-in-a-lifetime destination for me. It has been part of growing up, part of dating, part of marriage, and now part of raising my daughters. But whether you live nearby or have traveled from across the country, whether you have the shirts, the spreadsheet, the perfect schedule, or absolutely no plan at all, I think the biggest thing you can do at Disney is stay present.

Here are five ways to be the best Disney dad without making the day feel like a military operation.

1. Raise the White Flag: You Are Not Doing Everything

When you travel to Disney from another state, I understand the pressure. You spent a lot of money. You traveled a long way. You want to ride everything, see everything, eat everything, and somehow squeeze every possible memory out of the trip.

I have traveled to theme parks outside Florida, and I have felt it too. You start thinking:

“We have to get over there.”

“We still have not ridden that.”

“We cannot waste an hour doing this.”

But at some point, you have to raise the surrender flag.

Unless you are extremely organized, moving nonstop, and maybe just a little intense, you are probably not going to do everything. You probably will not ride every attraction, see every show, or make it to everything on your original must-do list.

Even with multiple days, it can be tough. And that is okay. Years later, your kids may not remember which attractions you missed. They will remember whether you enjoyed the day with them.

2. Sometimes the Playground Wins

Your kids may want to spend an hour running around a play area while you are thinking about the attraction you still have not ridden. Maybe you have not made it onto Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure yet. Maybe Guardians of the Galaxy is still waiting.

Maybe your carefully planned schedule is slowly falling apart. Run around with them anyway.

I still miss the old Honey, I Shrunk the Kids Movie Set Adventure at Hollywood Studios. It was hot. It had giant climbing areas, nets, slides, and plenty of places for kids to explore. Was it blazing outside? Absolutely. That is what a good hat is for.

Those unplanned moments can become the moments your kids remember most.

Sometimes being the best Disney dad means letting go of the plan and following your kids into whatever has their attention.

3. Take the Picture, Even If Nobody Is Instagram-Ready

I do not care whether you are a photographer. I do not care whether you post on Instagram.

Pull out your phone and take pictures, especially while your kids are little.

Take the photo while they are holding the snack. Take the photo when they are staring at the castle.

Take the photo when they are exhausted in the stroller.

Take the photo when they are running through the park and have no idea you are watching them.

My oldest daughter, Lennon, is 15 now. My youngest, Magnolia, is still little, so I get to experience both sides of it at the same time. With Magnolia, I can still see that wide-eyed excitement over the smallest things. With Lennon, I can look back at pictures of her when she was Magnolia’s age and wonder where the time went.

That is the strange thing about being a dad. When your child is seven, you already think they are getting big. Then suddenly they are 15, and a picture shows up in your phone memories and you think:

“Man, she was just a baby.”

Those pictures are going to stop you one day. You will not care whether the lighting was perfect.

You will not care whether everybody looked at the camera.

You will just be glad you took them.

4. Your Kids Do Not Need the Financial Play-by-Play

There are a few things I try not to do around my kids at Disney.

Complain about the price. Complain about the trip. Complain about how much my feet hurt.

Complain in general.

Now, I understand it.

I have gone to the parks and put plenty of things on a credit card. I have bought things I probably should not have bought.

I have looked at prices and quietly wondered how one dessert became a major financial decision.

But kids do not understand all of that.

Your five-year-old does not know that you only have $100 left available on your Chase card.

They just know they are at Disney with you.

You can complain to your accountant later. You and your wife can discuss the bill later.

In the moment, get creative. Instead of saying,

“We cannot afford that,” try “Why don’t we go explore over here?”

Or:

“Let’s get the $5 cookie instead of the $16 ice cream sundae.”

You do not have to spend money every five minutes to create a great memory.

Sometimes you just have to redirect the adventure.

5. Stop Long Enough to Realize This Is the Good Stuff

When it is all said and done, you will remember the moments.

You will remember the laughing. The pictures. The rides.

The random things your kids wanted to do that were never part of the plan.

And every once in a while, stop and remember how lucky you are.

Your kids still want to hang out with you.

They want to ride next to you. They want to tell you what they want to see. They want you there.

As Lennon gets older, I understand that more than ever. The years when your kids want to spend the entire day walking around a theme park with you do not last forever. And with Magnolia still being young, I get another chance to slow down and appreciate those little moments while they are happening.

I am also lucky enough to experience many of those moments with Megan. She may be checking wait times while I am trying to convince everyone to slow down, but that is part of what makes us work. She keeps us moving.

I remind us to look around. Being the best Disney dad is not about creating the perfect schedule.

It is not about riding every attraction.

It is not about getting the most value out of every minute.

It is about being there.

Really being there.

Your kids may not remember everything you did.

But they will remember how it felt to do it with you.