Tip Tuesday: Divide and Conquer

This week's Tip Tuesday comes courtesy of Mickey (no, not the mouse, my wife Mickey) and is for families visiting Walt Disney World: Don't be afraid to split up. One of the challenges Walt Disney World can present to families, especially larger families with several children spanning a wide range of ages, is that not everyone wants to do the same things.

My first grade daughter won't set foot inside Space Mountain (aside from the TTA), while my 3rd and 5th grade boys will melt the pavement trying to get there as fast as possible. In a similar manner, my two boys may die of embarrassment if they get caught inside the Voyage of the Little Mermaid.

This difference of interests is a common problem for big families (and groups for that matter).

The easy solution is to split up. In our case, myself and the boys will go off for a few hours to do "boy stuff" while my daughter and wife will go do "girlie things." We set a time and place to meet back and then go our separate ways within that park (we have even split among two parks before -- if you can handle it - go for it).

One extra tip from Mickey: Have two photopass cards. You never know when you might run into a great photo opportunity. By the time we finished our Dec. 2008 trip, we had four photopass cards. They all go to the same place later so there's no problem with multiple cards.

So the next time you have a larger family or group and are planning a visit to Walt Disney World, don't be afraid to divide and conquer. You'll be surprised how much more you will get to do!