Reddit mentions: The best family activity books

You absolutely must get the Unofficial Guide.

It has answers for a great many of your questions, as well as detailed information about everything. They've been doing this for over 20 years and have reviewed and rated everything you can possibly do at WDW. From the parks to the restaurants to the hotels, it's all in there.

Having said that, I'll try to nutshell a few of your questions.

>What rides/attractions can we not miss?

This is a very complicated question. Do you guys like or hate thrill rides? What about simple "carnival" style rides like Dumbo?

>When should we leave for parks in the morning?

The Unofficial Guide has travel times for the buses for every Disney resort. I do recommend trying to get to the park for "rope drop" because you will get a jump on the rides before all of the leisurely folks who sleep in, eat breakfast, and wander over to the parks at 10-11am.

>How many Fastpasses do we get?

3 per day, and all must be in a single park. Here is a good FAQ over at Disboards.

>I was thinking of doing a package with ticket and resort combined, is that the best way to do it?

Yes. I recommend Small World Vacations. They are extremely helpful and will notify you if a discount becomes available.

>Are dining plans worth it?

Dining plans can be worth it if you're very organized about when and where you eat. However, if you want any flexibility at all without the pressure of counting points and such, I wouldn't get a dining plan. Personally, my family likes to eat a simple breakfast in the room (Power Bar or such) to save time and money.

>Is 7-8 months ahead a good time to book?

Book as early as you think you can. Things do book up pretty far in advance.

You won't be booking restaurant reservations until 180 days before your trip. Fastpass+ reservations open up at 60 days. Both of those you can do online. It's important to book ASAP, though. I had a friend wait two weeks after his window before trying to book restaurant reservations and they couldn't get into Cinderella's Royal Table at the castle.

>Is Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween party worth the extra ticket price?

MNSSHP is all about the characters, parade and fireworks show. If you're into that sort of thing, you will most likely enjoy it. It's all top notch stuff, and it's one of the best ways to see many of the villain characters.

I can't offer advice on the credit card, so I won't confuse you by trying to guess.

Hope this helps!

Birnbaum's is a fun read and great to get excited about your trip! Just keep in mind it's not impartial - it's published by Disney themselves, and if you look closely there's very little critical commentary about anything. It's great for learning about rides and planning activities, but not so great for choosing between restaurants or figuring out strategies for gaining a leg up on the crowds.

I recommend pairing Birnbaum's with a copy of the Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World by Bob Sehlinger and Len Testa. https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/1628090669 It's huge and has many fewer pictures and drawings... but it also has wonderful spot on advice to help you make the most of your trip. The easywdw.com book is also excellent, and maybe actually a better choice for first time visitors since the volume of content is much less overwhelming.

Birnbaum's holds a special place in many people's hearts since it's been the go-to WDW guide for years. It's evolved away from its roots as an independent travel guide over the years, though, and I do think it's trading a bit on its old reputation.

I got this book free from my insurance company when I told them I was pregnant. It has really come in handy. I understand that feeling of being sort of at a loss on what to do with this eating, pooping, peeing, sleeping creature when they take a moment to not do those things and are looking at you, like, well, what have you got for me?

One thing that our baby liked early on was books. Fuzzy Bee and Friends was a book given to us by some friends that was a big hit from the start. The Sassy Look Book (without putting photos in it) also has been a big hit.

Another thing I did early on was to assemble a bunch of photos of faces of all our family and friends (cropped the pictures in my digital photo library as needed to show the face close-up) and make a slide show for our baby to watch. Babies love faces, and from early on, ours would stare at the photos as they faded from one to the next. We are, for the most part, a no-TV/minimal screens family (when it comes to our kids anyway), but the slide show is something we do let our baby watch.

Do you know any Mother Goose nursery rhymes, like Humpty Dumpty or Mary Had a Little Lamb or any of those? When I'm out of ideas I'll sing/say a nursery rhyme while swaying with or bouncing the baby. That's actually how I got my first real giggle from my boy: I was bouncing him while saying Humpty Dumpty. It was great!

In general, young babies are pretty easily entertained. Just about everything is new, so just hanging out with you is usually enough to keep them engaged.

Congratulations!

Hi there! We are also doing a Disney World honeymoon (I read your edit that it's Disney World in Florida, not Land in California, and realized I might actually be helpful!). It will be our first time to Disney World, as well. I've used mostly http://yourfirstvisit.net/ to plan for us. It's targeted toward a family of four going, but I found enough useful tips (including money-saving tips!) for a couple. There are also books that have tips about doing a honeymoon specifically - my sister gave me a copy of this guide: http://www.amazon.com/Unofficial-Guide-Walt-Disney-World/dp/1628090006

Both things cover the whole process of booking from head to toe, so definitely check out at least Your First Visit, since it's a completely free website :)

As far as packages, we did book a resort package (Magic Your Way package) which includes tickets that get you into each park (except the water park, I believe?), but only into one park per day. (So if you start your day in Epcot, for example, Epcot is the only park you can get into for the rest of the day, but the next day you can go to Magic Kingdom, then Hollywood Studios another day, etc.).

I think $2200 is doable, but it definitely depends on how many days you want to go for and how fancy of a hotel/resort room you want. I think the info on the website I linked will help you determine that (it did for us! We decided to splurge on the Pirate-themed rooms at the Caribbean Beach resort, and to stay for 9 days, but to save money by going at a cheap time of year rather than right after our wedding).

Hope this is helpful to you, and HAVE FUN!

I have teen boys (14 and 16) and shockingly we have not yet seen the lego movie and would love to win a digital copy!

Your son sounds similar to mine in their taste profile, so I asked them what they liked as gifts when they were 12. Here are their thoughts:

• 50 Dangerous Things book. My boys got this as a gift and decided to do all they could to accomplish all 50 of the things.
  
  
• Munchkin. It's a card game that is easy to learn and fun to play as a family and with friends. My boys love it still!
  
  
• Trip to Disneyland
  
  My recommendation (in addition to my kids) is based on his love of the titanic. Have you heard of Ernest Shackleton? He did a journey to the South Pole that was very much an adventure story about leadership and teamwork. There is a graphic novel about it that might be right for him (I haven't read it) and a larger book called Endurance.
  
  Good luck on the gifting!

Dad wisdom to my daughter:

• Self-reliance: If your fingers aren't strong enough, use a tool.
  
• Ethics disappointments: Only you can decide what kind of person you want to be.
  
• School: You may already know most of this stuff, but college/employers need to see the scores.
  
• Love: Families come in all kinds. I don't care if you love a boy or a girl. Just be safe and happy.
  
  Any question she asks indicates she's ready for an honest, informative (age-appropriate) answer.
  
  I try not to be a slob or a couch-potato in my relaxation time. I've always got hobbies and goals to pursue, and open to her involvement if she chooses to watch or help. Hopefully, she will always be able to keep herself occupied when she has time alone.
  
  And buy a copy of Fifty Dangerous Things You Should Let Your Children Do.

I am moving to Mass in a few weeks and eager to go mushroom hunting!

I got this field guide on Amazon (along with a few others) but I liked it the most: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1591935911/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

It's got tons of pictures. My favorite thing is that it starts with listing 'Top Edibles' and 'Top Toxics'. Also, it lists common lookalikes for all the mushrooms and tips for telling them apart.

Only eat the ones you're super confident in identifying, but the field guide is a fun guess + check when you're still learning

DM if you'd want a novice mushroom hunting buddy. I'll be in the south shore area

Buy and read [The Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World. ](The Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World 2018 (The Unofficial Guides) https://www.amazon.com/dp/1628090677/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_49TPAb15EQ3KE) I know in the Internet age guide books seem a bit old-fashioned, but this is the best call-it-as-it-is source of WDW information I know of. I recommend the Kindle version because the authors sometimes release updates to each year’s editions.

Along those same lines, subscribe to touringplans.com so you can air a custom tour I plan using their research to automate the process. I know I sound like a shill but I just completed a day in each park, easily completing the attractions I wanted to see by mid-afternoon by using their plans. I was very impressed in Epcot yesterday that when Test Track went down, it was removed from the plan and then came back when it came back online.

You shouldn't have any issues. There are lots of rides where its 2 people per ride vehicle though, so you might be in different rows within the same vehicle -- such as Expedition Everest, Seven Dwarves Mine Train, Slinky Dog Dash, Splash Mountain, and Big Thunder Mountain, Spaceship Earth. Might be something that you need to prepare your kids for ahead of time, particularly if they are potentially scared of roller coasters. There are some rides where you might be able to squeeze one adult and two kids into depending on your size and how big your kids are, such as Haunted Mansion, Peter Pan, The Seas with Nemo, and the Little Mermaid ride in MK.

For most of the boat rides (Pirates, Navii River Journey, it's a small world, Living with the Land) everyone will be in the same row. Test Track has rows of three. Mission Space and Soarin have strange seating configurations. You will all be together and joined by others.

For first timers, I'd highly recommend reading parts of the Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World. Its a huge book, that looks daunting, but there are lots of super detailed parts you can skip. I've been to Disney many times, but I enjoy the reviews and getting their input to help prep for my trip. Hope you have a wonderful trip!

Edit to correct my sentence fragment.

Children's museum, art museum, natural history museum, hike, bike, blowing bubbles, books, library, pick-your-own-fruit thing, water painting (buy a professional quality paintbrush at a craft store...they are like $2-3 and greatly improve the quality of the kids' paintings).

Love this book: http://www.amazon.com/Fun-Mommy-Me-Together-Time-Activities/dp/0525946209/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1314609493&sr=1-1

Buy it used. I think people think I'm such a cool, creative mom. Nope. I just do activities from this book. Edited to add: It has such awesome, seasonal activities categorized by month and age group.

My baby is 8 months old now and I still reference this book whenever I start feeling desperate for ideas. I came across it when I was pregnant. But so far taking my son's lead is the most important part. Like, if he seems happy with what he's doing, even if it's staring at the cat giving itself a bath, I let him be until he indicates he's ready for something else! Anyway, to me it sounds like you're doing absolutely great.

This book is wonderful and probably just what you are looking for:Montessori Play and Learn. It's geared towards 2-6, but there are many ideas for activities that would work well with an even younger child. The idea is to instill in the child curiosity, love of learning and satisfaction in doing things for themself.

This book is actually a really great resource as it not only covers the where and the what, but it contains some great example touring plans that might help you plan your days there if time is a factor.

I always buy one before each trip as a way to formulate a plan of attack. It can be a great resource!

You'll get better response if you post to /r/MinnesotaCamping

MinnesotaCamping is not the most active subreddit, but likely someone will respond. Better response though if you provide a little more detail - are you looking for campgrounds with showers, something more rustic but still has porta-potties, dispersed camping, hike-in, water activities, hiking opportunities, etc.?

You can also go to the library and check out some books like Best Tent Camping: Minnesota, Camping the North Shore, or Moon Minnesota Camping for ideas.

better to learn both poisonous and edible.

Eastern US

Mushrooms of the Northeastern United States and Eastern Canada The most recently published for the NE

Mushrooms of the Northeast by Walt Sturgeon An excellent pocket guide, Walt does a good job mentioning the lesser known look alikes.

Mushrooms of Northeast North America A great guide for beginners, with many pictorial and dichotomous guides to ID fungi.

Mushrooms of Northeastern North America Has the most species listed for the NE.

If you’re looking for some activities to do together I really enjoyed the Baby Play book by Gymboree. It is a great guide to age appropriate activities for ages 0-12 months. Really helped me with both of my kiddos.

Baby Play book

Here's the tip I give all my friends:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/1628090006?pc_redir=1409111205&robot_redir=1


Buy. This. Book.


Seriously, it's amazing. I'm on mobile right now, but I will gladly post the reasons this book is fantastic, if there's interest. It's essentially the cheats codes for Disney rides and planning.

1. Disney (World)
   
   
2. Disney (Polynesian)
   
   
3. Tiara because when I go to Disney, you bet your ass I am a princess! (I would normally recommend this because it's a FANTASTIC guide. But as a former CM, I don't need it.
   
   
4. /u/Trollznlolz /u/cats_and_vibrators and /u/yokuo And probably my boyfriend too...lol
   
   We will stay for a week. 7 days 6 nights. Room will cost $400 because I know people. Tickets will be free, also because I know people. We'll drive down ($300 in gas). We'll assume $1000 for all of us for food. That leaves like $800 for random other crap!!!!
   
   Did any of you expect a different answer?
   
   WOO DISNEY
   
   

Hiya Guude. You may have already hit this on your research, but the Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World is one of the best resources I've found.

If there's one piece of advice I can give, it's "take a break in the middle of the day". I've seen a lot of families fall into the trap of trying to stay in a park from opening until closing. Get some lunch outside of the park, go back to your hotel, take a nap every day. You don't want to be one of those parents with a crying child in a stroller, shouting at the kid that you've "paid good money for this vacation" and demanding the child calm down and have fun.

Here are the 2 guides I am using to research foraging. The plant guide is pretty good. I give it a 8/10. It just needs a few more pictures because it doesn't show all stages of growth. The mushroom guide is pretty incredible! 9/10. It has a subsection specifically for edible mushrooms and specifies poisonous look alikes side by side. I use these in conjunction with youtube to research foraging. The mushroom guide is very pocket sized. The plant guide is larger and would require a small backpack to comfortably hike with it, but it isn't by any means bulky. It is like 6x8 with 120 pages or so.

Jusy FYI, I am mostly and armchair forager so far. I have foraged for wineberries and raspberries in NJ but that is about it. PM me the area you live in. Might be able to explore with you.

Plant foraging
https://www.amazon.com/Northeast-Foraging-Flavorful-Wineberries-Regional/dp/1604694173/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1491754003&sr=8-1&keywords=northeast+foraging

Mushrooms
https://www.amazon.com/Mushrooms-Northeast-Simple-Common-Mushroom/dp/1591935911/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1491754115&sr=8-2&keywords=mushroom+guide+northeast

For mushrooms. I have their book for the Midwest region and it is a very good guide. They put top edibles in front with the pages lined in green, top toxics lined in red, and then everything else grouped by cap and stem with gills, cap and stem with pores, shelf with gills, etc but also in each subcategory as a color progression from lighter colors like white to darker colors like red, purple, or black.

Have him watch ALL the videos you can find on Youtube or order a promo DVD from Disney (it's on their website and it's free. Usually arrives in about 4-6 weeks).

IDK what to do about the flying, except maybe talk to his doctor and see if he can't prescribe him an anti-anxiety medication to help with the flight. It can't hurt, right?

Get all 3 involved in the planning...get a copy of The Unofficial Planning Guide to WDW with Kids and go through it with them, esp the 12 yr old. Circle or highlight things that he think sound exciting or that he'd like to do.

I'd also discuss with your wife whether or not tag-teaming would work here. I'd buy a set of decently priced (not cheap, but not expensive either) walkie talkies to use instead of cellphones (because we're the type that leave our phones in the room safe when we travel. We don't want ANYthing from the outside world disturbing us) so that your wife and the girls can be off doing a girly thing while you boys do something more grown up/man-centered (ugh, I know that sounds awful. I hope you understand what I mean. Gah.) and then maybe meet back up later to all do some things together that you want to do.

Are you doing just one park or do you have park hopper passes?

PM if you want...WDW is kind of my "thing". Some people are obsessed with sports teams or celebs. I'm a little obsessed (just a wee bit! LOL) with pretty much everything Disney from the parks to the movies and the company and the man himself. :D

Dear Mom - From You to Me, Journal of a Lifetime

This could be really cute so that you can learn more about her!

It's a hardcover journal she can take the time to fill out (it asks her questions about herself and her past) when relaxing at home or bored. She can even keep it with her around the house and doodle in it (if she's a doodler) so that it feels more personal. Then eventually she can gift it back to you so you can read and keep it forever!

(Scroll down and read reviews to see picture examples of inside questions and question examples found inside)

The Unofficial Guide to WDW is a really good resource, and comes with a discount to their site TouringPlans.com which has stuff like crowd calendars, and touring plans (which tell you what order to ride rides in to wait less in line). The WDW Today Podcast is also good to listen to, especially when they have a user's questions episode.

There are a dozen similar resources, but as a default I recommend you pick up the Unofficial Guide.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/1628090006

You will have a much better time with a plan.

I live out of state but have been able to visit DL a fair amount and I'll say one thing: going for just one day is always a bad choice. As in torture. Whenever I have done just one day I am always left wanting more, even though I have done most everything before. There is so much to do and in one day you can only scratch the surface. I always go with the park hopper because it's convenient and I never spend a full day at DCA. Everybody will have different recommendations on what to see at DL, but whatever you choose to do, make sure you have a plan of action beforehand to get the most out of your trip. I highly recommend purchasing the Unofficial Guide for that reason. Lots of really good tips for everything you can think of. We used it on our last trip over Thanksgiving weekend when it was packed and got to do everything we wanted and rarely waited over 30 minutes for any attraction.
(http://www.amazon.com/Unofficial-Guide-Disneyland-2015/dp/1628090243/ref=sr_1_sc_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1425415546&sr=8-1-spell&keywords=disneyland+unofficla)

77 Ways to Have Fun With Your Family for Free (77 Ways to Parent Series)

Went last June and it was very wet. Also a pretty nasty storm rolled in. Totally worth it though as it was an environment I had not hiked in before. I got this book before the trip. Five-Star Trails: West Virginia's Monongahela National Forest: Your Guide to the Area's Most Beautiful Hikes https://www.amazon.com/dp/1634040589/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_1ZmXCb2VCF42H

Our stack of books is about a foot high and growing, and my favorite book so far has been Brain Rules for Baby, a book with a lot of great guidance backed up not just by anecdotes but also sound science. As a counter to our instincts to be over-protective, the other book my wife and I have both really enjoyed is 50 Dangerous Things You Should Let Your Children Do.

You probably can solve some of your problems "with a spear", so to speak. Watch this TED talk and then buy the book the guy is talking about, 50 Dangerous Things (You Should Let Your Children Do).

One of the thing that he lists is: throwing a spear. Spears existed all over the world in separate cultures, and date back to the very beginnings of human existence. He makes that point that there is a very primal structure in our brains that involves the aptitude and ability to throw a spear.

So, going out and playing with a spear, throwing one, and accessing that part of your brain that had 50,000 years of design influence to be useful for spear-throwing could net your a real benefit.

Pandora's Mystery Summer Box of Goodies.

What makes me tick: my 2.5 year old daughter, video games, reddit, the National Stuttering Association.

Best part of my week is when my daughter and I go out to a restaurant and have out daddy/daughter date night.

Book for my daughter and I

There's a book that addresses a lot of what you're talking about. It's "50 Dangerous Things". The author writes about letting your kids do things that we probably did as kids that taught us very valuable skills.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/0451234197/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_AYRAybKE8WJKE

buy this and go to Disney World :P

Highly recommended. My daughter turns seven next month and we've gone through about half the activities in there.

Mushrooms of the north east

Get The Unofficial Guide. It's $12 and changed my life (in regards to WDW).

Grandma

has

a point.

I recently bought Mushrooms of the Northeast: A Simple Guide to Common Mushrooms (Mushroom Guides)
Marrone, Teresa and not happy about it

I think next time i'll buy Boletes of Eastern North America i hope it"s less generic. (it's the shame there is no preview of couple pages)

He's advising other people take risks, risks he has not taken himself nor could he truly understand.

Does he have a book out?

Edit: Yep. His ideas are not new or novel, and the people beating this drum in the media have a book to hawk.