Yesterday I went to Walt Disney World Resort in Florida, as you may have seen on my Instagram. I have visited Disneyland Paris several times – I even spent NYE there three months ago – but I had never been to Disneyworld Orlando before, so I was quite excited! To get the most out of your day at Disneyworld, good preparations are key. I’ve listed 5 tips that kept me on my feet for the entire day:

1. Choose a comfortable outfit

Be sure to always check the weather, as the Disney parks in Orlando typically tend to be hot and involve quite some activity in the sun. So I tried to put an outfit together that looks feminine and chic. Yet it’s airy and comfortable enough to enjoy the rides all day long on a hot sunny day. I went with a pair of H2Osportswear golden slides paired with a leopard printed skirt by River Island and a comfy sleeveless light pink shirt by Zara. I styled it off with a pair of Dolly sunglasses by Smaak Amsterdam, Balance zirkonia Necklace by Super stylish and a Daniel Wellington classic trinity watch.

2. Pack smart, bring only your essentials!

I decided to be very critical on what to carry around and only bring the things I would really need. I ended up packing my iPhone, H&M wallet, Rosebud lipbalm, Sony a5000 photocamera, L’Oreal spf 30 sunscreen, chewing gum and most important; the Bodyshop anti-bacterial gel (coconut perfumed, mmmm) and wet wipes (I’m no germ-a-phobe but hey, this is the land with a million kiddies and parents…). I brought everything in mini versions or wallet sizes, so they didn’t take up too much space in my leather Billy bag, café au lait by Smaak Amsterdam. This cute bag is exactly the right size to fit in all my essentials and due to the two straps it is super comfortable to wear.

3. Download the Disney World app.

The old paper tickets have been replaced with a whole new system of RFID plastic, creditcard type tickets that are scanned at rides. This is part of Disney’s attempt to use technology to make visiting their parks more convenient and enjoyable.

A very useful tool is the My Disney Experience app, available for Apple and Android. It makes navigating in Disney resorts so much easier, that it really takes theme park planning to a whole new level! At home and on the go it offers the ability to check everything you need to know, like the entire resort map, things to do, character greetings, parade showtimes, real time wait times (my favorite feature!) and park hours. But you can also make an itinerary wishlist and coordinate ride times to ensure that you don’t miss anything you want to do. And another cool detail is that they utilize the GPS functionality of your smartphone to pinpoint exactly where you are at the Disney resort. So you never get lost and easily discover places that are nearby when needed, so fool proof!

4. Make Fast-past reservations

We had Park Hopper passes which means you’re free to hop to all the four different Disney theme parks in one day. Which is a quite optimistic in my experience, haha. We chose to visit the Magic Kingdom, Disney’s Hollywood Studios and Epcot to get a taste of each of them.

To maximize your fun and avoid long lines at your favorite attractions, Disney came up with a brilliant system called FastPass+. Which is different from paper-ticket-based FastPass system in Disneyland Paris, it’s way, way more handy and comfortable! By buying a ticket, FastPass+ is included in the price of admission and reservations can be made when you arrive at the park at their FastPass+ kiosks or can be booked in advance using the My Disney Experience planning page or the mobile app.

You are allowed to book three FastPass+ experiences at one theme park, and once you have used all three, you can get an extra FastPass+ ticket at FastPass+ kiosks. After using that one, you can select another, and so on. Each FastPass+ reservation comes with a hour window of time you will be allowed to enter the ride. So there’s no more need for rope-drop runs to Space Mountain necessary! Let’s say the regular standby line for Space Mountain is a 60-minute wait. Then the separate, shorter FastPass+ line will likely get you on the ride in about 10 minutes.

5. Book lunch or dinner (or both) upfront

We visited the theme parks during spring break, which actually isn’t the best time to visit the Disney parks. It’s super crowded and so are the restaurants. To re-load I find it important to sit down, have a good meal and kick back a bit.

As you might expect: there is an overload of fast food options to eat, and the boyfriend couldn’t resist the enormous grilled Turkey leg, OMG. But if you look into it there are definitely some snack carts and restaurants with healthier choices.

You can find all sorts of restaurants at the The Disney parks, offering hundreds of dining options ranging from counter service locations to fine dining experiences with table-service. The “table-service” restaurants can be highly popular and a spot can be quite difficult to find during peak times. So it is recommended to make reservations ahead of time, especially if you’re traveling during crowded seasons. Dining reservations can be made at all of the Disney World Table Service Restaurants.

For dinner I highly recommend Teppan Edo which is located at the the Japanese Pavilion at Epcot’s World Showcase.

Oooh, super handy: I found a great overview of the best periods to visit Disneyworld Orlando. So take advantage of this site, if you’re planning to go!

I’m now off to Austin, Texas. I’m attending South by Southwest (SXSW), the annual music, film and technology festival which I’m super excited about! It’s my second year and this year they’ve even added a fashion track called SXstyle. Tomorrow they have a special panel with fashion icon and girl crush Karlie Kloss, can’t wait!

X Merel