One thing you have to do before you ever step into a Disney Park is this: have a plan.

Actually, it starts long before you arrive in Orlando. It begins with your reservation.

You can start booking your table-service meals 180 days in advance. And when you once had to be on the phone, booking with a Disney representative, you can now simply do online.

Before you book a meal, have an idea which park you want to be in that day. You don’t want to be in Epcot and have to eat up precious time transferring from one park to the other… especially when a table-service meal will take you from attractions for a good 90-minutes anyway.

Some bookings are harder to get than others, so start with those. Breakfast or dinner at Cinderella’s Castle. ‘Ohana’s. That Canadian steakhouse (can’t remember how to spell it).

And because it’s 180 days out, there’s time to adjust if your first dining choice doesn’t work out. Have a backup time or date.

Book breakfast before the parks open. You get to stroll through an empty park to get to the restaurant and you’re in position to get to things before others once you are done.

And as the day draws near to begin your vacation, you can always change your reservations online. That may change when Disney requires a credit card to hold your spot (to reduce the number of no-shows). But it’s still something to check out if you want an earlier, later or different dining experience. (Meals like ‘Ohana’s are at resorts and while they take time to get there, they are worth it.)

You also have to have a game plan for your day at the park. There’s so much to do and many, many distractions. The rides, the shows, the fast passes… you must plan ahead. But you must improvise some. Those are the memories you’ll always remember.

It was a wet day at Animal Kingdom. Part of planning ahead was knowing what to pack: ponchos. You can purchase them at the park, but consider that you’re getting a piece of plastic with ears on it for $8.50 each. That can get expensive, especially when you already have one at home or Wal-Mart sells then for less.

While we had a plan for this day, you have to be ready to improvise because something can always happen.

That’s true of life and that’s true of faith. God gives direction for your life, but He fine-tunes each day to keep you focused and attentive to Him. He knows our steps before we take them. We must be willing to adjust to Him. Otherwise life becomes about us and like at Hollywood Studios, Jesus is hidden.

Ok, back to Animal Kingdom. Layten had another first by riding Expedition Everest. It was her first big-time roller coaster. She smiled during the ride but refused to do it again. Gracen, however, rode it with me three other times.

Tusker House provided a great breakfast and character experience. We visited with Donald, Mickey, Minnie and Goofy.

And while it rained, we stayed dry at The Lion King show. It’s incredible. We’ve been each time we go to Animal Kingdom.

The day ended with a trip to Magic Kingdom (thanks to the park-hopper pass). A quick bus and monorail rides and we stepped back into magic.

Magic Kingdom was magically empty. I guess Milli Vanilli was right. Blame it on the rain.

But it did give me a chance to hang out with Layten. Splash Mountain, Small World, Tea Cups, Pooh, Buzz. Great memories.

While I got over an hour of alone time with Layten in a practically empty park, Jennifer got the same with Gracen.

And the night ended with Gracen (and me) and Space Mountain. Twice.

Actually, the night ended with two more rides: the washer and dryer. It was laundry night. It’s miserable to share a laundry room with people who don’t manage their time. But with a movie loaded on the iPad, I was done in about an hour.

Oh, here’s the money Disney gave us in food and snacks: $150. That brings the grand total up to $730. And we got a free popcorn and corn dog (not birthday free, just circumstantial free).

Here’s a few pictures from Animal (and Magic) Kingdom.