HERE I AM on Main Street in the Magic Kingdom—again. Neither I nor my wife long for this place. During our first family trip to Disney World in 2018, she had to swallow vats of Dramamine to stomach the rides. And I resented getting taken on the proverbial ones—being forced to pay $5 for a stale churro offends me. But when my in-laws decided to go this fall, we felt obliged to take our daughter with the rest of her cousins.

Rob Daniel, 47, is well aware that parents need help braving Disney trips. For Ear Scouts, the YouTube channel he co-owns, the Celebration, Fla.-based web developer documents his weekly visits to the theme parks, reviews new attractions and compiles guides on how to get the most out of a visit. Armed with his advice and my own hard-won knowledge, I packed quite differently for my second trip to the House of Mouse.