We had the BEST time at Disney last week! So much fun that a 3-day vacation easily turned into a 5-day vacation. My hubby caught Disney fever and decided we should stay an extra couple of days. LOL I have to say that I was a bit nervous before our trip because although I've been to Disney many, many, times I've never been there as a mother to a 2 and 1 year old! As teens, my hubby and I used to make remarks about what a hassle Disney must be as a family with small children- between stroller parking, frequent bathroom trips, stopping to snack, and cranky kids that need to nap. We thought we were so cool because we didn't have to deal with any of that at the time. But now, there's no better feeling in the world than to experience Disney through the eyes of your children.
I'm the type of mommy that likes to be organized and have a plan in order to keep everything running smoothly. But on the flip side of that, I know that although plans are a great idea in theory, kids can easily throw them off! Here are some tips that helped us get the most out of our amazing trip.
- Get to the parks early! The later it gets, the more packed it gets and the longer the lines get. Not ideal for toddlers and babies!
- If you're going with little ones, head to Fantasy land first. This area has the most attractions that you're kids will love. It's also the area that gets the most packed, especially with the new Fantasy land that just opened.
- Use a FASTPASS! You can only get 1 FASTPASS every 2 hours, so be choosy and decide which ones will get the most packed. I will tell you that the new Little Mermaid ride, Peter Pan, and Winnie the Pooh get extremely busy. We got our FASTPASS, stood in line for a different ride, snacked a bit, and by the time we finished we were able to use our FASTPASS for that particular ride as well as obtain new ones. This seriously minimized the amount of time we stood in line and maximized the amount of attractions we experienced.
- Florida weather(especially during the spring and summer) is rainy- especially in the late afternoons. Bring your own ponchos! I bought a 2-pack of ponchos for $1 at the dollar store. If you don't come prepared, you will be shelling out $10 per poncho!
- Snacks and drinks- bring a bunch! We stopped at Costco and bought a 24-pack of waters for $4. At the parks, they are 2.50 a bottle and you will be drinking A LOT! We even froze our waters first and about 2 hours into the park, they were already melted and cold.
- Nap time- If you are staying on property or even close to Disney, I suggest you go back at around nap time to let your kids (and you) recharge for the night festivities. I admit, we learned this the hard way when we went to Epcot. Both of our kids fell asleep in their strollers and hubby and I finally got some quiet time in our favorite park. So, we figured we didn't have to go back to the hotel to let the kids recharge. WRONG! About a half hour later, both girls woke up hysterical and never really became chipper after that. We ended up forfeiting the fireworks that night in order to get our cranky girls back to the hotel.
Being the momarazzi- I literally took 759 photos of our trip but I was able to narrow it down to down of my favorites. Enjoy!
OK, just a few more!
