Our son Luke grabbing some much needed Shut-eye at the Contemporary Resort.
Some folks take a “commando” style approach to their Walt Disney World vacation. Up before the sun dragging the kids out of bed. By gosh they are going to get every minute that they paid for! Ride every ride, and see every parade. I have seen this time and time again and I admit that during our first WDW trip I was also tempted to do this. But let me tell you, this will end up in melt downs and frustration during the 90+ degree afternoons. The next time you are at the parks look around; you will see these folks. They are tired and cranky and their kids are tired and cranky. The yelling and crying do not make for a magical experience.
We take a different more relaxed approach; sure we do plenty of pre-planning including restaurant reservations, a different park each day (often two parks) and other activities, heck I even have a spreadsheet with our daily plan, but these are just a plan and can be changed at any time based on how tired or energized we are. Our number one goal is fun and relaxation! Yes, you can have a relaxing vacation at Walt Disney World! If your bunch are already early risers then you are in luck this is the best thing to do in the hot Florida climate. Go early, have fun and come back to the hotel for an afternoon siesta or swim. This brings up another annoying thing that many parents may not admit, yes there is a certain age group of kids that love the pool more than the parks. After your break and some lunch head back to the parks, take in an afternoon parade, ride some rides but remember not to stay out too late. Another way to maximize the fun is to sometimes split the group, during a past WDW vacation Karen took the boys for some fun in the pool while I took the girls who were older back to the parks for some extra magic hours!
Slow down, breathe, and pay attention to everyone making sure they aren’t tired. When you see your kids, spouse or feel yourself getting tired, take action or rather inaction! Take a break, hydrate, cool off and if you need to go back to the hotel and nap. I promise that with this approach your family will be refreshed relaxed and you will get more magic out of each moment instead of getting more moments with less magic.
Jim Ferrell
Your Disney Experts!
www.MouseJourneys.Com
(614) 500-3555
How do you approach the parks? Comment and let me know your park style:
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Mickey Mouse has moved to a new location in Magic Kingdom® Park to meet and greet his friends at Walt Disney World® Resort. Now you can go backstage at Town Square Theater for photos and autographs with Mickey – without waiting in a standby queue thanks to the first-ever use of Disney’s FASTPASS Service for a character meet-and-greet experience.
