Disney Adventure Day 1 – Epcot

Planning a vacation for a family our size that is fun, relaxing and (somewhat) economical can be a challenge. We decided this year to take a more extravagant vacation than our usual and hit Disney. Our children are what I think are the perfect ages, from 3-12 years old. Also, my 3 year old has an unhealthy obsession with Cinderella that I just can’t help but indulge. But I thought as far as Disney being fairly stress free now is the time. I don’t have to worry about nursing, bottles, diaper changes..etc.. nevermind the fact that I am 7 months pregnant…..

Disney Day 1:

It is 11:43 p.m. of our first day of vacation. We just arrived back at our room about 15 minutes ago and the two youngest are completely crashed out.

I decided a few things while planning this trip.

1) I decided we would not bring the stroller. Amelia is 3 and I thought she could walk the majority of the time on her own and my husband and I could take turns giving her legs a rest by carrying her as needed. A stroller is a pain to navigate through crowds. You have to keep up with where you park it. If you bring your own, you have to fold and unfold it as you are getting on and off the bus (or other) transportation to and from the parks. If you decide to rent one, there is the extra cost. Not to mention the amount of room a stroller takes up in the car. We need that room for souvenirs!

2) Because of the size of our family, we have to stay at one of the resorts with larger accommodations which also includes a full kitchen. I thought by cooking and us eating breakfast and dinner in our room that we could save quite a bit of money and eat much healthier. I like to bring my crock pot on vacations where we will be out all day. I can put something in before we head out and like magic dinner is done when we return. Even if we are dead tired we can still have a great meal. It can also be a lot less hassle if the kids are tired and grouching. Hubby and I can still enjoy our dinner …if we are not wrangling rowdy, crying, overtired kids in a restaurant. Lets face it, we are at Disney. There is no way for the kids not to be overtired. overstimulated. and no matter how well I plan, I am pretty sure there is no way I can avoid some of the not-so-fun behavior that might come along with that. anyway….

3) Due to the larger room we also have a laundry room, meaning we could pack lighter! Meaning we had more room in our mini-van for the kids!

How that is working out for us:

1) I am still not sure how wise my decision to not bring a stroller was. Amelia (3) walked on her own all day. But she was absolutely wiped out. And a complete maniac to keep up with. She was ALL OVER the place. It was quite stressful to keep our eyes on her, making sure she was next to us at all times. The only other option is a *gasp* leash, and you will never, ever, in any circumstance see one of those horrible things on one of my kids. The things make me shudder….Back to the stroller. Even my soon-to-be-5-in-3-days son was complaining of tired legs at the end of the day. I am thinking tomorrow we will rent a double stroller and see how that works for us. A full day of walking might be just too much for the both of them.

2) I was so concerned about packing light that even though I felt like I was forgetting something -I kept pushing it to the back of my mind, once we got here, I realized I neglected to pack the crock pot. crap. The pots/pans in the room aren’t even big enough to cook enough food for our family. double crap. I will deal with this tomorrow. I can’t even think of a good solution right now.

As a side note- we found out that we should take advantage of the fact that Disney will deliver your purchases to your room for you. Payton lost his stuffed Nemo souvenir almost immediately. Plus we don’t have to lug them around the parks and keep up with them. Lesson learned.

3) Washing clothes on vacation!? What was I thinking??

So, if you have any great Disney tips for me, I am all ears! I would love to hear them.

Stay tuned for Day 2: Animal Kingdom….