jennyincolo
Earning My Ears
- Joined
- Feb 26, 2014
wow, has Disney changed since I was a kid! It went from upbeat happy to absolutely crazy. Trying to keep track of our family kind of took the magic out of it for me. My kids had a WONDERFUL time - my 5yo son want to move to Florida so he can go to Disney every day - but my DH has sworn never to return to FL. After it was all done, I just wanted to cry - after researching and planning for like 6 months (or more) I couldn't make my husband be happy with our trip.
Just got back a couple days ago - and we're spent - literally and figuratively. We had fun times, but ultimately my husband was just happy it was over.
Below are a few lessons learned for those planning the trip - Hopefully this will help someone else preserve the magic if you have the same situation as me (un-excited husband that works a stressful job and needs a break).
1. Less is more - especially if you have someone in your party that does not want to really "do" the trip. We have 3 small kids, so my husband really couldn't take a day to himself and let us go the park. Just because you have 5 days doesn't mean you should do them all. Make sure you have at least 36 hours to recover on the back end as well. We got like 24 hours (got home at 1 am).
2. Getting there for rope drop is totally worth it. That morning was our best in the park.
3. Rider switch made an awesome time for our older 2 kids - they got to ride headliner rides twice in a row.
4. People will completely ignore you - be prepared to get trampled or roadblocked constantly (and this was on a level 3/10 day - I can't imagine high crowd levels! This makes me nuts and it took a couple days to get over it.
5. Downtown Disney construction is a mess and takes as much planning to get around as the parks. We just skipped it (on a Tuesday at lunchtime).
6. Traveling late with small children is a real challenge. Get early flight times so you can recover for REAL and have a down evening at least before going to bed.
7. Every single major ride exits through the gift shop - which made me really NOT want to shop anywhere. I had big plans to buy fun gifts for people - or even just postcards! But after being forced through a gift shop EVERY SINGLE MAJOR RIDE I had no desire to go back in, honestly.
8. Rock N Roller coaster is awesome - and my 5 yo loved Tower of Terror. Never would have thought that!
9. Buying trinkets ahead of time was a good idea - since I didn't want to shop at the parks, and they were fun surprises for the kids.
10. Bring dollars and coins for the tolls if you are driving. Wow - toll roads everywhere!
Sorry to rant a bit - I know there are Disney die-hards that love it and go every year. I had so much fun as a kid, I kept hoping the magic would work on my husband - but it never did.
I think our personalities (Type A, but not OCD) didn't work with the Parks and the way you can enjoy them. A few more nights of sleep and we'll be better - we're still hurting from the rides and walking and carrying our 1 yo.
And looking at the pictures we had lots of smiles - it just took a toll on us every day. Happy travels to you all - and thanks to all the disboarders for the help ahead of time - I felt like I had a clue thanks to you all!
I think eventually we will go back - like maybe in 5 years when our kids can take care of themselves.
Just got back a couple days ago - and we're spent - literally and figuratively. We had fun times, but ultimately my husband was just happy it was over.
Below are a few lessons learned for those planning the trip - Hopefully this will help someone else preserve the magic if you have the same situation as me (un-excited husband that works a stressful job and needs a break).
1. Less is more - especially if you have someone in your party that does not want to really "do" the trip. We have 3 small kids, so my husband really couldn't take a day to himself and let us go the park. Just because you have 5 days doesn't mean you should do them all. Make sure you have at least 36 hours to recover on the back end as well. We got like 24 hours (got home at 1 am).
2. Getting there for rope drop is totally worth it. That morning was our best in the park.
3. Rider switch made an awesome time for our older 2 kids - they got to ride headliner rides twice in a row.
4. People will completely ignore you - be prepared to get trampled or roadblocked constantly (and this was on a level 3/10 day - I can't imagine high crowd levels! This makes me nuts and it took a couple days to get over it.
5. Downtown Disney construction is a mess and takes as much planning to get around as the parks. We just skipped it (on a Tuesday at lunchtime).
6. Traveling late with small children is a real challenge. Get early flight times so you can recover for REAL and have a down evening at least before going to bed.
7. Every single major ride exits through the gift shop - which made me really NOT want to shop anywhere. I had big plans to buy fun gifts for people - or even just postcards! But after being forced through a gift shop EVERY SINGLE MAJOR RIDE I had no desire to go back in, honestly.
8. Rock N Roller coaster is awesome - and my 5 yo loved Tower of Terror. Never would have thought that!
9. Buying trinkets ahead of time was a good idea - since I didn't want to shop at the parks, and they were fun surprises for the kids.
10. Bring dollars and coins for the tolls if you are driving. Wow - toll roads everywhere!
Sorry to rant a bit - I know there are Disney die-hards that love it and go every year. I had so much fun as a kid, I kept hoping the magic would work on my husband - but it never did.
I think our personalities (Type A, but not OCD) didn't work with the Parks and the way you can enjoy them. A few more nights of sleep and we'll be better - we're still hurting from the rides and walking and carrying our 1 yo.
And looking at the pictures we had lots of smiles - it just took a toll on us every day. Happy travels to you all - and thanks to all the disboarders for the help ahead of time - I felt like I had a clue thanks to you all!
I think eventually we will go back - like maybe in 5 years when our kids can take care of themselves.