If You Plan for Chaos, Expect Chaos

Dec 6, 2012

We’re back from our trip to Walt Disney World in Florida! I want to start out by saying that overall, we had a great trip, and it’s easy to kind of forget the stressful portions (that I’ll share) and focus on the good and the fun. So don’t assume that because I’m writing about the stresses it means I’m disappointed in our entire vacation. I’m already at a point where I can laugh about the mishaps because, really, what else can you do?

Let’s back up a little to before Thanksgiving. Isla had a fever and sore throat so I took her to the pediatrician, along with all the other kids because what else was I supposed to do, leave them at home? We’re quite a sight at the doctor’s office, I’ll give you that.

Isla is normally my calm little one, but she freaked completely out over the throat swabbing and had to be held down by me and a nurse. Ten minutes later – we found out she had strep throat. Awesome! And during the course of our long appointment, Miles told me he didn’t feel well, suddenly. The doctor looked in everyone’s throats and took everyone’s temperatures and determined that Miles and Jonah were sick, as well. Fevers and icky throats. So she prescribed antibiotics for everyone, but told me to hold off giving anything to Grant unless he developed the same symptoms.

After Isla finished her course, her symptoms came back. Called and got a new prescription for her.

The night before we left for Disney World, Jonah’s fever came back, and he also had a rash around his mouth that would not go away and was starting to look worse. Took him to ER. Doctor said his strep wasn’t gone, either. New prescription for Jonah.

I got two hours of sleep that night.

I won’t bore you with the detailed timeline of our illnesses, but the first full day there my uncle had to spend 6 hours out of the park to take Miles to urgent care. Diagnosis: unresolved strep throat. New prescription. The following day I had to take Jonah to urgent care because he’d developed a rash on his face, arms and legs and I was worried he was allergic to his new antibiotic. Diagnosis: Unresolved strep throat and a strep-related rash. Two new prescriptions for Jonah. The day after that Miles and Grant had sore throats, Grant’s was so bad he cried when he tried to eat though he claimed he felt fine otherwise. I kept telling him I was going to take him back to the hotel room to rest but he’d cry and say no, he was okay. But when we sat down for dinner and he couldn’t even eat dessert I knew that was enough – so off to urgent care visit #3 I went with Miles and Grant. The photo above is from the exam room, waiting to been seen by the doctor.

When I walked in with my two boys, I admit, I cried. The nurses ushered me to a back room and I felt bad because I didn’t want the boys to think my sadness was their fault, but I couldn’t control the tears. After six months of planning and anticipation, I was so sad that my kids felt sick and weren’t able to enjoy the trip 100%. I settled down and we waited. And waited. Finally the doctor appeared and (again, to make a long story short), she tried to blame me for the kids’ antibiotics, scared my kids by listing off all these horrible things they could possibly have and telling them they probably couldn’t go to Magic Kingdom the next day and made them cry and beg to leave.

They tested Grant for mono, of all things, despite knowing all the rest of us had had strep throat and it would make the most logical sense that, he, too, had strep. When the results came back, no mono.

In the end, the doctor said Grant had strep throat so wrote him a prescription for an antibiotic. She also said Miles had unresolved strep so wrote HIM a new prescription and also said he had hand, foot and mouth disease. Miles cried because the doctor had already told him he couldn’t go to the park the next day, but she said since he didn’t have a fever or open blisters he could go, so at least we left with that.

I woke up on our final day at Disney not sure if we’d be able to make it to Magic Kingdom. If any of the kids felt sick I knew I’d be staying in the hotel room with them while my uncle took the well kids out. But, thank you, universe, Miles and Grant felt like new kids and we made the most of our short time there.

Yes, my optimism was tested. I took Miles’ urgent care visit in stride. Jonah’s wasn’t awful because it was the day we went to Hollywood Studios and he’s too short to ride most of those rides, anyway. But when we had to go a third time, I briefly fell apart.

My friends have said that one day I’ll look back and laugh, and already I’m starting to do that. If a kid is going to have a sore throat, better to have it at Disney than at home, right?

I’ll share more about the great experiences we had, but for now I am sharing about the chaos. I said once that I’d expect chaos on our trip, and oh, did I get chaos.

Note: Before anyone jumps in to criticize my taking kids with sore throats out to the parks, the physicians we met with assured me that since they’d been continuously on antibiotics that they were not contagious. We rested as much as possible, I offered to take them back to the hotel room and sleep but that made them more upset than the sore throats, and we let Grant sit in the double stroller almost the whole day he felt less than perfect. Thankful I brought the double, I’d almost decided to take just the single stroller!

More Disney World Planning and a Brave Giveaway

Nov 8, 2012

I realize I’ve gone a little Disney crazy at the moment, but I can explain.

Life and work have been hectic – beyond hectic, even – and the kids and I are enjoying every last minute of the anticipation of this trip. We go this month! Our past few months have included a lot of stress and it’s been great to focus on a vacation where the whole goal is to spend time together and have fun. I won’t have to work, the kids won’t have school or sports practice, I will have a very valid excuse to not return calls and emails to clients and we will have six days to devote to nothing but entertainment.

So what have I been doing lately to prepare for this trip in the brief moments between parenting and cleaning and working?

I ordered our new SafetyTats. These are ingenious, and we used them during our last trip to Walt Disney World as well as when we went to the Minnesota State Fair. Miles and Isla know my phone number, but Grant and Jonah do not. And if Miles or Isla were lost and panicked in a sea of strangers at a theme park, would they really be able to bring the phone number up from memory? These temporary tattoos are designed with up to two phone numbers printed directly on them. So each kid will sport one in a strategic place in the (pleasenodonotletthishappen) chance they get separated from me while we’re at Disney.

I also ordered some breakfast foods and snacks for our resort stay. We’re staying at Art of Animation, in a family suite, which includes a mini fridge and microwave. Since we are participating in the dining plan, we won’t have to feed ourselves too much, but quick breakfasts in the room before we take the bus to the parks will be faster and less expensive than grabbing something at a quick service counter and paying out of pocket. I’d read on a message board that some people had luck with ordering from Wal-Mart, but while the prices were good I didn’t find the delivery selections that extensive. So I went back to the service we used two years ago – Garden Grocer. Placed my order, and they will deliver it right to my resort’s front desk. Can’t beat that!

I’ve also started making a packing list, but I got overwhelmed about thirty items in and gave up for a while.

Please note, I don’t work for or receive any compensation from these services, I just get a lot of traffic to my blog about Disney planning and wanted to share some specifics about what I’ve found helpful.

Now, moving on to a part where I WAS compensated.

Win a Copy of the Disney•Pixar Movie Brave!

Another way we’ve been gearing up for our trip is by watching Disney movies. In particular – Cars, Finding Nemo, Wall-E and The Princess and the Frog. One movie we haven’t seen yet is Brave, so I was excited to get an offer in my inbox to give away a copy on my blog. I also received a copy to keep and the kids and I are having movie night tomorrow to watch it! Brave comes out on November 13 on a Blu-ray combo pack, digital and on-demand. I will be sharing a review and my kids’ thoughts about the movie on Saturday.

From the press release: “An original and thrilling journey set in the ancient and magical Highlands or Scotland, “Brave” follows the heroic journey of the headstrong, young adventurer Merida. Determined to carve her own path in life, Merida confronts tradition and defies an age-old custom that inadvertently unleashes chaos, and forces her to discover the true meaning of bravery.”

If you’d like to win a copy of Brave, leave a comment on this post telling me your favorite Disney movie. One commenter will be selected at random to receive a BRAVE Ultimate Collector’s Edition 5-Disc Set! Leave your comment by 10pm on November 9 to be entered, thanks! I will need the winner’s address by November 10, so if the first winner cannot be reached for confirmation in time, a new winner will be chosen.

Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this film from Walt Disney Studios to review, but all opinions are my own. Artwork used with permission.

Countdown to Disney – Anticipation! Excitement!

Oct 26, 2012

After about three thousand changes to our Walt Disney World reservations (including adding a day, dropping Zachary and Jonah from one day, rebooking under free dining, adjusting Advance Dining Reservations, then removing two days, removing Zachary and adding my uncle) I think we are all set in the reservations department and our countdown to Disney has taken a more exciting tone. When we first made the reservations, we were still over six months away from our trip. Making our dining reservations adding a little excitement, but since then it’s more like, “I can’t wait for Disney! It’ll be awesome,” from the kids about once every day or so.

We head to Florida next month and I can’t wait. Our last trip was so fun, I’m looking forward to doing it all over again with the kids, who are all two years older and hopefully willing to try some new experiences.

How can you make the wait for Disney more fun-filled, especially when reservations are made so far ahead of the departure date? Here are some ways we’re keeping the Mouse in our minds.

1. Watch videos on YouTube. You can type “Disney World rides” into the search box and find tons of options. The ones my kids like the best are the POV ones that take a viewer through the ride from start to finish. I’m hoping this will lessen their jitters a bit when we head to a new ride that they were not ready to ride in 2010. Not only to know what to expect, but I think it also helps them to see other kids their age (or younger) having a lot of fun on these rides. Other kids’ opinions are worth more than their mom’s!

2. Make a countdown chain. To young kids, telling them they have 54 more days until Disney is about the same as saying there’s 365 days until next Christmas. It’s a long, long time and they have no concept of exactly how long it is. At the beginning of each new month, Grant has proclaimed, “We go to Disney World this month!” and I’ve had to say, “Sorry, buddy, not quite yet.” So we used some scrapbook paper I picked up two years ago, cut it into strips, and made a countdown chain we hung in the living room. As the chain gets shorter and shorter, the kids get more and more excited.

3. Make Disney treats. This one popped up in my “everything” Pinterest feed, but, alas, I failed to pin it. I dipped regular sized Oreos in red candy melts (I needed to use a toothpick to make the line straighter; I like straight lines) and broke toothpicks in half to attach the mini Oreos (take them out before giving them to small kids, folks). Melted almond bark for the dots. This was a super easy project for an inept baker such as myself, and the kids were impressed. Success!

4. Start talking about the specifics. We got our luggage tags in the mail from Disney the other day. You know you’re getting close when those arrive! I’ve been talking to the kids about the airport, plane ride and the bus trip from the Orlando airport to the resort. I’ve been reminding them of the long lines and miles and miles of walking. I think setting up realistic expectations really helped us on our first trip two years ago (for both the kids and the parents). I don’t want them to demand 100% fun 100% of the time – let’s face it, feet get tired and standing in lines can get tedious – that way, when things (hopefully) go better than anticipated, we can all rejoice.

5. If this is not your first trip, pull out the memories. I am ashamed to admit I hadn’t yet done anything with our Disney 2010 photos. In fact, I had never even glanced at the images from our PhotoPasses. Awful, I know. So one day I got an email announcing a 50% off photo book sale at a photo printing company and set about making a little photo book for the kids. Hasn’t arrived yet, but I can’t wait to see it! Also, I put all the photos into a slideshow set to music that we could play on the DVD player. The kids had a blast reliving the memories and talking about what we’re going to do again when we go next month.

Did I mention I can’t wait? Yeah, I think I’m more antsy than the kids!

Free Vacation Planning Spreadsheet to Download (My Disney Madness)

Jul 30, 2012

I get many hits to this blog from people searching for how to plan a Disney World vacation with kids, and I’ve had a few requests for a copy of the spreadsheet I use to plan our trip, from the advance dining reservations (ADRs) to the confirmation numbers for flights and the resort.

Here is a blank version of the spreadsheet I use, free for you to use for your own trip to Florida, Disneyland in California, or anywhere else you might go where you will need a daily reminder of reservations.

Download Link: Vacation Planning Spreadsheet

Here is a screen shot:

Along the top you’ll want to change your titles to the dates of your trip. If you’re going to be on vacation longer (lucky!), add new columns, and if for fewer days, just delete some.

“AM EMH” and “PM EMH” are for you to note when the Extra Magic Hours are held each day. Extra Magic Hours are only for Disney World Resort guests, so if you’re staying off-property, just delete those rows.

“Recommended” is a line where you can record which parks were recommended to you to go to that day, either by friends, people on message boards, or a site like www.easywdw.com (the site I used for crowd calculators and park recommendations).

“Our Plan,” is just that. Put in the park or parks you plan to go to each day. Why is this important? You’ll only need this if you make reservations for particular experiences or restaurants. For example, on the day I made reservations for Akershus, we’ll be going to Epcot all day since we are not purchasing Park Hopper tickets.

“Park Hours,” is, again, self-explanatory. Look up the park hours on the park website to determine when the park will be open. Animal Kingdom usually has the least amount of hours open.

There are slots for each half hour for most of your day. If you’re like me, not much will be filled in – we have one dining reservation per day, so I used the spreadsheet to keep track of the times and confirmation numbers in the time slots. The day before we leave for our trip I’ll print this out and put a few copies in our luggage and my purse so I always know where we need to be and when!

And, if you need them, additional spaces below for your resort confirmation and airline confirmations.

Have fun planning! I know I can’t wait for our next trip.

Des Moines? Yes, Des Moines.

Jul 16, 2012

This past weekend Zachary and I got away, just the two of us. Previously the longest we’d both been away from the kids was a whopping one night (we’ve individually spent more time away from them, like when I went to California for a friend’s wedding earlier this year and was gone for seven days).  We took our chances and doubled that away time and booked a hotel room for two nights.

I had lofty ideas when I first thought of this trip. Hawaii, Ireland, England. But with four children to clothe and feed, not to mention a Disney World vacation later this year, it didn’t make much sense to spend a fortune on a getaway.

I initially wanted to visit Duluth, because, despite having lived in Minnesota my entire life, I’ve never been. But Zachary suggested Des Moines, which is where we lived when we met. Quick to drive to, and as far as destinations go, rather inexpensive.

The reactions from people when they found out where we were going were priceless. Even from people who still call Des Moines home. On our first day there, we spent some time talking with a woman K used to work with, and she asked, “So, what brings you to town?” and when we explained we were just visiting for the sake of visiting she wrinkled her nose and asked, “Really? Des Moines?”

It was a sentiment we heard several times over.

Yes, it’s Iowa. Yes, Des Moines isn’t exactly a huge metropolis. Back when we lived there, you could stand in the middle of one of the busier streets on a Saturday night and not see a car for an hour. But we had fun visiting the apartments where we used to live, for nostalgia, and trying new, hip restaurants that didn’t exist back in our DSM days.

Friday night we had just enough time to pop into a few shops in the new-ish East Village district, full of unique stores and restaurants. I tried on a few dresses and shirts at aimée and Vitae Design Collective, and we browsed new and unique good at Porch Light Antiques and Found Things (I found a ton of things I wanted to buy at Found Things, it’s full of interesting things, but only came home with a metal number 4 I will prop against the new photo of the kids I am framing). Topped our hot shopping walk with a mojito and beer at The Continental. Loved its neighborhood feel. One of my favorite things about dining and drinking at new places is to ask for recommendations from the staff. Our bartender recommended the O Mojito and I was not disappointed. But really, who can be disappointed with a mojito on a hot day?

For dinner Zachary and I headed to Django, which was recommended a few times over by the foodies at chowhound.com. We were sat for our 8pm reservations immediately at a window table. I tried a New Frenchie on the recommendation of our waiter, while Zachary stuck with his vodka 7.

Our appetizer was one of the specials for the night. I wish I’d written down the name, but it was a ratatouille with goat cheese and pesto and served with crostini, and it was amazing. For our entrees, we decided to share a Tuna Nicoise Salad and the Blue Cheese Medallions. The Nicoise salad was perfectly light. I can be picky about tuna at restaurants not near an ocean, but it was fresh and perfectly seared. I was so full by the time I started on the beef medallion that I couldn’t finish the whole thing, but it was well done. For dessert Zachary chose lemon and raspberry sorbet.

Saturday morning we slept in (relatively speaking) and headed to the Des Moines Farmers’ Market. I’d heard it was quite an affair, but I wasn’t prepared for quite how enormous it is. Blocks and blocks of tents selling pastries, flour, flowers, beef, produce, ice cream, arts and crafts, and more. It was about six billion degrees and very sunny, so we didn’t linger as long as I would have liked, but we managed to pick up adorable cookies for the kids from Three Chicks Bakery, buckwheat pancake mix from Paul’s Grains, Garlic Basil Linguine from Sunrise Creative Gourmet, and some garlic from Grade A Grass & Gardens.

For lunch we walked to Zombie Burger & Drink Lab, a concept eatery taking full advantage of the zombie craze going on. We had a bit of a wait (place is popular!), but our server was great and gave us good recommendations for our burger (we split a Sarah’s Revenge, which was great, and the Garlic Bacon and Blue Cheese Fries, which were slightly difficult to eat, but tasty). The back of the menu was an entertaining faux newspaper about zombie employment.

After our time at the farmers’ market, it was time for a different kind of shopping. We drove to West Des Moines to the Jordan Creek Town Center so I could find something to wear to dinner that evening. Des Moines had some decent malls when we lived there over ten years ago, but Jordan Creek was much nicer, I have to say. I was particularly excited to find a dress at J. Crew, marked down from $198 to just $60, yay! I got an even better deal on it than if I’d bought online!

Shopping over (thanks to Zachary for putting up with me browsing the sales racks), we drove past a few familiar sites then returned to the hotel to get ready for Nice Dinner Number Two. We’d originally had reservations at Lucca, but canceled when we found out that three of the five entree options on their prix fixe menu were seafood (not good for me and my allergies). I’d still love to try it at some point, but we went for a more varied menu and chose another recommended hot spot, Centro.

As with Django, we were seated for our reservation right away. Centro is very dimly lit, but I liked the ambiance. Having been a server for four years during college and just after, I could tell right away that our server was in training. He was peppy but nervous. Luckily, having been a server, this doesn’t bother me. We all have to start somewhere! We took his reservation for our appetizer, which was on the special list for the evening. I can’t recall what on earth it was called, because neither Zachary nor I recognized the main ingredient, but it turned out to be a bruchsetta made of the meat from a pig’s jaw and cherries. The appetizer was very salty, almost to the point that I would have sent it back, but the cherries provided enough sweetness we finished it. The accompanying greens were overwhelmingly salty, though. I worried about the sodium content for the rest of our meal, but needlessly. Zachary and I were trying not to stuff ourselves too much, so we split the spinach salad. I can say that the warm dressing with that salad is one of my favorites in recent memory. Loved it. For dinner I considered steak again, but chose the Spicy Sausage Rigatoni. I have a high tolerance for spiciness and really enjoy flavorful food with a punch, but finding truly spicy foods in the Midwest can be a challenge. Luckily my pasta sauce had just enough kick – good enough to satisfy my spicy craving, but not too much to overpower the dish. Zachary chose the Chicken and Prosciutto, which he told me was excellent. For dessert we splurged and ordered a sundae we’d seen at another table – George’s Marshmallow Sundae – and we devoured every last bit. The giant marshmallow layers were bruleed, the menu stated, making them taste like s’mores, and the salty peanuts contrasted just enough with the sweetness of the marshmallow and ice cream. A great way to end our meal.

The next morning we skipped the hotel’s breakfast offerings again and went to The Americana, which features a Bombshell Brunch with a grilled cheese bar, bloody mary and mimosa bar, and all-you-can eat lunch and breakfast foods. I sampled salad (trying to get a ton of vegetables in after my carb splurge the night before), sweet potatoes, a quiche or fritatta with vegetables, which were all good but not spectacular, just standard brunch fare. The waffle bread pudding was, as Zachary told me it would be, wonderful and rich. For $16 a person, I think it’s a good deal, and I loved the building/atmosphere.

During the weekend we stayed at Hyatt Place, which means we were able to walk to a lot of our destinations downtown (the East Village, Zombie Burger, Farmers’ Market, Centro, The Americana and Django, plus we were close to a Walgreens when I needed sunscreen and Diet Dr. Pepper). We had a huge room on the top floor and the staff was exceptionally friendly, probably one of the nicest hotel stay I’ve had in a while (except for the drunk guys who woke us up with their door slamming and yelling at midnight on Friday, but that’s not the hotel’s fault. When we finally grew tired of the ruckus we called the front desk, and they immediately put an end to the shenanigans).

And so, our little jaunt to Des Moines was quite nice, and we didn’t see a single cow or barn downtown. We found plenty to do, and didn’t have to pay $250 a night for a downtown hotel to do it, and the drive from several larger cities isn’t too long (from Minneapolis, Omaha, Kansas City, or Chicago, for example).

Four Kids, Two Parents and a Walt Disney World Vacation – Let’s Do This Again

May 30, 2012

Zachary and I may be crazy.

We’re taking our four children to Walt Disney World again, this November. We planned a trip to Disney World in 2010 and had such a phenomenal time that we decided we’ll take one more trip to Orlando while the kids are young enough for the experience to be magical and exciting. Did I say one more trip? Well, that remains to be seen. When we went two years ago I was quite sure it would be our one and only visit to the land of Mickey Mouse, but I was unprepared for how completely Disney would captivate me and the kids. So don’t hold me to this “last trip,” thing.

During our last trip, we were fortunate enough to receive a 40% off PIN that allowed us to stay at a much nicer resort than we otherwise could have. We chose Animal Kingdom Villas because we had plenty of space to spread out, a connecting room for Zachary’s parents, and we’re heard it was a calm, quiet space, which appealed to us when traveling with a young toddler who would need plenty of relaxation. Our stay was wonderful – we loved having a kitchenette, loved the washer and dryer in the room, and loved the separate sleeping areas.

Alas, this year we received no PIN, and though there are rumors that free dining will be offered, we haven’t seen any hints for it for our trip yet. Which is totally fine – we’ve planned a trip that we can afford and enjoy, and if free dining does come around for our travel dates, it’ll be a nice bonus, one which may allow us to upgrade our resort or add on extras like Pirates League or Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique. One change we’re making is that we will NOT buy Park Hopper tickets this year. The parks are large enough that we couldn’t even see an entire one in a full day, so to us it was wasted money. This year we’ll just get regular park tickets.

If you’re interested in hearing about how we planned our previous trip,  and our experiences in the parks, you can catch up with these links:

Walt Disney World Vacation with Four Kids – Part I – The Planning
Walt Disney World Vacation with Four Kids – Part II – Traveling and the First Day at Epcot
Walt Disney World Vacation with Four Kids – Part III – Epcot (Again) and Magic Kingdom
Walt Disney World Vacation with Four Kids – Part IV – Magic Kingdom
Walt Disney World Vacation with Four Kids – Part V – Animal Kingdom, Disney Hollywood Studios and a Return to Epcot

For this vacation we seriously considered staying offsite. We looked into package deals that included airfare and hotel at places like the Blue Heron Resort, and also priced out time share rentals at Wyndham Bonnet Creek. The room rates and accommodations at both places were awesome, but a few details made us change our minds and stick to staying on property.

1. We would need to rent a car to stay off property. And by car I mean minivan. Quotes ranged from $400-$630 for a week, plus we’d need to either bring or rent car seats, pay for gas, and pay for parking at the Disney parks each day. There are limited shuttles at the off-property resorts, but they do not allow strollers. We NEED a stroller, and plan to bring the double jogging stroller with us again, so that Jonah and whichever other tired child needs it can rest and not slow the group down. Disney does offer stroller rentals, but it’s a hefty fee when you look at needing it 6 days a week, plus it adds on unnecessary wait time to the beginning and end of the day, on days when waiting is already going to be something we’re spending a lot of time doing.

2. We wanted to take advantage of Disney’s dining plan. There are many resources out there that will tell you pros and cons to using the dining plan vs. not. If you are light eaters who don’t plan to dine at sit-down restaurants, or aren’t interested in character meals, then the dining plan may not be for you. We know we can take our kids to regular restaurants any day of the week here at home, so when we go to Disney we like to cram as much Disneyfication into our week as possible, and that means character meals. Most character meals cost an adult $30 or more, and the dining plan is just a little over $50 a day total for the adult, and includes one snack, one counter service meal, and one table service (sit-down) meal per day. We figured, based on our receipts from last year, using the dining plan saved us a fair amount of money. The kids’ plans are even more reasonable – I believe around $16 a day, which more than covers the cost of just one character meal per day. You can only use the dining plan if you stay at a Disney resort.

3. Travel times and buses. I like not having to think about walking back to our car at the end of the night (which could include a roundabout trip to a travel hub not even near the park, but a monorail or bus ride away), not having to use a GPS to find our hotel, and letting someone else do the driving. The buses aren’t always super fast, and since we’re staying at a value resort this time vs. deluxe our waits may be longer, but it’s still a worthwhile perk to me. We also get to use Disney’s Magical Express to take us to the resort once we land at the airport, which is an amazing benefit.

4. Magic. We chose Disney’s new Art of Animation resort for our November stay. It’s brand new this year, and the themes are totally loud, bold and in-your face. It may not be what I’d choose for a relaxing getaway, but the kids are going to be beside themselves with excitement. Art of Animation does offer themed family suites, but it’s less expensive to do to separate standard rooms (Little Mermaid theme), and we were told we’re guaranteed to have connecting rooms. Like I said about character meals, we’re at Disney to go to Disney, so we are more than happy to stay at a property that really makes us feel like we’re not at the Generic Hotel down the street.

I still love spreadsheets, and I created one that outlined costs for each lodging and dining situation, and at the end of the day, staying on property and using the dining plan and not having to rent a car or stroller was in some cases less expensive than staying off property, and in other cases such a small difference it just made more sense to stay on property given how much the kids will enjoy it.

So far we are planning on dinners at ‘Ohana, the Grand Floridian’s Cinderella character experience, San Angel Inn, Teppan Edo, and Garden Grill, and the character breakfasts at Tusker House (the only repeat from our previous vacation) and Hollywood & Vine. If you have opinions to share on any of those, or suggestions, I’d love to hear them!

We told the kids by making a quick slideshow, and they are quite excited, but we also know it’s a long wait until we reach November. Since they were a little apprehensive about rides last time, I plan on exposing them to some at amusement parks closer to home. Miles and Isla are tall enough to go on just about anything, and Grant will only miss a couple, so I’m hoping I have some co-riders for a few roller coasters this year!

Note: I don’t work for Disney and this post is in no way sponsored, I just chose to link to a few things because my old Disney posts are among my more popular and I’d love to make it easier for others planning their own trips to the theme parks (whether they have 4 kids or 1 or none or 14!).

Back to Reality – Home After a Week Away from My Kids

Mar 7, 2012

Yesterday I flew home after seven nights away from my kids and Zachary, easily the longest I’ve gone without seeing my children. I was in California, making my way from Los Angeles to Newport Beach to Irvine to Coronado and then back to Los Angeles again. The weather was gorgeous, my work even went smoothly, and my vacation days were full of sun, good food, and fun.

But when Zachary picked me up from the airport and I saw my little Jonah sleeping in his carseat, I nearly cried with joy over seeing his sweet face again, and I think I hugged the other kids at least 100 times when they got home from school.

God, I love those kids.

Walt Disney World Vacation with Four Kids – Part V – Animal Kingdom, Hollywood Studios and a Return to Epcot

May 28, 2011

And now, the final installment in my riveting Walt Disney World vacation recap.

Day Five – Animal Kingdom
Our fifth day at Disney World had us going to Animal Kingdom. I knew the least about this park going into it, and found its look and feel to be a little unexpected. I had imagined it would be like a zoo, but when you first enter the park and go left, which is the way we headed to get to our morning reservation at Tusker House, they’ve built the street and area to look like an African city (which makes sense, as the Tusker House is in the “Africa” section of Animal Kingdom. Amazing how the engineers and masterminds at Disney can make something new look old and weathered.

Anyway, we had reservations for a character breakfast at Tusker House. It was a cold morning (into the 40s, and we hadn’t really brought much with us to deal with colder weather!) and when we arrived the hostess said their reservations were running about 45 minutes behind. She theorized it was due to the chilly temperatures, people were staying inside the restaurant longer. So we grabbed some tables at their outdoor waiting area and my father in law tracked down some coffee. While we waited I went to get fast passes for the Kilimanjaro Safari.

When we finally did get into the restaurant, we found a huge and delicious buffet breakfast. There were the Mickey waffles that seem to be present at every Disney breakfast, but also fresh fruits, meats, and other dishes like frittatas and cheese-filled crepes. We all ate a ton of food and the kids got to meet Daisy, Mickey, Goofy and Donald.

After breakfast we headed to the safari, which only Grant would go on with me and Zachary’s parents. I was a little disappointed, but during the safari the tour guide stages some fake scary moments, like chasing poachers, which I imagine would have frightened Isla, so in the end it was probably best she didn’t go. She and Miles were worried the animals would be very close, even though I assured them it would be like going to the zoo (and it was, though we were in a mock-rickety safari bus). We saw elephants, hippos, giraffes and more.

My memory is a little foggy about the day, and it was a slow-paced day so we didn’t pack as much into the park as in others, but we walked two trails – the Maharajah Jungle Trek and the Pangani Forest Exploration Trail, the highlight of which was the super cute baby gorilla.

It might also be good to note that in case one of your children has a bathroom accident, we found a kiosk selling Mickey underwear, which I believe was near the entrance to the Maharajah Jungle Trek.

As we made our way around the park we stopped for ice cream in Asia, and then passed the roller coaster Expedition Everest. The wait WITHOUT a Fast Pass was only 5 minutes, which I guess is nearly unheard of for that ride. I asked if anyone would go on it with me and was met with “No,” all around until Zachary’s mom said she’d go on it with me. Success! I haven’t been on a roller coaster in years, and unlike some other riders, I was not prepared for it to go backwards at some point, which was scary in the way only a roller coaster can be. We screamed a lot and enjoyed the ride! Here’s the view from the top of the first hill.

We then made our way to Dino Land, U.S.A, where the kids rode the TriceraTop Spin. Zachary’s parents watched the kids while he and I went to find something to eat. We ended up at a nearly-deserted restaurant called Restaurantosaurus. I even took a photo to show we were the only ones in the place – the people working there were perplexed I was taking a photo of a mostly empty room.

After that we walked around some more and then realized that the park was near closing – Animal Kingdom closes the earliest of the parks most days and that day it was closing at 5, so we had to go straight to the exit so we wouldn’t wait too long for a bus.

Day 6 – Hollywood Studios and Epcot
Our last day at Disney! Reading online message boards and blogs, you’d think Toy Story Mania at Hollywood Studios was the only attraction worth riding in all of Disney World. So I was determined we would ride it, of course. We had a bit of a late start that morning and didn’t get to HS until close to 10:00, if I remember correctly. I immediately made my way to Toy Story Mania to get Fast Passes. As the line inched forward a cast member announced there were only a few left. I was ready to have an internal tantrum, but managed to get some of the last passes before the closed the line about twenty seconds later. They weren’t until 7:30 that night, though, a long way off.

Looking at the attractions at Hollywood Studios, we quickly realized they weren’t what our kids would enjoy, so after eating enormous cupcakes and candy apples at a bakery/treat shop we hopped a bus back to Epcot, their favorite park for attractions, and walked more around the World Showcase (and of course did the Tres Caballeros boat ride again). We’d originally had lunch reservations for HS at their 50s diner, but had to call to make reservations at Epcot. The only place available was their Chinese restaurant, and quite late for lunch (like 2). But it worked out fine because of our enormous snack earlier and the time it took to get back over to Epcot, anyway.

I will say that the allergy information at the Chinese restaurant (Nine Dragons) was the least impressive of all the places we went. The waitress didn’t seem to know what was in everything, and no chef came out. My options were limited as most food was prepared on the same surfaces as used for shellfish, or used with the same oil, or made with oyster sauce. I tried a bit of Jonah’s sweet and sour chicken and the waitress panicked, saying, “That is fried in the same oil we use for shellfish! Why would you try something if you didn’t know what it was? I could lose my JOB!” I had been confused, because I thought she said the sweet and sour chicken was safe, but all was well, no anaphylactic reaction for me.

We rode the boat across the lake in the middle of the World Showcase, and I think we did Soarin’ again, too. Then made our way back to Hollywood Studios for some chilly time-killing before our Fast Passes. Ate dinner at a quick service outdoor restaurant, I tracked down funnel cake, Zachary’s parents bought us some souvenirs, and then we headed over to Toy Story Mania.

The line for the attraction was pretty quick and colorful and kept the kids interested. Isla had decided she did NOT want to ride it, though, despite encouragement from me, Zachary, her grammie and granddad, and about ten strangers in line with us. So Zachary ended up having to sit the ride out with Jonah and Isla, and unfortunately there wasn’t enough time for us to do a rider swap since the park closed at 8 that night.

And on that note our Disney vacation came to an end! The next morning we woke and packed everything we came with (plus souvenirs and photos) back into the suitcases and had breakfast at a counter service restaurant at Animal Kingdom Lodge (not enough seating there – we had to wait a while to find a table for us, and watched many others do the same). Disney’s Magical Express came for us and we hopped on board and the bus whisked us off to the airport as we bid farewell to Florida.

Zachary and I both agreed later that the trip was a huge success – things could have gone horribly awry with the weather, the kids (Jonah, especially, was a big question mark because of his age), crowds, etc., but it ended up being a fun and not-too-stressful vacation (which, when you have kids, is really all you can ask for). We originally planned for it to be the one and only trip to Disney ever, but because it went so well we’re considering going again when Jonah is 4 or 5 years old!

Walt Disney World Vacation with Four Kids – Part IV – Magic Kingdom

May 23, 2011

Finally getting around to writing about the last three days we spent at Walt Disney World with our four children and my husband’s parents. Only six months after the trip.

Day Four – Magic Kingdom
I think I can safely say that this day was truly the most magical of the entire vacation for the kids. And because they had so much joy during the day, it was my favorite day, as well.

Months before the trip we made an appointment for Isla at the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique, which is basically a beauty spa for the princess-obsessed set. Like most other areas of Disney, the cast members at the boutique are fully in character, treating each girl as if she is a member of royalty. After a brief wait Isla was ushered inside the boutique where she was able to choose which hairstyle she wanted (she chose the traditional princess look of a bun with a tiara, to go with her Cinderella dress that we brought from home) and they also do some lip gloss, glitter in the hair, and nail polish. The entire time Isla was facing away from the mirror – not until the transformation was complete did she get spun around to see her new look, not unlike some makeover shows.

I wish I could adequately describe Isla’s reaction. She saw herself and started smiling and didn’t stop for two days. She carried herself in a way that made me think she was acting a little more regal than normal. I wanted to cry it was so cute, and I’m not normally one to be excited her daughter wants to buy into the princess craze.

After the princessification, Isla and I visited some characters outside of the castle for photos, such as the evil stepsisters and stepmother and the Fairy Godmother. I told Isla she could choose one souvenir from the shop next door and she selected a magic wand. Everywhere we went, people complimented her princess attire, and cast members would greet her with a sincere, “Hello, princess!” Honestly, her reaction to being treated like a princess just made my day. Was it attention for something superficial? Yes. But she loved every minute of it and I loved that she was so happy to be a princess for a day.

Our next stop was Cinderella’s Royal Table for lunch, another popular character meal that books up quickly. We stood in line outside waiting for our seating, then went inside the castle for a photo op with Cinderella before being shown to our table.

We were right by a window, so had a great view of the courtyard outside of the castle and inside the dining hall. I shouldn’t have been surprised, but I was a little surprised by how truly castle-like it was on the inside. I wish I could remember her name, but we had a wonderful waitress who said she’d worked at Disney for nearly as many years as it had been open (if not as long). I had the niçoise salad and a crème brûlée, both of which were great. Isla had cheese pizza, I think, and then a make-your-own sundae dessert.

Cinderella’s Royal Table does accept the Disney Dining Plan, but because of the experience it is worth two dining credits instead of just one. For this reason just Isla and I went, but the boys were off having their own adventure.

Which brings me to the boys’ part of the day – they went to The Pirates League, where they were treated to fully in-character cast members speaking in pirate tongues, teaching them to swashbuckle and talk like a pirate. Miles and Grant both had their faces expertly done up to make them look like they had days-old stubble and some injuries to their faces, like any good pirate might have.

Fewer kids go to the Pirates League than to Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique, if the number of kids we saw in pirate costumes vs. princess gowns was any indication, so the boys got a lot of attention with their costumes (bought on eBay and brought from home, to avoid paying more for Disney costumes). Grant was particularly in character, growling at passerby. At one point we had a group of people stop and give Grant a pin because he was the best pirate they’d seen all day (they gave the other kids pins, too, which was very nice of them).

So all day the kids got positive attention in their outfits, a lot of cast members and strangers interacting with them and talking to them because of how they were dressed up. And they ate it up! Even Miles, who is naturally more reserved, enjoyed the spotlight for small moments.

Zachary and his parents and the boys ate at Liberty Tavern Inn while Isla and I were at CRT, and they said it was really good food. We had a beautiful day and did the Jungle Cruise (which scared Isla with the faux savage animals), tried PhilharMagic (scared Isla, so we had to make a quick exit, during which she lost her wand in the dark, meaning we had to stay outside until the show ended to go back and find it), and the Swiss Family Treehouse (which scared me, because for some reason I failed to remember I am scared of heights until we got to the top).

Dinner that night was quick service at Pinocchio Village Haus, which was very big and overlooked It’s A Small World, but the food was underwhelming.

Then it was back to the hotel for some sleep! Seeing the castle all bright with the holiday lights on our way out was pretty spectacular.

Walt Disney World Vacation with Four Kids – Part III – Epcot (Again) and Magic Kingdom

Mar 23, 2011

Day Two – Epcot
Our second day at Disney we had Grammie and Granddad with us (yay!) and set off to Epcot again after breakfast in our hotel room.

I think one of the first things we did was Turtle Talk with Crush. This is a really cute show where Crush from Finding Nemo is on a big screen and through some sort of Disney magic can interact with the kids in the audience. Isla and Grant loved it, but Miles is at an age where I think he’s just figuring out what is real and what is pretend. I believe he went into the show thinking it would be pretend, but then when the animated character Crush began addressing children around him or knowing what was going on in the room, it challenged his notion that it wasn’t real, and he couldn’t take it, so he had to leave the room. But it was a funny show, and if your kids liked Finding Nemo I think they’d really enjoy it.

In the same building as Turtle Talk with Crush there are aquariums with fish, sharks, jellyfish and more, so we spent time exploring the sea life. The kids were very excited to find one of their first “hidden Mickeys,” something they’d learned about on the Disney vacation planning DVD, I think. They were a little confused about the whole “hidden,” aspect, though, because throughout our vacation they’d see very obvious Mickey silhouettes and scream, “Look, a hidden Mickey!” But here’s an example of a real hidden Mickey we found that day.

Our sit-down reservation for the day was in the Norway area of the World Showcase at Epcot – the character lunch at Akershus called Princess Storybook Dining.

We had to wait outside for our name to be called even though we had a reservation. It was hot that day so the kids were a little tired and antsy about waiting, but it wasn’t too bad. After we were ushered inside we had to stand in line again to have photos taken with Belle from Beauty and the Beast. Miles was not keen on seeing any characters, with fake heads or not, so only Isla and Grant met her.

The building Akershus is in was cool, felt a little castle dining hall like (not that I’ve ever been to a castle). For adults dining at Akershus, there is a menu of items to choose from, but in addition to your meal you also get to visit a buffet with fruit, salads, rolls and meats. While we ate the princesses made the rounds to speak with the kids and have their photos taken – that day we met Aurora, Snow White, Cinderella and Ariel during lunch. Isla and Grant loved it – Grant would take his hat off and bow to each princess, but then also growl at her like a pirate.

After lunch we made an ill-fated decision to take the kids on Maelstrom, which is right next door. Not a good attraction for tender-hearted children! The narrator’s voice is scary, and some of the scenes were ominous. Screaming ensued. I really don’t remember much about it because I was calming the children.

We visited the Mexico pavilion again and Grammie and Granddad let them choose souvenirs, and we spent the rest of the afternoon walking around the World Showcase. Not delving too deep into any particular countries, but looking around, and the kids got their faces painted in Morocco, which was a highlight of their day.

Before we left for the day we ate at the Liberty Inn Restaurant (part of the United States pavilion) because the sky threatened rain and this restaurant was quick service but had a huge indoor dining area. The food was decent, not bad but not so spectacular that I can remember what I ate (maybe veggie burger?).

By the time dinner was over the kids (and us adults, too!) were ready to head home, so we headed back to the bus area but took in the holiday lights all around the park.

Day Three – Magic Kingdom
Before making our way to the Magic Kingdom, we had an excellent breakfast at the Polynesian resort, at their restaurant called ‘Ohana. This meal featured Mickey, Pluto, Lilo and Stitch. Food was served family style and we had a TON of it. Scrambed eggs, biscuits, sausage, bacon, potatoes, waffles – and all very good. They brought Jonah special waffles that were egg-free, too! Poor Miles was still scared of the characters so he hid under the table any time one approached, and Jonah started to get a little frightened of them, but Isla and Grant loved them. We did have to wait quite a while for our table even though we had a reservation, so we got a late start getting to MK.

Okay, I have a confession to make – I think I was more excited to go to Disney World than the kids were. After all, I had waited over thirty years to go; they had only known about Disney World for a couple of years. So when we made our way through the entrance and I saw Cinderella’s castle, I teared up, I really did.

It was our last warm day in Florida. Grammie and Granddad let the kids pick out mouse ears hats (one pirate hat, one Minnie Mouse hat, one popcorn bucket hat, and one mini baby hat for Jonah) and just as that was settled a parade went by. Great timing!

The first ride of the day was Dumbo the Flying Elephant, which Grant and Isla rode on with Granddad and Zachary. We had to keep the stroller in the shade, the sun was so hot!

That day we also went on It’s a Small World (kids loved it), Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin (really fun, not sure why it’s so much less popular than Toy Story Mania at Hollywood Studios – there was virtually no wait at all – but Isla wouldn’t go on it), The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh (Isla and Grant went on it, but there was a malfunction at a kind of creepy dream sequence part where we were waiting for the ride to start moving again, which made them a little nervous), and the Tomorrowland Speedway, which the kids did enjoy.

Lunch that day was at Cosmic Ray’s, which again was decent food for counter service, but I found the ordering a little bit of a hassle for a group – one counter would be for burgers, and another for sandwiches and chicken, I think it was, which would mean you’d have to stand in line more than once or split up to get meals for people who didn’t want to eat the same thing.

We didn’t stay out too late that day. I think one of the keys to our success was really paying attention to how tired people were getting, and not pushing anyone too hard to stay out late or go too fast or do too much. We headed back to the hotel when the sun was still out and got some much needed sleep. The kids were exceptionally excited thinking about the following day, which would bring them the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique and Pirates League.