One of the highlights of our trip to Disney World for the girls was meeting Merida. It has become Merida madness around here!
Before we ever left, I was doing some Disney blog stalking and found a post with pictures containing the Merida collection. Little Princess chose a doll first from the pictures, and that was the first thing she wanted to do when we got there: meet Merida and buy her doll.
If you are heading to meet Merida, a hint for you. Go at rope drop! She started meeting people at 9:30, so we went straight and got in line. The line was always long when we were there, the week before the movie released. Probably longer now. The only thing about this time, as you can see from the first picture, is that the shadows from the trees make for not so great pictures!
They were promoting the movie rather heavily while we were at WDW, of course. We came home with a few fun FREE souvenirs, like badges and postcards.
In Epcot, they had an area set up called Highland Games. The girls got to practice their archery again, toss some "logs" and
haggis, and do some flipping of something or other. The logs were foam covered in brown fabric, haggis was cornhole! Easily translated to party games! We really had a lot of fun. There was also a playground nearby, canopies set up, and comfy chairs. Dear Husband was quite willing to let the girls play to their hearts content while he rested in the shade!
The archery part actually warmed my heart. My dear Daddy was a huge archer, and it was something he would have loved to have seen. Big Princess came home and wanted to try out his bows and arrows. Once my big brother comes in, I'll let him show her the ropes. It's a connection that made me teary eyed!
Why do we love Merida and Brave?
1. There is a spirit in her that we all appreciate.
2.
It's very realistic about mother/daughter relationships. Big Princess
will be 13 in 2 months, and we could have had some of those same
conversations.
3. Since she loved Hunger Games, the
archery aspect pulled Big Princess in. Plus, she could identify with
Merida's big old messy hair. They had a conversation about controlling
the frizz in the Florida humidity!
4. The music was GREAT!
5. Little Princess loved it. Just because.
6. This was the first movie my mom ever went with us to see.
I
will also admit that the movie was fairly graphic a few times. Enough
so that I was uncomfortable. We're not big on violence. I found that
to mostly be the beginning, once we got past it, it was GREAT!
So now, the Merida madness continues. Little Princess will be sporting this Brave backpack and lunch box in Kindergarten this year. I love that packing her lunch will bring back memories of a wonderful trip! By the way, the backpack is on sale right now for $15.00 on Disney Store. com. I have no affiliation with them, other than the fact it's my favorite place to shop! :)
To keep the fun going, here is a roundup of activities, printables, recipes, and crafts!
I was too excited to find this pin from skip to my lou about making a PVC bow and arrow. I think hubby might be commissioned to do this. The girls would love it.
Thinking about having a Brave party? You have GOT to check out Printabelle. FREE stationary, cupcake toppers, water bottle labels, and much, much more! I am thinking lunch box notes and encouragement notes for the princesses!
Have you seen Disneybound's clothing ideas? AMAZING. Contemporary looks that emulate characters. LOVE this Merida look. I can see Big Princess rocking this!
Disney family has a Scottish sweet roll recipe. You know, what those pesky brothers kept eating? While you are there, check out all the other GREAT BRAVE printables, activities, and recipes, like Chocolate Bear Paws. Crowns, cutouts, you name it. Here is there Top ten .
If you are incorporating a study of Scotland into your life, or if you are really BRAVE, you can try out some of the Scottish recipes from Cooking Channel TV.
I could really see a BRAVE themed party being a big hit with the boys and girls. And if you are like me with a fairly big age split in your kiddos, you could have a Hunger Games/BRAVE party and incorporate teens and tots!
I will be getting in my car in 19 days for a 12 hour drive to my happy place. I am starting to get excited, really, really excited. I have the feeling my Disney posts will be more frequent!
Today I want to share with you something that I've seen discussed over and over again, and that's what we take into the parks. Some are minimalists, others carry everything but the kitchen sink. We've fallen into the carry a lot group, but it's not as bad as it sounds, promise!
I was told years ago that the Baggalini messenger bag is awesome, and it is. I absolutely love it for WDW! It comes in a lot of colors, but I chose basic black. The straps are comfy, it holds a lot, it keeps things organized! There is a zippered part on the back, too. I keep the most valuable stuff in there since it stays close to my body! My cell phone fits great in the section on the strap, keeping it handy for staying in touch, looking up something, etc. The picture is a link to Amazon for this bag.
FYI - You have to have your bags checked at every park entrance. I try to help the guards out by opening the zippers and zippered pouches while I am waiting in line for bag check.
So, what's in here?
*** mini first aid kit. There are first aid stations everywhere, but I keep one of these little numbers by Johnson and Johnson so I don't have to try to find one if necessary. It has everything I need for a basic boo-boo. I also put in a few pieces of moleskin in case a blister starts cropping up, and a few various sizes of safety pins, mostly in case of wardrobe malfunctions! :) I love that this little box will keep it all organized
**** Medicine kit. This is a small zippered pouch that I keep in my bag. I have a tiny box in it with a few adult ibuprofen and another with chewable tylenol for Little Princess. I also keep a roll of tums and a few peppermints in here. Sometimes, the food/ride combination leaves us feeling yucky. These two will head it off pretty quickly. I wear contacts that sometimes dry out on the faster outdoor rides, so I have a small bottle of drops in here. Also keep a dose of immodium. Finally, I have a small eyeglass repair kit for DH, like the one shown below. He's blind as a bat without his glasses! All this can be found in the parks, but much faster and handier just to have it with me. Honestly, this zipper pouch is only 2 inches wide by 4 inches long.
***Gum - not sold on property! Take it with you if you like it! Again, great for upset tummies if you get mint flavored.
***Chapstick - no burned lips allowed!
***Our Keys to the World. These are your park tickets, room card, dining plan, and charge card all in one if you are staying on property. We keep ours on lanyards. Hubby keeps his attached to his belt loop, but I keep mine and Little Princess'. We rely on this totally for money, with the exception of sometimes taking $10 or so for an incidental expense that might not go on the card, but most do. (If you are going to Harmony Barber Shop in the Magic Kingdom, you can pay for the haircuts via room card, but not tips to the barber, FYI!)
***Camera, camcorder. If you have a small point and shoot, I read a great tip to put it in a travel soap box. Ours wouldn't fit in one, but thought that was an awesome idea, especially for those water rides.
****Ziploc bags I put in a gallon and sandwich. These are to protect items on water rides.
If we are going to Animal Kingdom, sometimes I add a grocery bag to put my whole bag in. You will get soaked on Kali River Rapids. There is a storage compartment, but it's not totally waterproof.
***Travel size hand sanitizer
***Travel sized pack of wet wipes - sticky hands, dirty tables, Mickey Ice Cream Bar covered faces. I usually buy enough at the Dollar Tree to have a pack a day. ***Pennies and quarters for pressed penny machines. Our daughters collect these, they are a relatively inexpensive souvenir. We keep them in a M&M's mini container. Note: this can get heavy!!!
****Little Princess Autograph book and Sharpie.
***Ipod touch- the games and videos have been life savers in lines for Little Princess. That's about all we take to occupy her. I also keep our ADR confirmation times and numbers on here and my phone, and I air share our touring plans excel sheet to my ipod.
***Health insurance cards and driver's licenses. My theory is if something happened bad enough for us to go to hospital, I wouldn't want to take the time to go back to the room for the cards. I have a small card pouch that I keep buried in one of the zipper pouches for this.
*Big Princess has a Vera Bradley mini messenger. She keeps her key, camera, phone, gum, hand sanitizer, ipod touch, and autograph book.
We also carry a "stroller bag".
This will probably be our last year with the stroller, so we'll have to pick and choose what of this to take in the baggalini next year. We take a canvas shopping bag to keep under the stroller with other items.
To get on the buses or trains at WDW, you have to fold your stroller. I recommend that everyone take a small bag to be able to throw things that accumulate in the bottom of the stroller so you can just put the bag on your shoulder rather than holding the stuff. I've had to stand on a moving bus and hold a tired preschooler in my arms, while hubby stood and held on to the stroller and baggalini and Big Princess held the stroller bag. Note: you can have all your park purchases sent back to your room if you are staying on property at no cost. We like to take advantage of this when possible, just keep your check out date (and how badly your child might want to play with something purchased) in mind. It usually takes 24-36 hours to get there.
In here, we have:
*Ponchos I buy several at the Dollar Tree and take these daily. Quick storms pop up almost every day in the summer. They also help at Kali to keep you a little more dry. We have nicer, heavy duty ones that we take with us WDW and only take them to the parks if they are calling for RAIN, not just chances of pop up storms and showers.
****Shower curtain linerand clothespins. I loved this tip from the minute I read it. If we park the stroller to ride or eat, and the sky looks ominous, we wrap the shower liner around it and clothespin it together in the back. It's saved Little Princess from having to ride in a soaked stroller more than once! I take a couple of dollar store ones every year, and they really don't take up much room in the stroller bag.
***Sunscreen
***Glow sticks, light up spinners, etc. if we are going at night.
****Water bottle - We always get the free ice water at counter service places. We put it into a bottle immediately. We got some years back at WDW that the screw on top is held on by a strap, perfect for hanging over the stroller handles.
****Spray Misting Fan - If you read my post on beating the summer heat at WDW, you know I advocate budgeting the extra $15-$20 on the WDW misting fans. They just work so much better. We do still take personal ones, but that one is truly the best. We use the neck hoop to hook over the stroller handles.
***Chamois cloth, sometimes called camp towels or swimmers towels. These are great to wipe off benches or rides after a rainstorm.
Honestly, I know it sounds like a lot. But these little things have come in very handy to make our trips more magical. I know people that head off with their keys and camera and go! I pack the baggalini before we go, and take a ziploc bag of the extra wipes, batteries for fans, gum, etc. in my suitcase. I also pack the stroller bag with the basics before we go, and put the ponchos and night stuff in the suitcase.
Our current social studies curriculum in k is maps and globes. (You know, a blog is a great digital lesson plan book. Next year, I'll just pull up this page, and voila', planning at my fingertips!)
Globes:
We have a classroom globe that, honestly, was probably in that room when I was in K in 1980. They can't really read the countries, so I don't mind it being incorrect! (Shhhh....) So we pulled it out, looked at it, talked about water being blue. One little miss declared "If you see green water, that's snake water. Snakes are in it" Good enough reason for water to be blue to me!
We played a game with an inflatable globe by tossing it and the kids had to two-hand catch it. We tally how often we land on land vs. water. Good visual (and a little math practice) for how much of the earth is really covered by water.
Our students have to know that a globe is a round model of the earth. Model is not a term they use or are even familiar with, other than the little misses that do beauty pageants. They call them "toy cars, planes, boats, etc." In order to introduce that a model is a smaller representation of something large, I pulled up this page showcasing Hobby Lobby Models on our Smartboard. Once they saw them, many students could AT LEAST identify with model trains around Christmas trees in stores and movies. We also looked at model towns, and talked about how architects use them for planning.
View from above:
This is another part of our standard that takes a lot of visual help for the students to comprehend. I manage this by using Google Earth. If you haven't pulled this up on your Smartboard - DO IT!!! The kids absolutely LOVE it. I put in the address of our school, and they loved being able to pick out the gym, playground, bus parking, etc. We followed the roads and pretended we were in a helicopter flying over our town. They picked out Wal Mart, Little Caesars, the Mexican Restaurant, the park, - all the important places in their lives.
Then, since I am a Disney World loving teacher with a Disney themed room, we flew to the Magic Kingdom and added 3D buildings so they could see the castle! Some years, if a lot of kids have been to WDW, I do more. This year, none of my students had been, so we stuck with the most iconic! We also flew to DC to find buildings we had talked about. LOVE this!
Another good resource I found on pinterest from Jefferson County Public Schools with some great printables, especially covering (birds eye view/view from above):
If I had had time this week, I wanted to modify this project I found on pinterest for Earth Day into a globe art project, but we ran out of time. (Story of our lives, right?)
Another idea I would like to incorporate in the future is to make a papier' mache Earth with a balloon. One reason I had for not making the time to do the above project is that it is still flat. If I can grab a volunteer next year, that will be a project. Thinking maybe 1 per table, doing 20 would probably be way too cumbersome!
I LOVE this idea for making a model town inspired by Oh, the Places You'll Go! Again, if I only had more time!
After talking about map views, exploring Google Earth, we got down to flat maps.
* We used shape icons on the Smartboard to make a map of the classroom.
*We found places we had read about on maps.
* I also pulled up the National Weather Service map to talk about how it was important to be able to find your location on a map so you would know if storms, rains, or snow were coming in your direction.
*I had gotten enough Magic Kingdom park maps last summer to be able to give one to each student. They looked at how it compared to the google earth view.
*We looked at the fire evacuation map posted in our classroom as a map of the school.
*We gave them clip art of playground equipment and had them design their own "pefect playground map"
For stations/center time:
*I collect maps everytime we see them in restaurants, rest areas, etc. and pull them out during this unit. I have lots for them to browse through. They love the attractions on the brochures, and look at the maps.
*Blank piece of paper and draw a map to a pirate treasure (or the leprechaun's pot of gold!)
*Race track map rug is a big hit, and only gets pulled out during this unit and occasionally thereafter. :)
*Floor puzzle map of the US that was a gift from a great parent!
***This is a great resource from Rockingham Public Schools, VA that has our state standards listed, and various games, discovery education clips, and Smartboard Resources listed. I linked to the maps/globe page, but they have all kindergarten standards covered! AMAZING time saver!
For our honeymoon, 15 (!) years ago, I told my soon-to-be dearly beloved that I wanted to go to Disney World. I had never been, and wanted to experience it "as a kid" before I went as a Mom. I researched as much as I could, the internet hadn't boomed like it has now - gosh, that makes me sound like a dinosaur - and we had a BLAST! We vowed to come back for our 10th anniversary with our kids. "If you want to make God laugh, tell him your plans." That fits this vow. Little did we know medical intervention would be necessary to get pregnant with Big Princess, and how 7 years later on our 10th anniversary after being happily resolved to having one child, I would be very happily surprised and very close to delivering our Little Princess.
So.... our return trip was in the summer of 2009, with Princesses aged 2 and 9. Yes, Summer. July. In Florida. One of my best friends and her family went a couple of weeks before us, and promptly told us upon their return that they frequently stated how much my Dear Husband was going to hate it. See, he hates: heat, crowds, people stopping in front of him to read maps, and lots of walking. Hmm.... I was worried.
I had researched, and researched, and planned, and been consumed with this vacation. This last minute prophecy scared me silly. Yet, my hubby earned his ears by the end of the trip. Not all "pure magic wrapped up in pixie dust" but some effort on everyone's behalf helped my dream become a reality.
BEFORE YOU GO:
1. Do your research.
I say this a lot. I think my next Disney post will have to be how to research a trip. For the short version - I had an Excel document that listed each day, the rides in the order we were going to ride them, where and when we were eating. I had an extensive packing list. I knew the hiding places, best times to visit each park, the best places for snacks, what to pack in our park bags, what to take for aching feet, how to hydrate.
2. Find at least one restaurant you know he is going to love the food. For my husband, and my princesses, this is O'hana at the Polynesian. He would (and maybe has) made the return 12 hour drive to Florida just to eat here.
3. Involve him in planning, but only to the extent that he wishes.
You definitely need to work together on a few of the big picture details - like the budget, whether or not to do the dining plan if you are booking a package through Disney and staying on property. Be sure to plan for the rides and attractions he wants to visit. My husband's input for our for vacation was loosely based on his childhood trip to Disney World. (As hard as we tried, we didn't find the hat he lost at age 10. Sorry, hon. We'll keep looking!)
One of the things that appealed the most to my husband was the fact that I planned it all for him. Anyone else "argue" over what or where to eat, simply because neither of you wants to make a decision? He was very content to follow my plan once we were there. But he wanted to make sure he knew what it was!
Think about his personality - does he need to be in control, heavily involved, or would he rather take a vacation from all the decisions he makes daily and just follow along?
4. Plan some down time.
I crashed and burned on this aspect for our first family trip. We didn't have enough down time, and he came home needing a vacation from our vacation. As a teacher, I had time to recover. He had to go back to work the next day. The promise of more down time and a slower pace got us back the next year, and the next, and the next.
5. Communicate expectations
This goes along with the planning, to a certain extent. If you are going in the summer, talk about your plans to beat the heat.. Talk about your parenting plans if you have kids - know in advance how you plan to handle the child who is tired, afraid of an attraction, etc. Having that plan in mind will save a disagreement in the heat of an emotional moment.
Now that the thrill of that magical first trip is over, he gives a lot more input. I listen. He's also quicker to say - "If I drive all night to get there, I'm going to need a nap on our arrival day." I listen. "I don't really need to do that this year." We don't. If we are walking out the resort door to the parks and he sees the pool and says "that would feel good this afternoon" we do it, instead of me saying "there is a pool at your parents' house when we get home."
6. Get everyone excited for the trip
Granted, my husband said he felt like he was watching American Pie when I was planning our first trip. Instead of "One time, at band camp" he came home every day to hear "Today, I found out" Yeah, that's me! However, all the little secrets I shared made for a killer first trip, and he felt like part of the "in crowd" (as in, "in the know") We had movie nights, countdowns, watched YouTube videos of the rides, looked at the planning books together. We made it special before we ever got there, because we were bonding over the trip!
Note: I will admit that Disney is something you either get, or you don't. Even if you do everything suggested, some Dads won't get it. (Reality check: even if you are the chief planner and the most excited, you might not "get it") You have to respect that. If he would rather visit one of Disney's great golf courses, stay in the resort and watch television, sleep, or swim, chances are his demeanor won't make things fun for anyone if you force it.
If you, as a Mom, can handle the kids on your own, let it be. If they are too young, or too many in number, for you to safely do that, you are going to have to compromise and work that out. See if he will play along for a while, and then spend the afternoon hanging out by the pool with the kids. Disney can be done "less expensively" but it's still expensive. We consider our vacations investments in our family, but not everyone feels the same way. This is where you are going to have to do a lot of communication beforehand, you'll be able to tell what kind of trip it's going to be.
For the week, or however long you are there, enjoying Disney takes a certain mindset. I guess the best way to explain this is to give non-examples that I have heard on WDW vacations:
"We paid a fortune for this trip, kid, you are not going to waste our time playing in this water."
"You may NOT take off that princess dress, I don't care if you are hot, it was expensive."
"You are too old to have your picture made with Peter Pan."
"I don't care if you are scared, you are going to ride it without another word."
"I paid good money to be here, and I'm not waiting in line. Watch - we'll pass all these people."
"What a waste of money, all the rides are lame."
"Did every idiot in the world come here this week?"
"I don't care if you've been waiting an hour to have this spot for fireworks, I'm going to stand in front of your daughter."
You have to be a kid, look over the jerks, be respectful of your family and others, and appreciate the immense attention to detail Disney puts in everything. Take time to breathe on Main St., you'll smell the scent of cookies that they pipe out by the street, or in Soarin' and you'll smell the oranges when you fly over the orange grove. Just. enjoy.
8. If you have kids, focus on the kids. Whatever your situation - live in the moment.
If your husband is like mine, he works too much and doesn't get to spend enough time with his children. The kids will be loving (just about) every minute. Make sure you love, and live, every moment, too. I think my husband earned his ears when he really, really enjoyed the time with his princesses. The looks on their faces when they met Mickey or the Princesses, or rode a "big ride" for the first time, or cried when waving goodbye to "our castle" made us realize how fleeting their childhood, and our time as a family all in one home, really is.
If you take time to soak it in, everyone will be happy. Whenever something worked out great, we recognized it. It became a joke to say "pixie dust" every time a bus pulled up just as we got to the waiting area, we got in the short line at Pirates of the Caribbean, did everything we wanted to in Fantasyland in the first hour, had a short wait at a restaurant, got a great table or waiter, or just right place for fireworks.
We love Disney World, really. love. Disney World. Many attractions and rides are MUST DO on EVERY trip. And yet, some of the sweetest memories are those when we let the kids get soaked in the fire hydrant at Hollywood Studios, sat on a bench eating a snack and watching the castle change colors, tried to catch jumping water from the fountains in Epcot, talking to sweet Cast Members from all over the world, joining in the drum band in Animal Kingdom, taking a moment to say a prayer at the Animal Kingdom Wishing Tree, standing to the side and calling the phone booths in Epcot on our cell phones and talking to the people inside, trying on Viking hats in Norway, watching the performers in ALL the parks, saying the Pledge of Allegiance with the Fife and Drum Corps, waving to the characters in the Welcome Show and singing along, you get the idea.
9. Be realistic and respectful
Chances are, many of you are reading this in preparation for a first or second family vacation. You're beyond excited, have been making lots of plans. Abandon the thought that the plans will all go exactly as you have them in mind. As much as I advocate planning, I almost destroyed our first vacation. I thought it was going to be a once in a lifetime trip and tried to "do it all" in a week.
My princesses will go and go and go and go, running on adrenaline, until they crash head-on into a concrete wall with a concussion-causing boom. We were up and out the door every morning by 7, and closed the parks many nights. Dear Husband knew how important our trip was to me, and was sending clues that he was about to meet the wall with his forehead himself. I very nearly missed them. When he asked one evening what the plans were for the next day, I thought he was going to kiss the ground when I finally heard the exhaustion in his voice and asked "want to cancel breakfast in the morning and sleep in a bit instead?"
In summary: watch him as closely for signs of a meltdown as you do your kids. After all, it is a FAMILY vacation.
10. Have some pretty great material to work with. My husband is really happiest when his princesses (and the Queen) are happy. He knew how much our first trip meant to us, and was determined to help it be everything we had built it up to be. He really is on his best behavior at WDW and holds his tongue well when people are being idiots or jerks around us (yes, they go to WDW, too). He has a collection of Mickey, Grumpy, and Donald shirts that he willingly dons on vacation. He was the one that suggested we buy the girls the Cinderella Castle playset at the last minute. And he was the one, that within a few hours of getting home, plugged in the photopass code, pulled up this picture of our girls waving goodbye to the castle with tears in his eyes. Yep, he definitely earned his ears.
I'm married to a Memory Maker, who knows there are only so many more mountains to climb together, or days before she finds her own Prince Charming. It is a good life.
I'm in planning mode for our 4th consecutive summer trip to our happy place. As a public school teacher, it's really our only viable option for vacation. I am too much of a sentimentalist/believer in family traditions to give up a holiday such as Thanksgiving or Christmas with our extended families. The question I'm asked most frequently, since I have the reputation as a local WDW fanatic, is how we handle the heat. Since this can be life-saving information, I'm sharing!
Before you go: 1. Do your research I cannot stress enough how vital this step is. The people that have had the most miserable WDW summer experiences went in blind. You are going to have in mind which attractions are important for your family to visit, and where they are. Aimlessly wandering through hot parks is miserable, energy-zapping, and not my idea of a vacation! There are plenty of sites out there to help with this. My all time favorite is Disboards. Be prepared. It's as addictive as pinterest! It is a forum board, but you don't have to post to get the information you need. Another good one is Allears. These books have also been invaluable, especially when planning first visits:
Lots of pictures here, so it's great for family planning
And this one is packed with information. I think I read each section 4 times before our first trip:
2. Prepare your body
It is vital that you start your vacation hydrated. For a week or two beforehand, really load everyone in the family up on water. If you start out at a deficit, you will suffer. Spend some time outside, if you live in a hot climate, so that your body begins to adjust to the heat. If all your time is in air conditioning, it will feel much, much worse. Take a few walks, or a lot of walks, as a family, preferably on asphalt. This will help make sure your shoes are comfy, and begin to build some endurance.
3. Invest in personal mister fans.
Going to be real here. We each have those small fans, and they are helpful. However, we learned the first year that while they were helpful, the big (approximately $15.00-$17.00) they sell in the parks worked much better. If you have a little one in a stroller, think seriously about buying a stroller fan. They are closer to the pavement and heat, often surrounded by lots of hot bodies. We have 2 of these:
Don't forget to pack batteries (and a small screwdriver if the battery compartment calls for it) for the fans to replace them. We've had to on a couple of occasions.
3. Air conditioning and water rides are your friends. In. that. order.
The sickest I have felt at Walt Disney World did not come from the drop on Tower of Terror, but from riding Kali River Rapids in which you get soaked, and then going to lunch in the air conditioning. My body just could not handle that temperature change shock.
4. Avoid the sun in the middle of the afternoon. There are a few schools of thought here, and you will need to decide what is best for your family.
Our first year, our youngest was 2. We planned naps in the room. Reality check: when you are using Disney buses for transportation, you will wait for your bus. The average we had to wait at the bus stops were 20 minutes each way, and another 15-20 minute bus ride to the resort, depending on which park you are at and where your resort is. That was an hour and 20-30 minutes for transportation, at best. WDW recommends allowing an hour each way for transportation . Once we got to the resort, the little one wanted to swim and would. not. nap. She was a BEAR for the rest of the day.
The next day, she fell asleep at naptime in the stroller. We stayed in the park, found shady spots so that she could sleep and rides that I could hold her sleeping, took it easy, took turns riding with oldest daughter. She woke up much happier.
Our favorite midday rides with sleeping little one to hold: Magic Kingdom: Tomorrowland Transit Authority Animal Kingdom: Kilimanjaro Safari (downside: wait could be long midday, animals aren't as active, and you have to park the stroller and hold a heavy sleeping little one while you wait). We prefer just ambling through the mostly shaded trails! Epcot: The Seas aquarium, or slowly wandering through World Showcase shops. Double edged sword - big strollers, like the ones you rent in the parks, are hard to maneuver in some shops. We have a Maclaren, and it's very lightweight and compact, yet comfy and sturdy. The positive, little one isn't reaching for everything! Hollywood Studios: American Idol show if noise won't wake your child. Honestly, this is the only one we haven't done with little princess asleep. I think you could probably hold child on Great Movie Ride and Backlot Tour, also.
Some kids do fine napping in the room. Many people swim mid afternoon and rest.
Now that she's not napping, this is our plan:
Be at the parks at rope drop (when they open). It's cooler then (if 87 and 80% humidity can be considered cooler). Stay until lunch, and take advantage of the air conditioning and rest before traveling back to resort. Go back to room, rest, swim, for the vast majority of the evening. Head out for dinner, and then hit the park again. The advantage to going in the summer is that the parks are open later, especially Magic Kingdom. Our kids are night owls, so this works for us. Little one almost always fell asleep coming "home." This is why we always get park hopper tickets.
A few days of this, and then a day midweek to sleep in. Nothing planned until early evening.
5. DRINK YOUR WATER!
Avoid caffeine. This is dehydrate you. Our rule is water every hour. Ice water is FREE at counter service locations. We usually get 2 and split them. We carry water bottles and sometimes get 4 and drink 2 immediately and fill the water bottle. If you do the Disney Dining Plan, Smartwater is a snack option. If someone is feeling really bad, the extra electrolytes in this can help. You CAN bring water with you , so feel free to freeze some and bring it in. Some people don't like the taste of the water, and bring single mix pouches to add in. We've never had an issue.
6. Dress in lightweight, light colors and breathable fabrics.
Black may make you look thinner, but man does it heat you up. Synthetic fabrics like rayon will cling in all the wrong places. Moisture wicking materials designed for athletes are great - especially if you wear tennis shoes and socks. We usually do flip-flops - Tevas are fabulous - or crocs. 7. Cool off the back of your neck
This little trick works wonders. We've wet and frozen washcloths and placed in ziploc bags to carry in with us. We've also just gone in the bathrooms and wet paper towels. We've put cold water bottles on the backs of our necks. We have one of those weird fabric things with cooling beads in it and wet it (I think this looks goofy, but it's better than a heatstroke!). Most of the time, we just mist and fan. This will really cool you down.
8. There is no better place and to indulge in frozen treats than the summer at WDW.
Our favorites: Dole Whips at Aloha Isle in Magic Kingdom's Adventureland, Mickey ice cream pops, itzakadoozies (really, really long popsicles), and frozen lemonade. There are frozen treat carts all over all the parks. Hint: cup lids (to-go cups, child's cups) are WONDERFUL for holding treats on a stick. Put the stick through, the drips will fall on the lid!
9. Listen to your bodies, and your kids.
Everyone will have a much better time if you slow down when you need to. You will not see it all in a week. We've been for 3 weeks and have no where near seen it all. Do what's most important. (I recommend allowing each family member to pick their top two must dos for each park, and make those a priority, everything else is gravy.) If you push your kids because of the financial investment, you will be miserable at best and very sick at worst. Don't assume they are grumpy because they are only tired. This can be serious stuff folks.
10. Think twice about full blown princess costumes.
The most miserable kids we've seen are in princess costumes. I hate to be the bearer of bad news. Some girls do fine. But those princess costumes are synthetic, some with tulle or something underneath. Bibbidy Bobbidy Boutique is somewhere that my princess has begged for. But I know she would want the all out costume. That's one expensive trip. IF we ever do it, it will be the latest appointment they will give us, once things have cooled down. Possibly super early, but it's still hot. And then you have the issue, with either of these, of spending the money and having a miserable daughter who wants to take it off, or swim, or go to bed. Just my two, very unpopular, cents worth.
Go in with the mindset that it is going to be hot. Very hot. Tell your children that it's going to be hot. Go in with a "plan of attack" and go in prepared for the time of your life! If anyone has a tip I've forgotten, let me know.
So now, the Merida madness continues. Little Princess will be sporting this Brave backpack and lunch box in Kindergarten this year. I love that packing her lunch will bring back memories of a wonderful trip! By the way, the backpack is on sale right now for $15.00 on Disney Store. com. I have no affiliation with them, other than the fact it's my favorite place to shop! :)
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There is a zippered part on the back, too. I keep the most valuable stuff in there since it stays close to my body! My cell phone fits great in the section on the strap, keeping it handy for staying in touch, looking up something, etc. The picture is a link to Amazon for this bag.
