How do you guys do it?

[arivecchi]

I was able to visit a very dear BBB friend :waving4: with DS1 this past week and off to DL we went! So much fun but soooo exhausting! How are you guys able to spend entire vacations there? I think I would need a caffeine IV to be able to do that. ;)

[TwinFoxes]

If you're there for several days, you can schedule down time. :) A little pool time or nap time helps recharge the batteries.

Plus, it's the Happiest Place on Earth!

[crl]

Training. Lots of training. First you start with little things, like mastering shopping at Trader Joe's. Then you work your way up to pushing a Moutain Buggy in stilettos. And then you are finally ready for DL. :ROTFLMAO:

And if you think DL is bad, try WDW.

Catherine

[elektra]

If you're there for several days, you can schedule down time. :) A little pool time or nap time helps recharge the batteries.

Plus, it's the Happiest Place on Earth!

:waving4: This is what I figure. The locals "go big" and basically cram all the fun into one day. That is unless you have a season pass, in which case you might just stop in for a few hours here and there. I have never had the pass though, so we go big!
When I was a kid, we would go early and stay super late into the evening until we were basically about to drop. I think tourists usually spread out the fun over a few days.

[elektra]

Training. Lots of training. First you start with little things, like mastering shopping at Trader Joe's. Then you work your way up to pushing a Moutain Buggy in stilettos. And then you are finally ready for DL. :ROTFLMAO:



Catherine

LOL!

Little did you know that you have been in Jedi training arivecchi!

[arivecchi]

I am clearly a novice and need to undergo more rigorous training. I think next time I will bring my Mountain Buggy Terrain and have someone wheel me around. :rotflmao:

[Raidra]

I thought I was prepared for how demanding WDW would be.. and then I got there. :) Honestly, it wasn't the parks that surprised me.. I stupidly forgot that I didn't get to *stop* being a parent when we got back to the resort.. I still had to get things ready for the next day, put Niall to sleep, he was up all night as usual, then get all the kids ready in the morning, etc, etc.

[Beth24]

A I am so glad you posted this...I always have been embarrassed by what a wimp I am when it comes to amusement parks. I get so completely and utterly exhausted by the whole experience!

[jbbhb]

That is unless you have a season pass, in which case you might just stop in for a few hours here and there. I have never had the pass though, so we go big!
When I was a kid, we would go early and stay super late into the evening until we were basically about to drop. I think tourists usually spread out the fun over a few days.

We are in the season pass camp. We park at Downtown Disney which gives us 5 hours of free parking and thats our limit. Even thinking of being there longer makes me tired haha. Of course, this is based solely on my experience going as an adult, I haven't even taken my baby there yet. :ROTFLMAO:

I was in the same situation as elektra as a child. My grandfather would buy us tickets once a year. We were there when the gates opened and stayed until they kicked us out. I remember always being so excited to go, but then sooo tired. Perhaps this has shaped my disneyland preferences now :hysterical:

[peanut520]

i will see if all my training has prepared me for WDW in sept, but as insurance i am taking my parents (our treat) and dd will be heading to daycare the day after we get back so i can relax for the day then unpack after that.

[bubbaray]

Lots of coffee & Diet Coke. Sugary snacks. And collapse in bed before 9pm at night. We are almost always there for opening but rarely make it to closing.

[egoldber]

Repeat after me: "I can't see everything in one trip, so I won't even try."

:)

[khalloc]

I agree. I dont really think Disney is a true vacation. Its like something you have to do a few times if you have kids. We just brought our 2 kids for the 1st time in February. They LOVED it. And it was fun to see their faces seeing everything for the first time. BUT it was exhausting. I honestly do not see the appeal of going every year. I'd bring my kids back maybe 2 more times before they turn 18 and thats it. I went twice as a kid (aged 7 and 11) and I dont remember feeling like I needed to go anymore than that.

I'd much rather be relaxing on a beach drinking a mai tai.

[Raidra]

I'd much rather be relaxing on a beach drinking a mai tai.

Totally. :) My husband and I were just talking about where else we might want to take the kids on vacation, and the problem, now that we have Disney to compare things to, is that nowhere else provides as much easy entertainment for the kids. We could take a 'relaxing' trip to the beach, but we would still expend a ton of energy keeping the kids happy and safe. Disney was definitely exhausting, but it was nice not having to be creative coming up with ways to entertain the kids, that they were all interested in.

[arivecchi]

Totally. :) My husband and I were just talking about where else we might want to take the kids on vacation, and the problem, now that we have Disney to compare things to, is that nowhere else provides as much easy entertainment for the kids. We could take a 'relaxing' trip to the beach, but we would still expend a ton of energy keeping the kids happy and safe. Disney was definitely exhausting, but it was nice not having to be creative coming up with ways to entertain the kids, that they were all interested in.

Good point.

Are you telling me that I won't have a relaxing vacation for another 10-12 years? :47:

[Raidra]

Good point.

Are you telling me that I won't have a relaxing vacation for another 10-12 years? :47:

Not if you bring the kids with you. ;)

[Beth24]

Not if you bring the kids with you. ;)

:yeahthat: I've always thought that a family trip is very different from a vacation (you and your DH alone)!

[veronica]

Repeat after me: "I can't see everything in one trip, so I won't even try."

:)
:yeahthat:

We went last year and DH and I just kind of followed our "daily routine". DC's get up super early, so we headed out to eat by 7:30 and hung out at parks as long as we could. A couple of times, DS slept through lunch. We were back in the room for a nap around 2 and back out at 4 most days. DH and I napped with the kids so it really helped. We were back in the room around 8:30 pm.

Truth be told, I felt we "did" everything that was age appropriate for our kids anyway. I didn't need to stay up late for laser light shows, or certain parades. We did the daytime parades and quick shows, etc. The kids had a blast.

[khalloc]

Totally. :) My husband and I were just talking about where else we might want to take the kids on vacation, and the problem, now that we have Disney to compare things to, is that nowhere else provides as much easy entertainment for the kids. We could take a 'relaxing' trip to the beach, but we would still expend a ton of energy keeping the kids happy and safe. Disney was definitely exhausting, but it was nice not having to be creative coming up with ways to entertain the kids, that they were all interested in.

well I brought my kids to Aruba once. It wasnt as relaxing as it could have been. But I think as they get older it will get better. The kids love to play in the sand and the pools. I will definitely not be stuck to a lifetime of Disney vacations just because of the kids. I think the older they get the easier it will be for everyone to enjoy going on a more tropical vacation. Plus tons of resorts have kids clubs and if you go to the right places they have stuff for kids to do. In Aruba we saw a butterfly farm, ostrich farm. Of course I also try to work in an adult only vacation every 1-2 years. ;)

I guess I feel that there are a ton of other places to see and things to do with kids besides Disney. I feel like if i went to Disney more than every 3 years I would be bored with whats there. Alot of the rides are kind of lame. It was fun for kids, but so is a day at the Great Escape.

[bisous]

We do Disneyland a lot and it isn't stressful at all at this point for us. I think it has to do with our style. DH is a CM so we get in for free. We DO go all day. I've never figured out how to stay for only a set amount of hours. Once we get there we are sucked in! That said, we spend a lot of "down time". Each time we go we spend at least an hour at lunch and at dinner with the kids just playing at the playground at Toontown, or chasing the ducks around the eating area at Stagedoor Cafe, etc. :) We don't buy a lot of the stuff there (for budgetary reasons really!) so the kids aren't hopped up on sugar and I'm sure that prevents meltdowns!

When I used to go with DS1, he would always take a nice 3 hour long nap in the middle of the day in his stroller. I remember being so annoyed because we couldn't do ANYTHING for that three hour period but he was quite relaxed. :)

My kids are HAMMERED after a day at DL, though and they are ALWAYS asleep by the time we reach home.

[egoldber]

I feel like if i went to Disney more than every 3 years I would be bored with whats there

LOL! We are Disney freaks and have been over a dozen times since older DD was born and no way have we seen it all. But we also love rides like Dumbo and the Carousel as much as we love the thrill rides. WDW is not a thrill ride oriented park like Great America or Kings Dominion. It's a park about "magical experiences". But if that's not what you want, it's pretty lame.

But my kids are older now so we are looking forward to also starting to go back to places like Europe with them as well. We did that with just older DD, but younger DD was just too high maintenance for that, so we've taken a longgg hiatus from anything other than WDW or the beach.

I do think the beach is pretty easy with kids.

[Twoboos]

Are you telling me that I won't have a relaxing vacation for another 10-12 years? :47:


Not if you bring the kids with you. ;)

Please, see my sig... it's totally true.

[SnuggleBuggles]

Totally. :) My husband and I were just talking about where else we might want to take the kids on vacation, and the problem, now that we have Disney to compare things to, is that nowhere else provides as much easy entertainment for the kids. We could take a 'relaxing' trip to the beach, but we would still expend a ton of energy keeping the kids happy and safe. Disney was definitely exhausting, but it was nice not having to be creative coming up with ways to entertain the kids, that they were all interested in.

That's when you take advantage of kids' clubs during the day for the kiddos! You get to relax, they get to have fun= win win!!

We haven't ventured to WDW yet. DL was easy though. We went from open to close with a 5yo and me being in my 3rd trimester.

Beth

[Raidra]

That's when you take advantage of kids' clubs during the day for the kiddos! You get to relax, they get to have fun= win win!!

We haven't ventured to WDW yet. DL was easy though. We went from open to close with a 5yo and me being in my 3rd trimester.

Beth

Yeah, see, my kids wouldn't be cool with that. They want to be *with* us. Plus, my husband works long hours and wants to spend his whole vacation together.. that's why he lost interest in a cruise, because it seems like kids and parents split up all day.

Unfortunately, my kids aren't beach kids.. they get bored within 10-20 minutes there, even when there are tidal pools, rocks to climb on, and stuff like that. Plus they get grouchy in the heat/sun if there isn't a lot of shade. With the way Fiona freaked out over the stupid little love bugs at WDW, that kind of rules out camping for a little while.. so it feels like our options are limited. Or at least, it feels like Disney is the easiest way to entertain everyone.

[AnnieW625]

As a child we went every two to three years and it was great to go and spend all day, but now we live 20 minutes away and DD1 really loves Disneyland and so most of the time when we go we rarely spend more than 5 hours there, 8 is the absolute max. Our passes completely spoiled us on being able to easily spend half a day there and only go to certain sections of the park on each trip. We had passes from Mar., 2008 to June, 2010 and we'd go about 6 times a year and we were very happy with that. We are most likely getting passes again starting on Wednesday and the plan is again to go if not every month every other month except July, and August. It works out great and we get our Disney fix. Plus the bargain side of me would rather pay $228 as a down payment on passes vs. paying $228 to go to Disneyland for one park on one day (the additional montly charge for the passes we get is $13.33 per month per person; I can't think of a single once monthly activity our family of four can do for that little money).