Brian and I took our older two kids (6 and 4 years-old) to Disneyland last week. And we had a great time! Now I am in no way a Disney expert, but I did have a fun trip and want to share some wisdom with you. While these tips are specific for Disneyland, they could be applicable for a lot of vacation planning. And while I am not a Disney expert, I am an expert at being a planning/controlling mom. I know some people hate details. They want to relax and go with the flow. I am here to tell you that there are some of us with this certain personality quirk that only allows us to relax when we know we have all the details in place. The details MAKE us relax. We stress about those things and come up with a plan precisely so in the moment we can let go and enjoy it. Being a planner means I often don’t enjoy the kinds of activities other people find “fun” because there are so many elements I can’t control. Family vacations seem to epitomize all those unpredictable activities (new foods! strange sleeping locations! unfamiliar bathrooms! no set schedule!). So for the other planners out there, here is how I got to the point where I could enjoy a family vacation and was actually happy at “the happiest place on earth”:
Prioritize: Before our trip I sat down with the boys and asked them what they most wanted out of our vacation. We looked at the Disney website and read through the attractions and entertainment. They told me what sounded like fun to them and I made a list. I made sure that if we weren’t able to do ALL the things, we at least did the things they were most excited about.
Average: I don’t like to be surprised, especially when it isn’t the good kind of “surprise”. I think you call that “disappointed”. To keep myself from being surprised in a bad way, I created some averages in my head. I am notoriously stingy and looked over the menus for each Disney restaurant before our trip. I saw how much food cost and created an average for how much money we would be spending on food for each meal. While it was obviously more expensive than if we were eating at home, by having an average amount in mind and prepping for that, it didn’t bother me so much when we were actually shelling out the money. I also had a ride average in mind. I figured that between waiting in lines, stopping for bathroom breaks, and getting food, we’d be good if we could ride one ride every hour. We ended up maximizing our time and doing substantially more than that, but the average kept me feeling like we were on track.
Lower expectations: In my perfect world kids wouldn’t need to use the bathroom every 30 minutes. We do not currently live in my perfect world. There were a lot of ways that I wanted to make sure we had the ultimate Disney experience, but just had to realize that if I kept my expectations low, I was more likely to be happily surprised. How low, you ask? I wanted the kids to have fun and for Brian and I not to fight (we don’t fight much in general, but we do tend to Vacation Fight like pros). Missions accomplished.
Prepare: I feel better when I’m prepared. I actually enjoy the preparing. So I had a literal list of what rides we were going to ride and what time we needed to get to each of them (Thanks in large part to a cousin of mine who used to work at Disneyland. Free-spirited Mennonites are a rare breed. They work at Disneyland because they love the magic, but when you ask them to help you create a schedule, they help you plan down to the minute. Fantastic.) We had a backpack prepared with the essentials. I read the map and circled where we wanted to go. We ate meals before the kids got hungry/cranky. We had a list of what souvenirs we wanted to bring home. I tried to think a step ahead.
Plan B: If things went bad (we have a child prone to meltdowns) I had mentally prepared myself for long afternoon naps or bribery candy or time spent at the pool. I had a strict schedule, but I held it loosely. I had alternate schedules ready if we needed them. We planned for a day at the beach. This turned into two hours at the beach because apparently my Nebraskans don’t actually like the beach. So sad. I could have made them persevere if that had been really important to me, but it wasn’t. So we went back to the hotel and they swam in the pool. Everybody was happy even if the original plan wasn’t followed.
Schedule spontaneity: I specifically left holes in the schedule. I wanted there to be times where the kids could follow their fun wherever that lead. I knew there were locations in Disneyland that didn’t sound that great when I was reading the descriptions to them, but that when they got there they would be captivated. I also learned with these boys that they loved quantity over quality. Riding four sort of lame rides in quick succession was way better to them than waiting 40 minutes for an awesome ride. This is why they ended up preferring the Bug’s Life Land over Cars Land. Cars Land was a.ma.zing. but it took forever to ride anything. The Bug’s Life area was far less crowded although the rides weren’t nearly as good.
You are a person, too: Shockingly enough, vacations aren’t just for the kids. This was also my break from dinner dishes and laundry (although I did wring out my fair share of wet pants, but that’s a story for another day) and I wanted to make the most of it. And I wanted to see Cars Land all lit up with neon. I wanted to watch a show. I wanted to ride the rides I remembered from when I was a kid. And I’m a person, too! I made sure and scheduled in the things Brian and I wanted to do and helped the kids learn that the world doesn’t revolve around them. Not even at Disneyland. And it turned out that they were really sweet about wanting to do the things we wanted to do.
Individualize: Your trip is not going to be like anyone else’s Disney trip. Some people have really strong opinions about doing Disney “right”. You have to go early in the morning, sneak in food, take the exact right path, etc. That can be the “right” way for some families, but don’t feel pressure that your vacation has to be handled in a certain way. If you guys like sleeping in and don’t mind standing in line, then why would you get up at the crack of dawn? The right way to vacation is the way that helps YOUR family have the most fun and create lasting memories.
Anybody else have a Disney tip to share? The Planning Moms WANT to know!
5 Comments
Leave a reply →