Disney World: Avoiding the Meltdown

All parents know the feeling of the impending doom of the meltdown.  We have all seen it and thought "I'm so happy that's not me".  We have been that parent and felt like apologizing to everyone around us for the loud noise flowing from our child.   We can see it coming most times, and others it comes out of nowhere. Whether it is them asking "Are we there yet?" or them slowly starting to melt down from heat, cold, exhaustion, hunger, or any other minor or major issue.  Sometimes even the most well behaved kid just loses it.   My fear is having my kid screaming and melting down because we pushed them too far.  My husband and I love Disney World so much so that we spent the first half of our honeymoon there.  So when we decided the time was right to return with our kids (3 and 4 at the time) we knew there was only a realistic amount of time everyday they could handle "Doing Disney".

We took a look at our life and made a plan that made sense for us.  My kids were early risers and had also turned me into one too (my husband always has been).  Our plan started to form, we would hit all early morning hours and got all important rides done as soon as the doors opened.  I know some people like to play it by ear, but for us we decided that we had a 25 minutes MAX  wait time with our kids before they would drive us nuts or vice versa.  Everyday we scheduled a late breakfast or lunch in the air conditioning and then our fast passes for the afternoon.  We planned no more than five major rides or activities (like Splash Mountain, Soarin, Peter Pan) not including meals a day.  A few smaller ones that were great and usually air conditioned like Country Bears (a family favorite), the American Presidents, or the Three Caballeros in Mexico that provide entertainment but also a cool break.

We stayed at the Bay Lake towers in a one bedroom (we slept on a pull out) on our first visit.  Everyday around three we would walk our kids in the strollers back to the hotel and have them nap until 6-6:30.  It was good for us to decompress, usually have a glass of wine, unpack from the day, shower, and pack up for the night activities.  My kids were great at sleeping in strollers so we brought neck pillows at night to help them sleep better.  Even with all the planning there were lessons we learned like: to bring cool down towels, water bottles that can be filled anywhere for free where they sell fountain soda, use your snack credits whenever the kids are hungry, and their Churros are awesome!! I know spontaneity is great but to avoid the dreaded meltdown planning is necessary.

Kristin is a travel planner for Snapshot Getaways and she loves to watch her kids find a new favorite adventure. Contact her at her Facebook page or email at Kristin@SnapshotGetaways.com to plan your next family adventure.