Wednesday, September 30, 2009

How to make EVERYONE happy at WDW


We just returned from our latest trip to Walt Disney World in August. Our family is unique in that our children are fairly spread out in age. Thus, their interests at WDW are also varied. We have a daughter who is a sophomore (almost 16), a 12 year old son in 7th grade, and a 5 year old son. As you can probably guess, they are not all interested in the same things that Disney has to offer. So, my advice to you is to be flexible...realize this is EVERYONE's vacation. So let everyone have a say in what to do. How did we make it work on this trip? Let me tell you.First of all, we allowed our 15 year old to take a friend with her this time.Why? Because together they are old enough to navigate the parks and the transportation systems on their own. If you are doing Playhouse Disney with your preschooler, your teenager can be riding Tower of Terror. It makes everyone happy and maximizes your time in the parks. Teens also seem to be at their peak after 9pm and totally unresponsive before 11am. Let them use some late night Extra Magic Hours and sleep in the next day. The rest of the family can hit the parks early in the morning. Meet up for lunch, some time in the pool, and spend the rest of the day together.With three kids there is always the "middle kid". Not old enough to hang with the older sibling, but too old to want to ride Dumbo five times in a row. What do you do? We split up at times during the day. Again, it allows everyone to do what they want to do and you get special one-on-one time with each child. We are also fortunate enough that most times my parents travel with us. Never underestimate how special time at Disney is for grandparents and their grandchildren.You are probably wondering "What kind of a family vacation is it if everyone is going their own way?". This is not an "all day, every day" plan. We spend the majority of our time all together in the same place at the same time. But this little bit of flexibility makes everyone happy and creates magical memories. (Remember, this is Disney World..."the happiest place on Earth"). Besides, isn't that what a family vacation is supposed to do?

1 comment:

  1. I wholeheartedly agree. In my fantasy Disneyworld trip, my entire family goes and we each do whatever, whenever, getting together for at least one meal per day. Connection time. And everybody has a fabulous time!

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