We went to Disney on New Years Weekend – Are we nuts? Maybe a little…
Everyone has different advice when they do Disney with their kids, but here’s mine.
1) Leave the stroller at home. Keep in mind we have one child. If we had more I’m sure I would feel differently about this. Here’s the thing – If Ava is in the stroller for long enough, she is bound to fall asleep. Then we become the assholes walking around Disney with a sleeping child. She walks, we carry her, sometimes there’s whining, but overall it’s the best decision for us because she stays awake. Plus, we don’t have to park the stroller at every ride then look for it in the sea of strollers every time we emerge.
2) Bring BIG bags of snacks. Instead of bringing the individual snack sizes (which I like to use for her lunch box), I brought a few different big bags and a bunch of little ziplocs to refill when we left for the day. It was easy and much better than stopping at every snack cart to pay $5 for a Mickey mouse ice cream bar.
3) Get this bag immediately if not sooner. It’s called the Rachael Ray Performance Chillout Cooler Tote and comes in a few colors. Ranges in price from $15-$30. The link above is to Amazon where it’s under $25. I snagged it a couple months ago at Costco for $15.
My child lives on drinkable yogurt but I am always skittish about traveling long distances with dairy. This bag changed my attitude forever. I filled a couple of ziploc bags with ice and yogurts and hoped for the best. After a 3+ hour drive, not a single ice cube was melted. Even better, on the way back I refilled the same ziplocs with ice from the hotel vending machine and the remaining yogurts – after a few hours at Animal Kigdom FOLLOWED by the 3+ hour drive, everything was still in tact. It is deceptively big and I even threw in a bunch of bottled water and other snacks for the hubby and I.
4) Protect your child from Potty Germs. We are in the midst of potty training and the thought of Ava’s tushy touching the public toilets at Disney was not sitting well with me. Then I found these.
They come in Princess, Dora, Diego, Cars and about a million other styles. They stick to the seat so no matter how much your child squirms, they stay put. Genius. I know some people opt for the little foldable toilet toppers but you could not pay me enough to stick one of those things in my bag. These are cheap, easy and a no brainer.
Our trip was a success and these little tidbits certainly helped. Do you guys have tips, tricks and favorite products for when you travel?
