T.G.I.F. Pic Of The Week – Top Vacation Memories

I read an article recently that said family vacations have a long-lasting impact on kids’ happiness – and I couldn’t agree more. It can be a lot of planning and packing, and it’s not cheap to go away as a family – but it’s worth it in the long run. A chance to disconnect from work and the pressures of “adulting” is something we ALL need every now and then

For me, some of my best family memories are of the trips my parents and I took to Walt Disney World when I was a kid – those good times have stuck with me, and I hope my son can say the same when he grows up!

He talks about the trip still, and how much he loved the rides and characters – and how he can’t wait to go back:

Hopefully we can take him back soon – since I have science on my side, I think convincing my husband should be easy, right? Read more about the impact family vacations have on kids Here

TGIF!

T.G.I.F. Pic Of The Week – Oddball Favorites (Toddler Edition)

When preparing to take my 3 year old son to Walt Disney World for the first time, I had an idea of what he might like/dislike as far as rides, dining, and characters – and many of my instincts were spot on. But – there were some things I couldn’t have predicted that he would just love:

 

He was obsessed with the Huey/Dewey/Louie and Donald statues outside of our hotel room at the All Star Sports Resort – he insisted on visiting them every time we came or went

 

He really enjoyed watching the Star Wars show at Hollywood Studios – longest he has sat still in forever ha!

 

I was not prepared to ride Dumbo 4 times in a row – but it was a trip favorite for sure – he loved that he could “control” the up and down motion of the vehicle – and there was no line so it was easy to ride over and over!

 

Roasting marshmallows at the nightly hotel bonfire – I mean – ok, most kids love s’mores, but most aren’t patient enough to roast the marshmallows themselves, but he loved it, and of course enjoyed the end result, too!

A few things he did NOT love: “Real” characters – he was dying to meet Ariel, but when he went into the grotto and saw she was a real person (not a covered face like the rest) – he wanted NOTHING to do with her! Slinky Dog Dash, Mission – Space and Dinosaur were all rides he was definitely not on board with – although he said afterwards he liked it, but I could tell he was scared at the time!

It just goes to show – you gotta try everything, and you might just be surprised at what you like (that you maybe didn’t think you would!) Now only if I could use the same theory with my son on vegetables, hmm…

TGIF!

T.G.I.F. Pic Of The Week – Meeting The Main Man Himself – MICKEY MOUSE!

It’s hard to believe that our Disney World trip is over – we came back last Saturday, and I personally am missing it SO MUCH – and so is my son! He has asked me almost daily if we can go back – “Mommy – after school, we can go to Disney World?” and today’s was “Mommy, we just have to get tickets, then we can go to Disney World” – well pal, I wish it was that simple – if it was, we would be there RIGHT NOW – but unfortunately, it’s a bit trickier than that…hopefully someday soon we can go back, but for now, all we can do is remember how amazing our week in WDW was – and if I had to narrow it down what was the best part, I would have a LOT of trouble, but for sure one thing that stands out in my mind is my son’s first encounters with Mickey – he was lucky enough to meet him THREE times on our trip, and he loved every one:

First time was at the Epcot Character Spot – where he was so thrilled he couldn’t stop smiling!

Then we had dinner at Chef Mickey’s – which was just as fun as I remember it being!

Final trip encounter with Mickey was at breakfast at Tusker House at Animal Kingdom – which I personally love, as I think their safari outfits are so cute!

I can’t wait to start planning our next WDW trip – and I know my son can’t wait, either!

TGIF!

T.G.I.F. Pic Of The Week – “Incredibly” Ready For WDW!

I told myself I wasn’t going to do it. I vowed to myself that I would NOT force my family to wear matching shirts at Walt Disney World. You know the ones – with people’s names and pictures of their favorite characters etc on them – and – well – I sorta failed and broke that promise…

I saw a family wearing something similar to these online, and I just had to see if my mother in law was willing to make us some “Incredibles” themed shirts. Luckily, she was – and we will be wearing them proudly at Walt Disney World when we arrive in TWO DAYS! They say “Incredible Mom/Dad/Kid” on them, and I think they are pretty cute, and I while I may have broken my vow – I think it was worth it. PLUS – they will match mine and my son’s Superhero Leggings – so that’s a win!

….I also might have promised I wouldn’t buy any new Disney shirts before the trip as have plenty already….but I just could not resist this one from Target – it was on clearance and had an extra Cartwheel discount on top of that – so I basically HAD to get it, right?

Needless to say, our bags are (over)packed for our trip, and we are READY TO GO – I will probably not even sleep on Saturday night I will be too excited about leaving to head to Disney on Sunday! Wish us luck!

TGIF

T.G.I.F. Pic Of The Week – SO READY FOR DISNEY!

Our countdown is SO SHORTTTTT I can hardly stand it! Only 9 days until we head to Walt Disney World – and I have been BUSY BUSY – packing, and organizing, making lists, checking things off lists, etc – lots going on!

One thing I have been trying to do is to get my son as involved in the preparations as possible – he helped pick his outfits to pack, and has been asking more about Disney so I have shown him short videos of the Rides and Parks – nothing major, just little things to help him understand what is coming next weekend

The other day, I took a tip from my own Article on Pre-Trip Activities For Kids and had my son decorate his own Mister fan for Disney!

The Parks sell these mister fans, but they are EXPENSIVE – ordering a plain one on Amazon is less than half the cost, and we had plenty of Disney stickers sitting around for him to use on it. He really enjoyed decorating it, and I love these little things that help our trip feel even more real!

TGIF!

T.G.I.F. Pic Of The Week – My Top Fastpass+ Picks – Animal Kingdom

For the past few weeks, I have been talking about my top fastpass+ picks for each of the Disney Parks – So far, I have covered the Magic Kingdom, Hollywood Studios, and Epcot, and this week I will round out my lists with the final park – Animal Kingdom! Admittedly – Animal Kingdom is not my favorite of the Walt Disney World Theme Parks. BUT – it DOES have some amazing things to offer for animal lovers, and I know that my son will ADORE it – as he is SUPER into the zoo and any and all animals right now. So here they are – our top Animal Kingdom Fastpass picks:

First up on the list HAS to be the Kilimajaro Safari ride – as it will give us all a chance to see some animals, and to learn more about them too! Plus – we don’t have to walk – which is a plus in my book (call me lazy – but it’s really for the kid – better to save his little legs and get him the chance to ride around and see some animals he’s never seen before!)

To say my son is into dinosaurs is an understatement – he loves them so much he even has his own giant T-Rex pool float. So naturally, Dinosaur is on our “must ride” Fastpass+ list – I hope it doesn’t scare him – am hoping he is intrigued more than frightened

Meet & Greet with Mickey & Minnie – might not seem “fastpass” worthy to some – but – again – my son is 3, so – meeting Mickey and Minnie is pretty much top on his Disney wish list, so I want to make sure he gets to do it!

Obviously, these Fastpass+ picks are chosen mainly with my almost 4-year old in mind, since it’s his first trip, I want to make sure he is seeing things tailored to his interests, and I really hope he loves what I picked!

What about you – what are your and your family’s must-do Fastpass rides/attractions at WDW?

TGIF!