The Mom's Cheat Sheet » Disney

Vacations with Kids – How Much Can You Handle?

admin — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 09:57:26 +0000

Travelling with children can be quite an adventure. Whether you are going to visit family for a day trip, or flying on a plane to land in a vacation spot, it’s no small feat. Packing for kids, baby proofing hotels, and handling disrupted schedules may be more of a challenge than some parents realize.

We’ve taken our kids all sorts of places – some have been successful, while others have been a disaster. Some of our best outings have been day trips with family, or simple trips to the beach with friends and their children. I think the most challenging vacation we’ve ever taken would have to be Disney World this summer – with a four year old and a two year old. Between the heat, the long days at the parks, and the crowds… it wasn’t the easiest week we’ve ever had! While it was still fun, I can completely understand why people make a case against taking your young children to Disney World.

If you’re on the fence about taking your small children to someplace major (like Disneyland) you may find the post below interesting. In the end, it may be the perfect vacation and go off without a hitch, because sometimes you can’t quite tell. However, it’s good to weigh both sides.

Disneyland Plus Babies Equals FAIL [mom logic]

Have You Bought a ‘Baby Einstein’ DVD? You Can Get a Refund.

admin — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 09:54:50 +0000

I remember being a new parent, hearing about these amazing Baby Einstein DVD’s that would make my baby smarter. We rented a few from the library, and my daughter was mesmerized. I wasn’t sure if they were making her “smarter” or not, but at least she was enjoying herself.

For those of you who have bought “Baby Einstein” DVD’s under the assumption that these videos would boost your baby’s brain power, you can actually get a refund. As it turns out (surprise, surprise), putting your baby in front of a video isn’t going to make them any smarter. And now, Disney is doing some back peddling as a result of claiming that these videos would make infants smarter.

“Last year, lawyers threatened a class-action lawsuit for unfair and deceptive practices unless Disney agreed to refund the full purchase price to all who bought the videos since 2004. ‘The Walt Disney Company’s entire Baby Einstein marketing regime is based on express and implied claims that their videos are educational and beneficial for early childhood development,’ a letter from the lawyers said, calling those claims ‘false because research shows that television viewing is potentially harmful for very young children.’”

For the full story, check out the article below.

No Einstein in Your Crib? Get a Refund [The New York Times]

Marlin vs. Crush – Which Parent are You?

admin — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 10:49:37 +0000

My two year old is going through a major “Finding Nemo” phase. She can’t pronounce “Nemo,” so instead she says “MoMo.” She has a little plush Nemo doll that she carries around, is always asking about the movie, and actually waves goodbye to Nemo (I think she believes he lives in our TV) when we drive away from our house.

Since this movie has been on more recently, I’ve pretty much memorized the whole thing. Thankfully, it’s a good movie that adults enjoy as well, so I’m not too sick of hearing it. In fact, I absolutely love Crush the turtle and always wander into the living room when that scene is playing.

One thing about that scene that I like in particular is watching the exchange between Marlin and Crush on parenthood. Squirt is accidentally knocked out of the current that they are in, and Marlin panics. Cool and collected, Crush restrains Marlin from his overprotective attempt at recovering Squirt. Crush pauses to see what his son will do now that he’s in this situation, waiting to see if he’ll rejoin the turtles in the current on his own without any help. Sure enough, little Squirt is able to bust back into the EAC with no trouble at all, with a new sense of confidence at being able to master this on his own.

This scene really got me to thinking. Am I a Crush, or a Marlin? Honestly, I go back and forth. There are times when I will rush right over when my kids do something, and in hindsight I realize that I should have let them handle it on their own. On the flip side, there are plenty of times when one of them will trip, and I hang back while they dust themselves off without skipping a beat.

Some thoughts on Marlin vs. Crush:

No matter how protective we are, our kids can still get into trouble. Kids are kids, and we can only shelter them to a degree. Sure, we need to provide safe boundaries and teach them to be responsible, but that doesn’t mean they won’t make mistakes. As overprotective as Marlin was, let’s not forget that Nemo still managed to get fish-napped by an Australian dentist.
Sometimes being overprotective or sheltering a kid can cause them to rebel. Nemo swam out to the “butt,” didn’t he? Perhaps if Marlin had given him more credit, Nemo wouldn’t have been provoked into proving his point.
Letting your child solve a problem on their own builds confidence. Remember Squirt’s face when he burst back into the EAC? I think I’ve seen that same look in my kids’ faces when they figure something out as well.
Sometimes your child is right – and you are wrong. If Nemo hadn’t have helped those fish in the end (who were caught in the fisher’s net) they would have all been the specials for Red Lobster soon afterward. Nemo’s direction to “swim down” saved them all, including Dori. Although at first Marlin wanted Nemo to back away and not get involved, Nemo saved the day after all – which taught Marlin that his son was capable of more than he thought.

Sure, these two characters are extremes, but I think that they present a good portrait of an overprotective parent vs. a laid back, hands-off mom or dad. So what about you – are you a Marlin, or a Crush? (Or perhaps somewhere in between?)

-Grace

Volunteers Receive Free Day at Disney

admin — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 12:50:56 +0000

Have you ever considered volunteering? Disney is providing extra incentive to give back to your community next year by rewarding free one-day passes to 1 million folks who take a day to volunteer.

“The “Give a Day, Get a Disney Day” program will provide certified volunteers with a one-day ticket to any park at Disneyland in Anaheim, Calif., or Walt Disney World near Orlando, Fla., in 2010.”

This sounds like a pretty sweet deal to me. If you live close enough for a day trip to one of the parks, why not participate in this program? Volunteering in your community is a great experience already, and this makes it even more rewarding.

If you are interested in this program, check out Disney offers free entry to 1 million volunteers. [yahoo news]

10 Things I Learned From Our Family Vacation

admin — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 09:17:44 +0000

It may be a little late in the year for a post on vacationing with kids, but I thought I’d share my thoughts on the subject anyway. And who knows? Some of you may be planning trips this fall, in which case I hope this helps.

In June, my husband and I decided to take our two kids to Disney World for a family vacation. We had taken our 3 ½ year old two years earlier, but it was a new experience for our 22 month old. This was our first vacation with her, so we were pretty excited. Our plan was to fly down, stay in a hotel, rent a minivan, and see the parks. That’s exactly what we did – but there were some bumps along the way. Mostly we had a good time, but there were moments when I thought my head would explode from the stress of it all. When we went with friends two years earlier (we only had our first child, less than two years old) and it went really well. Even in spite of the fact that I was 8 months pregnant, that trip was easy. I figured, “This trip should be easy as well – we only have one more kid, and I’m not pregnant now, so what could be difficult?” Well, I had a lot to learn.

The Top Ten Things I learned From Our Disney Vacation

Have your child wear a temporary tattoo with your cell phone number on it. Thankfully we did not become separated from our kids at any point, but I did worry about it in those enormous crowds. Go online and order temporary tattoos – these wonderful things are waterproof and stay on for days. Make sure your cell phone number is on the tattoo – that way, if your child does become lost, an adult will see the phone number and call you right away. Also, do not put the child’s name on the tattoo, for safety reasons.
If you have two or more kids, bring a side by side double stroller. I don’t know what I was thinking, but I figured we’d only need one stroller. Our 3 ½ year old could either walk or be carried briefly, right? I really thought that she would be running around the park and would not want to sit in a stroller. I was very, very, very wrong! In the Florida heat, amongst the crowds, she needed to be in a stroller. We took turns with her and our younger daughter in the single stroller, carrying whoever wasn’t riding. On the last day we rented a second stroller. That made all the difference in the world. I also suggest a side by side double stroller because (after a lot of “people watching”) those seemed the easiest. Parents wheeled their kids around in those things like it was nothing at all, and the kids were happy and rested. We have a double stroller, but it is a tandem one that sits one child in front of the other. If it’s hard to navigate around the mall, it will be even harder at the Magic Kingdom. Also make sure that your stroller has a shade for the kids, cup holders, and storage bins.
Pack work-out shirts that wick away the sweat from your body. If you have running clothes, pack them. This isn’t a big deal in the fall, but if you go anywhere during any hot time of year and plan to be outside, just pack clothes that will keep your dry and comfy. I packed regular tops, and realized once I was there that I wished I had just packed my workout shirts.
Priceline can be an awesome resource – but do your homework. If you haven’t used Priceline yet, I highly recommend it. Research the going rates for local hotels where you plan to stay, because occasionally you can spend more than you should and only find out in hindsight.
As long as you do your homework and research the hotels (and their rates) in the area you want to stay, I suggest booking through www.priceline.com.
Don’t push it with kids. If you are planning a vacation at a theme park or some other high energy place, make sure and plan breaks. Do something like “one day on, one day off,” or plan half days. When you push your kids, they end up getting way too tired to enjoy anything – and you are wiped out as well.
Avoid wearing khaki shorts when you go on water rides or if you plan on getting wet at all. When you’re done riding Splash Mountain, it’s no fun to stand up and realize that the whole world can now see through your khakis. Victoria’s “Secret” sounds a bit ironic when your shorts become see-through.
Have you ever seen those spray bottles attached to fans? They are well worth it. But try and buy one from a CVS or a Walgreens, because they are very pricey in the actual park.
Don’t flush your cell phone down the toilet. Trust me, it’s possible for a cell phone to fall out of your pocket and into a toilet that is already flushing (thank you, automatic flusher…). Just keep your cell in your purse or hand it to your husband when you go to use the restroom. It’s not fun to watch your phone fling out of your pants pocket and down the drain.
Plan on eating out a maximum of once a day, not every meal. Maybe this is a no-brainer, but it is tempting to just say, “We’ll get something on the way.” Oh, how that adds up! If you rent a house or a condo, it’s a piece of cake to do this – but it’s harder in a hotel. (This is another reason to really consider where you are staying. Having a kitchen is a huge asset, and you may end up saving more money on food than the extra money you spent on renting a condo instead of a hotel room.)
Take a million pictures. Looking back on our first trip to Disney, we only took a handful of pictures. I have no idea why, but there are only a few pictures. This time around, we took pictures of everything. The airplane, the hotel, waiting in line on rides, you name it. I am so glad that we did this! Even if you feel silly snapping shots constantly, you’ll be glad you did it. Your kids will thank you too, and then the whole family can look back fondly on your vacation.

- Grace