Disney World: Tips For a Pain-Free Vacation

Photo: wickedboy_007

We recently headed to sunny Orlando with 5 adults and 5 kids under age 4 to enjoy a fun-filled adventure at Disney World, so out of my own experience and observations, here are some tips to keep you and your family pain-free on your next Disney vacation.

1. Wear tennis shoes. I know that women may prefer to look cute, but 12-15 hours of standing/walking in anything other than tennis shoes will likely cause you more pain throughout the day. At Disney, your feet and legs will be tired regardless of your shoes, but you will feel better with good, supportive sneakers. I once wore flip flops at Carowinds all day, thinking I would get on a lot of water rides. But at the end of the day I could barely walk because my legs ached so much.

2. Use sunscreen and re-apply it frequently. Vacation is no fun if you or your kids get sunburned.

3. Do not try a new sunscreen on your first day of vacation. Thankfully we tested out a new sunscreen the week before vacation and learned that my son was allergic to it. So on vacation we resorted to our usual Banana Boat, and it worked great, just like last year. An allergic reaction to any new skin product can cause terrible itching, discomfort, redness, rash, etc, so don't risk it.

4. Wear a hat. This is one of the best ways to prevent getting a sunburn on your face.

5. Pack a ton of bottled water. Disney allows you to bring coolers (under a certain size), so pack them full of drinks. This will save you a load of money and will keep you hydrated. Trust me, you will need a drink even as you wait for the shuttle out of the parking lot. Then you will have to wait in line for the ferry or monorail, so you will likely finish your first bottle before you even enter the front gate of the park itself. If this was true for us in May, it will only get worse during the hottest summer months.

6. Arrive early at your favorite events to get good seats. Otherwise you will strain to see and you will hurt your neck from holding your child on your shoulders for the duration of the parade, show, etc. If you want a good view of the Electric Parade, arrive around Main Street more than an hour before the show starts in order to get a first or second-row view.

7. Take rest days between park days. Or plan water parks or smaller outings on those days. You will have to wake up early on park days, if you want to enter the park around opening time (9:00 am). This means arriving at the parking lot between 7 and 8 am. And likely you will not leave until after 10 pm, so you will be exhausted even on day 1 of your vacation. Try to build rest into your vacation, or you will truly need another vacation to recover.

8. Have sufficient stroller seats for all younger children. Our double stroller is not comfortable for sleeping, so we rented a double stroller for the week, and the kids slept great in it. It was well worth the cost. It is not comfortable to hold a sleeping baby for a long period of time. There are benefits to using infant carriers, in which your baby is strapped onto your chest or back, but I would not recommend them at Disney, simply for your own comfort. A stroller is ideal both for you and your baby. Plus it gives much-needed storage space!

Swimwear Tips For New Moms

If you are a new mom, you may have a little trouble finding the right swimsuit this summer season. It was hard enough finding maternity swimwear, but likely it will be even more daunting now because your tummy has not yet returned to its pre-baby state. Believe me--even though I have lost most of my baby weight before getting pregnant again, there is still some excess belly that may or may not disappear in the next few months-years. So here are my recommendations.

1. Buy a 2-piece swimsuit if you are breastfeeding. It does not have to be a bikini, but a 2-piece will make nursing your infant much easier, especially if you use a cover-up while nursing (which I recommend for your general modesty and the comfort of everyone around you). Try to find a top for your 2-piece that covers your belly, if you are self-conscious about it. There are a lot of cute tankini tops that cover most or all of your tummy. 

2. Buy a 1-piece for the most effective tummy coverage, if that is your goal. You never know when a wave or water slide may reveal the tummy you are trying to hide.

3. Buy a decent quality swimsuit. All cheaper suits either stretch out, thin out and/or fade. I once bought a swimsuit from Penney's, and I could only wear it twice because it stretched out and became too big. There was no savings there because I had to immediately buy another one. Don't forget the fact that swimsuit shopping is more frustrating than fun, so you should only have to do it once per year (or less). 

4. Don't walk around stores looking for modest swimsuit bottoms. Just find out your size and the brand(s) you like, and shop online. Even if you find something modest (such as shorts or a skirt to cover your suit), it is unlikely you will find the color and size you need. 

5. Don't take the kids with you while shopping. It is frustrating for all parties involved.

6. Don't shop separately for swimsuit tops, bottoms, cover-ups or accessories. You will end up making more trips to more stores, only to be unhappy with your final purchase (because you made it in haste, being annoyed with shopping for so long). I recently shopped for a skirt or shorts to go over my one-piece black swimsuit, and I finally found one at the third store I searched. Once it was washed and ready to wear, I went back to find my black swimsuit (from before having kids) was no longer wearable and had to be trashed. So then I had to go out again to find a tankini top to match my new, black bottoms.

7. Shop early for swimwear (long before vacations and pool trips). Vacation prep week is stressful enough, so plan ahead to make your life easier. That also gives you time to shop online, which might be the best way to go (although I have never done so before). 

8. Do not assume that your size swimsuit is easy to find. During my search, I found that the smaller sizes were impossible to find in the more modest suits. The most common sizes I found at Belk (I went there twice recently) were 10 and above (both for tops and bottoms). 

9. The best brand (and most expensive) I found at Belk was H2O Wear, which had a lot of modest one-piece and 2-piece suits to choose from. If your budget is $100, this would be a good option for you. After summer season, you likely can find these on sale/clearance. If you are going to pay $60-$80 for a decent suit anyway, you may find it's worth it to get a higher quality suit such as H2O brand for $20-$40 more.