Disney Q&A - Where to Stay!

Okay, so I am NOT an expert, but I have lots of thoughts about what's good and what's not when it comes to staying at Disney World. Real mom with four kids who isn't paid for Disney advice kind of perspective - ha!

There are so many options that need to be weighed - cost, transportation, space, etc.  I'll do my best to highlight what I think is important (and feel free to ask if I haven't covered something you want to know!).

On or Off Property

So, the first choice is obviously whether you should stay on or off property.  I am 100% an advocate of ON property.

We have done both.  When we took Wyatt and Reese as itty bitty babies (19 months and 3 months), we stayed off property.  And while our condo was very nice - it wasn't ideal.  We stayed there because the kids and I tagged along on Brian's business trip.  I'm not a fan of tram parking if it's not needed (more about that here), and I'm also a big believer in the Disney Magic.  Cast members go out of their way to make your Disney experience an amazing one.

I am not exaggerating or stretching how wonderful the benefits of staying on property are.  First, you get the Extra Magic Hours in the parks.  And the bus transportation (so no rental). When Reese had to be taken to the hospital from Epcot on one visit (not to go into detail, but it would be a cautionary tale to always make sure your kids eat properly on vacation, ahem), the concierge desk added an extra day to all of our tickets with absolutely no questions. We were able to make up the time that we missed while she was in the hospital without having to pay out of pocket.  I was stressed to the max this year when they messed up our Magic Bands (to the max), and the concierge desk did everything humanly possible to make it better for me. If I had to choose and it was in my budget, I would always choose to stay at a resort.

Which Resort

When you decide to stay on property, there are so many resorts to choose from.  We have stayed at two of their Deluxe resorts (Wilderness Lodge three times and Animal Kingdom Lodge once), and we spent our last vacation at the new Art of Animation.

I don't have much perspective to offer about the moderate resorts, except to say that they're Disney resorts and probably amazing! And I know that some places (like the Swan and Dolphin) cater to more business type guests (for conferences - I think the MLB has held their GM conferences there), so I'm not sure how "kid friendly" they are.  My aunt stayed there on our last trip, and she really liked it, but I don't know that my kids would have loved it as much!

When it comes to finding a budget friendly place to stay, the value resorts are great!  Brian has stayed at the All Star Sports resort for work travel, and he thinks that it's an awesome place for kids to stay. We've had friends who stayed at the All Star Movie resort and they thought that it was great.  For our large family, our last trip required a large room that was also easy on  the wallet - and we chose to stay in a Lion King room at the Art of Animation.  It was amazing.  The kids absolutely loved everything about the themes.  We actually spent our first afternoon walking the resort, and they had a blast looking at all of their favorite movie characters.  The Nemo Pool was also a huge hit (when they finally made it there)!  The only downside to the resort was the dining area.  It was very, very, very slow.  We chose to eat in the parks some nights just to avoid having to eat at the resort. I think the key to understanding a Disney Value resort is knowing that it isn't "perfect" but it is probably better than most cheaper places to stay.  

When it comes to Deluxe recommendations: Wilderness Lodge, Wilderness Lodge, Wilderness Lodge.  I am sad to say that unless we go back with my in laws and put a kid in their room we probably won't be able to stay there again. Wilderness Lodge only allows 5 people in a room, and we don't fit that bill.  Although, I'm sure Brian's parents would make that sacrifice to go back!  We absolutely love everything about it.  The views, the boat ride to the Magic Kingdom, the easy bus lines, the Roaring Forks restaurant (it doesn't have tons of seating available, but the food is so good), and just how absolutely beautiful the resort is.  It is amazing.

Our stay at Animal Kingdom Lodge wasn't my favorite.  The hotel was pretty, and it was nice to see the animals from our room, but I didn't think the food or dining was spectacular, the staff wasn't up to my Disney standards, and the walk to our room took forever (and it seemed like it would be that way for most people).  I would never pay that money (ever) to stay at Animal Kingdom Lodge again. I would definitely choose Art of Animation over that Deluxe resort!

I hope that gives a but of insight into resort options in Florida, and it makes planning a vacation a little bit easier! I still have a few other posts - what to do by age, meal plan or no meal plan, can't miss characters, and which ticket to buy - so make sure to check back!

Weekends

Weekends never seem long enough, do they?

On Friday afternoon, Brian got home from work and I begged him to get me out of the house.  The cold weather and kids cooped up inside had driven me to the point that I just needed to get out!  So we loaded them up in the car and took a little drive before he left for the hockey game.  

Saturday was basically the same.  I am almost never a person who begs to get out of the house on Saturdays - I spend so much time running around during the week, and so much time trying to get out of the house as soon as we wake up on Saturdays in the fall and spring. In the winter I just want to stay home.  This weekend we colored for a bit and then ran errands.  If I turn Disney Radio on Pandora, Brian and I can actually have an adult conversation while the kids sing.

Wyatt had a late basketball game, so I made him fit in reading time beforehand.  I'm trying to find special reading spots for each of them, so they have a place that is comfortable, but also good for their imagination.  So far, the tee pee is a winner for Wyatt.  Reese likes to go upstairs and sit by the window - although she does want a "comfier place" in her new room!

Hudson had his first Star Wars experience on Saturday night when he watched The Phantom Menace.  He's hooked.  But if we follow the "Daddy Plan" he won't watch another movie until he's four and it will be A New Hope.  That's what the geek squad calls the original Star Wars movie (I kid, I kid.).  Wyatt is sworn to secrecy about the fact that Anakin Skywalker is Darth Vader who is Luke's father and also Leia's father because they are twins. For serious.  My 6 year old has been keeping it from the other kids for a year. He's also been told not to tell kids at school. That's impressive and kind of crazy.

Finley is back to her old stethoscope ways.  She's also very into hats right now.  

These kids have a real knack for driving me bonkers at Target lately.  Hudson only wants to sit in the front of the cart.  Finley doesn't want to be put down.  On Sunday they came to an agreement for about 30 seconds that this made them both happy.  It didn't last long, but it sure was sweet.

And after the epic battle of good-ish versus evil-ish on Sunday night, we had backyard races.

Yep, backyard races.

Reese thinks that she's faster than Wyatt. (She totally is).

Wyatt doesn't think so.

So...backyard races.

There was stretching.

And running (and cheating).

And really, she went 2 for 3.

Her winning streak was a good way to end the weekend (for her anyway).

And then, you know, they went to bed early because The Walking Dead  and Downton Abbey were coming on.  The end.

An Epic Battle

After weeks of snow and bitter cold, there are days where I really just want to open the door and tell the kids to get outside.

Run.

Jump.

Play.

Whatever.

Just. get. out. side.

Reesie has been going outside to practice tee ball (her sport of choice this spring).  Wyatt and Hudson have just been running.  And today (after a Phantom Menace viewing last night. And another this morning.), they decided to have a light saber duel.  They're both Jedi Training Academy graduates, so this really could have gone either way.

 Reese is good on defense.

 But Wyatt has a more aggressive, "take no prisoners" mentality.

 Usually.

But Reese also takes breaks to smile.  Who smiles during a light saber battle?

The answer is Reese.  Reese stops to smile. And drops her light saber.  

Wyatt wins.

We'll have to see what happens with the rematch.  They're also really into sprinting races across the backyard.  Basically, if it involves competing with each other, these two are ready.  And it makes for some real happy days, let me tell ya.

Disney World Q&A

I figured that since I'm a bit of a Disney um, expert/fanatic/frequent traveler, it might be fun to do a Q&A post for people who haven't traveled there yet or are currently planning a trip.

While I am by no means an expert, I do have lot of experience and have stayed at a few different resorts (2007, 2008, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013).  And, honestly, I love talking Disney and helping people plan their days - and with kids of all ages (and boys and girls), I have lots of thoughts!  And, I need a reason to post our PhotoPass pictures from this year!  Ha!

So leave a comment below or on Facebook, and I will answer it (and I might also be planning our next trip).

Jeep Buddies

Brian has been driving his trusty 1995 Jeep for almost 19 years.

It is a great vehicle, and we've put lots of money into over the last few years (including a new engine and new tires. Lots and lots of fun), but we still didn't think it was the best way for Brian to get back and forth to work every day (his commute is almost entirely a two lane, windy road).

And today, we (well, he) sold it.

 

He actually came to the agreement with guy last night, but all the kids wanted to take one last ride in it tonight.  Brian just did a quick loop around the neighborhood, but they loved it.  They are all "Jeep Buddies" after all.

This little one was first up.

(Sidenote: she's a "colorful person.  That's why she has a purple jacket, pink leggings, blue and green mismatched socks, and silver shoes.  Really.)

 And little brother was next.

 This was only his second ride!  I know it's crazy, but it was really only ever used for commuting, so he's only had the chance to catch a ride with Daddy once before. 

 This is how everyone felt about selling the Jeep (except me.  I'm happy Brian will finally be able to pick up some of my carpool slack!  The Jeep could only fit one car seat, which meant that when we had to "divide and conquer," it usually meant "Brian takes one kid and I take the other three.").

And of course we had to find a way to get our girl Noelley in the picture.  This was her commuting car every day for 13 years!

 And don't rake me over the coals for this.  I let Finley go for a ride, too.  She was forward facing for a quick loop around the neighborhood.  We had to let her experience it.  And there's no rear facing car seat that would fit in a '95 Jeep Wrangler.

 The good news is that she was a little traumatized by the forward facing experience.

 And after her quick three minute loop around the neighborhood, she was more shell shocked.  Definitely sticking with the rear facing car seat for the long term!  Oh, the things we didn't know 6 years ago when we turned Wyatt around on his first birthday.

 This guy was the first "Jeep Buddy."  After all the other kids took a spin, we took out the car seat and put his booster in (the car seat was a. pain.)  He has been Brian's most frequent co-rider, especially after baseball and soccer games.  He was the most upset that it was leaving.  

Once upon a time, Brian thought he might give his Jeep to Wyatt one day.  But now we know he:

1) May not ever be allowed to drive, and

2) Will definitely have air bags.  And a more permanent-ish roof.

Brian gave the Jeep once last hug (ha!), and then we took it to the new owner's house.

Really, it's only 5 minutes away.  And it's new owner lives next door to one of Brian's co-workers. I have a feeling this wasn't good-bye forever.  We'll be seeing it out on the road again soon!

Wednesday Morning Randoms

1.  It feels so weird to have everyone back in school at the same time.  Two weeks of work days surrounded by snow days have gotten us all completely out of our routine!  I am trying, trying, trying to get us more organized and less cluttered.  You know what you end up with when you have four kids?  A lot of stuff!

Donating, selling, and trashing stuff (only trashing trash if you're reading this, honey.  no worries.).  I've cleaned out our closet, 2 linen closets, and the pantry in two weeks.  The kids' rooms are next on my list! (Then the loft, the attic, the room over the garage...)

I also got sick of seeing this after school every day:

I've been trying to convince Brian to turn our narrow garage hallway into more of a mudroom.  This has been met with a bit of hesitance.  We have a Pottery Barn bench/shelf combo at the front door (like this), but it's not cutting it.  Plus, the kids can't reach the tall hooks, so the front door always ends up a little disheveled!

Last night I dug some of our old Target One Spot hooks out of the attic and put them to use on the wall.  Exactly what I want?  No. But will they work for now while I try to prove my point to Brian? Absolutely.  It will at least help keep the backpacks off the floor, for goodness sake!

Eventually I would love to have something that looks a little more like this pin, and then maybe paint the door to the garage something other than white, but why spend the money up front before we test it out?

2.  I've also been on a bit of a laundry process re-vamp.  One of the linen closets that I cleaned is in my laundry room, and I was able to clear up enough space to fit my laundry baskets on the bottom.  Not having a basket everywhere is definitely going to create one last trip hazard (one was always sitting by my bed, or right by the kids' rooms, or on the other side of the gate as you can see in the picture of the backpacks!).  Having a home for them will make things a lot easier.

I've also changed my laundry routine.  I have one large laundry sorter with four bins - one for each kid.  The problem was that the kids couldn't walk to the laundry room alone (the hallway is gated for Finley), and they would just toss their clothes over.  So the laundry would pile up on the floor until I put it in the right bin.  And I would also let each kid's bin get completely full before I did laundry.  I couldn't stand doing a large load and having to travel the entire house just putting clothes away, so I usually did one load for each of the kids.  But it meant I was always doing laundry - especially for my athletes!

After talking to another Momma of four about her laundry routine, I decided test hers out around here.  Now I take out a hamper in the morning and have the kids put their jammies in it.  At night I put the hamper by their rooms and they put the clothes they wore in it.  I toss it all in the wash after they go to bed, and throw it in the dryer before I go to bed.  My washer has been practically empty, it takes less than ten minutes to fold and put away, and I've also been able to find the time to wash the cloth diapers and our clothes more easily. Also, I make sure to change the load setting on the washer to medium to save water. It's kind of amazing! 

3. I had so much "free" time yesterday that this girl and I spent a lot of our morning building blocks, reading books, and hanging out in the tee pee.  Love this smile!  The kids were in school, so I didn't have to keep them busy. It was so nice not to have to run to get a load of laundry or run around picking stuff up off the floor.  She is talking and singing up a storm now!  This little one has perfect pitch.

4.  I am obsessed with Cartwheel.  Like, obsessed.  I walk around the store with my app open and scan the barcode of every. single. thing. that goes in my cart.  Between coupons and cartwheel and my red card I saved $37 last weekend.  I love watching my "amount saved" inch closer to $100.  Only $10 away now! (and for the record I'm not a buyer and stock up kind of gal.  This was all stuff I legitimately needed!)

5.  I am a little excited for Valentine's Day next week.  Reese has been working on her Valentine's since Christmas.  No lie, she has made Valentine's drawings, hearts, and cards for her friends.  She asked me if I could pick up some Valentine's bags for her friends at school, and she said she has several things for her teachers and wants me to pick up two buckets.  I love her sweet heart, but has she been scouring Pinterest after I go to sleep at night? 

6.  Wyatt and Reese both got new kids in their classes last week, and both speak only German.  I thought it was a weird coincidence, but they ended up with a brother/sister pair in their classes at two different schools.  How random!  I asked Reese to help Finley and teach her to say "block" yesterday and she said, "Uh Mommy, I must be really good at English.  You want me to teach Finley, and I'm trying to teach Hanna to speak it, too."  Wyatt is learning the German words for winter sports so he can talk to his friend about the Olympics.  They crack me up!

Our Weekend

...if you could call it a week"end"! The kids have been home every day since the snow started on Tuesday night - and Wyatt didn't have school on Tuesday because it was a work day! So it's really been... a week!

I was the mean mom who still made them practice their math and phonics while they had snow days. They also had their reading time, but they both found fun new reading nooks for that - so that made things more exciting!

Wyatt did his phonics while Reese did her math.  And then they switched.

Wyatt took a break from his reader  to teach Finley her letters. With a Star Wars letter book. The kids all get along (for the most part),  but he definitely has a soft spot in his heart for his baby sister!

We are following along with Courtney's "Love 'Em Up" challenge this month.  On Saturday we started writing post it "love notes" for each other.  So fun!  And we're going to try to do it everyday this month.  Even if it means I'm the only one doing it most days!

The kids got a tee pee as a joint Christmas gift.  So far it's been really popular - even with the baby.

And now we're back on the week day grind.  Drop offs, pick ups, another pick up, skating tonight, basketball tomorrow - craziness.  And more is just around the corner with baseball and soccer season starting!