To Utah, FL and Back Again

Wow its been a whirlwind summer! First we went to SLC, Utah to visit my parents and then over to WDW to visit the parks while on a business trip. It was a little overwhelming to say the least! But here's how it ended up...

Utah Trip: Always fun to visit grandma and grandpa, the kids enjoyed playing all day while we enjoyed a little time off. What I love about visiting UT is not only the grandparents, but also we get to eat at our favorite restaurants. Our favorite pizza place Sweet Home Chicago is a highlight of the trip. We also love Chin Wah, Chinese, but unfortunately we picked the only week of the year that they are closed :( And of course a Costa Vida Taco Salad ranks high on the list.

Other less fattening activities of the trip included a trip up in the mountains for a picnic and gold mining expedition. Kellie really wants to find gold. I think grandpa found a few "golden" flecks for her. We also visited The Gateway for some shopping fun. (Had to hit the Apple store) and also went to Thanksgiving Point where the kids enjoyed the petting zoo which we thoroughly enjoyed.

Then, on to the mouse 2 days after the first trip ended. Which for you travelers with kids, or even without, 2 days is not enough! While it is possible to get the laundry done and the suitcases repacked, I would recommend at least 4-5 days between vacation if you have to do them that close together. The kids weren't even back on their normal sleep schedule which made for a difficult 2nd journey....

We stayed at the Boardwalk Resort which is a beautiful resort, but not my first pick for a vacation with kids. While we did enjoy the daybed for another sleeping option for the kids so they didn't have to sleep together, we found the options at the resort to be more appropriate for an older set. We missed having a food court, although if you have the refillable mugs you can refill them at the Bakery (they actually give you a second disposable cup instead of refilling the mug). There is a pool on the Inn side (the quiet pool), but the kiddie pool is over on the Villa side which was a bit of a walk from our room.

The kids and I were on our own for a couple of days so we hit Epcot and did the Kidcot Fun Stops. The kids, ages 3 & 5 loved stopping and coloring. At each stop around the countries, the kids got a stamp and a new mask. We also started collecting the pressed pennies found in each country. The secret, I've decided, to taking the kids to a theme park on my own, is finding the small stuff that the kids will enjoy. This is what is so great about Disney. They have these little extras that you can enjoy without having to go on the rides. Epcot was a great highlight of the trip!

The downside of our trip was definitely the weather! Orlando in July is very, very hot and not the time I would recommend for a family vacation. However if not extremely hot, it was also raining which is very common this time of year as well. We were either soaked with rain or sweat...neither of which leads to very happy campers...

As the grand finale of our adventure, my husband took the kids for a couple of hours so that I could visit the Disney Saratoga Springs Spa. This was awesome! Very relaxed environment, wonderful services. If you are planning a trip and can work it into the plan I would highly recommend it!

So that was our Disney/Utah travel adventure of Summer 2008! Traveling to 2 cities across the country: Exhausting, Getting back home to our own comfy beds: Priceless

The Perfect Disney Vacation

We have returned from another successful Disney adventure. After working for the mouse for 10+ years and having the parks available anytime, going back is a mixture of going home again and being able to actually have a true vacation experience which we couldn't have while working there. When we lived in the area, we could go into a theme park for a couple of hours and then leave if the kids were acting up, it was too crowded, etc. Now we have to be like the masses "We are going to Disney and you will have fun...its now or never!!"This has resulted in some very long, exhausting days as we try to fit in everything, plus our local favorite restaurants and maybe even meet a few old friends along the way.
So we have been trying to find the balance between doing too much and not seeing everything we want...which is a tricky balance. This trip we actually had days while my husband was in a conference that we didn't go into any theme parks, but instead opted to play around the resort instead which was way cool. If you have ever had the opportunity to stay at a Disney resort, you know there are tons of things to do there, and often no time to do it. While at the Disney Yacht Club Resort we walked the loop to Boardwalk, enjoyed the bakery, sat and watched the boats, swam in the very fun sand bottom pool, let the kids build sand castles and played on the beach. I think the kids actually had more fun not going into the theme parks. As much fun as it seems to take the kids to Disney, I have noticed on more than one occasion that they spend the majority of time sitting in a stroller & waiting in line than actually having fun. Then we had 3 full days of the parks, and while we did take a bit more time out during the day to go back and enjoy the pool, we also let our kids stay up a bit later and enjoyed the park at night as well.
As a result I think we almost found the perfect balance...almost because we still missed some of the parts of the parks we would have enjoyed but due to cranky kids and naps, had to miss...but then again I guess that gives us a reason to go back and try again!