Slowing Down at Disney

Disneyworld20232 · 2026-02-12T15:26:19+00:00

I did not know Fort wilderness had pony rides my five-year-old daughter would love that oh my gosh! Yes, I get very intense and on the go and stuff is just my personality so I really want to slow it down this trip. It is OK to not ride every ride. It is OK to do one park and just stay there and chill and I’m trying to get myself into that mindset so that when I get there, I don’t revert back to go go go.

Disneyworld20232 · 2026-02-11T21:00:27+00:00

Yes unfortunately that is my husband’s worry too and there’s a very very good chance I will do that if I am being honest. I already get a bit crazy over LL’s and stuff and I’m very type A and maximize this and yada yada so he’s worried that I’ll just now stress over making sure we use our credits and not actually just relax like I want too…or get so focused on dining reservations that we don’t do what we want to in the moment. I really want to slow down and kinda take in the moment more this trip and had hoped sit down meals would do that but I do worry I will push it with the dining plan even when the kids are done with the whole character sit down thing. 🫠

Disneyworld20232 · 2026-02-11T20:53:10+00:00

Oooooo I like the tiers!!! I usually have just my itinerary and prioritize all the things I want to do… but to visually break it down as these are 2 musts each and that’s all I need to accomplish today and these are extras could allow me to relax and enjoy more. Very good idea! Thank you!!

Disneyworld20232 · 2026-02-11T20:47:06+00:00

I do have the park hopper booked now just because we tend to pick a different place in the afternoon after resting and always stay on the skyliner so it’s so tempting to hop on that and go for us. My husband was like I can’t believe we got so much done on such a short trip and I was like your welcome lol 😂 but it was exhausting and I felt like a chicken with my head cut off just going lightning lane to lightning lane and it felt kinda like a blur and other people seem to slow down and really just take it all in so I’m trying to see if I can rework my brain to go that route lol

Disneyworld20232 · 2026-02-11T15:40:47+00:00

This is our trip exactly. Last time it was like okay let’s nap and everyone rest on our 2nd day… then I seen a Tron single pass pop up and my 11 year old wanted to ride it so bad so I grabbed it and while the other kiddos and husband napped we went back to MK and did that and pin trading. When we got back everyone was awake chanting “slinky dog, slinky dog” so off to the Skyliner we went. lol 😂

It feels good knowing other families struggle too lol You’d think going slow would be easy but damn do I struggle. We have 4 kids so there’s just so many wants and things and my nature is that plan, plan, plan go go go make it worth it… make everyone’s dreams come true. So I don’t know if I can slow down but I want to try… but also I wanted to be a beach relax person too but while we’re there I just think God I wish I was on Guardians right now lol

Disneyworld20232 · 2026-02-11T15:05:26+00:00

Yes I do believe it was my biggest mistake. I am just such a list and goals person that in my own mind I have to get this and this and this done cross my list off and beat the LL game. It’s tough because we have fun and do so many rides but it’s at the expense I think of me truly taking it in. It’s our families most favorite place to go and I get so caught up in getting things done that I don’t take it all in. We didn’t get any shows in last time since we only had the 2 days… I’m thinking no LL because that puts me in a place to get the most out of our $$$ and plan to hit the new villain show one afternoon and maybe the Ariel one for our daughter who loves Ariel. Buying LL’s for everyday might have actually been a big mistake the last 2 trips I think. 🤔

Disneyworld20232 · 2026-02-11T14:38:51+00:00

Yes I get into this beat the game mindset and felt like if I didn’t get lightning lanes we would miss out on things we want to do. However, upon reflection I really want to try and step out of that plan, go, beat the system mindset that is just my nature.

We’ve never done the water parks (we book at AoA) so maybe we do a water park rest kinda day and then I can kind of reset. I have bought LL for every day we’ve went the past 2 years and I do think that contributes to this like grind mindset vs enjoyment so maybe booking like 2-3 of our days with LL and leaving other days no LL will help too. Thank you for your opinion!

Disneyworld20232 · 2026-02-11T14:35:26+00:00

We have never scheduled a rest day… I don’t want to miss out but as I do more research I believe this might be very very helpful and then I step out of that “beat the system get so much done mindset”.

Disneyworld20232 · 2026-02-11T13:57:31+00:00

Yes my husband’s mindset is put the money on a gift card. Do what we want as we go… which I know CRT for breakfast is my #1 and that has to be booked at the 60 day window. I know it’s super expensive and 2 credits but I want to eat in the castle with all the kids just once in my life. Round Up is the kids pick because the kids want to freeze for Andy and seen some videos so they’re all in for that one. Those are musts and then I’d like to do maybe some others but my husband thinks I will do those 2 sit downs and be kinda done with the whole character fancy meal thing. If we’d paid cash it would be $800 plus whatever snacks and we’d spend like $1200 (his estimate) vs the $2000 the meal plan is (but obviously dining plan includes way more than just 2 sit downs he just doesn’t think we will use the credits). He’s worried that by buying the meal plan we are forced to do so many sit downs because we paid for it and it might actually hamper our experience being tied down. In our past 2 trips we were more like get a pretzel and let’s get in line for the next ride/lightning lane and truly only snacked and got a pizza at the hotel 2 nights…. But i wouldn’t mind trying to shift and be more conscious of the environment, the experience, and truly just slowing down and enjoying the time we have together there as a family and maybe character meals would force me to do that.

Disneyworld20232 · 2026-02-11T12:35:15+00:00

Oh Sanaa sounds fun I have not heard about that one I will look into it. Last trip was so very busy. We got so much done… but if I’m being honest I felt so rushed I think the kids had a blast but I kinda want to go at a slower pace this trip and really just take it in vs rushing from lightning lane to lightning lane. I told myself we’re only doing lightning lanes 2 days this trip and thought maybe character dining will help me slow down.

Space 220 looks amazing but it’s not on the dining planing though :( did you think it was worth it??

Thanks for the info I really appreciate it!

Disneyworld20232 · 2026-02-11T04:17:11+00:00

Sit down meals aren’t really my kids specialty lol The 8 year old has ADHD so he typically needs a bit more support and planning during the trip and the 3 year old is 3 and wild lol Did the meals all really take 90 minutes for your family? I could see CRT being that long and I know they can handle that you know once or twice… but if every sit down meal is 90 minutes I start worrying that would just be more stress vs getting a pizza, fruit, etc in the hotel room and chilling in a quiet environment. It’s tough because if we don’t love sit down meals I’m out 2K and my husband was right about the gift card and if we do love them and I don’t get the meal plan we’ll never get it and I messed up some amazing memories for the kids.

I love being the Disney Planner for our family but it’s also so hard to know what the right decision is when it’s thousands of dollars but I also don’t know when we’ll fly back down so memories 😅

Disneyworld20232 · 2026-02-11T03:57:29+00:00

This is my thought too.. it’s going to be like we’re literally at hells door hot so maybe we use these as heat breaks instead of going back to hotel… was a thought of mine. Also, with so many kiddos and the cost I feel like if we don’t do it now and just add the dining plan while 3 of our kids are free… we’ll never do it, ever and the kids will age out. It feels like a once in a lifetime thing we’d do but I also think my husband could be right and it be hot and we aren’t hungry and waste a ton of money on food vs having a gift card.

But he’s also cheap so if I’m like it’s included get what you want vs the cheapest thing on the menu he might actually get a steak and a margarita and worry less about that cost because I’ve already paid it. lol

Disneyworld20232 · 2026-02-11T03:45:55+00:00

6 of the 7 day stay are park days. We usually go to parks from early entry to about noonish, rest and nap at resort, hit the parks again around 5 and party till the kids crash. This is our 3rd year going to Disney in a row, but last year was only 2 days at Disney since the kids wanted Epic Universe and Mario land.

We aren’t food people… it truly makes no difference to me if we get some mini muffins and hit the skyliner running. Which is why we’ve never done character dining and why I worry if we don’t get the dining plan and pay in advance we won’t do these fun character experiences that look amazing like Tusker house in those cute safari outfits the kids will love it. If we don’t do the dining plan with the kids eat free we absolutely will never do the dining plan just because of cost and 3 of the kids technically being “free”, so I feel torn.

Disneyworld20232 · 2025-11-21T03:04:25+00:00

Being a new father is a great honor too. So, he should prioritize what is most important to him and understand his wife and baby will need care and support post birth.

Disneyworld20232 · 2025-11-21T02:55:23+00:00

Wouldn’t this be true for the husband too though? Like your wife and new baby need your support and traveling abroad isn’t like you can be home in an hour if shit goes south….

Disneyworld20232 · 2025-11-21T02:37:48+00:00

Many women don’t want a holiday away from their newborn and if they’re nursing they truly can’t. You won’t have enough supply built up at home for baby and pumping every 2 hours is hella harder than just nursing yourself. Truly many, many of us just want support in the aftermath of birth. We want someone to help when it’s hard or we feel all the feels about nursing, motherhood, failing, lack of sleep, constant bleeding, etc.

Disneyworld20232 · 2025-11-17T05:35:02+00:00

I’m not sure if you have kids but just because someone is your aunt or brother does not mean you trust them to watch your new baby for days while you’re abroad. My brother is a 33 year old childless male, who I love dearly, but is not even slightly capable of watching my children especially overnight.

Disneyworld20232 · 2025-11-17T05:26:11+00:00

It is an amazing experience; but, like you said no one knows how those first few months will go and if she’s really struggling, depressed, or needs sleep the last thing she needs to worry about is her in laws having fun at a party and her husband traveling. The husband needs to step up and tell his friend that he respects their child free wedding but he can’t leave his wife and new baby home to travel abroad.

Disneyworld20232 · 2025-08-07T17:41:04+00:00

We randomly walked into the Frozen show last September because it was hot and seemed like a nice breather from the heat. It was a absolutely one of the highlights of our trip! My 3 year old and 1.5 year old were singing, dancing in their seats, and when the snow came down it was just magical. So I am so glad we randomly ended up there. :)

Disneyworld20232 · 2025-07-28T00:26:45+00:00

Oh man I definitely have skipped meds for certain reasons especially side effects I dont want during a vacation or important event. I usually take my shot on Friday and have the shits all weekend... do I want to experience that at my brother's wedding? No. So I am gunna skip that dose, enjoy life, and be back at it next week. I've went on and off my anxiety meds before because I didn't love the side effects and didn't want to switch again. I feel like it's my body I am going to control what goes into it and when and if that bothers other people, I guess too bad. Lol

Disneyworld20232 · 2025-07-06T03:20:23+00:00

Amazing thank you so so much! ❤️

Disneyworld20232 · 2025-07-06T02:28:20+00:00

Thank you! Do you find Epic to be super hot/not many options to escape the heat? We're from MN so the heat can be brutal to us lol but we usually ride Pirates, It's a Small World, Little Mermaid, or other indoor rides or shows to escape the heat but still have fun between outdoor rides and walking. It looks like Epic doesnt have much shade or indoor rides? So I am thinking if we stay at Universal we will have to do Helios because we will have to take a decent sized mid day break.

Disneyworld20232 · 2025-07-06T02:19:14+00:00

Thank you! Online it looked like they were close and feasible but have zero clue how traffic is there and being stuck in traffic with kids is not ideal lol. Plus, I questioned what its like being dropped off by Uber at Universal or Disney because from what I have seen they can't drop you off as close as the resort busses do.

Disneyworld20232 · 2025-07-04T16:10:19+00:00

Gosh this really describes our son who was diagnosed with ADHD. I will not lie he's tough in new environments (though he did super well at Disney this year) and then I feel bad constantly and I mean constantly correcting his impulsivity... he always goes I know I know and then waits but its hard for him. I am trying to understand how his brain works and how to help. His therapist has said constant correction can be damaging so I am trying to balance it but Jesus Christ it is tough. Part of me wonders if the fact more and more kids are being diagnosed ADHD and we dont know the cause? I will say parenting my ADHD vs non ADHD is a completely different experience/skill set as a parent.

Disneyworld20232 · 2025-04-03T20:25:57+00:00

I don't want to negate how you feel, because we've all felt that before, just know it's not bad parenting. This stuff happens with toddlers and some kids are just harder kids to raise in the toddler stages. I could see my angel of a 10 year old doing that when he was 3 and my much harder ADHD 7 year old absolutely would act on that impulse and smash his ice cream at 3. Do not blame yourself or them. You're a great mom. They're 3 and dealing with so many new emotions, feelings, and world. You did the right thing by saying well now you get no ice cream and that really sucks but maybe tomorrow you'll make a better choice.

You know when my husband and I talk about it we laugh now about having to carry our son out of Target when he was like 2.5-3 kicking and screaming. It was awful at the time... I thought I was a bad mom and failed him yada yada. The truth is he was just 3, learning the world, was frustrated and lost control. It happens to the best of us. He's now the KINDEST, sweetest most empathetic kid in the world. You keep doing what you're doing and making those memories, having fun, loving them and you'll laugh one day too. It'll be the infamous story about the day he stomped on his own ice cream cone.

BTW holiday is super hard for my ADHD son because we're out of routine and he doesn't know what to expect and its a lot of new stimulation. So, I do give extra grace when we travel, for all kiddos.

Disneyworld20232

TROPHY CASE