VandVsmama
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Mar 28, 2011
- Messages
- 8,861
You're not alone. This is how my DH sort of feels on almost every trip. He complains almost nonstop about the cost of the food. Complains about being hot. Complains about standing in line.
So we have methods for dealing with what I refer to as TPF - Theme Park Fatigue. Symptoms have a daily and very rapid onset and it happens right around lunch time.
In our family, TPF symptoms are 'managed' by the following techniques:
- not spending all day of every day in a theme park
- trying to get to the park for rope drop, but if we're a little late, have the attitude of "oh well."
- at WDW, eat lunch indoors at a TS restaurant, maybe go on 1 ride after that, and then LEAVE!
- Do NOT hop then to another park. Go straight back to hotel. Get comfy, preferably take a nap.
- NO GOING TO THE POOL UNTIL YOU'VE LAID DOWN FOR AT LEAST 30 MINUTES! Even if it's laying down while goofing off on your tablet or watching TV.
- Go back to a park for dinner.
- Hotel break must be min of 3 hours long.
- If/when DH wants to leave early, let him leave early. No requirement for everyone to stick together all day for the whole entire trip. When we do that, we all start snapping at each other by about Day 4 of the vacation.
- At WDW, only do 2 park days in a row. AND THEN TAKE A WHOLE DAY OFF WITH NO GOING INTO A PARK AT ALL! This is essential. Even the kids need it. Your brain needs a break from the constant sensory input.
- Reduce your expectations.
- Have every person in the trip pick THE #1 'thing' that they want to do while on the trip. Try to make every person's #1 "thing" happen. And tell everybody that everything else after that is "icing on the cake."
NO COMPLAINING ABOUT THE COST OF THE FOOD! When you agreed to go on the trip, you KNEW what the food would cost. We budgeted for it and can afford it. IF YOU DON'T LIKE IT, THEN GO EAT AT THE FOOD COURT AT POP CENTURY OR...BETTER YET, DON'T COME NEXT TIME!
A couple of times, DH has gotten bad enough about the whining that I've told him that if he says 1 more word in front of the kids about the cost of everything, he's going to eat by himself for the rest of the day and he will not be allowed to go on any rides with us either for the rest of the day because he was being such a cranky pants about it all....and he was, frankly, totally ruining the mood and the fun that the rest of us were having.
And by the way, my kids are 13 and 15. 2 year olds are hard. Hard enough that we didn't take a Disney trip until YDD was 4 (and ODD was 6)...that's when we took then to DL for 3 days for the very first time (it was magical and amazing).
We took Grandma with us ONE TIME to Disneyland. Never again. I am never ever again going to go to a Disney park with a grandparent in tow. It sounds like a nice idea, but it's like dealing with an extra child because they want to do everything with you the entire time, but often times, they physically can't keep up and they get tired often like a toddler or preschooler does....which results in them getting cranky, short tempered, etc. Then you throw in normal extended family dynamics, and it's a recipe for some very grumpy people.
