How do you unwind?

[TwistGrl101]

People always say that Disney isn't really a "vacation" due to all the hustle and bustle, excessive walking, etc. Especially when traveling with young children, you can certainly leave feeling like you need a vacation just to recoup from Disney.
DH and I will be traveling alone with our 4 young children next trip. (We usually have a mom to help us out)
So please share with us any tips you have on unwinding at the end of the night, to wake up and feel refreshed for the next day.
I know mid-day breaks are crucial to get through the August heat.
But what other things do you do to relax at the end of a tiring day? Hot tub, bath, wine???
Can't wait to read everyone's responses!

 

[staceyrhood]

Sitting in a rocking chair on the porch at Fort Wilderness with a cocktail from Crocket's Tavern, watching the kids runaround on the playground.

 

[TwistGrl101]

I wish BC had a playground...that sounds great!

 

[nycdisneygal]

blue glowtinis...

 

[plutoloversmom]

It's relaxing to go to the nightly movie and marshmallow roast on the beach at BC/YC. You can lounge on a beach chair and watch your kids have a great time enjoying themselves.

 

[Ashlander]

The kids love swimming at the end of the night. It is nice to sit there and watch them have fun

 

[skriegerjr]

The kids love swimming at the end of the night. It is nice to sit there and watch them have fun

I concur, we live in Western New York, so going in November is like "summer" for us, so we love swimming as much as possible, especially with 7 months of Winter ahead of us.

And getting the kids to swim at the end of the day, ensures they will be thoroughly exhausted and sleep very well that night! I usually swim with them too, same reason!

 

[msp2mco]

Sitting in a rocking chair on the porch at Fort Wilderness with a cocktail from Crocket's Tavern, watching the kids runaround on the playground.

That is one of our best memories from our first trip to WDW!

Depending on where you are staying, many of the resorts offer such relaxing areas--swimming, lounges, and lobbies. Sometimes we have checked out a DVD for the kids to watch which is also a good way to relax.

 

[ShayBells]

Take an extra week off work following your disney "vacation." Haha

And usually when my little one is sleeping I shower or bath and I just relax and watch TV. It's such an easy thing to do that helps me feel lazy haha. It helps to put your tired feet up for a few hours while little mouths are closed

Sent from my iPhone using DISBoards

 

[wiigirl]

blue glowtinis...

Yes!

 

[ThreeRingCircus]

I ordered wine from our grocery delivery.

 

[sgauta]

Another vote for the rocking chairs outside the tavern at FW!! If we're not staying at the Lodge we park there and take the boat over to FW...it's a nice relaxing ride. We rest our feet in the rocking chairs while the kids play on the adjoining playground, then walk over to visit the ponies and the large horses in the stables. There is such a relaxing atmosphere there and petting the animals always seems to lower everyone's blood pressure, LOL. There are also lounge chairs on the beach there...lie there at night and watch the fireworks over at MK.

 

[disneyirie]

the beach behind the pool at the polynesian is great. i live here and i highly suggest you leave the park before the fireworks and head over to the polynesian. they project a movie onto a screen every night that the kids watch from the pool, and directly behind it is a little "beach" that they made. they have chairs and swings on the beach and if you don't want to leave the kids a few yards away, i've been with kids at the little beach and they seem to love it. that's not the best part though-- the polynesian is the best place to watch fireworks. i'm a local and my boyfriend lives on the lake that they shoot the fireworks from and we can see them perfectly from miles away. the polynesian is about half a mile from the castle and the sight is fantastic, meanwhile you're not being herded like cattle and craning your neck to see the fireworks inside the park. you'll be relaxing on the beach also, there are some places in the park you'll be able to take a breather for a second. one of them is the little playground on tom sawyers island. it has a slide and a swingset with benches nearby for mum and dad and if you want to bring your lunch, there are picnic tables a couple yards away. also on tom sawyers island is a set of rocking chairs tucked away to the side of the fort. the kids can play on the little turrets while you relax. they've got a view of big thunder mountain across a small lake and you'll get a couple minutes of relaxation at the park. hope this helped!

 

[dzneelvr]

With 4 young kids, I'd make sure to take cues from them as to what they want to do. Granted, we had 2, not 4, but they loved to play on the HISTK playground in DHS, so instead of rushing them through it on the way to other things, one of us would stay and hang with them; the other may go off to get fastpasses or take in an attraction they wouldn't particularly like. if the weather is good for swimming, don't have park or dining ADRs that would rush you off. Let them swim to their hearts' content...then a rest and some TV...then go to the parks for the evening. We view WDW as the best vacations ever, primarily because we stopped trying to do everything (after the first trip)! Good sleep. Good healthy food. Time to talk to each other instead of rushing around and turn off the electronic devices

 

[wendybeth75]

I love to go to DTD and people watch. The trees all sparkle and people are all about. When we are at POR we take the boat over. That would be a bit more difficult to do with small children. Take advantage of all the little playground areas or the water jet areas. Let them play and you recharge!

 

[disfamof7]

I just have to say I'm so happy to see someone else going to WDW with a bunch of kids! My husband and I have five kids and will be attempting our first trip with them and no other adults next year! I am definitely subscribing to this tread as I think it will be very helpful. And since we are driving I am definitely bringing some wine!

 

[AnnaS]

If our vacation time was 7 days - we would squeeze in one or two non-park days. Take time to sit on a bench, rocking chair whenever you get a chance and relax a few minutes. People watch, have a snack, refreshment, etc.

Besides taking a break during the day - do not stay every night til the park closes.

I know you are on vacation - but while the kids were sleeping, I would run out (early riser) and do some laundry. Much less to do when I got home.

Most of all - don't push the kids and if the ages vary somewhat, consider splitting once or twice with DH. One takes the younger one/s and the other, the older one/s. We did this a lot in the water parks.

Have fun and don't try to do it all!

 

[queenofthehive]

I stayed at the YC this summer and it was wonderful to sit out on the balcony and watch the fireworks while enjoying a glass of wine. It was a great way to relax from a busy day of swimming and being in the parks. Epcot has a great selection of wines. The gift shops were always so over priced and the selection was not that great.

 

[AJ1983]

If our vacation time was 7 days - we would squeeze in one or two non-park days. Take time to sit on a bench, rocking chair whenever you get a chance and relax a few minutes. People watch, have a snack, refreshment, etc.

Besides taking a break during the day - do not stay every night til the park closes.

I know you are on vacation - but while the kids were sleeping, I would run out (early riser) and do some laundry. Much less to do when I got home.

Most of all - don't push the kids and if the ages vary somewhat, consider splitting once or twice with DH. One takes the younger one/s and the other, the older one/s. We did this a lot in the water parks.

Have fun and don't try to do it all!

This! I saw a family at Magic Kingdom, 2 parents, 2 kids, ages probably 14 and 3. The teenager wanted to do a big ride and his Mom said well we have to go to *insert kiddy attraction here* so your brother can do something. The poor teenager looked miserable and I felt so bad for him AND the parents, because it must be very hard to accommodate different ages. All I could think was I hope Mom takes the baby back for a nap and the kid and his Dad can hit up the rides commando style like he clearly wanted to do

To the kids credit, he handled it much better than I would have at his age (or maybe even at my current age, given that its bothered me, a stranger, enough to post about it lol).

 

[kelowatt]

I concur, we live in Western New York, so going in November is like "summer" for us, so we love swimming as much as possible, especially with 7 months of Winter ahead of us.

And getting the kids to swim at the end of the day, ensures they will be thoroughly exhausted and sleep very well that night! I usually swim with them too, same reason!

My family is from Buffalo, and we usually would go the week before thanksgiving. It was fun to go to the waterpark and see the lifeguards bundled up in parkas while we ran around in bathing suits riding waterslides. You'd turn around and ask the people around you where they were from and invariably the answers would be places like Minnesota, Chicago, Canada, Wisconsin.