Tips for making this a perfect vacation with kids and my Mom!

[meganbear]

We will be in WDW May 9-15, it will be me, DH, DS (age 9), my sister, her two girls (ages 5 & 8) and our 72 year old Mom. My Dad died last June. My mom and Dad never went on vacations, my Dad worked all the time and was a homebody.

I'm so excited for my Mom to go with us! She is a blast, very fun, always up for anything (my DH is closer to her than he is to his own mom). I just want this vacation to be perfect for her and for all the kids. My son was there when he was in kindergarten--4 yrs ago and my nieces have never gone. Any tips to keep the kids happy without tiring out my Mom too much? Oh yea, my Mom is in very good health.

 

[Hillbeans]

First, my most important piece of advice is to be flexible. Try not to overplan your visit, and what you do plan, try to stick to.

If you really want to see the MK, go and be there very early. You'd be surprised how much more you can see and do just by being on line when the parks open. People who go at the busiest time of the day and wait for hours on lines really miss out.

Other than that, try and plan some downtime just relaxing at the pool and enjoying each other's company. Vacation doesn't mean running yourself ragged.

Also, maybe make a PS for a nice dinner at say Ohana for your last evening. We did and really enjoyed ourselves.

 

[meganbear]

Thanks! And I guess I've done okay because that is pretty much what I've planned for---we are all early risers so we are going to take advantage at EMH for MK and for AK, for Epcot and DS we will be there when they open at 9:00. We plan on taking a break everyday around 11:00 until 2:00 or 3:00. I have made PS for one nice sit down lunch (or dinner) each day. And on our arrival day we are taking Mom to 'Ohanas (that will be Mother's Day!).

 

[my3princes]

I think you have a solid plan. My DM, DF and DN will be traveling with us this trip too. DF and DN will only be staying for the 1st week, but DM will be staying the entire trip. My Dh is also closer to her than his own mom and we often vacation together. My DM tells us to plan the trip as we would if we were going alone and if she wants to tag along she will and if not she'll find something else to do. On a previous trip she used Disneys transportation and visited many of the resorts and checked out there gift shops. She also likes more down time than we do so she will just hang out at the resort. For her the best part of the trip is being able to see her grandkids having a good time.

 

[megan2346]

I think it is great you all will be going. My Mom and Dad have gone with us twice. It works well for us to have a loose plan. We pick which days we want to do stuff and the things we really want to see. I always leave a extra day so if we are tired we can take a day off and relax. Have a great time.
Megan

 

[meganbear]

Thanks so much! I'm just so happy to go on this trip---I'll be with the ones I love the most, I just know I'm gonna cry when I get there!

 

[Jordan's MOM]

I always cry when we get there !! Your plan looks good. One piece of advice is to allow everyone some time alone if you need it. WE have gone with my sister before and find the kids really do need some time apart. Grandma might also need some time just to unwind without the kids along. We find splitting up in natural groups at different times works. If DH & grandma want to see a show nobody else does, they can go off together. We did at least one meal together but more if we were all in the park together. Just relax and don;t worry about doing it all and do what you want to do!!


Jordans' mom