There is a ton of interest in the Stokke Tripp Trapp high chair, and for good reason. This versatile, attractive and well-made high chair is one of the best baby products on the market. Many parents have questions about the ins and outs of the Stokke Tripp Trapp, and in this post I’ll go over…
In an ideal world, all of our children would love to go to school, love to learn, love to work on their reading comprehension and writing skills, and be effortlessly talented with numbers. As a parent, it’s natural to wonder how to get your child interested in school. In reality, kids sometimes dislike studying. And there…
If you have a young kid, you know the appeal of superheroes. In this gift guide I’ll go over the best Spiderman toys for the superhero fan in your life. Spiderman ranks as one of the all-time classics. Kids today are just as into Spiderman as they were decades ago, so it’s no surprise that…
This weekend it struck me: My daughter, who is just a year old, will never know a world where there hasn’t been a woman in the White House. And until the age of 41, I’ve never known a world where there has. My kids will never live in a country where there hasn’t been a…
We leave for Disney in T minus 10 days, and the reality that my traveling companion is a toddler intent on fleeing from me like a convict making a run at a prison break is starting to sink in.
The trip is next week, and although my fears are escalating I have not taken this as a call to action to get ready in any way, since I like to play possum and just freeze when I get overwhelmed.
So, to date I have done exactly two things to prepare, which are to buy a baby leash and to cut Nolan’s hair:
He looks very much like an incontinent marine now, which I’m totally fine with as he’s likely to remain cooler without this situation resting on his head:
As for the leash? Judge me if you will. I never thought I would put a harness on my child. (But that’s only because I never had a child in need of harnessing before).
I’m going to state the obvious here, but 21 months is not the ideal age to take a child to Disney World. Wide-eyed wonder aside, toddlers are known terrorists. To be frank I’m not entirely sure that Nolan isn’t already on a no-fly list. And yet, we are about to venture forth to that great epicenter where commerce and whimsy collide: the most magical place on Earth, after Target.
Why are we making this trip, you may ask? Simple. Because of FOMO.
I suffer from debilitating FOMO (Fear of Missing Out for the 7-10 of you who are wondering) and Brian’s whole family is making the trip. I had to get in on that action! (Fact: prudence is my worst trait, based on a character assessment I did for my last job). Brian actually is quite prudent, but he’s excited for a vacation with his whole family, which they haven’t done since he was a kid. That excitement overruled his natural prudence.
But really, FOMO is why we’re going on this trip. That and the chance to make memories and yada yada yada.
Mostly FOMO.
Two competing forces are happening within me right now:
On the one side, I’m getting excited, because Disney! I love that shit. Don’t even try to tell me Mickey isn’t cool. Mickey is the boss. Mickey and his creepy giant gloved hands are spectacular.
On the other side, I’m taking a toddler to Disney. A toddler who could not successfully be maintained through a 35 minute music class and who behaved like a rabid ferret the other night when we had to wait in a long line.
He was slightly worse than a ferret, even, because people don’t expect ferrets to wait in lines. But I digress.
You know what Disney has besides Mickey and those gorgeous giant hands? Lines! Thousands of lines. Tens of thousands of lines. *I’m making these numbers up. In no way do I represent the board of tourism for Disney.
Also, heat. Florida is HOT in July. So hot that every person I’ve mentioned this trip to has laughed (really, straight up laughed) and said some version of “You’re going to Disney in July? Ha! Good luck!”
I’m not saying that I expect that things will look like this. Except yes, I’m saying that I expect that things will look like this:
There is some talk in the Faria family of getting a Disney “Memory Maker” add-on whereby the Disney photographers capture all the glory of your trip for you, but I think we’re good. This post is already full of frame-worthy images and we’re not even there yet.
Suggestions for this trip? I would particularly love tips on what to pack! And suggestions about subduing a toddler on a flight. And tips on how to stop a toddler tantrum in the heart of Epcot. And on what to do if Mickey tries to hold your toddler and your toddler tears off the character head and exposes Mickey for a human teenage intern.
But mostly on what to pack.
Either an insulated thermos or a couple of koozies to keep drinks cold. We were so happy to also have one of those black mesh UV things you can put on the stroller if Nolan (or you) need a nap.
Go to the country bear jamboree- it’s air conditioned. And don’t miss the parade!
Too bad you just got his haircut, or who knows perhaps it will grow really fast like my second son’s does… Get his haircut at the Magic Kingdom. It’s off to the left past the entrance and not many know about it. Price is reasonable so it’s not a crazy “Disney” price and I guarantee you you’ll get more poses like what you have going on all over the potential Disney World pic’s 🙂
Bring water! Like TONS of water. If you.can pack fruit like watermelon DO IT! We took our lids to Disneyland durong the summer while they were toddlers and the water and watermelon were life savers! Dehydrated kids are grumpy! Also, don’t rush around to get on every single ride, relax and enjoy it. The older kids are going to want to rush, but if you take your time and focus on rides that Nolan will enjoy, you will have a better time. Good luck!
Bring rain jackets if you have them. When you go on rides, you’ll be parking the stroller and any bags, jackets you can take on the rides. I always put my wallet and cell phone in the pockets. You end up with protection from water rides as well as possible rain.
Ok. 1. So so so so so jealous. Because DISNEY. 2. Please post a bazillion pictures so I can live vicariously through you. 3. Pocketful of Joules took her toddler recently and carried him most of the time. It worked out pretty well for her. She wrote a whole post about what worked for them. 4. Have fun!