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Planning the first trip to Disney World Orlando? Here are the things you must know.

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Finally it was happening! Our long due trip to the Disney World was round the corner. We were grinning from ear to ear and our heart was kind of doing a happy dance.

I, as a mom of two boys (2 year and 9 year old) wanted to be prepared and have a plan of what should suit our family. The last thing I wanted was end up doing there a zig zag march past with a bunch of exhausted, hungry and cranky fellas!

Planning a trip to the Disney World is kind of a deal. It has 4 theme parks and 2 water parks, twenty three themed hotels, and various shopping, dining and recreation spots. There is no way you can do it all in one trip (or even a couple of them). However, what can be done is to maximize the experience. Being a bit prepared and knowing the basics well in advance can help you avoid some of the biggest Disney blunders.

We aimed for 1 day at each park, which I felt was good enough to explore. It was a winter trip in Feb. (however, Florida weather didn’t feel like one) hence the queues were manageably long and heat and humidity was bearably fine.

I made a list of few things that anyone visiting Disney for the first time should know for a win win.

Disney has an app to help you plan along your way

The My Disney Experience App is a must when planning a vacation to the Disney World. It is an ideal tool to review the wait times for each of the rides, book the rides virtually or even make dining reservations. It is also of great help to book the Genie+ experience if the wait time is longer. The Genie+ helps you get to a ride through the lightning lanes at an additional price which begins from $15.

Disney does allow food from outside

– Although many people have this conception that Disney doesn’t allow outside food like many amusement and theme parks, the truth is that it does allow food from outside. Carrying your own snacks at the parks is for sure going to up your game. You will pretty much feel hungry at odd times, after all that walking and activities.

It is a place that entertains all ages

Disney is not just an amusement park where you go primarily for your kids. The magnanimity and magic that Disney brings to each of its attraction lets families of all ages and sizes entertain and amuse. The thrill lovers have rides with unique themes that takes their excitement to another level while the little ones can have ample activities and unique fun rides. Additionally, Disney is a fun-filled place showcasing several shows, festivals, parades that you can enjoy as a family.

Disney is a physically demanding affair

– There is a lot of walking involved, somewhere from 12000 steps to 20000 steps. So yes, wear your most comfortable pair of shoes, drink a lot of water and take breaks so that you don’t completely exhaust yourself. Try to analyze your health beforehand if you are fit and ready for a physically demanding activity as this. Don’t skip taking your stroller (even if your kids are a little older). Consider renting a wheelchair if you are someone who has mobility issues.

The waiting time in lanes does not determine the popularity of an attraction

The waiting times are solely determined by the pattern of the crowd. While at one point of the time, wait times can be 10 minutes, the same will change to 50 minutes at the other point of time. Sometimes you will have way more fun in attractions with lesser waiting time than the ones than that made you sweat for eternity in the lanes.

Don’t forget to avail the Rider Switch when going with small children\

Rider Switch is great facility at the rides wherein you can take turns to ride. This is how it works; if the rest of your party is going for a thrill ride and you have a small child who has height requirement or doesn’t want to ride, you can let rest of your party go while you wait. When they are done, you can make use of this service and ride the same without having to wait in the queue again.

Don’t be overwhelmed by the plethora of information

Just having a basic plan works well when it comes to enjoying Disney. Disney world park guides available at the entrance mentions all rides and attractions with a small description and whether it has a height requirement. You will need to plan and improvise during the day.

You don’t need to be into Disney movies or characters to enjoy Disney

Disney brings the most unique and magnanimous elements to each of its attractions that makes every experience grand and immersive. So you don’t really need to be into Disney movies or cartoons to enjoy it. You may however not understand the craze and queues to meet the characters!

The greatest way to end the day at the Disney World is to watch their nighttime shows

The colorful extravaganza of the nighttime shows will take your Disney experience into a whole new wonderful world of fantasy. They bring out the essence of each park in the most magnificent manner and are quite popular among the crowd. This also means that you need to hold spots beforehand. The spots fill pretty fast, reaching the venue about 30 minutes in advance should serve you well.

Make dining reservations well in advance

It’ s advisable to make your reservations if you want to enjoy a sit-down meal option. There is a huge variety of such options boasting dining with characters, dinner shows or special theme and these book pretty fast. You can make reservations as early as sixty days in advance.

Pickup your celebration buttons

Pick up your celebration button if you are celebrating a birthday, anniversary or just grab a Disney World first visit pin. You never know when you will be surprised by a celebratory dessert or wished by a character.

Don’t aim to see it all

Don’t take the pressure of seeing it all. Split up the group. Take a lot of fun pics, shop for the Disney keepsake and stop by for refreshing breather of a drink or a street show.

And yes, chances are quite high that you will have withdrawl symptoms from the cascading and magical effect that the world of Walt Disney impressions on you for days even after your trip is over so don’t forget to plan for your next magical Disney adventure.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Between the Extremes (A poem on conflicting emotions of motherhood)

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When you weren’t born, my mind was filled with thoughts so unsure,
But when you were blessed on us, you became my world, my strength and my cure. 

Seeing you crawl, walk, and grow is undoubtedly the happiest emotion of my being,
Yet the thought of you outgrowing my lap brings a tear in my heart and a reminder of time fleeing.

At times, my space and my time is something I so badly yearn for,
Yet the feeling of you not being around is so greatly I abhor.

When I scold or feel angry, for you not understanding the good that you are told,
The greater pain is mine and all I want to is give you invisible hugs, kisses and love manifold.

I nurture you, nourish you and do everything that gives you wings to fly,
Yet always want you to need me no matter how high is your sky!

I might want to be a nightingale of the woods, princess in the ivory or damsel of the dreams,
Yet find greatest joy in rattling toys, bedtime stories, silly chases and happy screams.

I want you to be the apple of everyone’s eye for whom love by all would endlessly surmount,
Yet want you to always be the baby who is mine and whose world in my arm would surround.

When I am stacked with the duties of a mother and the day just drains me to the core,
The time feels quick to have flown by and I wish if I could have soaked in those moments just a bit more.

You give me immense strength to know what my body and soul was capable to hold,
At the same time leave me so vulnerable with insecurities, fears, worries unknown and untold.

I might be complaining of my aches and pains and sleepless nights,
Yet, can’t thank God enough for having you by my side who I could cuddle tight.

It might appear to the world that I made you or brought you into existence,
But to me, its you who made me and let me know my substance.

No words can be enough to explain this ride so confusing,
Just a feeling that sums up this all the extremes of this amazing tale of raising!

A note on my baby turning one!

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My babyZee is one.

I blinked and the year went by. It was yesterday we brought our little bundle of joy home. It was yesterday, I got this unsurmountable feeling of handing a sibling to my older one. It was yesterday, we became proud parents one more time.

You are a blissful baby for us and a wonder for your brother who was, and still is more than amazed at all the baby things you do—your squirms and stares, and smiles and giggles and gurgles and babbles. Watching you, holding you, conversing and playing with you has been such a delightful journey. You in no time changed our home from a cool quiet place to a noisy household filled with a new flow of energy.

I could never had enough despite being a mom second time. You gave me some of the most precious feelings in the world.

You revived the joy of holding my heart out of my body. You revived that sweet smell of a newborn. You revived how the grab of those teeny weeny fingers felt like. You revived the echo of gurgles and coos and infectious smiles. You revived what it felt like watching your own made human incessantly. You gave the feeling of being the most desired person on earth for this new human. Thanks my darling for letting me live those moments one more time.

You gave me the joy of handing you to your brother. All the worries of changing family dynamics had all disappeared in no time when we met you. You both doting over each other are some of the most precious moments for me.

As a woman you made me stronger than ever before—surviving the incredibly difficult times of coronial era, coming out of the health issues that came along and letting go the people and energy that serve no purpose. Your birth told me the things I didn’t know I was capable of.

I must say, being a second time mom was quite different. I was now aware of how fleeting the times are. I was now aware how soon it will be when you outgrow my arms. I was now aware how soon it will be when you start to roll, sit, walk or sleep through the night.

So, the least I wish is to rush to the milestones. So, the least I feel is to be overwhelmed— by a long day, a clingy baby or sleepless nights. So, the least I wish is to crave for silence or a mess-free home.

Because I know, with every milestone, you are gonna leave behind a little of the little you. And I am so very much going to miss it. And here I am, already missing that squirmy, squiggly infant we brought home😌😌, since you are my big little boy today. I wish I could soak in those baby moments forever. But nevertheless, that little more will always be a little less I guess!

This year was such a blessing from God for all of us specially when the times were a little tougher for everyone around. You gave our little family of three precious moments to celebrate, to laugh, to be silly, and our biggest share of joy. I can’t be thankful enough for every bit of it.

DIY Compass

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This was such a fun learning about directions, magnets and how earth’s magnetic field reacted with the magnetic field of the magnetic needle to either repel or attract each other.

For thousand of years, people have been using magnet in form of compass to study directions. This compass can be called an old-fashioned compass. They actually used magnetized needle to find directions. They fitted this needle along a cork or something similar and floated this needle in a bowl of water. The needle would point to North only.

Material required:

Sewing needle
Magnet (horse shoe magnet or fridge magnet)
Wax paper
Scissors
Bowl of water

Directions:

1. Cut a circular piece out of wax paper. Make sure that its diameter is smaller than the needle.

2. Rub the needle along the magnet around 20 times, always in the same direction, starting at the eye and moving towards the point.

3. Poke the needle through the wax paper circle, so that the needle sits centrally on the paper.

4. Take your bowl of water and place the needle and wax paper carefully onto the surface of the water.

5. After a moment, the needle will start to move all by itself. When it stops, it will be lined up with north and south.

The science behind:

When we rub the magnet against the needle, we are magnetising the needle that is transforming it into a temporary magnet. Just like the needle or the magnet in compass reacts ( attracts or repel) with the magnetic field of the earth and thereby tell the direction, this temporary magnet also reacts to the magnetic field of the Earth causing it to align North to South.

DIY Spring/Easter garland

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This cute bunny garland is a perfect craft activity for spring or Easter. A super easy and fun filled activity, that can be done by kids and adults alike. All it requires is some craft papers and cutting them in shape of a bunny and sticking some yarn pompoms onto it and finally hanging those on a string.

The first thing that you need for this activity is an image of a bunny to use it as a stencil. You can use a printable or draw a bunny and use it as a stencil. I drew the same. Pompoms are also easy, just that they might require help of an adult to handle while making. I used craft papers of several prints and colors and stuck yarns pompoms in pink and blue.

Materials required:

Craft papers
Bunny image
Yarn (pink, white)
String Fork (medium sized)
Scissors
Pencil
Tacky glue

Directions:

1. Take a printout of a bunny or draw a bunny shape on craft papers.

2. Using that as a stencil, cut out 8 bunnies.

3. For pompoms, take a fork and wrap yarn around the it, approximately 30 times.

4. After several wraps, take both the ends of yarn and tie a knot around the center.

5. Now cut both the loops on each side and fluff.

6. Stick pompoms on each bunny.

7. Hang all the bunnies on a string and you are done with your bunny garland.