Bringing Grandparents Along to Disney – Part II

So in Part I, you read the riveting saga of how and why my parents agreed to meet my family (party of 3, at that time) at Walt Disney World.  In this post I will include my Top 4 Reasons why I recommend that your family plans a trip to Disney with Grandparents!

My parents live in a different state, so they flew down separately and met us at the All-Star Movies Resort, where we had booked our 7 day package (3 of them FREE!  THIS is what I lose sleep over … please, please, PLEEEASE bring that off season deal back, Disney!!  Please and thank you.)

If you have not been to Walt Disney World, they have “value” resorts with affordable prices that I guarantee will pleasantly surprise you.  They are a hustling, bustling blast and frankly have more Disney theming than the other, more expensive resorts on property.  I’ll save that analysis for another post.

 Top 4 Reasons to Bring Grandparents On Your Disney Trip:

1.  Babysitter for that Date Night Out.

I know you guys figured this one out on your own.  Ah-hah!  You’re absolutely right.   My husband and I are officially Childcare Challenged, and we never, ever have date nights.  Shame, shame on us.

We were able to head to EPCOT for their 3 Extra Magic Hours one evening, just the two of us!  Never would have done that with a bedraggled, exhausted 4 year old along.

So we strolled romantically through the countries, in the dark, at our own pace.

No “will you carry me?”….”I’m tiiiiired!”….”Can I have another 50% cupcake/50% frosting from Germany the SIZE OF MY HEAD??” (ok, my wording, not hers).   Peaceful, selfish bliss!

As a side bonus, the evening produced my favorite Disney picture of the two of us …  you have to get a PhotoPass shot in front of Spaceship Earth (the big white ball) if you go to EPCOT at night.

“We took a picture earlier today.”  No, no.  That one doesn’t count.

Pretty cool, huh?

 

2.  Everyone gets to do more of what they like.

Let’s face it, in any given cluster of 5 people at Magic Kingdom – they all have things they love, or refuse, to do.

So Nanna accompanied my daughter on rounds 4, 5, and 6 of “it’s a small world”, and I actually had a wild-ride companion (my dad) to go with me on Space Mountain and Big Thunder Mountain Railroad.  Yay!

This flowed surprisingly well, and a good time was had by all.

3. Eliminate multiple crabby drivers in a single car – take the bus!

This one falls more under “Why pick Disney World for an extended family trip?”.  And it’s a plus that didn’t occur to me until the sole day in the middle of our trip when we rented a car to go see the ocean.  Bam!  There was the irritable tension back again.

Oh, it came from me … I’ll admit.  My dad wasn’t driving the right speed.  He didn’t select the right parking spot.  Blah, blah, blah … minor transgressions, all.

But it made me realize how stress-free it had been to have us all hop on the bus (or the monorail, or a boat – all free Disney transportation options), all day every day, to get where we wanted to go.  This is a HUGE perk of staying on property.

4.  Go Celebrate Something Together!

This trip allowed us to celebrate our joint wedding anniversaries in a most festive style – their 40th, and our 6th.

 

Boy, you put that little Mickey and Minnie “Happy Anniversary!” button on and the well wishes just pour in steady!  Fun, fun, fun!  I can’t say enough good things about this aspect of our experience.  Disney really tries to make you feel special.  I highly recommend celebrating your anniversary at Disney World.  They have many fun buttons (available at the resort check-in desks, or customer service at the parks), for many occasions which call for celebrating.

We’ve taken numerous trips to Disney World since this initial one with my parents.  While each vacation is special and unique… this memory of bringing the grandparents along to Disney was hard to beat, and holds a special place in my heart!

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If you missed Part I of this story, you can read it here:  Bringing Grandparents Along to Disney