For those of you who know me, you know that some of my most incredible trips have included our grandchildren. A few years ago, we were at my brother's house for his 50th birthday. My granddaughter, Maeve who was four at the time, climbed up into my lap and told me she was going to Disney World. "Oh!", I exclaimed, "With Mommy and Daddy?" "No.", she said. "With you and Pa." Well, this was the first that Grammy and Pa had heard about this.
But after much deliberation, we decided that maybe we should take the grandchildren to Disney World for their fifth birthdays, the absolute perfect age to experience Disney for the first time. No parents, no siblings, just one child and us for four whole days of magical fun.
We've learned that it pays to stay at one of the resort properties on the Monorail, so we stayed in the Contemporary Hotel. We could be at the Magic Kingdom in 7 or 8 minutes. And, we also stayed on the Club floor where there was food served pretty much all day. Didn't have to worry about getting breakfast at a restaurant. We just went down the hall and had cereal, fruit, and other breakfast items.
When we took Maeve three years ago on her fifth birthday, this was something new for all of us. She had never traveled without her parents. But, this was the trip of her life. She packed her Minnie Mouse and all of her Disney princess dolls to take with us. All Maeve wanted to do was collect pins and get autographs. She wasn't a big "rides" kid, but we spent hours waiting to get autographs from the characters. Her BIG thing was to have dinner with Cinderella and Prince Charming. It was fantastic!! Maeve also loved the Animal Kingdom and we spent a day and evening there.
Last year, we took her brother, Truman, for his fifth birthday. Taking a boy is sure different than a girl. Truman liked the characters but wouldn't wait in line to see them. He didn't want to get autographs. He loved pin-swapping, and I can't tell you how many times we rode the racecars in Tomorrowland and climbed the Swiss Robinson Family Treehouse. Truman had no interest in the Animal Kingdom, but focused on Epcot. He loved the character "Figment" and all of the hands-on computers. He was fascinated with Nemo and being able to talk with the characters from that movie as they swam in their tank. I have to admit, we were impressed with this also.
Next year, we will take Ian for his fifth birthday. I'm sure that it will be just as different, but just as much fun. The key to a trip like this is no parents, no siblings, and doing whatever the child wants when they want to. If it means going back to the hotel pool at 2:00 in the afternoon, that's what we do. If it means eating hot dogs for two meals a day, that's what they get to do. Grammy and Pa are there to only keep up with the grandchildren. It's their trip, but is magical for us as well.
If you have grandchildren, I can't recommend taking a trip like this with each one individually. The bonding that takes place and the fun and laughter shared makes it all worthwhile
But after much deliberation, we decided that maybe we should take the grandchildren to Disney World for their fifth birthdays, the absolute perfect age to experience Disney for the first time. No parents, no siblings, just one child and us for four whole days of magical fun.
We've learned that it pays to stay at one of the resort properties on the Monorail, so we stayed in the Contemporary Hotel. We could be at the Magic Kingdom in 7 or 8 minutes. And, we also stayed on the Club floor where there was food served pretty much all day. Didn't have to worry about getting breakfast at a restaurant. We just went down the hall and had cereal, fruit, and other breakfast items.
When we took Maeve three years ago on her fifth birthday, this was something new for all of us. She had never traveled without her parents. But, this was the trip of her life. She packed her Minnie Mouse and all of her Disney princess dolls to take with us. All Maeve wanted to do was collect pins and get autographs. She wasn't a big "rides" kid, but we spent hours waiting to get autographs from the characters. Her BIG thing was to have dinner with Cinderella and Prince Charming. It was fantastic!! Maeve also loved the Animal Kingdom and we spent a day and evening there.
Last year, we took her brother, Truman, for his fifth birthday. Taking a boy is sure different than a girl. Truman liked the characters but wouldn't wait in line to see them. He didn't want to get autographs. He loved pin-swapping, and I can't tell you how many times we rode the racecars in Tomorrowland and climbed the Swiss Robinson Family Treehouse. Truman had no interest in the Animal Kingdom, but focused on Epcot. He loved the character "Figment" and all of the hands-on computers. He was fascinated with Nemo and being able to talk with the characters from that movie as they swam in their tank. I have to admit, we were impressed with this also.
Next year, we will take Ian for his fifth birthday. I'm sure that it will be just as different, but just as much fun. The key to a trip like this is no parents, no siblings, and doing whatever the child wants when they want to. If it means going back to the hotel pool at 2:00 in the afternoon, that's what we do. If it means eating hot dogs for two meals a day, that's what they get to do. Grammy and Pa are there to only keep up with the grandchildren. It's their trip, but is magical for us as well.
If you have grandchildren, I can't recommend taking a trip like this with each one individually. The bonding that takes place and the fun and laughter shared makes it all worthwhile
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