Disney World!

We're going to Disney World in less than 2 weeks. We had originally planned to go in September because the crowd levels are lower that week. But with lower crowds come shorter hours and we couldn't get any dining reservations that we wanted. We also found out Magic Kingdom was closing at 7 on several of the days we were going to be there due to the Not So Scary Halloween Party (requires a separate ticket that we were not going to purchase). 


We had planned to go to the beach in August, so we began tossing around the idea of switching the dates of the two trips and going to the beach in September instead. I started looking on the WDW website and was able to secure a dining reservation for a princess breakfast and that kind of sealed the deal for me. The crowd levels will be higher than they would be in September, but not as crazy as they were when we took the kids to Disney on Spring Break 2 years ago.  


I'm so excited and so is Jason. I think we like Disney as much as the kids do, maybe even more! 


My only concern is the heat. I think the older three kids will be okay. They play outside in this heat all the time. We'll be taking in our water bottles (you can refill these at water fountains and counter service restaurants will give you ice if you ask). I just don't do too well in heat and Jaxon seems to have inherited that tendency. He seems to wilt when we're outside for more than 30 minutes. I think I'll be nursing him a lot. I'll probably wear him in the Ergo some, so he can nurse while we walk, but I think for the most part, he'll be cooler (and therefore more comfortable) in the stroller. I think we are going to get a little clip on battery powered fan to attach to his stroller. Thankfully, many Disney rides have air conditioned queues, and there are several indoor attractions. I also plan to take advantage of the Baby Care Centers this time around to allow Jaxon some downtime while the big kids ride some things with Jason. The Baby Care Centers have rocking chairs, changing tables, and a breastfeeding room...all air conditioned, of course. 


I'm planning to use our cloth diapers at Disney. Am I crazy for that? I can't find any information or posts from people who have done this before, so I might be. I originally toyed with the idea of getting disposable inserts for my Gro-Via and Charlie Banana diapers to make things easier, but with the trip coming up so quickly, I wasn't sure I'd have time to try them out enough before we go. I didn't want to start a whole new diaper routine on the trip, so it's actually easier for me to stick with what we normally do.


I've already started packing. I'm one of those pack for 2 weeks type of people.  We have a huge stroller that takes up a good chunk of space. We would like to be able to recline the back seat for the kids so they'll sleep for most of our 10 hour + drive down to Orlando (we're starting our drive at 6:30 pm). Those two things really cut into my space. So I am trying to keep clothes for the 6 of us to one suitcase. Then I'll also have the diaper bag and the wet/dry bag filled with diapers. We also have a friend going with us so her bag will take up some space too. Anyway, so packing is a bit of a challenge for me at this point! I have more to share about Disney in another post, including some tips for how to make Disney easier with young kids!