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Planning Your Epic Disneyland Trip with a Toddler (While Being a Super-Pregnant Superhero)
2019 Adventures – From the Sonoran Desert to the Blue Ridge Mountains
So much has happened over the past year. In February 2019, our family moved across the country from Phoenix, AZ to Southwest Virginia. It was a long process, but we are so happy we made this decision for our family. The easy part was selling our home in a sought after family-friendly neighborhood of Gilbert, AZ. Jacob did a wonderful job of making it our dream home over the nearly three years we lived there. If we could have somehow brought that house with us to our ideal climate and town, we would have. The hard part was leaving our family and friends and the community we had grown to love. We said goodbye to everyone and had our last double-birthday party in Arizona for Julia and Jacob the weekend before we left. Jacob and I took a little break from packing to say farewell to the desert and the mountains Jacob had lived near his entire life.
The long trip was made easier with three adults – my mom decided to come with us to Virginia and be a stay-at-home Grandma! We had lots of snacks, activities, a tablet, and this handy carseat cart to pull one of the girls through the airport while we pushed the other in the stroller. We brought both carseats on the plane with us and the baby napped a little on the flight. The flight in was my very first glimpse of our new home – Jacob was the only one who had gone over during his interviews with his new company. I relied on pictures, local Facebook mom groups, Google maps, and some new local friends to help us finalize our decision to move. There was so much that went into that – hours of research on schools, neighborhoods, daycare centers, events and local activities, short term rentals, and the housing market. Every new bit of information I found only made a better case for us moving to this area – it was the perfect size, population, and climate that we were looking for.
We started off in a short-term furnished rental home in a beautiful neighborhood, crammed in with our landlord’s furniture and our own, plus all of our unpacked boxes. Everyday was an adventure. Our 1-year old took her first steps surrounded by moving boxes. We saw our first Virginia snowfall and the girls played in snow for the very first time. We had lots of encounters with new wildlife (deer, groundhogs, cardinals, and blue jays). It was magical, but we knew we had a long road ahead of us. To make things more interesting, a couple months after the move I decided to leave my company and return to a former employer. This meant a busier schedule for me, but also the opportunity to meet with co-workers in the local office.
With my mom helping out watching the girls, Jacob and I started the process of house hunting during any free time we could find. This was much more challenging than we were anticipating. The houses we checked out were on lots with great views, but the lots themselves were often sloped with no usable backyard. The flat lots we found usually had older homes built on them. We found a slightly older house to purchase that needed (and still needs) some work. It is in the perfect location, on a great lot, and has plenty of room for our family. After getting the priority work done, we moved in and started our list of weekend projects. Just as we were starting to decorate the basement playroom, we had a heavy rainfall and the basement flooded. Jacob and I were bailing water for an entire day! Luckily, there wasn’t a ton of damage. We did, however, decide it was time this house had a sump pump and French drain installed. After the dust settled and summer was almost at an end, we finally had both projects completed. Jacob did almost all of the French drain work himself and redid the front entry landing. It looks great now, and I can’t wait for spring to come so we can plant all the pretty flowers!
While all of this was happening, we did get a few moments here and there to enjoy our new city. The area in the Blue Ridge Mountains is breathtaking. The spring has beautiful blooming trees in white, light pink, and dark pink and everything is so green! Summer is just as lovely and offers great opportunities to get out on the lakes and rivers. But the season I was looking forward to the most was autumn, and Virginia definitely did not disappoint! The colors were amazing – I had never seen anything like that before. Just driving to the grocery store was a magical experience with the reds, yellows, and oranges that filled the mountains all around us.
This past year was not all about picking paint colors and enjoying the mountain scenery of our new home, though. Our family experienced great loss and grief over the past several months that made me appreciate all I have and have gone through. I believe that the trials and pain we go through in life make us stronger and can teach us healing and coping mechanisms that will help when a great tragedy occurs. I am grateful for the strong support system and close family and friends I can depend on. We’ve found an amazing new church family, we’re meeting new friends in the community, and it looks like I’ve found my local #momtribe with some interesting and fun ladies.
All in all, it was a year of growth, life changing experiences, and many adventures. This year we plan to finally get out and explore. We’re hoping to use our time off to travel around Virginia, North Carolina, and maybe Tennessee. I am looking forward to the coming months and all 2020 has to bring!
Having a Successful Disneyland Trip With a Baby
Does taking a 1-year old to Disneyland sound impossible? We thought so, too. Originally from San Diego, my family and I spent quite a few weekends at Disneyland. As an adult, I still love going there. In fact, Jacob and I spent part of our Honeymoon at Disneyland. Now that I’m older, I hate the crowds, so I like to plan a trip during the week while school is in session. Our Honeymoon was the last time we’d visited Disneyland and Jacob and I were missing it a little. But after having a baby, I wasn’t eager to dive into that adventure. It would be too complicated: How would our painstakingly fine-tuned naps and bedtime routine work out? How would I feed her? Where would I change diapers? Where could I privately nurse my easily-distracted baby? And would it even be worth it in the end?
Since Julia was born on Jacob’s birthday, I wanted this first double birthday to be extra special. It had to be a Disneyland birthday. I went into mega-research mode, determined to make this work and found out so much about traveling to Disneyland with a baby. We did ultimately have a great experience and I’m so glad we decided to take Julia on this trip at this age. After all, when is your child going to be so easy to manage (not walking yet) and so full of wonder and awe again? If you’re on the fence about it or just need some good tips on what to do once you get there, read on!
Where to Stay?
If you have a huge budget that enables you to splurge, I would recommend staying at the Grand Californian, which has its own entrance into California Adventure and Downtown Disney. If you’re able and willing to spend about $1,000/night on a room, a one-bedroom suite would allow you to put Baby in the separate closed-off living room. But let’s be realistic here…
Most of us are on a smaller budget and need to get more creative. While the hotels on the park property are conveniently located, I recommend renting a vacation home nearby. This may sound extravagant, but trust me, it is a lot cheaper and much more convenient in the long run. I highly recommend Anaheim Vacation House. They have several different sized properties close to the parks. We rented a 3 bedroom, 2.5 bath townhouse within walking distance to the park (although we ended up driving each day) and only paid $235/night. We had grandparents come with us and were able to split the cost, making it so affordable. The townhouse came with everything we needed: high chair, booster seats, pack n play, stroller, and fully stocked kitchen. We slept in the larger master bedroom and were able to tuck the pack n play into the walk-in closet, with the door left open. Julia usually sleeps in her own room, but the strange place spooked her a bit so we just kept her nearby. Side note – be sure you check in as early as possible to familiarize your baby with the house and bedroom.
We were able to eat dinner at the house each night and have a normal bedtime routine for Julia. At a nearby grocery store, we picked up a birthday cake and a giant cupcake to use as a smash cake for our little birthday party. It was nice to unwind and relax in a large space after a long day.
Nursing and Baby Care in the Park
At this point, Julia was still nursing, but not as often. She was eating baby food, but she needed to nurse 2-3 times a day still. Whenever we hopped on a dark ride, I made sure we sat at the very back. We nursed on Pirates of the Caribbean, Snow White’s Scary Adventures, and Haunted Mansion. Julia wasn’t distracted by any people around and it gave her a chance to rest and snuggle a bit.
There are also Baby Care Centers in both Disneyland and California Adventure. These centers are great! They have private rooms to nurse, a changing room with multiple changing tables and sinks, a feeding area with highchairs, a microwave in the kitchen area, and small shop to buy supplies you may have forgotten or run out of. They even have tiny toilets for toddlers and small children to use (no toilets for adults here). In Disneyland you can find it at the end of Main Street between Plaza Inn and the First Aid center. In California Adventure, it is located near the entrance of Cars Land, between the Ghirardelli Soda Fountain and Chocolate Shop and Sarge’s Surplus Hut.
Napping on the Go
At this age, naps on the go were still a possibility and Julia was able to comfortably nap in her stroller for at least an hour a couple times during the day. This gave us the opportunity to pass the stroller off to Grandma to sit on a bench in the shade while Jacob and I went on some big kid rides. It was the beginning of February, so it wasn’t too warm. But any warmer, and it would have been too uncomfortable for Julia to nap outside. We have a great stroller (Britax Affinity Stroller
Dining Out
We wanted to have some very memorable moments, so one of the things we planned was a Character Breakfast the morning of the birthdays. There are a couple of restaurants that do this; we chose Disney’s PCH Grill. They have the Surf’s Up! Breakfast with Mickey and Friends. You can take a picture with the characters when you walk in and they also come around to your table. Julia really loved this! Whichever restaurant you decide on, make sure you make reservations well in advance as the spots fill up quickly.
Another lifesaver for us was baby food pouches. Whether you make your own baby food or buy it from a store, I recommended the pouches for meals on vacation. If you make your own baby food, you can buy reusable pouches that are easy to fill and wash. I haven’t used these WeeSprout pouches
I hope I’ve given you lots of useful advice. The important thing to remember is try to be flexible. Things are not going to turn out perfectly, but if you prepare well and expect some hiccups, you can make some really great memories.
