The following guide is a guest post written by Kara Mayer Robinson, Amy Querido of The Q Family Adventures Travel Blog, and Jen Close of Two Kids and a Map.

Family Vacations for Everyone!

It doesn’t matter if you’re a fan of the mouse or not, Orlando is a no-brainer when it comes to pleasing the whole family. This kid-centric city makes little ones so happy that it brings smiles to everyone on board, making family trips run super-smooth.

There are endless activity options for kids in and around Orlando. You may feel a bit rushed, but it is possible to visit two Disney parks in one day. Walt Disney World is comprised of 4 theme parks (Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Disney’s Hollywood Studios, Disney’s Animal Kingdom) and 2 water parks (Disney’s Blizzard Beach, Disney’s Typhoon Lagoon). Allow plenty of time for he shuttle to take you to each park. If you will be in Orlando for more than four days, purchase a pass and visit one park each day.

If you didn’t bring a stroller, rent one even if your children are no strolling age – they will thank you later in the day! Also, purchase your souvenirs at a local Wal-Mart or Target before you get to the park; your kids will still be excited about them (you can still make them a surprise) and you’ll be excited about all the money you save. Read More »

I don't care how fair she is...

Someday her prince may come, but it ain’t gonna be today, lady.

At Walt Disney World there are plenty of places to stand in line and have your photo taken with your favorite Disney characters, but you really can’t beat the impromptu, by chance meetings that occur around the parks like this sweet moment with Snow White in Epcot.  That’s how the real memories are made.

Well, for some kids.

For more family-friendly travel photos visit DeliciousBaby’s Photo Fridays.

Photo by Whit Honea

This is the first in a series of posts about my family trip to Walt Disney World that will be running periodically over the next few weeks. It’s full of tips, fun and lots of stress. Also, the proverbial Disney magic.

Our hosts.

Like many families that visit Walt Disney World (WDW), we planned it for years. Okay, months. We had books. Lots of books.  We visited websites. Daily. We had countdown apps on our phones and desktops.  We set aside a fund to pay for the trip. We thought we had it all figured out. Top of the world, Mickey!

Here’s what we learned — we didn’t allow for everything. Shortly after we made all of the major purchases required for a trip of this magnitude my wife and I lost our biggest account at work, roughly 80% of our household income (that’s what this is about). It was, obviously, unexpected. Did I mention that the major purchases we made were non-refundable?

We had airline tickets, park tickets and a hotel room bought and paid for, all without a paycheck in sight. The money that we had saved toward the trip now had to go toward bills. Suddenly, our air of anticipation was replaced with the foreboding of fear.  For the record, the anticipation was a lot more fun.

Luckily, we had already taken some steps to ensure that our trip was relatively sound, financially speaking. Relative being that we were planning a cross-country family vacation for four to Walt Disney World, quite possibly a once in a lifetime trip, and some corners couldn’t be cut.

How we did it: Read More »

Something wicked this way comes...

Yes, that is an AT-AT, and yes, it’s cool as all get out. I’ll wait while you jealous.

This piece of Star Wars awesomeness is outside the queue for the Star Tours ride at Disney’s Hollywood Studios at the Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, Florida.  As we’ve mentioned before, the Star Tours ride is reportedly closed for a complete overhaul, but hopefully they’ll keep this outside theming.  It was a hit with the boys. Also, the dad.

For more family-friendly travel photos visit DeliciousBaby’s Photo Fridays

Photo by Tricia Honea