After you have been working solid hours week in week out for a few months a deadly idea starts to raise its head. You need a vacation. This is the common modern reaction to hard work and it is a fitting one. We all remember time off during school and college when we would go explore with our friends or family. Now that we are the adults we think this must be the answer too. To take our children and have a family vacation is surely the perfect break from work to help relax and unwind. Of course, only one day in we all realize what a big mistake we made. No matter who you work with there is nothing more annoying than a week of holiday with your own children. The only way to ensure it is at the peak level of misery is to take those kids to Disneyland. If you plan the perilous trip then you will need this guide to survive:
You will need a stroller
In fact, if you have two children you will need a double stroller. You may think this doesn’t apply to you because your kids are just old enough now where they no longer require a stroller. Think again. While the ad for Disneyland may be of smiling faces and exhilarating rides it is actually a walking marathon. At some point, your children will get tired and cranky and the key to success in Disneyland is delaying that moment for as long as possible. To do this put your young children back in the double stroller. This will save their tiny legs from the longs walks and keep them a little shaded from the relentless sun.
Suncream
You will need a lot of this too. You are basically choosing to go outside and bake for six to eight hours so make sure you plan ahead and bring all the sun protection you can. Bring the awkwardly sized hats, the big sunglasses, and buckets of cream.
Baby wipes
It seems silly to tell a parent to pack extra baby wipes as they have likely saved you a thousand times by now. However, if you feel they are not required then think again. Baby wipes are the answer to every parent emergency. I am no McGyver but I am sure that if he was a parent he would always have a pack of baby wipes as they are crucial to any solution.
Earplugs
You are bringing your children to the promised land. This makes you a great parent, congratulations. However, they will be incredibly excited about the entire plan ride and road trip. Pack some earplugs so that you can zone them out for a little while as they continue to sing Frozen 1,000 times.
Get out of jail card
This is something that my husband and I devised a long time ago when going on vacation with our kids. It is a free pass. Imagine it is day three of the holiday and you are both so tired of dealing with the kids. Then they see a musical dinner show for that night. Right when you thought the night time was your moment to recuperate you are shot down. However, while you are struggling it is clear that your wife is struggling more. She is one verse of Frozen away from abandoning this family for good. It is at this moment that she is allowed to play her free pass. Each parent has one. It allows that parent time away from the kids for one block of the day to do whatever they want.
With these trusted ideas I am sure you can get through the entire family vacation and maybe with the family still intact. I wish you all the best on this perilous journey that you are about to embark on. I hope you return in one piece.
