Spring break in florida.

What does every Minnesotan look forward to after three months of winter?!

Some fun in the sun.

This year, during our kindergartner's school spring-break, our family of four headed down to Florida for a little visit to Walt Disney World. My parents have a house near Fort Myers, so we stayed with them for a few days too. We soaked in some sun at their pool, hung out at the beach, and took on Disney's Magic Kingdom during the peak spring-break season. The word "peak", isn't big enough to describe that craziness that is Disney World during spring break. Let's just start there...

The 4 of us in Walt Disney World's Magic Kingdom.

Linna and Jimmy with their Nana and Bompa. Jimmy's face says it all.

While we had an absolutely magical time when we took our then 3-year-old daughter Linna to Disney World in December a few years ago, this year's trip was not the same experience. Don't get me wrong, the Magic Kingdom is spectacular. However, in my opinion, it is NOT a fun place to visit during spring break. It was over-crowded, hot, and those two things don't boast well with a 16-month-old who has an agenda of his own.

This was Jimmy's first visit to Disney, and while we loved having our family together, it was a little overwhelming and stressful having the toddler with us. He wanted to get out of the stroller and run around, but the streets and sidewalks were packed with sweaty, crabby, and stressed-out parents pushing strollers, chasing their toddlers, and rushing to their next hour-long wait in line. I'm pretty sure that Papa Saigh and I were in the same "hell" as many of the other parents during our visit, judging solely by the distressed looks on their faces. We knew that this was PEAK season at Disney, but holy sh*t.

When you decide to take the plunge and bring the kids to experience the magic of Disney World, you go into it knowing 3 things...

1. You're going to spend $$$.

2. It's going to be a long day(s).

3. You're going to wait in long lines.

However, if you go to Disney World during spring break, the above mentioned are even more intense.

Much more intense.

My dad, Linna, and the Magic Kingdom fire chief. My dad is
the fire chief of our hometown of Hopkins.

Linna in front of Cinderella's castle.

Mama + Papa Saigh with Linna standing in another long, hot line.

Even if we wanted to spend the money to sit down for a decent meal in an air-conditioned restaurant in the Magic Kingdom, we had to wait an hour or more with our name on a list... And that's only IF the restaurant had room for customers outside the existing reservations. We saw so many people sitting on the ground under the hot sun, choking down a hot dog, or some other over-priced fast-food. Plus, we spent over $30 on bottled water, as the drinking fountains inside the Magic Kingdom were either not working, or dripped out warm water. To Disney's credit, they do allow you to bring your own food and drinks inside the Magic Kingdom. However, it was pretty disappointing to not be able to experience the amenities of Disney World, even when we wanted to drop the $$$.

How do people do Disney on a budget?! I'm guessing they don't go over spring break.

On a positive note, our 5-year-old had a wonderful time during her second visit to the Magic Kingdom. She ate cotton candy, rode some of her favorite rides, and even rode her first roller-coaster! Linna is pretty apprehensive when it comes to thrill rides, so we were shocked when she decided to ride the Barnstormer TWICE with her dad (this is a great "first" roller coaster for kids, by the way). The enjoyment we got out of this Disney visit, was seeing the excitement in her eyes with each of the new things she got to experience. Both of our kids even stayed up to watch the fireworks over Cinderella's castle at 9 p.m. We decided to watch from the front of the Magic Kingdom, so we could try and beat the rush to the ferry at the conclusion of the show. Thankfully, we made it on one of the first ferry boats, so we were able to get on the road back to our hotel by 9:30 p.m.

(Linna's first roller coaster ride EVER!)

Since we rented a car and drove from Fort Myers to Orlando, we decided to stay at a resort off the Disney Property. The Wyndham Orlando Resort on International Drive was a great fit for us. My parents and sister came along to Disney with us, so we stayed in a family suite with the kids, and booked an adjoining room for my parents and sister. The family suite was PERFECT for the four of us! The hotel staff had a travel cot set up for Jimmy to sleep in, and Linna slept on the bottom bunk of the bunk beds in the room. Although Linna and Jimmy were passed out by the time we arrived at the hotel, they were so excited when they woke up to see the bunk-bed area, which even had a separate TV just for them. In the morning, the kids played on their side of the room, while Papa Saigh and I laid in bed watching the Today Show. After a little breakfast at the hotel's restaurant, we put on our swimsuits and spent some time in the pools. This resort has two great pools, and neither were busy during our visit. This was a much-needed change of pace after the craziness that was our Magic Kingdom experience. The Wyndham Orlando Resort was affordable, quiet, and a good fit for a stay off the Disney property.

(Video of our stay at the Wyndham Orlando Resort.)

The rest of our vacation was spent at Fort Myers Beach, shopping at the Miramar Outlets, a Twins game, and soaking up some vitamin D at the pool. Traveling with two little ones isn't the easiest thing, so the beautiful Florida weather made up for any stresses during our spring break. It sure makes me look forward to the end of our winter, so bring on spring!

Linna and Jimmy in Nana and Bompa's Beach Wagon.

Our sassy 5-year-old at the pool in Florida.

Jimmy found his heaven on earth, with all the tennis balls on the tennis court
at my parents' house in Florida.