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Walt Disney’s dream that was realized out of the swampland of central Florida is the world juggernaut of amusement parks. Yet, it is so much more than a park, but is also an experience where those who have allowed their inner child to run free there can never seem to get enough. It’s easy to wince at the commercialism, and even easier to gasp at the cost, but it must be said that the place delivers value for the buck, and it caters to every age. For those that ask me how I can take my family there year after year (and it’s a valid question!), my standard but sincere answer is that it is the only place I know where I can take my family and relinquish the responsibility of keeping everyone happy with no effort on my part. That is a vacation.

As with all parents, we started pushing our kids around the Magic Kingdom in strollers, keeping them well napped and cool to reduce meltdowns to a minimum. That is the key, of course, to avoid trying to do too much, realizing that it can’t all be seen on one trip, and enjoying whatever the park brings vis a vis lack of long lines and the short attention span of children.

Sleeping on the Disney property is essential to maintaining the experience going twenty-four hours a day. We’ve found that the value resorts are too crowded, and the luxury resorts essentially only offer swanky lobbies and proximity to one of the parks. The moderately priced resorts offer the same rooms as the luxury properties, with more room and privacy than the value properties. They are immaculately clean, with stunning landscaping, and free transportation to any part of Disney World.

On our most recent trip this year, with all three kids now of college age, the hot spots were EPCOT’s World Showcase for more sophisticated attractions, premium restaurants, and beer. Pleasure Island offers live music and upscale shopping. We typically end our day there now with dinner and a cigar for the guys, souvenir shopping for the girls. Even now though, we’re not bashful about maintaining our practice of enjoying an afternoon nap!

Each year when we leave now, I wonder if that will be our last trip to Disney World, but when I ask the kids each Spring if they still feel the magic, the answer is still a resounding YES.

This entry was posted on September 20, 2012 at 10:58 pm and is filed under Family, Travel with tags disney resorts, disney world tips, walt disney. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.