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My family and I recently returned from Walt Disney World, and after surviving Disney with an infant (6 months) and a 6-year-old, we feel that we can conquer almost anything!

To say I was nervous about the trip is an understatement. I envisioned waiting in long lines everywhere, having to navigate through crowds, and feeling overwhelmed by the size of the parks. My vision couldn’t have been further from reality. Sure, those things existed, but despite all of that, we did experience the Most Magical Place On Earth. Here are my tips on how you can do that, too with an infant and child.

Plan, Plan, Plan .

Before even setting foot in a park, have a plan.

  • We knew which days we wanted to visit which parks. With a few days in Orlando, we decided to get a two-day pass allowing us to visit the Magic Kingdom and Hollywood Studios.
  • Downloading the Disneyworld app was our bff before and during the trip. It was helpful having our all our dining reservations, ride times, schedule of attractions, and photos all in once device.
  • Know what rides are most important to your kids and send someone there first. Each day upon entering a park, I sent my husband to get in the FastPass line for the most popular rides (Toy Story, Splash Mountain, etc.), so we reduced wait times there. For us, Disney dining and the Star Wars Experience were the focus for this trip, which we successfully conquered. We spent one full day at each park (Hollywood Studios and Magic Kingdom) and still didn’t have enough time each day. There is just so much to see, do, and experience with so much ground to cover! DW is HUGE!
  • Expect lengthier travel times to and from the parks if you’re not staying in the park. From the Magic Kingdom parking lot, you’ll still need to catch a shuttle to the entrance gate, then take the monorail or ferry boat to the main entrance of the Magic Kingdom.

Seek out nursing or resting spots to feed baby and rest. I found respite in the lobby of Star Wars theatre to sit down and nurse. This to me was pure bliss. Air conditioning, dark and quiet with no one around! Another favorite spot to just sit down and relax was at the garden outside Cinderella’s Castle. It was the perfect little outdoor area to people watch. It’s landscaped with turf suitable for little ones to sit and crawl on and it’s surrounded by a lovely flower garden filled with spring blooms.

 

The Food

Walt Disney World definitely takes it up a notch with their Signature Dining. There are also a ton of walk-up counter service restaurants throughout the parks, and of course a selection of character dining options. The Signature Dining and character dining books up fast so be sure to make your reservations early.

Fireworks view at the California Grill from the top floor Contemporary Resort We enjoyed dinner and dessert at California Grill at the Contemporary Resort complete with views of the Nighttime Spectacular Fireworks – what a treat!

1900 Park Fare at the gorgeous Grand Floridian Resort was another favorite where we enjoyed dinner during Cinderella’s Happily Ever After and character visits from Cinderella herself and Prince Charming.img_0284

The highlight of our dinners was at Be Our Guest. The ambiance, food, service, and entertainment were most memorable.

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Overall, we had an amazing family vacation at the Most Magical Place On Earth. We did what we wanted at our own pace, let Jonah decide on attractions and rides he wanted to experience, we ate well, laughed together, made wishes, and enjoyed being in the moment. For Jonah’s and Baron’s first time to WDW and for us as a family, we’re already planning our next trip. We can’t wait to come back!

 

 

This year, I finally attended Seattle’s Northwest Flower and Garden Show. It ran February 17th-21st where I attended one day and learned a lot to take back home and implement in my own yard and garden spaces. It was also my first festival event with my 4-month-old baby in tow. I figured the gardening crowd wouldn’t be too wild and crazy for a baby 🙂

Baby Baron's first gardening seminar :)

 

As with most festival-type events, I like to be prepared and research my topics of interest before a show so I don’t wander aimlessly among the crowds. I was really excited to attend a couple of seminars and view the show gardens for some landscaping inspiration. We are currently in the middle of a small backyard landscaping project at home, so the timing of attending the NW Flower and Garden show was perfect. My plan was to attend Ciscoe Morris’s seminar, get some landscaping ideas incorporating hardscapes, small columnar privacy and flowering trees, and finding some special plants to bring home.

Ciscoe Morris’ seminar titled, ‘Be A Garden Thief: Steal Ideas From Other Gardens’ was informative, engaging, practical, and most importantly, attainable. Some takeaways and trends I learned from his 45 minutes that I will use for my own gardening goals:

  • Start small, near an entryway, add scents. There’s nothing more welcoming that coming home to a lovely scent outside your front door.
  • Planting fruit trees in espaliered forms – trained to grow flat, such as against a fence or wall. I went out and purchased a Honeycrisp Apple espalier tree at Squak Mt. Nursery the very next day!
  • Add camellias to attract hummingbirds
  • It is more common more than ever to create and grow your own vegetable garden. Even a small 8×16 vegetable garden can work, and can be made by using a variety of materials such as paver stones and faux stone walls, or raised beds.
  • Hummingbirds love tomato cages.

After Ciscoe’s seminar, I went back to the skybridge to admire the patio landscaping displays which really wowed in all the natural light. I wish the entire flower and garden show were displayed in natural light. The show gardens in the convention area felt a bit strange to navigate and view in the dark with the staged lighting.

Back to the skybridge, I loved the form and function of this landscaping to create an intimate and zen-like patio.

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Another favorite skybridge display by Third Spring. I’m obsessed with the turquoise hanging planters from Pot Inc. Love everything about this little patio set up: the use of a pergola, the hanging string lights, the planters in various forms and sizes, and the added textiles to soften up the space.

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My favorite indoor garden display was ‘From Sea To Shining Sea – Coupeville, WA.

The garden was inspired by the charming coastal town of Coupville on Whidbey Island created by Fancy Plants Gardens, designed by James Sprague CPH.

The take-home idea for my own garden: Enticing paver walkway, new sod, and hardy low maintenance plantings. How fun would it be to host a bocce ball bash in the backyard? unnamed-1

 

Lastly, you can’t leave a flower and garden show without picking up some sort of planting for your yard/garden. I passed by a Dutch vendor in the marketplace selling “Japanese Wonderflowers.” The vendor pitched me and sold me at 50 flowers to one bulb that last from May – September. One bulb costs $5.00, or $20 for 5 bulbs. Not bad for the hope of 250 bulbs come spring. More to come on these said “Japanese Wonderflowers”.

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It was a day well spent and I’m am glad I prepared before we made the trip. The trick is to know what you are looking for, find it strategically, and pace yourself.

Happy Gardening!

Jilli