We've always taken the children to theme parks, and when they were young we did several holidays to Disney World in Florida, which were brilliant although hard work with toddlers. This summer we repeated the two week intensive Disney World holiday, two years later than planned, and it was such a difference travelling with our children now that they are older, aged 11 and 13!
* No more pushchairs! We had two on our previous visit, and although they are handy for stashing things it is a pain pushing it through crowds, finding somewhere to leave it while you go on a ride, and it slows you down. It was very freeing to be without it.
* Longer legs and more stamina means they can walk longer distances, spend longer in the parks and get more done.
* Visits to the toilet are uncomplicated! You don't need to worry about finding somewhere to change a nappy, and they know when they need to go so you don't have to constantly nag.
* You have some help carrying the bag, or at least they can be responsible for their own small bag or bum bag with essentials like phones and snacks.
* They understand about needing to queue for a ride and won't make a fuss. They are also able to keep themselves entertained while waiting, especially if they have the aforementioned phones close by.
* They can sit quietly for a show or longer attraction, even if they aren't really that interested. Once I had to take a screaming Mia out of the Carousel of Progress show which is a revolving theatre attraction and probably shouldn't be exited at any point!
* They are much more likely to go on the faster or scarier attractions, but if they don't fancy it they can wait for you at the exit, ideally taking charge of your larger bags while you ride.
* They can help with the planning so they can do the things that they want to as well as being understanding about doing things for others.
* You can take them in the souvenir shops safely without them wanting everything and making a fuss when they don't get it!
* They understand the importance of an afternoon nap or chill time and they are able to stay up later in the evenings. For the first time this visit we were able to see the Electrical Water Pageant which happens on the lake around the time the park closes - we were never able to keep them up late enough before! We also saw all the firework displays several times because they weren't too tired to stay up and wait.
It was definitely a different trip to our previous visits, and I think that we all got a lot more out of it!
It is much easier going anywhere with older children. We went to a theme park during the summer and it was fab! They were happy to queue and my fella went and sat and had a drink. We weren't worrying about them getting lost. x
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