I am Lauren and I like to travel. Ok I like to plan travel. I drag my family on my planned adventures and watch them tear my plans to shreds. Then I buy myself a snack and take some photos. We definitely have our routines and preferences but we’ve learned a lot and I’m hoping we can continue to expand our horizons as our kids get older.

Our family loves to have fun but we aren’t the most resilient travelers, due to a varied combination of physical and mental hurdles. Our kids don’t like surprises or thrilling rides and they’re picky eaters. We have passports and have gone to Mexico once for a family wedding. It was lovely and relaxing, but I spent two months recovering, despite avoiding the tap water so I’m not sure if we’ll return to Mexico. My husband and I have been visiting Disney World since our honeymoon in 2009, which was also my first visit. As far as travel goes, I grew up in a large family that towed a pop up camper behind our full size van, while staying in our state visiting campgrounds. My husband grew up with frequent visits to Florida to visit family and go to Disney while there or with school group events. I’ve always been a Disney fan, with a guaranteed Disney VHS for a family Christmas gift every year and Aladdin being my first movie theater experience in 1992. I watched Disney Channel content well beyond childhood and still enjoy all the music and content that both Disney and Pixar release. I want to have fun and be a kid forever, so here we are. We take the trips we want and make accommodations for the littles, expanding their horizons bit by bit.

Our family had a transitional year for our travel adventures in 2024. We have previously booked trips in the Disney bubble and spent most of our time within Disney World. We went to Disney World in March for spring break and utilized a stroller and DAS pass (Disability Access Service) for perhaps our last time. Navigating through theme parks with a group is hard work and having a limited time frame adds to the pressure so having these extra tools felt essential. We are getting older and wiser and must evolve with the times. We planned a more spontaneous trip to Universal Studios Orlando in July 2024 and stayed in one of their resorts for the first time. This felt like a test run for the release of Epic Universe in 2025! We already have our hotels and tickets booked for Summer of 2025. We’re planning the “So Long Childhood Epic Adventure Tour” including Legoland Florida, Disney World and Universal Studios with our family of four, kids will be aged 12 and 10. If you know about theme park ticket pricing, we will have four adults in our group for the first time ever!

In this site, I will try to share some tools and tips that I’ve learned in our mishaps going to theme parks with tiny children up to older children, or leaving the kids home for a parent trip. We had bucket list, extravagant visits (post Covid trip anyone?) and economical trips. We’ve explored resorts, the dining, the parks and do a ton of research but still always drop the ball on something or have to pivot and find a new adventure.

Disclaimers:
I’m not a travel agent. I don’t claim to have all the answers. My day job is in healthcare. This is for fun.

Sincerely, LoDownAdventures