In the dead of winter Michigan can be a cold and often drab place. I know winter is coming every year and feel myself bracing for impact. Not that anything physical is going to hit me. Other than stir craziness or a desire to run away and hide until spring. That will probably hit me hard. Therefore, having outings and activities setup helps us to get through the cold months and have some fun while doing so.
One of our favorite winter things to do is take a break from the every day and visit a hotel. We call it a little Michigan staycation. The hotel doesn’t even have to be very far away from our house. Those of you that travel a lot might find this super boring. However, when you have young kids a hotel provides an opportunity for fun during the winter months. It’s an escape from the everyday happenings of home. As I do with all fun things on this blog, let’s compare the family fun you can have with a family staycation and some of the fun you can have in Walt Disney World.
1. No Chores
It’s vacation! The biggest chore you have to do is get your clothing items out of your bag and into your dresser. As a matter of fact, you don’t even have to do that. But it is so much easier to find your socks when they are put nicely in your dresser! ..until your 1-year-old does a little rearranging.
Guess where else you don’t have to do chores? Walt Disney World! Okay, I guess on all vacations you don’t have to do chores. Yet, when I think of vacation the first thing that always comes to mind is Walt Disney World. So of course I associate not doing chores with Walt Disney World.
Aside from you not having to do chores, your kids don’t have to do chores either! Considering our sons are 4 and 1, there aren’t a ton of chores they have to do yet. However, those chores that they do have to do take FOREVER. (okay, just the 4-year-old. The 1-year-old doesn’t have any chores yet. Aside from taking a good nap. That’s an important chore!) This means that I have another chore of making sure they do their chores. If no one has chores that means I don’t have to bug anyone about doing chores!!! No chores is a good thing!!
2. Swimming
Your hotel has a pool! (Be sure to book a hotel with a pool!!) Guess who else has a pool? Walt Disney World resorts have pools!! Bring along a Mickey or Disney themed towel and you’ve got yourself a regular Disney themed pool party at your non-Disney themed hotel. See how you sneak a little Disney in there?
3. Breakfast (No Cooking Required!)
As I am sure you are well aware, not every single hotel offers hot breakfast upon your morning wake-up. Yet, if you are able to find one that does, yippee! The little luxury of not having to cook is sometimes worth the cost of using a hotel! Plus, those waffle makers or pancake machines are a huge hit with the kiddos. You could even get fancy and make yourself three pancakes and then put them in the shape of Mickey Mouse. Or add some blue berries on top in the shape of Mickey! See, more ways to sneak in a little Disney!
4. Movies in Bed
For our last quick hotel adventure, we spent some time just relaxing in the room. It helped that the first real snow storm of Michigan’s winter was blowing through outside. Going outside looked downright frightful.
Instead, we opted to bring a little Disney to our hotel room and flicked on the end of Tangled. Followed by Wreck-it Ralph on Freeform. If you don’t want to be held at the mercy of the tv for the shows you are stuck watching, you can bring along your computer or a streaming device and hook it up to your hotel room tv. Just don’t forget to unhook it. Nothing worse than heading home and realizing you forgot you device!
5. Eat in Bed
You technically can eat in bed at home, but if you spill your plate of food you’re going to be the one to clean it up. Now, I don’t recommend spilling your plate of food in your hotel bed either. Especially if it is late at night because you’re going to be the one to end up sleeping in said food. No body likes to cuddle with cold spaghetti! Just isn’t the most pleasant thing in the world.
However, if you’re real careful I bet you could get away without making a mess. Or you can take the approach I take with my kiddos, throw a towel over your lap to make sure you don’t get any crumbs anywhere. We take this precaution because we have indeed spilled a bowl of oatmeal (not spaghetti, thankfully!) in bed.
Want to make it Disney themed? Plan ahead the movie you plan to watch that night in the hotel and bring along snacks that fit the theme of the movie. Watching Find Nemo? Bring along some Goldfish crackers and Swedish Fish!
6. Jammie Day
You probably won’t stay in your jammies all day at Walt Disney World, unless you are having a resort day. Yet, there is something about being in your jammies all day. It so nice knowing that you don’t have to go anywhere! Plus, if you have real littles, you won’t have to get them dressed for the day either!
7. Disney Activities
Whether it be a large Disney puzzle, a Disney Game, Disney coloring books or Disney chapter books, there are tons of ways to bring Disney fun into your hotel room. One of the beauty of staying the night in a hotel room with your family is you don’t have any of the same responsibilities that you have at home. You don’t have to be scurrying around cleaning, cooking or just being busy in general.
Instead at your hotel, you have down time and are able to focus on doing activities with your family. We like completing puzzles or playing a quick game. The coloring books or Disney books are especially nice because my four-year old can do that independently. My one year old, well, he likes playing with shoes and socks. So, I guess you could make those Disney themed as well! Bring along a pair of Disney shoes?
There ya go, a small way to have a little fun during the Michigan winter and to pretend you’re at Walt Disney World (or at least at a Walt Disney World resort hotel) while you’re doing so! Stay warm friends!
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