Wednesday, April 24, 2013

Training for... Vacation!

We are taking a Big Family Vacation in June.  We haven't done a true Big Family Vacation since we went to Sesame Place and enjoyed the mountains of Pennsylvania back in July of 2008.  We've done weekend trips to places like Holiday World and southern Indiana, Louisville, Fort Wayne, Cincinnati.  But we haven't done a full week, away from the world, total family vacation.

This year, we're tackling the Big One.

Disney World.

And it's time to start training.

Since my wonderful travel agent (Katie at Hi Ho Vacations) has been handling all of the resort and meals and ticket planning, that means I have a different responsibility in getting ready for this trip.

Disney World requires a lot of walking.  You have to walk across the resort to get to the transportation options.  There is walking across the parks.  There is walking to get back to a favorite ride.  Walking back to transportation, walking through the lines, walking to shop, walking to get to a restaurant.  Walking, walking, walking.  We will log thousands of steps each day.

And as a family, we don't really walk that much, honestly.  If we're going to enjoy all that Disney has to offer, we have to log some miles so our bodies can handle the uptick in activity!

I would like to be in better shape.  And I think there are some things I can do on this month leading up to our trip.

1. Make my group exercise classes at the YMCA a priority.  There are only 2 that really fit with my schedule but I need to make sure I am getting to those classes each week.

2. Ride my bike.  I go to a group each Saturday morning at church.  Church is about 5 miles from home.  If I ride my bike to church and home from church, I log 10 miles.

3. Walk.  When the weather cooperates, I need to get the family out for a walk around the block.  No scooters, no bikes.  Walking around the block, maybe even 2 blocks (2 block loop is about 1 mile).  I can also take my family to area nature preserves and walking trails so that we walk more - I will schedule trips to Ritchey Woods and the Monon so we walk more.  We can also walk from our house to a neighborhood park, play there, and then walk home.

Starting this weekend, it's time to get serious about vacation training.  As a family, we have to be ready to be on our feet for extended periods of time.  Otherwise, we will have no energy, need lots of rest, and be cranky by midday while on our trip.  (Note**  Need to do shoe inventory and checks this weekend. If new sneakers are going to be needed, that has to happen now so we have time to walk a lot in the new shoes!)

There is another training that needs to happen.  My kids will be watching more TV and reading more books.  I know this sounds totally opposite of needing to be more active.  But if the characters and rides aren't connected to things they've enjoyed, it won't mean as much.  Starting this weekend, we need to start working our way through the following list:

Finding Nemo - have books and movie
Cinderella - have movie
Beauty and the Beast - have movie and maybe a book
Little Mermaid - have movie and book
Dumbo - have movie
Winnie the Pooh - have movies and books
Monsters Inc. - have movie
Swiss Family Robinson - nothing
Aladdin - have movie
The Muppets - have DVD's of the show and The Muppet Movie
Toy Story - have movies and book
Lion King - have movie
Peter Pan - might have movie?
Mary Poppins - have movie
Alice in Wonderland - might have nothing!
Pirates of the Caribbean  - have movie
Indiana Jones - pretty sure we have the movie
Star Wars - have all the movies and some of the animated stuff
Classic cartoons - Mickey, Donald, Goofy, Minnie, Daisy, Chip n Dale. - have movies and books
The Incredibles - have movie
Jungle Book - have movie
Pinocchio - have movie
Aristocats - have movie

We obviously won't get all of those in between now and June.  And some things we are more familiar with (Toy Story and Finding Nemo) than others (Chip and Dale, Star Wars, Indiana Jones).  But I figure it's good to have a list...

So we need to get stronger physically and stronger on all things Disney.  We have a little over a month to kick this plan into high gear!!



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3 comments:

C. Beth said...

What a great idea! Sounds like a creative way to get the family excited about getting in shape. :)

Anonymous said...

Get the photopass now. And seek every cameraman.....to take family and kid photos often ...explain how the photos are important to you.

Maurya Wendling said...

Don't forget to gather all of your Disney clothing! It's important to wear your Mickey and Buzz Lightyear shirts at the parks -- let me know if you need some hand-me downs! :)