Pregnant at Disney: a List of Dos and Don'ts

We spent the last week on a surprise trip to Disney World.  It was the first trip for our kids, and we went big!  We stayed on property (at Disney's Wilderness Lodge) and we enjoyed the Disney Dining Plan while we were there.  My parents and my husband's mom came with us to make it really special.  It was a truly great trip.  On that note, I wanted to include a few of my observations and experiences on being pregnant at Disney in September, since I saw lots of other pregnant mommas as well!

Tip #1:  Do not plan to "re-wear" any of your clothes.

If you are like me (and I hope others are, or this might make me feel weird), I only have a few pairs of pants/shorts/capris that fit me comfortably right now.  Since I'm due in February, I don't want to buy a lot of shorts because the majority of my maternity wardrobe is going to be jeans.  So I've got two pairs of capris.  I just planned to wear each pair for a couple of days, and do laundry once during the week while we were there.  Same with bras--I've only got two right now that fit somewhat comfortably.  Well, FYI--its kind of really hot in Orlando in September.  Add to that tons of walking, and my clothes were a sweaty mess at the end of the day.  I should have done way more laundry than I planned.  I'm very happy to be home, and wearing clean clothes today.  Including a bra.  Yay for clean bras.

Tip #2:  Two words: food mecca.

Even not pregnant, Disney has some amazing food choices.  I eat a lot, when I am pregnant.  I think we would have gone broke if we had not utilized the Disney Dining Plan (which was a promotion for when we were going).  The food was amazing.  Plan to eat a lot.  And use your snack credits for cupcakes, not bottles of water.  (On a healthy note, I was really pleasantly surprised with the number of healthy food choices--lots of fruit and vegetables available, so if you want to binge on junk food, that your own choice--you are not being forced to because of limited options!)

Tip #3:  Drink lots of water.

Lots of walking+lots of heat=lots of water drinking.  Dole whips do not count towards water consumption.

Tip #4:  Note all the bathroom locations.

Going hand in hand with tip #3, make sure you note all bathroom locations, especially just before or just after riding any rides.

Tip #5:  Lots of rides at Disney parks say that you should not ride them if pregnant.  Not a big deal for me, as I'm not a ride person, but if you are into thrill rides, you might want to postpone your Disney trip until after baby comes.

Tip #6:  Have a dinner planned for your return night.

Otherwise you have to figure something out.  After having driven all day.  And stopped every hour to pee (for your 6 year old, not for you--not really, anyway--you could have waited another half hour to pee).  And if you are like our family, you are tired of fast food after traveling for a week.  Luckily, pre-frozen meatballs, a jar of spaghetti sauce, and some noodles saved our night.

My family on the Tea Cup Ride.  Which we did not tell the kids how to work until we had about 5 seconds left.  No spinning for us, thanks.