It inevitably begins the day before the last day of our vacation. I start to get anxious and wonder how the days went by so impossibly fast. After all the planning and anticipation, vacation is practically over already! Then I get a little depressed thinking, “Oh, NO! Tomorrow’s the last day!”. And you know what? I ruin the last day of vacation for myself. This time? I’m bound and determined not to let that happen.
Saying Farewell to Walt Disney World
Next month we’ll be spending a long-awaited five-and-a-half-day family vacation at Walt Disney World. The dining’s been planned, the FastPasses have been booked and soon the packing will start. Once we arrive, I know time will mysteriously and tragically speed up. While it might not be possible to change the fact that time does indeed fly when we’re having fun, I’m planning to do everything possible to slow it down a little and make our last day every bit as happy as the first.
Over the past nearly five year existence of this blog, I’ve been dishing out advice like crazy…it’s time for me to listen to me.
My Strategy
Slow down – I plan so much stuff, it’s always full steam ahead all day, every day. This time I’ve built-in big blocks of time to relax. I’m convinced this will make our vacation seem to last longer. As an added bonus, we’ll be less tired and Megan (who will be 7-months pregnant) will certainly benefit from less time on her feet.
Stay in the moment – With tons of plans, comes a whole lot of looking ahead. I love to take pictures, so maybe I can capture special moments while NOT thinking about what comes next. In the past, when I’ve focused on being present and soaking up the magic of both being at Walt Disney World and also being surrounded by my most favorite people in the world, I seem to make better memories. Who remembers what they were looking at on their cell phone at any particular time? I certainly don’t.
Don’t over-plan – I always think the more we accomplish, the more fun we’ll have…as if we’ll never be back. That’s crazy and I’m not doing it again. I’ve deliberately only planned a few things for our last day and, because our plane leaves late on departure day, I’ve only planned one thing for that day.
Let someone else take the lead – To facilitate this, I’ve already emailed a spreadsheet of our itinerary to everyone. I’m hoping Joseph will take the lead on Animal Kingdom days. Thanks to the Disney College Program, he’s now more an expert than I could every hope to be. I haven’t asked yet, but I’m sure Megan and Grant would be happy to take a day to lead the way. I do love planning everything and giving everybody options on what we’ll do between FastPasses and where we can grab our Quick Service meals. If I let go of the reins, though, maybe I’ll relax more.
I have a feeling that beating the last-day-blues will take practice, but I’m determined to conquer it! My Grandma always said, “Quit while you still want more”. While that seems to always be the case with every Disney vacation I take, it never feels like my choice to quit when it’s time to go home. This time will hopefully be different with my new and improved strategy.
Do you have any advice for making the last Disney day more special? I’d love to hear it.
We have a tried and true method that we have used many times at Disneyland – arriving on Sunday and spending time in Downtown Disney…run and ride and go crazy Monday-Thursday in the park, then Friday is departure day. Since we have only a few hours before we have to head to the airport, that is the day that I take my DSLR and capture special photos that I have been planning, pick up the souvenirs that we have been eyeing, and I always make time to just sit and chill on Main Street for a few minutes. It works because that is a day that we would wait in long lines anyway if we tried to ride anything, and we really think about what we are going to buy before purchasing. It’s a nice ‘wind down’, and even though I still cry when we leave, it’s easier. 🙂
That’s a great plan! My husband & I will be visiting Disneyland for the first time later this year and we are beyond excited! I hope we have time to implement a similar “wind down” on our departure day.
I do the same thing and kick myself every time. For me it’s when my flight pre-check email arrives in my inbox. Thanks for the tips!
I sure hope they work!
memaw lisa 🙂 a long time ago jina & I desided we would take one day & gasp not go to the parks .we would visit resorts ride monorail try new eateries in other words relax. it seems to keep us fresher and the parks will still be there next trip. works for us.
Good advice…let’s see if I can do it!