I’m so excited to introduce you to a new series that I’m starting here on my Active Mom
blog. I get a lot of questions from my clients asking me about how they stay active, fit
and healthy while travelling and on vacation. With the summer months quickly
approaching, you are probably thinking about that family vacation to the beach or even
traveling abroad. I travel a fair amount and thought it may be helpful to see how I stay
healthy on the road…and you get the little bonus of hearing about the amazing places
that I am visiting.
My first Active Mom Travels post is from my recent trip to Orlando, Florida. I first started
planning this trip last August, since I wasn’t sure where Covid was going to take us.
From my research, The Grove Resort & Waterpark in Orlando looked like a great place to visit! It had a stunning
waterpark and was only about 16 minutes away from Magic Kingdom Disney. And, they
even had hotel shuttles that dropped you off at Disney Transportation! I booked the
perfect apartment for our family with two bedrooms, a living space, and a kitchen area.
I must admit, Orlando wasn’t on my list of most exciting places to visit on Spring Break,
but once when we arrived my feelings quickly changed. The resort was nestled back off
a main thoroughfare in Orlando with a beautiful sign that read “The Grove Resort &
Waterpark in Orlando”. The entrance was lined with palm trees and just looked very
welcoming and warm. Our room was perfect. It was overlooking a sandy area with palm
trees and one of the pools. We were able to check in early around 12 PM, which was
very convenient when travelling with active children.
The water park at The Grove was fairly empty the first day. We took the kids down to
the water park and we were able to snag two chairs! The boys went up and down the
waterslide and we floated around the lazy river. It was a gorgeous atmosphere to relax
and all the employees were attentive and helpful.
When we arrived in Orlando, I picked up some healthy food options from Publix. Since
the apartment in the resort had its own kitchen, it was so nice to be able to make my
own food and not have to eat out so much.
On Thursday, I planned for us to go to Disney. I booked Magic Kingdom because with
post Covid rules, you need to have reservations for each park. I admit that I didn’t do
much research on Disney. I relied on my friend that was in Orlando to give me some
tips as we went along. Since we were only going for one day, I didn't want to put too
much time into it.
We got to Magic Kingdom around 8:30am on Thursday and ended up standing in line
for Splash Mountain for about 45 minutes until they started having technical difficulties.
We got out of line at that time, but luckily, we were able to get into Splash Mountain a
little bit later in the day. FYI, Splash Mountain is my favorite Magic Kingdom ride, so I’m
so glad we got to ride it!
I purchased the Genie Plus pass and I think that it is an absolute must! Other
than Splash Mountain, the most that we waited for in line was for about 15
minutes. Since I had a kitchen in my resort, I was able to make and bring my own lunch
and snacks with me to the Magic Kingdom. After such a full day, we were tapped out by
4 pm. If we were staying on a Disney property, we would have went back for the
evening to see the fireworks. Overall, my boys didn't love Magic Kingdom. Epcot,
Hollywood Studios and Universal Studios will be next on my list.
We had friends from Maryland meet us at The Grove, and we spent the next few days
lounging around the pool and in the lazy river. My advice would be to get to the pool
early because people are lining up at 9:30 AM to put towels on chairs, since there’s a
limited number of umbrellas. Bring a portable umbrella if you have one!
I ran between 4-5 miles every morning, the humidity was KILLER, my perceived effort
was a 100. I normally am antsy to go different places while on vacation, but I really just
enjoyed relaxing, having coffee on the screened in porch, and enjoying my time with my
family and friends.
I mentioned that I was able to pack my lunch and take it to Disney, but I wanted to share
a little more about what I ate on this vacation. For breakfast, I had Greek yogurt, granola
and fruit. I typically packed a salad with chicken for lunch, depending on our activities.
And, then I focused on a healthy protein as the main part of my dinner. As I was
enjoying myself on vacation, I did indulge in some desserts and wine.
If you were looking for a relaxing vacation in Orlando, I would definitely recommend The
Grove Resort and Waterpark! Hope you enjoyed this series. Next travel destination to
be announced soon….
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