Disney with Kids 2023: My First Epic Travel Fail

For years, I’ve prided myself on being a travel-savvy mama. Navigating airports with kids? No problem! Planning jam-packed itineraries that everyone enjoys? Piece of cake! But then came our 2023 Disney trip… the one that brought my travel confidence crashing down and left me feeling like a complete failure.

It all started with the overpacking. I was determined to be prepared for everything, which resulted in a mountain of luggage and a complete lack of organization. Despite my best efforts, I couldn’t keep track of what I’d brought, where it was, and what we actually needed.

The stress started mounting before we even left the house. I’d meticulously planned DisneyBound outfits for Arielle, Aurora, and myself for each park, excited to showcase our coordinated style. I even found adorable Minnie ear turbans on Etsy for Aurora to protect her delicate scalp from the Florida sun. Every detail was considered, or so I thought.

Once we arrived in Disney, the anxiety continued. The crowds, the heat, the constant stimulation – it all felt overwhelming. And then, disaster struck.

halloween in disney — Right when she started to feel off.

It started subtly at Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party, where Arielle couldn’t seem to stay awake in line to meet Jack and Sally, her absolute favorite characters. My initial thought was that she was just exhausted from the excitement, but looking back, it was the first real sign that something was wrong.

We were barely able to keep her up for this experience – not at all like Arielle.

The situation escalated, and Arielle started throwing up at night. I initially blamed dehydration or exhaustion, but it persisted. On our second-to-last night, we found ourselves in Celebration Hospital, with Arielle hooked up to an IV for fluids.

She was barely conscious when we brought her to Celebration Hospital in an ambulance.

The guilt and frustration were crushing. We’d missed out on so many planned activities, tensions were high, and I spent our last day – which was supposed to be a magical celebration at Cinderella’s Royal Table after Arielle’s princess makeover – in tears.

I missed this moment with my little girl because I made myself sick with guilt and anxiety. I will never let that happen again.

While Arielle did get her Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique experience, I had made myself sick due to the anxiety I was experiencing. Then to add insult to injury, at Cinderella’s Royal Table, she actually passed out as the princesses were making their rounds, a truly heartbreaking moment for this Disney-loving mama.

Aurora probably had the most fun of any of us at Cinderella’s table since Arielle was passed out and I was crying.

The Aftermath: A Year of Lingering Guilt

It’s taken me a full year to even write about this trip. The feelings of failure and disappointment were so intense that I felt almost traumatized. As a travel blogger who champions family adventures, admitting to a major travel fail felt like exposing a deep vulnerability. It doesn’t help that I had also been recently diagnosed with Post-Partum Depression which I’ll also share more about at a later date.

Flying home, Arielle was feeling a little better but still looking pale.

But here’s the truth: Not every trip is going to be perfect. We all have those moments where things go wrong, plans fall apart, and unexpected challenges arise. And sometimes, those challenges hit harder than others. This Disney trip was my first real experience with a travel fail of this magnitude, and the fact that it was our first flight with both kids added another layer of complexity.

The ONLY photo of the four of us that we captured during our 2023 trip to Disney before everything went off the rails.

Lessons Learned and Moving Forward

While the pain of this experience still lingers, I’m finally starting to see the lessons hidden within the chaos. I’ve learned the importance of packing light, prioritizing mental health while traveling, and accepting that sometimes, things just don’t go as planned.

Soon, I’ll share a follow-up post with more specific takeaways and tips for avoiding similar travel mishaps. But for now, I needed to share this story, to acknowledge my own vulnerability and remind myself (and all of you) that even the most seasoned travelers have those “off” trips. It’s okay to not be perfect, to make mistakes, and to learn from them. After all, the journey is just as important as the destination, even when the journey takes an unexpected detour.