travelling with triplets!

[Triplets]

We are thinking of taking the triplets to Florida in 2003. Unfortuneatly we would have to go in Aug as my brother and family want to come to and we`d like the help!
By that time they will be 6+, but I will be 51 and Harry 62, so we feel we want to go for it!
Anybodys suggestions of good accomodation near Disney and also on the west coast, any tips at all would be appreciated. You can e-mail me at [email protected]

Have you thought of doing a house exchange? We have done this on lots of occasions (with 2 small children) and it means you don't need to take so much equipment or any toys, except for the journey. Obviously it costs nothing except for flights, and its often possible to swap cars too, putting each other on your insurance for a few pounds a day. We would thoroughly recommend it. We have been to the US, Canada, France and Yorkshire.

I always recommend Center Parcs as they offer a baby sitting service during the day and evening for a reasonable £3.80 per hour.

This would give you a break for a swim on your own and you'd be able to enjoy the evenings. There is also a tiny cinema.There are about 5 different restaurants on site. I thoroughly recommend the babysitting service in Elveden, we were really impressed by the ladies that came and we had no hesitation in going out. We would cook in the villa for the children, put them in bed and then go out for an evening to ourselves.

The play areas (3) are excellent, so is the pool and you can go on some lovely walks.

We've also done houseswaps before, the only problem is that the majority of people we've come across at Homelink are retired and so their homes are not very family friendly and they also want to swap for long periods. We'd love to do one next year in the Cape Cod region.

The National Childbirth Trust offers a Houseswap Register with 250 members in the UK. It costs £25.85 to join for the year and you don't have to be an NCT member. For more information you can email [email protected]

R.

Hi Triplets, I've been to Florida a lot, I wouldn't advise going in August. It is incredibly hot and humid with it (95-100 degrees), it is also coming up for hurricane season and the crowds are incredible. I'd recommend you go either Feb or October (half term if you have to). Try to avoid Easter as although the weather is good, it's Easter all over the world and the parks will be full to bursting.

If you want to hire a house try floridasunshine.com, we booked with Alexander Homes (don't use the phone though as we got an £80 bill!). Most of the houses to rent are in Kissimmee, this is a 20 minute drive from Disney and the Kissimmee traffic is terrible as they've had road works on the 192 for 2 years!

If you want to be nearer to Disney and the waterparks and the Disney Marketplace either book in Lake Buena Vista (quite expensive) or International Drive (close to Sea World).

The Holiday Inn has some nice hotels, with a kids club and shallow pools for the little ones.

Remember it is an exhausting holiday and you will need all the help you can get.

Do not miss Disneyworld, Animal Kingdom and Sea World. Leave Universal till the kids are older. R.

My trip to Florida on hold at the moment until we see what happens in America, poor things.
Feel in need of some sort of break as I have not been feeling too well.
Can anyone recommend nice accomodation in The New Forest, cottage or otherwise, obviously to be suitable to take my three terrors!

I've been to a place called Sandyballs (you won't forget the name!) It has an indoor pool and gym and lodge type houses which were nice. Near Fordingbridge.

We went to Florida in July of this year and really did not enjoy it.

The last time I went was in 1992 when I was expecting my first born and we didn't do any of the Disney Parks, mostly had a beach holiday at Treasure Island and Fort Lauderdale.

We booked to go again this year now my children are 8 and 4 and, once again, I was pregnant - planned but happened sooner than expected.

When we "did" Orlando, we stayed in Kissimee - a short drive from the main parks in Orlando but a lot cheaper than International Drive.

I have to say though that I wouldn't go again. Ever since my children were born, we have always had what I would call a typical "beach holiday", i.e. hotel on beach in Spain/Greece, etc. Both of my children are "water babies" and love swimming and when we "did Disney" it was so hot and humid and the crowds were unbelievable. They have something called "Fast Pass" where you can get a ride time but you can only use the "Fast Pass" once and then have to wait until it has expired before you use it for another ride. This sounds okay in theory, but in practice we used our "Fast Pass" at mid-day and got a ride time of 4:10. We then couldn't use the Fast Pass again until we had ridden the previous ride at 4:10.

As I said, the queues were unbelievable - because of the age gap between my two, what my eldest wanted to go on, the youngest couldn't because of height restrictions and what the youngest wanted to go on, the eldest didn't want to because they were "too mild".

We actually left Disney at about 3 pm in the afternoon and didn't bother staying for the Main Parade or the fireworks.

All my children were interested in was getting back to the hotel to go swimming.

After doing Sea World (which they thought was a lot more fun than Disney) we hit the beaches at Treasure Island (St. Petersburg) and they seemed to enjoy their time there a lot more than the Orlando Theme Parks.

This is just my view - I know other people who have been and think it is just wonderful. Everyone has their own opinions and your kids might just find it as magical as it is supposed to be.

I cant imagine Disney being magical in July. The heat just doesnt make it enjoyable.