One Happy Island

This past summer, my family and I visited the beautiful island of Aruba for a one-week vacation.  Since this was “just” a beach vacation, I initially thought I would take a more laid-back approach to prepare for it.  But after reading through some Aruba travel guides, I started to get the sense that it would be beneficial to get organized and think ahead to how we’d want to spend our time away. Soon enough, I found myself tapping into planning mode and calling on some tried and true guidelines that I like to follow when I plan our Disney vacations. These tips and tricks may not be for everyone, but I found that they really helped me shape the best week possible for us on this self-proclaimed “One Happy Island”. 

1. Make A Plan

Whenever we visit the Disney parks, I always map out a plan for what each of our days will look like on vacation.  I decide which park (or parks) we’ll go to for every day of our stay and, once I’ve established our park schedule, I create step-by-step itineraries of attractions to visit for each day as well.  While this level of detailed planning may seem excessive for a Caribbean island getaway, I soon realized how helpful it would be to have loose plans in place to make the most of our time there.  Aruba may only measure about 19 miles long and 6 miles across at its widest point, but what this tiny island lacks in size it more than makes up for in an impressive variety of activities and unique experiences.  I have absolutely no doubt that we could have happily spent the entire week never leaving our lovely resort and its incredible beach.  But while looking through our travel guides, I quickly discovered that there was so much to do and to explore on this Southern Caribbean island if we ventured away from where we were staying.  Before I knew it my Disney vacation planning instincts kicked into high gear and I got to work devising a plan for us that I hoped would strike a nice balance between rest and relaxation and excitement and adventure.

2. Manage Expectations

Similar to the Disney theme parks, Aruba really packs a punch with all of the recreational opportunities it has to offer.  Hiking, water sports galore, 14 distinct beaches each worthy of visiting for different reasons, touring historical sights, souvenir shopping – the possibilities are endless!  There is so much variety, in fact, that I was initially overwhelmed thinking about how to squeeze everything we wanted to do into the six days that we’d be there.  As with the Disney parks, though, there is just so much to do that it really isn’t feasible to do everything on one vacation.  It is a tough pill to swallow, of course, because every activity and experience sounds so fun and tempting.  But, as I’ve learned from past Disney vacations, the next best thing is to make a list of our family’s must-dos and focus on accomplishing as much as we can from that list.  My husband and kids are happiest at the Magic Kingdom, for example, when they ride Space Mountain, Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin, Pirates of the Caribbean, and Splash Mountain.  On a busy day in that park, I know to make those attractions a priority.  As long as we visit their favorite rides, I’ll have happy campers – and anything else that we are able to do is icing on the cake!  In Aruba, my family’s wish list included snorkeling, kayaking, shopping for handcrafted souvenirs, and exploring some of the country’s natural wonders.  We spent the week checking items off of this list, and still had plenty of time to enjoy activities available at our resort and relax on the beautiful beach as well.          

3. Schedule Dining Reservations

While it can be a bit stressful to think about when and where we’ll dine months in advance of our Disney vacations, I’ve never once regretted having restaurant reservations in place.  Especially for dining locations that are incredibly popular, like Blue Bayou Restaurant in Disneyland Park and Space 220 Restaurant at Epcot, reservations are essential.  Dining options in Aruba are limitless – no matter how picky or sophisticated your palate may be, there is something for everyone!  My husband, kids, and I fall somewhere in the middle and, though we are not the most adventurous eaters, we were very excited to see what Aruba had to offer. We did some research to figure out which restaurants appealed to us the most, and made reservations for those that we definitely wanted to try.  Even though I knew our plans could potentially change once we were on vacation, having some dining possibilities locked in gave me great peace of mind.     

4. Take Breaks

A Disney vacation is not for the faint of heart.   Disney days start early and end late.  The theme parks open early, and we try our best to rise and shine for those mornings because they offer some of the lowest attraction wait times of the day. We also love evenings every bit as much, as the parks take on a whole new life after the sun has set and each one offers wonderful nighttime entertainment to enjoy. It is always so tempting to stay in the parks all day and squeeze in as much fun as possible; and while we’ve been known to do this on occasion, more often than not we usually plan for a small mid-day break away from the hustle and bustle.  Downtime after a busy morning works wonders to rejuvenate us for evenings that are just as action-packed. Just as hours spent in the sun and on foot at the Disney theme parks have the power to wear down the best of us, I thought hours swimming around in Aruba’s turquoise waters and playing in the powdery white sand might have a similar effect as well.  And for my family that wanted to have a solid beach experience AND as many Aruban adventures as possible, I knew the only way to achieve this (with minimal exhaustion) would be to plan for a break in our resort room at some point each day.  We stuck to this for the most part and it worked like a charm!  I think we burnt the candle at both ends in Aruba every bit as much as in the Disney parks, but having regular planned breaks kept our spirits high and our bodies energized as we tackled everything on our vacation to-do list.

5. Make Time For Spontaneity

Disney vacations generally require a lot of planning ahead of time.  Weeks in advance of checking in I usually have our theme park reservations scheduled, dining reservations booked for every day of our stay, and daily touring plans outlined for each park.  But even with so much of our precious vacation time already spoken for long before we ever leave our house, I try my very best to relax and stay flexible and embrace the unexpected.  And, interestingly enough, it is often those spontaneous, unplanned-for experiences that end up becoming some of our most memorable and cherished vacation moments.  Before we left for Aruba, we had a pretty good idea of what our week would look like. But, as it turns out, some of our plans went straight out the window. One of our favorite times to be on the beach was during the late afternoon hours and into the early evening – it was magical to watch the kids jumping around in the softly crashing waves with the stunning glow of the sun setting in the distance. And when it became too dark to stay on the beach, we’d pack up our things and make our way to the resort’s pool. Of course, this meant rearranging, or even canceling, some of our nighttime plans, but I’ll definitely never regret the opportunity to swim with my family under the twinkling evening stars.

Sadly enough, the old adage “time flies when you’re having fun” couldn’t have been more true, and before we knew it our time in Aruba came to an end. It was easily one of the most joy-filled weeks I’ve ever spent with my family, and I would happily visit again in a heartbeat. And should we be so lucky to return to the charm, beauty, and adventure of this wonderful island, I will most certainly put our Disney vacation planning knowledge to work yet again!