🇺🇸 Our US Adventure: 2.5 Weeks, 2 Kids, 4,000 Miles from Home

Serena Zammit
Jun 5
5 min read

Updated: Jun 9

We’ve just come back from the most incredible (and, let’s be honest, full-on) trip to the US – two and a half weeks with the kids (aged 4 & 5), 24/7, over 4,000 miles from home. It was magic, madness and memories all rolled into one.

✈️ First Stop: Atlanta

We kicked things off in Atlanta. We flew Virgin Economy, using my points (obviously), and the total cost was around £800 for the four of us – such a win!

Some long-haul flying tips:

Snacks. Everyone says it, but seriously – I felt like I needed an entire cupboard’s worth. Esme was constantly hungry.
Kids' meals need to be booked at least 72 hours in advance (news to me!) – I didn’t do it, and while the girls ate some of the adult meal, I think they would have eaten more if it had been tailored to them.
I packed a little bag of new bits to keep them entertained – biggest win: the Peppa Pig “not slime” from Card Factory for 99p (also available in ASDA). Cabin pressure made it go a bit weird after a while, but still – hours of entertainment.
Turbulence. Honestly, some of the worst I’ve experienced. We had 2.5 hours of relentless turbulence on the way out – the kind where cabin crew are strapped in. Poor Evie had a sore tummy and ended up being sick (thankfully some made it into the sick bag).
Top tip: take a few carrier bags for rubbish – game changer with kids (and useful in any… unfortunate sick situations).
Jet lag tip: Magnesium gel. Slather it on after a shower, before the flight, during the flight, and again before bed when you land. I had zero jet lag and usually suffer really badly going west. Honestly, game changer.

After what felt like forever, we finally landed and spent a couple of nights in Atlanta to ease into the time difference. We stayed centrally at the Hyatt Centric Midtown, which was brilliant – walkable to everything and perfect for exploring with the kids. The weather was a bit rubbish, but it was still really special taking the girls to see where we used to live.

💍 Florida: Family Time & A Wedding

Next stop: Navarre & Pensacola in Florida for a family wedding and some proper quality time. It was lush – sun, cousins, celebration, and the girls had the absolute best time.

🏰 Disney: Eight Nights of Magic (and Chaos)

Now onto the big one… Disney!

We had eight nights and I did get a bit of help with the planning beforehand. A friend (who had recently returned from Disney) brought back all the park maps and helped me come up with a loose plan. Some people schedule every minute, but we chose to plan broadly – and adapt as we went.

Top Disney Tips (from someone who survived it with two kids and 100 degree heat):

Hire a pram, even if your kids are 7 or 8. We used Orlando Stroller Rental – £85 for 7 days, delivered and collected from our hotel. Best money we spent all trip!
It was HOT, so we froze bottles of water each night and took them out in a cool bag – so refreshing!
Bring fans and cooling towels – but check the fan design. Ours had a ‘trigger’ to turn it on and was classed as a weapon at Magic Kingdom. Who knew?!
Lightning Lane passes – we paid extra for Animal Kingdom and Magic Kingdom and it was 100% worth it. You can only book them 7 days before and then 3 rides at a time (once you've been on the first one you can book the next). It's a strategic game that's for sure!
We did an Instacart food shop to the hotel (via the app) of waters, snacks etc and used Uber Eats a few nights too. You can make it as cost-effective or bougie as you like.
Comfy footwear – goes without saying but trust me, do not skimp here and don't think the ones you bought yesterday will be OK either, wear those babies in!
Battery pack – you’ll be on the Disney app constantly.
Identity bands – we got LittleLife ones from Amazon for about £15. Thankfully we didn’t need them, but peace of mind was priceless.

Favourite rides:

Tiana’s Bayou Adventure log flume (Magic Kingdom) – SO good!
Esme adored The Barnstormer
The rapids at Animal Kingdom were brilliant
We all loved the Frozen ride at EPCOT ...but do not take your child on Expedition Everest. Esme is still traumatised 😅

🏨 Where We Stayed: Melia Orlando, Celebration

We stayed at the Melia Orlando in Celebration and it was spot-on for what we needed. A 2-bedroom apartment with kitchenette, 2 bathrooms, and a cheeky happy hour from 4–5pm each day. Location-wise, it was brilliant – no more than 12 minutes to any Disney park in an Uber or Lyft. You honestly don't need a car, it'll cost you £30 just for the privilege to park a mile away from the entrance, too. Whereas rideshare gets dropped off at the entrance in most cases!

We chose not to stay at a Disney hotel – mainly on a friend’s recommendation that they weren’t worth the extra cost. I didn’t even look, to be honest! I probably would stay at one next time, but maybe just for a couple of nights. Not sure which yet – any recs?

🎆 Our Disney Strategy: Slow It Down

We made a decision not to leave the parks and come back later – instead, we stayed, slowed down, found air con, ate early, saw a few shows, and it worked so well for us.

For fireworks, we left about 10 minutes early and caught the ferry – which meant we beat the crowds and watched the fireworks from the water. Honestly, one of the most magical moments of the trip.

💦 Water Parks & What We Did

We went to both water parks:

Blizzard Beach – better for bigger rides
Typhoon Lagoon – great for younger kids

We also ticked off:

Hollywood Studios
Animal Kingdom
EPCOT
Magic Kingdom
Blizzard Beach
Typhoon Lagoon

🎢 Final Thoughts

Did we love it? Yes. Would we rush back? Probably not.

It was absolutely magical seeing it all through the girls’ eyes – those memories are gold – but we’re not Disney fanatics. We’ll definitely go back in a few years and do Universal next time, but for now… we’re good.

If you’ve got any questions – from flights to prams to where to stay – send me a message or drop a comment below. Always happy to help

P.S. Here's a cheeky little packing list in case you ever need one 😊