5. Defeat nausea (with candy)

Thrill rides are great, but motion sickness is just the worst sometimes. I like to think I have a pretty stalwart stomach, but some rides like Star Tours can still leave me queasy (weirdly, Mission: SPACE Orange Team usually doesn’t). For some friends we’ve brought to the parks, even basic ride movements can send their equilibrium reeling.

There are some commonsense tricks you can try when you feel nausea—drinking some water or Gatorade is a great start (Powerade is pretty easy to find in Disney parks). Dramamine isn’t a very good option because it makes you sleepy, but eating some light, healthy food like breadstuffs or vegetables can help.

Our favorite go-to nausea reliever is, ironically, a form of candy.

Ginger has a longtime history of being used to combat nausea. You can find it in many forms, but one of the easiest to carry is ginger candies. Our favorite variety we found are Gin-Gins, available at most health grocery stores like Sprouts, Whole Foods, or Earth Fare. An alternative we particularly like is Trader Joe’s Uncrystallized Candied Ginger. When we feel nausea coming on, we munch on some ginger and usually that’s enough to curb the symptoms so we can keep enjoying our day.  

Another unusual method for overcoming nausea utilizes peppermint essential oil—the scent of pure peppermint has a soothing effect (some varieties can be ingested but check your brand before doing so). You can also use acupressure to apply pressure to a specific pressure point on the wrist to calm nausea—some sailors swear by the trick.

6. Hack your kids to sleep

A Disney vacation is a pretty exciting experience for a kid—just getting them to sleep in the first place can be a challenge, particularly if you’re trying to encourage sleep on a plane trip, drive, or during an afternoon rest time. Sometimes, parents and guardians have to get a little creative to help kids to settle down and nap.

I wrangle teenagers for my day job, and there are some youth trips where we just want the kids to sleep—they’re all tired and cranky from a crazy week, and they all need a nap. In these cases, my go-to weapon is the “Sleep” playlists on Spotify, particularly the “Peaceful Guitar” playlist. Sometimes, we’ll even turn on the Relax Melodies app and play some soothing ocean sounds. Almost without fail, this is enough to knock an entire car of teenagers into a long nap. You can use similar tactics for small kids on a trip or at your resort—put on some soothing sounds via a noise generator on your phone, then some peaceful lullaby-style music. There are even soothing renditions of Disney songs! The scent of lavender essential oil can also encourage sleep.

A more unusual method involves a little parental oversight and knowing your kid pretty well— go ahead and sugar your kid up, then let them crash. I’m dead serious.

If you’re pretty comfortable with knowing how your kid does on sugar and how long their usual “sugar rush” lasts, you can allow a tasty treat or dessert about 45 minutes to an hour before they need to settle down. Let them run off their energy in a hands-on play area (or at the pool), then let them settle into the sugar sleepies. This is definitely not hard science, but it can’t hurt to try if you can’t get your little one on a sleep schedule. Again, this is up to individual parents and will depend on the kid.

Have you discovered any weird or unusual hacks for visits to Disney parks?