Supermom's Orlando Mission: Must be prepared for surprise diaper duty and long meals with tired children! 

It's amazing what the power of ONE "must-have" item can do for on-the-go parents. During our stay at Royal Pacific Resort at Universal, a Loews Hotel, I noticed something about traveling with kids that I used to take for granted. I am now much more focused on helping other parents overcome travel hurdles since I started researching travel products for this site and FamilyTravelPlanet.com.

Here's my latest finding:

One great family-friendly item can save a trip! A great product can turn a nightmare into a holiday.

Take, for example, the Swimmie-To-Go pack from www.babybunsontherun.com  that the Royal Pacific Resort pool attendants gave to us as we grabbed towels for our kids who were about to cannon-ball into the pool. 

The youngest of our travel group isn't potty-trained. When we finally made it down to the pool, my friend realized she had left her swim diapers in the room.  Of course, at that very moment, she received the dreaded news. Ugh! Diaper duty at the pool is never a fun -- or simple --  task! Plus, try grabbing a tantrum-throwing two-year-old back to the room after he or she just saw the resort pool with a giant ship filled with shooting water squirters. Not happening!

Thank goodness the resort thought ahead with "Swimmie-To-Go," a convenient pre-packaged swim diaper changing kit. The zippered green baggie is FREE for guests and contains a premium swimpant, baby's sunblock lotion, 2 wipes and a beach ball. 

Blowing up a beach ball and changing a toddler's diaper is multi-tasking at its finest, perhaps even a new circus act! (And, the little guy was amazingly distracted trying to keep his eyes on the ball.)

Phew! We could actually relax, which isn't always easy on a trip with five kids!

Another family-friendly item that never goes unnoticed is the kids' menu activity.  We hit the jackpot in that department at Universal CityWalk.

After our day at Islands of Adventure and Universal Studios Florida my family of four had dinner at NBA City Orlando Restaurant.  The smart folks who printed the creative "Rookie Menu" not only listed "Piston's pizza and a  Miami Heat Dog" as kids' choices, but added a fantastic word search.

The NBA City word search went beyond the normal call of duty.  These people obviously realize parents need to eat and the only way to allow that is to capture and keep the kids' attention. The search was on to find 29 NBA team names. My two sons were busy for a full hour. When they weren't glancing up at the plays on the huge video screens, their heads were buried in the search. The only time they stopped was to grab a bite of the Heat dog and beg to play pop-a-shot after the meal!

Supermom signing off....Mission accomplished!