Are We There Yet?

Because we can't look like this the whole way there...

What Should We Do on the Drive to Disney?

Today I was contemplating my next post and asked my daughter what she thought I should write about (she just turned 5 a few weeks ago).  And I loved her answer! She said: "Well, it's really far away.  How about what we are going to do on the way there!"

So today I am going to share a list of fun activities to keep your family busy on the long ride to Disney. Whether by train, plane, or car, it seems like the hours to fill on that journey go on forever for kids since they are so excited.

Let's cover a few of the obvious answers first:

1. Watch movies:
- I like to fill my ipad to capacity before we head out on a trip.  Those digital copies of the Disney movies we paid so much money for are now finally useful!
- If you rent a movie from the iTunes store and download it, it will be there even if you don't have wi-fi on your drive.  But beware: once you hit play, you're on the clock for your 24-hour time window!
- Disney DVDs in your car's system or on a portable DVD player.

Quick tip: I always ask my girls what their favorite Disney movies are a few weeks before we head down to Disney.  With Amazon Prime shipping, I was able to get Bolt on DVD with a digital copy for just $4.75 shortly before we were surprising the girls with a Disney trip and it was a big hit! I didn't even know they liked Bolt!

I personally like to limit our movie time to one or two at most on the drive there, since it's only an 8-hour trip for our family, but to each their own!

2. Listen to music:
I like to burn a CD of our favorite Disney tunes before we hit the road.  One of the best purchases at the theme parks for a Disney nerd like myself is a soundtrack.  I own the Fantasmic CD, Spectromagic, and a few discs of the theme park ride sountracks from over the years and there's nothing better to put you in a Disney mood! Of course, we always switch it up with some of my hubby's music, too, to keep him happy while driving.

3. Coloring Pictures:
My favorite are the Crayola color wonder books and markers.  This allows my kids to color with no chance of marker ending up on their clothes or of hot melted crayons being found in the car later (yes, I'm saying this from experience). Buy them on Amazon.com or in your local store.  And these clipboards are handy to have for coloring time, too: Amazon's clipboards.

4. I-Spy:
We love to play I-spy with Disney maps.  I always bring brochures from my last Disney trip and pass them out to the girls and play "can you find...?"  Each girl has a Magic Kingdom map and I will tell them to find Splash Mountain, a specific Disney character, etc.

We also play it with road signs.  Who can find the first letter "M", who can spy the Welcome to Florida sign, who spots the first palm tree, etc.  And of course, there's a small prize for the first person who spots a Disney billboard!

5. Reading Books:
This is my favorite choice- especially now that the Kindle app on the iPad makes reading even after dark super easy.  But I don't highly recommend this for kids unless you've given them Dramamine or something to make sure their tummy doesn't get upset.  Often when reading in the car in the backseat, even the best junior travelers will find their tummies feel sick.  When the kids want to hear a story, I pull out their Disney books (which I pack with the coloring books) and hold it up so they can see the pictures and read it aloud to them. Some of their favorites are photobook and scrapbooks of past Disney trips that remind them of how much they have to look forward to at the end of the car ride.

6. Planning our itinerary 
I always make my dining reservations 180 days in advance and know the park hours and which park we'll visit each day so that I can make my Fastpass+ reservations 60 days in advance, but when we're all in the car, I like to ask the kids which shows, rides, and characters it's most important for them to get to and prioritize them on my list.  This way, no one is disappointed that they didn't see Ariel or get to ride the Peter Pan ride.  Remember, those Fastpass+ reservations can be changed if they have to!

7. Play Mad Libs - especially of the Disney variety!
I make my own that are really simple for my girls who are 6, 5, and 3 and I'm attaching the file at the end of this blog post.  I have done the writing in the past, but my 6-year-old is about ready to take that part over! The best part is that at the end, they get to hear a story they've never heard before.

8. Snack breaks
I love to pack fresh fruit - grapes, apples, clementines, and bananas for the girls.  In addition to their favorites: chex mix, cheez-its, goldfish, and pretzels.  But in addition to the fun things we bring on our own, the girls have a ball running into a gas station and each picking one treat while my hubby re-fuels and we all take a quick bathroom break.  I have to approve the size and cost of the snack, but then they're good to go back in the car and enjoy their little vacation goodies.

9. Toy time!
I always bring the small Disney toys my kids have - usually the little pvc multi packs we got from the Disney Store and a few soft princess dolls to play pretend with.  Inevitably their dolls end up going to WDW and they pretend they're on rides.  This keeps my girls busy for a long while.

10. I'm thinking of a Disney character...
Our family likes taking turns describing Disney characters.  You can ask for up to 5 clues.  To help little ones, we like to pull out Disney story books to give them ideas for clues.
For example:
1. I love to sing and paint.
2. My best friend is green.
3. I have really long hair!
4. I'll knock you out with a frying pan if you scare me!
5. I was locked in a tower for a long time.
It's Rapunzel from Tangled!

I hope these activities and planning strategies will help make your next trip to Disney smooth and fast!  Feel free to share other activities you and your family enjoy on your trips in the comment boxes below.

Tips for Toddlers and Infants

Disney was designed for families and you can have the most memorable vacation of your lifetime there.  Let me help you make those memories positive for you and your little one with 10 helpful tips that I learned the hard way:

1. Disney's strollers are not infant-friendly.  I deem them appropriate only for babies about ages 20 months+ since they are hard and don't have a very secure way to buckle your child.  They're not really budget-friendly, either ($15/day for a single stroller or $31/day for a double stroller).  I highly recommend you either rent from a 3rd party company and let them deliver it to your hotel, buy one there, or bring your own stroller on your trip with you.
2. Your children will be begging to ride in the stroller within the first 3 hours.  Even if they seem like they're too old (5-6) for a stroller to be necessary all day, I've neglected to bring mine and ultimately shelled out a lot of cash to get one for my sweet daughter whose feet were killing her before the 3:00 parade. Disney has stroller parking attendants and cast members all over the park, so don't be afraid to park your stroller in the morning (maybe even leave a small cooler with some cold drinks in it) and come back to grab it later in the day when your children have walked 5 miles and can't keep up any more.
3. Baby Care Centers are great for diaper changing, nursing babies, or even letting your little one get a quick nap without heading all the way back to the hotel.  They have high chairs and even a kitchen with a microwave where you can prepare whatever you need to keep your kiddo happy in the happiest place on earth!
4. Disney's cast members are authorized to invoke the "no sad kids rule" at all the theme parks.  This means that if your little one drops their ice cream, spills the drink you just paid a pretty penny for, they'll happily replace it for you if you just let them know what happened.
5. You can maximize your time in the parks by being there 10 minutes before the park is going to open and riding as many rides as you can in the first 2 hours of the park day. Insider tip: if you're not staying at one of Disney's resorts, try not to go the park that has Extra Magic Hours that day.  If you get to the park that opened at 8am for Disney's resort guests and 9am for you and everyone else, the park will already be semi-crowded and the lines will start out longer.  Instead, aim for a day that the park you want to visit does not have extra magic hours that day.
6. If you arrived for the park opening and got to ride rides before the heat of the day (and it does get hot hot hot around lunchtime in Orlando) then head home when it gets really hot.  Let the little ones take a nap in their quiet bed (if you want to save a little money, you can even stop at a drive-thru on your way back to the hotel for a cheap lunch). Then head back to the theme park two hours later, feeling refreshed for fireworks and energized enough to stay till park closing when the evening hours are so much cooler than those lunchtime hours!
7. Make realistic goals for what you want to accomplish in the park that day.  For example, I let everyone in the family pick one thing that I will guarantee them.  Last time we were at Epcot, the list was Soarin', Finding Nemo, and the Journey into the Imagination attraction, and they were all dying to meet Anna and Elsa (yes, I was one of the crazy people in line for 3.5 hours).  After that, we did whatever we thought sounded fun.  By making a realistic goal and limiting promises to toddlers, you can cut the disappointment meltdowns out of the picture.
8. Speaking of meltdowns, if you don't want to spend upwards of $50 on souvenirs, don't take your toddler into any stores.  When I want to shop, my hubby takes the kids into a play area or on a ride and then I meet back up with them.  It is near impossible for toddlers to play in a toy store and then be told to leave all those toys behind.
9. Make sure you get that child in front of videos of the costumed characters before you leave for your trip! Youtube has lots of great videos of character shows (hint: type in "dream along with mickey show") and the FREE Disney vacation planning DVD has great footage of the characters, too.  This pre-trip exposure will help avoid some unnecessary tears for your child since they will already have an idea of what to expect.
10. Write a list of what you want to have in your diaper bag and check it before you leave the hotel in the morning.  If you want to see what I keep in my diaper bag when I head to the theme parks, check out my Comprehensive Packing List.  And I also have a few essential items I bring with me no matter where I go in Disney on my Essential Items list.

Disney - With Short Notice

Last Tuesday, my husband (a teacher) told me he really wanted to head to Disney for Spring Break.  If you know me at all, you know that I would never turn down a trip to Disney!  The rest of the night was a roller coaster of emotions for me.  I was beyond ecstatic at the idea of going and simultaneously mortified that I would have to do 181 days' worth of planning in just a week!  I felt a little bit like Rapunzel in her "I can't believe I did this!" scene...

First, we needed a place to stay.  Since we had not set aside any money for this trip, I needed to find a cheap place to stay and quick! We have 5 daughters whose ages range from 3 up to 17, so a quick room at the Holiday Inn wasn't going to cut it for the 7 of us.  I found a two-bedroom villa that sleeps 8 at the Westgate Palace for $50/night in exchange for doing a 90-minute timeshare presentation.  So for a total of $225 including tax, we got 4 nights/5 days in Orlando.  If you're interested, call Nancy (407)692-7727.  We already had tickets, but they had great offers that included tickets if you are willing to sit through a 90-minute timeshare presentation.  It benefited our budget that we decided to do it this time.

The second thing I did was hop on DisneyWorld.com to print off park hours and decide which parks to head to each day.  Since we were not staying on Disney property, I was looking for parks that did not have extra magic hours in the morning, since the lines are shortest right when the park opens.  I would probably do the opposite if we had decided to stay in a Disney resort.

We decided to surprise the girls again so I started doing laundry and putting the items I wanted to pack aside immediately.  I printed out a copy of my Comprehensive Packing List and got started.  Then I ran around the house hunting down my Disney pins, lanyards, hair bows, etc.

With a full kitchen in the villa, we found some great buy-one-get-one-free snacks and drinks at our local Publix and then I headed to Disneyworld.com/dining to see what kind of dining reservations were available. There were still options.  I urge you to always make dining reservations in advance.  It's always nice to have a cool place with a guaranteed table large enough for your party in the heat of the day when you've been up since early and plan to continue to play into the evening.

Today, the My Disney Experience app released an update that allows all park guests to access the Fastpass+ feature, even though they can not use the magic bands.  I am ecstatic and will head to Downtown Disney as soon as we've settled our belongings in the condo to get our tickets converted so that we can use this feature.  Although the Magic Bands still have a few bugs, the Fastpass+ feature is amazing!

I will update as I finish out the last day of preparation tomorrow and I will fill in the details of how we tell the girls we are going as soon as we tell them.  They are going to be so surprised!

My Disney Picks

This was the view from my Contemporary room in 2010.

A Disney Dream Vacation(These are my picks if money is not tight): 

Where to stay:

Want to see Epcot? Stay at the Boardwalk Resort and request a park-view room on the highest level.  The view of Illuminations is incredible and the night-life options at the Boardwalk are fantastic! There’s also free live entertainment on the boardwalk pretty much every night.

Want to see the Magic Kingdom? Stay in Disney’s Contemporary Resort – it is my favorite resort – great shopping, great dining, and extremely convenient transportation.  Request a Magic Kingdom view room. The 9^th floor is my favorite – you’re right next to Space Mountain and when you walk out of the door of your room, you can look down at Chef Mickey’s and see the characters walking around below.

Want to see the Animal Kingdom? Stay at the Animal Kingdom Lodge and request a savannah view room.  You can actually feed the giraffes out your window if you stay in just the right spot.  Ask the agent helping you book your room to make sure your room will be exactly what you want.

Unfortunately, Hollywood Studios isn’t very easily seen from any resort hotel.   It would be fantastic to watch Fantasmic from a balcony view.  Maybe in the Tower of Terror someday? ;)

Where to eat:

Disney has so many unique dining opportunities.  Since I am writing this in my own opinion, I’ll share the meals I’d eat if money were no object and I had time to enjoy them all.  Remember that if Disney is aware of an allergy in your group, they will make it safe for you to eat in any restaurant and it WILL be safe.  The farther in advance you can alert them to your allergy, the better. Mention it as you make each reservation and again when you are seated.

In the parks, my favorite meals are:

• (Magic Kingdom)Cinderella Castle breakfast is something you have to do at least once.  The food is great and the characters are even more charming when you know you’re eating in a castle.  They spend ample time at your table and it makes for fabulous pictures.  My father and I love to try to get the earliest reservation on a day when the Magic Kingdom does not have extra magic hours so that we can be in Fantasyland when the park opens.  Once this even allowed for my daughters to ride the Mad Hatter’s Teacups with Alice and the White Rabbit – a memory I’ll treasure forever!
•  (Magic Kingdom)Be Our Guest – lunch or dinner.  Reservations for dinner are required right now since the restaurant is so new and popular, but you don’t need a reservation for lunch and the service was quick.  We had lunch there and it was some of the most fairly priced food we ate and also most delicious!
• (Magic Kingdom)Crystal Palace – it’s the cheapest of the Disney buffets and I think it has the best selection of food.  Winnie the Pooh and friends come around to visit at each table and to top it all, the restaurant is beautiful!
• (EPCOT)Le Cellier Steakhouse – down toward the back of the Canadian pavilion is a beautiful, dark restaurant that serves amazing soup, fantastic steaks, and has a broad selection of wines.  It’s pricey, but the food is great and the atmosphere is just as good.
• (EPCOT)Restaurant Marrakesh  in the Moroccan pavilion provides an incredible dining experience for lunch or dinner.  They serve authentic Moroccan food and the interior of the restaurant make you feel like you are truly in Morocco.  It’s a great dining experience.
• (EPCOT)Lunch at the Coral Reef restaurant in EPCOT.  The food here is wonderful and the view is peaceful and relaxing – a perfect respite from the hot Florida sun.  You sit inside the aquarium and can order from a menu of fantastic seafood dishes (of course, there are landlubber options as well).
• (Disney’s Hollywood Studios)Sci-Fi Dine in Theater – I’d couple this with the Fantasmic dining package as it allows you access to the best seats for the best show.  This restaurant is one of the most unique places you can eat.  You walk into a drive-in theater and are seated in a car! Of course, that car has a built-in table and lights so that you don’t make a mess and can watch the creepy sci-fi clips being played on the big screen at the front of the room.  It’s really cool!
• (Disney’s Hollywood Studios)Toy Story Pizza Planet – very similar to the restaurant in the original movie Toy Story, the pizza is good and the arcade (though it will add up quickly if you send your kids off to enjoy a few games) is a great break from the heat or rain.  It’s always a favorite with the kids!
• (Disney’s Hollywood Studios)Hollywood Brown Derby – this is my absolute favorite restaurant in all of Disney.  The food is divine and you feel as though you are dining at the real restaurant in California.  The caricatures of Hollywood’s stars on the walls and the elegant atmosphere make for a very enjoyable meal.  Their cobb salad is to die for and if that doesn’t do it, the prices will definitely kill you… all kidding aside, I think it’s totally worth it for a date meal.  Send the kids to ride a few rides with Grandma and Grandpa or Aunt and Uncle and settle in for an unforgettable meal.

Insider Tip: Don’t forget that Disney’s character buffet meal prices include non-alcoholic drinks, so even if you’re on a budget, don’t be afraid to order both coffee and orange juice with your meal. 

Insider Tip: If you’re not crazy about standing in line for character autographs, work a few character meals into your plan.  I always try to get the last breakfast reservation because the price is best and it serves as brunch for my crew (my kids find a yogurt and a granola bar is a great in-room snack to hold them over till then).

Essential Items

When I visit WDW, there are a few items I always have in my bag.  Bringing these items into the park with you will save you some money and make your day a little easier.

1. Duracell USB phone charger With the new magic bands system, it's pretty much essential to have a smart phone whether it's an android or an apple product to keep up with your fastpass+ schedule and attraction wait times.  Disney provides free wi-fi in their parks now so even if you don't have cell service (say you have an ipod touch) you can get onto the free wi-fi and keep up with the fastpass+ program.  This combined with using the camera on my phone drained my cell battery pretty quickly.  I didn't want to stop and charge my phone in the middle of the day, so I put my Duracell USB phone charger to work.  It was perfect! I brought the battery and the USB connector cord and hooked it up in my purse when it hit about 30%.  It charged back to full for the afternoon and lasted a perfect amount of time.  I highly recommend you invest in something like it.  I found the one I have on Amazon.com for about $23. http://www.amazon.com/Duracell-Instant-Charger-Includes-Universal/dp/B002FU6KF2/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1389572006&sr=8-1&keywords=duracell+usb+charger
2. Thirty-One Medium thermal zipper pouchI received one of these for free by hosting a 31 party for a friend of mine and it is fantastic!  I put 4 capri suns, a 12-ounce coke for me, and a bottle of water in mine along with a ziploc bag filled with ice cubes from the hotel ice dispensary.  I threw it into the bottom of my stroller and as the kids got thirsty, I'd open it up and give out what I had to share.  It folds flat and is very lightweight so that it's easy to store when it's empty.  If you have access to a freezer, you can freeze the juice pouches and let them thaw over time - this keeps everything cold and means you don't have to worry about melting ice.
3. Retractable Sharpie pensI think these give the best autographs (my kids LOVE characters) and I always buy the Disney autograph books - it's one splurge I always let the kids select.
4. Hand SanitizerI clip hand sanitizer on every bag I carry around and have the kids use it often.  Germs are everywhere so of course, we stop and wash our hands with soap and water frequently also.
5. Sunscreen!
   This seems like a no-brainer, but half-way through the day your sunscreen is wearing off and if you don't bring some with you, you will end up choosing between burning and paying Disney's ridiculous price for a small tube of sunscreen.

I also like having a spare camera battery, sunglasses, and a container of Tylenol (some for me and some chewable for the kids - just in case).  Remember, if anything happens and you need a band-aid or any kind of first aid attention, Disney has places all over the parks where someone can assist you.  Look at the park map or ask the nearest castmember and they'll be happy to point you in the right direction.

Clarks Condensed

Tonight while I was browsing through my blog data I saw that several hits were directed from one particular web-site, so naturally I checked it out. It turns out a fellow blogger thought my post about when to plan your trip was worth sharing. I was super excited and as I poured through the rest of their page I thought the whole post was definitely worth sharing! She's obviously spent hours compiling websites and blog posts that will help organize your planning. 

Check out the site : http://www.clarkscondensed.com/thrifty-thursday/planning-a-disney-vacation

It will be well worth your time!

Magic Bands - New Disney Tech

I just got home from Disney last week.  The unpacking and laundry took forever, so I haven't written anything since my trip, but get prepared for the motherload because I learned SO much!

In this post, I'm going to write about my personal experience with the new Magic Bands and what I know first-hand.

1. They are very convenient.  I left my purse in the stroller and headed to get my husband some free water at a counter-service restaurant.  After glancing at the menu, I saw a snack I wanted, but didn't have my wallet or purse with me. Enter the Magic Band - since I didn't take it off my wrist at all during the days we were in the parks, I could just swipe that and buy whatever I wanted to.  I was thrilled to not have to be digging around for my wallet in my purse full of supplies at Disney.

2. You can only select 3 fastpass+ selections for each park for each day with your bands.  So if you were spending the morning in Animal Kingdom and the afternoon in Epcot, it was great - you could choose 3 for each park and have a total of 6 for the day!  If you were staying in Epcot the whole day, however, we had used our 3 by 1:15 and couldn't get any more fastpass+ selections.  At this point, you are permitted to use your physical tickets for fastpasses, however, it's a bit of a letdown to run from Japan to Soarin' to grab a fastpass after you just did that with your phone and never had to take a step.  I think that after you have used all of your fastpasses, more should become available.  **Disney castmembers who were working at the Fastpass+ kiosks did tell me that the limit of 3 is a beta testing number and that that number may be increased after testing is over and the results can be calculated to dictate the best use of the technology. I hope this happens soon!**

3. Sometimes they got things wrong! The My Disney Experience app wasn't working for several hours while I was at the Magic Kingdom so I headed to a kiosk to figure out how to change a fastpass, but their system wasn't working either! So I couldn't change my fastpass selection. Bummer!

4. Fastpasses are now available for things that never had a fastpass line (or need for one) before.  Rides like It's a Small World and shows like Beauty and the Beast now have fastpasses available, but you really don't need them.  Wishes (Magic Kingdom's fireworks show) has a private viewing area for the fireworks that you can only enter if you have selected the Wishes fastpass+ and it was actually a great little spot.  I would recommend that if you don't want to stake out a spot 60+ minutes before the show.

5. The fastpass line was always short - I feel that Disney is catering to the fastpass users more than ever.  And I was assured that this would mean the regular line didn't get longer, but I felt like it did.  I walked right on to any ride I had a fastpass+ selection for, but waited (for what felt like) longer than usual in any of the regular wait lines.  It wasn't horrible, but I personally felt like there was a difference.  This being said, the lines that were never long before still weren't.  I pretty much walked on those rides (especially at the Magic Kingdom) such as the Carousel, Dumbo, Winnie the Pooh, etc.

6.  Sometimes they Magic Bands randomly worked on attractions that we hadn't selected.  My husband took our 2-year-old to Adventureland when I took our 4 and 5-year-old girls to ride Splash Mtn.  He didn't have a clue what fastpasses we had picked, so he tried it on the Jungle Cruise.  It worked! Afterwards, he asked me if I had selected that and I told him I hadn't.  This happened randomly several times.

7. The rider swap was given to us even though we were using fastpasses.  So my husband took the older girls on Soarin' and I rode Nemo with the shorty. Then we switched.  I ended up riding once, my husband twice, and the girls 3 times.  That was great!

8.  I didn't plan enough time for the newly updated Fantasyland - and I was there last year!  I could have spent one whole day just in Fantasyland with my3 daughters.  They loved the new Under the Sea ride and the Enchanted Tales with Belle attraction.  The new Fairytale Hall is open and it was lovely! We used a fastpass to meet Rapunzel and then waited in line to meet Cinderella.  The wait was great - icy cold A/C and it was gorgeous inside.  Definitely a must-see!

9. The My Disney Experience app is a phone battery drainer.  No shock here.  I have an iPhone, so I turned my brightness down a bit and when it got low, plugged it into my Duracell portable charger in my purse.  You can buy one like mine or there are several other models available.  I love mine and it's so easy to use.  http://www.amazon.com/Duracell-Instant-Charger-Includes-Universal/dp/B002FU6KF2/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1381861149&sr=8-2&keywords=duracell+portable+charger

10. If you are Robert Downey Jr. and you happen to be traveling with your dad (we'll asume he's Robert Downey Sr.) you may have problems with your magic bands.  We met a family who was there for a reunion and they were using the bands.  Their fastpass+ selections kept getting changed and there was nothing that the Disney concierge or the kiosks in the park could do to fix it! They did end up with 8 free meals, so we didn't feel too terribly bad for them, but let's hope Disney gets that bug worked out soon!!