Tag Archives: travel

Keeping the kids happy while waiting

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Disney is a world of hurry up and wait. Rush through the morning to get to opening and wait at the turnstiles. Race to a ride then wait in line for 20 minutes. Head to the airport hours before your flight to learn that it is delayed. Walk to the bus stop and find your bus pulling away. The list goes on and on. Disney is a great lesson in patience for both children and adults!

I have a few tricks I use to keep the kids busy while waiting in line, for transportation or in a restaurant. Continue reading →

Princesses!!!

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If you have little girls, then seeing as many princesses as you can is a must! The princess meals are a great way to see a bunch of characters, but you can still miss one that is important to your little one. Princess are not just for girls, I know plenty of little boys whose favorite character encounter has been Ariel or Jasmine!

It is not a requirement to “dress up” for your princess experience, but you will see many little girls running around dressed as their favorite. If you have a miniprincess, then you might want to consider packing a dress for them to wear. The ones in the park go for $50-100, so it is to your advantage to think ahead and buy one at Target! My girls are usually ok with a few princess themed t-shirts and a skirt.

Here is a list of where you can find the princesses (and the not technically princesses): Continue reading →

Ship your stuff instead of packing!

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Did you know you can ship items to your hotel before your arrival? The hotel will hold it in bell services or their business center until you check in. You may not think that shipping a box UPS or USPS would save you money, but it really can in the long run. Some airlines charge $25 or more to check a bag, which is $50 round trip. When you have a family of 4, you have just added $200 to your vacation.

In the past, I have shipped boxes that contained our consumables for the trip. This saved room in our luggage and we were able to fly checking only 2 bags for the 4 of us. Here are some ideas on the things you can ship: Continue reading →

Update: Disney’s Photopass Service

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I love Disney’s Photopass Service. I think that it is totally worth the money if you utilize it correctly and plan ahead. Our first few trips, we didn’t use photopass and I regret that because we have so few pictures of our whole family. The photographers will take pictures with your camera, but their photos will be better!

To get the most bang for your buck, stop at every photographer you see in all the parks. Let’s be honest, you can’t have too many pictures of your family in front of the castle! There are photgraphers in every park. Here is a map and some tips of all the photopass photographers. Disney Photopass Map Continue reading →

Dates Announced for New Fantasyland Expansion

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The dates were recently announced for the openings of the new Fantastyland expansion.

July 2012:

  • Second Dumbo the Flying Elephant
  • Casey Jr. Splash n’ Soak Station
  • Air Conditioned Interactive Queue

Holiday 2012: (this can be any time up til 12/20)

  • Under the Sea: Journey of the Little Mermaid
  • Enchanted Tales with Belle
  • Be Our Guest Restaurant (quick service lunch, sit down dinner)
  • Gaston’s Tavern

2013:

  • Princess Meet and Greet (in former Snow White Scary Adventures)

2014:

  • Seven Dwarf’s Mine Train (dark, tame roller coaster)

Strollers

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Renting strollers in the parks can be very expensive. It is $15/day for a single stroller and $31/day for a double. You cannot take these out of the park which can make a long walk back the hotel transportation.

I have traveled with 2 umbrella strollers and had success but my kids are getting too big for these now:(

I have also used outside sources for stroller rental. You sign up and pay online, they drop the jogging stroller off at bell services and you have it for the entirety of your trip. I loved this but you do have to drag them onto buses and boats. When you have a full bus at closing, standing with a folded double jogging stroller is a little tiresome (especially for my hubby). Continue reading →