Tuesday, August 30, 2011

Travel Tip Tuesday

While you are on Disney property, you are going to see a lot of things that you really really want to have. If you have kids, that number of things is going to double. How do you keep from spending all of you souvenir money that first day? Just say no. I know, that sounds like a "duh" moment, but when you are there it is really easy to get caught up in the moment. What we do is look in all of the fun gift shops every day, but we wait until closer to the end of our trip and do the majority of our shopping at Downtown Disney. This allows us to really think about the items that we really and truly want and since we have a Disney VISA, we buy them all at the World of Disney store and save 10%.

This trick is especially helpful with a little one. My daughter wants EVERYTHING she sees so by telling her to wait until we go to Downtown Disney, it helps us to see what she really and truly wants. Half the time she has already changed her mind, or simply forgotten about half the items she thought she had to have earlier in the week. Since we make her use her own money for the bulk of her souvenirs, it also helps her to budget her money and see how much those little things really add up to in the end.

One word of advice though...not everything is available at Downtown Disney. If it is a Disney World t-shirt, or a stuffed Mickey Mouse that you see in multiple gift shops, it is probably going to be there. However, most of the park specific merchandise is not sold there. For example, that Magic Kingdom T-shirt, or the African drum sold specifically in Animal Kingdom, are not going to be available. So, if you are in a park and see something that is probably park specific, go ahead and buy it if you know it is something you really want. However, don't carry it around all day long. If you are staying on property, have it sent back to your hotel. It will be available for pick up in the resort gift shop the next night. If you are not staying on property, or it is your last day, have it sent to the package pickup area at the front of the park and pick it up on your way out. The cashiers at the shops can help you with the details on these processes.

Tuesday, August 23, 2011

Travel Tip Tuesday

I was reading one of my favorite Disney guide books the other day and for the first time I can ever remember, I disagreed with something that I read. They were talking about the best shoes to wear for touring the parks. They actually alluded to the fact that the only good option was tennis shoes. I so disagree. The best option is whatever you are used to and the ones that feel good on your feet.

So, if you wear tennis shoes all the time, yes, they are the best option. They give good support, they are designed to handle shock, and they last for many many miles. Also, they protect your feet from the many times in which you will be run over by a stroller (not your own) throughout the day.

HOWEVER, if you are not used to wearing tennis shoes and you try to wear them for a week of walking miles upon miles every day, you WILL regret it. I fall into this camp. I am definitely a flip flop girl. Living in the south, I wear them daily from March until November. I will wear them until my toes get frosty :) That being said, since we go to Disney in October, I am still in flip flop mode in my life. So if I go to Disney and try to wear tennis shoes, my feet hurt. BAD. My toes are screaming by the end of the day. So, what I do is try wearing tennis shoes a little bit before our trip just to get my toes used to it. Then I take my tennis shoes with us on the trip and wear them a few days of the trip. However, most every other day I wear my flip flops around the parks.

Now, to clarify, I am not talking the cheap flops you get for $4 at Old Navy. I couldn't handle that. I wear Nike flip flops every day. They have really cushioned bottoms and the thong part is very comfy and doesn't cause blisters. My whole family actually wears these flops. My husband doesn't even take breaks during the trip to wear tennis shoes. He wears his flip flops every day. So far, none of us have regretted our choices. You have to wear what is comfortable on your feet every day at home in order to be comfortable at Disney. Most of all, remember that Disney is not the place to break in new shoes. Take old comfy shoes, and go ahead and pack some blister band aids and moleskin just in case. That heat and humidity can still cause blisters with all of that walking with even the most broken in pair of shoes.

Tuesday, August 16, 2011

Travel Tip Tuesday

I have mentioned before that you can actually save money on a Disney vacation, and have mentioned bringing your own food for breakfast. This post is to give you a few very specific examples of how this can work for you even if your room does not have a kitchenette.

As I have mentioned, we always stay at Value resorts, mainly at Pop Century. Those rooms do not have anything that helps you prepare foods. There are no in room coffee makers, no microwaves, and no mini fridges (unless you pay the $10 a day rental fee). However, it is still very possible to make breakfast every day. The food courts have almost anything you need to make a quick cheap breakfast.

Most food courts have toasters and/or toaster ovens. These allow for toasting of bagels, toast, english muffins, or pop tarts. We often take a package or two of bagels, a couple of bananas or apples, and a bag of donuts or muffins, and that is what we eat every day. I have also taken my own throw away bowls and spoons before with mini boxes of cereal. You can purchase small containers of milk in the food court and save quite a bit over the cost of buying a whole meal in the parks.

As for drinks, there are several options as well. I try to take a couple of Juicy Juice drink boxes and drink one each morning. They are warm, but at least I start the day with a little juice. Another choice is to purchase a refillable mug at the beginning of the trip. You can fill it up as many times as you want during your stay and the options with it seem endless....there are soda machines, coffee, tea machines, hot chocolate, or of course water. Juice is not an option however, unless you buy a bottle from the food court. If you want cold juice, bring your own boxes like I do, get ice from the machine in your refillable mug, and poor your juice box over the ice. One final option for drinks is to bring your own hot chocolate packets or Starbucks via packets and get hot water out of the coffee machine (you will need your own cup for this though).

While we are on the subject of beverages, if you are big coffee drinker, know that the coffee isn't the best in the world. There aren't a lot of options either. There is only one kind to choose from, and the creamers are just basic. If you are like me and enjoy flavored coffee, bring your own coffee creamer from home as well. If you are enjoy tea, they do have a tea machine that has a few different options. I remember something about Green Tea and something with lemon I believe (not a tea drinker myself, but I am sure most of you who are know the square tea machine I am talking about as I have seen it in a few restaurants in the area).

So, here are a few ways to save a few bucks on breakfast at Disney. I myself can't bring myself to spend a lot of money on breakfast since we don't like to eat big meals in the morning. We would rather have something basic, then be ready to eat a yummy lunch earlier in the day. Therefore, we bring our breakfast from home and save the money for bigger and better meals :)

Tuesday, August 9, 2011

Travel Tip Tuesday




To make the time go faster, find a fun way to help the kids countdown the days to the trip. We have used a few different methods before (as I have mentioned in a previous post), but our favorite way is the countdown chain. Each year around three months out, we pull out the construction paper and stapler and make a chain. The chain creates a visual for kids (and me) that helps show how we are slowly, but steadily, growing closer to our trip. I am always looking for a new way to make the time pass, so if anyone has a fun thing you do in your house, please share it!

Tuesday, August 2, 2011

Travel Tip Tuesday

When you are making out your packing list, don't forget all of your chargers. If you are like us, you will have two cell phone chargers, two camera chargers, an MP3 charger, and a DS charger. If you take a laptop, you may have to charge it as well. With the new phones going through batteries so quickly, and due to the fact that we take a hundred pictures and videos per day, we have to charge at least three things every night. Depending on the room you are in, the number of outlets is minimal, so I would suggest sticking in a small power cord as well. You won't regret it I promise!