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!

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!

Travel Tip Tuesday

If you are staying on Disney property and have your own car, drive it to Hollywood Studios or Epcot. It is much faster (especially if you get there at park opening). The bus stops at Epcot can be quite a haul at the end of the day (especially if you are staying at a hotel that has it's stop at the second set of bus stops....i.e. Pop Century).

If you are going to Animal Kingdom or Magic Kingdom however, I definitely suggest taking Disney transportation. Animal Kingdom does not open the parking lot until right before park opening (we have found this out the hard way one too many times), but the buses run about an hour before park opening. So, unless you like sitting in the car waiting for the parking attendants, take the bus. At Magic Kingdom, if you drive yourself and park in the parking lots, you have to take either the ferry or monorail over to the main gates. However, the Disney buses drop you off right outside the turnstiles. This is a huge time saver in the morning of course, but also at the end of the long day when you have little ones who you have to literally carry out of the park.

Happy traveling!

Travel Tip Tuesday

Those of you who have ever visited Orlando know that there are often pop up showers in the afternoon. Guess what most people do when that happens? They run into the closest gift shop and spend a lot of money on a piece of plastic to keep them dry. Now don't get me wrong, the Mickey Mouse on the back is cute, but let's face it...those ponchos are overpriced. Why would I want to pay close to $10 for a poncho (I don't know the exact price) when I can buy ten for that price at home?

We go to the camping section of Wal Mart before each trip and buy the "travel" ponchos for .88 instead. These are very lightweight and compact and easily fit into any bag. In fact, my husband will often stick them in one of his pockets on his cargo shorts. So, what we do is buy several before our trips, then stick a couple in our backpacks and forget about them. Then when it rains, or when you ride a water ride, they are ready to pull out. Since they are so cheap, we can just throw them away once we use them. However, they are thin enough that they dry quickly so sometimes we throw them back in our bag for one or two more uses.

We use ours a few more times than just when it rains though. My dear husband does not like to get wet on the water rides. He wears a poncho on every ride that has the potential to make him wet. A great thing about these ponchos is that they open up to be pretty big. My husband holds all of our phones and our bag underneath the poncho as well to keep them dry. A very nice bonus for me!

One final point, if you do pack ponchos, don't forget to pack one for your stroller if you have one. The last thing you want is to have to place a child or your bags in a stroller that is soaking wet. If it looks like rain before you get in line for a ride or a show, go ahead and use the poncho to cover the stroller just in case. You won't be sorry if it rains!

Travel Tip Tuesday

Getting around Disney property using only Disney transportation can be a little challenging without a little bit of planning. One of the most important things to remember about Disney buses is that they do not go from resort to resort. Therefore, if you want to have dinner in a resort that you are not staying in, you must first go to a theme park and then transfer to another bus. For example, if you are staying at an All Star resort and have a breakfast at Chef Mickey's, you cannot get there on one bus alone. You will either need to pay for a cab, or take a bus to Magic Kingdom (the closest park to the Contemporary Resort) and then either walk or take the monorail to the resort for your meal. This takes a little extra time, so please allow for extra time before your reservation time. The concierge at the hotel can help you determine how much time to allow to get to your destination.

The best advice I can give for meals inside of resorts that you are not staying in, is to take a bus (or boat, monorail, etc) to the closest park and then catch another bus to the resort you are trying to get to. Keep in mind, with the transfers it could potentially take an hour to get to your dining reservation. This is the longest time I have had to date, and sometimes it can be a lot shorter if you hit all of the buses just right.

One final tip. Not only do buses NOT run from resort to resort, but they also do NOT run from Downtown Disney to any of the four major theme parks. Just something else to keep in mind when planning out your transportation during your trip!

Travel Tip Tuesday

Did you know that you can use fastpasses even after the scheduled time printed on the pass? For example, if your return time is 4:05 to 5:05 for Winnie the Pooh, you can use that fastpass anytime that day after 4:05. As long as you return sometime that same day after the first printed time, you can still use your fastpass (the second time may as well not even exist to most cast members). So, what we do is make sure we get a new fastpass at the first chance we can, even if we haven't ridden Winnie the Pooh yet so that we can get more rides in each day, and minimize our wait times. There have been times we have had three or four valid fastpasses to choose from. This helps minimize walking back and forth across the parks, and allows us more time on rides, and less time in lines. So, first thing in the morning, get a fastpass for one of your must do rides, then go get in line for another one that will get busy quickly (this is a must do for Toy Story Mania at Hollywood Studios...send someone to get fastpasses for everyone, while the rest of your party heads to Tower of Terror or Aerosmith).

Travel Tip Tuesday

We had an exciting quick trip to the World last weekend. It was a very exciting trip for me as we finally became annual pass holders. With several trips planned in the next year, it was an easy decision and something I have always wanted to do. I still can't believe I have an annual pass!!! That is not the tip this week though :) The tip includes meeting the Princesses and Mickey Mouse in the new Town Square Exposition Hall at Magic Kingdom. We went on a Saturday so the crowds were pretty large (at least in comparison to what we are used to as normal October visitors). We wanted to meet Mickey, but the lines were pretty long. We had decided to watch the Light Parade on Main Street in front of Tony's Town Square so that we could make a quick exit after the parade. While we were waiting we noticed the wait times to meet Mickey and the Princesses dropped down to five minutes each. So, as soon as the parade was over we hurried in and were second in line for the Princesses. After meeting them we hopped over to the Mickey line, which was already about 15 minutes. What I suggest doing is heading up to get a fastpass to meet Mickey about an hour before the parade starts (use the awesome app Lines to keep tabs on fastpass return times). Then once the parade is over, get in line for the Princesses, then use your fastpass to meet Mickey. You should be in and out of both within 15 to 20 minutes.