Big Changes at Disney World!
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Showing posts with label Disney World. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Disney World. Show all posts
Sunday, April 1, 2012
Saturday, March 24, 2012
And, Just Like That . . .
WOW! What a difference a few days make. Things have definitely changed a lot for me over the past few days. Big changes. Exciting changes. You might have noticed that I have posted much in the last week and the things that I have posted, they have been pre-scheduled . . .oops, guess I shouldn't have told you that?
For those of you who don't know or you are a new follower, let me tell you a little about myself.
I spent my whole life wanting to be a teacher. I have always loved to read and yes, I loved diagramming those pesky sentences in high school so I when I went to college I became an English teacher. I only taught English for a couple of years, though, because the idyllic dream of students loving language and reading as much as I did was quickly dispelled when I had a desk thrown across the room at me.
I also always had an interest in the military. Specifically, I thought it would be "fun" to do the obstacle courses and I dreamed of being able to travel around the world. So, I quit teaching and went to basic training and went on to go to military intelligence school. I worked full-time for the Army National Guard for about 6 years before I decided to stay home with my babies. BTW, all of these "Warrior Dashes" that everyone raves about . . . I don't participate. I figure I've done enough of those in my lifetime. ha!
All along, though, I've loved visiting new places, eating at new restaurants, learning about different cultures, looking at pictures of exotic locations, etc. Yes, there are people far more traveled than me but I feel that it has been a trade off because I wouldn't exchange my kids for anything. I'll admit, though, I've been jealous at some of the people that I have met that and the places they have been.
A few years ago, I thought about becoming a travel agent. This would be a great place for me to help people go on fantastic trips and for me to earn some travel privileges myself. As it turned out, though, I ended up with my Sweet Baby Caleb so I kind of just put that thought out of my mind.
Caleb will be 3 in July . . . 3 ! in July and I thought it was time that I start looking ahead to the future and what I will do when all of my babies are in school.
So, I decided to email a local travel agency and told them a little about my story. I also offered up what I was looking for and how I could benefit them. Basically, I asked for help to enter into the travel industry on a 100% commission basis in exchange for me being able to work from home. What this did for the agency, 5 Star Travel and Cruises, is allow them to benefit from anything that I would sell for them but not be out the money of paying me an hourly wage. And you know what? I heard back from the owner. It was amazing. An email turned in to a 30 minute phone call turned in to a face-to-face meeting turned in to them offering me the job. What is truly amazing about this whole thing is that the owner said she felt like it was almost looking in a mirror because she started her career in travel the exact same way. A stay-at-home mom who dabbled in it until she was able to do it full-time.
One of the things that I think will kind of set me apart from other agents is that I truly want to make each trip a great experience. I am not doing this for the money. I know that sounds ridiculous but I'm really not. The way I look at it is that right now I am not bringing any money into the household so I don't have the monkey on my back of "I need this paycheck to pay my bills." I've been in that position before and in these types of industries (real estate, travel, etc) having that pressure of you have to have a paycheck right now, is not a good place to be. Plus, since most paperwork can be done electronically, quotes sent electronically, and I have a phone, I can do everything from home that I could do in the office anyway.
Instead, this is really an adventure for me. I get to research fantastic hotels, other cultures, problem-solve to work within people's budgets but most importantly, I get to help them make memories! How cool is that?
One of the first things that I have done is start in a program called the Disney College of Knowledge. You guys know how I LOVE Disney. If not, check out this post, Disney 2010. So, I love that I am learning tons of ways to make a Disney vacation even magical. I've already found out a ton of cool stuff to do outside of the parks that I never even knew about. Plus, I have already helped plan tons of DW vacations for my friends and family so this way I will get a little money for it and I will have a lot more access to help plan an even better experience.
Look how little these babies were.
Anyway, so there is my story. I'm really excited to start this new chapter in my life. It honestly has consumed me the last few days and I love it!
Of course, if YOU need help planning ANY trip I would to help. You can email me at April at 5travelandcruises.com
P.S. Did you know that when you use a travel agent that you pay nothing extra? Travel agents are actually paid through the resorts and hotels so there is no commission fee added to anything.
I spent my whole life wanting to be a teacher. I have always loved to read and yes, I loved diagramming those pesky sentences in high school so I when I went to college I became an English teacher. I only taught English for a couple of years, though, because the idyllic dream of students loving language and reading as much as I did was quickly dispelled when I had a desk thrown across the room at me.
I also always had an interest in the military. Specifically, I thought it would be "fun" to do the obstacle courses and I dreamed of being able to travel around the world. So, I quit teaching and went to basic training and went on to go to military intelligence school. I worked full-time for the Army National Guard for about 6 years before I decided to stay home with my babies. BTW, all of these "Warrior Dashes" that everyone raves about . . . I don't participate. I figure I've done enough of those in my lifetime. ha!
All along, though, I've loved visiting new places, eating at new restaurants, learning about different cultures, looking at pictures of exotic locations, etc. Yes, there are people far more traveled than me but I feel that it has been a trade off because I wouldn't exchange my kids for anything. I'll admit, though, I've been jealous at some of the people that I have met that and the places they have been.
A few years ago, I thought about becoming a travel agent. This would be a great place for me to help people go on fantastic trips and for me to earn some travel privileges myself. As it turned out, though, I ended up with my Sweet Baby Caleb so I kind of just put that thought out of my mind.
Caleb will be 3 in July . . . 3 ! in July and I thought it was time that I start looking ahead to the future and what I will do when all of my babies are in school.
So, I decided to email a local travel agency and told them a little about my story. I also offered up what I was looking for and how I could benefit them. Basically, I asked for help to enter into the travel industry on a 100% commission basis in exchange for me being able to work from home. What this did for the agency, 5 Star Travel and Cruises, is allow them to benefit from anything that I would sell for them but not be out the money of paying me an hourly wage. And you know what? I heard back from the owner. It was amazing. An email turned in to a 30 minute phone call turned in to a face-to-face meeting turned in to them offering me the job. What is truly amazing about this whole thing is that the owner said she felt like it was almost looking in a mirror because she started her career in travel the exact same way. A stay-at-home mom who dabbled in it until she was able to do it full-time.
One of the things that I think will kind of set me apart from other agents is that I truly want to make each trip a great experience. I am not doing this for the money. I know that sounds ridiculous but I'm really not. The way I look at it is that right now I am not bringing any money into the household so I don't have the monkey on my back of "I need this paycheck to pay my bills." I've been in that position before and in these types of industries (real estate, travel, etc) having that pressure of you have to have a paycheck right now, is not a good place to be. Plus, since most paperwork can be done electronically, quotes sent electronically, and I have a phone, I can do everything from home that I could do in the office anyway.
Instead, this is really an adventure for me. I get to research fantastic hotels, other cultures, problem-solve to work within people's budgets but most importantly, I get to help them make memories! How cool is that?
One of the first things that I have done is start in a program called the Disney College of Knowledge. You guys know how I LOVE Disney. If not, check out this post, Disney 2010. So, I love that I am learning tons of ways to make a Disney vacation even magical. I've already found out a ton of cool stuff to do outside of the parks that I never even knew about. Plus, I have already helped plan tons of DW vacations for my friends and family so this way I will get a little money for it and I will have a lot more access to help plan an even better experience.
Anyway, so there is my story. I'm really excited to start this new chapter in my life. It honestly has consumed me the last few days and I love it!
Of course, if YOU need help planning ANY trip I would to help. You can email me at April at 5travelandcruises.com
P.S. Did you know that when you use a travel agent that you pay nothing extra? Travel agents are actually paid through the resorts and hotels so there is no commission fee added to anything.
Thursday, March 10, 2011
Mommy, When's Are We Going Back to Disney World?
This is a question that I get asked everyday at least 10 times a day. I am not exaggerating. Every. Single. Day. Those words come out of GracieAnn's mouth.
I know a lot of people think that their kids are too young to go to Disney or that they won't remember it. Well, let me tell you that my three-year-old remembers it like it was yesterday.
She remembers her Princess makeover and getting sprinkled with fairy dust.
Yes, I cried like a baby.
She remembers meeting Cinderella. Once again, waterworks from Mommy.
She remembers meeting Minnie Mouse.
She remembers the "golf ball" at Epcot. Her favorite ride that we had to ride about 30 times. I think I could recite it word for word.
She remembers Cinderella's castle and most mornings she tells me that that was where she slept last night.
She remembers "our" giraffes outside our room at Animal Kingdom. Whenever we see a giraffe at the zoo her eyes will light up and she'll say, "Hey, that's a giraffe just like our giraffe at Disney World!"
She remembers dancing with Kanin at the Biergarten.
I swear this child remembers everything about that trip from the fact that our neighbor drove us in his car to we stopped at Jack in the Box on the way to the airport.
She has an on-going conversation that happens with her Daddy every morning.
"Where are you going?"
"I'm going to work."
"Why are you going to work?"
"So I can make some money."
"Nope. You are going to work so that you can make money to take me back to Disney World."
Now, Scott will just say, "Why do I work?"
"So you can make money for Disney World."
I am so happy that we created memories and that the trip meant so much to her but man, does she put pressure on her Daddy. I sometimes feel sorry for him because I know how badly he wants to be able to take her back.
My answer to her question, "Someday, Gracie, Someday."
Friday, January 28, 2011
I Am So Doing This Next Time
Have you seen those Disney World commercials where the parents surprise their kids with the trip? If you don't know by now, I am a huge sap so, of course, I cry every single time. I am so doing that for our next trip. Here are a few:
Friday, October 1, 2010
Disney World 2010
As you all know by now, last week we were at Disney World for vacation. I love going in September. Free Dining, Fewer Crowds, Milder Weather, Fall Decorations
Of all the Disney World theme parks, Epcot is by far my favorite. There aren't very many rides there, although they do have Soarin' (fantastic!!), but I love it because they have the World Showcase which allows you to step into 11 different countries-UK, Canada, Italy, Morroco, Germany, US, Norway, Japan, China, Mexico and South Africa. You can eat at authentic restaurants, listen to each country's music and talk to people who came to America from those countries. I love it!
Although it was much more hectic this time around with 3 kids, I wouldn't trade our week together for anything. We are already looking forward to going back again next year!
This is one of my favorite streets in all of America, Main Street U.S.A. When I walk into the park and see that castle, I think I instantly turn into a little girl again.
I love going to Hollywood Studios. Aerosmith's Rock-N-Roller Coaster is so much fun! When we were there in 2008, neither Scott nor I would ride Tower of Terror but this year Kanin really wanted to ride it so we both tried it. I actually liked it. It wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it was going to be.
Of all the Disney World theme parks, Epcot is by far my favorite. There aren't very many rides there, although they do have Soarin' (fantastic!!), but I love it because they have the World Showcase which allows you to step into 11 different countries-UK, Canada, Italy, Morroco, Germany, US, Norway, Japan, China, Mexico and South Africa. You can eat at authentic restaurants, listen to each country's music and talk to people who came to America from those countries. I love it!
The last time we were at Disney we didn't really care for the Animal Kingdom park so we were a little skeptical about going back. The one draw for me is that they have the roller coaster Everest and I absolutely knew that I wanted to ride it again. We ended up having a great time at Animal Kingdom. It's a Bug's Life is a great 3D movie that the whole family enjoyed. There is also a Dinosaur play area that has more carnival type rides and games that the whole family enjoyed. We went on an African Safari and, of course, we rode Everest!
Although it was much more hectic this time around with 3 kids, I wouldn't trade our week together for anything. We are already looking forward to going back again next year!
Thursday, September 30, 2010
Something Happened While On Vacation
My sweet baby boy grew up a bit.
He still needed his naps.
He still wanted to be carried, too.
He was very curious.
He was very anxious to go swimming.
He watched his very first movie and was hip with his 3D glasses.
He played with his brother but still made a big mess on his shirt.
But the biggest change of the whole week is that he kicked the bottle. That's right, folks, this sweet red-headed doll no longer takes a bottle. You might think that I would be really happy about that and the formula savings is a plus, but deep down, I'm really sad.
Lessons Learned from Disney World Trip 2010
Last week we went on vacation to Disney World for a week (a different blog to follow about that). This was our second trip to Disney in 3 years and things were definitely different this time than last time. I am not a Disney expert and I'm not one of those Disney geeks, either, but I have helped a few people plan their trips or just offered advice that we learned from our first trip so I thought I would write down some new things that we learned this time around.
It is definitely harder to take 3 kids to Disney than just 2. I know that sounds like common sense but we really thought that since our first trip was so easy-going and relaxing that this trip would be, too. Boy, were we wrong!
The last time we went Kanin was 4 and Gracie was 15 months. It was such a piece of cake. We took things slowly, went back to the hotel in the middle of the day for naps and swimming and then leisurely went out at night. We thought we had things down to a science so there was no reason for this trip to be any harder than the last time.
What we didn't take into account this time is that Kanin is 6 and he is over 48" which means that he is able to ride every ride in every park. The last time he wasn't tall enough for the big rides so we would get to a big ride, Rock-N-Roller Coaster, for instance, and Scott and I would each do a single rider. I would go straight to the front and ride it while Scott stayed with the kids and then we would switch places. The whole thing would take maybe 15 minutes and then we were off to the next ride. This time, though, Kanin could ride everything which meant that we did rider-switches at every ride. I would go ride a ride with Kanin and ask for a rider-switch pass and then Scott would go and ride it with him. The 2nd parent rider didn't have to wait in the huge lines but the first one did. Each ride ended up taking at least 45 minutes for both parents to get to ride the ride. Meanwhile, Gracie and Caleb were stuck hanging out in the stroller. Caleb didn't really mind or even realize what was going on but Gracie definitely knew that we were riding rides and that she wasn't. The parent staying with them tried to ride baby rides or find characters but it was still a lot of down time for the little ones.
Lesson 1: If you and the adults in your party really want to ride the rides, I would suggest to go to Disney World either when they are all too small to ride the big rides and just do the single rider lines like we did in 2008 or wait until they are all at least 40" so that there are only a couple of rides that can't be ridden. You could also split up for parts of the day but my thought on that is that it is a "family" vacation and I didn't want to spend half of a day off with Kanin while Scott was with Caleb and Gracie. You could also bring along a babysitter to watch the younger ones in the afternoon while you take the taller ones out to ride the big rides but, once again, I'm not big on this idea just because I wanted to spend as much time with all of my family as possible.
In 2008, we stayed at the Polynesian resort. The Polynesian is considered one of the Deluxe hotels in the Disney resort family. It is decorated with a Polynesian theme and you feel like you have walked straight on an island. There is a volcano slide into the pool that Kanin loved and it is right on the lake, as well. All of those things are great but what really made the Polynesian stand out is that the monorail stops there. The monorail will take you straight to Magic Kingdom and it will take you to the Change Station which will allow you to switch to another monorail and head to Epcot. From the Polynesian, as well as, the Contemporary and The Grand Floridian, you can be at either Magic Kingdom or Epcot within 10 minutes.
For this trip I wanted to try something different. I saw the animals at the Animal Kingdom Lodge and I thought it would be so neat to wake up and have animals right outside of our room. The Animal Kingdom Lodge is decorated in African decor completely with African drum music played throughout the day and night. Each room has a balcony that overlooks either the pool area or the savannah. We had a savannah view so everyday we had giraffes and zebras just a few short yards away from us. It was really exciting to get up early and see the animals all out.
The down side to the Animal Kingdom Lodge (AKL), though, is the fact that to get to anywhere you have to take a bus. In fairness, they do not share buses with any other resort, but I'd say that is about the only good thing about it. The bus stop is down the hill from the front entrance and buses run about every 20 minutes. Animal Kingdom is the closest park and once loaded on the bus it takes about 10 minutes to get there. The other parks, though, are at least a 15 minute ride. This doesn't sound too bad but when you take into account that when you arrive at the bus station that your park bus may have just left, you could wait up to 20 minutes for a bus. Then, a 15 minute bus ride to the park. Then, you have to go through security and get your bag checked and then get your card out and enter the park. It easily took an hour to an hour and 15 minutes to get from Animal Kingdom Lodge and get inside a theme park. That is a long time to wait and an especially long time to wait for small children.
Lesson 2: If it is possible and money allows, stay at the Polynesian, Contemporary or Grand Floridian--especially if you have stroller-aged children. The access to the monorail and being able to be hotel room to park within 15 minutes will make up for the extra expense of these hotels. This is especially true on those very, very hot days or when your little one is having a meltdown. Just hop on the monorail and head back to the room to relax a bit. By staying at these resorts, you only have to ride a bus to Animal Kingdom and Hollywood Studios and Downtown Disney (if you choose to visit this).
We bought a new double stroller for our trip. The new stroller allowed both Caleb and Gracie to lay down and take naps and each seat had ample overhead coverage. In 2008, we bought a sit-n-stand stroller to take with us. This stroller was great for allowing Kanin to jump on and off of the backseat and walk when he wanted to and ride when we wanted him to. The problem with the sit-n-stand, though, is that the back "stand" part had no umbrella to shade Kanin from the sun. The front umbrells barely covered Gracie so we were constantly lathering them up with sunscreen but they were so hot, even in September.
Disney does offer both single and double stroller rentals for anywhere between $15-45/day. I wanted to take our own stroller, though, for a couple of reasons. 1. The cost. I couldn't see adding an extra $45/day to our trip. 2. The bus stop at the AKL was quite a distance from our room. This would mean having to carry Caleb (27.9lbs) and hold him for 20 minutes while waiting on the bus, carry him up to the security gate, through the entrance and to the stroller entrance. This was just not feasible! LOL
If you have older kids, though, that could walk to the bus stations but may still want to ride around or they may get tired by the end of the day, you might think about renting a Disney stroller. The big benefit that I see to renting is that you don't have a stroller on the buses. All strollers have to be broken down when you get on the bus which, as you can imagine, creates little room on the buses and extra stress for parents trying to keep track of kids, bag and a stroller.
The stroller is another reason that I recommend staying at a monorail hotel. You do not have to break the stroller down when you are on the monorail. Kids can ride in the stroller and you just roll the stroller onto the monorail.
Lesson 3: Once again, if possible, stay at a monorail hotel if only for the convenience of not having to break down a stroller each and every time you travel to/from your hotel. Make sure that you have a stroller that will provide ample overhead coverage. If you have older kids, think about renting a stroller from Disney and save yourself the hassle of dealing with a stroller while in transit to the parks.
One of the best things about Disney is the variety of cuisines and restaurants offered. At Epcot alone there are 11 countries that each have at least one Table Service restaurant that you can choose to eat. I always check out the menus at home to make sure that everyone will like at least one thing on the menu and then I make my reservation. Then, I try to plan it so that wherever our Table Service meal is for that day, we go visit the park closest to it. Planning meals and the whole reservation thing is kind of a headache. You really need to start making dining reservations about 3 months out. Also, when planning your vacation, keep in mind that Free Dining is usually offered September-October. This offer usually comes out in April or May so I always wait to plan the trip once I find out when the Free Dining is going to be offered.
Just a personal note--I think EVERYONE should try to eat at Germany Biergartent at Epcot. The food is fantastic and there is a polka band that gets all kids involved in dancing and singing. We love it!
Lesson 4: To save money, wait until the Free Dining is announced and then plan your meal. Once you have chosen your restaurants, then plan what parks are closest to those restaurants so that you aren't wasting extra time in transit and you are already right at that park.
If you have a little girl who wants to be a princess, check out the Bippity Boppity Boutique at Downtown Disney. There is also one at the Magic Kingdom in Cinderella's Castle but it is really, really hard to get into. My friend, Julie, actually helped me with getting Gracie's makeover this last trip. There are several packages that you can buy. We chose the one that was $54+tax. We bought our own Cinderella costume and took it down with us. We went through the whole makeover and then went over to Epcot and had lunch with the princesses at Norway's Arrakesh. It was truly magical! Belle, Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, Jasmine and Snow White were all there.
Lesson 5: Yes, it was a hassle. Yes, it was expensive. Yes, I would do it again just for the fact that Gracie truly believed that she became a princess. It made her trip and gave her memory that she is still talking about. I wouldn't trade it. If you have a little girl, visit the Bippity Boppity Boutique!
I know this has droned on for a while but here are just a few more little tips:
1. Bring ponchos for all adults and kids. If kids are in a stroller, make sure you have a poncho or rain shield to throw over the stroller. It will rain.
2. Take some small snacks packed in your bag.
3. Buy the resort refillable cup. It is $10 and you can fill it with soda, coffee or tea all week long for free. Plus, I use mine all of the time back here.
4. Ride Tower of Terror. It is fun.
5. Try to break up the big rides with some smaller family rides that you can all ride together.
6. Don't skip the shows. They are good. It's a Bug's Life at Animal Kingdom, The Muppets at Hollywood Studios and The Laugh Factory at Magic Kingdom are some of our favorites.
7. Go back to the hotel and take naps and swim in the hottest part of the day.
8. Check out http://www.wdwradio.com/ and look at the Forums. There is a lot of good info there.
Guess that is it for now. Hope this helps!!
April
It is definitely harder to take 3 kids to Disney than just 2. I know that sounds like common sense but we really thought that since our first trip was so easy-going and relaxing that this trip would be, too. Boy, were we wrong!
The last time we went Kanin was 4 and Gracie was 15 months. It was such a piece of cake. We took things slowly, went back to the hotel in the middle of the day for naps and swimming and then leisurely went out at night. We thought we had things down to a science so there was no reason for this trip to be any harder than the last time.
What we didn't take into account this time is that Kanin is 6 and he is over 48" which means that he is able to ride every ride in every park. The last time he wasn't tall enough for the big rides so we would get to a big ride, Rock-N-Roller Coaster, for instance, and Scott and I would each do a single rider. I would go straight to the front and ride it while Scott stayed with the kids and then we would switch places. The whole thing would take maybe 15 minutes and then we were off to the next ride. This time, though, Kanin could ride everything which meant that we did rider-switches at every ride. I would go ride a ride with Kanin and ask for a rider-switch pass and then Scott would go and ride it with him. The 2nd parent rider didn't have to wait in the huge lines but the first one did. Each ride ended up taking at least 45 minutes for both parents to get to ride the ride. Meanwhile, Gracie and Caleb were stuck hanging out in the stroller. Caleb didn't really mind or even realize what was going on but Gracie definitely knew that we were riding rides and that she wasn't. The parent staying with them tried to ride baby rides or find characters but it was still a lot of down time for the little ones.
Lesson 1: If you and the adults in your party really want to ride the rides, I would suggest to go to Disney World either when they are all too small to ride the big rides and just do the single rider lines like we did in 2008 or wait until they are all at least 40" so that there are only a couple of rides that can't be ridden. You could also split up for parts of the day but my thought on that is that it is a "family" vacation and I didn't want to spend half of a day off with Kanin while Scott was with Caleb and Gracie. You could also bring along a babysitter to watch the younger ones in the afternoon while you take the taller ones out to ride the big rides but, once again, I'm not big on this idea just because I wanted to spend as much time with all of my family as possible.
In 2008, we stayed at the Polynesian resort. The Polynesian is considered one of the Deluxe hotels in the Disney resort family. It is decorated with a Polynesian theme and you feel like you have walked straight on an island. There is a volcano slide into the pool that Kanin loved and it is right on the lake, as well. All of those things are great but what really made the Polynesian stand out is that the monorail stops there. The monorail will take you straight to Magic Kingdom and it will take you to the Change Station which will allow you to switch to another monorail and head to Epcot. From the Polynesian, as well as, the Contemporary and The Grand Floridian, you can be at either Magic Kingdom or Epcot within 10 minutes.
For this trip I wanted to try something different. I saw the animals at the Animal Kingdom Lodge and I thought it would be so neat to wake up and have animals right outside of our room. The Animal Kingdom Lodge is decorated in African decor completely with African drum music played throughout the day and night. Each room has a balcony that overlooks either the pool area or the savannah. We had a savannah view so everyday we had giraffes and zebras just a few short yards away from us. It was really exciting to get up early and see the animals all out.
The down side to the Animal Kingdom Lodge (AKL), though, is the fact that to get to anywhere you have to take a bus. In fairness, they do not share buses with any other resort, but I'd say that is about the only good thing about it. The bus stop is down the hill from the front entrance and buses run about every 20 minutes. Animal Kingdom is the closest park and once loaded on the bus it takes about 10 minutes to get there. The other parks, though, are at least a 15 minute ride. This doesn't sound too bad but when you take into account that when you arrive at the bus station that your park bus may have just left, you could wait up to 20 minutes for a bus. Then, a 15 minute bus ride to the park. Then, you have to go through security and get your bag checked and then get your card out and enter the park. It easily took an hour to an hour and 15 minutes to get from Animal Kingdom Lodge and get inside a theme park. That is a long time to wait and an especially long time to wait for small children.
Lesson 2: If it is possible and money allows, stay at the Polynesian, Contemporary or Grand Floridian--especially if you have stroller-aged children. The access to the monorail and being able to be hotel room to park within 15 minutes will make up for the extra expense of these hotels. This is especially true on those very, very hot days or when your little one is having a meltdown. Just hop on the monorail and head back to the room to relax a bit. By staying at these resorts, you only have to ride a bus to Animal Kingdom and Hollywood Studios and Downtown Disney (if you choose to visit this).
We bought a new double stroller for our trip. The new stroller allowed both Caleb and Gracie to lay down and take naps and each seat had ample overhead coverage. In 2008, we bought a sit-n-stand stroller to take with us. This stroller was great for allowing Kanin to jump on and off of the backseat and walk when he wanted to and ride when we wanted him to. The problem with the sit-n-stand, though, is that the back "stand" part had no umbrella to shade Kanin from the sun. The front umbrells barely covered Gracie so we were constantly lathering them up with sunscreen but they were so hot, even in September.
Disney does offer both single and double stroller rentals for anywhere between $15-45/day. I wanted to take our own stroller, though, for a couple of reasons. 1. The cost. I couldn't see adding an extra $45/day to our trip. 2. The bus stop at the AKL was quite a distance from our room. This would mean having to carry Caleb (27.9lbs) and hold him for 20 minutes while waiting on the bus, carry him up to the security gate, through the entrance and to the stroller entrance. This was just not feasible! LOL
If you have older kids, though, that could walk to the bus stations but may still want to ride around or they may get tired by the end of the day, you might think about renting a Disney stroller. The big benefit that I see to renting is that you don't have a stroller on the buses. All strollers have to be broken down when you get on the bus which, as you can imagine, creates little room on the buses and extra stress for parents trying to keep track of kids, bag and a stroller.
The stroller is another reason that I recommend staying at a monorail hotel. You do not have to break the stroller down when you are on the monorail. Kids can ride in the stroller and you just roll the stroller onto the monorail.
Lesson 3: Once again, if possible, stay at a monorail hotel if only for the convenience of not having to break down a stroller each and every time you travel to/from your hotel. Make sure that you have a stroller that will provide ample overhead coverage. If you have older kids, think about renting a stroller from Disney and save yourself the hassle of dealing with a stroller while in transit to the parks.
One of the best things about Disney is the variety of cuisines and restaurants offered. At Epcot alone there are 11 countries that each have at least one Table Service restaurant that you can choose to eat. I always check out the menus at home to make sure that everyone will like at least one thing on the menu and then I make my reservation. Then, I try to plan it so that wherever our Table Service meal is for that day, we go visit the park closest to it. Planning meals and the whole reservation thing is kind of a headache. You really need to start making dining reservations about 3 months out. Also, when planning your vacation, keep in mind that Free Dining is usually offered September-October. This offer usually comes out in April or May so I always wait to plan the trip once I find out when the Free Dining is going to be offered.
Just a personal note--I think EVERYONE should try to eat at Germany Biergartent at Epcot. The food is fantastic and there is a polka band that gets all kids involved in dancing and singing. We love it!
Lesson 4: To save money, wait until the Free Dining is announced and then plan your meal. Once you have chosen your restaurants, then plan what parks are closest to those restaurants so that you aren't wasting extra time in transit and you are already right at that park.
If you have a little girl who wants to be a princess, check out the Bippity Boppity Boutique at Downtown Disney. There is also one at the Magic Kingdom in Cinderella's Castle but it is really, really hard to get into. My friend, Julie, actually helped me with getting Gracie's makeover this last trip. There are several packages that you can buy. We chose the one that was $54+tax. We bought our own Cinderella costume and took it down with us. We went through the whole makeover and then went over to Epcot and had lunch with the princesses at Norway's Arrakesh. It was truly magical! Belle, Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, Jasmine and Snow White were all there.
Lesson 5: Yes, it was a hassle. Yes, it was expensive. Yes, I would do it again just for the fact that Gracie truly believed that she became a princess. It made her trip and gave her memory that she is still talking about. I wouldn't trade it. If you have a little girl, visit the Bippity Boppity Boutique!
I know this has droned on for a while but here are just a few more little tips:
1. Bring ponchos for all adults and kids. If kids are in a stroller, make sure you have a poncho or rain shield to throw over the stroller. It will rain.
2. Take some small snacks packed in your bag.
3. Buy the resort refillable cup. It is $10 and you can fill it with soda, coffee or tea all week long for free. Plus, I use mine all of the time back here.
4. Ride Tower of Terror. It is fun.
5. Try to break up the big rides with some smaller family rides that you can all ride together.
6. Don't skip the shows. They are good. It's a Bug's Life at Animal Kingdom, The Muppets at Hollywood Studios and The Laugh Factory at Magic Kingdom are some of our favorites.
7. Go back to the hotel and take naps and swim in the hottest part of the day.
8. Check out http://www.wdwradio.com/ and look at the Forums. There is a lot of good info there.
Guess that is it for now. Hope this helps!!
April
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