Enjoy planning your next Disney vacation!
The NUMBER ONE thing that I did this year to make our planning easier was contacted a travel agent who specializes in Disney vacations. I personally knew this person prior to this and she is a wonderful person so it was a no brainer to reach out to her when I found out that this is what she did for a living. Vacations by Krissy is the place to go if you want to work with someone who is very savvy about Disney. She takes many vacations there herself and has made Disney her specialty area because of her wealth of knowledge. It was so huge in making this vacation that is happening in a week happen while I sit here feeling so stress free. She helped us explore the options we had available for our current situation with our kids and what we felt our needs were to make the trip fun. She took care of all the details and was always a person to go to for help. She mailed us a folder of all of our info and details of info we need all ready to go so all I have to do is put it in my bag and go. I can say this would not have been the case for me right now being a busy mom with 3 kids, one of which is under a year old. Running a business and wanting to put my focus on my kids and other areas of my life. Time management is key for me right now. Because I only have so many hours a day but when you sit down and look at the key areas of life that need your time then you can see the areas that you can outsource to others. I used to try to do it all and after my 3rd baby I realized I cant. But have faith that the right people will come into your life to help and have the faith to reach out. Krissy was just this for me. Now if only she could come to my house and pack for me. 😁
The next thing is pack LESS! Less is more and makes traveling with kids much easier. Of course this is hard when you have kids. Especially when they are all still young. We decided to do away with taking a stroller and car seat. Two big items that I dreaded the thought of having to lug around a busy airport but that are very needed when you have kids. How do you do without these? Well one is renting a stroller from Orlando stroller rentals. It is fast and easy and affordable. When we arrived our stroller was ready to go for us at our hotel. For a small fee you can add theft protection and I would highly recommend. The cost is not enough to say no and the ease it gives you to leave your stroller in a crowded area with tons of other strollers hoping it is there when you get back is huge. Another reason why we rent. Not only having to lug it around the airport and it is just one more thing to worry about when you already have kids to count and luggage to keep track off. But the damage it could be subject to just getting to your Disney resort. I had a friend who said she was so sorry she took hers along and I am glad I listened. Also if someone takes off with your stroller and you never see it then it is not your expensive stroller that you now need to replace. You have to make a quick call and it is the stroller companies problem. So ditch the stroller you will thank me. Instead get yourself if you do not already have one a comfortable baby carrier. I love my Ergo. I strapped my son on my back and he was happy. I had one bag to check in and one back to carry on. I was happy, he was happy and I walked through the airport with ease. AHHHHH My husband had his one bag to check in and one bag to carry on and my daughter who was a little older at the time so she walked with him but she could have too been carried on his back. He just did not want to. This year we have another little one who will be in the ergo and the other kids will be walking each with a small luggage bag they can pull. We are checking them in and we do curb side check in at airport so those do not have to go with us through the airport. The kids will be left with one small backpack for a few things they chose to have on the airplane. Pack cloths light! This helps with amount of luggage but also cost for bags on plane. I know this is scary but you really do not need so many outfits. I packed the kids stuff in with mine before but this year they get a bag. This year we have a place with a washer and dryer which I am so excited about. That way I can do wash and not only go home with clean clothes but it allows me to pack less. Although I have in other years packed less and hand washed things in the bathroom if messes or accidents happen. It is better than lugging to much in my opinion.
The next thing is car seat. My son was not yet 2 so we did not have to get him a seat on the plane but we did so we did not have to have him on our lap being he is a big kid and he never sits still. But with this said he would only sit still if I had him strapped in like in a car seat. What I decided to do was buy Kids fly safe airplane seat harness. It was not a cheap purchase but what it did to change our experience on the plane was monumental! We saw first hand a couple behind us struggling and fighting with their HUGE car seat they brought for their son who was the same age as ours. As we entered the tight plane finding our seats while shoving our stuff through the isle we got situated in a matter of minutes with this harness that is super small and packs away in your carry on bag in a easy to access bag. You have it on the airplane seat in minutes with a happy child and happy parents. We sat and listened as this couple struggled and did kind of laugh as we felt sorry for them. The wife did make a comment about my harness to her husband and was giving me a not so nice glare as I was happy in my seat getting my belongings together, giving my kids the things to keep them happy and getting comfy with out breaking a sweat. I know without this my son would not have stayed in his seat but with this he was secure and we did not struggle to keep him in his seat. I was so happy that I found this option to avoid lugging our big car seat to and from the airport. I mean think about getting to the airport and you find your parking and now you have to get all that stuff to the airport. It is a defeating feeling when you have yourself, your spouse, your kids and the luggage you do need. Let alone a stroller and a car seat. Now I know some use this to carry their stuff but remember that getting in and out of a shuttle is how you get there from long term parking. You have to get on and off a bus with all this stuff on and off and then into a crowded airport. It can happen but not without making you crazy and slow. Think to yourself what if your in a hurry. In Spain we had this happen to us. We had to do the Home alone run to our plane or we would have missed it. We were lucky that we could dash with just our small luggage bag but friends of ours did not think about that. They had their luggage that was too much to handle on one of the airport carts and it fell off as they ran and they were trying to move fast but it was not happening. We were like love ya but we are out of here! ha! They learned the hard way to only pack light.
I suggest trying it out and putting bags on. Do a test run. If your bag is too heavy get rid of stuff. see how you can move. I have been in enough situations in traveling to know that this is important. I remember one time in Europe I had too much packed. I stuffed in all in and to come to find out that I had been selected to have my bag checked. They took all my stuff out and went through everything. it was the worst to not only have all that exposed but to know that they just messed it all up and that I would probably never get that back in and we were late and in an airport crowded with people with nowhere to go to put all of it back and in a panic to keep moving fast to our plane I ended up throwing stuff in a trash can! But as I sweat it out trying to in a panic get it all back in with no space and no time and a hubby yelling at me. I was just done. I also remember on another trip we packed huge suitcases. and getting on and off all the busses and trains and taxies with that we were going mad. We never did that again!
Ok I am done with my rant. I just have lived this the hard way so I can still feel the sting. To say one more thing... I also feel like as a mother I want my kids to see us happy and stress free as possible on trips. I remember vacations and all my parents did was fight and yell and were stressed. It is going to happen when you travel. So don't beat yourself up. But if you try to eliminate as much as possible it is helpful.
Ok on to food while there. We decided in past years just to figure it out but this year we took the advice of a friend with 4 kids to use Garden Grocer to order groceries to be delivered to the hotel. My travel agent also suggested them. It was easy to use on their app or on the computer. I ordered all the food that I think we need for the kids since we have a kitchen in our hotel this year. Even in previous years we had a fridge so this would have been helpful. Thia will save money because I can not tell you how much food was wasted from taking them to restaurants and they did not eat or they are too picky to eat the restaurant food. Now I have the food they like and will eat being delivered so I can feed them before we head out and order small meals or have them share with us when out. Prices are high and if you are not eating it that really gets to me leaving a restaurant and having food just left there but then who wants to lug that around in a To Go box? The thing that will be really helpful this year is diapers and wipes and things for the baby that take up room to pack . I am packing just enough for the way but once we get there I will have what we need. Snacks to pack for us to take with us to theme parks and bottle water to save money on getting it while there. Coffee of course so I do not have to go out to get my coffee in the morning. That is important! My travel agent has arrange to have the food taken to our room and put away for us so we do not even have to do that! Normally I think it would be put with bell services. I know our stroller was with bell services and they got it for us but this year my travel agent has requested that be delivered to our room as well. They really like to make your experience magical so just ask and they will help.
We are using the MY DISNEY EXPERIENCE APP. This helps us keep track of our events and info while on vacation and even before. Fast pass is the way to go if you have attractions you want to get on faster and easier. You can make dinning reservations ahead of time which I highly recommend since things book up!
We did not do the Disney photo pass last time but this year we are. They take such great photos of you and to me it is so worth the money to get them. It is like having a personal photographer following you around to capture those wonderful moments in time. I know I am always forgetting to take pictures because I am so in the moment with my kids so this was great and if you buy ahead you save money. That is the one thing I need to get to my travel agent to order!
So go on and plan that stroller free, car seat free, no hassle Disney trip with a travel agent today!
Find Balance and live L I S H ....
Anne
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