My two cents on: Epcot with Young Kiddos

I feel like Epcot gets a bad wrap. There's tons of blogs about drinking your way through Epcot, and I guess that's an option, but there's so much more to Epcot than alcohol. I see Epcot as great fun and learning opportunity for our girls; and they seem to agree. Here's a look at what our last visit to Epcot looked like for us...
First, we timed our arrival for about 20 minutes before the park opened. This is a great tip for visits when the crowd calendar is showing a slow/medium traffic day at the park, arrive earlier on heavy traffic days. While rides may not be up and running just yet, you can enter the park about 15 minutes early. This gives you time to casually walk in, look around, and meet a few characters before the park gets too crazy. We first made a quick stop at Guest Services to fix an issue with our annual pass (a cast member fixed it quickly, and then gave each member in our party a coupon for a free ice cream-- Disney has the best customer service), then used the Disney app to see what characters were around, we were able to meet Pluto, then walked straight in at the Character Spot and met the rest of the gang (Mickey, Minnie, Donald, & Goofy). Everyone wants to meet these characters while at Disney, I recommend meeting them anywhere but Magic Kingdom-- the lines are typically longer there. The park opened at 9AM, we did all of this by 10AM.
Epcot is split up into two sections. When you first walk in you are in Future World. Here is where the majority of the rides are housed at Epcot. We had Fast Passes for Test Track, Spaceship Earth, and Mission Space. Our four year old daughter has ridden Test Track a few times now and loves it, she's a bit of a thrill seeker though. We also rode Mission Space while Grandma hung out with the girls.. if you aren't lucky enough to be traveling with a Grandma, rider swap is an option on many rides. Rider swap means that you one adult can ride independently or with another member of your party, then switch with another adult and they can watch the kiddo and you can ride. If you are traveling with a younger child and an older child, this can actually work in your advantage because the older kid may get to ride twice. There are several other attractions in Future World, for those traveling with littles you may be interested in include:

• Finding Nemo- This is a cute little ride that takes you through scenes from the movie, the ride ends by dropping you into a huge room filled with aquariums- my girls can spend a huge chunk of time here!
• Turtle Talk with Crush- a cute interactive attraction! Children can ask their questions to Crush via a cast member, and Crush answers! My four year old thought this was funny, my one year old was too squirmy so I ended up taking her back to the aquarium.
• The Circle of Life- We've never done this one (this post is making me realize we need to spend a bit more time in Future World!).  This is a 20 minute film about conservation, narrated by some popular friends from The Lion King.
• Soarin'- We went back and rode this one in the evening with one of our refilled fastpasses, our four year old is tall enough to ride, Grandma took our youngest to ride Nemo again (which is generally a pretty short line). The basis of a ride is you are "soaring" through California; you visit all over the state. Note: this attraction is currently closed while they prepare for an updated version--  I'm curious to see how it turns out!
• Living with the Land- Personally, we enjoyed this ride. You get on a boat and get to ride through some different environments before going into a greenhouse and learning about food production. What I think is super cool about this attraction is that the food grown in the greenhouses is actually used at some of the restaurants at Epcot.
• Journey into Imagination- The queue for this line is pretty fun, and the ride is a faster pace (as far as kid friendly rides go) through imagination and can teach kids about their senses in a fun way.
• Ellen's Energy Adventure- It's a ride (they refer to it as a traveling theater system) that takes you through the history of energy production and the search for new energy resources. This is a longer attraction, 45 minutes, so if you are needing a break this may be for you, although reviews are lack-luster. We tried it out on our last visit and it came at a time our girls needed a break, so it worked out well for us. Be advised though that there's no way off so you are really stuck for 45 minutes-- we may or may not have had to put a diaper on our oldest when she decided she needed a potty break.   

Next is the World Showcase. Although it's lacking in attractions, its probably my favorite part of Epcot. The scenery and theming are just done so well, and the food isn't too bad either. If you are entering the Showcase with kiddos, I recommend looking into one of the two activities below. These activities will give your child something to work on while you are walking around the showcase.

Loving on her Duffy Bear.

• Agent P's World Showcase Adventure- This is based on the TV show Phineas and Ferb and is probably more appropriate for older kids. See a cast member and they will give you a device to complete your challenges. My understanding is there are puzzles and challenges in a variety of places in the Showcase. Some parents use this as a great activity to kill time during a shower, too. 
• KidCot Fun Spots- This one I'm more familiar with because my girls do it. You are given a Duffy Bear and in each country there's a station where you can work on coloring your bear and a cast member will give you a stamp for the country as well as some other fun facts. Often they will tell you "hello" in the appropriate language, draw the country's flag, write your child's name in their characters ( if applicable), do origami with you, all kinds of cool stuff! These spots can be a little tricky to find as they are often off the beaten path, but look for the signs or ask a cast member!

I enjoy the Showcase because there's always something to see. There are characters that have shorter lines than at the Magic Kingdom, there are performers everywhere, tasty food, quaint shops.. I feel like every time I go I could fall in love with a different country. On our last visit we had a quick service meal in Japan and sat for the longest time watching the drummers and enjoying the serenity of the water. The candy in Japan was also a hit with our kiddos. My eldest has a sensitivity to Red Dye 40 and was able to find lots of candies to snack on (and bring home) that were red dye free. 

Our last trip we also had a first, our first character meal! We were able to get a reservation for the princess dinner at Akershus. Character dining can be expensive, the food was pretty good, but the moments my daughters had with those princesses? Totally worth it! The princesses also take the little ones on a parade through the restaurant which is super cute!

Don't miss out on IllumiNations, the nightly show either. It combines some neat water effects with fireworks to tell an interesting story about our world. My favorite place to view them? From La Cantina de San Angel. After snacking all day, a late dinner is easy and you will have a spectacular view of the fireworks! They even pipe in the audio for the show so you don't miss a thing! Enjoying yummy Mexican food while sitting in an air conditioned room (not in the rain) watching fireworks? Yep, pretty awesome. 

Epcot is definitely one of my favorites. The scenery in the World Showcase is great (as is the food), and I feel like my little sponges get to take in so much knowledge in a new and exciting way. What do you like to do with your kiddos at Epcot? 

Holiday Tips

With the holidays now in full swing, I'm always looking for tips and tricks to make life a little bit easier. Here's three simple tips I'd like to share today...

Tip #1- Use up alll that leftover turkey- all of it.
While I sadly didn't end up with too much leftover turkey, I did make full use of what I had, including the carcass. A few years ago I made homemade turkey stock and was amazed at how much better it was than the canned/boxed stuff. Simply place the carcass in a pot and cover with water, simmer on low/medium until a rich, dark colored broth is visible; this can take between one and two hours depending on the size of the carcass. Make it even easier by putting it in the crockpot! Same concept, just cook on low for 6-8 hours. I store mine in old takeout containers (think egg drop soup) in my deep freezer and thaw it when I need it. I also do this with rotisserie chickens and am equally happy with the results. Saves money, tastes better, fewer preservatives, adds flavor to those holiday recipes... sounds good to me! 

Tip #2- Gift Wrapping
I'm not a bag girl, nothing against it, but it's just not me. I have two very excited littles, one of which is a pre-reader, so I curb the chaos by giving each family member their own wrapping paper. Here's the rundown this year:
Hubby- Star Wars
Big Girl- Pink, girly designs with Santa 
Little Girl- Puppies with presents
I find that this makes Christmas morning much easier, I don't have to be so worried about them opening gifts that don't belong to them, and no worries when a tag inevitably falls off. I also have two coordinating papers that I use to wrap anything else. Hubby is a bag guy, so my stuff will be easy to spot, too. 

Tip #3- Gift Wrapping as Decorations
If there's a spot in your home you'd like to add some Christmas flair to for cheap, consider going back to your wrapping paper stash! I have three panels above my fireplace that I decided to redecorate for the season. I covered two in wrapping paper, left the center panel as is, and added a wreath and ribbon I found at the Dollar Tree. Consider trying it in your home with a framed picture or canvas.     

           

Before

After

Not a long post, but hopefully a few tips that can save you some sanity this season. Merry Christmas!

Disney DIY-ing & The Dollar Store

In case you haven't figured it out, I have Disney on the brain these days as our trip quickly approaches. I'm super excited to come see the holiday decorations; Halloween blew me away so I can't wait for Christmas! I'd like to add some seasonal touches to this trip, but I'd like to have some money left in my bank account, too, you know? 

Enter the local Dollar Store. While I was there picking up my wrapping paper I decided to see what else I could find. I was super excited to find several Disney items! In addition to some cool Star Wars wrapping paper, I picked up some door decorations, Santa hats, and found these candy cane headbands. 

For some reason, my first thought was, "These could make awesome Mickey ears!" I really wanted some Christmas-y Mickey ears, but I couldn't fathom paying $15-20 for a seasonal pair. Below you will find the instructions to make ears like the ones I made. I ended up making two pairs and was pleased with the results-- I think my girls will like them and I'm excited to see them in pictures. 

Step One- Get Your Supplies
I used two pairs of these candy cane headbands to make one pair of ears. One pair is the "base" so to speak, the other pair is for parts. You are left with an extra headband you can use for another project, too. I also raided my craft stash and used my hot glue gun, a needle/thread, some green sequins trim (optional, left from a Halloween costume), and made the bowtie-style bow with some scrap fabric and my sewing machine. 

Step Two- Disassemble, Prep Pieces
I found these to be very easy to take a part because they were held together with a lot of hot glue and a few stitches. Removal was done by carefully pulling and using small scissors when necessary. I went ahead and removed the white ribbon (carefully), and the green bows. I also unstitched the top end of the candy cane. Next I went to my spare parts piece and removed the candy canes from the headband, these will become the other half of the Mickey ears. There is a small wire that runs across the headband and into the candy canes to help them hold their shape, I cut the wire about an inch longer than I needed.

Step Three- Sew it Up
Next I took the candy cane from the spare parts piece and ran the end with the extra wire into the opened seam on the other candy cane and sewed them together all the way around. I tried to make sure no raw edges were exposed, and hand-stiched it up. Mine didn't need to be perfect because that seam will be covered by the white ribbon. 

Yes, I ignored my own directions above and didn't remove the white ribbon until later... 

Step Four- Make the Ears
Now curve the ears into the shape you'd like and fasten the other end to the headband using hot glue, you could probably sew them in place as well, but I feel like to glue gave it a bit more stability. 

Here's an "in the middle" picture...

Step Five- Decorate Away
Because I was going with the Christmas theme, I wound the white ribbon around to mimic a candy cane, I secured it periodically with hot glue. I did the same with some green sequins trim as well. After some debate I decided to use some leftover tulle to make a nice, big, floppy, Minnie-style bow for the middle. I also debated finding some battery powered lights... but then this venture would no longer be cost effective (sigh.). Here's my final product:

Remember that this is just a basic overview, go crazy and customize any way you'd like! I'd love to see what you come up with! I'll post a picture of my girls wearing them, but since it's a surprise trip I don't have any pictures yet!

The Disney Itch- Top 5 Reasons I LOVE Disney World

I remember looking at people's pictures on Facebook and thinking.. 
Are they at Disney AGAIN?!? They must be rich! They must have easy jobs with lots of vacation time!
I was wrong (kind of) on both accounts. Disney can be expensive, but if you plan ahead and use some savings tips, it's not impossible. And as for the vacation part? My husband works his tail off as a family practice doctor, working close to 60 hours a week if you factor in all the time he spends documenting, responding to emails, etc. He doesn't get much uninterrupted vacation time, we choose to take vacations like this to make sure we prioritize reconnecting as a family. Tonight I was taking advantage of a Shutterfly promo and was flipping through pictures from our last Disney trip, now I have Disney on the brain and one month + three days until our SURPRISE trip. I've heard a lot of people make excuses about why they won't go, it's expensive (not going to argue that one, but saving helps), my kids aren't old enough, I don't like rides, etc. so I thought I'd share the top five reasons I LOVE Disney World. 

5. The Food

Y'all, I like love food, a lot. The best meal I have ever had in my entire life was at the California Grill, which is located at the top of the Contemporary Hotel. In addition to the great food, you can also view the fireworks at the Magic Kingdom from the outside viewing area or from some tables! I recommend timing your reservation around the fireworks, we had a late dinner (Date night! Thanks, Grandma!) so we had our starters, went outside to enjoy the fireworks, and they brought us our dinner as soon as we came back inside-- it was so heavenly! The only bad part was we were so stuffed we couldn't manage to order dessert! It's a little pricey, but a steal if you are on the Disney Dining Plan! While this is by far my favorite, I also love lots of things I've tried in the parks, my favorite being the Dole Whip Float, refreshing on a hot day! I also love that in Epcot, there are packaged snacks native to each country, this is awesome for my four year-old who cannot have Red Dye, because it's been banned in most of those countries, so she can snack to her hearts content! Her favorite is the Hi-Chew, a taffy-like candy.

4. The Time

Even if you are someone who has a demanding job, I think it's easier to put away your phone and be really present when you are at a place like Disney. Yes, they have Wi-Fi in the parks (although spotty in Animal Kingdom), but for some reason there's just something about the place that makes me far less anxious about all those annoying red bubbles on my iPhone. I feel like I do a better job being really present there, something I struggle with daily at home. And I am not sure why people say kids don't remember Disney if you take them when they are small, because my oldest daughter went for the first time right after she turned 3, she is almost 5 now, and we still hear her talk about the first trip we made. Our youngest daughter just turned two and talks about it as well. They've had a ball and may not remember every detail when they are adults, but if all they remember is that we took the time to take them, I'm good with that. 

3. The Learning Opportunities 
Yes, I take my kids out of (pre)school for vacations. While I love the program they are in and know that they are learning tons there, I'm also a big believer in experiential education. Disney has loads of opportunities for this, especially at Epcot. While Soarin' across California is fun, it also shows the expansive and varying landscape. See? On our last trip my girls learned about papyrus, gardening, the history of technology, a slew of animals, different cultures, to name a few! In this picture, my oldest conquered her fear (that she gets honestly from her parents) and pet a snake. She still tells everyone about it and was so proud of herself. While many think of Disney sheerly as entertainment, there is so much to learn and explore on your vacation as well, don't miss out on that side of Disney! 

2. Saying "yes." 

On vacation, it's also easier for me to say "yes." I'm not saying my kids run wild at Disney, but I do let them make choices more freely than I do at home. 
You want to ride the carousel again? Okay. 
A cupcake for breakfast? Sure. 
Staying up a bit later? Alright. 
While planning is required to maximize your time at Disney, there are also plenty of times to go with the flow. Stop and watch that street performance, jump in line to meet that character you stumble upon, join in on a dance party in the rain, Why not? You are on vacation. I think these are some of the best memories we've had on vacation- the times we've said yes. Do they make mommy a bit uneasy because she's a control freak, sometimes.. but they are totally worth it. 

1. It's Just Plain Magical
You can't find it anywhere else. You can't duplicate it, no matter how hard you try. From the way every cast member appears genuinely happy, to the characters interactions, to wonder on every corner... it's just plain magic. The feeling I get when I enter the resort, it's that same warm fuzzy feeling I get when I'm snuggled up under a warm blanket, drinking hot chocolate, watching my girls play on Christmas Day. Sigh...

Call me crazy, that's okay, but there's nothing like a Disney trip and I can't wait to go back! I also can't wait for you to go, so you can be hooked, too!

Side note: Our kids have had meltdowns, we had one bad dining experience (which Disney quickly stepped up and fixed), we've been there in rain, we've been there in the heat (which is pretty much always), we've been there in crowds. Were those things fun? Nope. I kind of equate it to giving birth, the trauma/drama tends to melt away as time goes on. See you soon, Disney.

A Red Dye 40 Free Halloween

A little over a year ago, our oldest daughter, who was then three, was exhibiting some behavior that was very atypical for her, she was angry and downright aggressive. I'm not talking about typical toddler meltdowns, it went beyond that and was shocking to us. My husband and I spent hours talking about behavioral strategies and tried several without much success. One night he told me about an article he read about children exhibiting these behaviors when they have eaten foods with Red Dye #40. After doing my own research I learned that Red Dye #40 is derived from petroleum or coal tar and research shows it can cause hyperactivity in children. We decided then to give it a try and cut it out of her diet for two weeks and see if there was any difference. After about three weeks (the first week or so we accidentally fed her lots of things with red dye) we noticed a huge difference in her behavior. She was still a three year old, she'd still throw fits from time to time and had tons of energy, but nothing like her behavior before. We decided it was worth it to cut Red Dye #40 out of her diet and out of our house. I'm not saying your family needs to raid the pantry tonight and purge all your "toxic" food, but it's the decision that was best for our family and I share our story in hopes that someone else may find it helpful.

It isn't easy. A common misconception is that if a food isn't red, it must not contain red dye. There are lots of foods that contain the dye that one wouldn't expect, that is problematic, we have to become vigilant label readers. The hardest part of this transition is carrying on with this diet when we are not at home. Parties and events are especially challenging because our daughter is often surrounded by peers eating things she cannot (and we aren't always there to police it, which also makes it tricky). Because she has an intolerance to Red #40 (it is not a true "allergy" by definition), it is also often not understood by others. We are navigating our way through it, most days we manage to steer clear of Red 40, but it does take some vigilance and planning.  
On Halloween Eve, Trick or Treating is the latest challenge I am prepping for.  Tomorrow we will accompany her, and her friends, around the neighborhood where she will continually be given the sweets she loves, at least half of which she will not be able to eat. We have done as much eduction as you can with a (now) four year old, she knows a few main candies to steer clear of when given the option, but I won't have the rude kid Trick-or-Treating so she will smile and politely say, "Thank you," and I will sort through it all when we get home. As soon as we walk in the door she will ask that I check her candy while she stands there in anticipation. "Can I eat this? How about this? Does this have red dye?" 
I started going through her loot from school today and there was only one thing she could eat in the very large treat bag. Going through the bag I realized I needed to streamline the process, I also realized that I am not the only parent with a child intolerant to Red 40, so below you will find a list of popular Halloween candies, those listed in red contain Red #40. Feel free to use this to choose what candies you will purchase for your trick or treaters, or use it to give your kid's candy a quick sort. 

Halloween 2015 Treats Red Dye Round-Up

1. 5th Avenue
2. 100 Grand
3. Air Heads (Xtremes and Regular)
4. Almond Joy (and Mounds)
5. Altoids
6. Andes Mints
7. Angry Birds Gummies
8. Atomic Fireballs
9. Baby Ruth
10. Betty Crocker Fruit Snacks/Fruit Roll-ups*
11. Bit-O-Honeys
12. Blow Pops
13. Boston Baked Beans Candy
14. Bottlecaps
15. Brach's Classic Candy Corn
16. Bubble Yum Gum
17. Butterfinger
18. Butterfinger PB Cups
19. Butterscoth Candies
20. Caramel Apple Pops
21. Charleston Chews
22. Cheetos
23. Chupa Chup Lollipops
24. Chick-O-Sticks
25. Cinnamon Candies
26. Clark Bar
27. Cookies & Creme (Hershey's)
28. Cow Tales
29. Cracker Jacks
30. Crunch Bar
31. Disney Star Wars Galactic Candy Mix
32. DOTS Gumdrops
33. Dove Milk Chocolate
34. Dubble Bubble Gum
35. Dum Dums*
36. Fun Dip*
37. Gobstoppers
38. Goldfish (Cheddar, Pretzel, S'More, or Rainbow Varieties)
39. Goobers
40. Good & Plenty
41. Haribo Gold Gummy Bears
42. Heath
43. Hershey’s Chocolate Bar
44. Hot Tamales
45. Jawbreakers
46. Jelly Belly Jelly Beans
47. Jolly Rancher (Original, Crunch ’n’ Chew, & Lollipops)
48. Junior Mints
49. Krackel
50. Kraft Caramels
51. Kit Kat
52. Laffy Taffy*
53. Lemonheads
54. Lemonheads (Chewy, Fruit, & Tropical Varieties)
55. Life Savers
56. Life Savers Gummies (Sour & Regular Varieties)
57. M&Ms (any variety) Note: this one is interesting to me, apparently the red dye is in the actual chocolate of the candy according to an associate at M&M World, so even a white M&M contains red dye- Bummer.
58. Mallo Cups
59. Mary Janes
60. Mike & Ikes
61. Milk Duds
62. Milky Way
63. Mr. Goodbar
64. Necco Wafers
65. Nik L Nips
66. Now & Laters
67. Oreos
68. Pay Day 
69. Peanut Butter Bars
70. Peanut Butter Kisses
71. Peeps*
72. Pez
73. Pixy Sticks
74. Pop Rocks*
75. Pretzels (Snyder's & Utz)
76. Raisinets
77. Razzles
78. Red Hots
79. Red Vines
80. Reese's
81. Reese’s Pieces
82. Rice Krispie Treats
83. Ring Pops*
84. Rolos
85. Rootbeer Barrels
86. Runts
87. Saf-t-pops*
88. Sixlets
89. Skittles
90. Smarties
91. Snickers (& PB Squared Variety)
92. Sour Patch Kids
93. Sour Punch Straws/Twists
94. Sprees
95. Starbursts
96. Starlight Mints
97. Swedish Fish
98. Sweetarts
99. Sugar Babies
100. Sugar Daddy
101. Tootsie Pops
102. Tootsie Rolls
103. Tootsie Roll Fruit Flavors
104. Trolli Gummies
105. Twix
106. Vanilla Cupcake Goldfish
107. Warheads Sour Candy
108. Wax Fangs/Lips/Mustaches
109. Werther's Originals
110. Whatchamacallit
111. Whoppers
112. Wonka Nerds
113. York Peppermint Patty
114. Zero bar

*= There are numerous varieties, some have Red #40, some do not. It is in your best interest to look up particular varieties of interest. 

This list is accurate to the best of my knowledge and was compiled with the help of Amazon, my husband, and several bulk candy websites. Feel free to comment below with any changes or candies you'd like to see added to the list. It's also worth noting that several major companies in the U.S. are working on removing red dye from their products, so I have high hopes that the "red #40" list will be much shorter in 2016! 

I hope this list is helpful!

Tips from a Disney novice

A year and a half ago, my husband and I took our girls (then 3 years old and 6 months old) to Disney World for the first time. We scheduled the trip a few months in advance, stayed off property and had a pretty good time. Although we had a nice time, I don't think we even tapped in to 10% of what Disney has to offer. Since then we've gone two more times and are planning for our fourth trip- yep, we are those crazy people addicted to Disney. Sometimes we stay on property, sometimes we don't. Sometimes we fly, sometimes we drive. There's no wrong way to do Disney, but I just thought I'd share my thoughts on what we've done, how we saved, and what works best for us.

The most important tip I have is to plan for the most successful trip. Think about what interests your family, what priorities you will set for your trip. Having two small girls means we are looking for family-friendly thrills and anything Princess. That may be different for you, but the process is still the same. Disney is a busy place with lots to offer, there's no way to do it all in one trip, but planning can make sure you hit the highlights for your family.  

When to go?
The first thing we do is look at the crowd calendars and try and decide when we will go. Sometimes that is dictated by my hubby's work schedule, sometimes we have some wiggle room. Either way we check out the crowd calendars (our favorite site), even if it is just to determine what day we will go to which park. For example, unless its a holiday or special event, the Magic Kingdom is almost always more crowded on a Monday. 

Where to stay?
Now we decide where we will stay. We've stayed on and off property in the past, and I see benefits to both, so for us it really comes down to what's the cheapest option at the time. If we can get a condo at a resort off property for super cheap, it's often our best bet to stay there. We have found this useful because it gives us some room to spread out and cook our own breakfast before heading to the park, cons being driving and paying for parking ($17 a day). On the other hand, we've stayed on property before and it has been very convenient to hop on the monorail or a bus and not stress about driving. During select (non-peak) times Disney has also been known to offer incentives like a free Disney Dining plan (I'll review that after we use it on our next trip!) which when you do some math makes it more economical to stay on property. 

What to eat? 
From there we go ahead and book our dining reservations. Dining reservations and appointments (Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique) can be made as much as 180 days in advance, and popular restaurants, like Be Our Guest, can fill up very quickly. With that said if you are planning a last minute trip, it doesn't hurt to look often to see if reservations become available, sometimes you can get lucky! The majority of the time we do breakfast on our own before entering the park, pack snacks and drinks, then just worry about lunch and dinner. We don't eat table service every meal, but most days we book one. The day we visit the Magic Kingdom, however, we don't typically do a table service because not having a reservation gives you more wiggle room when there are a lot of attractions you want to visit. 

FastPasses 
FastPasses are the next thing we plan. If you are staying on property you can get your FastPasses 60 days before the first day of your trip, 30 days prior if you aren't staying on property. Selections become available at midnight, so we usually stay up late to try and maximize our options. We also try and get our FastPasses as early in the day as we can because once you use your three, you can refill them with whatever FastPasses haven't already been used up for the day (no, it isn't likely you'll get popular attractions like Anna & Elsa or the Mine Train, but it's a nice way to get on some other rides you may want to try but don't want to wait in line for... think Jungle Cruise).When choosing your FastPasses, its also a good idea to get them when possible for more popular attractions that usually have longer waits... no one wants to wait 90+ minutes in a line if they don't have to.  

The Other Nitty Gritty Details of Planning
I could write pages and pages of tips and tricks I've learned from fellow Disney fanatics and blogs, but I'll keep this list fairly short and add more posts about Disney soon. If I could go back to the planning stages of our first Disney trip, here's what I'd want to know:
1.) If you have a Target Red Card, you can purchase Disney Gift Cards for 5% off. While this might not seem like much, Disney is expensive, and any savings can be helpful. We've gotten in the habit of buying diapers and other necessities when there is a gift card deal going on, then after collecting a bunch, using them to buy Disney Gift Cards. This has allowed us to essentially prepay for large portions of our trip.
2.) Souveniers are expensive. "Tinkerbell" sometimes leaves small treats and souvenirs for our girls while on vacation for them to wake up to... This gives them something new to be excited about as they head into the park for the day and seems to curb the "I want thats." For example, prior to visiting Animal Kingdom, Tinkerbell brought our girls binoculars to use to find the animals on the Safari. They still play with them and they cost us $2 a piece instead of the $14.99 toy binoculars in the park. We do splurge on some souvenirs, but this definitely saves us some money. Tinkerbell seams to pick up a lot of her treasures from Wal-Mart, Target, the Dollar Tree, Toys R Us, and Amazon. Also check out the clearance and sales at the Disney Store!
3.) Bring in snacks and drinks. Even if you are on the Disney Dining Plan, you don't want to lose a snack credit on a bottle of water. We put a cooler bag in the bottom of our stroller filled with water and some snacks for our girls (Applesauce pouches, fruit snacks, granola bars, etc.). A small snack can also make the wait in line more tolerable for little ones.
4.) Disney is an awesome place that is incredibly well thought out, but one thing I don't recommend to folks who are traveling with littles is renting a Disney stroller. They are hard plastic and you have to turn them in as you leave the park, that means you'll be carrying all your loot and likely a sleeping child alllll the way back to the car. Nope, not my idea of fun! We sometimes bring our stroller from home, but when we don't, we like renting from Kingdom Strollers. They deliver the stroller to wherever we are staying, we leave it with the concierge when we are done, and they pick it back up- easy! 
5.) Ask questions! If you have questions while planning you are welcome to post them here, I"ll do my best to answer them, but also consider your social circle, chances are you know someone who is a Disney addict who'd love to tell you about their favorite place! Once on property, any cast member can answer your questions as well. Cast members aren't allowed to say "I don't know," so at minimum they can point you in the direction of someone who can help you. 
6.) Download the My Disney Experience app if you haven't already. It'll make it easier to keep up with your itinerary, add dining reservations if you need to, see pictures taken by Disney photographers, get up to the minute wait times, and the best part is there's free wifi at all the parks (although it can be spotty at Animal Kingdom). 
7.) Plan, but relax. This one sounds confusing, I know. You have to plan your trip to maximize your time, but don't get so caught up in planning that you miss out on the fun and Disney magic! So you don't get the perfect spot for the parade, or maybe you miss your fastpass window... That's ok, go with the flow and be in the moment with your family-- make those memories!

One of the moments from our first trip I'll never forget!

Cruising Successfully

 

For my first real post, I thought I'd write about a cruise we were able to go on this past fall. When my husband was in residency and I was working full-time, it was difficult for us to take vacations. His schedule was insane and I had to save my vacation time for our perpetually sick daughter (Daycare=BIG PETRI DISH). Sure, we snuck away for a few days here and there, but we didn't really have the freedom to take a nice vacation. When he started his new job, he was able to schedule several weeks of vacation over the course of his first year with the company, which we were super excited about. We had cruised for our honeymoon and had always wanted to cruise again, so we decided to escape to warmer weather and give cruising another go. With peak cruising season just a few months away, I thought I'd share some things I wish I would have known before we went cruising with our toddlers. The information below was originally written for a friend of mine who will be cruising later this year with her three kids, maybe it will be helpful to you, too. 

Timing:
Because our girls are still young (13 months & 3 years old at the time), it was easy for us to travel any time of year. We decided on a cruise to the Bahamas; that included two days at sea, a day in Nassau, and a day in Freeport. Cruising in the off-season gave us a great rate, paired with a special Carnival was running at the time. We were really excited since our first cruising experience had gone so well, but when we started telling friends and family, we got a big reality check. The first question/statement every time we told someone was, "You aren't taking the girls, are you?" We take our girls pretty much everywhere with the exception of the occasional date night, we couldn't imagine vacationing without them. So that's where the planning began. What's different about cruising with kids?   

Family picture!

Packing:
Packing is always a scary daunting task for me, but packing for this cruise took it to a whole new level. While you can find most toiletries on board that an adult may require, the prices are seriously jacked up because you are a captive audience. We paid about $10 for a bottle of ibuprofen on our honeymoon cruise and I swore that wouldn't happen again. When it comes to baby items, all I saw for sale on our ship were individual packs of wipes, and didn't see any diapers. I tried to pack everything I could think of that my girls could possibly need. We also chose to get a complimentary crib from Carnival, one less thing to pack! You can find my packing list here (soon), I chose to laminate it and cross things off as I went. I have used it as my basic packing list for other trips, too. I start packing a few weeks before and put outfits for my girls in ziploc baggies. It keeps the suitcase less cluttered and gives my three year old daughter the autonomy to dress herself. (Side note: I did find self-service laundry available on board, but it would have cost close to $10 per load and I don't think I could have more than a pair of jeans in there at a time.)    

Getting There & On Board:
We drove from our home in NC to the port in Florida. We chose to leave the day prior to embarkation day, and stayed the night in a hotel. This allowed us to not worry about missing the boat, or having to drive all night. My dear husband booked us at a Microtel. It was fine for the night, but was literally smaller than our cabin on the cruise ship!! We joked that it may be a good test before cruising with your family. In the morning we enjoyed their continental breakfast before driving a few more miles to the dock. We parked and some attendants took our pre-tagged luggage to the ship for us. Make sure you have all of your important documents and carry-ons close by, you'll want them to stay with you as it will likely be several hours before you see your luggage again. We had all our documents ready in a folder and proceeded to security ready to show all our information while many parties were pulled to the side to find their documents. Security was a bit more frazzling than I had anticipated because I was wearing our youngest in a baby carrier. Unlike going through airport security, I had to take her out of the carrier, put the carrier through the X-ray machine with all our other carry-ons and the stroller (which was filled with our carry-ons at the time) had to be broken down to go through as well. Then once through security we had to readjust everything again. This was the same when we went through security in each port so just be prepared- we had it down to a science by the end.
We had purchased "Faster to the Fun" when we bought our tickets and I'm so glad we did! It's like $40 and you only have to pay for one person per room to have it to get the perks! You can board the ship faster, and instead of walking around with your carry-ons for 2+ hours while the crew prepares your room, we walked right in, put down our belongings, and were able to enjoy the ship. With this you can also leave the boat before the crowds on debarkation day. I consider myself to be pretty cheap, but it was worth it to not have to juggle two kids +carry-on bags around the ship. Our luggage was delivered before other guests, too.

Our Room:
We got a basic Ocean View room. It's the second smallest room you can get (with interior being the smallest). As for sleeping accommodations in our room, we had a king bed, a pull down bed (twin sized), and I called about a week before we set sail to get a crib delivered. My only "complaint" was that it looks like they just put a standard sized fitted sheet on there and tucked it under the best they could. If my little one was smaller, I may have been worried about it being that loose. It looks like you could pack a crib sheet from home and it'd work just fine. My oldest was three at the time of our cruise and is fairly tall, so the pull down bed worked great for her. She loved it and it has a pretty substantial rail, so I wasn't worried about her falling. The bathroom was super small, and unless you are cruising Disney, you can pretty much guarantee you won't have a tub. I just held my little one in the shower and that worked okay, for smaller babies I've seen people recommend getting an inflatable tub to bring along. Our room did not have a refrigerator, I believe some of the bigger rooms do, so keep your little one's needs in mind.

The girls' corner. The crib and bunk (the rail is down in the picture)

With such close quarters, our girls loved playing in the closet.

Food:
I did choose to bring some easy snacks (fruit pouches, granola bars, etc.) which we used while in port some, but otherwise found plenty to eat on board! (Tip: boxes of cereal & fresh fruit from the Lido deck are nice to take for snacks later). We did choose to eat in the "formal" dining room most nights, the food is really good and they have a children's menu available. We also did a brunch in the dining room on one of our days at sea, and it didn't disappoint either. Many people are scared off because they think you need a tux to go to the formal dining room, but that wasn't our experience. Dark jeans/khakis and a polo or a sundress was usually my attire and I fit right in. In the formal dining rooms and on the Lido deck (the 24 hour cafeteria-style dining option) they have highchairs, often with the trays available too, just ask. The tray was a lifesaver for us, and I brought disposable bibs which curbed the laundry some, too. The wait staff is super accommodating if you have kids. A friend of mine who cruises often reminded me that often times they have kids at home and miss them while they are working. When I thought about it that way, I tried to encourage the girls to wave and play back, hopefully it made their day. Don't forget about room service, too! It's included, just tip. On the mornings we got into port early and had to be ready for our excursion at 8, it was nice to have breakfast while we got ready.

My girl is NOT a morning person. She enjoyed breakfast in bed!

Childcare Options Onboard:
Use Camp Carnival. They have programs for kids 2+ and they are broken down by ages (2-5, etc). I felt like I was dumping my kid while I was on vacation at first, but they have specially designed programs to keep them entertained. We typically took my oldest for an hour or two after dinner to burn off some energy in a safe place (there's only so much running they can safely do on the decks). She was actually mad when we picked her up. They often played games, read stories, and her face was painted like a different animal every night. The last night they had a little party and every kid got to decorate a t-shirt- she still wears hers to bed regularly and talks about how much fun she had. As a helicopter parent, I also liked that they give you a cell phone to use on the ship, so if an emergency were to arise, they could easily get in touch with us. For kids under the age of 2, there are open play hours when the rooms aren't being used for camp (under your supervision). They also have a night owl program where for about $6/hour per kid they will watch any age for you.. It's only after 10pm though, so we didn't use it.

Other Kid-Related Information:
Our girls' schedules were out of whack. That can happen on vacation and we just worked around it the best that we could. 
As for navigating the ship with a new walker, I found the baby carrier to be the best option. Most reviews say umbrella strollers, but we hardly used ours. You will spend most of your trip waiting on an elevator and there will be some places you just won't be able to go (not to mention that some halls are very crowded at times). I prefer a soft structured carrier, like this one from Ergo. 

Excursions: 
As for the excursions, we had flexibility because it was just the four of us. It would probably be harder with a big group, but we just waited and booked our excursions once we were on board. We did this because if the weather was bad, I didn't want to be out a bunch of money. If we were cruising during peak season, I don't know that I'd recommend this, but it worked out for us. There are excursions offered by private companies you can find online, and ones you can book through your cruise line. The ones you book through your cruise line often cost more, but they usually come with a guarantee and if the excursion runs over or something happens, the boat won't leave without you. It's important to note that most excursion consider "infants" kids under 4 years old, this saved us some money for sure! 

Days at Sea:
Our days at sea we browsed the ship, caught a few shows, and enjoyed as many naps as our girls wanted to take! We would watch newer release movies on our cabin TV, or nap ourselves! We also visited the water park on the ship, but the water is pumped in from the ocean (and filtered), but was VERY cold that time of year. 

Debarkation:
On debarkation day you have two choices- self-assist or check your luggage. Self assist means you carry off all of your luggage with you. When we went on our honeymoon we did that, but with two girls I don't think we could have managed that this trip. We decided to check our luggage, which meant we had to pack our bags and put them outside our cabin by 11pm the night before. We put out our two big suitcases, a smaller carry-on bag, and the stroller. We kept a carryon bag and the diaper bag. We carried them to breakfast with us then ate while we waited for our turn to leave the ship. With 'Faster to the Fun' we were the first folks off the boat after those who chose self-assist. We walked off the ship (you'll need your sign and sail cards handy), gathered our luggage, and then walked through customs (have your claim form filled out and passports handy). We were back in our van in about 30 minutes.. Not too shabby.

Here's the most important thing I want people to remember when vacationing with kids-- Whether it is a cruise or not, there is always some point during your vacation where you will say to yourself, your spouse, or maybe even out loud, "What were we thinking?" So laugh, have an adult beverage if that's your thing, embrace it, and remember that vacation amnesia will set in when you get home. The struggle can be real, but the memories are totally worth it. Listening to our oldest talk about getting ice cream around the clock with Mommy and swimming in the ocean with Daddy, I would do it all again in a second... but that's just my two cents...