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5 Reasons Why Traveling With Kids is Important

June 3, 2015

I am constantly blown away when I hear people are nervous about taking their kids on vacation. A mom’s group I follow on Facebook seriously has a post about this daily as the summer months approach. I even have friends who flat out refuse to take their kids somewhere, mainly because they are afraid to try something new.

Maybe it’s because I grew up traveling, but we threw Lily in the car at four months and Delaney at just a few weeks and hit the road. There was no fear on our part about throwing our kids in the car or boarding and airplane! Because of this, Lily is an excellent traveler and I suspect Delaney will grow to be one as well. For those of you out there afraid to fly, here’s a secret, I’ve flown all over the world and I’m still terrified every time I get on a plane. But it will NEVER hold me back and my kids will never see my fear. However, if you ever see me in the airport, just know that I’m saying about a million prayers as I walk down the jet way and onto the plane!

Traveling is so important for kids for so many reasons. Here are five reasons to travel with your kids:

Shows Them a Whole New World – Aladdin really knew what he was saying when he took Jasmine on that carpet ride. There really is a great big world out there – way beyond what kids can grasp just reading about it in books or watching on TV. Being able to experience different places and cultures is the best teaching method there is.
Teaches Flexibility – Rarely do trips go 100% as planned. Often there are delayed flights, traffic jams and missed planned experiences. But this is true in real everyday life too. These travel “mishaps” help kids understand that even the most wonderful experiences are not flawless and while it’s ok to be disappointed, it is part of life.
Takes Them Out of Their Shell – One big lesson I learned as an only child while traveling is to make friends. I have no problem talking to anyone and have made many “friends” while traveling. Lily has developed this same persona and while we are in Disney she often plays with other kids in line or talks to adults and cast members behind us.
New Interests and Experiences – Showing kids new things will often times peak their interest at things they never knew existed. Spending an afternoon at Kennedy Space Station may lead to your kid sparking an interest in outer space. Swimming with the dolphins in the Caribbean may lead your child to become a marine biologist. It opens up their little minds by doing instead of just watching.
Perfect Family Time – Rarely in our home life are we able to devote multiple days to just focus on the kids. When we go away it is family time all the time. Kevin and I work hard to limit our “work” to after the kids are in bed so vacation to them means no computers and no phone calls, just fun and family. As a parent it allows you to really get to know your kids and spend time doing new things with them without distraction.

Our trips have been far from perfect and I’ve learned a lot along the way. I’ve also learned to trust my instinct, not what others tell me, and things have always worked out. My best advice to you is to suck it up, lose the fear, grab your kiddos and explore the world!

Is The Disney Dining Plan Worth It?

February 1, 2015

This is probably the number one question I get asked when planning someone’s Disney vacation! The truth is – there is no right or wrong way to do Disney, and there is no set of standards when it comes to planning YOUR vacation. Everyone is different and everyone vacations different, so the answer is – maybe!

I am going to take you on a tour of our last Disney trip – two weeks ago from January 14-19, 2015. All prices that I’m going through are current for this year, so if you are using this as a guide, as of right now, this is what you can expect! I will tell you that for our family, we do not benefit from the dining plan.

Bear with me as this post contains a lot of math and numbers – good thing I LOVE math and budgeting!

As a reference point, there are three different levels of the Disney Dining Plan. The prices and meals listed below are per person per night. Notice I said night – you only have as many “points” as you do nights, so on check out day it is possible you are paying for any meals out of pocket depending on when you leave! Children under 3 can eat for free at buffets and can share with their parents at other meals for no additional fees. The children’s prices are for children 3-9 and adults start at age 10.

Type	Includes	Price Per Adult	Price Per Child

Quick Service Dining Plan	2 Quick Service Meals	$41.99	$16.03
	1 Snack

Plus Dining Plan**	1 Sit Down Meal	$60.09	$19.23
	1 Quick Service Meal
	1 Snack

Deluxe Dining Plan	3 Meals of Your Choice	$109.53	$29.86
	2 Snacks

** For the remainder of this post I will be comparing against the Plus Dining Plan, as it is the most popular option.

So is the dining plan really worth it? Well, can you eat $60.09 of food per night, not including gratuity? We can’t. And the biggest question to ask yourself is what kind of eater are you? This is particularly important because this is a big place we lose money. We love to share an appetizer with our dinners, especially in Disney where the food is so good! These are not included on the Dining Plan so already that is extra money out of pocket. Also. we almost never order dessert, which IS included. So we lose money again as we are wasting food that we aren’t going to eat! Lastly, if you have children under 3 who are not on the dining plan, but you are eating at a non-buffet restaurant and they need their own food, this is also out of pocket! Seriously those little $8.99 meals add up!

Here is our trip in a nutshell (or a very detailed spreadsheet!)

Place	What’s Included	Price

Port Orleans Riverside Food Court	2 adult meals	$48.09
	1 children’s meal
	1 juice box
	1 refillable resort mug *included in dining plan

1900 Park Fare – Grand Floridian	2 adult buffet dinners	$104.56
	*Lily ate free as she is only 2	*includes 18% gratuity

Ohana Character Breakfast	2 adult buffet breakfasts	$67.21
	*Lily ate free	*includes 18% gratuity

Port Orleans Riverside Food Court	2 adult meals	$23.29

Animal Kingdom Vendor	Bottle of Coke	$2.75

Animal Kingdom Vendor	Bag of Chips	$3.25

Paradiso 37 at Downtown Disney	Enchilada Dinner Platter	$52.69
	Baja Fish Taco Dinner	*includes 18% gratuity
	Kid’s Chicken Fingers and fries
	3 drinks

Columbia Harbor House – MK	2 adult meals	$23.82
	1 large drink
	1 milk

Be Our Guest – Magic Kingdom	1 French Onion Soup	$103.89
	Grilled Strip Steak Meal	*includes 18% gratuity
	Sauteed Shrimp and Scallops Meal
	“Beasts Casserole” (aka kids mac and cheese)
	2 drinks

Port Orleans Riverside Food Court	2 adult breakfasts	$17.45
	Juice Box
	Banana

Pinocchio’s Village – MK	2 adult meals	$23.71
	1 drink
	1 yogurt

Crystal Palace – Magic Kingdom	2 adult buffet dinners	$104.56
	*Lily ate free	*includes 18% gratuity

Cosmic Rays – Magic Kingdom	Kid’s Peanut Butter and Jelly Meal	$6.95

Magic Kingdom Stand	2 Mickey Premium Ice Cream Bars	$8.00

Grand Total		$590.22

Whew! See.. we didn’t skimp on any meals on our trip! Also, the meals that are not buffets, I wrote down what we got to show you that we do NOT order the cheapest thing on the menu. In fact, at Be Our Guest, I ordered the most expensive (and boy was it worth it!!) Also something to keep in mind is buffets are always more expensive than sit downs, especially when they have characters! We did quite a few character meals, so we actually COULD have spent a lot less if we would have picked other restaurants! But, with a 2 year old who thinks she’s a princess – we’re eating with the characters! So the big question is was it worth not doing the dining plan!

For our family – YES! The cost of the dining plan for us would have been $600.90. Now before you go thinking I wrote this big blog post about saving $10.68 that is NOT the case! The Disney Dining Plan does NOT include gratuity, whereas 18% gratuity is included in all of my figures above! Also, an additional $53.97 was spent that would not have been included on the dining plan – Lily’s meals and my soup are an example! So our total savings by not using the dining plan really came out to be $158.75!! To me and my family, that is a lot of money! Heck that is what I spend on groceries for our family for 2 weeks!

Bottom line – the dining plan is great and can really work in your favor if you want it to, but it all comes down to what works best for your family!

10 Ways to Save on a Disney Vacation

January 23, 2015

Ok, I’m going to admit, I read every article on this topic and usually I am angry by the time I finish because, although they *may* have saved money, they missed incredible experiences, or unknowingly spent more than they could have and still missed out!

As a travel agent, I know about all the deals and promotions available at certain times of the year. More importantly, as someone who goes to Disney multiple times a year, I know that the best “promotion” may not be best for your family!

So, behold my top 10 money-saving tips for Walt Disney World!

1. Stay on Property! – I don’t care what anyone says, it will save you money! Between the three different levels of hotels, something will work for your budget. If you are on property, you don’t need a car – Disney will transport you to and from the airport and all over Disney property for free! It is roughly $22/day to park at Disney and gone are the days where you could “sneak” your car into a resort or park at Downtown Disney and use the buses! They are really cracking down on this and towing cars! Factor in the cost of a car for a week and parking and I guarantee a Disney resort of some kind is cheaper!

2. Go during value season! – While I agree that there is no longer a time when the parks are dead, there is still a noticeable difference in crowd level and prices! We always go in January and it is significantly easier to use the promotions and not overly crowded! You get “more for your money” in the fact that you aren’t standing in line for 2 hours to ride each ride!

3. Price out the dining plan – Yes, it’s true, even with “free dining,” the dining plan and/or the free dining promotion may not be best for your family! We love to eat, but will often share lunches if we have a big dinner planned. In the way we vacation, the dining plan is almost always a waste of money because we just don’t eat that much food! Look at menus and the prices of the things you like! We like appetizers and not dessert, so we end up adding things on and skipping parts that we already paid for! It’s just not for everyone!

4. Pay in gift cards! – Seriously this can save you a boat load! Our local grocery store offers $0.10 off a gallon of gas at their gas station for every $50 spent in gift cards. At different times during the year they offer $0.20 off fuel perks! We always stock up and pay for our trip, giving us free gas! We do this for flights too – we are on our third free tank (you can fill up one car and one gas can per trip when using the fuel perks), so we take a 10 gallon gas can and can actually fill both cars! That is easily a $75 savings per free tank with our car and SUV! Although it won’t save you money on your trip, it will save you money in everyday life.

On the other hand, you can buy your gift cards at Target using your Target red card (credit or debit) and save 5% on your total. That can be $150 off of a $3000 trip!

5. Pack your own breakfast and snacks – This is a big one for us too! We pack some pop tarts and cereal in our suitcase, along with snacks we can throw in our bag for the park. That saves so much money instead of stopping for a $10 snack every time you need something to munch on! We get a half gallon of milk at the resort upon check in and use it for breakfast! We also always get the kids meals that come with things like grapes in the small packages and carry them with us for a later snack for our little one since she won’t eat everything in one sitting! Saves so much money!

6. FREE ice water! – Every quick service location on property will give you a cup of ice water for free if you ask for it! Make sure to specify that you want a cup of ice water or you will get a $4 bottle of water! I can’t tell you how much money this saved on our last trip!!

7. Bring your Souvenirs with You! – Everything at the parks and the gift shops are expensive. Did you know that you can get the same merchandise (except for park-exclusives) from the Disney Store Online for much cheaper? That’s because there aren’t sales in Disney World, but there are at the Disney Store! Also, many other retailers offer Disney products for much better prices! Our rule of thumb is we buy one thing each trip, everything else we bring with us! This goes for ponchos too! It rains in Florida, bring them with you! They are $5 at Walgreens – or $17 in the park!

8. Stroller Rentals – If you are in the stroller age group, you know how hard it can be traveling with a stroller. Unless you are flying where your stroller flies free (thank you Southwest!), I strongly recommend renting from an outside vendor. Kingdom Strollers is by far our favorite, it is delivered to your resort and at the end of your trip, they will pick it up from bell services. Pricing is about $65 for the week for a City Mini stroller that is extremely easy to transport and also includes insurance! Those hard, plastic strollers in the park are about $20 per day and cannot leave the park. So if you can’t bring your own, this is the next best thing! If your child is a little bit older, I recommend buying a cheapy umbrella stroller from Walmart or Amazon *you can have it shipped to your resort!* and for $20 have a stroller for the week! At the end of the week, give it to bell services and “pay it forward” to another family who needs one!

9. Skip the Park Hopper! – Unless you are veteran WDW goers, you are going to need full days in each park to see and experience everything! The park hopper is an extra $60 per person, which can add up quickly!

10. Plan Ahead!!!! – If nothing else, the surefire way to save money in Walt Disney World is to plan ahead. I usually take a day and look at our dining reservations and the menus and have a rough idea of what we are going to spend for the week in dining. Obviously this is going to be a ball-park number because sometimes you just get hungry, but on our last trip I was within $60 of what we actually spent! I also lay out our days to maximize the most fun. We go to the park which has extra magic hours on that day so we can play longer, we eat in locations that are close to the park we are going to be at so we don’t waste time traveling.

Disney is never going to be a *cheap* vacation, but it can always be a do-able vacation if you plan ahead and do it right!!

Valentine’s Day

February 16, 2014

I have never been a lover of Valentine’s Day. To me it was always such a Hallmark holiday where you can never get good reservations and if you don’t get flowers delivered to your office, everyone else feels sorry for you. In fact, a girl at work got such a gorgeous arrangement of flowers and set them on the table, I was sure I was at a wedding reception. Seriously, they looked like a centerpiece!

No flowers at my desk this year, they just aren’t in our budget. But that is seriously OK. Truth be told, we probably wouldn’t even acknowledge the holiday if it wasn’t the day we met… 7 years ago! We usually try to do something little on this day just to remember how lucky we are that we met and turned our conversation into a beautiful life together, but nothing to write home about!

This year was a little different since we had Lily. She was old enough to “celebrate” with us but not really old enough to understand what was going on. I had such high hopes of being mom-of-the-year and making a heart-shaped cake, decorating the house, cooking a big dinner and having a movie night, complete with sleeping bags on the floor and a nice bottle of wine for the adults.

Valentine’s Day Fail for me! Turns out I’m not mom-of-the-year this year. We had a rotisserie chicken Kevin picked up at Giant Eagle and I threw together some side dishes, there was no cake or decorations, except for the wreath I had already made for the front door, and no wine because I didn’t have time to stop and get some and didn’t want to take Lily into the Liquor store with me. Oh and that awesome floor bed I was going to make so we could all snuggle together? Comet pooped on the floor when I got home, and although I cleaned it up, bleached the floor and then swiffered, I still didn’t want to lay on the floor! Something about dog poop just really turns me off!

We did watch a movie together on the couch. We picked the Princess and the Frog, which is one of my favorite Disney movies! I love the message it sends that you have to work hard for what you get, and I like the music. It’s just a good movie! It would have been perfect except that Kevin fell asleep about five minutes into it and just as Lily started to drift off (I thought she would pass out after about half an hour since we were letting her stay up late), Comet jumped on the couch and got her all wound up and she was awake for the whole movie.

When the movie was over, Kevin woke up and took Lily up to bed and I thought we could watch something else since it was early, but he ended up falling back to sleep right away so I went to bed. Good thing because Lily peed through her diaper, all of her clothes and the sheets at about 1 am and was then up until 4. We hung out and watched Cinderella on the couch before she finally passed out again and I got about 4 hours of sleep total that night.

Did I mention I am not a lover of Valentine’s Day? This is precisely why!

Getting Through Airport Security with a Baby

January 26, 2014

Our trip last month to Orlando was the first time we ever took Lily on an airplane, since the first time we drove down. I was nervous about all of the logistics of air travel, as it is so much easier to throw everything in the car, point it south and go. But when it comes down to it, an hour and a half vs. 15 hours there is just no contest!

Our flight was at 6 a.m., so we needed to be at the airport around 4 because I am one of those crazy nervous people that insists on being there the full two hours prior to departure, just in case something happens. In case you weren’t sure, 4 a.m. is totally inconvenient with a baby… especially when that means leaving your house at 3!

I had done my research prior to leaving and had everything I thought I would need and was allowed to take through security for Lily. I had a copy of her birth certificate since she was an in-arms infant for our flight, copies of her social security card (because I told you I was crazy and over-prepared for the world), and all of the normal stuff we would need for a full day and night in case our luggage got lost. I did pack plenty of snacks so we wouldn’t have the added expense on the trip but packed them in our checked bags just in case I couldn’t take them through security.

We got through the line really fast because not too many people are flying out so early on a Thursday. Lily and I went through the metal detector, I got picked to be bomb screened (every so many people in each line), obviously passed and waited for Kevin. That’s when I looked over and there were all kinds of lights blinking and our diaper bag being treated as if it were an explosive device. Then it dawned on me — there were bottles of milk in there! Once the milk and wipes were tested we were free to go on our way, but it did hold us up about 10 minutes while they examined everything! I definitely learned for the way home and we breezed through security in Orlando.

So, 5 things you need to remember when traveling with an infant:

1. Pull all bottles of milk and wipes out and place on top of the diaper bag. This way, it goes right through and they don’t question anything.

2. You can totally use the wheelchair only lane in security if you have a big stroller. It’s awesome and helped a lot at a busy airport like Orlando! And best of all, everyone traveling with you can use it too!

3. You have to take your kid out of the stroller and they will look in every compartment and do explosives tests on the handlebars.

4. The more prepared you are the quicker you get through and not all airports are the same. For example my friend had to toss all of her son’s yogurt bites at security. We had no questions about our little treats and Lily enjoyed them on the plane the whole way there!

5. The friendlier and more cooperative you are, the easier time you will have. The lady at Pittsburgh International was not so nice about the diaper bag at first, but when met with a friendly smile and calm attitude, she relaxed and got us on our way quickly. I’m sure she is often met with a lot of resistance.

All in all, flying with an infant was not all that bad! It took some time and planning to make sure we had everything we needed for a full day in case luggage was lost, while still maintaining the TSA rules, but by planning we had a very easy trip through security and on our way!