Bubbles, fun bubbly bubbles!

We love bubbles in our house!  Before our trip, I made a stop to the Dollar Store and got a few smaller bubble bottles to put in our day bag.  Whenever we were waiting for a show, character, or line, I would pull out a bottle of bubbles.  Depending on where we were, I would let Taylor blow bubbles to keep her busy.  It kept her busy and happy.  It kept my youngest entertained trying to pop the bubbles.  It also amused some of the kids in line as well.  An easy, cheap way to keep the kids happy and entertained!

Just a note, make sure the bubbles don't stain.  This "cute" butterfly bubbles we found a local zoo and I thought would be fun to take on the trip but they stained her white shirt.  The cheap, Dollar store bubbles worked much better!

Disney Dining

Disney dining can be intimidating.  There are lots of restaurants between the parks and resorts.  Lots of different price levels.  I've heard several people who haven't taken a Disney vacation in years tell me that they are just going to "wing it".  Figure it out as they go.  But depending on the time of year and any promotions going on, reservations to Disney restaurants could be scarse.  Several times we have gone, even in non-busy times, there are no reservations during regular dining times that day.  So plan ahead if you want to do a table service restaurant.  In the future we will go into more detail on our favorite restaurants but this link will bring you to the best resource for Disney menus and pricing.  All Ears Net - Dining

Disney Potties

Some things you don't notice until you have kids.  One of them is automatic flushers that are present in almost all of Disney's bathrooms.  This can be terrifying for a young child.  Especially my daughter Taylor.  We were on a Disney cruise on the Magic just as she was getting interested in potty training.  The flushers on a cruise make an extremely loud noise.  Enough that it would send her in hysterics anytime one flushed.  It could be in the cabin or even just standing in a public stall with me.  Hysterical as in trying to crawl under the stall or screaming at the top of her lungs.  It was quite an experience.  Needless to say, potty training was delayed several months due to this experience. 

Now that she has been trained for quite some time, she has gotten used to all public bathrooms....with a little help from a nifty invention - a Post-it note.  Simply pack a little pack of Post-it notes and stick it over the sensor.  I have the kids leave the stall and then take off the note to flush.  Has worked miracles for us. 

H2O

Florida water tastes different to me.  And according to a message board on Disney, disboards.com, that I frequent, others agree with me as well.  Anyone with babies on formula, you will want to buy a gallon or two of filtered water just for bottles because your baby will not be used to it.  We also buy bottles of water as it is much more expensive in the parks.  We dump a little out of a couple bottles of water each night and put them in the freezer.  Then right before we head out to the parks, we take the bottles out and put them in our day bags.  By the time we want to drink them they are usually almost already defrosted but still cold.  One of our strollers has a freezer bag (Baby Jogger) that has worked wonders and we didn't need to freeze bottles.  But that's an additional "bag" security needs to check at each park which can be a hassle. 

Baby Safety Bag

Every baby has their own personality.  With my first child, I read countless books, magazines, websites, etc. to prepare for traveling with a young child.  One of the things I kept reading about was to make sure you check floors and safety proof your room before your child gets into things.  So I put together a handy bag of items I would need.  Never did my daughter need it.  My second child, Cooper, on the other hand....I think he looks for electrical outlets he can stick his fingers in!  Cabinets to open - check.  Toilets to stick his hand into - check.  Chairs to climb - check.  You name it...he is into it! 

This is him at our hotel getting into the toilet paper.  We let him since we could get ready and it wasn't dangerous.  But if this is any indication, you can imagine what else he got into!

So I pack a handy bag of "baby safety items".  Here is what I include:

• Outlet covers
• Shoelaces - tie around cabinet hooks a child shouldn't get into
• Masking tape - tape down anything that shouldn't be opened such as cabinets without locks.  (Masking tape comes off a lot easier than duct tape)

That's it!  I put it all in a little bag I found at the Dollar store.  It goes anywhere we have an overnight and has kept at least my little destructor at bay so far.

Would love any additional recommendations or suggestions you have to add to my list.

Character Dining

Our first daughter, Taylor, has always loved the characters in Disney.  This is her at 8 months old with her first reaction (Tusker House @ Animal Kingdom)...

She was smitten with those "guys" and meeting them continues to be a highlight of her vacation.  Instead of waiting on many lines to meet each character at the parks, we book a dining meal with characters.  Most of the time they are buffets so we do one a day to fill up and have snacks the rest of the day.  Since we need to eat anyway, this really works out best as the characters come to our table and spend time with the kids individually.  And lately, we've been able to tell Taylor that she needed to eat the rest of her yogurt or Mickey would be upset.  She believes us and we can get something healthy in her with all the excitement going on.  Not sure if that will work much more though.  :) 

So avoid the lines at the park and use your valuable time to ride the attractions, do a few character dining meals.  Maybe we're just big Disney fans but we think the food is fairly good too.

Which character dining to chose?  In short, find out who your child wants to see and find out where s/he will be and book there to start.  I hope to do a few reviews of our favorites in future posts. 

Overall here are our "can't miss" character dining experiences:
1.  Play and Dine's Playhouse Disney Live Character Buffet in Hollywood Studios - Disney Junior characters
2.  Royal Table at Cinderella's Castle in Magic Kingdom - Cinderalla and other Princesses
3.  Crystal Palace in Magic Kingdom - Pooh and characters
4.  Chef Mickey's at Contemporary Resort - Mickey, Minnie, and friends

Oh and if you're wondering if our son loves characters as well....

Not so much! :)  This was his first reaction (Crystal Palace @ Magic Kingdom) and he spent the rest of our character dining in my arms.  So try to have your children meet at large "in person" character before your Disney trip to see their reaction before booking character dining.  I have had friends book a character dining each day of their trip to find out their child was terrified of the characters. 

Where did we park???

We love to stay onsite where the buses or boats bring us right to the front of the park but we have also stayed offsite and drove to the parks ourselves.  The parking lots in Disney World are really big!  Enough that they have trams that will bring you closer to the front of the park.  After a long day of visiting the park, you will most likely be pretty tired and remembering where you parked might be a challenge.  Luckily Disney tried to make it fairly easy to remember.  For example, you could be at Mickey 24.  To make things a bit easier, we take a photo of the endcap of the aisle where we parked.  Then we forget about it until we get back to the parking lot.

Sick on vacation?

Vacations are planned to be perfect.  No one gets sick on vacation right?  Wrong.  Unfortunately all the sightseeing, getting up early, staying up late, going from the heat outside to the air conditioning inside, airplane rides, germs everywhere, and more it's not uncommon for someone to get sick. 

My daughter was on her second trip to Disney at 18-months-old.  It was really hot for September and she was used to two solid naps during the day and we only went back to the room once for nap on vacation.  On night 5 of 7, she was up all night and I slept with her rubbing her back from all the congestion.  It was just a cold but she was miserable.  We were all exhausted from not sleeping.  After napping almost all morning, we decided to go back to Magic Kingdom for a family picture by the castle as we hadn't done that yet and go back to the resort.  Here is our poor little baby not feeling great...

We decided to go into the First Aid Station which is located right by the Baby Care Center (between Casey's Corner and Crystal Palace before the castle) to see if they had any saline spray or something to help her feel better.  They didn't have anything we could use for her cold but they gave us information on a delivery pharmacy that could help. 

Turner Drugs - 407-828-8125; http://turnerdrug.com/

We ordered a nasal aspirator and saline spray for children and they delivered it within 2 hours.  Apparently if you call the front desk of any Disney resort they can give you their number as well.  We paid probably around $15 for both....but by that night, Taylor was feeling much better and it was well worth it.  By the time we ordered it, took a few pictures, had a late lunch, and walked back to the resort (we stayed at Bay Lake Towers that visit) it was waiting for us at the front desk!  They were very nice and easy to order from as well.  *Please note, I am not affliliated or paid by Turner Drugs. 

Also, obviously if you have a car there are several pharmacies offsite.  Several are located along International Drive. 

Sneakers

On vacation I try to dress the kids as cute as possible.  Really, when are you going to take as many pictures as you do when you're on vacation?  Out come the adorable sandals, cute dress up shoes, etc.  But when you're in Disney you will walk A LOT!  You and your kids - even if they are in a stroller most of the time.  Flip flops, sandals (even the super cute ones!), princess dress up shoes (because little girls have to match their dresses right?!), etc. are not a good idea.  You will most likely be walking miles...yes, miles each day.  Walk to the bus/car, walk from the bus to security, security to all the attractions, stand waiting for the parade/fireworks/show/etc., and then walk back to bus/car, and back to hotel.  Almost every vacation I drag out the flip flops and attempt a day with them.  It's Florida and it's hot and I don't want my feet covered!  But it's a mistake...every time.  So get a nice pair of sneakers and workout socks work wonders.  Your feet will thank you!
Oh and if your son or daughter "insists" upon wearing the super cool flip flops or have-to Cinderella heels, pack their sneakers and socks in your backpack.  They'll thank you for it later.  And you won't have an exhausted, in-pain child on your hands. 

Welcome!

Welcome to my blog page!  I'm very new at this blogging, but a "seasoned veteran" in terms of Disney travel.  My family and I like to travel to Disney around twice a year, more if we are lucky!  In the past four years, my husband, Shawn, and I welcomed two children, Taylor and Cooper, and have traveled with a child (or children) on a Disney vacation 6 times.  Along the way, I've learned many tips, recommedations, etc. on traveling with kids to the happiest place on earth.  Often I am asked tips on a Disney vacation and love to share what I know.  Almost every time I forget something and wish I had a list or better organization of tips.  I figure blogging will help me organize this information and make it public for others to see as well.  So welcome to my blog site and I hope you enjoy.  I would love your comments, feedback and any recommendations. 
My family on our latest trip...

My husband (Shawn), my daughter (Taylor, 4), Cinderella, me (Melissa), and Cooper (10 months)