1. 15 years of Gonz and Adidas It may come as a surprise that the most celebrated character in skateboarding has spent the last 15 years skating for Adidas. To celebrate the mutual commitment between Mark…
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The following is the second of three in a series on organizing a vacation to Walt Disney World. You may find some of the tips can be applied to other vacation destinations.
Different people vary in their personal preferences when it comes to packing for vacations. While some people prefer to pack lightly and do laundry midway through a trip, others would rather pack enough clothing to get them through the entire vacation without ever having to wear any garment more than once. Some people bring their own preferred brands of toiletries while others are perfectly content to use the shampoo, conditioner, and soap provided by hotels.
Rather than trying to provide an exhaustive checklist of everything a person might want to take along for general travel, I want to instead focus on a few specific recommendations for packing that are particular to visiting the Walt Disney World Resort. Irrespective of what your general approach to travel packing might entail, following these recommendations should help make your visit more enjoyable.
Temperatures in Orlando can fluctuate dramatically throughout the day during the winter months. If you are planning your trip during that time of the year, you will definitely want to pack clothing that will allow you to dress in layers.
During the summer, it rains very frequently in Orlando. We have been on weeklong trips in which it has rained every day for at least some short period of time. We always carry individual disposable rain ponchos in our pockets. They are far less expensive than the rain gear sold inside the parks and are much easier to carry than an umbrella. They can usually be stuffed back in the plastic bags they come in and reused at least a few times each.
Purses and camera bags can be a hassle on rides. We prefer either hiking style lumbar packs (they twist easily around your torso) or clothing with enough pockets to securely carry smartphones, cameras, ponchos, sunscreen, wallets, sunglasses, and park passes.
If you would prefer to opt for clothing with plenty of pocket-space, consider garments from Scottevest. We’ve reviewed their products in the past and (as you can see from the photo below) we always pack them when we travel–particularly to Walt Disney World.
Erin and I have 18 pockets total in the three garments we are wearing in the above photo, from our most recent trip:
Everything we need is in our pockets and we still don’t look like we’re dressed for bass fishing. (Erin would like to add she has on a pair of biking shorts under the dress and strongly recommends them, especially on the rides.) The best thing about wearing clothing that can house all of your items in zippered pockets instead of carrying a backpack or other kind of bag with you is that you get to avoid the bag check security line and instead head straight to the park entrance.
You will doing a considerable amount of walking every day during your visit to Walt Disney World, so you’ll want to wear comfortable shoes. If the weather forecast calls for any significant amount of rain, consider either wearing sandals or putting a spare pair of socks in your pocket before you leave the hotel for any of the parks. You don’t want to spend the rest of your day walking miles through the parks with wet socks, even after it has stopped raining.
Even if the forecast calls for cloudy weather, make sure you have adequate sun protection when visiting the parks. You can buy sunscreen at the parks, but it’s far less expensive if you bring it along. We’ve found it is best to not pack white shirts and pants for these trips because many brands of sunscreen will stain white clothing.
You don’t need to have a Howard Hughes-level of mysophobia to recognize that an amusement park full of children is like a giant petri dish. We all carry the small travel-sized containers of Purell. Wet wipes also come in handy. We also have been known to carry a few eye glass wipes since by mid-day we’ve touched our glasses with sunscreen laden fingers too many times to count.
Disney puts on phenomenal fireworks shows just about every night. If your child is particularly sensitive to loud noises, then you’ll want to consider packing child-sized earplugs. They can be the difference between leaving the park for the day on a high note or in the midst of a meltdown. (Bonus tip: WDW is filled with automatically flushing toilets. If your preschooler isn’t a fan, a piece of painters tape over the sensor works wonders. Five or six pre-cut strips on an index card takes up very little space in your wallet and makes life a whole lot easier.)
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Those familiar with single malts will recognize the tiny, wild island of Islay as the birthplace of Scotland’s most heavily peated whiskies. Once home to over 20 distilleries, Islay (pronounced “eye-lah”) now hosts just eight, but the few remaining are some of…
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Just last weekend, I put my daughter, 10, on an airplane in Boston which was bound for Philadelphia. Neither her mother nor I traveled with her. My heart went with her, however, as the butterflies in my stomach had forced it out of my chest.
What kept me from succumbing to my nerves entirely was thorough preparation. There wasn’t a lot to do, but attending to every detail ahead of time helped ensure a successful experience for my daughter and for me. Here’s how I prepped my 10-year-old to fly as an unaccompanied minor for the first time.
Our careful preparation helped our daughter’s unaccompanied flights go off without a hitch and the planning was a big part of that. Lastly, let me tell you this: nothing feels better than that phone call from the destination that says, “Safe and sound.”
And for the record, I still had a little trouble with not freaking out.
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Housed inside a landmark building in Dallas, boutique hotel The Joule is in the final phases of a two-year expansion and renovation featuring new guest rooms, retail space, a spa…
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In the many years since Baggu first introduced their eponymous reusable shopping bag, the Brooklynites have continued to iterate and introduce a range of like-minded, simplified bags fit for everything from carrying groceries and laundry to laptops and surfboards. The latest addition…
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The following is the first of three in a series on organizing a vacation to Walt Disney World. You may find some of the tips can be applied to other vacation destinations. And, just to be clear, Disney didn’t pay for anything nor are they giving us anything for this series. This is just seasoned advice from one organized family that makes yearly trips to WDW.
It wasn’t until I was engaged that I learned I would be marrying into a Disney family. For people like me who were not raised in Disney families, I didn’t get the draw and hoopla. Why spend money going to visit the same place each year? Why would an adult have any desire to hang out at a really big theme park with a plush rodent? Aren’t I supposed to be upset with Disney for some political reason?
Then, our honeymoon plans were thwarted because of the September 11 tragedy, and my husband switched our destination to WDW at the last minute. After 10 days of swimming with dolphins in the Living Seas, playing golf on some amazing courses, spending a day at the spa, and eating my way through the countries in World Showcase, I started to see how Disney was more than large crowds and standing in lines. By my third visit, I realized I was part of a Disney family and I was okay with it. In fact, when we learned my son has a deadly food allergy, WDW became my favorite place to travel with him because of the incredible service he receives at mealtimes — a chef comes to your table or your place in line at every meal to talk to you about safe menu options. And, the chefs know exactly what is in their food and how items from outside their kitchens are processed.
I’ll admit, WDW isn’t for everyone. But, for those people who enjoy heading there or hope to head there one day, I can likely help you to plan an organized WDW vacation. Now that I’ve been going there for more than a decade, I’ve learned some valuable lessons beyond what you will find in travel guides. And, speaking of travel guides …
There is no way in three posts I can give you all the advice you’ll want for your vacation. So, arm yourself with a book — a paperback book you can write in and throw in your luggage — and make sure it’s the most recent edition. Then, read this book from cover-to-cover. My favorite are The Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World and The Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World with Kids. If you won’t be traveling with kids, get the first one. If you’ll be traveling with kids, get the second. There is no need to get both.
Use these books to help you set a budget, choose a hotel (or two or three, seeing as if you want to stay on property you may not get your first choice), and pick what type of park ticket you want to purchase. Use the books as an introduction to the parks and try not to become overwhelmed. In a perfect world, you get this book and read it 10-12 months before you expect to travel.
It didn’t used to be this way, but now if you want to get the dining and lodging you most desire, you’ll need to make these reservations six months in advance. Not all places are in such high demand that this is necessary, but a good chunk of them are. For instance, to eat at Cinderella’s Royal Table in Cinderella Castle at the time you want and on the day you want, it’s only going to happen (at least for us common, non-celebrity folks) if you call Disney Dining half a year ahead of time. If you want to stay in a resort on the Magic Kingdom monorail line, six months might be cutting it close. Restaurants like Le Cellier in Epcot’s Canada Pavilion rarely have tables available without reservations, even during times when crowds are smaller in the parks.
Personally, I recommend having just one table service reservation per day. There are numerous counter service locations throughout the parks that are decent and will save you money on food while you’re at WDW. And, if you’re not staying on property, the restaurants outside the parks are almost always less expensive. If you want a romantic dinner in a park or resort without kids everywhere, make a reservation for a time after 8:30 p.m. or drop a ridiculous amount of cash for Victoria and Alberts (it’s not really a kid place, though I’m sure some older ones have eaten there at some point).
After setting your dining and lodging plans, take care of your travel accommodations. If you’re flying into Orlando and staying in a Disney resort, be sure to make a reservation with Disney’s Magical Express so you can get free transportation to your hotel. If you’re driving, learn now about parking and how much it will cost you and be sure to budget this amount. My rule is if we’re staying on property, there is no reason to rent a car. Taking a cab the few times we want to go off property is always less expensive than renting a car while we’re there.
Now is the time to let your organizing side take control. Make a spreadsheet! Draw a graph or table! Make a ridiculous plan that will likely scare normal humans.
The philosophy here is to do all the planning work before the vacation, and then just sit back and let the vacation happen. I don’t like to be stressed while on any vacation, and if you’re not prepared, it can be easy to be a ball of anxiety and frustration while at WDW. (Detailed planning also avoids a lot of kid tears and hangry adults.) And, except for dining reservation times, everything else on my schedule (linked below) is flexible.
The following is a sample spreadsheet of what a week-long vacation to WDW might look like for a family with preschoolers, parents, and grandparents in the same group. This assumes staying on property, and I’ve used the Wilderness Lodge as the example. You’ll notice the last two days are relatively free, and this is so we can return to parks we feel we didn’t get to experience as much as we would have liked. These open dates are great for playing golf or other non-traditional activities or the water parks if you don’t have young kids in your group:
Sample Week-long Walt Disney World Vacation Plan (in Excel)
When making your schedule, plan to be at the park entrance when the gates open for the day. Surprisingly, it makes a huge difference in what you are able to see and do in a single day. You can usually get four or five rides in that first hour if you get there early — your party also isn’t exhausted and it’s not evil hot yet. Our plan of action is for one member of our party to take our park passes and get Fast Passes for the most popular attraction we want to visit in that park (in Hollywood Studios, it is always Toy Story Mania) while everyone else lines up for another ride. Then, the Fast Pass ticket getter comes and joins us in the standby line. At Magic Kingdom this year, we rode Dumbo, Goofy’s Barnstormer (twice), Winnie the Pooh, Peter Pan, Mad Hatter’s tea cups, and Tomorrowland Speedway in the first hour.
Also, be aware that park hours are different for WDW resort guests than for other patrons. (Parks open earlier and stay open later some days, in Disney-speak they are called “Extra Magic Hours.”) When you check into your resort, the front desk will give you a schedule of all the hours for the week you are visiting.
During summer months, it is common for it to rain almost every afternoon in Orlando. The shower is brief, but you’ll still get wet if you’re in the parks. I don’t love being soggy, so about five years ago I suggested we go back to the hotel each day after lunch and then head back to a park in the evening. These breaks almost always include a short nap and on days it doesn’t rain they also include a dip in the pool. It’s surprising how much better of a mood everyone in your group is in when they have this break. If you’re only at WDW for the weekend, you probably won’t want to take a break. But, if you’re going for more than a few days, I cannot recommend the break enough.
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If you think nothing could ace Cuppow, the revolutionary canning jar + travel mug solution, then hold onto your horses and take a look at BNTO! This canning jar + cup + lid takes food travel to the next level. It is a combination that allows you to travel with any kinda food BNTO style! Think salsa and chips, cheesy dip and crackers, mayo and salad, yogurt and muesli; wet and dry held separately thanks to BNTO’s unique compartment!
Taking inspiration by the original Japanese bento boxes, Cuppow’s BNTO allows you to carry foods that taste the best together but don’t travel well together! Basically canning jars are easy to clean, cheap, and make awesome lunchboxes. What we have here is a conveniently shaped insert that separates a canning jar into two compartments so you can mix or dip your food.
Currently the BNTO line holds 6 fluid ounces (3/4 cup) and is built to fit snugly under the standard metal lid of a wide-mouth canning jar.
Cuppow com¬mits 5% of their profits to domestic charities and social initiatives, so you can feel great while you eat great!
Cuppow is an American company that grew out of a need to develop everyday products that would help us decrease our own eco-footprint. American made and family-friendly, BNTO is 100% made in the USA from recycled food-grade polypropylene in our ongoing effort to divert as much unnecessary waste from the landfill as possible.
Designer: Cuppow [ Buy it Here ]
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(BNTO – Your Food Jar was originally posted on Yanko Design)
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This is site is run by Sascha Endlicher, M.A., during ungodly late night hours. Wanna know more about him? Connect via Social Media by jumping to about.me/sascha.endlicher.
