Time to Pack Again!

 Packing for Disney can seem like an overwhelming task. You think you just have to have everything! I used to stress constantly about what I was forgetting. I would spend WEEKS packing for a trip, WEEKS! Rubbermaid containers all over the place, one for each kid, one for my husband, one for me, one for park gear, one for car gear and one more for all the other stuff. I feel like we've gotten it down now though. I've done this so many times now that it is almost second nature. It is also easier now that the kids are older. No more double stroller! For us, the easiest way to pack is to tackle it day by day. I think about each day and the plans for each day then focus on the needs to for those plans. Here's a simple packing guide for a quick couples trip we will be taking for our anniversary later this month. 

Day 1: Travel Day

We never fly to Diseny and actually love to drive. We enjoy the ride. We reminisce, listen to old music, new music, everyone's favorite songs. So, being comfortable in the car is a must! 

My favorite travel outfit is so comfy and keeps me warm in the car:

Sunglasses are required for me to step outside at all!

We also need lots electronics and a LOVE my laptop bag because it is so spacious and can hold everything I need:

 

Drinks for the ride that are nutritious and help keep us alert:

We always take a good power bank in the car. When you are charging so many electronics, it is good to have another option so that you don't have cords running all over the car. Our current favorite:

On to DAY 2 (resort exploration and anniversary evening).....

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My Ultimate Tip for Planning a Disney Family Vacation...Keep it a Secret!

 There is nothing quite like a surprise vacation to Disney. We've done it many times now and though it can be tricky, it is absolutely my favorite way to do it because....it. is. easier! I'm serious. There's no better way. No one argues, no one complains, no one feels like they aren't getting their way, no one else worries about packing lists and road bags, and which toys and blankets to bring. Everyone is so excited they just grab and go! No one asks 10,000 times what time we are leaving or which restaurants we will be dining at, can we stay at xyz resort, none of that. They are all just excited and we talk about plans on the way. We tell them what we are doing each day. We give them the park and meal(s) and let each of them pick a ride or attraction for the day. Plan at night when the kids are in bed or in the morning before they wake up. You can even ask them questions without them know. We watch a lot of Disney vloggers to get new ideas and spark discussion and always ask them what they want to do next time we go. So, we still get to give them their wants as much as possible. 

Not only is it easier for us, it's also just more fun! There's nothing quite like being completely packed and ready to go, looking at your kids and saying, "Hey, do you want to go to Disney?" and just doing it. We've done 'surprise reveals' in multiple ways. scavengers hunts, opening Christmas presents, etc. This las time was absolutely the simplest and my favorite reaction of them all. We literally just asked them if they wanted to go to Disney and go right now. I think their shock is what got me. All those other times, they knew something was coming. It was obvious something was happening. This time there was no lead up, just a casual question and sheer joy!

Don't overthink your surprise reveal. Simple really can be the best!

Countdown to Disney......packing

    Packing for a vacation literally takes me weeks. I have already started packing for this trip. I like to keep Rubbermaid containers in my bedroom and as I am doing laundry come across things that I KNOW need to go with us, I place them in the container. I have a second container that I use for other things, ponchos, fans, park bags, etc. As I come across those things (or as Amazon delivers things), I mark them off my list and they go in the container. Since this trip is a surprise, I am packing for everyone, not just the littlest of littles.  I decided to use Gallon Ziploc bags to organize everyone's clothes each day. This is helping me make sure I have an outfit per person per day and I can label the bag for the kids to grab each day on their own as they are getting ready for the day. I am excited to see how this works out for us. 

My packing list does keep getting longer and longer somehow. Every time I think I have thought about it all, I see another idea about something Disney vacation related that I add to the list. But my work in progress is going well so far:

Clothing

• 1 outfit per person per day + one spare outfit
• underwear, bras, socks for each person 
• shoes (tennis shoes x2, flip flops, sandals)

Toiletries

• toothbrush/toothpaste/floss/mouthwash
• shampoo/conditioner
• dry shampoo
• deodorant
• soap/body wash
• makeup
• makeup remover/face wash/moisturizer/toner
• sunscreen (spray and face stick)
• aloe lotion
• wipes
• brushes/combos/hair ties
• hair spray/mouse/volumizer/curl spray

Electronics        

• Camera/batteries/chargers/gimbal
• Phones
• Phone Chargers    
• Electronic wipes
• Kids games (switch, 3DS, etc) and chargers
• laptops/chargers
• extra memory cards

Medicines

• tylenol
• ibuprofen
• vitamins
• ACV
• Ashwaganda
• pepto
• colon cleanse
• allergy meds
• bandaids/ointment
• eczema cream
• ice packs
• compression we

Other

• Ponchos
• park sling bags
• hand santizer
• masks
• ears
• hairbows
• snacks/drinks for the room
• cleaning wipes for the room

For the Ride

• books
• coloring books/crayons/art supplies
• food/drinks/snacks
• blankets
• pillows
• stuffed animals

What am I still forgetting? What are your must haves for traveling with the family?

Countdown to Disney....keeping the surprise

Making a Walt Disney World vacation a surprise is super fun and super hard! Part of the joy of planning is everyone picking their favorites: rides, foods, attractions, etc, reminiscing about past vacations, picking a resort, and watching videos/looking at pictures. It is all so fun to do as a family. When you make the trip a surprise it is hard to NOT do those things. We are so excited and keep mentioning things that we probably shouldn't be saying out loud! The good thing is that we all watched a YouTube video one day that happened to mention that park reservations are completely sold out through July! So luckily, everyone seems to think that we can't go anyway. SO, we are getting to watch videos together with everyone assuming we are speaking about a trip next year. It just kind of happened that way, thankfully. 

This is such an odd situation and strange time in our world. Uncertainity about the trip makes us want to keep it a secret as long as possibly but we are prepared that it might slip out at some point or little smarty pants P9 might put the peices together and figure it out on her own. As we keep watchig videos about how things are changing so rapidly in WDW, we keep getting more and more excited about the possibility of a more normal Disney Vacation. Social Distancing markers are slowing going away, mask requirements are slowly going away, restaurants and shows are slowly opening back up. Fireworks shows are being tested.  I am STILL crossing my fingers that Disney Dining Plans will magically reappear soon too! 🤞

Since the day that video mentioned the park being sold out, keeping our surprise as been much easier. We are able to talk about our next visit and ask questions about what we want to do and what we want to skip. We have done some meal planning, meaning the kids litterally picked out meals and snacks. We have watched POV videos of rides and marked them as dos an don'ts for each kid. 

We are now working on plans for the big reveal IF they don't figure it out. We thought about just driving to WDW and heading to the resort and filming them as they see us approach the famous sign. Or, maybe letting each of them open a small Disney themed gift since this is a Birthday/Graduation celebration. Or maybe playing some type of clue game. We do love a good scavenger hunt! 

What do you think? How would you do the big reveal!?

Countdown to Disney....park plans

Daily Park Plans! Probably my favorite part of the planning process is deciding which attractions are going on our Must-Do list for each day. We typically stay at one park all day. No park hoping for us. I just find it easier to plan this way. If we ever manage to go on an adult only trip, I may rethink that!

Day 1: Arrival

We will arrive pretty late in the day since our Van Gogh Experience tickets are for the afternoon in Atlanta. A late night arrival is another new thing for us. We usually leave bright and early and drive straight to the Happiest Place on Earth. So, we will likely go straight to the resort and get settled in. I also like to quickly run through plans for the next day each night and since this trip is a surprise, I know I will be answering lots of questions and lost of additions to our Must Do list for the whole week. :)

Day 2: Resort

This is kind of strange to plan for day 1, I guess, but it just kind of happened this way and I actually think it will work well for us. We have a long day the day before. We will be driving to Atlanta for an art exhibit, where will will spend a couple of hours and then we will drive the remainder of the way to Orlando. We had originally planned to stay in Georgia and finish the drive to Atlanta the next day. So, now we are arriving a day earlier. This will be the first time we have really had a true Resort Day during a DW trip and I am so excited. Exploring the resorts is always fun and now we have a whole day to do so! And, I can't wait to get hang out in the Big Blue Pool!

Day 3: Magic Kingdom

We will making our way over to to the iconic Magic Kingdom and we have a long list of MUST DOs for our first day in the parks! Space Mtn, the Peoplemover, 7 Dwarfs, Mad Tea Party, Little Mermaid, Haunted Mansion and Peter Pan are all on the list BEFORE lunch! We are really challenging ourselves to hit all of those before lunch but we have plenty of time after, if we don't get them all in. Then, it's Frontierland and Adventureland for the rest of the afternoon. I have to admit that I am crossing my fingers that we will be able to stay late and see a magical light show on the castle by the time we go! 

Day 4: Animal Kingdom

I love to get to Animal Kingdom early to do the safari when the animals are the most active. So, we want to try to arrive in the parks as they are opening. Something that we haven't gotten the chance to see yet is the Bird Show at the Tree of Life so we are excited about that addition. Kali River Rapids is one of my favorite rides of all times! I love that the whole family can be in the same boat and we get to face each other and see excited (and somewhat nervous) little expressions on litte faces. I would ride it 10 times if there was enough time. But alas, we have Pandora Flight of Passage and Nav'i River Journey, Dinosaur, Expedition Everest and more! 

Day 5: Disney Springs

Disney Springs is practically a Must Do for us. Great restaurants, great shopping, even some fun activities and cute photo opportunities. If it isn't part of your Disney Plans, I suggest checking it out if you have the time but I wouldn't put it above a day in the parks!

Day 6: Epcot

AHHH, the Experimental Protype, Community of Tomorrow. Every single trip I leave saying I wish we had spent more time in Epcot. I could spend a whole week! I am STILL discovering that there are elements of Epcot that I had zero clue existed.  We keep adding to the very long list of things that we would like to do this time in Epcot. I honestly don't know how we are going to narrow this list down. Frozen Ever After, Soarin'and Spaceship Earth for sure. I love Turtle Talk with Crush so I am bummed that it is stil closed but I guess that gives us time to to something new to us like the Gran Fiesta Tour....how have we never done that!? But one of my favorite things is taking a tour around the world! I love walking through all of the countries and learning and shopping! Plus, I am pretty excited to take the Skyliner to the park!

Day 7: Hollywood Studios

HS is probably a favorite for the guys in the house. I guess it has a little something to do with Star Wars. Even I have to admit Rise of the Resistance looks A-Ma-Zing! Getting a boarding pass is probably the thing I am most nervous about making happen. Toy Story land will also be a first for us.  and we are pretty excited about Slinky Dog Dash! And, shockingly.....Mickey & Minnie's Runaway Railway is on the list for the first time ever..... WHAT!?

Day 8: The Journey Home

On the last day, we will have a TBD breakfast and then do some souvenir shopping before we head out. Though the ride home can be a little sad in a way, I love it because we all talk about our favorite parts of the trip. We each pick something from each day that was our favorite. Except our Sweet P (10 yr old) that can pick a favorite because "she loves is all so much!" Then, we start planning the next trip and the things that we saw this time but didn't get to do so they have to go on our list. 

We can't wait to share all of the fun with you!

Up Next....keeping the surprise but still building excitement!