Getting Everything You Need Down to Disney

So, you've decided to go to Walt Disney World.  You've picked your resort, booked your trip, made your advanced dining reservations, scheduled your fast passes.  You're all set to go.

And then you realize that you've got more stuff to pack than you initially thought. With airlines charging you for your luggage, most people are trying to limit their bags to one per person - and who can blame them?  Why put even more money in the airline executives' pockets?  I personally try to minimize any extra charges that might be incurred when we fly.

So... what to do, what to do???

Well, here's the good news (or at least it's been my experience - and that's what this blog is all about, right?):

If you have a United Airlines credit card, they will not charge you for the first piece of luggage per person in your party.  Simply present the credit card at curbside check-in and remind them (I do!) that you're not supposed to get charged for the first checked bag per person.

We are a family of three, so I make it a point NEVER to take more than one bag per person.

Here's another good piece of news:

If you fly JetBlue, they don't charge you at all for the first checked bag per person in your party.  JetBlue credit card or not.  Period.

So, what if you've done all of the creative packing you can imagine, but you still have plenty of stuff to take that just won't keep you down to one piece of luggage per person?

Here's what we've done every time we've gone down to the World.  Please keep in mind that I can only vouch for the Coronado Springs Resort where we've always stayed, but I would be willing to bet it would work for any resort on Disney property.  However, when in doubt, call Disney and ask - their representatives are there to answer any and all questions you may have.

In the past, we've had to take pullups, wipes, and other varied toddler items. Also, in order to save time and money, unless we have a character breakfast reservation, we eat breakfast in our room, which means cereal (milk is sold at the resort's shop), and other assorted breakfast pre-packaged foods (muffins, cereal bars - that type of thing), as well as snacks (crackers, candy, etc.) also need to find their way down to Disney.

Well... I've come to learn that Federal Express is my friend.  That's right!

About three to four weeks prior to our trip, we'll pack up a box with all of those extra items, call Fed Ex to pick it up, and off it goes to our resort.  I address the label to myself c/o the resort, and I make a big note on the label in red marker and yellow highlighter indicating our arrival date.  Just make sure that you check off GROUND DELIVERY.  We messed that up last year, and I accidentally checked off next day delivery (yikes!).  That was not a good bill to receive, but thankfully the people at Fed Ex were very understanding when we called them... Yeah, I will be very careful about that going forward, LOL!  I was wondering how that package got down there so fast!!!

Once we arrive at our resort, we pick up our package (the resort charges us a nominal fee for handling - still cheaper than paying for an extra piece of luggage), and we're ready to start our vacation.

Helpful Tip:  Throw some packing tape in your suitcase, and print out a return Fed Ex delivery slip reflecting your home address.  That way, if you have any items left over from your trip - or if you bought any souvenirs that won't fit in your luggage, you can put everything back in the box and repackage it, drop it off for delivery at your resort, and it will arrive back at your home in no time.      

Have fun packing, and until next time - I hope you remember to keep the Mouse in your house!

Monica

Disney Trip Celebrations!

We turn our Disney trips into Celebrations!

And Disney wants us to.  

So much so, that we can get free (yes free!) celebration buttons at the parks.  

Although we didn't do it on our first trip because I didn't know about the celebration buttons, on our second trip, I had our travel agent mark our reservation as a special celebration - our daughter's birthday.  It didn't matter that her birthday was at the end of September - a whole month after to our trip.  The trip was an early birthday gift to her.  

When we first arrived and made our way to the Magic Kingdom (always the first park we visit - but more about that on a later blog), I immediately went over to City Hall on Main Street and requested a complimentary birthday button for my daughter to wear during our stay. The cast member very happily provided one and wrote my daughter's name on it with little mouse ears over the "i" in her name. Very cute.  I will note that you should ask them to put a strip of scotch tape over the name so that it doesn't rub off.  We had to keep rewriting her name on the pin (thank God I had thought to bring a sharpie with me) until a wonderful cast member at the Pirates of the Caribbean showed us this nifty trick.  And... got Goofy on the phone to wish her a very happy birthday!  Talk about a special birthday surprise!

The wonderful thing about it was that, once I put the button on her, cast members and other park goers immediately started calling out birthday wishes.  You can just imagine how happy that makes a child.  

What made her even happier was that, at every meal, the cast members would either sing her happy birthday, or bring her a special birthday dessert.  Needless to say, she was overjoyed.  

But the best, most incredible part of all happened when we took her to Turtle Talk With Crush, the sea turtle from the Finding Nemo movie, in EPCOT.  Crush noticed her right away, since she was wearing her birthday button on her hat.  He immediately honed in on her, started the show by pointing her out to everyone.  He asked her some questions, sang a special Crush version of happy birthday to her, spoke to my husband and I, and literally made her feel extremely special during the show.  She was the most excited little girl in the world! 

All in all, that entire trip was a huge birthday fest for our daughter!  It was amazing!  And she has wonderful memories of it to last her a lifetime.

On our trip the following year, we decided to celebrate one of our daughter's personal triumphs, as well as our wedding anniversary.  

We spent our days receiving best wishes and congratulations over and over again and offering birthday wishes and congratulations to others wearing their own celebration buttons.  It's fantastic!  

When speaking with people about their upcoming trips, I strongly urge parents to mark their reservations as a celebration of their child's birthday (whether it's coming up or already past - or, best case scenario, actually happening while they at the World) and encourage them to take a few minutes and stop in at one of the parks to obtain a celebration button.  It will make such a wonderful memory for their child!

Disney offers celebration buttons for birthdays, anniversaries, first trips, personal triumphs, and honeymoons.  You can get them at City Hall in the Magic Kingdom, or at Guest Services in EPCOT, Hollywood Studios, or Animal Kingdom.

Make sure you get one on your next trip.

And be sure to check out my Face Book page under The Mouse In Our House!  

Until next time, make sure to keep the Mouse in your house!

Monica

7/14/14 - Welcome to The Mouse In Our House...

No!... Not that kind of mouse!... The Mouse... The one and only - Mickey Mouse.  

I am passionate about many things in my life - first and foremost, my family - my husband, Manny, and our daughter, Sabrina.  Then there's reading, family time, my faith, The Real Housewives Franchise (yes, all of it! LOL), Bravo, and, of course, shopping!

And then.... there's the Mouse... Yes, Mickey Mouse, the one that started it all.  I LOVE Walt Disney World, and nothing makes me happier than getting our family there.  Suffice it to say, we are now a Disney family.  

Although I had visited Walt Disney World a few times, I really became passionate about it in 2010, when we took our daughter for the very first time at the age of 3.  As an added bonus, it was my husband's first time too.  He was somewhat skeptical at first - he thought it was for kids.  Well... it's become one of his favorite vacation destinations - a 9 on a scale of 1 to 10, so he tells me!

On that first trip with our daughter, I became addicted to the joy of seeing her meet her favorite characters and princesses for the very first time.  It was incredible watching her meet Mickey and Minnie, and it was even more special that they were the first ones she met.  

But, if there was one defining moment that sums up that entire trip for me, it was breakfast with the princesses at Akershus in the Norway Pavilion in EPCOT.  As we entered the banquet hall, Sabrina, dressed as Princess Tiana, of The Princess & The Frog, a stuffed Ray in hand, was led to the waiting Belle for a picture.  It was adorable.  But, when the staff brought over the picture that they had taken, tears instantly sprang to my eyes.  There was my baby, dressed as a princess, holding the hand of one of her favorite princesses, all smiles, and looking beautiful.  To this day, that picture hangs framed in her bedroom and is one of my favorite and clearest memories.

Since then, we've gone back to Disney twice - in 2012 and 2013, and are working on our next trip.  Watching Sabrina's excitement at seeing and meeting her favorite characters just makes me incredibly happy.

I love EVERYTHING Disney!  I'm always looking for a little Disney in my life which has now led me to listening to Disney podcasts.  Nothing gets me through a long day like putting on my earphones and downloading a podcast.  My absolute favorites are 3 Moms And The Mouse and The Resort Loop.  They offer so much wonderful information and are funny as well.  I love them!

Well, that's it for tonight.  Not too bad for a first time, I think.

Till next time, may the Mouse be with you!

Monica