Packing

Now that most of my planning is done.. at least to the point where we could leave tomorrow and I have a good idea of where we are going, what we are doing, and when... I turn my focus on the next big undertaking... PACKING.

I find that the key to this chore is not my husband's idea of waiting until the last minute, then frantically running around, throwing stuff into a bag, crossing your fingers, and hoping you got everything that you need!  No, I have to make a list.  Yes, I'm one of those people.. List people!

I make a list of things to pack in our suitcases.. I cover all bases!  I also make a list of things that we will carry with us in the park, as well as things we will need at our accomodations.  Oh, and I can't forget things for the car.  We drive to Disney, so it's important with a small child, to have lots of things to keep her busy.  Hubby is in charge of all of the electronics.. DVD's, Leappad, Ipods, etc..  I'm in charge of the rest.

Here are a few fun things I've picked up for our trip:

Pens for Character Autographs:  *Don't use the green sharpies.  Characters don't like them :)

Hand wipes!

Activity books and light up fans for the lines :)

May I have your Autograph please?

One of the fun things to do at Disney is to meet as many characters as you can, take a picture with them, and get their autograph!  Disney sells a few different autograph books, all are nice, but from what I've seen, they really don't give you that many pages to use.  I'm an optimistic person, so I'm hopeful that we will meet a ton of characters during our trip, even though it's bound to be very crowded.  Knowing this, I wanted another option for our trip.  So I took to Pinterest and my beloved Disney boards, and found many people making and customizing their own autograph books!  This is what I had to do..

First I went to my local craft store and picked up this book:  A Sketch book by Strathmore, and 8 1/2 x 5 1/2.  The photo below shows one with 50 pages.. mine has 100.  It was about $8 at Michaels.  Use a coupon!

Before I started anything on the inside, I covered the front (and you can do the back, too) with cardstock.  I used a quick drying glue from Scotch, as I didn't feel that glue sticks would hold it well enough. 

 Then I gave my little one some stickers, and let her decorate :)  She basically put stickers all over the front (in no particular order) and the OCD in me was cringing, but hey, it's her book.. not mine!  I did have to re-position some of them when I got the idea for the next step.  Adding a ribbon closing and decoration.

I found this awesome princess ribbon on clearance for $1 at Michaels (Always check their clearance bins!), so I wanted to use a bit of it to 'finish' off the paper edge by the spiral binding.  I took it a step further and added ribbon going across both the front and the back, and they can be tied into a bow to close.  Here's what it looks like :

Back ribbon going across book (another one was added going up and down, to hide edge)

(left) Inside cover where up and down ribbon meet.  (right) Finished cover with ribbon closing

Here's the book my teenage daughter did (sans ribbons)

Once all of your glue and embelishments are completely dry, move to putting together the inside of your autograph book.  I found some free graphics that a member of the Dis Boards made for autograph books (look for the Creative Community board), so I printed out all of the characters that we wanted ( and there were A LOT!).  I cut them out, then used photo splits (also by Scotch - see below) to adhere the pictures into the book.

Sample graphics I printed out to put in book

I decided to attatch the autograph sections at the bottom of the page, so that after returning from our trip, I could add photos of meeting each character on the top:

My older girls really got into decorating their books.  Here are some page examples:

Happy Character Hunting!

How do you plan for Disney?

As most people know, taking a trip to Walt Disney World normally isn't just a 'fly by the seat of your pants' trip.  Unless, of course, you are an Annual Pass Holder, and are fortunate to go often.  Which, I am not.  So taking a trip to The Happiest Place on Earth is a big undertaking.. a Big Deal, and it requires a lot of planning.

So where does one even start when planning a trip to Walt Disney World?  Well, obviously you have to figure out your trip dates, and book your flight (if needed), and hotel.  I can't give you advice on any of that, as we always drive, and have only stayed in two resorts while in Disney.  First one was Shades of Green (thanks to my Father in Law), and Caribbean Beach.  Both were extremely nice.  This trip, we are saving a BUNCH of money, and staying offsite.  But still, I have to plan..

So, you've booked your airfare, or decided you are driving.  You've booked your accommodations.  You are now ready dive into the Disney Magic!  First thing I suggest you do is to print out a blank calendar for the time you are there.  If you are like me, you want to write everything down. A spiral notebook is also a great place to record all of the tidbits of info that you uncover while you plan. You can also create a spreadsheet (I do both).  Here's a sample of my "creation calendar" as I call it..

As you can see, there's a lot of writing on it!  I can tell you that most of it has changed by now. After you have your calendar ready for planning, turn to the internet for your information.  There is so much out there to help you.  One of the first things you need to decide is which park you want to go to on which day.  I did this by looking at 'Crowd Calendars' online. These crowd calendars help predict how crowded a particular park will be on a given day.  Remember that these are just predictions, based on the parks history.  They should be used as a guide only.  A great one is found at easywdw.com .  There's also a more popular crowd calendar at touringplans.com.  Bewarned though, Touring Plans charges, while easywdw is free. The Touring Plans website has many great features (including an app for your phone).  They will suggest plans for you, or let you customize your own plans, adding only the attractions that you wish to see, then telling you in what order to see them, as to maximize your day, and limit you standing in line waiting.  There is lots of information at your fingertips!  Take a look!

I'm not going to go into all of the boring details of how I plan for my trip, as I know that everyone has a different way of doing things. No two ways are wrong.  I just want to pass on the information and resources that I have used; those that have helped me out over the last few months to put this adventure together. From there, you can bury yourself under mounds of paper as you wish.

There are many Disney informational websites to read through, and lots of information to be had.  Here are a few of my favorites websites for planning

• The Dis  -  Lots of great information, Podcasts bursting with more information, and some of the best Forums online pertaining to Disney.  If someone there can't answer your question, you'll need to go directly to Disney for the answer.  A MUST see..
• All Ears - Another wonderful site with an abundance of great information.  
• Passporter - Yes, they publish a book, which some consider a Disney trip bible.  They also put most of their information on line... :)
• Mousesavers - DISCOUNTS!  This website sends out a newsletter each month, and along with it, a special link to savings.  Worth signing up for.
• Disney World Junkies - This is actually a Facebook page.. a group of people who love Disney.  Some go ALL the time, some not so much (we can dream!), but very friendly people, and lots of chit chat.  Fun!
• Kenny The Pirate -  This one is fun!  Not only does it contain lots of great information about the parks, etc.. but it also has lots of character information.  I have used Kenny's site more for character locations, and suggestions for interacting with the characters.  If you have little kids, or are into meeting the characters, definitely check this one out!

'Tootles!