Southwest Airlines Review and Reward Redemption

We had an opportunity to use our Southwest Airlines points for the first time this past week, which also happened to be my first time flying with Southwest. If you're not familiar with the way they fly, it's an open seating, so you get to pick any seat in the plane when you board. When you board is determined by when you check-in.

So, for the process of booking the tickets - super! I give 2 thumbs up for this. I had limited availability of flights for the points I wanted to spend, but I was okay with that. I did almost everything online, just once I had to call customer service to cancel a flight that wasn't cancelling online. Customer service was very friendly and helpful and made the cancellations and let me do the rest online. (And the reason I wasn't able to cancel was because I made a round-trip booking first, and only wanted to cancel the return portion to create a different itinerary) I loved that I was able to make roundtrip reservations, then cancel half of it at a later time, have my miles post back to my account immedietely, and be able to select 2 more 1 way fares for my total route with no change fees. The program allows for a lot of flexibility for U.S. travel.

We ended up going to Minneapolis for 4 days, then on to Buffalo for 1 day and then back home with 2 very full travel days. Originally we were just headed to Minneapolis, but decided since we were halfway across the country, we might as well take advantage of that and get in an extra wishlist trip for half the cost. We are very pleased that we chose our Niagara Falls destination. It is not a destination we would have wanted to be at for more than 1 day...it was the perfect place for us at the time. I think total we used about 32000 miles for the 2 destinations and flight back. (Of course we used our companion pass too, so the per person miles redemption was really half that)

On to a review of Southwest Airlines...booking tickets with points or cash is excellent, and can for the most part be done online with complete ease. The only hiccup a person might find with booking is that you can't plan too far ahead since they only have fare availability 90-180 days in advance.

Here is the advantage in booking award flights with Southwest: your points relate to how much the cash price is, so if there is a fare sale, then the points needed to redeem is decreased. This is fabulous for people trying to maximize the amount of travel they can take with their points such as myself. On a traditional airline, you pay 25,000 miles whether the fare is 200 dollars for 500 dollars. This means that domestic travel isn't usually a very good value for my miles...I'd rather save them a tiny bit longer to accrue enough for a more exotic destination. But with Southwest, I can fly coast to coast for as little as 17,000 miles. In general, I hope to not use more than 10,000 miles per flight - and from Seattle, the prices are generally pretty good and I can do this with good planning. Checking the low fare calendar is a very useful tool, and keeping your vacation days flexible is also very useful as many of the lowest fares are on a Thursday.

Now, for getting onto the plane and getting that seat you want, or as for our family-simply getting a seat together. First thing to note is that if you have a family with children 4 or younger, they have a family boarding time after the A group has been boarded. If you don't have an A boarding ticket - use it! You'll find a seat together this way. If you have younger children that are older than 4 and want to sit together - try to get in the A or B boarding group and don't be choosy about your seats. We actually prefer to sit in the back of the plane except for when we need to make quick connections - which we had with all 3 of our flights - and we were able to sit fairly close to the front of the plane with either our A boarding pass or using the family boarding. Soon we won't be able to use family boarding since our youngest will be 5 in January...after that we'll just be thankful that Southwest employees and patrons are friendly and kind.

I advise online check-in exactly 24 hours before your flight to get an  A boarding ticket (and even that does not guarantee you one - as we did this and still got a B boarding ticket) You can pay the 10 dollar early bird check in which automatically check's you in after first class and before general ticket holders. At 10 dollars a person per ticket - this could get expensive. For our trip it would have cost 120 buck-a-roos that I would rather spend on airport food keeping my kids tummies from the grumblies (or really ANYTHING else) So all in all...I just say, don't stress the boarding ticket. If you get C and have no 4 year olds or younger, just get in line at your time and find a seat. Most likely some kind soul will move from their window to take a middle seat so you and junior can sit together, older kids won't care, and maybe - just maybe, you are hoping there are only middle seats so it forces all of you to take a breather from one another. C'est la vie.

We loved this open boarding system. It seemed quick, and easy and less people finding the wrong seat and having to move, and no dupe tickets to get sorted out.

We also really enjoyed the flight crew. The service was quick and friendly. They took extra care of the families with little ones, making sure the kids had kid friendly snacks and they had lids and straws for the beverages the kids requested. They also didn't seem overly concerned or rude about tray tables and electronics before take-off when we were just waiting on the tarmac, which was nice.

And about waiting on the tarmac...there seemed to be a lot of it. Either we were waiting on something (what I don't know, when the pilot speaks it's like listening at a drive-thru box), or someone, or a plane was in the way, whatever. We had a lot of delays. Southwests texts would have been helpful if they actually had arrived before the delay. BUT...even though we had delays on almost every leg...(all 7 of them) we were only late once - which means 3 cheers for Southwest pilots and ground crew!

Another thing different about Southwest seems to be how many stops you make. At least with our low cost flights we chose. I've noted they have some non-stop flights, but all our flights had at least 1 stop, and on our way to Minneapolis, we had 2 (Salt Lake and Denver). I was dreading it a little bit because I felt that it was going to be a hassle...but I discovered that it wasn't a hassle and I actually enjoyed the shorter flights over one long stretch. For me it made the travel time go faster, and I never once looked at my watch to find out how much longer we had. It also kept my kids more entertained. I find the time before take-off and our 30 minutes of descent are the easiest entertainment times since the kids are entertained merely by the excitement of the plane...which means I had to do less to keep them quiet and happy for our 3 short flights to Minneapolis than our 2 flights back to Seattle from Buffalo.

I think the only thing I didn't like about Southwest was the length of line to check a bag. It was frustrating for me to have my boarding pass in hand and have to wait in a rather long, rather slow line to check a single bag. We ended up deciding to cram it in the overhead bin instead of standing in line. There is a line to print just a boarding pass if you are not checking bags...it would also be nice to have a line of just checking a bag. It would simplify the line even more. A lot of time is wasted by people standing at the kiosk to print their boarding pass before they check their luggage. It would be nice to be able to use that time to check my bag.

Overall, I give Southwest 2 thumbs up! Easy booking, great reward options, effective boarding and a friendly crew. Thanks Southwest!

Family Travel

It started with an idea to use the time off we might take with our baby’s arrival to go on a vacation with her when she was 3 months instead of using the time right away to lay on the couch and learn how to be a parent to a person who has 4 needs (eat, poop, sleep and be snuggled). First, let me say that laying on the couch and learning how to be a parent to your tiny person is totally acceptable, and very desirable. If you have yet to experience this moment in life, let me just tell you that though it is one of the most amazing times in life, the sleep deprivation you will experience is probably unlike anything you’ve ever experienced. So, that’s why most people thought we were crazy. Well, we weren’t going to the beaches in Hawaii or a posh resort with a spa…we were traveling backpacker style in Germany and Italy.

This is when I say that traveling with an infant is more fun than traveling without one. How so you say? How could feeding every 2 hours thru the night be better than sleeping in? How could changing stinky diapers on park benches be better than a quiet picnic with some fresh cheese and a baguette. How could viewing the Sistine Chapel in complete awe and silence be better than having to shush a child and worry if you’ll get kicked out due to the no noise signs? Well, let’s just say that everybody loves babies. It’s kind of like those sitcom episodes where the single male character realizes the draw of a woman when they have a baby with them…a baby as a chick magnet. Well, babies are a magnet, of any variety of people, not just chicks. So, taking our 3 month old with us led to a richer experience, with more local interactions, and even being allowed to do things that might not have been allowed, had I not had a baby. It’s amazing what people will let you do when they realize they are about to accost a woman breastfeeding her child. (Not that we did anything illegal or terrible, just sat in some beautiful places without having to pay for a meal) We even had a small quiet chat in the Sistine Chapel, which is taboo, with the guardsmen there (About the baby of course).

Were we tired? Sure. But we would have been tired back at home. We would have been changing diapers in front of the TV instead of in front of a German castle…where would you rather change diapers?

Now, international travel is expensive. I am travel savvy, and we travel fairly inexpensively, with a very tight budget. But, should international airfare be a bit much (as it has been for our family for the last 5 years) there are plenty of places to enjoy stateside. With our second baby we wanted the same kind of travel experience (it was very bonding – and a heck of a lot of fun), but we couldn’t quite afford the international trip, so we picked Boston instead. We aimed for a walking destination, and should we have had a little more cash (I believe this trip was sub $1500), we probably would have opted for an Atlantic train hopping trip.

I encourage everyone to explore their world, especially if you have children. There is a popular belief that you should wait to visit Disneyland or Disney World with your children when they can remember it (as was my belief before I had children, I actually think I ridiculed the stroller toting families on my first trip to Disney World – for shame!) but I say, “JUST GO!” Go, go, go. Whatever you have the money for, do it. Don’t have money? Plan it, and then save for it. Have a tiny little bit of money? Then take a camping trip. Have enough for Disney World at the Animal Kingdom Lodge (or the Pop or the 32 dollar Hotwire special)? Then take that 18 month old and show them a good time! Who cares if they don’t remember Mickey, for sure YOU’LL never forget their face the first time they walked down Main Street, or when they saw Goofy in the parade.

Travel with kids isn’t hard, it’s not scary, and it’s not unsafe. It takes good planning, and creativity. The easiest time to travel is with a young infant, one who has no schedule yet…they sleep when they want, eat when they want, so you can strap them in a baby carrier and do what you want till it’s time to take them out to feed and change, then back into the carrier and you’re good to go for a while again. After that time, you need to have a good travel itinerary that anticipates age appropriate activities of your child/children, frequent potty breaks, nap-times, and a load of laundry. Packing well, but conservatively is your friend. Not only have airline baggage fees gotten a little out of hand, but the most stressful part of a families plane travel is usually the time getting from the car park to the correct gate. A quick fold stroller, and no more roller carry-on than hands that can drag them (i.e. – if your 3 year old can’t haul their suitcase for a mile through the Minneapolis  airport, then you make room for their stuff in your own bag).

Family travel. There are a lot of memories to be made. Go make some.

Have a question? Ask away, I’d love to help you get somewhere.

I want to get to Greece, and I want to get there for free…

Ok. First, let’s discuss what “free” means. It can mean something different for everyone. Couponers for example post their “free” deals, and it often includes 9 of the same coupon (purchased from 9 different papers) and an out of pocket expense (which yields cash back for a return visit to the store). Was it free? Not exactly. Was it inexpensive? Sure. And the next tube of toothpaste bought at that store WILL be free.

Let’s talk about free travel. Does it exist? Not exactly. Can it be inexpensive? By all means! First, let’s explain some methods people use to snag “free” flights.

Some people use the method of overbooked flights to try and ensure a bump where the airline will offer up free travel vouchers. This method means you need to pay for a flight. You can get bumped on an award flight as well, but the point is – you have some sort of out of pocket cost to start with (dollars or miles) Then you do the wash rinse repeat action with your travel vouchers, meaning that the travel vouchers are used to book another fare on an overbooked flight which you plan to get bumped from. This method is not fool-proof, and it’s hard to travel this way with companions. You also have to know how to assess which flights will be overbooked. There are some tools such as this one. But you also will need to know how to evaluate the information provided. (More on that at a later time)

Another way to score a “free” flight is with companion fares. These often require the purchase of full -fare ticket. Full- fare means non-discounted…which is not the way most people purchase their fares. Companion fares can be had with certain airlines credit cards, which come with a fee, so take a good look at the rules of the companion ticket rules before you decide if this route is to your benefit. 

One airline to note for their companion fare is Alaska Airlines. It’s a $99 companion fare that is good on all published fares. The companion gets a seat in that fare class AND they earn miles for their flight. The best value is in booking a first class ticket when available – though this may or may not be of benefit to you.

One of the more reliable ways to get “free” airfare is to use frequent flier miles. Typically most individuals think of frequent flier programs as hopeless. The amount of flights (and money paid for such flights) to get just one domestic ticket seems unattainable - or perhaps not worth the hassle, as many people fly only once a year and not always on the same airline. But there are ways to boost mileage without flying. Credit card offers can give bonuses of 10’s of thousands of miles. Shopping online thru portals will also yield miles, and some programs have mileage earning promos throughout the year on flights, miles bought, transfers, etc.

So, what is “free” travel? For me, free travel is travel I accomplish that I would not have been able to otherwise. Scenario: A credit card bonus yields enough points to fly 2 of us to Orlando, making up the difference that we had lacking in our vacation fund. 69 dollars for the credit card annual fee – 10 dollars per ticket in taxes and fees – total cost of “free” travel =  $45 for a round-trip flight. Not free, but inexpensive enough to get our family out the door and on an adventure. (I will talk more on the value and maximization of miles at a later time)

Now, how do we get to Greece for free? As we’ve learned, there is no completely free way to do this. But, we can try to do it inexpensively. In this particular scenario, it’s tricky because there is no accrued mileage, and the planned departure is about 3 ½ months away. After analyzing all the credit card offers and reward redemption's for all the mileage plans, I determined that the best option was to try for the Chase Sapphire or Chase Ink card. These cards offer Ultimate Rewards Points, and can be transferred between accounts quickly. These points can be used in a variety of ways, but in this scenario, they would be used towards the purchase of a ticket to Athens. With 2 cards and all the points transferred to one account, the cost of a round-trip to Athens should be decreased from 1800 to 600 dollars as the points can be used as cash towards the purchase of travel. (Just a note – this is not the best value for these points – but free travel isn’t always about the best value, it’s about getting where you want to go for less $$)

Without a current mileage plan, and very limited time to accrue the miles/points, this was the best route. But what if we aren’t approved the cards instantly? (This happens, but you may call for credit reconsideration which often results in approval – but this can take some time, especially if you wait for your letter of denial) And, what if it really takes a full 8 weeks to receive the points after required spending? (Always read your fine print before you apply for credit cards – they usually say points will post 6-8 weeks after fulfilling the requirements – in this case it was 3,000 dollars in purchases) This could potentially put the points we need in our account just weeks before departure.

In the end, there just wasn’t enough time to prep a mileage account with the miles/points needed. The miles and points game is not something that happens overnight, accrual happens over time, and travel sometimes needs to be planned far in advance to get the flights you desire. There was potential in this situation to be able to decrease the amount out of pocket, but it would add stress as one would need to play the waiting game until the points posted – and this had potential to fail in yielding savings from the current fare. Better in my opinion to seek the best airfare with the best itinerary, and start accrual of miles/points for the next trip to be “free”.

So, up next I'll be talking about how to search for the best airfare.

California Trip Report

Our road-trip was a lot of fun, and a very memorable and enjoyable vacation. Each driving day (3 on either side of our Disneyland time) we started early and were in our motel around 6pm - just enough time for a dip in the pool before the girl's bedtime. If you ever plan to take a trip along the I-5 to or from California, I highly recommend taking a little detour to the redwoods along 101 north of San-Francisco. We didn't take any lengthy stops along the way, just a quick roadside hike, a drive the the kitschy Drive-Thru Tree, a couple beach stops, and stop to see Babe and Paul. The drive is a little longer, but plenty more scenic than I-5, plus it dumps you into San Francisco, which yields it's own adventures.

Our kids are little, but are great travelers, often they take the "getting there" part of travel in greater stride than ourselves. We had organized the car in such a way that they each had a water bottle at hand, small toys in a basket for them, a new coloring book, and twist up crayons and colored pencils, some blank pads of paper, and a book. Most of the time the girls played or listened to Adventures in Odyssey (a radio show designed for kids, our 6 and 4 year old stayed engaged with it for over an hour at a time). We also brought along plenty of snacks, gave them each a garbage bag, and had a DVD player we could strap between the front seats when they got really antsy. There are plenty of places to stop off for bathroom breaks or to refill the water bottles. A couple times we stopped for snack just to get out of the car. 

The longest stretch was I-5 between San Fran and LA. This stretch of highway doesn't have a varied landscape, and places to stop are not quite as frequent. It is fun to see the wind farms and the miles and miles of  citrus agriculture. Traffic in and out of the greater LA area was slow and hot, but that's to be expected 

This trip was to be a surprise to our girls. We really struggled keeping the secret...but they never clued in. We were supposed to drive into our Anaheim motel  under the cover of darkness, but we arrived at Newport beach a couple hours ahead of schedule, and the beach was very windy that day, making it quite cool, and after Annora fell in the water we didn't stay long. We put on an Adventures in Odyssey to draw their attention away from their surroundings, and it worked, even though we drove past several bright blue Toy Story Disneyland buses and a couple princesses! We told the girls we were taking a walk in the morning instead of a drive, and we headed out. Neither of them noticed the Disneyland banners on the light poles. They started noticing the Disneyland busses and kids wearing costumes, but they just commented about it, didn't draw any conclusion, till we were at the ticket gate. I would say it didn't really kick in till the afternoon when Maddie said, "Am I really at Disneyland or am I dreaming!?" So, if you ever have the chance to surprise your kids - do it! It's so fun to watch their face and have EVEN MORE excitement over a place that creates so much excitement.

Our day of driving after our Disneyland time didn't have any adventure planned in. It was a long drive up to Fairfield, where we planned on going to the Jelly Belly Factory when it opened the next morning. Though the drive was long, everyone faired just fine, even with the added extra hours of traffic. The next morning the Jelly Belly Factory Tour was fun and interesting. All that sugar! And the free samples! That day we also went on a quest to locate some Pliny the Elder beer. It was harder than we thought it should be, but we were rewarded with 6 bottles. Thank you Nugget Market! 

So, all in all, strategic planning of a few fun stops along the way and a well organized car makes for an easy and exciting 2400 mile road trip. I would be happy to drive again to Disneyland again sometime. 

Our biggest adventure happened to the smallest member of our family - Phoebe. She's Annora's best friend, her doll, who she took into a dollar store and was left behind in the crayon section. About an hour later Annora realized Phoebe was missing and we were NOT turning back. With no cell service for miles, Ryan sped through the mountains till there was service, parked on the shoulder of the highway to make a few calls, arranging with a very generous man to have Phoebe mailed to our Anaheim motel. Phoebe arrived on our last day in Disneyland, and we are so grateful for kind people in our world! The days following Phoebe's departure, Annora would say things like, "Phoebe would have liked this", or "I wish Phoebe could be here to play". We love that kid.

Road-tripping to Disneyland.

Our family is about to embark on our first 1000+ mile road trip. We travel often, but always use air travel to get where we are going. This time we'll be traveling to Southern California to visit Disneyland via our trusty Prius (At least we're hoping it's trusty!) We're also including a breeze-thru visit of the Redwoods, a drive across the Golden Gate Bridge, a sunset picnic at Huntington Beach, and a tour of the Jelly Belly Factory. We started the planning of this trip in August when we took a longer camping trip around the Olympic Peninsula which almost turned into a surprise trip to Disneyland. We had another vacation planned in February that gave us a very limited amount of vacation dollars to use on this trip, so my planning has been extreme budget based. Our February vacation had to be postponed, so that has given us more funds, but as we have recently found our way into the miles and points hobby and we are anticipating some frequent trips in the next 18 months we desire to save as much as we can for the next vacation. I'm sharing my research for this trip, which includes some notes about places to stay (on the cheap) and things to do and routing. If you've made this trip or other long road trips and have any tidbits of wisdom, let me know! 

Route Plan:

Silverton, OR - Roseburg, OR (145 mi) 2hr. 41min.

• stop for lunch at rice hill drive-in

Roseburg, OR- Klamath, CA ( 174 mi) 3hr. 37min.

• need rest stop break
• picnic dinner at Trees of Mystery

Klamath, CA - Eureka, CA (62 mi) 1hr. 17min.

• stop for the night

Eureka, CA to San Francisco, CA (274 mi) 5hr. 34min.

•  get sandy at Samoa Dunes
• drive on Ave. of Giants starting at Pepperwood
• stop for lunch at Shrine Drive Thru tree
• stop for the night 

San Francisco, CA to Huntington Beach (421mi) 7hr. 9min.

• need a couple rest stop breaks
• arrive at beach in time to eat picnic at Sunset

Huntingon Beach, CA to Anaheim, CA (25 mi) 34 min.

• stop for the night
• take a couple days for Disneyland

Anaheim, CA to Fairfield, CA (415 mi) 7hr. 1min.

• stop at Harris Ranch for lunch
• need a rest stop break
• stop for the night

Fairfield, CA to Dunsmuir, CA (223 mi) 3hr. 42 min.

• tour jelly belly factory
• stop for the night at caboose lodging

Dunsmuir, CA to home (500 mi) 8 hr. 30 min.

• need some rest stop breaks

Redwoods

Accommodations-

Camping Options:

Jedediah Smith Campground – 10 miles E of Crescent City – $35

Elk Prairie Campground – 6 miles N of Orick – $35

Cabin Options:

KOA (KOA card gives 10% off – yearly rate of $24)

1 room kamping kabin – $64 for a  Saturday night stay in May at crescent City

1 room kamping kabin – $63  for a Sunday night stay in May at Eureka

Elk Creek Campground - $50-75.00 nightly for family of 4.

Motels:

Curly Redwood Lodge- Crescent City –$ 60 (well rated, budget, vintage fun!)

Econo Lodge (miles earned) – Crescent City – $49.99 (44 with Gov’t rate) (not well reviewed because it’s bare bones, but if just looking for a basic bed and shower while touring, it’s a good value-includes a cont. breakfast)

Ravenwood Motel -Klamath – $65-125 (would be a great choice for a family staying awhile, or a couples getaway)

Town House Motel-Eureka – $79 for a family suite (2 rooms)

RodewayInn (miles earned)-Eureka – $65.99 (fairly well reviewed, basic and clean motel)

Best Western (miles earned) – Arcata – 84.96-and possible 15% off coupon (well reviewed, has an indoor pool and includes breakfast)

Howard Johnson Arcata (miles earned) –Arcata – 72.99 (well reviewed, has an indoor pool and includes breakfast)

Stonegate Villas – Leggett – worth checking out.

Ocean Grove Lodge – Trinidad – 2 doubles for 66.00, two queens for 80.00

Things to do and See-

Klamath River Overlook, a prime spot for watching the gray whale migration

Newton B. Drury Scenic Parkway

Trillium Falls Trail covers 2½ miles through ancestral forest and has one of the few falls in the parks, and includes Fern Canyon

Kuchel Visitor Center is one mile South of Orick and has some good exhibits

Hike Trinidad Head

Gondola ride at Trees of Mystery (and don’t forget Babe!) (expensive for what it is, but kids 6 and under are free)

Plenty of Hiking

Driving to Anaheim

Motels:

Quality Inn Oakland (miles earned) – 72.00 (57.00 advance purchase) (highly rated, full breakfast, outdoor pool budget motel)

Hotwire – Oakland – 51.00 ( 75% positive reviews, with breakfast and pool, in the airport area – possible La Quinta, Quality Inn or Days Hotel)

Things to do and see:

Golden Gate Bridge

Jelly Belly Factory Tour 

Harris Ranch Restaurant

Beaches  

Disney Tips - Little One's and Baby Bumps

Disneyland and Disney World are great destinations for families in any stage. I know that now. When I was younger, without children, I took my first trip to Disney World, looked at all the families lugging huge diaper bags, cumbersome strollers, and screaming children and vowed to never bring my little tikes to the happiest place on earth, where it appeared to me would be hell on earth should I bring my little one. I changed my mind. Perspective changes once you have your own children. Those parents lugging the double stroller and picking up their 20 pound diaper bag and 15 pound screaming child getting off the resort bus were happy inside...I know it. They might have been tired, or rather exhausted. Everybody needed a nap. But prior to that, they had fun, and 4 month old Billy had a great time being with Mom and Dad and 3 year old Joanie laughed her ears off on Dumbo, and Mom and Dad enjoyed the sun, the smiles on their kids' faces, and the Disney cleanliness and friendliness.

Here are my tips for traveling to Disney parks with your little one.

• Invest in a quick fold, compact stroller that you can abuse. Our first trip with our little one, we took our only stroller. It was easy to manuever, but had no locking mechanism once it was folded, and didn't fold compactly. It suffered some dings, which at the time I was stressed out about because it was expensive. It was hard to fit on the bus sometimes without bumping legs, and took up a lot of space in our hotel room. After that I researched compact folding strollers and found one on craigslist. Our next trips were less stressful and gave us greater maneuverability. If you're headed to Florida, investing in a rain cover for your stroller is a great idea. When the rain comes, it really really comes. With our cover we splashed through puddles to the next attraction instead of hiding out under and awning.
• Pack light. Taking carry-on's will save you money, so if you must check a bag, try for just one. Not only will it save you money, but it limits the amount of items you have to carry. Taking bags, strollers, car seats, and children through an airport can be an ordeal. I bet I could start an airport Sherpa  business for families and be quiet successful. So, the less you take, the less you have trek to the gate and back. Most airlines allow for car seats to be checked at no cost to you, so if you aren't using it on the plane, check it. If you will be using it in a seat, try to put it in a bag with a strap, or devising your own strap around it so you can throw it over your shoulder, as they are quite cumbersome. Better yet, design your trip so you can avoid having to take them at all. Strollers can be gate checked, so use it strategically to ferry all your stuff and children to to the gate. I'll talk a little more about packing strategies in another post, but to give you a general idea, we try to keep our baggage for our family of four to 2 roller-bags, 1 backpack, and 1 child's backpack along with a stroller and car seats as necessary.
• Bring activities and snacks proven to keep your child engaged. But not too many, because remember, we're packing lightly. Once I decided to keep my kids entertained on a flight by packing an extra gift bag filled with wrapped snacks, toys, and books. Instead of giving them something to do each hour as I had planned, they exhausted the bags contents in a small amount of time till I was left with a heap of trash and discarded toys. They played with their old toys we had brought for the rest of the flight. I think this kind of strategy is better for a road trip, but for plane travel, I stick to small plastic figurine style toys, small pads of paper and crayons, tiny activity books, fruit snacks, goldfish crackers, and a portable DVD player.
• Tote your babe in a sling or other baby carrier. This was an indispensable item when our children were young (2 and under). Naps when they were babies were easier in a sling, and I didn't have to stop and hang out by the stroller. It also gives you a free hand in the airport (except at the security check where you will have to take your child out and run the carrier through the scanner.)
• Bring a thin receiving blanket. You can also use the tail of your sling should you have one. What you should know is that not all planes are equiped with diaper changing tables in the bathrooms. You may be changing on your seat, when having that blanket might save it from a poo smear, or it might shield your babe for a little diaper changing privacy should you want it. If the bathroom does have a changing table, you might want to lay the blanket down to cushion your child's head from the hard plastic and jolting of the plane through turbulence. The blanket can also help shield sun from a sleeping child in a stroller.
• Ziploc bags are your friend. You probably already knew this...but I will just remind you of all the uses you might find for this compact bag of wonder. Keep a handful of wipes in it, use it as a snack bag, use it as a trash bag, pack home wet or smelly clothes, use it for toys, sit on it, keep your souveniers in it...the list goes on. Ziplocs work well with my light packing strategy, I usually pack a couple gallon and quart sized bags inside one gallon sized bag and use them for wipes, snacks, toys and souveniers.
• ID tags for your little ones that wander. You can get a dog tag made fairly inexpensively that will list a name and phone number for your peace of mind should your child find themselves lost within the swarms of people in the parks. We did this once because our youngest had fits where they didn't want to hold your hand, and were oblivious to whether we were close by or not. She never went missing, but I felt more secure knowing it was there just in case. we attached it to a strap on her shoe and it never bothered her.
• Snacks and water bottles. These two things can help you save some money on park snacks and drinks. The parks have plenty of drinking fountains for refills, and any counter service restaurant will give you a cup of ice water for free, just walk on up and ask for one. We usually pack some granola bars and nuts from home to get us started, and pick up a few more snack items for breakfast and the parks once we arrive. Most hotels have a shop with some snacks, or you can find a convenience store within walking distance if you don't have a car. If you do have a car, then you'll have more options. You can ask your shuttle service if they will make a stop at a grocery store as well, since this is something that some of them do for no extra charge. If you don't like city water, you can bring along some single pouch drink mixes, they pack light and will make sure you keep hydrated, which is very important for every family member. You can bring bag lunches into the parks, just no coolers.
• Bring a comfortable backpack that both parents will wear. Backpacks are ideal in the parks because you will have snacks, water bottles, wipes, diapers, a camera, phone, sunglasses, and perhaps a few other things to manage. It's nice to keep it all in one place. Your stroller might be well equipped to handle all this gear, but remember you'll have to leave your stroller to get on an attraction, or fold up your stroller to get it on a bus. We use a black backpack, not a pink one, so we both feel comfortable wearing it and can trade off. Two sweaty backs are better than one.
• Take a nap! Everyone in the family will need some downtown in the middle of the day. Get to the parks early to take advantage of lesser crowds and fresh kids, then find your way back to your hotel in the afternoon when the crowds and temps are higher. Let the kids nap or watch some TV or read a book, then take a dip in the pool. You'll feel refreshed and ready to hit the parks again around 3 or 4, when crowds are starting to take a dip again. Staying till fireworks or an evening parade won't be an affair full of tears now.
• Find the Baby Care Centers. These are amazing places of refuge within the Disney parks. They are listed on the maps. You'll usually find a cast member there to help you if you are in need of baby food, formula or diapering needs. There is a room for changing diapers, a place for tots to play or watch a cartoon and a place to feed your little one. If you're feeling overwhelmed or you just need a quiet cool place to change or feed a child or settle down from a tantrum, and nothing around you looks like a good option, go here.
• Make an attraction itinerary. It's easier to take everything in that Disney has to offer if you have a plan. It can easily become overwhelming for you and your children. Educate yourself on the rides, what the height limits are, and then make a plan. It's wise to know crowd patterns, so you can utilize fastpass, or avoid non-fastpass rides with long lines. I recommend The Unofficial Guide to Disneyland or The Unofficial Guide to Disney World for this purpose, or www.touringplans.com. 
• Use the child swap. When traveling with little ones, there are bound to be some rides that one or more of your children are not tall enough to ride (or perhaps are too afraid to ride). In this case, approach the cast member at the line entrance and say you'd like a child swap ticket. Now one parent can stay behind with the non-rider(s) and once the other(s) is through you may use your child swap ticket to get through the fastpass line instead of waiting in the regular line. While parent #1 is riding, take the time waiting to enjoy another attraction, or plan that ride during nap time. Some attractions have child play areas at the exit of the ride, such as in the case of splash mountain.
• See the parades. As a couple with no children, we avoided the parades so we could ride attractions with lesser lines. But the expression on our kids' faces during a parade is priceless. See at least one. You'll see what I mean.
• If you have the extra cash, make reservations for a character meal. Again, expressions are priceless. But as an added benefit, eating a meal and seeing characters kills two birds with one stone, and allows you more time to see attractions. Waiting in line to see characters in the park can take up a considerable amount of time...so eating a meal while the characters come to you is a nice luxury. Kids under 3 are free too!
• Prepare young children by telling them what it will be like. It's possible that you want to surprise your child with your Disney trip, and that sounds like a great idea too! But if you aren't planning on it being a surprise, I recommend giving your child information about what it will be like at Disneyland or Disney World. Some children are frightened by the characters, which is normal, but I have found that telling my child every day what we will be doing and what will be there leading up to the trip, it takes away their anxiety once we are there. My children usually take a day to warm up to the full costumed characters.

Now, what do you need to know if you're pregnant? Disneyland and Disney World have a wide variety of very creative and mild attractions. Tell your doctor where you are going and ask what there ride recommendation is. You'll find that you'll be able to do most everything but the big roller coaster type rides, and each doctor might have differing ideas as to what is okay or not. Do your research and then do what you're comfortable with. Those rides with restrictions are Splash Mountain, Big Thunder, Space Mountain, Indy Speedway (because of possible rear-ending), Indiana Jones (in Disneyland), Matterhorn, Barnstormer California Screamin', Big River Rapids, Tower of Terror, Rockin'Roller Coaster,  Star Tours, Dinosaur, Kali River Rapids, Kilimanjaro Safari,  Everest, Test Track, and Mission Space. From personal experience I stayed away from all of those rides except the safari ride at Animal Kingdom.

If you're expecting, just take it easy. Disney parks can be hard on the feet, so take it easy, and plan your attractions accordingly so you can sit in between walking. Keep yourself well hydrated, remember that you can ask for a cup of ice water from any counter service restaurant. The fruit stands can offer a great healthy snack for less than 2 dollars. Make sure you're resting during the afternoons, maybe with your feet up, and then take a dip in the pool to refresh yourself. If you're finding that walking is painful, rent a wheelchair at the gate. I went to Disney World each time I was pregnant and enjoyed the more relaxed pace of touring, they were both great vacation experiences.

Disney Tips - Ticket Choices

Disney gives you some options on your tickets when purchasing for Disneyland or Disney World. I'll cover how many days you should purchase, the park hopper feature, other add-on's and season pass options.

 To fully understand your options you need to know what you need a ticket for and what happens when you go through the turnstile. Each separate park within Disney property requires your ticket to be swiped at the turnstile. If you have a one-park-per-day ticket, you may swipe your ticket at any of the parks and have entry to that park, and that park only, all day long. You may exit and enter as you will, but you may not enter a separate park on that day. Example : You have a 3 day pass at Disneyland without the park hopper option and you swipe your ticket at the Disneyland turnstile. You may not go to California Adventure at 7pm to see the World of Color Show. So, to see both Disneyland and Disney's California Adventure Parks, you need the park hopper pass, or at least a 2 day pass. In Disney World there are 4 separate parks. It's important to note that a 1-park per day pass cannot take off 2 days on the same day, that is why you will gain entry to one park and cannot gain entry to a different one. Your pass simply won't let you through the turnstile if you try. Downtown Disney is a fun shopping area and does not require a ticket.

 First we'll cover the Disneyland options. Disneyland tickets expire 13 days after first use. So, plan accordingly if you want to break up your touring. Options are 1-park per day or park-hopper passes. You can buy from 1 to 6 days. Gate prices can be found here. There is usually some sort of discount available for advance purchase. Disneyland has 2 parks, and you could see a lot of each park in just 2 days, but 3 days is optimal. As you increase the days on your pass, you'll notice that the per day cost goes down, so another 25 dollars to go from 3 to 4 days might be worth it, especially if you don't plan to come back soon. Or you could add on 15 dollars for the park hopper pass, save 10 dollars a head, and save one night's stay, to make your vacation more budget friendly. For Disneyland, I recommend the 3 day park hopper pass. The flexibility is worth the price on a 3 day ticket. If your budget is more gracious and/or you have little kids, 4 or 5 days will allow you to relax your touring pace giving you plenty of nap and pool time.

You may purchase your tickets from Disney, AAA, or a ticket broker. Sometimes there is availability to purchase from big box stores in Southern California, or from Costco. Check the forums or mousesavers for up-to-date information. There is also a Southern California Citypass and if you are planning to do more than just Disneyland, this offers good savings if you do Universal and Seaworld. There are discounts available for students, youth groups, teachers, military and more should you qualify. Check mousesavers for more details.


Now for Disney World options. Disney World tickets have a couple more bells and whistles to add on. You may purchase from 1-10 days (unless you're from UK and then you can purchase up to 14 days). Disney World tickets start with a "base" ticket, which is a 1-park per day ticket and expires in 14 days from first use. Disney World has 4 parks - Animal Kingdom, Magic Kingdom, Hollywood Studios, and Epcot. Each park deserves at least 1 full day to tour, with Magic Kingdom and Epcot easily taking 2. Animal Kingdom always closes earlier than the rest of the parks, and is the smallest park, so a half day in this park is possible. When choosing our park tickets for Disney World, we like to buy as many days as possible. You can purchase a 4 day ticket and see each park, but again you will notice here that the per day cost goes down the more days you add.


After you choose how many days your ticket will be, you can choose to add on the park-hopper feature, water park fun and more, and no expiration. 

• The park hopper option lets you visit as many parks as you like in one day. You could potentially go to all of them on a single day (though I do not advice this for a family trip). To add on to a single day ticket it's 35 dollars. To add on to a multi-day ticket it's 55 dollars. Our family really utilizes the park hopper option, and we love the flexibility. We like to get into one park early before the crowds and hop over to another park later in the day where we know the crowds are less. We also like the flexibility to eat where we like. We love Epcot restaurants and eat a lot of our meals at Epcot, it's also really easy to get to Epcot from Magic Kingdom or Hollywood Studios via boat, monorail, or a walking path making park hopper option quite convenient, but you can easily get by without it. It really depends on which parks you will spend your time in and your eating habits.

• The water park fun and more option gives you admission to the water parks (Typhoon Lagoon and Blizzard Beach), wide world of sports, DisneyQuest, and a round of golf at Oak Trail golf course. The number of admissions you have is based on the number of days your ticket is. Again you may find that information here. In 6 trips to Disney World, we've visited a water park twice. I would recommend a water park for couples and families with older children, or extended stays at Disney World. It's 55 dollars to add this option to your ticket and it does not extend your expiration. To make it worth it you need to gain admission to these places at least twice. Unless you are a golfer more than a theme-parker, or you are staying more than 7 days, it's probably not worth it. You can pay 50 dollars for the water park at the gate.

• The no expiration option could save you some money should you plan to visit Disney World again. No expiration is simply that - you could come back 2 years later and use your pass again...or 10 years. This option has a variable rate based on the number of days your base ticket is. As a West Coaster who really enjoys the park atmosphere, I've never considered this option much because the maximum days I can purchase is 10. This means I could spend  5 days in the parks on one trip and 5 on my next trip, but to get the no expiration on a 10 day pass is 225 dollars. This is no savings when compared to two 5 day base tickets. Not one penny. Nada. And I really like my time in the parks, so 5 days is a couple days too few. However, if you add on the park hopper option and the water park option, it will save you from paying these fees twice. I recommend a full week to see just the parks at Disney World for first time guests. With all there is to do, one day in each park just isn't enough. But, now that I'm a veteran, I can see that purchasing a 10 day pass with all the options could help save me money, and not miss out on much. With a 10 day pass with park hopper and water park option with no expiration, I would get to see all the parks for 5 days, hop to my favorite restaurants, visit a water park, and stroll around at Downtown Disney for a cost of 332 dollars per trip. This is about the same as purchasing two 5-day park hoppers and getting 2 free water park days (or more). Also, I would save on ticket price increases, which happen almost every  year. Not substantial savings, but a little. You can save even more by purchasing a ticket through a broker. Purchase the ticket with the greatest percentage of savings, and then you can upgrade your ticket once you arrive. If I remember correctly, I purchased my last 10 day hopper pass for 299 from a broker 18 months ago. I could have then paid 225 dollars plus 55 dollars for the water park and no expiration options, yielding 2 5-day hopper and waterpark pass trips for  579 dollars, or 289 per trip.

I just mentioned that you can upgrade your ticket once you've arrived. You can also upgrade your ticket after you've used it. As long as you still have days left on your ticket (and it hasn't expired), you may upgrade it by adding on any of the options. The one thing to note is that your ticket will still expire 14 days from your first use, and the no expiration option is based on your base ticket days, not the days left. But being able to upgrade your ticket once you've arrived gives you the option to purchase a base ticket first to see if 1-park per day will be sufficient. If you find once you've entered the parks that you'd really like the flexibility of park hopping just visit a ticket counter or guest services counter. If the base ticket works for your family, you've saved yourself almost 60 dollars per person, if not, at least you tried. 


You may purchase your ticket straight from Disney, but discounts are not often given for just a ticket purchase through Disney World. Ticket brokers and AAA are a better option. Ticket brokers often have a slightly higher discount than AAA. Purchasing tickets once in Florida is also an option at many Wal-marts. I would check in at disboards to see what is current. There are also discounts offered for residents, military, students, and Canadians. Check mousesavers for what is current.

Annual passes for either Disneyland or Disney World are an option should you be planning to visit the parks twice in one year. Disneyland has 2 options for non-residents. The best option would be for the non-peak days pass which gives you admission 315 days of the year and costs 379 dollars, offering you a savings of approximately 75 dollars off two 3-day passes (at full price - with current discounts, you might only save about 25 dollars). The premium annual pass gives 365 days of admission and free parking, it is 499 dollars. If you decide before you've used all the days on your ticket that you like Disneyland SO much that you must come back before the end of the year, you may upgrade your ticket to an annual pass and just pay the difference.


Disney World annual pass options include a pass that gives you 365 days of admission and parking for 552/509 dollars or a premium pass that also give admission to the water parks and DisneyQuest for 691/636 dollars. To make the premium pass worthwhile you'd need to visit the water parks or DisneyQuest a minimum of 3 times. Again, if you decide while vacationing that you MUST come back soon to Disney World, you may upgrade your ticket to an annual pass before you've used the last day on your ticket and pay the difference.


There is one other annual pass option, it's price tag is 773 dollars and it offers premium annual pass features of both Disneyland and Disney World. I see no savings in this option unless you can go more than 3 times within the year, or perhaps some extended stays.

Overall, the best ticket options that I've found in the past are tickets bought through brokers that have been mentioned at mousesavers. Sometimes the best deal is to create a hotel and ticket package with Disney World when they are offering a low season discount, usually this includes free dining, which is a very good savings.

Up next I'll be giving my tips on Disney travel with little ones, and what to expect when you're expecting.