Tuesday's Tip: Buy Glow Sticks

One of the tips that I cannot stress enough to people traveling to Walt Disney World with children is to take glow sticks with them. 

You will notice in any park (Universal included) that when the sun starts to go down that they start rolling out carts of toys that light up. We've been a sucker for it before, we bought a spinning light up Buzz Lightyear. These toys are expensive, they are usually cheaply made, and they go by the wayside quickly at home. They are marketing geniuses though, once one kid has something that lights up, all the others want it too. Kids are mesmerized by all the lights. Another problem with these carts is that they only take cash, who still carries cash?

After we dropped a bucket of money on our light up Buzz, I tried to figure out what I could do for the kids that would be fun but not cost a lot. I decided that year to order some glow sticks, the kind that come in tubes and can be turned into bracelets and necklaces. I ordered a tube of 100 off of eBay, it was much cheaper and the kids had enough to last our entire vacation.

After that I started seeing tubes of them at Target on the dollar rack, so I now buy them there. Most years I buy 2 tubes per child (each tube contains 15 bracelets). The last couple of years they even had extras that we gave kids sitting around us at that time, we love to spread the "pixie dust." The tubes are small and light, they easily fit in our suitcases on the plane and in our backpacks in the parks. 

As soon as I start seeing them at Target every year, I start buying them. You can never have too many! If you can't find them at your local Target, I suggest looking at the dollar store, they have them but you don't get as many in a package. Sadly, this year my 16 year old has said that he doesn't want any. I will buy them for the 13 year old, hopefully she will still use them, if not for herself maybe we can hand them out to kids around us. 

Glow bracelets from Target

Have a magical day :)

Flat Sheri Friday!

On Friday's I am going to do something fun. When I was planning my trip to Walt Disney World in December I had a very dear friend mention that she has never been to Disney and would love to meet Eeyore. I told her that we planned on having breakfast with Eeyore and she asked me to send her a picture of him. After discussing it for awhile we decided that she would make a Flat Sheri (check out the Flat Stanley books if you are not familiar) and Flat Sheri would travel with me. I had a blast sending her daily updates and trying to find trouble for Sheri to get into. 

Today is just to introduce you to Flat Sheri. Follow along to see what kind of trouble she can get herself into over the next few weeks. Isn't she cute?

Flat Sheri lost her stick before we even left home :(

Here's Flat Sheri in my suitcase and ready to go!

I'm thinking about taking volunteers to send a Flat Person on vacation with us in October. We would love to take more people with us!

Remember, if you want a quote on a magical vacation please email me at mendy@polkadotbowadventures.com.

Thanks!
Have a Magical Day!

Throwback Thursday

Thursday's are all about Throwback. I am going to discuss something that happened way back when. I may even get out the old albums from the 1980's to see what kind of fun I can dig up.

Today's Throwback Thursday comes from some pics that I have taken over the last couple of years. Notice the size differences. I'm hoping to take another pic just like these in 2018.

It's always fun to look around Disney to find things that are still there where you have taken pictures before. These two just happen to still be there. 

These pictures were taken in Downtown Disney (now Disney Springs). There's a Lego Store with lots of Lego sculptures around. This guy is in the water. Notice the second pic where the tree has grown so much in 8 years that he is now in the shade.

These pictures were taken at Disney's Wilderness Lodge Resort. There's a cute gift shop (Wilderness Lodge Mercantile) that has this awesome Totem Pole with Disney characters on it. 

Thanks :)

Disney from a man's point of view

On Wednesday's I am going to have my husband do an article about Disney from his point of view. He has the rare insight of being a Disney hater turned Disney fan.

He first went to Walt Disney World for our honeymoon in June, 1998. As many of you know Florida in June is awful. The heat and humidity don't stop, and don't even get me started about the crowds during the summer. Everyone is out of school and takes their family vacations during the summer months. Heat + humidity + crowds = grouchy dad. His next two experiences was when we took our kids in June 2005 and July 2008. If you know how hot it is in June in Florida you know that July is even worse. He spent the entire time complaining about heat and the cost of everything. 

Once the kids, my mom, and I started going in October I kept telling him how great it was. Less heat, a lot less humidity, and a nice level of crowds. He didn't really want to listen, he assumed Florida was hot all year round. After several years of asking him to go and him saying no, he finally relented and went with us in October 2014. He really only agreed to go because of the Harry Potter attractions at Universal Orlando but we were just thankful to get him there. 

Once he arrived in Florida he realized that I was right (shocker) and the heat and crowds were much better. He enjoyed himself and is now a Disney fan himself. In 2015, we wanted to take a trip just the 2 of us and decided to go to New Orleans to visit friends but he said that he wanted to add Disney to it to. We ended up only going to Orlando and we went in December. He had so much fun. He now says that Disney is worth the price with the entertainment you get and he doesn't mind spending the money if we can all enjoy ourselves.

This brings us to this year. He is already excited about our trip in October (215 days!!) He is even loving to help with the planning process. 

So, Joe will start next Wednesday with an article about Disney (or that other place). 

Thanks :)

Tips and Tricks Tuesdays

Tuesday's will be all about tips, tricks, and reviews. I also have some Disney DIY projects up my sleeve that I will share. Today's little tip is what NOT to say to a Disney fan. Hope you enjoy!

Usually when I tell people that I am planning another Disney vacation I sometimes get the same questions/statements. "Didn't you just go last year?" "Don't you get tired of going to the same place every year?" "Disney is for babies."

I don't quite know what makes people think that it's OK to ask people these questions. I would never ask someone that about their vacation plans. I would probably ask for recommendations if I ever decide to visit that place myself. So, let's review these questions.

"Didn't you just go last year?" This is usually asked by someone who stays in the same condo, on the same beach, and eat at the same restaurants every spring break but can't seem to understand how I could go to Walt Disney World every year. I try to be polite when people ask this question and I usually say "yes, my kids like to go every year." This is only half truth though, my mom, my husband and I love going, as well. There are so many different things to do that makes us love it. My parents took my cousin and I almost every summer to WDW, if feels like home and I tell people this.

"Don't you get tired of going to the same place every year?" No, I don't. I attempt to make every vacation different for us, whether it be different resorts or different restaurants, we experience something new each and every time. One year, we went with cousins. One time we decided to take my niece, who had never been. We usually like to try different restaurants each time we go. Each year we try to experience an attraction that we have never done, one year it was Astro Orbiter during the fireworks, last year I went on Tom Sawyer Island. My husband and I just went on an adult trip during Christmas (a season I had never been) and I spent more time in shops than on rides, there are so many to explore that I wanted to take my time and look at everything. To me this is much better than looking at the same beach for 5 days, although, I would love a nice relaxing beach vacation in the future. These people need to understand that I value my Disney experience as much as they value their beach experience.

"Disney is for babies." I usually answer this with "well, my teenagers love it and they aren't babies." This is where "Disney Magic" comes into play. Disney magic allows you to make your vacation "your personal vacation." There are so many choices, you can travel at the same time as a friend and never do the same thing. No, Magic Kingdom might not be for all ages but have you ever been to Epcot or Animal Kingdom? My 16 year old son loves Epcot (just like his mother). There is so much science, learning, history, and hands on stuff, it's almost like an extra large children's museum. We usually only spend 1/2 day at Magic Kingdom but would love to squeeze 2 full days into Epcot. Animal Kingdom is another park with stuff not targeted to little kids. If you are a foodie, you definitely need to spend time in both of these parks!!

Whatever the reason is, I sometimes run into negativity when planning for Disney but I'm not concerned. I am thankful that I have the opportunity to go every year and make memories with my family. Isn't that what it's all about anyway, making memories with our families?

If you want to make some awesome memories with your family, please comment or email me for a quote.

Eve at Animal Kingdom 2010

Xander doing non-babylike things 2010

Eve at Chef Mickey 2013

Xander, Joe, and Eve doing the Star Wars thing 2014

Thanks :)

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Greetings!!

Hello All!! I just want to take a moment and introduce myself. My name is Mendy and I am a  Disney Certified Travel Planner, which means that I have taken courses set up by the Disney Company to teach me about their properties.  I have traveled to Walt Disney World over 25 times and would love to use my experiences to help make your Disney vacation a magical time. I have taken trips with babies, adults only, large groups, mixed families, etc. 

I am going to use this blog to share photos, tips, and reviews of various areas of Walt Disney World. Please follow along to see what you can learn. 

If you have any suggestions or would like to get a quote for any of the U.S. Disney properties, please email me at mendy@polkadotbowadventures.com.

Thanks  :)