Tuesday's Tip

At Mama Henley's house, we love going to Disney. We have annual passes and Orlando is a whopping 73 miles away. We can go to the park for the day and sleep in our own beds! It is wonderful! As you can imagine, we are becoming real pros! One way that Disney sort of tricks you is with their kids' meals. When you visit a restaurant, it lists a child's meal with appetizer, entree, sides, and dessert. Most children under age 9 cannot eat all of that food. The cost is $8.59 and up per child, which really adds up when you have 5 children like Mama Henley does.
Well, guess what?! Even in special restaurants, they usually offer some "children's standard meals" such as chicken nuggets and fries, pasta with sauce, or a hamburger. These meals are around $5 and come with fries. Depending on the restaurant, drinks may not be included, but your little one needs lots of water to stay hydrated anyway. This allows you to feed your child more affordably when you want to splurge on better food for Mama and Daddy.
Of course Mama Henley always packs a huge bag full of snacks too, so often our children do not need a meal because they have been eating pb&j sandwiches, cheese sticks, frozen gogurts, fruit, pretzels, chips, apples, etc.. This is another way we save money at meal time. Our 4 year old eats so little that when I do order her a meal it is often wasted. So, I have resorted to feeding her from my bag of tricks.
Let us know if you'll be at Disney as we would LOVE to see you there!

When You Know You've Had Enough

This is when you know you've had ENOUGH......

Customer Service

I am BIG on Customer Service. How a hotel, restaurant, or shop handle our interactions help me decide whether or not I will return and spend more money there. Disneyworld is not my idea of a relaxing vacation. If I could go anywhere, it would not be Disney. However, it is the one place that our children LOVE. It is a place where hubby and I can focus solely on them and share hugs and laughs and hold little hands while riding rides, meeting characters, and walking and running mile after mile. The children always have so much fun.

This weekend was PACKED. On our last morning, we realized we had lost our son's autograph book. He has been collecting signatures for over a year and he was crushed. We searched and determined it had fallen out of the stroller, probably when we got on the parking tram. We talked about calling Lost and Found but never had time to do so.

Yesterday a package arrived from Disney addressed to our son. Inside was his autograph book!! I didn't even remember that I had written his name and address on the inside cover but I had. Disney found it and was gracious enough to return it to us. THAT is customer service!!

Out of the Mouths of Babes

Tonight our son said he might like to work at Disney when he's a teenager. We told him that was a great idea and maybe he could spend a summer working at the park. I asked him what he'd like to do, and he said, "Maybe help people or run the rides or be a character or something like that."
One of his sisters said, "Yeah! And you can give us free tickets and stuff."
Big brother replied, "I'll have to learn the rules, K. I can't just give away stuff to my family!! You just can't give it all away."
I love his honesty and hope he never changes!

What Not to Wear

We visited Disney today which is always such a fun activity with the children. Unfortunately, it is REALLY HOT, as in HOT as BLUE BLAZES!! Anyway, it is always fun to people watch in public places. I saw a few "what not to wear" examples.

It is HOT in Florida. Did I mention that? Wearing a floor length denim skirt is just not smart. In fact, it's downright HOT and uncomfortable.

You may have a rock hard abdomen and fantastic figure. You go, girl. Just don't show it to my family. We don't want to see your abs and your top. A skimpy bikini top and teeny tiny shorts is not appropriate at a FAMILY amusement park.

If you are able to breast feed your children, that is wonderful. Just don't forget that not everyone wants to see your privates. When you walk around with your breast hanging out, it is embarrassing. Yes, I have two of them, but I try to keep them private. Undergarments were invented for a reason... to cover private areas.

Pants are important. If you are wearing pants, try to wear them on your waist, not your knees. Enough said.

Now I am not trying to be mean here. I put a lipstick stain on my shirt within 5 minutes of arriving at Disney. I just had on a white t-shirt and khaki shorts. It is HOT for pete's sake. But I did try my best to look decent and I brushed my hair and teeth, applied some makeup and put on DEODORANT. That is a MUST. If you don't wear it, you stink.

Exhausted at Disney

Our Disney trip was so much fun. This is one of my favorite pictures of a very successful day at the Magic Kingdom! Can you say exhausted???!!!

A Magical Time

Disney was just wonderful! The children were very surprised by our trip, and that made it all the more fun! We went to all Magic Kingdom most of the time and spent a little time at Epcot and Hollywood Studios. It was perfect! I am exhausted & will have to finish unpacking and doing laundry tomorrow!

I have 2 quick tips:
If you must buy a kid's meal at the Quick Service restaurants, one of the drink options is bottled water. Order it. Also ask for tap water for your entire group. Put the bottled water in a zippered cooler bag and save it for later. If you have a stroller or backpack, you will want to bring a small zippered cooler bag for drinks. We used ours for small bottled waters and the Capri Sun waters and Honest Kids lemonade. The children drank at least 2 a day each because of the heat!

We saw an entire family or groups of families eating at the Backlot (Quick service) at Hollywood Studios. They literally brought a loaf of bread, peanut butter, and tuna fish with them and made sandwiches right there at the table at the back of the restaurant. They used the mayo, mustard, and relish as needed from the restaurant. I thought this was so smart. They had fun Cheezits and Little Debbie peanut butter bars too, along with grapes and apples. I think we'll try this on one of our day trips, but I will have to buy a fountain Diet Coke as a splurge!

Good night!

Disney!!!

It's time for a trip to Disney! As Florida residents, it just feels like something we need to do! I have some quick tips & will write more soon!

-Don't try to do too much. This makes everyone miserable, including the children
-WEAR SUNSCREEN. EVERYONE. Even Mama & Daddy! You'll be so glad that you did. The Florida sun is hot.
-We like to have our children in matching clothes so that they are easy to find. This also makes pictures less distracting because you look at the people, not the clothes.
-If you want to experience Character Dining, call ASAP! They will let you schedule it 180 days in advance.
-Take naps. If you are staying on property, use the buses! They are great for a quick trip back to the hotel for a nap or a swim.
-Use a sharpie marker to write your cell phone number on the stomach of young children. This way, if they are lost, they can pull up their shirt (or you can do it at their wrist) and show someone who to call.
-Pack water and snacks in a book bag. This will save you from some whining and it will save you money! On a 4 day trip, we only bought 1 popsicle for our children!
-Plan ahead as much as possible.
-Then BE FLEXIBLE. If children are tired, don't push them to ride a ride. Give them a snack from your book bag or go back for a nap!
-Set a limit BEFORE YOU GO as to what (if anything) you will allow the children to buy in the stores.
-If possible, buy your autograph book in advance. It's fun for the children to have it in hand the minute they hit the park.
-Bring at least one pen per child!
-We buy our girls a silver charm when they go special places. Disney does have these. We buy our son something else.
-If you have young children, you will have to choose between going early & staying up late. Otherwise, everyone will be miserable.
-Bring a stroller. You can rent one there, but they are pricey if you have more than 2 children. I bought a double umbrella stroller for less than it would have cost to rent one. We will take it this time even though we have 3 seven year olds! We will use it for our 5 year old & 1 7 year old. Their little legs get tired and yours are faster!
-Bring your camera and video camera fully charged and ready to go!
-If your child has princess dresses or pirate costumes, bring them and let them wear them to a Character meal. It's fun for the children!
-Take lots of pictures. Come home & create a photo book on Apple, Snapfish or Shutterfly to remember your trip.
-One friend brings little cups so that the family can split one drink. This is smart. This way, you only buy what you need
-Drink lots of water.
-Bring a cell phone for mama & daddy in case you separate.
Enjoy the magic!
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