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!

Tips for the FAIR!

The fair is an expensive endeavor.  Where we live, you can buy your tickets online early and  you will save almost half of the price for ride tickets and $2 on admission. Every little bit counts! If you live in my state, go to __statefair.org  Fill in that blank w/ our state's initials. I know, I'm being weird, but who has time for a cyber stalker??  Especially when you look as good as I do first thing in the morning!  ha

So...more money-saving ideas:

-Bring a backpack filled with bottled water, some snacks, and a treat or two like bubblegum or mints.  Bringing a treat will cut down the number of treats you have to buy at the fair!

-My friend, E, brings small dixie cups to the fair & writes each family member's name on them with a sharpie. Then, they buy ONE sprite or ONE lemonade or ONE water & they all share it!  If you bring some bottled water in your backpack, you don't have to buy drinks.  Or, if you're selfish like I am, Mama gets her Diet Coke & the children share the water you brought!! :)

-My friend, C, uses a sharpie marker to write her cell phone # on her children's stomachs. Another friend writes the number on their wrists. This way, if they are separated from you, they will know what number to call.  When you're scared or lost, it is sometimes difficult to remember the number!

-I dress all of our children in the same color.  Orange is an easy-to-spot color.  Sometimes D & I even dress in the same color. This way, when one person is ahead of the group, you can see them in a crowd.  The pictures are always cuter when you're dressed in the same color anyway!  It makes you focus on the faces, not the clothes!

-Go early. 

-If your budget allows each person to have a treat like a caramel apple or fried dough (my fave!), then tell everyone in advance how many treats they can have or how much they can spend.  We tell the children we won't play games, but we will buy or share 1 treat per person. 

-If you don't want to pay for food at the fair, go before or just after a meal.

-Bring your camera!! I love pictures from the fair!

-Visiting the stinky animals is FREE!! Who doesn't love seeing a big ole mama pig & all of her piglets? And the cute cows!! MOOO

-Children also enjoy seeing the produce. There's nothing quite like an 850 pound pumpkin that is in SECOND place for BIGGEST PUMPKIN!!

Now I am so excited! Have fun!!!!