Holidays – Page 2 – Spirited Mama

So, as some of you may know, my family is somewhat obsessed with going to Florida. We went when the Munchkin was a toddler and the Bean was a baby. We went again a few years later, and we are planning another trip next year!

I absolutely LOVE planning these holidays. I love the magic of Walt Disney World and the epic fun of Universal Orlando. I spend hours and hours in between vacations browsing Pinterest, reading Disney blogs, watching vlogs and everything. It brings me so much joy! But it is also extremely practical because this kind of vacation takes an enormous amount of planning and if it’s your first time, it can get overwhelming.

So, I decided to share the ~~obsessive planning~~ magic, and write a blog series to guide other families through this process, from start to finish, in real time.

One year is really the ideal time-frame in which to plan a holiday of this magnitude, especially if you are travelling to Florida from outside the United States, like we are. About twelve months out from travelling is when many of the offers are announced and the most popular accommodation can book up this far in advance too.

It is possible to grab a late bargain, of course, and if this is how your family rolls, then that’s terrific, go for it! But this series probably won’t be for you. This is one for the planners, the organisers, the folks who want or need to get their travel plans firmed up well in advance.

We are planning to go in May 2018, and we began planning last month, about one year ahead. So please consider this post the 12 months out step, even though it’s now 11 months until we go. I’ll publish an update every month to guide you through the planning each step of the way.

Now, the kids know nothing about this yet! A year is a long time to have two small people constantly asking if we go tomorrow! So, we’ll be surprising them with the big news much nearer the time. It’s your call how you approach this. Maybe your kids are a bit older and would enjoy being part of the initial planning stages. If so, go for it! I’m looking forward to the days when my gang can help pick the resort we stay at without going crazy waiting for departure day!

So, the first thing you need to do, about a year ahead of travelling, is take some time to consider these four elements:

Budget
Duration of stay
Your party, and any unique needs
What kind of vacation you want this to be

Let’s get into some detail…

Budget

Maybe you already have the funds saved up, this is definitely the sensible way to do it. But perhaps you are budgeting in advance, knowing you will have it all covered in time. Either way, you need to know your budget before you book. This will help you determine everything else, from where you stay, how you travel, how long you go for, whether you get the dining plan or not… everything.

You should think about what you are comfortable spending on each of these general categories:

Accommodation
Flights/travel
Food
Souvenirs
Car Hire
Park Tickets

Now, some of these are relatively fixed, such as park tickets, but others are highly variable. Your budget will likely play a significant role in determining whether you stay at a Walt Disney World resort, a Universal one, or another hotel or villa off site. There are pros and cons to each of these options, which I will talk about more in my next post in the series. Where you decide to stay will also determine whether you decide to rent a car or not. If you’re staying on property at WDW, and are not planning to check out much else in or near Orlando, then you probably don’t need to hire a car. Guests staying on site have access to free Disney transportation between parks and resorts, and on the whole, it’s pretty good. When we went in 2012, we just hired a car for a few days when we scheduled out days at Universal. This kept the costs down. We managed just fine without a car for the rest of the two weeks we were there, despite having a small baby with us.

It’s easy, when browsing package vacations online or in brochures, to see the cost per person and think it seems totally reasonable and doable, without thinking of the other costs associated with the trip. Don’t forget about eating while you’re there! This can be extremely costly. There are ways to mitigate the costs and save a bit of money, again, there will be more on this in a later post, but you need to factor it into your budget from the outset. Same goes for other spending money whilst away, and any other parks or destinations you intend to visit whilst in Florida, such as Sea World, the Kennedy Space Centre, Busch Gardens, and so on.

Duration

This will be determined by your budget and the needs of your family. When I was 11, me and my parents went to Orlando for just 5 days and had a blast. We only went to Magic Kingdom, of the WDW parks, but we also went to Wet ‘n’ Wild, Universal Studios and Busch Gardens.

The two times I have been as an adult, with my young children and all of my husband’s family, we went for two weeks. When travelling from thousands of miles away, it’s a good idea to consider the time it takes to travel, the recovery from that (hello, jetlag), and how long you will need to make the most of your trip. It’s often very economical to go for two weeks instead of one, with the price not being as much more as you might think.

But for our next trip, we are going all out and staying for three weeks! This might sound crazy to some folks, but for us, it makes a lot of sense. Both our previous trips were interrupted with brief illnesses (I blame economy flights and all those germs percolating in a pressurised cabin). There is so much to do, especially if you want to go away from Disney for a bit, and the weather is so hot for most of the year – us Brits with fair complexions have to think about our sun exposure! Both previous trips were exhausting and we would prefer to pace ourselves. When you stay at a Disney resort, one of the perks is Extra Magic Hours; when one of the parks opens early or stays open late for resort guests. When you can plan to take advantage of this, you can easily retreat from the sun and busy parks during the peak of the day (roughly 12 noon-3pm), then head back out late afternoon for a few more hours.

We want to do this and still have time to do everything we want to do. We don’t want to be contending with blisters, sunburn, fatigue and so on; all perils of this kind of holiday.

Your Party

This is very much wrapped up in the above point; consider who is travelling with you and what they need from the experience. How many adults? How many children? Anyone with accessibility needs? Anyone autistic? These things will be important in deciding where you stay and how long for. What are the unique needs of your party?

Last time we went, we were a party of 5 adults, and 6 children, including a baby only a couple of months old. One of the adults had recently had a hip replacement, too. So we had to consider this in deciding where to stay and how to structure our vacation. For example, we hired cars for the entire duration, rather than just a few days like the previous trip, so that we had more transport options for the less mobile members of our family.

What Kind of Vacation Do You Want?

This might seem like a daft question, but it really isn’t. It’s not a simple matter of Florida = Theme Parks and Thrills. A Florida holiday can be a slow and relaxing one; with ample golf, sunbathing, and spa treatments. It might involve exclusively Disney, or completely avoid WDW! You might want the high-adrenaline of Universal at Halloween (totally on my bucket list for when the kids are older!), or the awesome experience of seeing a rocket launch at Cape Canaveral. All mod cons and luxury? Or rustic wilderness?

Disney has a resort for everything. Never mind the myriad of non-Disney options.

If you’ve decided on staying at a Disney resort, think about which park or parks you’re likely to visit most on your vacation. If you have young children, that’s likely to be Magic Kingdom; older kids might be keen to spend several days at Animal Kingdom or Hollywood Studios; adults only may get most out of Epcot (though there is lots for kids too!). Consider this when looking at the resorts and their locations. Think about transport. WDW is huge, it can be a fairly long bus ride out to Animal Kingdom, for example, so if that’s your top destination, consider staying at the Animal Kingdom Lodge.

My point is: do your research!

I highly recommend the following sites for all your Florida vacation prep needs (I am not affiliated with any of these sites or companies and only ever recommend people or products that I have used myself):

Walt Disney World – official travel site

WDW Prep School

Disney Tourist Blog

WDWInfo

Universal Orlando – official site

And you can’t beat Pinterest! Check out my Florida board!

Now, I’ve gone and dumped a whole load of information on you, I’m sorry. After what I said up top about overwhelm. Well, I want to help you beat the overwhelm and plan the vacation of a lifetime! So take a look at my free printable worksheet. This should help guide you through the initial planning stage and focus your thoughts. I’ve also included a basic planning schedule, with reminders of when you will need to organise the different aspects of your trip and plenty of space for notes.

Florida Vacation Planning Worksheet

Next Month: Accommodation

August is here, though it doesn’t feel like it here in Yorkshire, as we’ve had plenty of rain over the last few weeks. For most families August means summer holidays. As a home educating family, we can take our holidays all year round and take advantage of lower prices and smaller crowds. But for those who have little choice but to go away during the school summer holidays, now is the time to pack up the car and go in search of sun, sea, sand, or whatever recreation the family are hungry for.

We went camping a few weeks ago, so I thought I would share some of my hints and tips for making camping with kids a better experience. We love camping, or at least, I love the idea of it, somehow the reality often doesn’t quite measure up. So I hope that by getting these thoughts down in a blog post I can be better prepared to follow my own advice in future!

Let’s start with some MUST DO tips.

1. Research your campsite. Get online. There are some great websites to help you find the perfect site, many of which allow you to search by preferred amenities as well as location. You can also talk to other parents who go camping and get their recommendations. There are Facebook groups dedicated to family camping, so check them out and ask for other people’s favourites campsites.

We’ve stayed at a few places around the UK, but only revisited a site once. Jasmine Park near Snainton, North Yorkshire, has been our destination of choice two years running. The facilities are great and the kids love it there. It’s also the ideal location for us as we love the beach and forest equally, and Jasmine Park sits right between Scarborough and Dalby Forest, with Whitby, Filey and other wonderful beaches a reasonable drive away, as well as attractions such as Flamingo Land and the North Yorkshire Moors Railway.

The Munchkin Going Ape @ Dalby Forest

2. Figure out what to do. Do you want to spend most of your time on-site? Or use the tent as a place to bed down between outbound adventures? That will help you decide on the best campsite, but it also sets the tone for your trip. My kids love running around the campsite and finding other kids to play with, they also like having all their amenities on hand, with food and toilets just a quick dash away. But I enjoy getting off site and exploring. I also suffer with hayfever, so in the height of summer being on grass, near bushes and trees is a recipe for disaster. Getting to the beach or into a town or city suits me best. So we try to balance everyone’s needs with a combination of on-site frivolity and local exploration. Luckily the kids do love adventure too, so it’s great to get out and enjoy doing lots of fun things together. The Munchkin is particularly partial to Go Ape, which is why we love camping near Dalby Forest.

3. Be prepared! Especially in Britain, with our delightfully unpredictable weather! Pack for every kind of weather. Last summer it was tipping it down when we arrived and, knowing that we would have to get the tent up while the kids wanted to roam, I put them in their waterproofs and wellies and sent them off to explore while then-hubby and I got the tent up and unpacked the car. We then had glorious weather for several days and needed repeat applications of suncream while at the beaches. I’m a list person, so I make a packing list for all our trips and my camping lists run to two columns of a full page of A4! There’s a great resource here at Bring the Kids for those who need a hand getting started.

Remember that the nights will be colder, so take blankets as well as sleeping bags, and jumpers to throw on for midnight loo-dashes. And don’t forget the pillows! I usually do, so we end up using rolled up towels and getting up in the morning with impressions on our cheeks.

Now, what mistakes have I learned from? What should you NOT DO?

1. Don’t take too much food. Following on from my last tip on being prepared, I have historically packed way too much food to take camping. It starts with this idea that we’ll all be sat around a BBQ eating sausages for breakfast and dinner, then we have to take plenty of snacks to satisfy the bottomless pits that are my children’s stomachs. However, what always happens is we end up throwing out some meat and other fresh items that spoil in the hot tent, and bringing home three shopping bags full of snacks because we were all too busy to be snacking all day.

Lesson learned. Take nothing! Or the bare minimum, then once on site and unpacked, head to the local supermarket, or village shop and stock up on essentials that absolutely will get eaten.

2. Don’t stay too long. Last year we booked an entire week, but ended up coming home early as we were all too tired and fed up to make it to the end of the week. All families are different, so be realistic about how long is long enough for yours. 3 nights is my absolute max in a tent. What with the hayfever and “joy” (note: sarcasm) that is an airbed. Of course, I could invest in proper campbeds to make sleep more comfortable. A friend of mine has the most amazing camping gear, with enormous bell tent and campbeds (pictured at the top of this post), which looks very comfortable.

Photo by Arup Malakar courtesy of Creative Commons

3. Don’t forget to have fun. Being on holiday with children can be deceptively stressful and camping can sometimes highlight that stress. The weather goes against you, people get tired and grumpy, you run out of something essential, you don’t get enough sleep. But hopefully these tips will help mitigate most of that. Focus on the positives. Chances are the kids will love most of it, no matter how much or little you plan to do or what you do or don’t pack. Enjoy their enjoyment, live vicariously and savour those moments away from the hum drum of normality. These are the bits you’ll look back and remember, not the day to day grind, but the fun and adventure.

I hope these camping tips help you plan the perfect camping holiday. I haven’t covered camping abroad, as we haven’t done that yet. So if you have any tips on that I’d love to hear from you in the comments section. Likewise if there are any other essential camping tips that work for your family do please leave a comment.

We’re jet-set in a few months, flying off to Florida for two weeks with extended family. So I’ll be blogging about the plans and preparation for that and then a post or two afterwards about how it went, so do please hit the follow button for updates to your inbox.

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