After taking the kids to the National Gallery of Canada, they have been even more engrossed with art and creating it. I am a huge fan of introducing art to the kids at an early age.
When the kids were little, I always found it adorable that they (my son in particular) like to name their creations. Some of them are pretty simple and literal names, other times it’s more elaborate and abstract. Which is a lot of fun.
Years ago, one morning after painting, we had creations lying all over to dry. After lunch, the switched to drawings and did a whole lot of those. We had a pile by the end of the day so I decided to do an art wall.
We lined them up and when their daddy came home he was invited to the gallery. It was quite a presentation.
To Set up your own Art Gallery:
–Have the kids create pieces that they like – paint, drawing, abstract, sculptures.
–Select a wall or space to display. I used painters tape so they are easily removed from the wall.
–Encourage the kids to name their art, and even describe it.
Tour the gallery! Have fun with it, art encourages their creative skills and when they name and describe their pieces, they have a chance to really think about what they are wanting to portray. Sometimes, they just want to create for fun, with no hidden meaning 😉
We’ve been at home as a family since March 13 (I think we are in week 7?) and as a writer it’s a bit odd that I’ve taken over a month to write about it. But I barely could wrap my head around things the first few weeks to be honest.
Nothing during this feels normal. Or easy.
And it took me a long while to figure out why it seemed like others were ‘doing so much better’ than I was – posting on their blog, selling, creating, sharing. But the fact is we never really know how people are actually doing and everyone copes differently.
But I do want to keep writing.
And I figured that I should have a record of this time because that’s what this blog has always been – a bit about my life, journey as a mom, local living and more. So I do want to have a bit of a record during all of this right here.
In the first couple of weeks I was sure to republish some activities and recipes on this blog that I thought would be helpful for families. And the truth is, that was all I could do. I barely could write, some days I barely could function.
It took me a long time to realize that I reacted to all of this the same way I did when Andy was diagnosed with cancer (10 years ago). In the first week I barely ate, barely slept and felt so anxious about everything. It was miserable and so hard.
The difference is that after that first week, I went into survival mode with his diagnosis. I had jobs and plans to control. I had to take care of him and the kids (a toddler and baby at the time) after surgery, then during chemo. I had to be on pill duty, fever watch, manage appointments and phone calls. It kept me busy and I could do that. Every action we took was for a purpose and with an end date – his clean bill of health.
With this situation, the control and the tasks aren’t there. We have to wait. We don’t know for how long. To see what’s next, to listen to new recommendations. In the early days we were constantly pivoting what we knew and what we could do. It felt like whiplash.
So most of the control is now at least here within my home. I stopped crying daily which is something I did in the first week or so.
At home we are together and that we can control. Where we know what the ‘rules’ are. It’s the best we can do right now. For this, I am grateful and fully recognize how fortunate we are to be working from home and have our cupboards filled with food, and deliveries of items we need.
I feel like we have settled into a bit more of a – something (not routine, not normal) just something around here where at the very least I am sleeping well and don’t have panic attacks on the daily. We are healthy and content (as much as we can be) and are eating and sleeping quite well in general. We are doing okay.
Some days feel really happy and joyful to be honest – we laugh, share stories. Other days are harder.
I am working still and it’s a welcome distraction. I am fortunate to have a job that continues to be of value for some businesses, and while I took a lot of losses in March as contracts ended (as expected) things are picking up again. I’m freelance writing, working on social media strategies and building up a plan to help more people with their content.
Writing, answering emails, and planning takes me a lot longer than it used to. I’m trying to balance my time on the computer with family time and self-care and some days it’s great, and other days it’s not.
Productivity is a weird thing. Some days I feel on it, and most days I’m tired after simple tasks. It’s bizarre.
Andy is working too and we are feeling incredibly grateful to both have jobs. The transition for both of us working at home isn’t new (we’ve done this for some time, and many of you may know that he is always home in the summer) so that’s been fairly straightforward. But we haven’t done it while schooling, and dealing with worry. Again, see the productivity part. It’s all new.
The kids took about a month before it really hit them that this is lasting and having an impact beyond an extended March break.
Distance learning has begun, but we are struggling to find a groove. I don’t know that we will in truth. I find it a lot of work, and while the distraction for them is good, it’s also not the same as having usual ‘homework’ or learning with friends. This is new for all of us, so we are giving some grace on expectations. As with my own self, some days are better than others and their motivation and productivity comes and goes. Let’s just say it’s a mixed bag (although, the eldest has been managing his time very well. The youngest is absolutely missing her friends and the social learning school provides).
We have open conversations about our physical and mental health, so the kids have always been able to come to us when they are worried, anxious or upset. They miss friends, they are concerned about what’s happening, they are confused. They know they can talk about it. We are all allowed good and bad days.
But overall, they are content. They have time to play (truthfully our screen limits aren’t really in existence with the exception of bedtime) and they chat with friends and family thanks to technology. They craft, play, create, build, write, record and more. We are trying.
As a family, we are a strong unit. That is serving us well. Again, we are fortunate.
Our backyard is tiny but with the nice weather here, we are about to use it more and more. It becomes an extra living room, play space and soon hobby garden.
We long to be in PEI of course, with open space to run and play.
We recognize how comfortable and privileged we are being able to both have jobs and work from home and offer our kids the support they need. This isn’t something everyone can do or afford. We don’t take that for granted. It also means we’ve made the effort when possible to shop local and support local businesses and make donations throughout this time to organizations who are helping to make a difference in our community.
Not all support has to be monetary – I see a lot of great support online for businesses when people share their offers and help connect them with potential new customers. If you can’t donate, that donation of space and amplification can make a difference.
A final note
There is nothing normal about this. Not the way the kids are learning. Not the way we are working, living, shopping, existing.
It’s exhausting. Our brains are tired. We aren’t going to be as productive (despite what many on the internet may say). We are bombarded with news, with projections, with possibilities.
This is not normal.
So however you are feeling or handling it, it’s not fair to compare to ‘normal times’.
The best we can do is take the steps we need to for our own mental and physical well being. For those around us. For those in our community.
I feel changed. And that’s not to sound philosophical. That’s just how I feel. How I shop, how I parent, how I work – it’s all changed.
We take this day by day and we are doing our best. I’m not sure what else to do for now.
Sending you virtual hugs. Stay at home. Take care.
It’s no secret that since having my first child over 13
years ago, we have been slowly making changes in our family to be more
eco-friendly, sustainable and green in nature. Most of these decisions happen
in the check out aisle.
I began with our cleaning products, then skin and hair care,
eventually we made changes into our kitchen containers and supplies (and bought
all the reusable lunch packaging), I swapped out my makeup and have been more
conscious of the clothing I buy.
It’s never been an
overnight change or decision, and certainly not something that is perfect, but
I feel confident in the decisions we’ve been making over the years to lead a
more environmentally conscious life.
However, there are still some areas where I know I can do
better (or feel like I’m failing miserably to be honest). The first is in my
use of plastic food bags, the second, is our use of paper towels. They are
convenient, and compostable, but I know we should work to reduce them.
We have started in some regards because we tend to use our
dish clothes or dish towels to help clean up spills or wipe hands.
It’s one reason why when I was sent theKliin reusable towel, I knew I’d love it. It’s washable, compostable and cleans up easily.
So when I want to wipe the after-dinner spill, or clean up
the coffee I splashed around, I can grab the Kliin towel, rinse it and have it
at the ready instead of paper towels.
The more we think about making these changes, the more we
want to consider how to make these switches. For me, I know I keep reaching for
the paper towels because of how easy they are and how accessible they are when
I go grocery shopping.
Having something like the Kliin reusable towel is just as
handy, but more eco-friendly. That’s a win.
Unlike the early days a decade ago when I was paying high prices and high shipping costs for eco-friendly materials, there are so many economical and effective items available now – the Kliin reusable towel is under $10 (want to grab one locally for my Ottawa readers – check out terra20!)
A few things to note about the towels that Kliin shared with
me:
· One Kliin
towel = 17 paper towel rolls
· Use it for
months then compost it
· Good for 300
washes
· Unlike
traditional towels, Kliin towels never smell bad
Another way Kliin is helping the environment
There are other products Kliin offers too and one that is brand new that I think is going to be popular is their dish cleansing paste.
You know how when you want to wash your cereal bowl quickly,
or the kids reusable water cup, you seem to waste a lot of dish soap and water
or have to fill the entire sink with soapy water for almost no dishes? The new
Kliin dish cleansing paste saves water and will last about 6 months. Simply
wipe some on your cloth and wash. It doesn’t hurt that the lime smells great
too!
What I was also impressed with was that it is really a great
cleaner! I had to scrub something that I thought was going to be way trickier
than it ended up being and this paste really helped!
To get more information about Kliin, find them online at
www.kliin.co
Instagram: @kliinco
Facebook: @KLIINco
ENTER TO WIN
Interested in winning your own Kliin set with the dish paste and reusable cloths?
Kliin is providing a gift package for one of my lucky
readers valued at $74!
Enter by commenting below and tell me one thing you want to change to help green your habits!
Giveaway is open to Canadian residents, void in QC.
Giveaway closes on April 5, 2020 at 5 pm EST. One winner will be drawn at
random from eligible entries. One entry per person.
My son initiated this recent activity and it turned out to be a lot of fun. He started building a hotel using Lego Duplos (my kids have stayed in hotels many times it seems) and then he designed the interior.
I drew with black marker templates for the rooms – a front check in area and a bed room. He then added a pool/play/sports area.
This was a really easy activity but was creative and fun.
You can encourage the kids to design the look and feel for the bedrooms, create a restaurant menu (don’t forget to give it a name!) and an activity area – what would they include with the pool?
Give it a try! What colour schemes do they decide on? What do they wish the hotel rooms had?
Bedroom (top), pool/foam pit (middle) and foyer where we pay (bottom)
I have always loved art. When I studied history in University, I took some Art History classes and loved them. We are lucky to have the National Gallery of Canada here in Ottawa (a family friendly place to visit I might add!) and I used to go to exhibits after class in my twenties.
Children’s art may not be instant gallery pieces, but the creativity that art provides them thrills me. It also makes me happy that each of them take an interest in art, my son in particular likes to learn about historical pieces – when they were made, and how they tied into real events.
Art is subjective. There’s no right or wrong way. To show the kids just that, I set up an activity for them.
I had each kid sit at the table with a piece of paper and some markers. I put a large box between them so they couldn’t see what the other person is drawing. Then, I gave them a list of instructions that went something like as follows (and note – this list can be changed each time for different results!
Draw a square (any size and location on the page)
Draw a circle.
Turn the square into whatever you want.
Draw a triangle.
Now another.
Add eyes to your circle.
Draw a line.
Turn the line into anything you want
Add your name.
When they were done, we removed the box so they could see just how different each one had interpreted the exact same instructions. (The white pieces of paper is just where I’ve covered their names.)
Try this at home! It’s an easy, but fun lesson in art!
This is a game that can be played indoors, outdoors or both!
When we were away in PEI, we created a game for the kids to play that was not only fun but also kept them busy for some time. It was challenging and while we just kind of put it together with whatever we had around, it worked out great.
This game can be modified for younger kids (we have always done scavenger hunts with the kids using a variety of toys when they were little) but in this case, the game is meant for older kids. It was enough of a challenge that both my kids enjoyed it!
For the purpose of writing this, ‘you’ will be the hunt master (as I was). That means you’ll hide the items and give the hints etc. Anyone can be the hunt master though (this is also a great job for a mother’s helper or older sibling!)
Here’s how to set it up the scavenger hunt game for the kids:
What you’ll need
10 items (any item that will be hidden, so something identifiable)
Sheets of paper
Coloured paper (again, something identifiable)
A bin/laundry basket per player
To Set up the game
NOTE: 10 items works well with 2 players. If more players, use 15 items.
1) Choose your 10 items. Try to use items of varying sizes to make hiding them a challenge.
Some suggestions: Hats, stuffed animals, hair brush, action figure etc. Set your items aside, and make sure every player sees what they look like before you hide them.
2) Using your coloured paper, you’ll create 3 special note cards
Write the following (one per card)
ONE EXTRA MINUTE
PRIVATE HINT
GROUP HINT
These bonus cards will get hidden as well, and if the players find them, can be used to their advantage. An extra minute of time can help a player search for items longer. A Private Hint means you’ll give only that player a clue to find an item (ie – which room it is in) and a group hint means you give the clue to all players.
Note: If they find the cards, they will bring them to you to use.
3) Once you have your 10 items selected, and your bonus cards ready to go, print the printable or use a piece of paper to write down each item, and assign a series of points. (1, 2 or 3 points per item).
Of the 10 items, you’ll probably want about 5 to be worth 1 point, 3 worth 2 and 2 items worth three.
At the cottage, we used whatever we had around to make the list.
Every player in the game needs a sheet of paper, so you’ll be writing the list out for each player!
4) Lastly, every play has a home base basket (a laundry bin works well). This is where they will collect items. You can place their basket anywhere but they need to add the items they find to the basket. So if they have an item in their hand when the timer goes, and not in their bin, the points don’t count.
5) Before the game begins, participants need to be secluded somewhere while you hide the items. Decide if any rooms are off limits, or if the outdoor are is included in their search. (tip: make bathrooms off limits)
Hide the items.
6) Set your timer for either 15 or 20 minutes (depending on how hard you are making the hiding)
Then, once the items and bonus cards are hidden, start the timer and send players on their way. They hunt and bring their items to the baskets to ensure they get their points at the end.
TIP: This is a great game to play on a rainy day!
7) At the end of the timer, anyone with the bonus minute can enjoy searching without the other players. When their minute is up, the scores are tallied.
My eldest running to beat his sister to an item they found
You can vary the game as much as you like, but it’s great with only the two players, more players, or even as teams!
To recap:
Every item get assigned a point. Items and bonus cards are hidden. Kids stay in a secluded area while you hide them. Each of the players has a home base basket where items have to be dropped off. Set the timer. Kids hunt until timer goes. Points tallied.
Have fun! (We made this up on the fly, so if I didn’t explain something clearly, please send me a message and I’ll try to expand! 😉
(reposting this older post from when my kids were quite young to help parents looking for indoor activities to do with their kids! This is something I used to do when they were home from school, or before they went to school! It was fun)
One activity I mentioned is to set up an obstacle course. On Monday, building off of that idea, I set up ‘workout’ stations for the kids on the main floor.
They *loved* them. They were happy to be moving and active and I choose activities that would keep their interest.
I set up three stations:
Jumping Jacks
The Plank (they lie on the floor and kind of ‘fly’ like Superman)
The Maze
For the Maze I used painters tape and made a low section to jump over, then two higher ropes to glide under. Make this as difficult or easy as you want depending on the age of the kids.
You could even pretend these workout/training stations are a part of their spy training, and then send them on a special spy mission!
The kids had a blast, each taking turns going through the course over and over again (and I got to sneak in some indoor exercise for all of us!)
A few times of year I fly somewhere. Sometimes for work, sometimes for vacation, and while travelling solo can be quite different than travelling with kids (the stuff alone is a significant difference), there are still always certain items I like to have in my carry-on bag. My carry-on bag is either a book bag style bag (when travelling with the kids this is usually what I opt for) or a tote bag purse (for solo travelling I like this option). But some items remain constant. Some necessary travel items don’t even go in my bag, but they still need to come with me.
So here are 8 things I travel with when I fly:
1- Comfy shoes
I need to wear socks on a plane. I don’t want to be barefooted on a plane or when I have to take my shoes off at security. Plus, I tend to get cold feet so I need the protection and sandals on the plane don’t cut it for me. Comfy shoes also mean when I have to walk a lot on a travel day or run to make my gate, I’m not worried about tripping on uncomfortable shoes.
2- A large scarf
In the winter it’s easy to grab my scarf, but even in every other season I bring a large, thinner scarf that can act like a pillow, hoodie, blanket or wrap as needed. I love having the extra layer for warmth and comfort.
3- Headphones
And dongle if needed. The worse thing about my new iPhone is the headphone jack because while I need that special plug (or the converter plug) to listen to my phone, I can’t use the Apple headphones on the plane. It’s annoying. But I need headphones for music, podcasts and movies.
4- Deodorant
After being trapped at the airport for way longer than expected due to a cancelled flight recently, I have never been happier to have my travel deodorant with me.
5- Hand Sanitizer
So germy. Everything. So I have a spray or small lotion that helps make me feel better until I can properly wash my hands.
6- Snacks
I always have a couple snacks in my bag for delays or when on the plane. You never know when hunger will strike, and I don’t love being in a panic about not having something. Animal crackers or baby cookies and high protein granola bars are almost always with me.
7- Ginger Gravol
If you read my post about not liking to fly, you’ll understand why this comes with me everywhere.
8- A Book
I typically can’t read while on the plane itself (or when the plane is moving) but I can read in the lounge while I wait to board, or in between flights. I always like having a book with me to pass the time!
What are some ‘must have’ items you take with you when flying?
Planning a vacation with the kids? We’ve been travelling with ours since they were about 6 weeks old. We’ve always had family out of town, so road trips and flights were necessary to visit them, and as the years have gone by we’ve planned many fun vacations as a family of four.
Now that our kids are older, travel has gotten even easier, but we are still on the look out for tips to make our journey a smooth one!
Thanks to our love of travelling, we have often stayed in hotels and at resorts. Sometimes it’s for a quick night while we continue on to another location, other times it’s for a few nights as a mini vacation in itself. Over the years, we’ve picked up a few tips along the way that make each of our stays even easier. Have questions? Ask away!
Pack for the hotel
When we go on long road trips, and have a lot of items, we don’t love carrying every single baseball bat and beach towel into the hotel room, especially for only a simple overnight stay. Instead, we make sure that our hotel items (the overnight clothes we need for example) are either in a smaller bag or on top of the rest of the clothes we pack in our main suitcase. We only take what we need. Some items can stay in the car, while others will remain neatly packed in the suitcase thanks to some pre-planning.
If we are flying, we are even more mindful about what we are bringing.
Find a place that includes breakfast
I love places that include breakfast. It not only saves us money, but breakfast is the meal that my kids are guaranteed to eat so much of. Some places off a hot continental breakfast which is always amazing (and usually have coffee to go when we hit the road again!) Other places offer a voucher for room service (I love this!) or a restaurant meal, depending on the package you book. For us, finding a place with breakfast is always worth it.
A fridge can help
Especially when the kids were younger and their diet was more limited, a fridge in the room was exactly what we needed. But even now, we still use the fridge to ensure favourite snacks, and fresh fruit or veggies, are available.
This isn’t included everywhere, but some places offer mini fridges and I love having them. We can keep yogurt or a small milk container and bring along some cereal which makes a perfect bedtime snack (especially if the kids are fussy and don’t eat much at dinner). Even at Disney we had a mini fridge and I brought small boxes of cereal for late night snacking – I just had to get some milk at the cafeteria!
It also means cold drinks are always handy which saves you money at the vending machines or restaurants.
Bring stuffies
We don’t go anywhere without a favourite stuffy friend (or, sometimes, many). Not only do they provide a cuddle buddy for sleeping, but also a play mate for quiet time. When the sleep environment changes, having a friend from home is often more comforting for kids.
Consider the bed set up
Most rooms will have double beds, others will have a king bed with a pull out couch. If you need an extra cot, check to see if they are available, if there is a charge, or if you need to request it earlier. You don’t want to assume there is a cot or crib, and then find out that the hotel doesn’t provide it.
Look into booking a Suite
There are many suites and longer-stay style hotel rooms that are perfect for families. Having an extra room when you have young kids that you are trying to put to sleep might be exactly what you need. Having a kitchen set up in the room will also be helpful, especially if staying longer. Yes, sometimes suites are expensive at some hotels, but we’ve found many that are reasonably priced, include breakfast and even other food like evening receptions.
Is there enough to do?
If you just need a place to rest your head before continuing on your way, look at the room itself as a priority (and consider saving money if you are in and out quickly).
However, if you need a place to spend some time, even if it’s for an afternoon, check out places with pools or play areas for kids so you don’t have to spend all your time in the room.
Sometimes, hotel stays are nothing but a stressful event because kids won’t sleep or the set up isn’t ideal for families. With a little advanced research, hopefully you’ll reduce the number of nights like this. And remember, part of the adventure for the kids is sleeping at a hotel! They’ll likely be excited no matter what. Have fun!
After five family trips to Walt Disney World, and many more to come (ha), I have learned MANY things about planning this trip as a family. I’m updating this massive post with my latest to help you plan your own magical time.
Pick your Date
We wanted to go at a time when it wasn’t too hot in sunny Florida but also, and more importantly, when the parks wouldn’t be at their busiest (President’s Day, our Family Day weekend is SUPER busy for example)
After speaking with friends who had gone in January, and checking out some very handy Walt Disney World blogs (like this one and this one), we found links like this one that told us when the busy times were. While we knew some rides wouldn’t be available (a common factor during ‘off peak’ weeks), this didn’t concern us.
Note: Sometimes when you go during ‘low season’ some rides will be unavailable because they use this time to work on them.
We’ve picked the last week of January or into the first week of February most years. Which sometimes happens to be my birthday as well. Woot. This year, for my 40th, we specifically kicked off the trip with my birthday at Magic Kingdom. That’s how I wanted to celebrate.
We have also gone the week before March break. Now, as the kids are getting older and we’ll soon be dealing with high school exams, we are back to looking at March Break. It will be busy, but we are confident that because of all we’ve learned over the years it won’t affect our time.
(Note: This year, the week in February was super busy for some reason. It was fine, but we noticed the difference.)
Book Ahead
Once you decide on your date of travel, you’ll need to worry about two major things when planning your trip: How you are getting to Orlando (your travel arrangements), and booking the place you are going to stay.
For the purpose of this post, because it has been our experience, I am going to talk about staying at Disney itself, at a Disney World property. There are many places nearby Disney that you can stay at, but we have always stayed on resort and love it.
We have often used points to fly (and save money!) before, or have waited for sales. When using points, you may need to book in advance to maximize which points to use.
Now, as the kids have gotten older, we’ve changed our strategy. Instead of only using Air Canada (and points) we have decided that our favourite flight is the evening on a Saturday with WestJet, and the Noon flight coming home with Air Canada (vs West Jet’s late evening flight coming home).
This is for my Ottawa friends who are planning – the reason is, the early morning wake up to make a 7 am flight is ROUGH and some of us don’t fly well to begin with. Having all day to finish packing and eating normally really makes a difference. Plus, the day we fly in is never a Park day, so really, we just end up being overly tired and hanging at the resort (which is fine, but doesn’t always work for us).
What to consider when looking at resorts
Next, you will want to book your resort stay. To book your stay, and guarantee your resort won’t be booked up, you only need to put a $200 deposit down. You then have up to about 45 days before your actual trip to make changes.
Here’s also what I learned: If a better deal comes up, and there is availability at your resort, you can sometimes get that better deal applied. We’ve had this happen multiple times (although it’s not guaranteed).
Usually, the next year accommodations get posted around mid-June. If you are planning to go, book your resort ASAP, then swap if a deal is available.
This year, we booked at Disney’s Pop Century for the first time. I secured it in June. It was sold out very quickly so while there wasn’t a deal, it was still the better purchase (it’s less expensive than some others typically). But I could have missed it completely if I waited.
One of the pool’s at Disney’s Pop Century Resort. There are three, although one is currently closed for refurbishment.
Booking your Resort
For many years, we stayed at and loved Port Orleans Riverside. We took recommendations from people who had previously been there, searched websites for recommendations, and then looked at the price differences vs the facilities to make our decision.
Here’s the long and short of it: You can spend a lot more or less money depending on what you need or want. We basically ended up in the middle ground for budget. Each resort has different restaurants, amenities, themes, and so on, but ultimately, you need to decide what your priorities are. We wanted something with easy access to food and transportation (although I would guess most have great transportation to the parks.)
Port Orleans Riverside (and nearby is the Port Orleans French Quarter which is also a great pick from what I hear) feels like you are somewhere different and it’s green and lush. In our early years, when we spent more time at the resort (and ended our park days earlier because the kids were younger) this was perfect.
Riverside has two transportation methods to use: Buses at four different stop points (it’s a big resort), that take you to the parks, but also a boat service to get to Disney Springs. We always enjoyed the boat.
Last year, when we stayed, we literally only showed up in our room for sleep, and the one ‘off park day’ we usually book.
Because of that, this year we decided to try Pop Century. It saves us about $100 a night, and has recently been refinished so the rooms were really new and well organized (lots of storage space). They aren’t huge in size, and ours had a murphy bed pull out (plus another bed) but it was perfect for our needs.
Disney’s New Skyliner is a game changer for transportation to some parks
In addition, new this year is Disney’s Skyliner transportation service. These gondolas connect Pop Century, Art of Animation, Riviera and Caribbean Beach Resorts to Epcot and Hollywood, given us the Skyliner and bus as options. WE LOVED the Skyliner. It’s a total game changer for getting to and from Epcot and Hollywood.
It helped secure our decision that Pop is our new go-to resort.
NOTE: Most resorts are set for up to 4 people. This means that families of 5 or more, start to get limited in their options. You’ll notice that while Riverside will accommodate 5, Pop actually doesn’t (but the neighbouring Art of Animation will. There is price difference though!)
View of Art of Animation Resort from Pop Century Resort.
Using the My Disney Experience App
What you should do right away is download the My Disney Experience App Sign up for an account and set up the members of your travel party. If other adults are travelling, they can sign up for their own account and then you can link them together. This will give you access, and everyone else you connect with, to your ticket information, booking dinner reservations, making FastPass selections, requesting special room needs and more.
This App is amazing. We use the app to keep an eye out on bus times at our resort, dining options nearby, booking and changing dining or FastPass selections and more. It’s the only app you’ll need the entire week you are there! Love it.
Dining and Food
I’ll update some of our favourite biets to eat in a whole other post, but there are a couple of things to note.
In the first few years of our Disney travels, we did opt for the Disney Dining Plan which included a quick service, snack and Table Service each day. Gratuities aren’t included, but a main course, dessert and drink are with table service. A main, drink and dessert is also included in the quick service. A snack is a variety of things: bakery bites are a snack, Mickey Ice Cream bars are snacks, and fresh fruit is a snack etc.
We spent a lot of time researching dining plans and deciding if it was best for us at the time because the kids were under 10. Even the first year when we had our son turn 10 and become an ‘adult’ for Disney, it still worked.
It’s nice to have the ease of buying food and booking any dinners you like. However, after that last year with our eldest being an adult (but not really eating adult portions) we decided to start going off-plan. The past couple of years we saved SO MUCH money off plan. In part because the kids are both adults (and the cost difference no longer makes sense) and because we just don’t eat that many table services, expensive meals or even that amount of food.
I’ll do a separate food post with our tips on dining, on and off plan, but message me if you have questions.
Also, it’s important to note that our goal being off plan was to still never say no to a meal or bite we wanted – even eating when and whatever we wanted we still saved.
Me enjoying a birthday dinner at Tony’s at Magic Kingdom
NOTE: You can book resort and park passes and opt out of dining. Sometimes, dining is included as a special, or you get a discount if you book a complete package with dining. It’s worth crunching the numbers to see! Bottom line – if your kids are under 10, definitely consider the dining plan.
What I do recommend is that you make dining reservations in advance. These can change right up until the day before your reservation, but some character meals and popular places to eat book up quickly. If you know where you want to eat, book it as soon as you can!
What we did find was that most restaurants took a certain amount of walk-ins the day of, but if you really want to eat with Cinderella, I wouldn’t take the chance. Dining locations with characters, or ones like Be Our Guest will all need reservations (otherwise, you can wait in a stand by line but those can be long. I may wait for some rides but I don’t love waiting for food!)
180 days before you will be notified that you can start making your dining selections. Even if you aren’t sure of all of your plans yet, it’s worth booking them, especially for the character experiences.
Here’s how we did it:
We decided which park we wanted to visit on which day, and then focused on food in or around the park. If we desperately wanted to eat at a certain restaurant, and the day we planned on being at that park wasn’t available, we swapped our park days. Yes, our trip was heavily planned around food (of course!)
We based our restaurant selections on how many stars they received on Trip Advisor, the menu, the atmosphere and the location. Menu was very important! Also, some restaurants use up two credits for a meal instead of one, so we were cautious of that. There weren’t any restaurants we looked at that didn’t have fantastic, varied options for the kids, so it was more about what we wanted to eat.
Now that we are off plan, we still basically use the same formula and focus on location and menu.
TIP: Use the My Disney Experience App to keep an eye out for ‘better’ reservation times or experiences if you don’t get them when you first try. I couldn’t get reservations at Oga’s Cantina in Galaxy’s Edge when I first tried (and that was 180 days out!) but in the months leading up to our trip I kept checking and scored some!!
What Park on What Days? Our schedule
Since year 1, this has been the order we have done the parks:
Fly into Orlando Saturday
Magic Kingdom Sunday
Epcot Monday
Hollywood Tuesday
BREAK on Wednesday (swimming around the resort, shopping at Disney Springs)
Animal Kingdom Thursday
Magic Kingdom Friday
Fly home Saturday
This year, we added an extra day so after our day and doubled up on Hollywood (because of Star Wars) and Magic Kingdom.
If you can swing it, I always recommend doubling up on Magic Kingdom Days. There’s just so much to do and repeat, and it gives you the chance to make sure you see their fireworks at least one night.
The reason we pick our order like that is because we want to book end the trip with Magic Kingdom, and Epcot is usually a quieter day (lots of eating) so since Sunday is a full day after travelling, and we stay up late for the fireworks, we don’t want a go-go-go pack on Monday.
I consider Epcot and Animal Kingdom parks to be less ‘hustle’ and more chill.
Next year, we are looking at March Break so we may change up the order to ensure we don’t end up at Magic on a Saturday if possible (I worry about it being extra busy)
Also, every day, typically, one of the parks has ‘magic hours’ for people staying on resort. These are extended park hours. You could try to make your park schedule based on this if you can their hours planned in advance.
FastPass
You may have heard about the FastPass at Disney. Basically, it’s like a ‘cutting the line’ ticket that you can plan for. It’s included in your ticket. You get 3 FastPasses per park per day, and there are some limitations. When choosing your FastPass, you are given grouped options, which means you may not get the exact 3 FastPasses you want. There are different tiers.
No matter what, USE THEM. Book them as soon as you can (60 days out from your trip if you are staying at a resort). They were amazing for us. There are definitely better ways to use them – I’ll try to put together a list (for example, some rides don’t have long wait times so it’s not worth using the FP)
In our early years, when the kids were doing fewer rides, we Fastpassed a lot of character meet and greets and that was totally worth it. Now, we use them for all the most amazing rides possible.
Once you decide your priorities, plan to go for those.
One year, I stayed up until 1 am to try and FastPass (Anna and Elsa were hard to get at the time!) and the system wasn’t ready yet, so I bailed, woke up at 6:30 and got in. I actually didn’t get the first date I wanted for them (they were booked already!) but did get our additional date since we doubled up on visiting Magic Kingdom. That’s how popular some of these FastPasses can be.
A quick note about Rise of the Resistance:
I know I have to do more posts about these stuff, like about Galaxy’s Edge – but I will say this. At this time, Rise of the Resistance is the most sought after ride at Disney (and that’s saying a lot because there are still 4 hour waits some days for Avatar’s Flights of Passage!)
You can’t FastPass Rise currently, but they have a Boarding Pass System. It’s all done through the My Disney Experience App (see how important that App is?) and Boarding Pass opportunities don’t open up until the Park opens for that day. BUT you and all of your party who plans to ride will need to be scanned INTO the park to have a chance. Then, when the Park opens, the App opens up the chance and you try to get them.
This means that going there at 6 am won’t matter. Sure, Disney has been letting people into the Park earlier than it opens (because otherwise the lines were getting ridiculous) but sitting in the park that early doesn’t give you a better chance. You do want to give yourself enough time to catch a bus, or uber, and get to the park, through security and find a place to use Wifi or data.
So when we went, both days, the park opened at 8 am. We arrived on the first day at 7:15, the second around 7:30. Although we were in the park and nothing else was open, it was nice not to stress about the security line to make sure we were in.
I used wifi and the app and Andy used data and the app so at 8 am when passes were available, we both tried to get them.
We did both days, and let me tell you this ride is an EXPERIENCE. I loved it so much. I can’t say much more because I don’t want to offer spoilers – but YES it was worth us planning the extra day for it to make sure we got on it.
Oga’s Cantina at Galaxy’s Edge. This was super fun! But not a part of the dining plan and can be pricey. Worth checking it out though!
Other things to note:
Magic Bands are amazing. They aren’t mailed to Canadians ahead of time, but you get them at check in, and with your My Disney Experience App or web log in, you can customize them with your names, colours etc. They link up to your credit card too. You can pay for merchandise with them, use them for your meal plan etc. We didn’t need to carry wallets.
The Magical Express (which my son called the Evil Express upon leaving because it was going to take us home) is your transportation to and from the airport and resorts. It’s easy to find at the Orlando airport, but they do pick you up on your day of departure about 4 hours before your flight time. You need to call and add yourself to their list to ensure you have a spot on the bus when you arrive or depart. This needs to be done in advance.
If you’ve been reading this blog for a while, you know that we travel with the kids quite a bit, but that we take rather relaxing vacations. A lot of downtime is involved. We weren’t sure how Disney would be for us since we are crowd-avoiders usually, however, thanks to the time of year we went, plus some great planning (and a little luck), it turned out to be amazing. You can guess how much we love it since we keep going back!
We ran the kids pretty hard some days with a few very late nights, but what we decided to do was sleep if we needed to sleep. That is, there were no days that we got to any park before it opens. For some, this isn’t great planning since it’s quiet first thing and you can get to some rides quicker, but for us, the extra leisurely morning set us up well for a really great day. Know your kids and take breaks when you need to. We aren’t rope-droppers. We don’t want to rush our mornings (we typically would arrive at the parks at 9:30ish)
You will NOT get to see everything at Disney in a week. It’s impossible, and you’ll be disappointed if you tell yourself you are missing out on stuff, so pick your priorities, expect some surprises and know that because you won’t cover it all, you should just enjoy what you can!
Be opportunistic – this works well for us. Sometimes, if we walk by and a line up is short, we just hop in! We don’t plan every moment of the day because some of our best experiences have been impromptu.
I’ll have more about food in another post! That deserves its own! Plus, some tips for planning out the week and our favourite rides and shows.
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