I can believe this day is finally here! As we speak, I am ALREADY through the first leg of travels to our FIRST family vacation. Just us 4….finally out exploring together!

My wedding season set us up so perfectly this year, and I couldn’t be more thankful. On Friday, I will be shooting ONE HECK of an amazing destination wedding in Daytona, Florida. I truthfully have been WAITING impatiently for this day. Michael and I had been discussing a family trip for spring break this year, as both boys finally have the same week off. However, that week also seemed to be the week the whole world had off from schools and prices everywhere were astronomical and would severely limit just how much we could commit to. (We are in the process of buying a home and adding on a 2,000+ sq ft addition…so we are in save mode)

While planning my travels to Florida for Michelle and Walker’s wedding, I had this lightbulb moment that “oh my goodness, I will already be down there… I should fly my boys down and we should take our spring break trip a bit early and avoid the CRAZZYYYY crowds and SAVE over $8,000.00 by going before official spring break!!!!! So, in true KNP fashion, I put in all my spare energy and passion into planning a fun, economically sound, and priceless vacation. My end result that fit that criteria: Disney!

On Saturday, my boys and I will head to Hollywood Studios and then spend Sunday in the Magic Kingdom. Bright and early Monday morning we will be headed to Port Canaveral where we will catch our first Disney/Family Cruise that has us sailing the open seas till Friday. Though I have been to the Bahamas before with Michael, I am so excited for the boys to see Atlantis. (At this port, we also will be swimming with the dolphins….a first for all of us…and a lifelong dream of mine! eeeeek) Make sure your kids are strong swimmers before deciding to do this trip though as this can be quite challenging. Somewhere like Coast2Coast in North York will help your children become better swimmers!

While planning this trip, I started to think of all the things that made this trip possible….planning easier….the process fun instead of tedious. There are 3 ways to plan a family vacation, especially to Disney, that help make the entire experience a priceless one. Here are my 3 tips:

1) FIND A DISNEY VACATION PLANNER!

When I first started, I tried planning it all by myself. Researching parks, rides, shows, heights of rides, fast passes, cruises vs. hotel inclusive packages, park openings, fireworks vs parades, best restaurants for character dinning, PHEW! I was OVERWHELMED and ready to throw in the towel. I asked around if anyone specialized in this type of planning and I was connected to one of my brides best friends that JUST HAPPENS to be a VERY successful and amazinnnggg planner. As a disney obsessed mother of littles like myself, she knew EXACTLY where I should go, where the kids would love, where they could get in based on ages/heights, food preference, everything! In terms of planning, I simply told her when I was thinking of going, whom was coming with me, how long I wanted to be away. From there, she took the wheel, found me the best deals, and WAY MORE!

Meet our planner! Lynn….you just blew us away! THANK YOU FOR EVERYTHING! Just look at the package we received from our planner as a surprise this past week. ENDLESS gifts for the boys and a full packet of maps, information, receipts, lists and more!

2) SHOP FOR DISNEY APPAREL/GIFTS/TOYS BEFORE YOUR TRIP!!!!

Holy moly Disney! Between the hiking up of the park tickets to 15.00 for a character water bottle in the parks to a 30.00 size 3t shirt, YOU MUST BE CRAZY! I took to my favorite kids t-shirt shop (KOHLS!) and purchased 5 shirts for each of my kids (so 10 total) for 55.00. Thats a disney character shirt a DAY for each of them to wear for 55.00 for 10 shirts!!! You do the math there!

Then, water bottles…can we say WALMART…DOLLAR STORE! They have Disney cups, snack boxes and more! We were tempted to get Custom Water bottle labels to enhance the experience, but we only found out a day before the event that we could do such an amazing thing!

For our matching family shirts for the themed Pirate night on board the cruise, I got custom ones as a Christmas present from my mother. I’m not sure if she used the Houston screen printers or someone else but these they turned out great! We’re certainly going to wear them after our trip too as they’re so great. It’s actually inspired me to create more of my own personalized shirts for when we go on other holidays too. I think the kids look great when they’re all matching.

For our disney ears, I got a 4 pack of head band ears for 6.00 on Ebay.com

The list goes on my friends, don’t waste money on things you can get ahead of time. Pack a little surprise toy or gift and gift it to the kids on the plane or first night in the hotel…then one day in the parks let them pick out ONE thing to remember their trip. DONE! Don’t go wasting your money like this, keep on top of your spending’s using a budget app and track what’s going in, and what’s going out. This way you’ll be able to save up for a bigger purchase, or activity at the end of the trip that you and the kids will remember for life!

3) Packing/To-Do List/Prep

I find that the most stressful part of vacationing is the actual prep process. Between paying for he trip, packing, traveling, etc. They all have negative connotations to them…ESPECIALLY when traveling with kids.

In terms of payment, we made sure to have everything paid off PRIOR to the trip. Going into a trip swimming in the debt of booking it really weighs on your heart and mind and takes away from the vacationing experience. Its ok to pay off chunks at a time (some chunks bigger than others at times) but try going INTO a vacation debt free OF the expenses to GO on vacation.

In terms of packing; LISTS! Make a lists for you and your husband and one for the kids. You, especially if you are mama bear reading this, can not POSSIBLY remember everything for your whole family. Make a list, divide and conquer. Lay out the amount of bags so everyone knows how much space to work with. (My secret trick: Space saver bags. I bought them from Bed Bath and Beyond and they are the kind that you can seal and PUSH the air out of, no vacuum needed!)

To whom ever is watching the pets, the house, etc. TYPE out all the information for the keys to the house, alarm, pet food schedule, etc WEEKS prior. Don’t wait till the last minute. THEN…laminate that and save it for future use and lay it out with the keys, etc so your house/pet sitter can easily access it! Tell a neighbor to keep an eye out on the exterior and be sure to leave them with your contact information and an emergency contact. YOU NEVER KNOW, BETTER SAFE THAN SORRY!

Shopping! Don’t waste 3.00 for a bag of chips and 5.00 for a drink at the airport. Pack an empty water bottle for each of you, fill it up once through the gate. Get the kids their fave snacks and candy and have them pack it in their little carry on or pack in yours. That money you are saving right there can go to a night out for ice cream on vacation. Right?!

I hope these 3 tips help you if you are planning your own vacation, whether it is to Disney or some where else just as fun for you and your family. Remember to UNPLUG, even if you will be somewhere with internet access. I won’t have any so I will be shutting off my cell phone and hiding my lap top. Its good for your soul and even better for your family. Take pictures. Its all you will have to back up those memories once you arrive home. Don’t make an excuse as to (the camera is at the bottom of the bag, I have to run into the store for more batteries, etc. JUST TAKE pictures and video and be alert to all around you. Travel safe. Buddy systems, remembering outfits that day, emergency numbers in kids pockets, ID tags. And after all of that….HAVE FUN!

DISNEY OR BUST!

*Previews of my amazing Daytona wedding will just have to wait until our return…get excited! : )