Moms Blogs 4 U » Vacationing

Traveling To Florida Via Train

JMarsden92 — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 01:41:36 +0000

We have been going to Florida to vacation for many years. Throughout our trips we have evaluated ways to save money, time, and other factors. Over the past year we have found that traveling on Amtrak Auto Train is very convenient. The pricing is comparable to driving. They serve us dinner, and breakfast. There is a smoking car. The train makes it so we don’t have to stop on the way down to sleep. It also helps by not allowing us to stop for shopping, or miscellanous breaks. We take our car which makes it so that we don’t have to rent a car for driving around to attractions, etc. This is also nice because auto breakdown service coverage on a car has its own disadvantages.

Several people I know have not fully understood the scenario. They will continue to swear on airline flights. I know that after the wait at the airport, fees, and everything else that flying is just not the way to go.

We have already started to watch pricing for our upcoming trip in December. I have emphasized to my wife that we don’t want to wait to long to book because the price will go up based on demand.

Speeding Along In Our Automobile

DMarsden92 — Sun, 27 Nov 2011 16:57:46 +0000

Over the years of driving to Disney World it has opened my eyes to many things. One of them being hubbys need for speed. I also found out that no matter what state you get a ticket in a lawyer from that state will send you letters offering their services. When he got a ticket in VA. for speeding we got 4 letters from lawyers by the time we got back from vacation. The best was when he got a ticket in N.C. we must have gotten 10 or more letters from Raleigh lawyers offering to help him. I guess they figure it’s a long drive and if you cant afford the points you will just pay. Most of the time he just pays the ticket off. I find myself telling him that it would be cheaper to take a plane or train to FL. I asked him what the rush is to get there so fast anyway it’s not like Disney is going anywhere anytime soon. Think of all the trees he would save if he did the speed limit and all these lawyers don’t have to send him letters. Maybe they should find a way to go green at these lawyer firms. Ask the police to get an email address when they give a ticket.

How much should I budget for Disney World 2012 Vacation

OrlandoVacations — Mon, 07 Nov 2011 02:01:05 +0000

How much should you budget for a 2012 Disney Vacation?
Every family and every holiday is different, but before you take a vacation, it is good to have some idea of what costs are involved so you can budget for trip and decide on what you can and cannot afford.
A vacation to Walt Disney World is an exciting prospect for families, but you want to have an idea of what you can expect to pay for. This guideline will help you to assess the costs you may incur.
The basic itinerary and costs of a vacation at Walt Disney World
This basic itinerary assumes that you are travelling as a family of four, with one child older than 10, and one child younger than 10. Obviously if this is not the case, you can adjust prices accordingly but it does give you some idea of the costs involved.
This budget includes food, park tickets,accommodations at a Walt Disney World Hotels, separate meals, as well as special event tickets. Fortunately, transportation between Disney World destinations and your Walt Disney World Resort Hotel is free; and if you are flying into Orlando International Airport, you can also get free transport on the Disney Magical Express to your Disney resort – just be sure to sign up for the service.
Budget
All prices are after tax and tips.
·   Park tickets for 8 days will come in at about $975.
·   Disney Dining plan for 8 days will cost about $1300; and another $230 will cover snacks, breakfasts in your room, and refillable mugs.
·   For 8 nights at the Polynesian, you will pay around $3285; and for eight nights at Pop Century, you will pay around $865.
·   Budget $925 for extra special tickets, meals outside the dining plan and events.
Total estimated cost:
With this basic itinerary for a family of four for 8 nights, you can expect to budget over $6,700 if you will be staying at the Polynesian or $4,300 if you will be staying at Pop Century.
Remember, this budget does not include the costs of getting you and your family to Orlando and back (the price will vary depending how far way you are and how you choose to travel). In addition, you may need funds for souvenirs, snacks and other miscellaneous items.
With the proper budgeting, you can take the stress out of what promises to be a fun-filled and exciting adventure for you and your family.

Hubby Is Still Complaining

DMarsden92 — Sun, 17 Jul 2011 03:26:34 +0000

Here we go again… Another summer where hubby and I plan out if we have enough money to go camping. This is usually followed by how we need a bigger motor home. He would love one that he could just drive so that he doesn’t have to waste time with hooking up and unhooking ours. I keep telling him that when you have a driveable motorhome you have to also have motorhome insurance and even if you can find a good plan it adds to the cost of camping. So for now I think we’ll do just fine with what we have.

Tour Guide Hubby Isn’t

DMarsden92 — Thu, 07 Jul 2011 20:40:20 +0000

A year ago hubby took me to NY to attend a dinner that we were invited to. I was so happy to go because this was my first time in the city. All I can say is wow. It was nothing like I have ever seen before. I was amazed that all I saw was tall steel buildings even when I looked up. I asked him if all NY was like this, and he said I guess. Some tour guide my hubby is. I would like to find time to go back to visit NY with our little one to do some sight seeing being that we only went to dinner and then left. Who knows maybe next time I can bring someone with me that knows about NY and I’ll get to see more than just tall buildings.

Disney Ring Carving

DMarsden92 — Sat, 02 Jul 2011 04:20:58 +0000

When it comes to jewelry we are not big fans of it. We don’t even wear our wedding rings. For some reason when we were in Disney a few years back a man in Fort Wilderness making artcarved rings made jewelry catch my eye. I couldn’t stop watching him work on them. It was so cool seeing how he carved your name or initials into a ring with a saw. Being that I was so amazed by his work I just had to buy one for myself. Now my wedding ring has company because I wore it for maybe a week and that was it. For the price it cost me I still feel it was worth buying. Even if it was only just to watch him make it. I’m just happy hubby talked me out of getting the more expensive one. I guess you could say he knows me better than I know myself. He said that I would never wear it.

I Can’t Drive 55 & Neither Can Hubby

DMarsden92 — Fri, 19 Nov 2010 03:15:12 +0000

On our last trip to Florida we wanted to go the cheapest way. After pricing everything we felt that driving was the cheapest way to go. If we had known that I-95 would have had so many construction jobs going on and hubby’s need for speed were going to change everything then any other way would have cost us less.

You see when he wasn’t stuck in traffic from the work areas he was a little heavy on the gas pedal trying to make up for the time he was losing. This got us a nice ticket in VA. We now have to pay a ticket, adding to the cost of our trip. We joked that he was preparing for his Richard Petty Experience in Disney World. He didn’t find that very funny. What amazed me is that Virginia charges court costs even if you don’t go to court. Seems a little strange to me, but I am not one to question the law. Like I told him I can’t be mad at him when I was driving I flew past a few unmanned speeding cameras. I was not going that fast but I was not doing the exact speed limit. I just didn’t know that’s what they were for until my brother in-law called to tell me to watch out for them. That is one person that I am surprised didn’t get any tickets. At least none that we know of since the unmaned cameras mail the ticket to you.

I think we learned our lesson now. The lesson is… “If you want to get their fast then fly, otherwise do the speed limit and take your time.”

Burn Baby Burn

DMarsden92 — Wed, 27 Oct 2010 03:47:08 +0000

Being I have gone on four Disney cruises I feel I have learned a lot about what to pack and what not to pack. On occasion I forget something that is necessary and we have to stop for it before going. This time before we go on the cruise hubby keeps telling me to make sure that I remember to pick up some sun tan lotion for them. I always seem to forget to buy it when we travel. This is because I’m very lucky that I have olive skin and don’t need it whereas hubby, and little one could use the lotion to tan, and not get sun burn by not wearing anything. When they don’t have tanning lotion they just burn, and I never hear the end of it. Hubby burning is bad, but at least he isn’t white as a ghost.

Diamonds On The Disney Cruise

DMarsden92 — Fri, 24 Sep 2010 04:15:51 +0000

In April we will be going on the new Disney cruise ship the “Dream”. Now I know that on the past Disney cruises that we went on they would sell wholesale diamonds, gold and other gems. This is fine with me, and hubby because I don’t wear a lot of jewelry. So we never spent any money on it when we looked at it. We worry because now that the little one is getting older she not only likes this stuff, but the fancier the items, the better. We will just have to try real hard to keep her away from it because even though it’s at wholesale prices it is still Disney, and it can be a little costly especially after what we paid for our cruise.

Hubby And Camping

DMarsden92 — Sat, 31 Jul 2010 03:04:20 +0000

Hubby was telling me that the next time we go camping in Mays Landing that he would like to look into staying in their cabins that they have instead of using our camper. So I asked him why because we would spend more money to stay in a cabin, and they don’t have everything that we have in the camper. He told me that in the camper sure we have a bathroom, stove, and a sink, but in the cabins they have log beds that are bigger than our bed in the camper, and that would make it more comfortable for him to sleep in. Now maybe I’m wrong, but I don’t feel that’s a good reason to spend more money a night. Maybe I would if we were staying in a tent, and not a camper. Maybe I feel this way because I’m short, and the bed fits me just fine. The other problem he has with our camper is that he hits his head when he walks straight. If he thinks he hits his head a lot now, then he would hate having a “triangle camper.”

Sleeping In Campers Or Not Sleeping

DMarsden92 — Fri, 09 Jul 2010 03:17:33 +0000

We go camping once or twice a year just to get away for a weekend, and try to have some fun. I make sure I pack every little thing that you could think of in case we need it. I told hubby that next time I need to pack some eye creams, or maybe just some good sleeping pills because the bed in the camper keeps me up all night because it’s so hard. I guess that I shouldn’t complain because some people have it worse because they are in tents. It’s funny how when I was a kid I remember how I could sleep almost anywhere.

Hubby Insists On A Bigger Camper

DMarsden92 — Thu, 06 May 2010 02:25:03 +0000

About a year and half ago we got a small pull along camper to go camping with in the summertime mainly. During the school year it is hard to take a trip because we don’t like our little one missing more days than necessary. I didn’t mind that it was small, and the price was right. My in-laws gave it to us. When we got it I couldn’t wait to go camping. I remember when I was younger how my uncle would take me, and my brothers camping. It was something fun that we could do as a family. After a few camping trips hubby now wants to get a bigger camper because he’s so tall. You need to understand his point that he can’t stand up in this one. I don’t feel this is a good reason to get a bigger camper because we don’t camp that much. On top of that a bigger RV means a bigger rv repair when something breaks on it. I have told him that when we can justify a bigger camper that we need to at least get our money out of this one, as we spent a nice penny fixing it up, and replacing things that just weren’t to specification, and operating condition.

What is your thoughts on this?

Disney Dining Evaluation

DMarsden92 — Mon, 05 Apr 2010 00:13:24 +0000

Now that we are finishing up our vacation I am going to have to leave the peace, and quiet of Disney. No more sitting back, and just relaxing. I will have to go back to the daily grind. Soon we will have to open our swimming pool because we didn’t get to do any swimming while in Disney. I just wish that there was a maintenance free solution to pools. The chemicals, and all cost so much. Anyway… Disney was great. Our little one was rather well behaved while we were here. She is also a little upset that we are going home.

We went on the Disney Dining Plan, and found that it worked out very well. You pay a certain amount of money per night – per person, and you get credits towards your meals. You go to participating locations, and get your food. At the time of pay you give your card, and they print out receipts like on the tm-t88iv printers you see everywhere around your local stores. We have found that we paid @ $750 for the 3 of us. After we evaluated what we would have actually spent we found that we would have paid almost double if we weren’t on this plan. Now if I could just get a Disney chef at home because hubby loves Disney food.

We will definitelly go back on one of the Disney Dining plans when we return. That is my hubby’s dream at least because I am making definite plans in my head that we are going on the Disney Dream, and want to save some money. I can’t afford to keep taking vacations 2-3 times a year just because he loves Disney.

You can read his breakdown by clicking HERE.

Disney World or Disneyland?

DMarsden92 — Tue, 30 Mar 2010 16:48:09 +0000

On our long car ride to Disney World all my hubby could talk about was how different Disney World is from Disneyland. I think it’s because he was in a Disney state of mind. Hubby seems to think he knows everything about Disney. I am not one to test his knowledge, so he gets to keep on believing. He told the little one how one time he would like to take the whole family to Disneyland so we can see the differences. Then he threw me under the bus by saying “That’s right… We can’t because mom won’t fly in a plane for more than 3 hours, and it’s just way to long of a drive to take.” Yes, he was right. I won’t go on a plane for longer than 3 hours, and he’s lucky I do that. I feel the longer you’re up in the air the more chances of something going wrong. I reminded him that we don’t have a good whole life insurance plan if something was to happen. For now I’ll keep my feet on the ground, and have to miss out on Disneyland. He did say it was smaller, so why even go at all?

My Hubby Forgot Something

DMarsden92 — Thu, 25 Mar 2010 01:30:50 +0000

Well the time has come for our yearly Disney vacation once again. This time I noticed something different as I am getting ready to pack mine, hubbys, and the little ones clothes, and of course all of the other things. I must remember to pack somethings like a robe, my Sirius Radio, and maybe a fat burner because this year we’re doing the meal plan, and with all that fattening food I’ll need all the help that I can get.

That was said because I’ve come to realize that something else is missing from this vacation. Hubby never gave me his famous check list of everything we need to pack. We leave in one week, and still no list. This is strange because he usually gives it to me a month before we go, and makes me mark off all thing on it so he knows I didn’t forget anything. Though I don’t miss it at all it does feel a little weird without it, but on the bright side when we get there if I forgot to pack anything I can just blame him for not giving me the list.

I don’t mean to pick on him, after all he does make sure everything is perfect, and flawless.