Passport Prodigy

Many moons ago I traveled internationally with high school students.  I loved it.  I loved the kids.  The locations.  The activities.  The food.  But....I was also responsible for making sure 40+ teenagers had passports, and got them in enough time to travel.  I also married a man who had a very expired passport and I think EVERY person should have a valid passport.  You never know when Gate1(I've got to tell you more about them in another post) is going to offer an amazing deal to South America that you just can't pass up!!!  So, now it's my duty to share insight into getting and traveling safely with your passport.

Get it!  Start by visiting the official government website.  Fill out the correct form.  You can either print the pdf or do the form filler.  Either way you'll have to print it out.  I'm just a little OCD so I use the form filler to make it more neat.  Then.....get your birth certificate.  This MUST be the original or a state issued copy.  It must be official or it won't be accepted.  My husbands was a state issued copy but didn't have the seal or signature of the registrar.  He got denied, and we had to resubmit(such a pain!).  In addition you'll need a copy of your birth certificate(black & white).  They use it for something.  Who knows what, though.  You'll also need a photo ID, and a copy of the photo id.  The final thing you'll need is one stunningly awkward photo of yourself.  I've seen a lot of passport photos.  I have yet to see a "good one".  There are always so many requirements that I just take myself down to Costco(of course) and they make sure I'm all good.  I've also found that their prices just can't be beat(and I've done my research).  After you have all of your documents you're going to need to get yourself to a passport office (if this is your first passport, or are under the age of 16).  I love that we have one in our own town.  Most "big" towns/cities do.  The kind people at the passport office will take all of your documents, and some of your greenbacks to cover fees.  They will then let you know that you'll receive your passport.....eventually. Anywhere from 4-10 weeks.  It always varies on when you'll get it back.  Memorial Day, Labor Day, and Thanksgiving are when you can expect a 10 week wait.  Otherwise it's pretty standard.  They offer expedited services, but that will of course cost you more. Just go out and get it now.  It will save you such a headache.

Once you have it!!!  These are the best tips I can give you.  Once you have your passport do 2 things.  #1....scan the info page(not the whole book) and email it to yourself.  Create a folder in your email where you keep this.  #2.....make copies of the info page to place in other passports.  Why.....#1.  You have a copy of your passport should anything happen to your passport while you are abroad.  Your consulate or embassy can assist you in getting another without too much trouble.  #2.  Your family has copies of your passport with their passport should anything happen AND you don't have internet access.  I know!!!! Genius move right there.  You're welcome.  Easy right?  Now Make your next Adventure.

Disneyland Rider Switch & FastPass

 I want to ride TOO!!!  Yup, that's what I sound like when I go to Disneyland nowadays.  Over the past 2 years my Disney adventuring has changed because I have a kid.  I love kicking it in Fantasyland with him and all, but I'm also jonzing for Radiator Springs Racers and Indiana Jones.  Don't get me wrong, my Disneyland experience has been brightened with this little guy, but it's also been an experience in finding ways onto my favorite rides.  I'm talking FastPass & Rider Switch.  I'm here to talk about what parents (and anyone with a little) can do to cut your wait time.  On our last visit Buddy was 35" and just tall enough for Gadget's Go Coaster.  Yes, it was awesome to ride a "fast ride", but I need speed!  Real speed......40" or taller kind of speed!  So, I need FastPass & Rider Switch privileges. Just be aware that not all rides offer FastPass or Rider Switch.  Check your app, or the park map to know.    

FastPass....This awesome perk can be picked up at a ride for free, or selected using MaxPass.  A FastPass gives you access to a specific ride during a specified one hour window where you can skip the "regular line" and queue up in the FastPass line.  This line gets you on the ride faster.  Now, you can't just have as many FastPasses as you want.  Your MaxPass, or FastPass ticket will let you know when you can get your next FastPass.  There are 2 categories for WHEN your next FastPass can be selected.  1)  Right after you ride the first FastPass ride.(Get a FP for Toy Story Midway Mania at 9:00.  Hop in line, scan your ticket...bam next FastPass can be selected).  2) 90 minutes  from your previous FP. (Get a FP for Guardians with a 2:00-3:00 return time, it's 11:00.  You can select your next FP at 12:30).  All you need is your park ticket, or the app with your park ticket linked.  This is a huge change circa July 2017.  "Back in the day" you only needed the hopper ticket.  Now, YES!!! you can have more than one FP at a time.  Let's say you have a FP for Guardians at 8:00, and it's only 11:00 am.  After you select your Guardians FP, give it 90 minutes, then select your next FP.  Say its for Radiator Springs Racers at 3:30.  You now have 2 FP and after another 90 min. wait you can select another.  I strongly suggest MaxPass for all of its perks, but specifically for not having to run to each ride to get your next FP.  It's only one of the excellent perks of MaxPass.

Rider Switch...Now this specific perk has a caveat, that being that you MUST have at least one person in your party who is not tall enough to ride.  This can be a newborn, or your "just too short" 3 year old.  Rider switch allows ADULTS(14 years or older) guests to take turns waiting with any guests who are unable to ride.  In our case there were only 2 of us, so we just switched with each other and road alone(if single rider is not available), but this perk is excellent for bigger parties. So, first let the cast member at the ride know that you'd like to use rider switch.  Make sure you are all there, because they NEED to see that there is a reason for using this service.  Decide how you want to split your group.  If each parent wants to ride with the kids, you'll need to explain this to the CM so they can scan the kid's tickets as well.  The CM(cast member) will scan the waiting groups tickets.  When the CM scans the tickets they are essentially giving the second group FP that start 15 min from being scanned, and lasting 1 hour.  This is different then the previous way.  You can no longer come back and ride the ride later in the day.  It's usually only long enough for the 1st group to finish, and the next group to go.  The CM's are aware of wait times, should it take group 1 more than an hour to ride.  I strongly suggest using FP along with Rider Switch.  The reason for this is you can USUALLY get 1 extra ride in if you use the FP & rider switch within the 1 hour window of your FP expiring.


Single Rider...When it's just the 3 of us, we bypass rider switch and focus on Single Rider.  The list of rides offering this service are small, but worth it if you are only a family of 3(one of which is super small).  I do have to say....more people are learning about single rider and SOMETIMES the wait is just as long as waiting in the regular line.  We've experienced this on Radiator Spring Racers, California Screamin'(which will soon be an INCREDIBLE coaster), and Indiana Jones.  So, I say only use this service if you really are a single rider.

Dream VACATION Home

A new trend in vacationing is ditching the hotel for a home rental.  Why is it so trendy?  Well, it's unique(which modern society loves), it definitely offers a "homie" feel while you're away, it can be cost effective, it usually comes with more amenities then a hotel(they offered beach chairs, and strollers!!!), and ........well, I'm sure there are more reasons(let me know why you love home rentals).

In the last two month I've stayed in two totally different home rentals, but what I was looking for never changed.  I've used 2 platforms for my vacations.  In California I used homeaway.com, and for Hawaii I used airbnb.com.  There are plenty of others out there, but in doing my research I have found the additional fees are far less using these two.  I even compared them with each other, and most locations are listed on both platforms.  It's a matter of what they are listing for, and the fees.  Our rental in California was almost $600 cheaper on homeaway then on airbnb.  I can only assume that the owner knew they can make more money on airbnb so they listed it higher.  So, I say....do comparables when deciding where to stay.  It's also worth looking at hotel pricing, because that may be cheaper.

Now, what to look for....I always use the advanced search feature when searching.  I know what I want when I'm traveling and you can refine your search so much.  You can select what is right for you.  I always want a whole home/apt as opposed to something shared.  I also choose something near my destination, with free parking, wifi, the right number of beds for my party size, 1 bathroom per bedroom in the home(just a good rule of thumb), a hairdryer(I hate packing those things!), working a/c, and a pool.  Now the pool is not a deal breaker, but it's an awesome amenity. And,check it out....our California one came with a water slide!!!!

Once I've narrowed it down to a few choices, I read reviews.  Both sites offer "trusted" rentals, but others may be just as nice and they haven't been on the site as long.  So, read the reviews.  This is super important!  Remember when I said I booked my accommodation months in advance, at the same time I book my rental car?  Well, I booked an accommodation that had few reviews but SEEMED like a good place.  A month before our vacation I was reading reviews and two reviews stated that it was actually a SHARED APARTMENT, and the "free parking" was in an IHOP parking lot 2 BLOCKS AWAY!!! Ya, I had obviously made a huge mistake.  After over a week of communicating with the owner and airbnb they refunded my money and I was able to book accommodations that had much better reviews, and had accurate pictures.  That's another thing....look at the pictures of the place.  They should give you a clear picture of what you should expect.  If something isn't clear, you can email the owner for more pictures.  They want you to stay, so they will make sure you know what is up. An added bonus to the new place was that we were super close to Costco, which I have expressed my love for while traveling.

I've enjoyed my experience with vacation rentals.  It has made us feel like real locals when we step out into the world.  I have enjoyed writing reviews for the locations as well.  The rental in California is one that I truly plan on attending again.

Disneyland's MaxPass...Is it worth it?

Have you heard? Disneyland rolled out a new way to make your Disney experience more magical!  In mid-July 2017 they introduced MaxPass.  It claims "you will save time in line" and you'll be able to download your Photopass photos.  So, how does it work?  Will it cost extra?  How do I get it? and most importantly.......IS IT WORTH IT? 

Let's start with how to get it.....If you already have the Disneyland Parks app, you're already ready.  In my opinion everyone should have this app on their phone.  Why?  It gives you ride wait times, character meet & greet times and locations, listings of dining options with the option to book them(Always book your dining ahead of time.  Even if you do it the day before.  It saves so much time, and gives you direction while planning your day.)  It also includes locations of shops, restrooms, and entertainment listings.  These features are all located on the map, so you can get around more efficiently.  It also gives you park hours, a place to store your park tickets(in case you lose yours(you NEED this), and a section called "My Plans".  It shows you your fast passes, and dining reservations.  I enjoy all of the features of this app, with my favorite being the display of current wait times.  I find myself checking wait times at least 2-3 times a week....just imagining what I would being doing if I was there.  In fact, right now the wait for Radiator Spring Racers is 45 min.  That's pretty good for this time of year.  Peter Pan is still at 40 min.  That's pretty standard.  One day I hope to be there when it's at 15 min.  Wouldn't that be great?  My husband has yet to discover why people love the Peter Pan ride so much.  Anyway, I digress.....download the app.  You'll need it for MaxPass.

Will it cost extra?  As with anything new Disney rolls out, it of course has a price.  Right now they have "introductory pricing" so we will have to wait and see if it changes after a year of implementation.  If you have an annual pass there are different offers in place, but let's stick with regular tickets.  For a one day MaxPass addition you will need to shell out an additional $10 per person.  Yes, $10 per person per day.  Which leads us to the next question.....what do you get for $10 per person per day?

For $10 a day you get 2 things.  One, access to all of your PhotoPass photos.  Two, the ability to select your fast passes on your phone.  Let's say you go to Disneyland by yourself and the photographer snags that perfect photo of you and Mickey.  If you want to buy that 1 photo, it will cost $14.95(current price).  Now, I give you this example because it's the simplest way to show the worth of the MaxPass.  BUT.... the reason the MaxPass exists is for the use of it's FastPass feature.  Let's say you decide NOT to get MaxPass.  To get the most out of your Disney day you're going to want a FastPass.  A FastPass gives you access to a specific ride during a specified one hour window where you can skip the "regular line" and queue up in the FastPass line.  This line gets you to the ride faster.  It's a time saver, but you can't just have as many FastPasses as you want .  Disney will let you know when you are able to obtain another FastPass.  It can be as quick as when you finish your first ride, or up to an hour.  To get a FastPass you need to go to the ride and queue up to the FastPass distributor.  IF you get MaxPass you do NOT need to go to each ride for the FastPass.  You can do it FROM YOUR PHONE!!!  Hello, you don't have to run around the park(or even hop park to park) collecting FastPasses all day long.  I'm saying, you don't have to walk an additional 3-8 miles in your already mile filled Disney day.  It is also worth noting that we've experiences(on more than one occasion) that MaxPass has more FastPass availability.  If  a FastPass distribution location states that there are no more passes for the day, you may find them available through MaxPass.

So, most importantly....IS IT WORTH IT?  I guess that depends on how big your group is, and what $10 means to you.  In my experience I say YES... It's worth every penny.  I love getting photos of my family, and I LOVE that I can be in the photos too without it being a selfie.  I love that I own all of my pictures(rides included) and I can add stickers and borders to them.  For me, the photo feature alone is enough.  The FastPass feature is also totally worth it.  One day we rode Midway Mania 5 times because of our MaxPass.  We would have rode it more, but WE had enough.  That never happens for me on that ride.  It's always a long line, and MaxPass has been our lifesaver.  I've talked to larger families and they also find the MaxPass worthwhile.  I will say that there are "slow" Disney days where the lines may not be long(I'm not sure how many of these days exist anymore), or we're not doing a lot of the FastPass rides.  On those days we don't get the MaxPass, but those are also the days we don't do any character meet and greets.  If I think we will even take 1 FAMILY photo, I will at least buy one MaxPass.  Sure we won't all have FastPass access, but that's not why I purchased it those days. 
Disneyland is always looking for new ways to create Magic, or make life on vacation more simple. I truly believe that MaxPass is where it's at and it's such a great vacation investment.  I have loved every MaxPass experience.  I love that I can collect FastPasses for Space Mountain while waiting in line for Soarin' Around the World knowing I don't have to run around both parks wasting valuable time.  I can think of NO reason NOT to get MaxPass in my life.  It's also cool to note that Disney is now including it in their most exclusive annual pass as well.  Well done Disney.  I approve. 

Adding a "+1" to your Vacation

Traveling with your eternal best friend is the best.  You get to share cool new adventures with the one you've decided to spend your forever with.  Getting to see the world "just the 2 of us" was awesome, but at some point in our adventure we decided to add a "plus one" to our travel adventures.  We love the little guy.  He's super adorable, BUT he does change travel.  A lot.  We had heard from other parents that we should enjoy traveling without kids because once you have kids, you are done traveling.  I did not want that to be us.  Traveling is part of who I am.  I wanted our little addition to make our traveling better, not make it disappear.  So, when our little buddy was 5 months old we decided to take him with us to Disneyland. I had grand plans of what our trip was going to look like..........

What it actually looked like(I'm not even kidding)

    

Look at those chunky, smoochable, grumpy cheeks.  He was not having it! Those other parents were right when they said our travel days were over.  I told Paul in the middle of the first night that I wanted to hop on a plane first thing in the morning and never travel again!  Our Buddy was a nightmare, and truly only happy when we  were in the hotel room just chilling.  It was rough.  But, I couldn't just give up!  I had to figure something out because we had already scheduled a trip for only a month later.

So, here's what I did the second time around, and for all our adventures since then....I set NO expectations for the trip.  Sure, we were going to Disney World and I hadn't been in years, but I was going to make this trip better.  I wanted to have fun.  And, guess what.....it worked.  We had a great time. 

1.  I didn't worry what people thought on the plane. I just wanted my kid happy.  And, he was.  We had a moment where his ears weren't popping, and he cried but other passengers were nice and told us not to give up on traveling.  It was so nice to hear.  Sure there were the "jerks" who didn't like my kid crying, but I blocked out what they said.

2.  We went with the flow.  If Buddy was tired, we all sat and had a snack while he fell asleep, then we'd ride the "big kid rides" using rider switch (watch out for a future posts on this amazing perk of traveling with a kid).  

3. I remembered WHY we brought him.  We wanted to show him the world, and experience vacation WITH our kid.  He wasn't just a +1 to our vacation, he was a traveler on our FAMILY vacation.  We did things different, and still had fun. 

Random tidbit...I didn't waste space in my luggage for diapers and formula.  We stopped at the local Walmart and picked those up before heading for the hotel.  

Since then our little Buddy has been on 6  out of state adventures.  He loves to travel.  In fact on a recent trip a women looked at him and said, "It looks like this isn't his first plane ride".  He loves to travel, and we love having him with us.  It actually felt really funny not taking him on our last adventure.  Part of our family was missing.  But, I will say it was a lot easier!  There are still times when it's better if he is not on our adventure, but we sure like having him around.  So, I say....don't give up, and don't stop traveling.  Just learn HOW to travel with your kid.  

Adventures made easy with Costco

My Costco membership is worth the fee with my travel alone!  I use that card so much.  And, I will have it be known that I shop around, and 9 times out of 10 Costco is the best bet.  Now, there are other membership plans out there(AAA, I'm looking at you!) that MAY offer good deals too, but I've worked with Costco and that's where I've found the best bang for my buck(that sounds so cliche).  I'm not talking using JUST Costcotravel.com for it's deals on vacation packages, cruises, hotels, park tickets, and rental cars....I'm talking...I use Costco for 6 specific things before, during, and even after I travel.

Before Vacation
*Costco Travel:  Now, I will start by saying that the website alone IS a "go to" place.  I can check hotel rates(I always compare to Trivago), cruises(I also check VacationstoGo), theme/amusement park ticket prices compared to gate prices, and rental cars(which you can read about here).  It's just such a great place to go when beginning to vacation plan. 

During Vacation
*Gas:  You know how you're always looking for a place to get gas while on vacation, especially cheap gas right before you have to return the rental car?  Well, Costco!  If there is one near your accommodation, or the airport....you're in luck.  Costco gas is always cheaper. 

*Quick cheap meals:  When you're on vacation, and eating out A LOT it's nice to take the guess work out of a meal.  Just stop off at the nearest Costco, and order those familiar hot dogs, pizzas, smoothies, and churros.  If you plan this right you can get a meal AND...

*Souvenirs: That's right!  You've got friends and family that are expecting a little something from your trip to "cool far off place that they wish they were there".  Costco has gifts...in bulk!  Genius move, right?  I suggest hitting up the Costco early in your trip because you can get the majority of your gifts, and purchase the rest as you vacation.  Costco carries local items, and getting your friends and family gifts that are authentic makes you the best gift giver.  On a recent trip to Hawaii we stocked up on chocolates, nuts, cookies, and books by local authors for our friends and family members. I made a list of everyone we wanted to buy gifts for and started at Costco.  After Costco I only had 2 gifts to buy(that I ended up getting at the Aloha Stadium Swap Meet).  It was perfect.  We also got ourselves some local goodies to take home to remind us of our adventure.  Let me just say that Maltesers should be sold in every Costco!

*Family Vacations:  We recently did a family vacation to Disneyland.  We rented a home(Funtierland...I should totally do a post about this company.  We loved it!) near the park where 9 of us got to be with each other the whole time.  We ate breakfast together every morning and enjoyed snacks throughout the day.  You better believe we shopped at Costco.  Easy, convenient, and the best way to stock a fridge while entertaining multiple families. 

After Vacation
*Photos:  If you still believe in printing photos Costco is amazingly cheap.  It's also the perfect place to print large prints of your favorite photos.

My love for Costco runs deep.  I love this place.  The fact that it helps before, during, and after vacation says a lot.  It really is a great support to any vacation.  I'm trying to think of other reasons to love Costco, and would love to hear why you love Costco and travel too.