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Category Archives: Planning
Cruising The Waters Of The World
My favorite thing to do at Walt Disney World outside the parks, and now my son’s favorite, was always renting one of the little two-person boats for a cruise in one of the property’s many waterways. The “water mice” of my childhood have been replaced by Sea Raycers designed specially for Disney by Sea Ray. These little 10 foot beauties zip along powered by a 9.9 horsepower outboard engine and are tremendous fun!
You need not be a resort guest to rent a boat, so you can pick and choose where you’d like to take your cruise. Our favorite location is Bay Lake, which is accessible from all the Magic Kingdom Resorts including Fort Wilderness. The Sea Raycer is a great way to go have a look at the old River Country or Discovery island sites and view all the monorail resorts from the water. Chasing after the ferries is great fun as well, just don’t get in the way.
For a different experience, you can try renting at Port Orleans Riverside. From there, you boat in a river/canal rather than a lake. There are all sorts of wildlife to see and if you go down river a bit you can check out the Treehouse Villas, which are really cool.
Sea Raycers are available to rent at the Caribbean Beach Resort, Port Orleans Riverside, Beach and Yacht Club Resorts, Wilderness Lodge, Grand Floridian Resort, Contemporary Resort, Polynesian Resort, Old Key West Resort, Fort Wilderness and at Captain Jack’s Marina in Downtown Disney Marketplace.
Renters must be 18 year of age or older, but children as young as 12 can drive as long as they are at least five feet tall. My son turned 12 since his last trip to Disney, so you can bet a Sea Raycer cruise is high on his list for our next trip. Rental rates are as follows:
$32+tax for 30 minutes
$40+tax for 45 minutes
$45+tax for 60 minutes
Two people may ride together as long as their combined weight is less than 320 pounds, but we find the boats go faster with only one rider, and that makes it a bit more fun.
As a kid, I was convinced the Contemporary Resort had the “best” water mice ( the predecessor to the Sea Raycer). Do you think one of the resorts has the “best and fastest” Sea Raycers? Do you have a favorite spot to cruise? We’d love to hear from you in the comments below!
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- 10 Free or Cheap Things to do outside WDW Parks (chipandco.com)
- What do you do on a Non-Park Day? (chipandco.com)
Keeping Diabetes Under Control at the Parks
As a Diabetic (or a parent of a diabetic child), you know that keeping a routine helps control blood sugar. But you may also know that any vacation is far from routine! And although you might be on vacation, it doesn’t mean you get a vacation from your Diabetes. In fact, you will need keep a closer eye on your blood sugar levels as Walt Disney World can wildly throw you out of your routine, which can cause major blood sugar upsets to occur. Here’s some helpful tips for Type 1 Diabetics on keeping blood sugar in good control (Type 2 Diabetics – most of these tips are applicable to you too!):
Test often and wear a CGM if you have one. Walking will lower your blood sugar, eating will obviously raise it, and sun exposure can lower your blood sugar, especially if you don’t typically live in a warm Florida-like climate. Testing more often is key! Carry your glucometer with you at the parks! Yes, it’s one more item weighing down your park bag, but it’s one of the most vital things to have! Pack twice as many lancets and test strips as you think you may need.
If you wear in insulin pump and have the Continuous Glucose Monitor (CGM), please WEAR this invaluable tool at Disney! A CGM will send blood sugar readings to your pump every 5 minutes and alert you if you’re going too high or too low. When you’re walking all over the parks and distracted by all of the excitement, it’s easy to not recognize the initial warning signs of going low. A CGM will alert you before you’re too low to help yourself.
Hydrate, hydrate, hydrate! Diabetics need MORE water than the average park tourist. Water helps insulin absorb and be distributed more evenly throughout the body. If a diabetic is dehydrated, or close to it, insulin absorption is touch and go. With all of that walking and being in the hot sun, dehydration can happen quickly! Carry a water bottle with you. Yes, it’s another item to weigh you down… but it will keep you going strong!
Always have a source of sugar WITH you (even at night!) Exercise (even just 30 minutes a day) can affect your blood sugar levels for 24 hours following physical activity. If you increase walking from 30 minutes a day, to suddenly walking for 6 – 10 hours a day, your blood sugar dropping is almost inevitable! Keep glucose tabs, juice boxes, or another source of sugary snack with you at all times. Your blood sugar can drop so quickly you may not have time to wait in line to purchase a sweet drink or snack to give you the boost you need.
Keep a source of sugar on your nightstand as well! Many times I’ve woken up with very low blood sugar during the night after having an active day in the parks. Having a juice box right there on the nightstand is easy access to a quick fix.
Consider setting a temp-basal on your Insulin Pump, or decreasing your insulin-carb ratio. To help avoid blood sugar lows, consider setting a temporary basal rate on your insulin pump, this may help you avoid going low too quickly, or may eliminate low blood sugars completely! If you’re not a pump wearer, consider decreasing your insulin-to-carb ratio, especially if you know you’re going to be doing a lot of walking. Consult with your Doctor on what your temp-basals or adjusted carb-ratios should be. If you feel comfortable adjusting your own settings, try it out. If you don’t feel comfortable adjusting your own pump settings – you can learn! Ask your Doctor’s office if they hold pump education seminars or know of a group that does. Many pump manufacturers will hold free classes on how to use the different functionalities on an Insulin Pump.
Try to Stick to your Diet! Disney if full of sweet treats, good food, and temptations left and right! But I’ll say it again, YOU may be on a Vacation, but your Diabetes is NOT. Type 1 Diabetics, if active in the parks, get a little bit more wiggle room here. Indulging in a treat here and there, combined with all the extra walking, may not affect your blood sugar much at all. Type 2 Diabetics may need stick to more closely to their prescribed diets, as they don’t typically have the blood sugar fluctuations that Type 1’s have.
When you keep your Diabetes under Control, you’ll have more control over your WDW Vacation! Keeping your blood sugar within Target Range is key on any vacation! If your blood sugar drops too low, you’ll need to stop everything for a quick snack or drink until you feel fully recovered. On the other hand, if you eat too much or stray from your diet, your blood sugar may rise too high, resulting in headaches, tiredness, crankiness, possibly nausea – who wants to feel that on vacation? Remember, it takes longer to recover from hyperglycemia (high blood sugar) as it does to recover from hypoglycemia (low blood sugar.)
Bottom Line: Test often, drink plenty of water, keep snacks with you for emergencies, and try to stick to your diet!
Terri is a Type 1 Diabetic, wears an insulin pump, and enjoys touring Disney World with little to no Diabetic “distractions.” The advice in this article is just that – advice. Please talk with your Doctor about making any insulin or medication adjustments that would best match-up with your specific needs. If you have any questions for Terri, feel free to contact her via her Facebook page WDW Hints.
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Some Frequently Asked Disney Vacation Questions
So your Disney Countdown is on the wall and you are excited but still have a lot of unanswered questions ………
I have had a full inbox today from excited clients with their vacations approaching with similar questions so I thought I should write a quick article to help any of you who also may have these lingering questions about your upcoming Disney vacations.
1). When will we get our tickets?
At Pixie Vacations we always mail our clients a package about 2 weeks prior to your trip and it typically contains some travel incentive goodies and a travel itinerary, but what about the all important Disney park tickets and dining credits that you purchased?? Well……… when you check in you get a “Key to the World” card. Everyone in your traveling party will get one of these cards at check in. The “Key to the World” cards will have your tickets that you purchased with your reservation loaded onto them as well as any dining credits that you purchased with a Disney dining plan.
You can also determine if you want to allow charging to the room on any or all of the cards. For us, we typically will add a credit card to our “Key to the World” cards but not the kids. When you allow charging on your “Key to the World” card it makes it super easy in the parks because there is no need to carry cash.
For tipping at dining locations you can also just charge those to the room so cash is not needed. If you don’t want to wrack up a high credit card bill at check out and have cash or Disney gift cards, etc. you want to use, simply go down to the counter the night before check out and settle up the bill. They WILL charge your card if the amount goes over $400 dollars so you can keep tabs on what you owe by calling down to the front desk and inquiring about your bill.
2). What is this Magical Express all about?
Magical Express is a free transfer service to and from the Orlando International Airport available to ALL resort guests.
You DO NOT have to book your air through Disney in order to get this service! Your simply need to provide your airline and flight information to Disney or your travel agent and inform them you want to take advantage of Disney’s Magical Express.
You will get a packet from Disney’s Magical Express a few weeks before your trip and it will include yellow luggage tags with your resort name on it that you place on your checked bags.
Once you check your bags at your departing airport your bags will then “Magically appear” in your Disney resort hotel room (about 2-3 hours after your flight lands), there is NO need to go to baggage from baggage claim at the Orlando International Airport.
If you WANT to get your own bags you can do this and THEN make your way to the Magical Express counter in Terminal B.
In your Magical Express packet that was mailed to you there will be detailed information on where to go to pick up the Magical Express bus inside of the Orlando airport terminal as well as “vouchers” for you to present to the driver.
Magical Express going HOME:
2 days before you check out you will have a Magical Express envelope on your resort door with pick up time (3 hours before your scheduled flight home) to the Orlando airport as well as vouchers for your ride back to the airport.
You can check your bags for your flight (for most major airlines) right there at your Disney hotel and they will take your bags and print your boarding passes so all you need to do is catch Magical Express and you will be on your way.
3). What if my flight isn’t until 8pm but checkout is at 11am?
You are not “kicked off” of property at 11am. You can check your luggage for your flight and leave any unchecked bags with Bell Services while you take the day to enjoy the pool or take in a theme park before your flight home.
There are restrooms and changing areas by all of the pools at the various resort hotels so you can get changed and cleaned up before your flight in there.
If you have dining credits left they do not expire until midnight the night of check in, so get your eat on! : )
4). Do I have to decide ahead of time what park I will go to on which day or can we change our mind?
If you have base tickets you can only visit one park per day but you can exit and re enter that park at any time on that same day. If you purchased park hoppers you can enter and exit any theme park multiple times per day (i.e. going to Magic Kingdom in the morning and Epcot in the evening).
You can not use your base ticket in the morning at Epcot for example and then think you can use another day of your base ticket that night at Magic Kingdom (Disney is smarter than this : )
Your park tickets on your reservation activate when you use it on that first day and you have 14 days from that first use until they expire (this is for non expiration option tickets) so you can be as spontaneous or as organized as you want to be throughout your vacation.
So what did I miss? What unanswered questions do you have about your upcoming Disney vacation?
Lesley is a travel agent with Pixie Vacations, contact her for your next Disney vacation at Lesley@pixievacations.com or check her out at www.destinationmagic.com. She is currently offering generous booking incentives (Disney gift cards for Disney World/Disneyland, and Disney on board credits for Disney Cruise line)
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What I Wish I Had Known on Our First Visit to Disney
Traveling to Disney with young children can be exhilarating and exhausting at the same time. When we traveled to Disney for the first time, our twins were four years old. We were ALL super excited about them seeing their favorite characters in “real life”. I had high hopes of them loving Disney on the “real” level…runnign to Mickey for a hug, giggling hysterically during It’s a Bug’s Life, and begging of ran other time on Peter Pan’s Flight. Well, not so much. While our trip was fabulous, there are a few things I wish I would’ve considered before going.
1. A lot of Disney attractions are in the dark. Yes, we all know that’s true. Even a slow ride like Peter Pan’s Flight or It’s a Small World can bring on anxiety in young kids. Perhaps a spin on Dumbo, Aladdin’s Carpets, or a ride on the Jungle Cruise would be an easier way to “break in” a child’s first visit to the Magic Kingdom.
2. Disney is loud. Since all guests at Disney are part of a “show”, everything is over the top…including the volume. I love sitting along Main Street during the Celebrate a Dream Come True afternoon parade or Wishes. But viewing Wishes from outside the park could be less intimidating, and quieter than right there in front of the castle. Taking a seat toward the back of the auditorium of The Voyage of the Little Mermaid or The Festival of the Lion King may be a better bet than sitting RIGHT in the front. I want my little ones to see and experience Disney and all its magic. But, I don’t want them to be startled by not only a HUGE Ursula on stage, but loud music as well.
3. 3D means right in front of you. Combining the 3D effects, crawly bugs, and loud volume of It’s Tough to be a Bug can leave you scrambling for the door with a stressed out child. Even to this day, my oldest will not wear his 3D glasses for Mickey’s Philharmagic. We don’t skip Mickey’s Philharmagic, but I don’t make a big deal out of him just holding them and enjoying the show without them.
Starting your day at the parks with open rides, a few select character meet and greets, and a relaxed pace can make the whole vacation pleasant for everyone traveling. Every child is different, but even though your kids giggle at Stitch’s antics on the movies or TV, doesn’t mean they’ll be thrilled with his running across their shoulders and screeching during Stitch’s Great Escape.
Have you had an experience on a “scary” ride at Disney? What freaked your child (or you) out to the point that you may not ride it again?
Magically Yours.
Carrie
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Disney World Planning: Picking Non Busy Times to Go
My family and I are finding it hard and harder to plan our Disney World Vacations during slower times of the year. The reason is there is NO MORE slow times of the year at Walt Disney World.
We have a membership to Touring Plans. Like most people I use the Crowd Calendar to plan when we are going to visit the theme parks. There in lies the problem. LIKE MOST PEOPLE.
In this day and age everyone is using tools like Touring Plans Crowd Calendar to plan when to go to Disney World. In the picture above is the estimated Crowd Levels for Feb 2013. In the past February is usually not that busy. Other than Presidents Week we have visited with minimal crowds. That my friends is no longer the case.
As you can see where there used to be 1′s & 2′s they are now replaced with 3′s & 4′s. Our last trip I was forced to figure out a new way to travel which seemed to help with the unexpected crowds.
So I couldn’t say we offer Planning Tips if I didn’t offer up a way to pick Non Busy Times to goto the parks. I think in this day in age till Disney decides to build a 3rd theme park here in the US you are just going to have to pick dates when there is nothing going on.
Things like Free Dining, Special Room Rates, Park Events, etc. Of course that means you will be paying a higher price to go to the Parks. So you and your family will have to decide which is the lesser of 2 evils.
Crowds vs Saving Money
I wish I had a magic crystal ball and be able to predict when the best time to go now. Unfortunately like you we are all stuck in the same boat of guessing when that is.
I want here what you think. Do you think the parks are becoming to crowded? Is it becoming impossible to pick a slow season?
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