Making Summer Travel Plans with a Toddler in Tow

As summer makes its arrival, plans for travel are on the mind.

It used to be so easy. One suitcase. Go where we want and we’re off.

Travel and luggage

Nowadays, it’s not so easy with a toddler in tow. There’s the additional suitcase and car seat. There’s the need to plan the schedule accordingly, factoring in an appropriate time for meals and rest so we don’t wind up with a cranky and restless toddler. Extra time must also be taken to plan the itinerary so that it includes kid-safe and -friendly activities.

And, if you’re traveling internationally, there’s the additional time needed to get all the legal documents ready. Fortunately, we’re set with the passport. We took care of that from an earlier trip to Canada a year ago, but it wasn’t easy at all. It was a last minute kind of trip. I was also traveling with my toddler alone (without my spouse) and additional documentation was needed to indicate approval from my spouse to travel with my child. It’s simply a precaution taken to reduce child abduction scenarios and related situations of that sort from happening.

Make sure you check the regulations that come with visiting another country in advance. Not only is there the passport you need ready, but in certain country, it also requires a notarized letter indicating permission from the other parent. You may find it helpful to read this article on “How to Travel to Canada With a Minor Without the Other Parent.”

While traveling with a toddler means there will be additional luggage to carry, more time needed to plan and research and, of course, more expenses, the experience of traveling together are always everlasting and priceless.

Rehashing Your Content Leads to More Opportunities

Sometimes the research, time, and effort put into writing content deserves more. This was the case when I recently wrote a post about my visit to Orlando with my family to attend a wedding.  There was so much to share from that visit that I did not want it to end simply with a blog post on my WordPress page.

Switching over to HubPages, I decided to rehash the content to share the information with readers there as well. There I created the Hub called: Things to Do Outside of Disney Theme Parks in Orlando.

Less than a month later I received notice that my hub was entered into the HubNuggets weekly contest. It made it in as one of six contestants for the Travel section. Whether I win this contest or not, it has simply taught me that the time taken to rehash or re-purpose content is not pointless.

If you also enjoyed reading my Hub on “Things to Do Outside of Disney Theme Parks in Orlando,” please vote for it. Votes are accepted until January 4, 2012 at 12 pm PST.

Update on 1/4/2012: Thank you to all who voted. My Hub is a winner of the contest!

Let’s bring in the holidays!

ICE! at Gaylord National Hotel

Following the Thanksgiving holiday, the winter holiday spirits really begin to roll in.

There’s Black Friday, Cyber Monday, holiday decorations and winter attractions all trying to get your spirits pumped up.

The family and I made a trip down to the Washington, D.C. area over the weekend. We decided to head over to Gaylord National Hotel where it was featuring the ICE! show.

If you haven’t heard about ICE!, let me be the one to tell you about it. Artisans from Harbin, China traveled over to create larger than life ice sculptures for exhibition.

This year the ICE! exhibit features the characters of Madagascar. Last year it featured the characters of The Cat in the Hat.

It was a wonderful experience even in the 9 degrees indoor exhibit. Stay there long enough and your fingers do begin to tingle, but with so much to see and the fantastic ice slides, you stay active and don’t even realize how cold it is in there.

Read up more about ICE! and the fantastic things you can see and do with your family at Gaylord National Hotel and Convention Center from my HubPages site.

The Place Where Dreams Come True…

It’s the happiest place in the world. The most magical place in the world. The place where dreams come true.

If you haven’t guessed where this place is, let me give you a hint. Think of mouse ears. You got it! It all has to do with Mickey Mouse, his friends and a place called Disney.

While it certainly is a wonderful place to be, it can also mean emptying your wallet quickly in a matter of minutes – a not so wonderful situation.

I took the trip down to Orlando with family recently to attend a wedding. On a strict budget, we opted to forgo the theme parks during the extra days we had there before the wedding. While it would have been nice to make a visit to the Magic Kingdom, there was still plenty of things to do outside of Walt Disney World Resort that allowed us to keep to our budget, have fun and experience the lively Disney characters.

If you are also on a budget and looking for some ideas, consider the following:

• Downtown Disney: This location is made up of Pleasure Island, the West Side and the Marketplace. Find tons of restaurants and stores for a quick bite, shopping, picture taking and more. Stroll from end to end or take the complimentary shuttle boat to any one point. It offers a great view during day or night. The little ones will also have a fantastic time at the LEGO store where there are play areas and amazing LEGO builds, from a dragon, Woody from Toy Story to Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. Parking is also free.

• The Boardwalk: For a more quiet and relaxed setting, head over to the Boardwalk. Take a stroll along the village that is built on water. You’ll find a number of resort hotels, some that are worth visiting on its own. For instance, the Disney Boardwalk Resort offers displays showing mini replicas of the Disney cruise line and a roller coaster ride. Around the holidays, it’s also decorated with beautiful ornaments and Christmas trees — great for picture taking. Parking is also free.

• For a bit more active entertainment that does not require breaking the wallet, consider places like WonderWorks, Titanic The Experience or Gatorland. These are all places we wanted to visit, however we only had time for WonderWorks. At WonderWorks, experience life turned upside down. You can’t miss the location. The building is actually flipped upside down and inside you will find exhibits that entertain adults and children. There was one exhibit that allowed you to experience a 5.3 magnitude earthquake. There’s also an exhibit that allows you to experience how it feels to sleep on a bed of nails. Other entertaining exhibits include a large piano keyboard you can play on the ground, a jet simulator and much more. It was a bit pricey at $24.99 a person, but at the end of the day it was enjoyable. Many of the free travel books you find at the hotels also offer a $2 off coupon. Parking was also available right next door at a reasonable rate of $3 for the first two hours. It goes up a dollar with each additional hour. Titanic The Experience and Gatorland are also priced similarly. While I can’t tell from direct experience, the videos and reviews on these other places found online are quite intriguing.

Not all of our dreams came true from this trip, so we’ll definitely be back for more. Hopefully next time we will be in better financial standing to experience the Magic Kingdom.

Here are some pictures from our trip:

LEGO builds

LEGO builds

WonderWorks

Disney Boardwalk

Downtown Disney Peter Pan Balloon

Downtown Disney West Side

Downtown Disney LEGO store

Disney’s Wedding Pavilion