August 21, 2024 • 28 mins
In this episode, I chat with Katie Restrepo, a Disney expert and family travel enthusiast. We dive into all things Disney, from park hopping strategies to money-saving tips for your next magical vacation. Katie shares her experiences visiting Disneyland monthly with her family and offers insights on making the most of your trip, whether you're a frequent visitor or planning a once-in-a-lifetime adventure.
We discuss the differences between Disneyland and Disney World, talk about transportation options, and explore ways to keep kids happy during flights. Katie gives us the scoop on character interactions, ride recommendations, and how to balance adult enjoyment with family fun.
As a mom who's done Disney both ways - going all out and on a budget - I loved hearing Katie's practical advice on dining plans, bringing your own snacks, and prioritizing must-do activities. We even touch on those magical moments that make Disney special, like playing hide-and-seek with Flynn Rider and Rapunzel!
Whether you're a Disney pro or planning your first trip, this episode is packed with tips to help you create unforgettable family memories without breaking the bank. So come along as we sprinkle a little pixie dust on your travel plans!
Hope you enjoyed this episode!
Remember we'll be back twice a month with more fun shananagins. Be sure to follow us so you don't miss a beat!
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Jessica & Samantha
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
We are not doing a park hopper for Walt Disney
World.
We're going to pick I think wecan get two parks in in the time
that we're budgeting but wedon't want to take that time out
of exploring that park totravel to another park.
Exactly, I'm sure if you go alot it'd be easier to be like
okay, we did our favorite thingshere, let's hop over this one
(00:20):
and that makes more sense.
But if you've never been there,you hardly ever go.
I don't think park hoppingwould be worth it at Walt Disney
World.
We're not planning on that.
Speaker 2 (00:32):
Hi everyone, and welcome to a brand new episode
of she's Got it Together.
I'm your host, jessica.
Speaker 3 (00:38):
And I'm Samantha.
Each week we peel back thecurtain on what it really looks
like to have it together.
Speaker 2 (00:43):
From the messy moments to the milestones, we're
here to share it all.
Speaker 3 (00:47):
So grab your favorite drink, get comfy and let's dive
into today's topic.
Speaker 2 (00:54):
So when was the last time you took a vacation?
How about a vacation your wholefamily enjoyed?
I'm Jessica and we're here todig into finding that magical
balance so that everyone ishappy when you're off on these
great trips.
I know it's possible, I've doneit Not many times, but I have
done it and we're going to chatwith someone that really knows
(01:16):
this, really knows how to manageit all, and we're going to be
talking with Katie Recipo andshe is going to just kind of
break down all of Disney and howit really, really works, how to
get the most out of it, tipsand tricks.
She's the expert.
But before we get started, canyou kind of give us a background
(01:37):
?
How many times do you go toDisney, and is this like a
monthly thing?
Do you do this all the time?
How did you get into it?
Speaker 1 (01:46):
I mean, there's so many questions well, I I'm from
San Diego, um, born and raised,and I've been going to
Disneyland since I was two.
I think was the first time mymom and dad took me.
My mom is obsessed with Disney,so she kind of passed that on
to her kids.
Um, and we went about once ayear, sometimes more, depending
(02:06):
if cousins were in town andstuff.
I had a season pass in collegebecause I went to school like 30
minutes away from the park, sothat was a lot of fun.
And then these past two yearsmy husband and I have had Magic
Keys with our two little girls,so we've been going at least
once a month.
Wow, that's wild, you are closeto Disneyland.
(02:30):
Do you?
Speaker 2 (02:31):
do Disney World also.
Speaker 1 (02:33):
I have never been to Disney World, but next year
we're hoping we're doing aDisney cruise and we're hoping
to do a couple of days at DisneyWorld.
Tack that onto that trip.
My husband's been to Disneyworld.
Um, he is from Columbia andFlorida is a lot closer and
easier to get to than California, so he's been there.
I'm like we need to go, cause Ineed to be there.
Speaker 2 (02:55):
Oh, that's fun.
Yeah, I've never been toDisneyland, I've only been to
Disney world.
Speaker 1 (02:58):
Oh funny.
Speaker 2 (02:59):
Um, probably, let's see, three times.
I went when I was a kid andthen I've taken both of my girls
.
We did like my first one whenshe was five.
We took her and then about,let's see, well, covid messed us
up, but we got another one inlike 2022, I think it was.
So, yeah, we've done three, butwhen we go, we go Like we just
(03:21):
do it all and this is a hugeproduction.
It's like waking up at thecrack of dawn, going all day,
staying until the park closes.
Speaker 1 (03:29):
Oh yes.
Speaker 2 (03:29):
Yeah, I just we're always so happy there.
I mean it is, it's like themost magical place on earth.
I mean they tell us Right For areason.
Yeah, exactly, there'ssomething for everyone.
But can you dive into?
You know, like, what are yourtips when it comes to traveling
to Disney?
You know, are there things thatyou should do avoid?
You know, what do you have forus?
Speaker 1 (03:51):
Yeah, so when traveling to Disney, obviously
we drive to Disneyland becausewe're hour and a half away.
Um, we've done several flightswith our girls, though, um, and
really when flying you want tomake sure that you have your
shuttle transportation orhowever you're getting from that
airport to the parks.
I know Disneyland there's likefour or five different airports
(04:13):
you can choose from, so a lot ofpeople are trying to narrow
that down.
Um, the John Wayne airport isthe closest.
It's like 15 miles away.
Lax, crazy busy, but a verypopular destination.
Um, you know you have someother ones in some neighboring
cities, and so you kind of haveto pick.
Okay, well, how long do we wantto travel from airport to the
(04:34):
resort?
Which resort are we staying at?
Is there a shuttle the resortoffers or do we have to book a
shuttle from the airport?
All all the questions.
I would say that renting a caris is not necessary, um, once
you're at the resort, really,even if you want to go outside,
to like the garden walk area,for some shops and restaurants
(04:55):
there, it's all within easywalking distance.
So you really don't need arental car unless you're going.
You know the whole SouthernCalifornia thing.
You got all the other stuff todo, but Disney itself, like it's
not spread out as Walt Disneyworld.
Again, I haven't been to WaltDisney world, but I've done my
research.
Planning for my own trip andpark hopping is not the same
(05:17):
thing.
Disneyland, you're literallyjust.
It literally is a park hop.
You're, you're there, you walkout of one and you're in the
other, basically, um, so youreally don't need transportation
while you're there, and a lotof hotels have shuttles, um
available either included orextra fee to get to the resort
in the morning as well.
So, yeah, yeah, so.
Speaker 2 (05:38):
I guess Disneyland is a bit different with that,
because I mean, with Disneyworld it's it's literally its
own little world.
I mean you are in this cocoonand you know everything has
shuttles, everything is, youknow, connected in some sort of
way.
Um so yeah, I mean definitelywouldn't need a rental car or
anything.
We've never had one unless youwent like you said, go outside
(05:59):
of the.
Disney area and, um, I like with, like Disney world.
You know, with the travelingpart, we always, we've always
flown and we're in Michigan, soit's driving.
Would you know, take us anextra two days.
And it's just like I don't know.
We did just drive to Floridafor spring break.
We didn't go quite.
(06:19):
I think we were like an houraway from Orlando, so I mean we
were pretty close, but I don'tthink I would want to do that
for a Disney trip like that.
I think that's a little toomuch and just tax on so much
extra time.
But when you're flying, though,do you have tips for when
you're flying to keep the kidscalm?
Speaker 1 (06:39):
Yes, stuff like that.
So we've been on some shortflights and some long flights.
I think our longest was like uh, nine hours um flight with the
kids.
Uh, so it.
It depends baby toddler versusolder kid what you're doing.
But for babies and toddlers, Iknow I was most stressed out
about the ears popping on theplane and so I am like, okay, I
(07:00):
was bottle feeding at that time.
So I'm like I have a freshbottle ready to go, I have a
pacifier right here, I'm readyto, you know, get that um
sucking sensation somehow to popthe ears, naturally.
Yeah, so the poor little earsdon't get hurt and they start
crying.
And you know you don't want tobe the person with the screaming
baby on a plate.
Um, which is totally fine Ifyou are like, don't stress out
over that.
Like, when I hear a screamingbaby, I'm like, oh, I understand
(07:22):
, mom, it's fine, but my babies,they were asleep.
I'm like, wake up, you have tobe drinking the bottle.
Like you can't just duringtakeoff, like she didn't wake up
the entire time for takeoff orlanding.
I'm like I was so prepared andit didn't even like all that
stress leading up to something.
That was nothing you know itdidn't have, yeah, but you know,
(07:46):
I was prepared.
Exactly that's what we need justto be prepared.
That's the biggest thing is ifyou're prepared for things that
you've heard other peopleexperience, um, and you have
different options to try.
That's the most important part.
But then also just relax, likepeople are on a plane with other
people.
They know what's going on.
You might get that crankyperson who's like really if your
kid is crying or something, butmost people understand, you
(08:10):
know.
So don't, don't stress.
Speaker 2 (08:15):
Your stress is making the situation worse anyways you
know Exactly.
I know what we did when myoldest was I think she was
probably two when we went.
We had molds made for her ears,so that really helped a lot.
I mean, she had her pacifiertoo, but that's something that
we have used.
(08:35):
I know a lot of folks, you know, put their earbuds in and just
all that, but this worked reallywell for her and never had an
issue.
So another thing that I thinkyou could probably consider it's
a little bit more expensive.
I mean, we had to go to the ENTand have the mold created, but
they double, as you know, forswimming.
Speaker 3 (08:54):
So perfect, perfect Keeps the water out of the ears.
I'm like, okay, yeah, that'sgreat, we can do this.
Speaker 2 (08:58):
That's great, yeah.
So okay, let's talk about, like, when we were there.
You mentioned park hopping.
Now, park hopping at DisneyWorld obviously is pretty Crazy
and I mean that's something wedidn't do because to me, like
you said, it's Disneyland,you're right there, disney World
(09:20):
.
It's like a whole fiasco to getto the next park and you're
wasting an hour or so, hour ormore trying to get to where
you're going and you know youhave limited hours and it's just
to me like the park hoppingpart was just very, I don't know
, just not worth the extra cost.
But I mean I don't know, whatdo you?
What would you think?
(09:40):
I mean, you said you've done alot of research on this, like
what would?
When you're planning your trip,what are you planning on doing?
Speaker 1 (09:46):
We are not doing a park hopper for Walt Disney
world.
We're going to pick.
I think we can get two parks inin the time that we're
budgeting.
Um, but we we don't want totake that time out of exploring
that park to travel to anotherpark.
You know, I'm sure if you go alot it'd be easier to be like,
okay, we did our favorite thingshere, let's hop over this one,
(10:06):
and that makes more sense.
But you know, if you've neverbeen there you hardly ever go.
I don't think park hoppingwould be worth it at Walt Disney
World.
We're not planning on thatDisneyland.
I also say if you're trying tobudget and save money, forget
the park hopper.
It's not necessary.
There's so much to do in eachpark.
You're going to miss a lot ifyou're going back and forth
(10:33):
because even though it's rightthere, you still have to go out.
You know, scan your band oryour phone to get back in.
I will say we do park hoppersometimes.
Um, and it is very convenientif we are trying to find all the
short lines, like we're notdoing genie plus and we're just
like okay, these lines are crazylong over here.
Let's look at Californiaadventure.
Oh, 10 minute wait, let's hopover there, but then you're
(10:54):
doing a lot more walking, Um.
So you know, we got our joggingstroller.
We're good, we do it all thetime, like, well, we'll go from
one park to the other, or we'reon all these rides at Disneyland
and then hop over to Californiaadventure for dinner and then
hop back, um.
So if you're there's stuffwithin each park you're going to
want to just go with the flowof what the app time is saying
(11:14):
for the rides, to just go withthe flow of what the app time is
saying for the rides, thendefinitely use it.
Or if you go a lot and you'relike I want that flexibility to
go here or there, it makes sense.
But if you don't go often andyou're really wanting to dive in
and soak in everything, thenjust do a day at Disneyland, a
day at California Adventure, andthen most people do that second
day at Disneyland because thereis a bit more there and it's
(11:38):
the classic, you know, it's theoriginal.
So usually that's the one thatyou want to do two days at, and
California Adventure can be oneday.
Speaker 2 (11:44):
Yeah, no, I would have to agree with Disney World.
Going to Magic Kingdom, that'salways been a two-dayer for us,
maybe not back-to-back days, butit's just's so large in there
and there's so much to see andyou just hate being rushed I
mean, I, you.
Just it depends too on crowdlevels and what you can actually
accomplish within that time.
(12:06):
So, yeah, I think that you knowthat iconic area is definitely
worth the two days for sure whenyou go.
So I guess this probably wouldbe a tough question for you, but
you know, one of the thingsthat we've talked about before
is how long do you go on thesetrips?
(12:26):
Now I feel like Disneyland isgoing to be shorter because it
is smaller and it's closer liketo your home and things like
that.
But when we go to Disney World,you know it's this production.
It's like we're flying there,we're going to make the most of
it.
We're there for like seven days.
I know people that go longer,but I feel like for us that's
kind of like the sweet spotbecause we can get all the parks
(12:47):
in.
We can have a down day, we canyou know, still, like I like to
do all the restaurants.
I mean we do, like I said, whenwe go, we go big Like this is a
ridiculously expensive trip andwe only do it.
This is why we've only done ittwice since my kids have been
around.
But we go and do like we'll eatin the castle and we'll go to,
(13:08):
you know, belle's castle and eatthere and we do the dress.
You know we get them done LikeBibbidi-Bobbidi Boutique wasn't
up and running the last time wewent but we had, you know, we
had a fairy godmother come toour room and you know, did the
whole thing and it's just like,how do you do this with that
(13:31):
type of time frame and not, isthere a way not to break the
bank?
I guess that's that's myquestion, because I break the
bank every time.
Speaker 1 (13:41):
I have not yet figured out how not to.
There is there is that I dohave some money saving tips, but
how long you go really dependson what you want to get out of
it and there's different savings.
Like, if you do go longer,there are more discounts.
Um, good neighbor hotels willhave a you know, book three
nights, get a fourth night free,or two nights third night free,
Um, so just looking for those,looking for those discounts and
discounted tickets I know I'm anaffiliate with Getaway Today
and they're always having salesand you can look on their
(14:02):
website and see exactly what youwould get and what the original
price is and there's no extrataxes or fees added.
So it's a good way to kind ofat least price match and budget
and see if a longer trip wouldbe beneficial for you.
Price match and budget and seeif a longer trip would be
beneficial for you.
Obviously, in good neighborhotel nearby will be a lot
cheaper than the?
Um Disneyland resort hotels.
(14:23):
Um, I know we were budgetingfor Florida and we're just like,
oh my gosh, these resort hotelsare so much deeper California,
Um, and we've done super budgetand we've done all the bells and
whistles.
So you know grand Californianconcierge level park hopper
character dining, like all that.
And then you know we, we bringlunchables into the park or buy
(14:48):
a turkey leg and, um, bring insome Hawaiian rolls so we just
make our own turkey sandwiches.
That is so smart, that's I likethat.
So, just bringing in your ownfood, bring in your own snacks,
maybe have like one snack or onemeal that you want to buy.
Quick service is obviouslycheaper than the sit down dining
.
So there are ways to, you know,even split meals and stuff to
(15:08):
really stretch it and make itworth it.
And some of those snack items,like the turkey leg, is
technically like a snack at thecart.
It's huge.
It can feed, you know, us, twoadults with our two littles.
Obviously, if you have olderkids you might need a little
more than that, but any foodsaving hacks are really good
because you can spend a lot onfood at Disney.
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (15:29):
I think that's one of the most expensive pieces there
, I mean really you can alwaysdecide you know, souvenir wise
what you want to spend, like.
That's totally negotiable, andthe food, though, is just like
once you're there.
If you didn't come prepared,you're stuck with the prices.
The food service is really good, but I wouldn't say that it's
that cheap.
I mean it's, it's still aconvenience.
(15:51):
You're being charged forconvenience.
What about the meal plan, themeal dining plan?
I know they just brought thatback.
Is that something that you'vedone in the past?
Speaker 1 (16:02):
So that is Walt Disney World only and I was
looking it up and if you'rewanting to do some of the more
sit down meals and stuff, it'sworth it I was pricing
everything out.
I'm like, okay, would this makesense?
And I'm like if we're justdoing quick service dining, we
have some of our own snacks wepack, then it didn't balance out
with the amount that you wouldpay individually for things.
(16:23):
But again, if you're going bigand you're going for that big
trip and you want thatflexibility, if we want to eat
at this restaurant and quickservice here and a snack there,
it definitely added up to savemoney.
And we've done dining plans atother parks that were totally
worth it.
And then again, if we'rebringing in part of our own food
(16:44):
, like pack a peanut butterjelly sandwich, then obviously
not worth it because you're notsitting down to just go all out
with like, I want my meal, Iwant my drink, I want my snack,
I want all the bells andwhistles for it Utilize all
those credits.
Speaker 2 (16:59):
Yeah, we did do it with my daughter the first time.
The second time it wasn'tavailable.
But because we go big and wetypically do everything we want
to do the character dining andall of that I think that it was
a great option.
I mean, we used everything andactually we had snacks left
toward the end.
So before we left for ourflight, we went to the gift shop
(17:21):
and used all the credits leftfor our snacks and just took
them with us.
Oh perfect perfect, we weren'tleaving anything behind.
No, no, but yeah, I meanbecause being able to use at
that time you credits, um, forthe like, the character dinners
and things like that, which wastotally worth it because, like
you said, you don't always dothe sit-down meals, you can do
(17:42):
the quick service or, you know,when you're at the park you
don't necessarily eat threesquares a day.
You know like you're, you'rebusy and you know you're you're
not even paying attention to thetime and things like that.
So, um, I think if you didn'tgo big, you would probably waste
quite a few of them.
But yeah, I think I'm excitedthey brought it back, because I
(18:02):
think our next round will bedoing it again, although we
might not go quite as big.
I mean, each girl had their own,like special trip.
So I was like do it all.
But if we go back back, I'mthinking it's going to be more
casual and a little less, butstill, I mean the dining is.
(18:23):
You know, we love going to likea dining, like a sit down meal,
every day that we're there,Nice.
Speaker 1 (18:30):
And it's totally worth it in that case.
Speaker 2 (18:32):
For sure, yeah, it probably would still be worth it
for us, yeah, okay.
So I mean still be worth it forus, yeah, okay.
So I mean we've touched on themoney, we've touched on the
length and things like that.
Can you just share, like someof your family experiences while
you've been at Disney?
I mean, like, what were yourloves, what were your dislikes?
You know what stuck out?
Speaker 1 (18:52):
Yeah, yeah, of course we continue to go so often
because it's a completelydifferent experience.
I know a lot of people are likeoh, you're going to Disney
again, Isn't it the same rides,the same thing?
You don't understand.
We've been going since myyoungest was four months old.
She just turned five.
Her big sister is seven now.
(19:15):
So we have seen the baby phase,the toddler phase, Now the
little kid phase, where they'rejust starting to go on Indiana
Jones and stuff like that.
So you're really getting likethe focus is on just the
characters, the focus is on theshows and they have like little
plays here and there and littlemusic pop-ups everywhere and
it's layers to Disneyland thatpeople don't go for because
(19:38):
that's not what's advertised.
You know, it's all about therides and there's so much more
to it.
So each time we go it's acompletely different experience
because we're focusing ondifferent things, different
rides.
The lines are so long and we'resaving money by not getting
Genie+.
Okay, what else can we do?
Oh, let's go to this.
You know Mickey's PhilharmonicPhilharmonic is the 4d movie.
(20:00):
Um turtle talk with crush is afavorite, and it's all these
really cool interactive thingsthat have that Disney level of
awesome to them that a lot ofpeople just gloss over.
Speaker 2 (20:11):
So yeah, yeah, I'd say it's the different ages,
it's a different experience, Imean that's a really good point,
because you don't really thinkabout that.
You think about what they'readvertising, which is the rides
and all of the you know, glitzand glam, but personally I'm not
a huge ride fan, so I actuallylike all of the other stuff too.
It's yeah, that is a reallygood point though.
(20:32):
So with the kids, I mean,obviously the kids are good, but
this whole idea is to be afamily trip that has everyone
happy.
As an adult, what do you lovethere, like what's the best for
you?
Speaker 1 (20:47):
Oh my gosh Again.
I love everything.
I love everything.
I'd say my favorite ride isThunder Mountain and I don't get
to go on that every timebecause I've done it where I
went on by myself.
My husband stays off with thegirls.
They are tall enough to writeit now, but we can put them on
it once and they don't want togo on it again yet.
(21:12):
Um, so they're like no.
So you know, sometimes I, Iwill go on myself, um.
I know Indiana Jones like we'lldo um, writer switch sometimes.
Sometimes I will go on myself.
I know Indiana Jones like we'lldo rider switch sometimes,
because our oldest will go onthat and the youngest isn't tall
enough yet, and so dad will goon with older sister.
I'll stay off, and then dad andmom will switch, and so my
oldest gets to go on twice in arow, which she finds exciting,
(21:32):
but then we get to do it.
So I would say I do like someof the bigger, faster rides that
we don't go on every time.
But I love the characterinteractions.
In Fantasyland you just havecharacters walking around.
We played hide and seek withFlynn, ryder and Rapunzel.
Mad Hatter and Alice on MainStreet were playing musical
(21:54):
chairs with the piano that's outthere, and they do these little
, just super organic experiencesthat are not just the wait in
line for your autograph andpicture, which is special itself
, but these are.
You know, you have characterslike Peter Pan or Bert from Mary
Poppins get on the carouselwith you and you're riding the
carousel with them, or they'llget on the teacups.
(22:16):
So it's just super organicinteractions that you don't know
who you're going to run intoeither.
So it's, I find that's reallyexciting.
My husband he's not obsessedwith Disney.
I think I've converted him, butI think the big thing was going
to Disneyland with the girlsand seeing their reaction and
(22:38):
seeing the park through theireyes and he's like, oh, I want
to go now because I he can't getenough of it.
He's so exciting to show themthese next level rides and like,
oh, let's try this and that,and so that's.
What's really exciting for himis just seeing that transition
of them, like I want to try thiscoaster now and let me go on
that one.
Speaker 2 (22:57):
So that transition of them Like I want to try this
coaster now and let me go onthat one.
So, oh, I love that.
Yeah, I have to probably agree.
I mean just seeing the reactionfrom the littles and you know
just their enjoyment, theirexcitement.
I mean that's just, that'severything.
So do you go for dinners there?
I mean, so you said you havethe key now, right, do you just
(23:19):
go in for special dinners ordinners just just you and your
husband, or do you do anythinglike that?
Speaker 1 (23:25):
Um, sometimes, uh, we , we like to bring grandma a lot
.
My mom, my mom got a magic keybecause we did.
She's like, if you're going allthe time, I'm going to get one
too.
Um, so if we'll go with her,we'll get a hotel for the night
and then we'll put the girls tobed and she'll just listen for
them while we go back and sparkand it's amazing, especially
over summer they're open tillmidnight.
(23:46):
So we're going on spacemountain and like thunder
mountain and all these big rides.
There's no line for the umphoto pass, uh, photographers at
the end of the night.
So we got really great pictureswith just the two of us at
night in front of the castle,all lit up.
So there's definitely lots offun things to do.
We'll go on a Saturday comingup.
(24:08):
We're actually leaving aftersoccer games to go up to
Disneyland just for the evening.
So we do like to kind of pickcertain areas.
I say galaxies, that justprobably one of our favorite to
just go be in that area, causeit's just the ambience is
amazing.
Speaker 2 (24:25):
It is.
Yeah, disney worlds is.
It was just unbelievable.
Speaker 1 (24:30):
I it blows me away and I'm a I'm a Star Wars fan
too, so I'm just like oh my gosh, this is amazing.
Speaker 2 (24:37):
I've left the earth and I'm here.
Speaker 1 (24:40):
Right.
Speaker 2 (24:41):
It was very neat, but well, that's awesome.
I mean, do you have any lasttips that you'd like to share
with everyone?
Speaker 1 (24:49):
Yeah.
So I would have an idea of whatyou know.
You cannot miss, what you'veheard of, what you know you've
done before.
You want your kids toexperience and like, narrow that
down to we have to do this andprioritize that, and then
anything else you get like, oh,we want to do that but we don't
have to or we can totally skipthat and that's going to help
you navigate your whole trip.
(25:10):
Have your plan of where youkind of want to go, like, oh,
let's start from this land tothat land, to that land land,
maybe hop over to this park,have an idea of what kind of
food you want, um plan in yoursit down dining and then be
flexible.
Though there's no wait time forthis ride.
We're walking on right now.
Let's go on this before we keepgoing to where we were heading
towards.
(25:31):
Yeah, and that's going to be,that's going to be huge.
We've gone with, you know, 19,23 people when we do our whole
extended family going.
And it works.
If you have your plan, like,okay, here's where we're going,
you can branch off and come back.
You can do, you know what youwant and come back to us.
Here's our plan, here's ourpath.
And if you don't have that,you're all just standing around
(25:52):
like where do we go next, whatdo we do?
And then you feel like youdidn't get much done that day.
I'm like cause.
You were standing there and youneed to know where to go?
Speaker 2 (26:04):
Yeah, definitely I yeah, planning is so important.
Speaker 1 (26:07):
Um, I actually have a ride guide.
Um, that it's just a freeprinciple.
I can give you the link if youwant, but it's all of the rides
in Disneyland and Californiaadventure and a checklist and
they're color coded by heightrequirement.
Can give you the link if youwant, but it's all of the rides
in Disneyland and CaliforniaAdventure in a checklist and
they're color-coded by heightrequirement so you can know just
on one paper, instead of havingto click around the app and be
like can we even, are they eventall enough for this?
Can we go on this right now?
(26:29):
So, yeah, yeah, I hate the app.
When we were there, like thatwas the one thing I'm like I
have to.
Speaker 2 (26:34):
you know, I we did the genie plus and all of that,
um, so I had to keep you knowevery time we got it right we
needed to do the next one and itwas like, and I had to have
mobile ordering for food andeverything.
I mean it was very convenient,but it was also kind of annoying
, but hey it worked.
Um so well, that was awesome.
(26:55):
Thank you for coming.
Can you just tell?
Speaker 1 (26:59):
everyone where they can find you.
They have more questions.
Yeah, so I run a travel blogwhich is a lot of disney but
also camping, hiking, road trips, travel familytravelfoliocom at
fam travel folio on instagram.
So those are the two mainplaces you'll find me.
If you sign up for my emaillist, you can get that free ride
guide printable.
And yeah, I send out emailsjust with more tips and tricks
(27:23):
and just you know fun familytravel communication so awesome.
Speaker 2 (27:32):
Well again, thank you so much for coming in and
chatting with us about it.
It's such a fun topic and Iknow there's just so much that
you can dive into with this.
That's the hard part.
I'm like trying to just keep itright, but we'll have to have
you back and maybe we can like Ieven with camping.
I love camping.
I love camping, I think.
I think another visit is inyour future.
Speaker 1 (27:49):
Definitely.
Speaker 2 (27:51):
But again, thank you for coming and sharing all of
your knowledge.
Speaker 1 (27:54):
Thank you so much.
This was great.
Speaker 2 (27:57):
Thanks for joining us today on.
She's Got it Together.
It's been a real journey,sharing and laughing with you
all.
Speaker 3 (28:03):
We hope you're walking away with a smile on
your face and a bit moreconfidence in your step.
Speaker 2 (28:07):
Remember, you're not alone in this crazy ride called
life.
We're all in this together, oneday at a time.
Speaker 3 (28:13):
Don't forget to subscribe, leave us a review and
, of course, share this podcastwith all the incredible women in
your life.
Speaker 2 (28:19):
Join us next week for more stories, more laughs and
more real talk.
Speaker 3 (28:23):
Until then, keep embracing your unique journey
and remember you've got ittogether more than you think.
We are not doing a park hopper for Walt Disney
World.
We're going to pick I think wecan get two parks in in the time
that we're budgeting but wedon't want to take that time out
of exploring that park totravel to another park.
Exactly, I'm sure if you go alot it'd be easier to be like
okay, we did our favorite thingshere, let's hop over this one
(00:20):
and that makes more sense.
But if you've never been there,you hardly ever go.
I don't think park hoppingwould be worth it at Walt Disney
World.
We're not planning on that.
Speaker 2 (00:32):
Hi everyone, and welcome to a brand new episode
of she's Got it Together.
I'm your host, jessica.
Speaker 3 (00:38):
And I'm Samantha.
Each week we peel back thecurtain on what it really looks
like to have it together.
Speaker 2 (00:43):
From the messy moments to the milestones, we're
here to share it all.
Speaker 3 (00:47):
So grab your favorite drink, get comfy and let's dive
into today's topic.
Speaker 2 (00:54):
So when was the last time you took a vacation?
How about a vacation your wholefamily enjoyed?
I'm Jessica and we're here todig into finding that magical
balance so that everyone ishappy when you're off on these
great trips.
I know it's possible, I've doneit Not many times, but I have
done it and we're going to chatwith someone that really knows
(01:16):
this, really knows how to manageit all, and we're going to be
talking with Katie Recipo andshe is going to just kind of
break down all of Disney and howit really, really works, how to
get the most out of it, tipsand tricks.
She's the expert.
But before we get started, canyou kind of give us a background
(01:37):
?
How many times do you go toDisney, and is this like a
monthly thing?
Do you do this all the time?
How did you get into it?
Speaker 1 (01:46):
I mean, there's so many questions well, I I'm from
San Diego, um, born and raised,and I've been going to
Disneyland since I was two.
I think was the first time mymom and dad took me.
My mom is obsessed with Disney,so she kind of passed that on
to her kids.
Um, and we went about once ayear, sometimes more, depending
(02:06):
if cousins were in town andstuff.
I had a season pass in collegebecause I went to school like 30
minutes away from the park, sothat was a lot of fun.
And then these past two yearsmy husband and I have had Magic
Keys with our two little girls,so we've been going at least
once a month.
Wow, that's wild, you are closeto Disneyland.
(02:30):
Do you?
Speaker 2 (02:31):
do Disney World also.
Speaker 1 (02:33):
I have never been to Disney World, but next year
we're hoping we're doing aDisney cruise and we're hoping
to do a couple of days at DisneyWorld.
Tack that onto that trip.
My husband's been to Disneyworld.
Um, he is from Columbia andFlorida is a lot closer and
easier to get to than California, so he's been there.
I'm like we need to go, cause Ineed to be there.
Speaker 2 (02:55):
Oh, that's fun.
Yeah, I've never been toDisneyland, I've only been to
Disney world.
Speaker 1 (02:58):
Oh funny.
Speaker 2 (02:59):
Um, probably, let's see, three times.
I went when I was a kid andthen I've taken both of my girls
.
We did like my first one whenshe was five.
We took her and then about,let's see, well, covid messed us
up, but we got another one inlike 2022, I think it was.
So, yeah, we've done three, butwhen we go, we go Like we just
(03:21):
do it all and this is a hugeproduction.
It's like waking up at thecrack of dawn, going all day,
staying until the park closes.
Speaker 1 (03:29):
Oh yes.
Speaker 2 (03:29):
Yeah, I just we're always so happy there.
I mean it is, it's like themost magical place on earth.
I mean they tell us Right For areason.
Yeah, exactly, there'ssomething for everyone.
But can you dive into?
You know, like, what are yourtips when it comes to traveling
to Disney?
You know, are there things thatyou should do avoid?
You know, what do you have forus?
Speaker 1 (03:51):
Yeah, so when traveling to Disney, obviously
we drive to Disneyland becausewe're hour and a half away.
Um, we've done several flightswith our girls, though, um, and
really when flying you want tomake sure that you have your
shuttle transportation orhowever you're getting from that
airport to the parks.
I know Disneyland there's likefour or five different airports
(04:13):
you can choose from, so a lot ofpeople are trying to narrow
that down.
Um, the John Wayne airport isthe closest.
It's like 15 miles away.
Lax, crazy busy, but a verypopular destination.
Um, you know you have someother ones in some neighboring
cities, and so you kind of haveto pick.
Okay, well, how long do we wantto travel from airport to the
(04:34):
resort?
Which resort are we staying at?
Is there a shuttle the resortoffers or do we have to book a
shuttle from the airport?
All all the questions.
I would say that renting a caris is not necessary, um, once
you're at the resort, really,even if you want to go outside,
to like the garden walk area,for some shops and restaurants
(04:55):
there, it's all within easywalking distance.
So you really don't need arental car unless you're going.
You know the whole SouthernCalifornia thing.
You got all the other stuff todo, but Disney itself, like it's
not spread out as Walt Disneyworld.
Again, I haven't been to WaltDisney world, but I've done my
research.
Planning for my own trip andpark hopping is not the same
(05:17):
thing.
Disneyland, you're literallyjust.
It literally is a park hop.
You're, you're there, you walkout of one and you're in the
other, basically, um, so youreally don't need transportation
while you're there, and a lotof hotels have shuttles, um
available either included orextra fee to get to the resort
in the morning as well.
So, yeah, yeah, so.
Speaker 2 (05:38):
I guess Disneyland is a bit different with that,
because I mean, with Disneyworld it's it's literally its
own little world.
I mean you are in this cocoonand you know everything has
shuttles, everything is, youknow, connected in some sort of
way.
Um so yeah, I mean definitelywouldn't need a rental car or
anything.
We've never had one unless youwent like you said, go outside
(05:59):
of the.
Disney area and, um, I like with, like Disney world.
You know, with the travelingpart, we always, we've always
flown and we're in Michigan, soit's driving.
Would you know, take us anextra two days.
And it's just like I don't know.
We did just drive to Floridafor spring break.
We didn't go quite.
(06:19):
I think we were like an houraway from Orlando, so I mean we
were pretty close, but I don'tthink I would want to do that
for a Disney trip like that.
I think that's a little toomuch and just tax on so much
extra time.
But when you're flying, though,do you have tips for when
you're flying to keep the kidscalm?
Speaker 1 (06:39):
Yes, stuff like that.
So we've been on some shortflights and some long flights.
I think our longest was like uh, nine hours um flight with the
kids.
Uh, so it.
It depends baby toddler versusolder kid what you're doing.
But for babies and toddlers, Iknow I was most stressed out
about the ears popping on theplane and so I am like, okay, I
(07:00):
was bottle feeding at that time.
So I'm like I have a freshbottle ready to go, I have a
pacifier right here, I'm readyto, you know, get that um
sucking sensation somehow to popthe ears, naturally.
Yeah, so the poor little earsdon't get hurt and they start
crying.
And you know you don't want tobe the person with the screaming
baby on a plate.
Um, which is totally fine Ifyou are like, don't stress out
over that.
Like, when I hear a screamingbaby, I'm like, oh, I understand
(07:22):
, mom, it's fine, but my babies,they were asleep.
I'm like, wake up, you have tobe drinking the bottle.
Like you can't just duringtakeoff, like she didn't wake up
the entire time for takeoff orlanding.
I'm like I was so prepared andit didn't even like all that
stress leading up to something.
That was nothing you know itdidn't have, yeah, but you know,
(07:46):
I was prepared.
Exactly that's what we need justto be prepared.
That's the biggest thing is ifyou're prepared for things that
you've heard other peopleexperience, um, and you have
different options to try.
That's the most important part.
But then also just relax, likepeople are on a plane with other
people.
They know what's going on.
You might get that crankyperson who's like really if your
kid is crying or something, butmost people understand, you
(08:10):
know.
So don't, don't stress.
Speaker 2 (08:15):
Your stress is making the situation worse anyways you
know Exactly.
I know what we did when myoldest was I think she was
probably two when we went.
We had molds made for her ears,so that really helped a lot.
I mean, she had her pacifiertoo, but that's something that
we have used.
(08:35):
I know a lot of folks, you know, put their earbuds in and just
all that, but this worked reallywell for her and never had an
issue.
So another thing that I thinkyou could probably consider it's
a little bit more expensive.
I mean, we had to go to the ENTand have the mold created, but
they double, as you know, forswimming.
Speaker 3 (08:54):
So perfect, perfect Keeps the water out of the ears.
I'm like, okay, yeah, that'sgreat, we can do this.
Speaker 2 (08:58):
That's great, yeah.
So okay, let's talk about, like, when we were there.
You mentioned park hopping.
Now, park hopping at DisneyWorld obviously is pretty Crazy
and I mean that's something wedidn't do because to me, like
you said, it's Disneyland,you're right there, disney World
(09:20):
.
It's like a whole fiasco to getto the next park and you're
wasting an hour or so, hour ormore trying to get to where
you're going and you know youhave limited hours and it's just
to me like the park hoppingpart was just very, I don't know
, just not worth the extra cost.
But I mean I don't know, whatdo you?
What would you think?
(09:40):
I mean, you said you've done alot of research on this, like
what would?
When you're planning your trip,what are you planning on doing?
Speaker 1 (09:46):
We are not doing a park hopper for Walt Disney
world.
We're going to pick.
I think we can get two parks inin the time that we're
budgeting.
Um, but we we don't want totake that time out of exploring
that park to travel to anotherpark.
You know, I'm sure if you go alot it'd be easier to be like,
okay, we did our favorite thingshere, let's hop over this one,
(10:06):
and that makes more sense.
But you know, if you've neverbeen there you hardly ever go.
I don't think park hoppingwould be worth it at Walt Disney
World.
We're not planning on thatDisneyland.
I also say if you're trying tobudget and save money, forget
the park hopper.
It's not necessary.
There's so much to do in eachpark.
You're going to miss a lot ifyou're going back and forth
(10:33):
because even though it's rightthere, you still have to go out.
You know, scan your band oryour phone to get back in.
I will say we do park hoppersometimes.
Um, and it is very convenientif we are trying to find all the
short lines, like we're notdoing genie plus and we're just
like okay, these lines are crazylong over here.
Let's look at Californiaadventure.
Oh, 10 minute wait, let's hopover there, but then you're
(10:54):
doing a lot more walking, Um.
So you know, we got our joggingstroller.
We're good, we do it all thetime, like, well, we'll go from
one park to the other, or we'reon all these rides at Disneyland
and then hop over to Californiaadventure for dinner and then
hop back, um.
So if you're there's stuffwithin each park you're going to
want to just go with the flowof what the app time is saying
(11:14):
for the rides, to just go withthe flow of what the app time is
saying for the rides, thendefinitely use it.
Or if you go a lot and you'relike I want that flexibility to
go here or there, it makes sense.
But if you don't go often andyou're really wanting to dive in
and soak in everything, thenjust do a day at Disneyland, a
day at California Adventure, andthen most people do that second
day at Disneyland because thereis a bit more there and it's
(11:38):
the classic, you know, it's theoriginal.
So usually that's the one thatyou want to do two days at, and
California Adventure can be oneday.
Speaker 2 (11:44):
Yeah, no, I would have to agree with Disney World.
Going to Magic Kingdom, that'salways been a two-dayer for us,
maybe not back-to-back days, butit's just's so large in there
and there's so much to see andyou just hate being rushed I
mean, I, you.
Just it depends too on crowdlevels and what you can actually
accomplish within that time.
(12:06):
So, yeah, I think that you knowthat iconic area is definitely
worth the two days for sure whenyou go.
So I guess this probably wouldbe a tough question for you, but
you know, one of the thingsthat we've talked about before
is how long do you go on thesetrips?
(12:26):
Now I feel like Disneyland isgoing to be shorter because it
is smaller and it's closer liketo your home and things like
that.
But when we go to Disney World,you know it's this production.
It's like we're flying there,we're going to make the most of
it.
We're there for like seven days.
I know people that go longer,but I feel like for us that's
kind of like the sweet spotbecause we can get all the parks
(12:47):
in.
We can have a down day, we canyou know, still, like I like to
do all the restaurants.
I mean we do, like I said, whenwe go, we go big Like this is a
ridiculously expensive trip andwe only do it.
This is why we've only done ittwice since my kids have been
around.
But we go and do like we'll eatin the castle and we'll go to,
(13:08):
you know, belle's castle and eatthere and we do the dress.
You know we get them done LikeBibbidi-Bobbidi Boutique wasn't
up and running the last time wewent but we had, you know, we
had a fairy godmother come toour room and you know, did the
whole thing and it's just like,how do you do this with that
(13:31):
type of time frame and not, isthere a way not to break the
bank?
I guess that's that's myquestion, because I break the
bank every time.
Speaker 1 (13:41):
I have not yet figured out how not to.
There is there is that I dohave some money saving tips, but
how long you go really dependson what you want to get out of
it and there's different savings.
Like, if you do go longer,there are more discounts.
Um, good neighbor hotels willhave a you know, book three
nights, get a fourth night free,or two nights third night free,
Um, so just looking for those,looking for those discounts and
discounted tickets I know I'm anaffiliate with Getaway Today
and they're always having salesand you can look on their
(14:02):
website and see exactly what youwould get and what the original
price is and there's no extrataxes or fees added.
So it's a good way to kind ofat least price match and budget
and see if a longer trip wouldbe beneficial for you.
Price match and budget and seeif a longer trip would be
beneficial for you.
Obviously, in good neighborhotel nearby will be a lot
cheaper than the?
Um Disneyland resort hotels.
(14:23):
Um, I know we were budgetingfor Florida and we're just like,
oh my gosh, these resort hotelsare so much deeper California,
Um, and we've done super budgetand we've done all the bells and
whistles.
So you know grand Californianconcierge level park hopper
character dining, like all that.
And then you know we, we bringlunchables into the park or buy
(14:48):
a turkey leg and, um, bring insome Hawaiian rolls so we just
make our own turkey sandwiches.
That is so smart, that's I likethat.
So, just bringing in your ownfood, bring in your own snacks,
maybe have like one snack or onemeal that you want to buy.
Quick service is obviouslycheaper than the sit down dining
.
So there are ways to, you know,even split meals and stuff to
(15:08):
really stretch it and make itworth it.
And some of those snack items,like the turkey leg, is
technically like a snack at thecart.
It's huge.
It can feed, you know, us, twoadults with our two littles.
Obviously, if you have olderkids you might need a little
more than that, but any foodsaving hacks are really good
because you can spend a lot onfood at Disney.
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (15:29):
I think that's one of the most expensive pieces there
, I mean really you can alwaysdecide you know, souvenir wise
what you want to spend, like.
That's totally negotiable, andthe food, though, is just like
once you're there.
If you didn't come prepared,you're stuck with the prices.
The food service is really good, but I wouldn't say that it's
that cheap.
I mean it's, it's still aconvenience.
(15:51):
You're being charged forconvenience.
What about the meal plan, themeal dining plan?
I know they just brought thatback.
Is that something that you'vedone in the past?
Speaker 1 (16:02):
So that is Walt Disney World only and I was
looking it up and if you'rewanting to do some of the more
sit down meals and stuff, it'sworth it I was pricing
everything out.
I'm like, okay, would this makesense?
And I'm like if we're justdoing quick service dining, we
have some of our own snacks wepack, then it didn't balance out
with the amount that you wouldpay individually for things.
(16:23):
But again, if you're going bigand you're going for that big
trip and you want thatflexibility, if we want to eat
at this restaurant and quickservice here and a snack there,
it definitely added up to savemoney.
And we've done dining plans atother parks that were totally
worth it.
And then again, if we'rebringing in part of our own food
(16:44):
, like pack a peanut butterjelly sandwich, then obviously
not worth it because you're notsitting down to just go all out
with like, I want my meal, Iwant my drink, I want my snack,
I want all the bells andwhistles for it Utilize all
those credits.
Speaker 2 (16:59):
Yeah, we did do it with my daughter the first time.
The second time it wasn'tavailable.
But because we go big and wetypically do everything we want
to do the character dining andall of that I think that it was
a great option.
I mean, we used everything andactually we had snacks left
toward the end.
So before we left for ourflight, we went to the gift shop
(17:21):
and used all the credits leftfor our snacks and just took
them with us.
Oh perfect perfect, we weren'tleaving anything behind.
No, no, but yeah, I meanbecause being able to use at
that time you credits, um, forthe like, the character dinners
and things like that, which wastotally worth it because, like
you said, you don't always dothe sit-down meals, you can do
(17:42):
the quick service or, you know,when you're at the park you
don't necessarily eat threesquares a day.
You know like you're, you'rebusy and you know you're you're
not even paying attention to thetime and things like that.
So, um, I think if you didn'tgo big, you would probably waste
quite a few of them.
But yeah, I think I'm excitedthey brought it back, because I
(18:02):
think our next round will bedoing it again, although we
might not go quite as big.
I mean, each girl had their own,like special trip.
So I was like do it all.
But if we go back back, I'mthinking it's going to be more
casual and a little less, butstill, I mean the dining is.
(18:23):
You know, we love going to likea dining, like a sit down meal,
every day that we're there,Nice.
Speaker 1 (18:30):
And it's totally worth it in that case.
Speaker 2 (18:32):
For sure, yeah, it probably would still be worth it
for us, yeah, okay.
So I mean still be worth it forus, yeah, okay.
So I mean we've touched on themoney, we've touched on the
length and things like that.
Can you just share, like someof your family experiences while
you've been at Disney?
I mean, like, what were yourloves, what were your dislikes?
You know what stuck out?
Speaker 1 (18:52):
Yeah, yeah, of course we continue to go so often
because it's a completelydifferent experience.
I know a lot of people are likeoh, you're going to Disney
again, Isn't it the same rides,the same thing?
You don't understand.
We've been going since myyoungest was four months old.
She just turned five.
Her big sister is seven now.
(19:15):
So we have seen the baby phase,the toddler phase, Now the
little kid phase, where they'rejust starting to go on Indiana
Jones and stuff like that.
So you're really getting likethe focus is on just the
characters, the focus is on theshows and they have like little
plays here and there and littlemusic pop-ups everywhere and
it's layers to Disneyland thatpeople don't go for because
(19:38):
that's not what's advertised.
You know, it's all about therides and there's so much more
to it.
So each time we go it's acompletely different experience
because we're focusing ondifferent things, different
rides.
The lines are so long and we'resaving money by not getting
Genie+.
Okay, what else can we do?
Oh, let's go to this.
You know Mickey's PhilharmonicPhilharmonic is the 4d movie.
(20:00):
Um turtle talk with crush is afavorite, and it's all these
really cool interactive thingsthat have that Disney level of
awesome to them that a lot ofpeople just gloss over.
Speaker 2 (20:11):
So yeah, yeah, I'd say it's the different ages,
it's a different experience, Imean that's a really good point,
because you don't really thinkabout that.
You think about what they'readvertising, which is the rides
and all of the you know, glitzand glam, but personally I'm not
a huge ride fan, so I actuallylike all of the other stuff too.
It's yeah, that is a reallygood point though.
(20:32):
So with the kids, I mean,obviously the kids are good, but
this whole idea is to be afamily trip that has everyone
happy.
As an adult, what do you lovethere, like what's the best for
you?
Speaker 1 (20:47):
Oh my gosh Again.
I love everything.
I love everything.
I'd say my favorite ride isThunder Mountain and I don't get
to go on that every timebecause I've done it where I
went on by myself.
My husband stays off with thegirls.
They are tall enough to writeit now, but we can put them on
it once and they don't want togo on it again yet.
(21:12):
Um, so they're like no.
So you know, sometimes I, Iwill go on myself, um.
I know Indiana Jones like we'lldo um, writer switch sometimes.
Sometimes I will go on myself.
I know Indiana Jones like we'lldo rider switch sometimes,
because our oldest will go onthat and the youngest isn't tall
enough yet, and so dad will goon with older sister.
I'll stay off, and then dad andmom will switch, and so my
oldest gets to go on twice in arow, which she finds exciting,
(21:32):
but then we get to do it.
So I would say I do like someof the bigger, faster rides that
we don't go on every time.
But I love the characterinteractions.
In Fantasyland you just havecharacters walking around.
We played hide and seek withFlynn, ryder and Rapunzel.
Mad Hatter and Alice on MainStreet were playing musical
(21:54):
chairs with the piano that's outthere, and they do these little
, just super organic experiencesthat are not just the wait in
line for your autograph andpicture, which is special itself
, but these are.
You know, you have characterslike Peter Pan or Bert from Mary
Poppins get on the carouselwith you and you're riding the
carousel with them, or they'llget on the teacups.
(22:16):
So it's just super organicinteractions that you don't know
who you're going to run intoeither.
So it's, I find that's reallyexciting.
My husband he's not obsessedwith Disney.
I think I've converted him, butI think the big thing was going
to Disneyland with the girlsand seeing their reaction and
(22:38):
seeing the park through theireyes and he's like, oh, I want
to go now because I he can't getenough of it.
He's so exciting to show themthese next level rides and like,
oh, let's try this and that,and so that's.
What's really exciting for himis just seeing that transition
of them, like I want to try thiscoaster now and let me go on
that one.
Speaker 2 (22:57):
So that transition of them Like I want to try this
coaster now and let me go onthat one.
So, oh, I love that.
Yeah, I have to probably agree.
I mean just seeing the reactionfrom the littles and you know
just their enjoyment, theirexcitement.
I mean that's just, that'severything.
So do you go for dinners there?
I mean, so you said you havethe key now, right, do you just
(23:19):
go in for special dinners ordinners just just you and your
husband, or do you do anythinglike that?
Speaker 1 (23:25):
Um, sometimes, uh, we , we like to bring grandma a lot
.
My mom, my mom got a magic keybecause we did.
She's like, if you're going allthe time, I'm going to get one
too.
Um, so if we'll go with her,we'll get a hotel for the night
and then we'll put the girls tobed and she'll just listen for
them while we go back and sparkand it's amazing, especially
over summer they're open tillmidnight.
(23:46):
So we're going on spacemountain and like thunder
mountain and all these big rides.
There's no line for the umphoto pass, uh, photographers at
the end of the night.
So we got really great pictureswith just the two of us at
night in front of the castle,all lit up.
So there's definitely lots offun things to do.
We'll go on a Saturday comingup.
(24:08):
We're actually leaving aftersoccer games to go up to
Disneyland just for the evening.
So we do like to kind of pickcertain areas.
I say galaxies, that justprobably one of our favorite to
just go be in that area, causeit's just the ambience is
amazing.
Speaker 2 (24:25):
It is.
Yeah, disney worlds is.
It was just unbelievable.
Speaker 1 (24:30):
I it blows me away and I'm a I'm a Star Wars fan
too, so I'm just like oh my gosh, this is amazing.
Speaker 2 (24:37):
I've left the earth and I'm here.
Speaker 1 (24:40):
Right.
Speaker 2 (24:41):
It was very neat, but well, that's awesome.
I mean, do you have any lasttips that you'd like to share
with everyone?
Speaker 1 (24:49):
Yeah.
So I would have an idea of whatyou know.
You cannot miss, what you'veheard of, what you know you've
done before.
You want your kids toexperience and like, narrow that
down to we have to do this andprioritize that, and then
anything else you get like, oh,we want to do that but we don't
have to or we can totally skipthat and that's going to help
you navigate your whole trip.
(25:10):
Have your plan of where youkind of want to go, like, oh,
let's start from this land tothat land, to that land land,
maybe hop over to this park,have an idea of what kind of
food you want, um plan in yoursit down dining and then be
flexible.
Though there's no wait time forthis ride.
We're walking on right now.
Let's go on this before we keepgoing to where we were heading
towards.
(25:31):
Yeah, and that's going to be,that's going to be huge.
We've gone with, you know, 19,23 people when we do our whole
extended family going.
And it works.
If you have your plan, like,okay, here's where we're going,
you can branch off and come back.
You can do, you know what youwant and come back to us.
Here's our plan, here's ourpath.
And if you don't have that,you're all just standing around
(25:52):
like where do we go next, whatdo we do?
And then you feel like youdidn't get much done that day.
I'm like cause.
You were standing there and youneed to know where to go?
Speaker 2 (26:04):
Yeah, definitely I yeah, planning is so important.
Speaker 1 (26:07):
Um, I actually have a ride guide.
Um, that it's just a freeprinciple.
I can give you the link if youwant, but it's all of the rides
in Disneyland and Californiaadventure and a checklist and
they're color coded by heightrequirement.
Can give you the link if youwant, but it's all of the rides
in Disneyland and CaliforniaAdventure in a checklist and
they're color-coded by heightrequirement so you can know just
on one paper, instead of havingto click around the app and be
like can we even, are they eventall enough for this?
Can we go on this right now?
(26:29):
So, yeah, yeah, I hate the app.
When we were there, like thatwas the one thing I'm like I
have to.
Speaker 2 (26:34):
you know, I we did the genie plus and all of that,
um, so I had to keep you knowevery time we got it right we
needed to do the next one and itwas like, and I had to have
mobile ordering for food andeverything.
I mean it was very convenient,but it was also kind of annoying
, but hey it worked.
Um so well, that was awesome.
(26:55):
Thank you for coming.
Can you just tell?
Speaker 1 (26:59):
everyone where they can find you.
They have more questions.
Yeah, so I run a travel blogwhich is a lot of disney but
also camping, hiking, road trips, travel familytravelfoliocom at
fam travel folio on instagram.
So those are the two mainplaces you'll find me.
If you sign up for my emaillist, you can get that free ride
guide printable.
And yeah, I send out emailsjust with more tips and tricks
(27:23):
and just you know fun familytravel communication so awesome.
Speaker 2 (27:32):
Well again, thank you so much for coming in and
chatting with us about it.
It's such a fun topic and Iknow there's just so much that
you can dive into with this.
That's the hard part.
I'm like trying to just keep itright, but we'll have to have
you back and maybe we can like Ieven with camping.
I love camping.
I love camping, I think.
I think another visit is inyour future.
Speaker 1 (27:49):
Definitely.
Speaker 2 (27:51):
But again, thank you for coming and sharing all of
your knowledge.
Speaker 1 (27:54):
Thank you so much.
This was great.
Speaker 2 (27:57):
Thanks for joining us today on.
She's Got it Together.
It's been a real journey,sharing and laughing with you
all.
Speaker 3 (28:03):
We hope you're walking away with a smile on
your face and a bit moreconfidence in your step.
Speaker 2 (28:07):
Remember, you're not alone in this crazy ride called
life.
We're all in this together, oneday at a time.
Speaker 3 (28:13):
Don't forget to subscribe, leave us a review and
, of course, share this podcastwith all the incredible women in
your life.
Speaker 2 (28:19):
Join us next week for more stories, more laughs and
more real talk.
Speaker 3 (28:23):
Until then, keep embracing your unique journey
and remember you've got ittogether more than you think.
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