What Can Brown Do For You?

(or for that matter, what can FedEx do for you?)

#4 -- My fourth tip for domestic travel is consider shipping some of your medical supplies or other items ahead of time to your hotel. I've done this on a couple of occasions, when luggage space was at a premium or if I was staying somewhere for an extended period of time. It would also be a huge help if I were traveling alone and wanted to cut down on the amount of stuff I had to lug around.

You'll need to check in advance with your hotel. This probably works best in a large hotel with a concierge, or a smaller boutique hotel that prides itself on service. Don't assume that this is a service they will offer or allow, as many hotels may not have ever come across this kind of request. You definitely don't want to count on them accepting and holding your package, only to get to your destination and find out they refused it.

Also be sure to ship with a tracking number (that's where UPS or FedEx has it over the regular mail -- more expensive but worth it). That way you'll not only be able to check progress before you leave home, but also see who signed for it and when it arrived. Very helpful if you check in and no one knows what you're talking about!

This is not only a great way of saving luggage space, but with the new baggage fees in effect, and limits on weight and number of checked bags, it could end up saving you a lot. This is also good advice for anyone traveling with young kids, who tend to require lots of STUFF (ie diapers, formula, etc.). Save money by buying this stuff at home, rather than paying the resort price. That will leave you more money for those awesome oversized sunglasses and that t-shirt that says "I've been to California and all I got was this t-shirt."

More later!

Few Word Wednesday

Four weeks, and I'll be eating a $5 churro with this view in my sights.

Expect the unexpected.

#3. If you have any dependency on any type of mobility device (i.e. wheelchair, walker, crutches, cane, or anything else I might have missed) you should practice the boyscout motto: Always be prepared. Even if it is just having printed out a list of medical supply dealers near your destination that can do repairs.

I have learned this the hard way as on not one but two separate occasions I have had wheelchair issues. My last one was a simple flat tire. Simple if you are at home with your vehicle in the driveway and your spare chair in the garage. Not so simple when you are getting ready to go see the fireworks and have a nice meal. Luckily I was at a great and amenable hotel who made every effort to assist me in-house trying to inflate my deflated tire. When that failed they quickly looked up a repair place and hooked me up with one of the park,s loaners (which was shall we say a love seat on wheels--I only if I had a picture to show you, too funny).

This was the point where I said never again will I be stuck in a horseless chariot as my small, zippy chair gets a chance to see California without me. I now travel with 2 spare inner tubes, a tire-changing kit (available at a local bike shop), compressed air tire inflator (have you tried to fully inflate an inner tube lately? much more difficult than you would think), a few Allen wrenches, a screwdriver, replacement screws (if known what sizes), and a travel sewing kit. It may seem like overkill to have all of that taking up valuable luggage real estate but if you need it you will feel like a super-genius for having it (if only those Wile E. Coyote cartoons were real -- you could just dial Acme and in 5 seconds it would arrive).

Just remember one thing I have learned over the years. If it can happen it will, and usually at the most inopportune moment. With just a little preparation you can combat the gremlins that want to wreck your vacation.

Tip #2 getting from the airport to the hotel. There have not been as many choices for people with mobility issues as there are now. There are car rental agencies that can get you a vehicle with hand controls (with at least 48 hours notice see car rental post). You can hop a taxi which will set you back in the fundage department. Or you can do what I do and make a reservation for an airport shuttle. I have used both Supershuttle and Disney Magic Express and they are both pretty nice, clean, and as safe as you can get on a California freeway. You do have to let them know if you require a wheelchair lift as not all of their buses have them. The shuttle lets you sit back and relax as their driver navigates the chaos that is the SoCal highway system. It is reasonably priced and you might even get a deal booking a package.

I plan to go a bit more indepth in a later post about getting around Anaheim itself using the ART system as I am still checking out all the little intricacies of the system. Until Tomorrow.....

Will that be paper or plastic?

So I am now about thirty days out from my trip to Disneyland. We have received the itinerary it has been mailed to us by the wonderful Mary at AAA Travel (she puts stickers on it so it is very festive when we receive it) and now it is time to do some of the logistic work to make the trip smooth sailing.

With this in mind I have a couple of tips that we have found very useful. #1 is the Disney gift card. This was dropped into my brain by some very hardcore Disney-o-philes a few years ago. If you are on a budget (and who isn't) it will make you stick to it. Disney gift cards make carrying cash, credit cards, or travelers checks unnecessary as they can be used at most places in a the parks as well as around most of the Disney owned hotels. You can get these nifty little cards at any Disney Store, or at the parks or online. I have been told that if you lose them they can be reissued (although you need the directions from the back of the card so make a copy). If you have kids who want some independence in their spending you can get specific amounts and dole them out as the trip goes on (perhaps on a per day basis). This would allow you to make limits on the amounts they have without stifling them. And when its gone, its gone.

What we have done is figure out a per day amount of money for food multilpy it by the amount of days we are there and then split it between two cards. This allows one of us to find a place to set while the other goes and places the order. Also important to know is that most of the Downtown Disney places will not take it as they are all independent from the park itself (except the World of Disney Store they do take it).

I will be giving out a tip or thing of interest every day as part of National Blog Posting Month. Tomorrow maybe transportation :)

Planning a Disney Vacation

Well it has been a while since I have posted and I wanted to get back to it. We (my wife and I) are getting ready to visit Disneyland. We have been six times each but Mary has never been at Christmas time. We decided that needed to be changed so we are going in December. Now I know what you are thinking Disneyland at Christmas -- you're crazy!! But no. There is a brief time between Thanksgiving and Christmas that the park is all decked out for the holidays, and still considered part of the down time. We are going during the first week in December. We chose this time because it is statistically less crowded at the parks (as kids are still in school and college has not quite let out for winter break). The airports are less busy because people are headed home after turkey day and NOT to a tourist destination like DL (Disneyland). Finally we chose the destination because well even though I am not employed by Disney I believe that you can go to Disneyland Resort (or really any of their resorts) and once you walk through the gate stress and worry sort of melts away from you. As corny as it sounds it really is magic.

Now I do not have a kid (yet) but there are tons of things that you can do there that are not ALL kid oriented (or park oriented). Disney's Grand Californian Hotel has a world renowned spa that offers great therapeutic treatments (which I plan to avail myself of a massage). In between both parks there is much in the way of shopping, entertainment, and an awesome movie theater. There is something there for sports fans, music lovers, and shopaholics. Disney knows it has to keep the entire family when they are on vacation. With this said I am going to share my planning with you. Let you know what I know about the accessibility and inaccessibility of the parks, airplanes, and surrounding attractions.

I am flying out of our local airport and connecting to Sea Tac International Airport. I like doing this because you get to bypass going through the larger airport security (having gone through the local airport's security), nice people who will help you get in and out of the aisle chair. This also lets you experience flying as it should be -- smaller planes, nicer staff, no fighting a larger airport's traffic. I like Alaska Air for most of my traveling, they are relatively well-connected with travel partners. I also like Hawaiian Air but that is for another trip. I also like to fly into smaller airports (such as John Wayne International) for the same reasons (just better than navigating LAX).

We have decided to stay on property as a treat (Grand Californian). We have stayed there before and it is a very elegant place. Great landscaping, an inspiring lobby, and comfortable rooms. If you can afford to stay on property I highly recommend it. If not there are some fantastic "good neighbor" partners off property.

I will continue to let you in on some neat little secrets but here are some of the references that I have used for each trip to DL: Birnbaums Official Guide to Disneyland Resort, and the Unofficial Guide to Disneyland 2009. I also like Mouse Planet, and Laughing Place too. Those folks know more about Disneyland than most Disney historians. More to come.

Won't you let me take you on a sea cruise...

I have been on lots of different types of vacations and I must say that I have really taken a great shine to cruises. Now my experience is limited to just one Eastern Caribbean cruise. However my wife and I have done quite a bit of research for the cruise line, ports of call, and excursions. So we have a bit of knowledge on the subject. I will just give you my own opinion, take it in the way it was intended.

First off, consult a professional (my trusty AAA travel agent Theresa and Mary). These folks have extensive knowledge on ALL the cruise lines so they can direct you to the right one. This is important because if you are wanting to relax, perhaps the Spring Break Carnival Cruise with tons of college kids isn’t what you want. A travel expert will be able to let you know what the facilities will be on the ship, if the ports of calls are dockside or tendered (this is when they take you from the ship to a little boat and then to the dock..Most cruise lines will NOT assist you with this). The more information you can get the easier it is to start doing your own research (and you will need to do research).

So the great thing about cruising is that you only have to unpack once. For most lines the food and most of your entertainment in also included in the price of the ticket. All this plus there are partner airlines that will offer deals for your airfare. It is a great deal.

As I said I took an Eastern Caribbean cruise on Disney Cruiselines and I had an incredible time. We booked last minute but it was still a pretty great deal that included airline and a hotel for the night before the ship left. We ended up splurging on a wonderful couples massage (I totally reccommend if you can swing it. I was totally spasm free at the end of it). I have made some inquiries on other lines and have heard that Princess ships going to Alaska even hook up with an accessable rail line to their own private resort. Royal Caribbean is the nice halfway point between Carnival Cruiselines and Norwegian Cruise lines.

Now here is the beautiful thing. If you don't feel like getting off the ship to battle the throngs of shoppers most lines offer discounts on shipboard services. You may even find duty-free liquor and other goodies for the same prices as at the island shops. Just something to think about. I will talk more about this in detail in another post.