5 Fave Friday - Travel Apps

Where ever you look today it seems everyone has a smart phone. From IPhone, Droids, to Blackberry people want to stay connected. This seems particularly true for travelers who use apps for everything from checking in to the airlines to playing games while waiting for a cab, or even messaging someone and sending emails. I am no exception to this technological craze having had a quad band Blackberry that I could instant message my wife even when she was in Europe. I am now using an IPhone (mostly so I can message my wife without having a texting plan) but I do so like the deals of the apps while I am traveling. I am new to the apps so my experience is limited but here are my 5 for this trip:

5. Alaska Air check in app - I like the idea that I can check in for my flight while waiting on the plane for the isle seat. This is handy because I am the last one off the plane and that can make it difficult when trying to make the connection.

4. Angry Birds (free edition) - My 2 year old gets squirmy when we have to wait in lines so we discovered this game. He likes the sounds that the birds make when they are tossed into the air, and also yelling "BOOM!!" when the buildings are knocked over. I see us playing this while waiting for Dumbo, or Smallworld.

3. Packing (+TO DO!) by Quinn Genzel - We are list people. A smooth trip starts out with many lists and this is a great one for figuring out what you have and where it is. basically it gives a item by item inventory of your luggage and gives a guesstimating of weight. In this age of pay by the pound luggage and no frills flight it really is nice to have things organized.

2. FlightTrack - Live Flight information by Ben Kazez - This will be great for being able to see departure updates when I am away from the big board, it has great maps that I can zoom in on gives me gate numbers and much more. I figure I will have at least one more big trip in a year and this will be very handy to have for it.

1. Disneyland Magic Guide by VersaEdge Software LLC - I am going to Disneyland with a toddler for the first time so it is very important for me to know where things like "where is the closest bathroom" or "where can I get a kids power pack". This program (which offers a free version) is full of information like ride waits, GPS location tells you where you are, it shows a map with restaurants and restrooms, and has useful things like park hours, and priority dining reservations. All in all I will probably get my three bucks worth out of it on my trip, and future Disneyland trips to come.

List sharing

So I have mentioned that when our family travels we create some pretty extensive lists. Anything from Things to do, Things to buy, stuff to pack, and places to eat. I thought I would share a few of them so you can see what type of things we put on them. Who knows you may have suggestions for me. Please share.

1. Things to do

Pull out luggage -gets the old closet smell out and lets you see if there is any damage to them

Look through toiletry bag - dump half crusty bottles, replace razor blades, make sure that you have what you need

Clean- nothing worse than coming home to a messy house. Especially after staying at a nice hotel.
Pull warm/cold weather clothing- depending on where you live you don't always get to wear shorts or a coat best to go through them early to see if they still fit

Contact bank and CC company - let them know where you are going so that you don't have your cards turned off for suspicious charges. Really important when going outside of the US.

Stop mail - or arrange someone to pick it up for you. Also a good ideal to put a few lights on timers to discourage anyone who might break in

Get cash & Disney gift cards - always take small cash for tipping and food/magazine vendors, or vending machines it is appreciated. Also if you are going to a place like Disneyland that has gift cards buy some. It is much than juggling cash around and it keeps you on budget.

Pack - aways my job and I am REALLY good at it

Put clean sheets on bed - after a long or short flight it is nice to sleep on clean sheets on your own bed.

Snacks - don't buy a $5 can of nuts out of the mini bar. Leave a little room and take something to snack on. Spend the extra on  another trip

Measure Kid- you want to know how tall they are so you can keep them from being disappointed when they are to short for a ride.

Pay bills - in the heat of doing all the travel stuff things can be forgotten. Trust me.

Pack DVD and portable player - I have a kid who is good on planes but can get board after the third hour of flight. This is why you bring some favorites for them to watch.

5 Fave Fridays - Tough Jobs

I know that there are a ton of people that think that there couldn't be jobs in travel that are tough. I am here to say that you would be wrong if you think this. When I fly I see all the jobs that are overlooked when the ideal of airtravel (or travel in general) is thought. So in my opinion and breif knowledge, here are 5 tough travel jobs:

5. Train/Bus station ticket clerk - In larger cities this job gets exposed to amped up customers who may be suffering from being overstimulated, smaller towns this person may be exposed to the elements, or forced to stay in a tiny little booth until they are relieved. Have you ever tried to stay in a phone booth for 8 hours. Sounds tough to me.

4. Hotel/Cruise ship custodial - These under appreciated people have the thankless job of cleaning up after people who (lets face it) are on vacation and therefore not concerned that they left all the wet towels on the floor, or missed the toilet bowel all together. If you work on a ship you not only have to keep your area rooms clean but you have to make a towel animal every night (or people complain). They manage to do all this with a smile, or helpful attitude. Think you could smile at a person who just trashed a room you cleaned up less than 8 hours ago? Me neither.

3. Train Stewards/Flight Attendants - Despite what TV shows us these jobs are not "Pan Am" or "Thomas the Tank Engine". These folks are on the front lines taking abuse from intoxicated and rude passengers, disrespectful kids/teens, unruly seniors. Rarely do you hear a complaint from them (how they don't manage to spill a drink or toss more passengers...looking at you Alec Baldwin...is beyond me). Try to be nice on your next trip, you would be amazed.

2. Customer Service Operators - There are many names that this position goes by but basically they are there to answer your questions and help when something goes wrong (because no one ever calls when they have had a good trip). They have to put up with a ton of crap from people who have legitimate complaints, as well as those people who didn't prepare properly and missed their flight/bus/train/etc. I guarantee that you would cuss someone out if you had to deal with just a fraction of their calls.

1. Baggage Handlers and Support Personnel - These people are out in the elements, work holidays/nights/weekends, NEVER get compliments when they do a good job (when was the last time you heard someone say great job loading the bags into the airplane). As with all of these jobs they do not make a ton of money, and there isn't much job security thanks to the economy.

So if you are fortunate enough to get to travel, and you just happen to run into someone on this list (or someone who is not). Thank them for doing a great job. You will make their day

You may be right, I may be crazy...

I may very well be a little insane to use Disneyland as incentive to potty train my son, thinking I would have a little time before he would "meet Mickey". However whats done is done and I plan to uphold my part of the bargain. That being said I want it to be a good trip and that means planning. I and my wife have been to DL many times and I could probably give you directions around the park over the phone just by what you describe to me. Having a little one with us is a bit of a switch, as we will end up in all the areas we avoided on previous trips. As with all my trips I have a distinct order of how I plan (alongside my travel agent Mary in the Mt Vernon AAA office). Start off with the following and you should do well:

1. How much time do I have between now and the trip? This will let you figure out how much money you can save between now and then. Hopefully alleviating any need to go into debt. I know some people who wait until tax time because they figure they can use their refund on a trip. What ever you are comfortable with.
2. How much money do I currently have for the trip? This is very important, as it will determine not only if you can go, but were you can afford to stay/eat/souvenirs/and transportation/etc. Try to do a budget and then look at how much you can save realistically for this type of trip.
3. Once the money is figured out then you can start looking at the hotels that your budget will allow for. Even if you are on a bare bones budget you can get a decent hotel. You just have to look hard and consult experts ( travel agents, friends who go there a lot, you know). If you have little kids make sure that they have good ratings on travel sites, that they have a pool (your kids are not going to want to be at the park the whole time) and that it is in some part restful. After all that is the reason behind a vacation.
4. Admission and other askadentals. Park admission is steep. However we just learned that if your kiddo is under 2 years old he gets in free (partially the reason we are doing this trip before his birthday). Askadentals are the things that are not covered as incidentals (i.e. glow sticks, balloons, baked goods, and that glass of wine with dinner).
5. Transportation to the park. Do you live close enough to drive (or do you want to do a National Lampoon trip before the park). What would it cost to fly or take the train. Do I take shuttles, cabs, or rent a car. These are all deeply individualized things. I can tell you that we will fly and take a super shuttle, and use the ART system if we need to get around Anaheim.
6. Make your travel lists (what do I need to do/pack/buy/etc. before the trip). These will be revised over and over before you leave. It is just a guideline so that you don't forget your kids blankie.
7. Get in  "park shape". This may mean that you have to do some exercise. Walking, weights, any cardio to prepare you for the hours and hours of walking transfers, lifting of children, and various other activities. It would be a shame to hurt yourself, or get so exhausted on the first or second day that you cannot enjoy the rest of your time there.
8. Review all your travel documents. You will want to be relatively familiar with your travel itinerary so that you will know where you need to be, at what time, with which air carrier/bus company/train station/shuttle company/rental car agency. If you save this for the day of the trip you will just add stress to that day and make it more difficult than it needs to be.
9. Travel. Once you have prepared yourself as well as you can it is time to roll with the punches. Things will happen. It just will so try to remain calm, and work with the people who may be trying to help make your situation better. Yelling at the ticket person doesn't do any good and it might keep you from boarding the plane.

Number nine is very important because once you have stepped out of your house the day of the trip you are on vacation, and therefore have very little control. Things will go right, and things will go wrong. If you plan ahead it will make both scenarios go just a little smoother.

5 Fave Friday - Things not to scrimp on for a vacation.

Like all of you, I do not have unlimited funds to travel the world over so I try to cut corners where ever it is possible. I have filtered water bottles that I take instead of buying a new bottle for 4 bucks every time I want water. I pack snacks that I know will cost more on my trip. I even bring a portable WIFI with me when I know the hotel will charge me for it. There are some things that I believe whole heatedly that should never be scrimped on. These are just a few that I have come across in my years of traveling.

5. Luggage - I am not saying that you need to have the most expensive suitcases out there. I am saying that you want to have a few good quality pieces that will protect yoGur belongings that will, lets face it, not be handled like they are made of glass. My wife and I bought a good set of Samsonite that were rated highly and also made the choice of a distinct color so that we can find them easier when they are on the baggage carousel. We also purchased a quality backpack that has been all over the world and still looks like we could get another decade or more out of it. Be smart, and know what your specific needs are about your luggage and lay out some money up front and you will save in the long run.

4.Travelers insurance - This may sound like I am waiting for something bad to happen. In truth bad stuff does happen, and it is always best to be prepared for that eventuality. Do you really want to get sick/injured and still have to cover an expensive trip. And don't even get me started on travelers health insurance. You really have faith that your regular health insurance will cover you in full on vacation? I don't chance it, neither should you.

3. Tours - If you are on a vacation where guided trips are offered, best practice is to spend a little more and do one that is reputable. You do not want to be in a strange area with someone who doesn't know what they are doing, potentially putting you in danger.

2. Food Budget - When traveling my wife and I always over budget the amount we will spend on food. We usually do not come anywhere near this amount on vacation. When it was the two of us and this is totally destination dependent we would budget around $100 a day. We discovered that we snack and usually only eat two meals during a vacation day so this works well for us. We may bump it up another $50 now that we have our son but even if we do we will always come home with money in our pocket. As my wife says you can always take money home but if you run out there is nothing left for you to eat. Don't tell her I said this but she is very smart.

1. Hotel - This is where you are going to sleep, change your clothing, shower, eat (maybe), and potentially be your most vunerable. Do you really want to cheap out on this? End up at a hotel where there may be an insect infestation, or as I often think, have pin hole camera videos show up on the internet? I am not saying that you should spend a kings ransom on your room. There are great deals out there for good quality chain and boutique hotels, even big resorts and small independents. There is also the question of what kind of customer service are you going to get. Will there be someone to assist you with questions about the area? Someone to assist you with your bags. Even security is an issue to keep in mind. Can I park my car and not worry about it getting busted into. Can I leave my room without someone going through my stuff at turn down. Just remember the old addage "you get what you pay for"

Good Service Matters

So we decided to try a dry run of theme parks by going on a last minute Disneyland vacation with my son next month. This will give us a good ideal as to whether he can handle Walt Disney World next year, or if we just extend the cruise. We booked an on property hotel (Disney's Paradise Pier) and i wanted to upgrade it to the Grand Californian ( I just like the laid back feel). I want a specific room if it was available but could not remember the room number. I decided to call up the GC switchboard and see if I can get some assist with this problem. I talked to a nice guy named Nick who understood that I wanted this room becasue my son is a train nut. He spent 25 minutes on the phone with me as we narrowed our search using clues that I remembered. I believe that we finally got the room found, and will be reserving it. I just wanted to let everyone know:

1. There are cheaper hotels out there that offer really good service. You do get amazing sustomer service when you are staying at a Disney property though and they can and will go way above and beyond for you.

2. If you get great customer service let the managers know. People are all to eager to make complaints in hopes of getting comped something. It is a rare thing that people seek out the manager ( as I did) and tell him/her that their staff did something exceptional.

I just want to say again "Thanks Nick for your great help, See you in a month"

Checking out where you will check into.

I have learned the hard way that you must research the hotel that you are going to stay in. I have stayed at a Best Western in Anaheim that gave me an upside down lunch tray with lawn chair legs for a shower bench. It made all the water puddle on the floor and into the towels (could have been shocking for my wife when she used the hair dryer). Another experience was in Florida where we stayed at the Disney Port Orleans Riverside after our cruise disembarked. We discovered mold in the shower (lots of it), the hardest bed I have ever tried to sleep on and a questionable cleaning job (run a vacuum), plus no room service put me on edge. What I am saying is that just not all accessible rooms are created equal, and along those lines not all moderate rooms are equal either.

Our trip to Walt Disney World Resort in 2013 is over a year away and we are already scouring the Internet to figure out which place is best for me, my wife and our son (who will be 4). There are many great sites like Frommer's, Fodor's, and Trip Advisor that offer an unbiased review of the hotel. This is great because you get a ton of opinions. However you have to read the reviews because some of the complaints can be just nit picky little things like "the sheets were to rough", "I didn't like the soap", or "I had a pool view from my room that didn't look like the brochure". There can be serious ones like " we found cigarettes on the headboard under the pillows" and "there is old in the corner of the bathroom" which any reasonable hotel should want to correct right away.

We are weighing out several hotels on property for their location to the parks we really want to visit, reviews from independent sources, and information we have gotten from our travel agency. The front runners are the Animal Kingdom Lodge, The Beach Club, and The Polynesian. All of these have different ammenities that we may want to have access to. They are all located at different points of the resort so that we can have a home base near the parks that we may spend the most of our time at. As we get closer to the travel date the rates for next year will come out and there may be additional hotels we will look into with better rates. It is important to look ahead so that you do not get overwhelmed when you have to book. There is nothing worse than going into something blindly, as it can have a very negative effect on you vacation overall. I will revisit this as we get closer and review in depth each of our choices.