Salty Zebra

 Prior to our family's recent Disney World trip, I invested in an add-on called "Memory Maker." My husband and I had this for our previous trip, but didn't figure out how to really use it until the last day! This time around, though, we got our money's worth 😁!  Memory Maker is offered through Disney either as an add-on to your Resort vacation or even just by itself. If you purchase it at least three days before your trip, it is only $185 at today's prices (things change quickly on that so YMMV). If you wait and purchase it after you arrive, it is still just $210, and I'd still call it a bargain - which is something I hardly ever say about Disney! You do have an option of purchasing a one-day Memory Maker for $75 if you're just there for a quick trip. If your whole group is linked together in My Disney Experience, any photos they take will be connected to your account as well, so you only need one Memory Maker package per group. A little vocabulary h...

“Do not honor yourself before the king, and do not stand in the place of great men; for it is better for him to say to you, ‘Come up here,’ than to put you lower before a prince, whom your eyes have seen.”   Proverbs 25:6-7  Late last night, really early this morning, we returned from a trip to Disney World. We traveled as a family, ten of us: My Mom, my brother, my husband, my four kids, my daughter-in-law, my son's girlfriend, and myself. This was a special trip for me, the highlight of my “bucket list.” Since my EDS started getting more and more intense, limiting what I could do more every year – sometimes every month, I have been more intentional about doing the things that are important to me while I can. And then when I was diagnosed with a brain tumor two years ago, this became even more important. My husband encouraged me to give some serious thought to what I really wanted to prioritize, just in case. I boiled it down to a short list: 1. A family trip to Di...

    Family vacations can be dreams come true – but sometimes those dreams are nightmares! Here’s the good news, there are steps you can take to set your group up for a good time together and avoid ending up on the nightly news.    Set Reasonable Expectations   Recognize that everyone going on the trip is coming to it from a different place in life. Not everyone has been in your mind, seeing your thoughts and plans, feeling your excitement. It will be helpful to everyone if you communicate in advance what you expect of them. Perhaps this will have to do with finances. Is everyone paying their own way? Part of it? What is each person going to be responsible for? Maybe it has to do with the schedule. What events on the trip are really important for everyone to be at, what are optional, and what really doesn’t matter at all? How are you all going to communicate? A group text? Phone calls? Sticky notes on the door? Communicating these things in advance allows eve...

Note: I am an Amazon Associate and if you shop through the links in this post, I will receive a small commission. This does not change your price, but enables me to continue my Salty Zebra Adventures!  "What's a park bag?" you might ask? I can't wait to tell you! Park bags are more of an art than a science and everyone has to figure out what's best for them. One person wants to walk around in Disney style with a LoungeFly bag:  Another might keep it simple with a fanny pack :  And still others minimize with a running belt :      Regardless of your conveyance, you're going to need something to carry your stuff around the Disney parks. Bare minimum, you'll have a cell phone, wallet and a water bottle that you're not going to want to keep in your hands! But what else might you need to make your park day great? I've got you covered! Rain  I'm from the Pacific Northwest where we are comfortable with rain. If you see someone with an umbrella, they...