Walt Disney World: It's Not Just for Kids » bag hag

Shopping Saturday: Disney Parks Go-er

Hedy — Sat, 10 Dec 2011 16:25:21 +0000

If the adult Disney fan in your life is a Disney Parks fan, there is no end to the great gift ideas out there.

If you are looking for books, my first choice is the Passporter series: they have a Kindle version of Fast Tips, iBooks, or a Dead-tree version of their other books. The Imagineer Field Guides are also great, as is the Hidden Magic of Disney World.

In terms of gear for the parks, I highly recommend picking up a Baggalini Messenger, although you can see my full list of park bag recommendations. A Gorillapod is great for photos, as is an Xshot for those of you who are solo travelers.

For smaller stuff, I highly recommend picking up some locking pin backs, Crystal Light Packets, or sunscreen sticks.

See all Shopping Saturday posts.

Shopping Saturday: Girly Stuff…

Hedy — Sat, 26 Nov 2011 00:21:43 +0000

If you’ve got a girly adult Disney fan in your life, here are a few possible gifts:
Handbags are first: The Disney Parks Dooney and Bourkebags are very popular. They are stylish without being excessively cloying. I really like the sketch print….stupid leather. Heh. Thus, I prefer the Minnie Mouse Handbag by Disney Couture. The Harvey bags are the seasonal Nightmare Before Christmas.

Beauty-wise: the H20 plus line would be great: there’s the body butter or conditioner used on DCL. If you want to go all World Showcase, there is Laila from Norway. $2 gets you a sample pack with Laila and Geur. From France, there is Guerlain Meteorites Pearls. Finally, Italy gives us Acqua di Parma.

Three Items I took on my recent Disney Trip…

Hedy — Mon, 05 Sep 2011 22:06:47 +0000

And what I thought of them…
1.
Supergoop Wipes: I am a huge fan of Supergoop Sunscreen. When I saw these in the basket at Sephora, I was really curious-after all, wipes mean not being subject to the dang 3-1-1 rule. I loved them-I could sunscreen up while on Magical Express, and have sunscreen in my park bag that is lightweight, doesn’t spill, and was at my fingertips. Highly recommend these guys.

2. The Ms Mini Mergency kit. I was torn between this item and the Theme Park Survival kit from GlamourMouse. I decided that the Mini Mergency kit seemed like a better buy. It had so many things you need in the parks0deoderant towel, breath drops, painkiller. If I were to redesign it, I would pop in some Shout Wipes and hand sanitizer wipes.

3. eBags Piazza Day Bag: I originally got this bag for London. While I still prefer my Bagalinni, this bag held everything comfortably. The big issue I had with it was that my water bottle kept on falling out of the holder, but it’s a good option if you prefer shoulder bags.

Home from a non-Disney vacation!

Hedy — Sat, 26 Jun 2010 18:58:09 +0000

I’m home from a non-Disney vacation. It was great! I got the chance to try some Disney vacation tips, namely the over-the-door shoe holder, Rum Runner flasks, and using a great app called Evernote.
I had picked up the shoe holder at Dollar Tree a couple weeks ago. It had see-through pockets, which I liked. However, as I unpacked, I found that the Dollar Tree holder lacked any sort of hanger or bracket. I was able to improvise with a Closet Purse Hanger* purse holder, but I will be looking for hooks between now and my next trip. I also think I need two, one for makeup and hair stuff, and one for assorted junk.
As there were a lot of dry towns where I was, I brought two of my smaller rum runners with me. I found them very easy to fill, and to transport (I just popped both into the ziplock bag they came in, and put that in my tote.) It was easy to bring them with me to a restaurant, and once empty, roll them up and popping them into my purse.
I originally thought that Evernote was a great app for blogging-to record ideas, notes to self, etc. However, this trip I found that it’s a really useful Android App to have on vacation. Not only was I able to pull up our plans literally at my fingertips, but I could store other things there as well.

Finally, the one negative of my trip-a zipper pull on my Baggallini Messenger bag (the best park/vacation bag ever) broke off-on the inside of my bag. I bought it two years ago, and Baggallini’s warranty is for one year only. I’m going to e-mail them to see if they are flexible. Otherwise, I’ll see if my cobbler can fix it.

*I won this in a blog contest over a year ago. That did not influence my decision to pack or use it.

Trip planning updates June 6

Hedy — Sun, 06 Jun 2010 13:07:05 +0000

For my Universal Orlando trip:

*I’m holding off on making my touring plan until the Wizarding World of Harry Potter (WWoHP) officially opens on June 18. It is looking extremely likely that I’m not going to fit on the Forbidden Journey, just as I had worried. This throws a couple of curve balls my way: Do I skip it all together? If I do, I may be ok showing up at 9am and just checking out the shops and doing The Flight of the Hippogriff. Do I try to see if I can fit (good blog fodder,LOL)?

*I am flip-flopping on what day I want to spend at Downtown Disney, I feel like I will know more once the WWoHP is really open.

*I bought a new suitcase yesterday! I’m very excited to try it out on both my Universal trip and my cruise. I got it at TJ Maxx for about 1/2 of its real price! I am going to call a couple of Marshalls/TJ Maxx in my area to see if they have the carry-on. However, my current carry-on matches it, and is fine. My old big suitcase was old enough that it was made by American Airlines (I find the fact that I would need to pay to check it on American Airlines hysterical).

*The Hyatt MCO is currently not showing up on Hotwire. Thank goodness I have my Costco rate.

For my cruise: My ADR window opens on Thursday. As I am staying at the Swan, I don’t get 80 days+10. I am currently changing my ADR plans like my underwear-I think this is what happens when a hotelpickaphobe choose to stick with a hotel. At the moment, my plans are:

Friday: Get up. Check out Epcot resort areas Christmas decorations, grab snack at Boardwalk Bakery. Hop on bus to MK and go over to monorail resorts. Grab linner at Captain Cook’s. Head into MK for 4pm admission to MVMCP and meet.

Saturday. Get up. Head to Epcot-hit Soarin’, Journey into Imagination, Test Track. Lunch at Chefs de France(?). Chill around WS. Evening meet at Boardwalk.

Sunday-Cab to AKL for Boma breakfast meet. Cab back to swan.

I picked up water shoes from Lands End-they looked more wearable than my cheapo old ones, and were 40% off.

I had my travel agent add the fact that I am a vegetarian onto my reservation. Vegetarian options look pretty plentiful, but I figure it never hurts to add it.

Five Weird Things You’ll find in my Park Bag

Hedy — Tue, 13 Apr 2010 05:00:23 +0000

While there is much pondering over the perfect park bag, what to put in your bag seems to be of lesser importance. I’ve got some items in there that might seem a little odd to some.
1. A can koozy. Yes, like a beer can one. I use one I got free from a radio station promotion-but not for beer. I use it to put around my bottled water (which I ship to my hotel room before I get there, and keep cold in my room’s fridge). It prevents the bottle’s condensation from getting stuff in your bag wet, and keeps it cold.
2. A pocket-sized first aid kit. Ok, if you have kids this may not seems as odd. Despite being 26, I’m pretty darn accident prone. It’s also nice to have on hand to spread a little magic.
3. Monistat Soothing Care Chafing Relief Powder-Gel . Let’s get this over with right away-no, it’s not THAT Monistat. It’s perfect for keeping your thighs from rubbing together. Plus, it does bonus duty as a face primer for makeup, making it a tiny tube that does double-duty, great for travel. For my feet-I use the much more genteel sounding “Bodyglide”-I haven’t had any issues with blisters since I started using it.
4. Empty Plastic mini M&M’s container of pennies and quarters (for pressing). I put them in quarter, quarter, penny, so when I see a good penny machine they are pretty much literally at my finger tips.
5. Waterproof Bags
I’m a worry wart, and as such prefer to have my iPod, cell phone, GPS on me rather than in my hotel room. I bundle them up in here so they’re safe as I splash away.

Friday Favorites-Disney bags!

Hedy — Fri, 02 Apr 2010 00:43:34 +0000

If you haven’t figured it out yet, I am an utter bag hag. As such, what bag to bring with me to the parks at Disney can be an ordeal. Now, there are people who love the fanny pack, and own the fanny pack. Go you, I say, but me-my car wears a tiara for a reason. This princess did a fannypack at age nine, and I’m not doing it again.

For my trips in 2006 and 2007, I went with the Touring Travel Bag from LL Bean. I could get it monogrammed, which I loved. It definitely has its good points. It has only a few flaps to go through bag check, it’s packable, it has a great slot in the back for your autograph book and pressed penny collections. However, the skinny strap can dig into your spine after a walk accross World Showcase, and when stuffed full it becomes kind of unwieldy.

I got a Vera Bradley Hipster through their website when it was on sale a couple of years ago. I got the old kind (without a magnetic flap), as a)I did not want my park tickets and room key getting demagnetized, and b)I have a serious paranoia regarding electronics and magnets. Obviously, I don’t take it on days when I am planning on getting wet, as it wouldn’t be good for that. Beyond that; however, it’s able to fit a lot (including my fold-up windbreaker), lightweight, and managable. If you get one, I strongly suggest you think about buying it on clearance-the Florida sun fades your pattern something fierce.
I also have a Vera Bradley Backsack, which is once again for dry weather, but has the hands-free experience of a backsack combined with Vera Bradley’s gift for pockets (I hate my previous backsacks as everything got jumbled in them. This, too, has been discontinued.

Baa. Baa. I’m a sheep, after resisting buying one after two years on The Dis, I finally bought a Baggallini Messenger Bagg. I tried one on in a store and had to get it. It’s as close to a perfect parks bag as you can get-it’s waterproof, roomy, and easy to swing around on rides. The only cons I have are that there is a learning curve to figure out which thing goes best in a given pocket, and it’s a touch too big for many Disney ride bag holders. Mine has ridden at my feet on Expedition Everest; however, and lived to tell the tale.
How about you? What’s your favorite park bag?