September 2018 Disney World Planning and Packing
So I am not going to make this post quite like my Disney World planning post from the past. This trip was completely different than all of my previous trips. We traveled with my mom on a business trip, so we didn’t do as much planning ahead of time. So instead of going through our dining reservations (we only made one or two prior) or our Fastpasses (we made very few of these too), I am going to go through some of the other things we had to plan and pack.
I used our travel checklist for our general packing prep. But one of the things we had to pack this trip that we didn’t in the past was our carseat. We went back and forth on how we wanted to handle the need for a carseat. We were originally going to pay for a rental carseat through the car rental company. But the cost for doing that for 6-7 days was far too expensive. We could buy a new carseat for that price and still save money. So we opted for that route.
I researched lightweight carseats and decided to buy one from Walmart. We bought the Cosco Scenera Next Convertible Car Seat. We paid $42 total for it. It was delivered within a few days of me ordering it. It weighed only 10 pounds when fully assembled. So that made carrying it through the airport fairly easy. I read some reviews and some people commented on how the box delivered from Walmart felt empty. And it truly did. But sure enough the car seat was in it. It was also easy to convert between rear and front facing.
So now we needed to figure out the best way to check the car seat at the airport. I didn’t want to use it while flying (although it is FAA approved for using on an airplane). Melody would not have done well on the flights in that case. So I found a travel bag from Amazon that had great reviews and also was relatively cheap. It is called Pro Travel Gear Travel Bag. It cost around $22. It’s primary use is for gate check, but we didn’t want to lug it all through the airport. Plus we had a layover and didn’t want that to hold us hope. However, this bag worked great even though it was checked with our regular luggage. The car seat was in perfect condition and the bag is still in great condition too. I also loved that it had backpack straps. It made carrying it to and from the car MUCH easier! And packing the carseat was a breeze. There was also still plenty of room. Some people have reported they fit 2 carseats in one bag. I am not sure how comfortable that would be when carrying it, but there is probably room for that.
I also made a stroller tag for the umbrella stroller. I have made them for all of our trips (February 2017, December 2017). I did this one a little differently though. I bought paper from Michael’s to use. I cut the paper down to the sizes I wanted using a paper cutter. Then I used my Silhouette Cameo to cut adhesive vinyl that said “Melody’s Stroller”. Then of course I laminated it. The tag is ideal to help locate your stroller. The biggest problem we had this trip was that it isn’t 100% ideal for an umbrella stroller. The way the umbrella stroller folds up causes the tag to fold up which isn’t ideal. Instead of using ribbon, I actually used pony tail holders. This actually gave some wiggle room when folding the stroller up.
I also made Melody a small happy for Disney. Part of this was to help occupy her on the plane though. The play packs were definitely for this purpose. They can be found at Target for $1. Also found at Target were some glow sticks. We didn’t end up using them, but I bought them in case. I also bought a Snap and Pose Minnie. This was in her airport bag, but she didn’t use it on the plane. Instead she just played with it in the room. Melody and bath time aren’t always the best. Especially when we travel. So I got her a Splashing Bath Fashion Daisy. This gave her a new toy to play with and take her mind off the new location. Lastly, I found a cute nightgown with a matching doll nightgown on clearance at Kohl’s.
And below are the outfits we took on our trip. I have already posted about what to wear to Disney in September, so most of this shouldn’t be a surprise. But these outfits somewhat match what we were doing each day and each other.
