Last week, my family vacationed at the magical Walt Disney World. The week was perfect even though a tropical storm threatened to dampen our fun.

Throughout the planning and visit to Disney World, I learned some tricks that I would like to share with you!

1. If you are able to plan your Disney vacation months in advance, make sure to call or visit the Disney website to make your reservations for popular attractions 180 days from the start of your visit. Example: I called 180 days in advance and was able to get my dinner reservations for Be Our Guest at my requested time.

2. When making your hotel or restaurant reservations, make sure to tell your Disney Operator if you are celebrating any specials occasions. Plus, at any Disney Restaurant (price packages available), a special birthday celebration can be arranged for your prince or princess.

4. If traveling by plane and staying at a Walt Disney World Resort Hotel, take advantage of the Disney Magical Express (free service) to get you from the airport to your hotel and reverse. Plus, Disney will take care of your luggage; and it will be waiting for you in your hotel room.

5. Disney Meal Plans – Typically, you save 15%. We chose not to get one since we don’t eat large breakfasts and we wanted alcoholic drinks for dinner. No real savings for my family. Warning: Cinderella’s Royal Table takes two meal tickets per person. (My favorite meal was at San Angel at the Mexico Pavilion in Epcot.)

6. Everyday a different Disney Theme Parks opens early at 8 a.m. Get up, throw a hat on and get there. There are less lines for some of the most popular rides. Example: At Disney Studios, the Toy Story line wait is normally 2 hours. We waited 25 minutes.

7. This is my favorite tip for vacationers. Get up early and do the parks. Then around 11:30 am/Noon eat lunch either at the parks or at your hotel; and then relax by taking a nap or swimming at the pool. Around 4 p.m., arrive at the parks again and enjoy your evening. At 3 or 4 p.m., when we were entering the parks, lots of people were leaving. Again, we were able to ride popular attractions fast and then enjoyed dinner. Plus, if you stay at a Disney Resort Hotel, the extra relaxation will enable you to enjoy park extended hours.

8. Buy ponchos and don’t be afraid of the rain! We had heavy downpours for a few days, but that didn’t stop us. The lines for rides and character visits were short. As long as your clothes stay dry, the rain doesn’t matter. Example: At Epcot, we rode Nemo’s Adventure and participated in Crush’s Q&A without the hours of waiting.

9. Participate in the Disney Subculture: http://disneyparks.disney.go.com/blog/2012/07/sorcerers-of-the-magic-kingdom-trading-card-game-coming-to-walt-disney-world-resort/   Receive free trading cards and map at the Firehouse in the Magic Kingdom. Go to locations in the park and watch movies relating to your cards. People were trading and wanting very special cards that were only available during Halloween and Christmas celebrations.

10. Finally, while at the Magic Kindgom, head to Adventure Land and enjoy a Dole Whip.

If you are planning a Walt Disney World vacation, I hope my tips helped with your itinerary. Disney is truly a magical place that brings out the kid in all of us.

Happy Vacationing!

Today, every parent had a hard time dropping their child or children off at school. I was one of those parents. Unfortunately, we may never feel at ease sending our children to school. And how do we stop the violence?….Even President Obama is looking for those answers.

We must grieve, reflect and celebrate those lives taken much too soon. No matter their age, they are all heros and not to be forgotten.

This act of terrorism has shocked our nation leaving us angry and confused.  But we will gather all our courage and not live in fear.

Last year, my husband received a new position with his company, which unfortunately required our family to relocate to another state. Even though my husband was extremely excited to begin a new chapter in his career, I was scared and very sad to leave behind the life and career I knew. However, I was determined to make a happy new life for our family.

Lately, I have found out that several close friends will soon be going through this same situation.  And I have been asked the question, “How do you start over?”. To their surprise, my answer is simple, “Get involved”.

You don’t have to be the most outgoing person, but use the resources available to meet new people and participate in hobbies.

How to get involved:

-Meet your neighbors. I was very happy to have so many neighbors introduce themselves. But when outside working on the house or taking an evening walk, we make sure to wave and introduce ourselves. Neighbors love to talk about the area; and soon friendships begin.

-Join your neighborhood association. Our neighborhood is awesome. I would love to live here for a long time; and what better way to support the neighborhood but by joining the home association. I am the board’s secretary. This has given me a chance to know more people; and help make decisions to improve and grow neighbor relations.

-Join a church. If you are religious, join a faith community. Not only have we found a parish and school for our child, we found a community of friends who value our same beliefs. The Young Families Group plans fun picnics, book clubs and much needed, “Ladies’ Night Out” dinners.

-Volunteer at your child’s school. I made a strong connection with teachers; and gained some wonderful friendships with parents. I made an invaluable friend who is the best Thirty-One connection!

-Join a recreation center, pool or gym. This is a great way to meet new friends and get some exercise. It’s also nice to have your child play in a safe and supervised area while you workout.

-Use social media. One friend connected me with several women in the area for weekly playdates. Also, after noticing that I was a member of our neighborhood and church Facebook pages, a very dear friend immediately reached out to me. She figured we were going to meet at some point; why not now?

If your family is relocating in the future, I hope these suggestions help with a very smooth transition.

Hosting guests from out of town? This is a great time to exercise the art of being the perfect hostess. Recently,we hosted out-of-town relatives; and I wanted them to feel completely comfortable in their new environment and ready to explore my city.

The keys to being the perfect hostess are simple: plan ahead and cater to the comforts of your guests.

Examples:

Create a guest room that’s cozy and tranquil…a haven to relax while away. A clean room, fluffy pillows, fresh sheets and a comfortable blanket make your guests feel right at home and very refreshed.

Surprise your guests with a special treat in their room. Our relatives received a local favorite, Graeter’s Buckeye candy.

Fill the guest bath with fresh scents. Have a votive candle burning and fragrant moisturizing hand soap. Plus, large soft towels give a luxurious hotel experience.

If lunch and dinner are at local eateries, make a continental breakfast at home. Have your guests favorite coffee brewing and bake a homemade breakfast roll everyone will enjoy…..Cinnamon Crescents (recipe tomorrow).

Finally, create a full itinerary including activities, meals and down time. Planning ahead makes life easy on the hostess and creates a mini-vacation for your guests. This also allows everyone to plan outfits and pack easily.

Happy Hosting!

Exciting news! Thanks to my wonderful Thirty-One Gifts Representative, Modhousewife will be giving away the new Spring Cinch-It-Up Thermal Tote on February 2nd.

To enter contest, log onto Facebook and simply “like” the “Modhousewife.com” Facebook page. If you already “like” Modhousewife.com on Facebook, you are automatically entered.

Also, if you are interested in booking a party or online catalog party with my rep, Amy Burke, click on http://www.mythirtyone.com/aburke1. (No need to be a resident of Ohio)

Tomorrow I have a doctor’s appointment; and it’s not the examination or possible blood test that frightens me, it’s the waiting. After I enter the office and fill out the insurance papers, how long will I have to sit and wait for my name to be called? Then once I am in the examining room, how long will I wait for the doctor to see me?

Last summer, I had a post-op appointment at 10am. I was in serious pain; and still waited for 45 minutes for the medical assistant to call my name. Then I waited another 20 minutes until the surgeon entered the room. He reviewed my incisions and wrote me a prescription. Total Time With Doctor = 5 minutes.

I believe there is a waiting room conspiracy. The doctors want you to wait long enough for a new aliment to begin. I know after I wait that long (especially if I am in a hurry to make a meeting, pick up a child, etc.) my mental state goes south quickly. This conspiracy will enable doctors to make more money or refer you to another doctor in their pyramid scheme.

So when scheduling your next doctor’s visit, my only advice is to choose the first appointment of the day or the appointment right after the office lunch break. You are sure to see your doctor faster!

Note to Doctors: Schedule your appointments farther apart. Then there’s no rush, patients will be happy and no need to ever apologize.