*Tent on Wheels at DISNEY* The Bare Necessities: Tips and Tricks

RDB and I are no strangers to camping and being prepared for things like poison ivy (my nemesis), or traveling with our pup (missed him this trip!), even taking some time away from the campgrounds and cruising, we were prepared for just about anything, but going to Disney, to a set of theme parks for two weeks, that was new.  So I scoured the internet, talked with my vacation planner, Heather, asked friends and colleagues who had gone before, and came up with a list of things that would be 'should haves' for our first visit to Disney. 

Here are a few thoughts on what you might want to have with you when you head to the most Magical Place on Earth!

The most useful "must have" for any Disney trip is a really great vacation planner ;-) I am so grateful that I've known Heather since high school and that she is so passionate about planning amazing trips for her clients (and friends!).  She was incredible in everything from answering the (tons of) questions that I had before we booked, to making advanced dinning reservations on our behalf (OMG, y'all, Le Celleir!) and not just in advance, but while we were there and decided we wanted to have it a second time (which is unheard of! But she was able to snag us another reservation just the day before!)  The level of service by way of her communication is second to none!  Not only is she on the spot whenever you're in the park (I can't tell you how many times I texted her on our trip to ask a random question, or thank her for a suggestion she made that was spot on!) she also sends you off with an extensive pre-trip package of information the week before the trip, including a play-by-play touring plan of your trip via an Excel file (Heather, you are my spreadsheet-soul-sister!) I'm a planner at heart, but Heather? Her whole heart is planning!! 

Thank you Heather! You made our trip magical! 

Items for use in the parks:

I'll start with the most obvious thing: Mickey Ears.  You'll have every opportunity under the sun to pick some up while you're in the parks, but you'll pay top dollar Disney price for them. I found fun pairs on both Amazon and Etsy for reasonable prices.   The hard part is going to be to narrow the number of them you bring to the number of days you have in the park!

So, it's Florida and you'll be outside in the parks having fun and it. Will. Rain.  Which means you should consider packing ponchos for everyone in your group (or again, pay the Disney prices; though I saw theirs, and they are definitely a thicker, reusable plastic - but then you have to refold and carry around a wet poncho.  Your choice!) 

Along the same lines of rain and wetness, be sure to take extra socks and shoes.  We walked thru a solid 3-4 inches of water during the worst of the downpour after stepping off the boat from Fort Wilderness at the boat launches of Magic Kingdom. Took all night with fans pointed at our shoes to dry them out. And trust me, with as much walking as you'll do, you're going to want good, dry shoes. (I'm a HUGE fan of going to a dedicated runner's shoe store (like Fleet Feet) to get fitted for shoes.  RDB and I both purchased new shoes for this trip and were so very glad that we did!)

Along with having a great pair of shoes since you'll be doing so much walking, consider bringing more socks that you would normally need. There is definitely something magical about coming home for your mid day break and changing socks.  I'm a big fan of this brand. Trust me, with good shoes and new socks, your feet will thank you!

But even with the best shoes and new socks, you might still find yourself with a blister starting on your foot somewhere.  Moleskin to the rescue!  I had one sheet in my backpack for the parks, precut into 1" squares, and was grateful I had it when (after our almost 7 mile EPCOT day) I started to develop a blister on my heel.  By simply covering the spot with a square of moleskin I was able to enjoy the rest of the day and the blister never turned into something painful that would have put a damper on the trip.  And one final thought - a bottle of BioFreeze can be your best friend to rub down those tired toes (or other aches and pains) after a long day walking in the parks!

Disney has really brought the magic of technology into the experience that you can have in the parks.  When you purchase your tickets, you receive a digital copy of them in your My Disney Experience App, but can also (for a nominal fee) buy a set of Magic Bands. A few weeks before our trip I purchased the least expensive bands ($10 each) and they arrived in the box above.  But, knowing that RDB and I both already wear our AppleWatches on a regular basis, I also purchased a set of Magic Band puck holders. 

Since you use the Magic Band (or really, the puck inside that band) for entrance into the parks, tapping in for your Lightening Lanes if you use Genie+, and can link your credit card to it for purchases at Disney properties, this was a few dollars well spent.  And? The 'magic' in the Magic Bands lasts for years, so this is a purchase that you can benefit from on several trips!

Like I mentioned, you'll use those Magic Bands (pucks) to 'tap in' for your Genie+ and Individual Lightening Lane rides, if you choose to buy the service for your park days.  I won't go into all the various strategies for trying to get the most out of Genie+, but I will say that the 2-hour rule was not that big of a deal for us, I just booked our first LLs later in the day, then set a timer for park opening, and every two hours after that.  Being able to 'buy' that time we would have spent in lines was worth the $15/pp to us.  Also, I found that being flexible on where and what we wanted to ride helped, too, but it meant we were back and forth to different sides of the park sometimes (especially at EPCOT).  We bought it for our first park day in each park, except for Animal Kingdom, which we rope-dropped. 

I wrote a full post on my thoughts about Disney's PhotoPass and Memory Maker service - you can find that over here.  Short story, it was definitely worth the money spent for us, I'm still sorting thru the hundreds of photos we have and loving them all! 

The last thing I bought specifically for our Disney trips was a Waterfly crossbody backpack.  We have several different backpacks at home, including a nice one I use when I travel with my laptops (one for blogging, one for work) but I didn't really want to be burdened with a full sized pack during our parks day, yet I knew we'd want something to carry around the necessities in.  So the crossbody Waterfly came highly recommended. I liked that we had multiple pockets,  the front flap with space to hold my ear headbands without them getting crushed, spaces for two water bottles, a key-keeper trap in the main pocket, and the over the shoulder strap that could be unhooked and rehooked to either side, making it convertible to your preferred shoulder (and easier to get off stepping onto a ride without having to but the straps over your head, often catching those Mickey Ears you're wearing!) It was a GREAT purchase. 

Items for the trip: 

It wouldn't be a Disney trip without fully immersing yourself in Disney decor - if you're staying at one of the hotel resorts, then you're already have that experience, but, much like door decorating on a cruise ship, it could be fun to add a little of your own.  I wrote up a post with links about how we decorated inside and outside the camper and our rented golf cart - you can read that over here. 

And you'll notice in that decor post that I talked about decorating the golf cart we rented, this was another item that I went back-and-forth on whether we should get it for our trip, and I'm so glad that we did! If you're staying at the campground at Fort Wilderness, having a golf cart to get around is perhaps not a must-have, but is certainly a fun splurge if you can budget it in! The campground has an internal bus system that will take you to the depots to catch a boat or bus to the parks, but its really nice to be able to get home from a long day in the park, jump on your golf cart, and head right back to your site.  It's also a lot of fun to have to play around on your non-park days. 

Definitely not a 'fun' thing about going to Disney World, but a useful item if you're traveling across by car - it was recommended in the Facebook camping pages I'd joined to stop in at the first Travel/Welcome center in Florida and get a Florida Toll Tag called the SunPass.  It was certainly worth it because it meant we didn't need to try to avoid the toll roads, and could simply let our GPS take us the most efficient routes to and from the Most Magical Place on Earth! 

I'm sure there are lots of other things I could list, but if I were going back to Disney again tomorrow, these are the "bare necessities" I'd want to have with me.  And though we aren't going back in the near future (boo!), we have reached out to Heather to look at another camping trip in the next two years!

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Be sure to check out our other posts from Tent On Wheels at DISNEY!  

Camp Cooking #12: Way Easier Watermelon

A trip to Lockhart State Park wouldn't be complete without dropping by the Farmer's Market in Lulling and picking up one of their famous watermelons!

Now, you might be wondering: how on earth is a post about watermelon necessary? I mean, you jut cut it, and enjoy it. Simple, right?

Well, yes! But I'm about to make it even easier for you!

It was honestly the SMALLEST watermelon we could find!

First, grab your supplies:

Watermelon

Large Knife

Cheese Cutter

Screwdriver

Salt

So, yes, a cheese cutter.  I would never have thought about this had I not seen Alton Brown post his secret weapon for watermelon cutting on Facebook during our trip - but it's AWESOME! and totally worth repeating.  Here we go:

Slice your watermelon in half width wise.

Cut it into two inch slices.

Cut a small slit into the rind.

Use the screwdriver to unscrew and remove the bar under the wire that determines the thickness of a cheese slice (when used for it's actual intended purpose...) from your cheese slicer.

Hello, new watermelon cutter!

With your new watermelon cutter, insert the wire into the slit you cut in the rind.

And follow the rind all the way around back to your starting point.

Now, pop the center fruit out from the rind.

And there you have it! Repeat for the other slices of your watermelon!

Cut your slices into wedges....

... sprinkle some salt over the top (coarse, kosher, or flakes is best!)....

and enjoy your perfect summer treat!

Lists, Lists, and More Lists

I thought that up-grading to a travel trailer would be pretty seamless, seeing that we already had outfitted the Pop-up and would just transfer all our camping gear over to the bigger rig.  What I didn't think about, is all the 'additional stuff' we'd need to get ourselves comfortably moved into our new space.

 

So, the following list(s) are by no means exhaustive - but they sure where exhausting!  And hopefully will be a point of reference for you if you make the move to the Darkside.  (P.S. - I'll probably add to this as time goes by, so check back occasionally!)

Stuff you already have, but  you're gonna need another set of if you still have your pop-up in the garage:
-Chocks
-Blocks/Bricks
-Tongue Lock


Water/Sewer Equipment- we never used the water in the Pop-up, so a lot of this was new to us:
-Dedicated White Water (drinking water safe) Hose
-Water Filter (connects between city water and trailer)
-Water Pressure Regulator (connects between city water and filter)
-Brass "Y" Faucet connector (so you can have water white and an additional hose simultaneously)
-Water Hose Gaskets
-Heavy Duty Gloves
-Sewer Pipe/hose (ours came with one - but I've heard horror stories about pin-hole leaks)
-Clear Black Tank Elbow
-Sewer Pipe/hose Nozzle
-Sewer Pipe/hose Off the Ground Holder
-HEAVY DUTY GLOVES
-Back Flow Preventer Valve
-RV Safe Toilet Paper
-Rid X (or other enzyme - liquid is preferable)
-Did I mention Heavy Duty Gloves?


Kitchen/Bath Stuff - a good bit is personal preference here, but these were things I 'needed':
-Tiny Dish Rack (it's cheaper at Wally World than Camping World, FYI)
-Cutlery Caddy (the drawers in the RV are too small for an in-drawer one)
-Tiny Baking/Cookie Sheets (I have an oven! wee!)
-Tinny Cookie Spatula (The cookie sheets are small)
-Bathmat (now that we have a shower, we'll be using it!)
-Shower Water Shut-off Valve (helps to save on water usage - Goggle: "Navy Shower")
-Tiny Trash Cans
-Wall Clock (because now I have walls!!)


Misc Stuff - again, optional:
-WD40 (you'd be surprised how much a squeaky bathroom door can annoy you)
-Drill (if you don't want to hand-crack down the stabilizers)
-Walkie Talkies
-Spare Keys (one set to stay in the truck, one set that lives with my car keys)
-DVDs (now that we have a TV!) for those rainy days
-Bedding and Pillows (those will permenantly live in the camper)
-Hangers (Closets! I have closet space!)

That Ain't Stock #4 - A Few More Misc Mods

So, our second camping season is drawing to a close.  We'll have one last trip up to Gladewater on Memorial Day weekend and we'll put this one in the books.  Now that we've gotten settled into the camper a bit, and a few mods (one, two, three) have already been completed, I thought I'd share just a few more of those little things that make our home-away-from-home just that much better.

Enjoy!





Before...

 

Remember how I complained about the door not having a handle at normal height?  And originally I fixed it with a bathroom handle and some Velcro?  Well, that didn't last too long.  The velcro wasn't strong enough to hold the handle on when you pulled the door shut - so, I replaced it with a Command Hook turned sideways. Where I was in love with Velcro on the last set of mods, on this one, it's all about the Command Hooks.

 

...After!

 

 Leash holder for the pup's stuff - also put on with a Command Hook.  (What I love about these hooks is that you can leave the base still attached, store the hook, and then fold the camper down without any trouble.)  I put his leash attached to the door, so that when he gives us, um, Diesel Bombs, we can just open the door, grab a doggie-bag off the leash, and clean up after him pretty easily.

 

Jackets and hats laying around, by far, are one of the most annoying things in the camper, to me. (I love you RDB!)  Wandering thru the isles of a local CVS, I found these cheap clips with hooks.  This is another one that will probably get re-worked - maybe better clips, cheap = they break often.

We always pick up a camp map (or trail maps) when we check-in, and they always seem to float around the camper till I end up throwing them out.  I devised a way to start hanging these from the curtain using and s-hook and a binder clip.  I've got two clip-sets up there, so I can hang the maps like artwork in the camper (can't tell you how many times this has come in handy with visitors - where are we? Where's the bathhouse? Where's the lake?)  The map comes down at the end of the trip, but the clips are so unobtrusive, they stay attched.

There's a few things in this one - but the newest is the hand washing station.  The last trip out with kiddos resulted in a very quick depletion of our babywipe supply, so I started hunting for another idea (thanks Pinterest!)  The blue aqua-tainer is filler with clean water, and has a roll of papertowels (holder from Target) bungee-corded to it for easy removal and storage.  There's a pump-bottle of hand soap on the table (clear with a blue top, hard to see in this photo) and then our 'dish pan' under the spigot to catch the gray water from handwashing.  To the right is our collapsiable trash can, and to the left, back on the table, is our potable water for drinking, doggie bowl, and coffee in the morning.  It makes for a pretty nice set up. 

In the background, you might notice the red and black five gallon bucket.  That's my Pickle Bucket.  You know - when you need to visit the girl's room in the middle of the night and the bath house is a half a mile away, and you don't have facilities in your camper... well, you're in a pickle.  You need a bucket.

The 5-gallon bucket comes from FireHouse Subs (just $2 in-stores, and it supports a great cause).  Obviously, any 5-gl bucket would do, but there's just some humor in calling it my Pickle Bucket (and I'm not sure I could offend an orange Home Depot bucket this way.)  The seat/lid is a Lugable Loo.   I use 13-gallon kitchen trashbags for liners - much cheaper than the 'branded' ones - and then carry a supply of cat litter for absorption/odor control.  And TP.  Always, always, always check the TP supply before you leave.  Otherwise, that campsite map you just hung up on clips earlier....   I swear, guys, ya'll have it easy.  Us girls have to think about things like this!!

Well, that's about it.  Thanks for stopping by and have a great camping season!!

Tips & Tricks #3: Camping is for the Dogs!

Because he might lick you to death.

By now, I'm sure you've figured out, we love camping - with our Pup.  I won't say it hasn't been challenging - from having to plan for his meals (he's on a raw diet) and all the looks you get from people who mistakenly think that he's aggressive, and having to figure out what to do with him while you're trying to set up and break down (come to find out - he likes to curl up in the driver's seat... and occasionally honk the horn!)  It can be tryinga t times, but I think any dog owner will tell you that the love and loyalty that a dog gives makes all the extra work worth while.

So, a few things that we do, or bring, to make the dog days of camping a bit more fun:

Notice the reflective collar - it's the first thing I grab out of the camper, as we're heading out, and change Diesel into.  Not only is it reflective, it's bright orange, and even lights up with a detachable rechargeable battery pack.  I was looking for something with high visibility for our deer-like dog while camping.  There's no mistaking him for wildlife when he's got his camping necklace on!

Attached to the collar are his dog tags - one that has all of his important, constant info engraved on it (name, our phone number, his rabies tag number, Harris Co. licence number, microchip and vet phone numbers) and another tag that is temporary. It has our check-in and -out dates on one side and the camp site number on the other.  I use a permanent marker and the metal-ringed paper tags (find them at the office supply store).  They've lasted through rain, dirt, and some chewing.  Good enough for a weekend trip - in case he gets loose, I want people to very quickly be able to return him to us.

And hopefully, we won't ever have to worry about him getting loose, because we use a trolley system to keep him in the campsite.  The red steel cable in the pic above attaches to another steel cable that runs between two posts we drive into the ground (or in this case, one post and one perfectly placed tree).  The trolley gives him the ability to have some space to roam around in, but be securely within the boundaries of our site.  Keep in mind, different campgrounds have different rules about dogs-on-leash and driving posts in the ground.  Most TX State Parks require no more than a 6' lead, but we've not had any problem with this system.  We make sure Diesel is well inside the boundaries of our site - and that there's plenty of space between him and the road.

Once inside the camper, we use a collapsible crate.  Diesel is crate trained at home, so he's very comfortable going in and laying down in his 'house.'  We bring the same blankets that he has in his crate at home so they smell like him and are familiar.  One gets placed over the top of the crate to make a 'cave' and the other is tossed inside for him to lay on - he's happy as can be to just lie in there and sleep.  This crate lives in the camper, folded down compactly and on the bunk end.  Since we don't need the extra bunk for sleeping and we use it for storage while we camp - it's become Diesel's bunk at this point, too!

We carry a box that's specifically for Diesel stuff - and this one goes with us on trips that aren't just camping trips, so it doesn't stay in the camper.  Let's see, there's a set of bowls, the trolley system I was talking about earlier, a small bottle of dog shampoo, some of his favorite treats (freeze dried salmon), the markers and tags from earlier, spare poop bags, a training snap (in the bowl), a spare leash, harness, and collar, and his dogie first aid kit (small white bag).  It contains the following:

• Instant ice pack
• Two sizes of sterile pads
• Tape (same stuff the vet gives us to post his ears)
• Triple antibiotic ointment
• Fine point sharp scissors
• Quick Blood Stopper (styptic powder)
• Q-tips
• Alcohol swabs
• Benedryl (1mg/10lbs)
• Ace bandage (in case we need to muzzle him)

It was also suggested that we take along a pair of pliers (in case of encounters with a porcupine or cactus) which we already have in the tool set in the camper, and also hydrogen peroxide (to induce vomiting) and I've got that in my Poison Ivy First Aid Kit.

So, that's our Diesel dog stuff.  Any other suggestions?

Diesel telling me how much he
 looooves to go camping!

That Ain't Stock #3 - More Misc Mods!

For those of you who loved the first ones, here we go with the next set of Misc Mods!!

Our version of Camp Driveway.  Gotta fight for space!



I can see you!, and you, and you...

Ok, starting with the Lone Ranger: we needed extension mirrors. A big thanks to O'Riely for having what I needed on the first stop!  They're a little clunky to put on (as to be expected, I guess) but they do the job.  WARNING: be careful when you go through the What-A-Burger drive thru with these puppies - I almost lost the driver's side one!



Battery operated, Velcro'd on.

We've done a few late-night set ups coming into camp after dark, and anticipate we'll do more as we camp on into the winter months.  I realized on our trip to Lake Livingston that the back of the truck is pretty dark - especially with the utility cap on it.  So, a trip to Wal-Mart and a $12 under counter /LED light later, and viola! Let there be light!

 



Speaking of Velcro....

Next up, we move on to a few camper mods. Now, for those of you who flip axles and re-do water pumps and all the technical stuff, I apologize! I know my way around a power drill but am totally inept when it comes to those kind of projects.  Now, give me a zip-tie or Velcro and I can rock your world!  And, hey, I'm not afraid to remove the jump seats from a truck if the need arises.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Yep, more Velcro.

I've got a set of Coleman LED string lanterns (my Tacky Lights) that fit perfectly across the awning and had been using zipties to secure them every time we set them up.  Hello, Velcro! It makes it a lot easier to get them up (and down) using the quick strips - you can get them at WalMart, 6 in a pack for a few bucks.  I use them on our SHW Gizmos, too. We pull all the slack to one side and then bundle it up.  The Gizmos stay on the camper permanently, so this keeps us from having to deal with tangled cords.





./`./`./` Here we go, Steelers! Here we go! ./`./`./` What can I say? I left Dallas not knowing the difference between a 'first down' and a 'down comforter' and started dating a guy from Pittsburgh. Now Black and Gold runs through my veins (I have family that say he brainwashed me.)  I ordered the Steelers mini-pennants online and used black and yellow gold felt to make the extras.  A quick run through the sewing machine and ta-dah! I've got spirit, yes I do, I 've got spirit, how 'bout you!  The extra ribbon on the ends just ties to the SHW Gizmo straps.

 

 

So, for those of you whom I just gave a headache to with my team-enthused-mod, let me offer you a cold one.  And on the chance that it's not a twisty-top beverage, I've got a mod to suit your tastes!  I attached this vintage looking bottle opener to the outside of the camper, on the front under the bunk end.  We keep the beverage cooler outside, typically under the front bunk end, so this was the logical place to attach this little trinket.

 

 

 

Moving inside the camper for this next one - I modified a mod.  A lot of campers out on the forums (hi ya'll!) have done a hard wire shelf that hangs off the bar across the end of the bunks.  I liked that.  RDB didn't - he has to sleep on the inside.  So, I came up with a compromise (More like, I installed this when he wasn't looking and hoped he'd be ok with it)   I bought an over-the-door shoe holder and cut it down to fit (just two rows of pockets) and then used zip-ties to attach it to the bunk end support.  Now we've got a place for all the little stuff that collects on the countertops and drives me crazy.  And, since it's soft mesh, it stays attached and simply folds in with the rail and lays on the mattress.

Out to the camp kitchen - I installed a cheap (read: less than $2 at Target) paper towel holder on the stove that can be inside or out.  The front edge was the only place were I could get the screws lined up nicely, but it does get a little in the way of where you're standing while you're cooking.  It's a little thing for the ease of having the towels right at hand. NOTE: They do tend to catch the wind here (see the photo) so placing the last one on the roll under the lighter I keep in the little tray, keeps the paper towels from flying away!

Of course, now that we've got such an awesome custom camper, everybody's gonna want to take it home with them, so, we had to get a security system put in. 

Until next time - may the sun shine brightly on you, and may it only rain during the week!