Liz Hough, Author at LiBT Agents ONLY site

The “Mom Guilt” of Traveling

Should I feel the “Mom Guilt” traveling for work?

This week I wanted to talk about a business trip I took a month ago to a family friendly Orlando destination without the kids! Oh boy, did I feel guilty for not taking them but I did learn a big lesson. Read my article to find out what it was.

Take a look at my article on Should I feel the “Mom Guilt” traveling for work?….CLICK HERE

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I fell in LOVE with the Parks at Universal Studios Florida!

A few weeks ago I talked about my resort experience at the Loew’s Royal Pacific Hotel on Universal Orlando™ property. This week I want to talk about the changes I saw at the parks since having been there last in 1994.

One thing I like to do when I travel to a place that I haven’t been in a really long time is to imagine that I have never been there. Why do I do this? Easy, then I won’t be disappointed. If I really liked a place, and it changed into something hugely commercial, tacky, with poor customer service, then I tend to be disappointed. Now 23 years ago there was no Islands of Adventure™ and Universal Studios Florida™ could be done in only 6 hours. Not on this trip! It took us a good 2 days to get through everything, but we also had a secret in our pockets, Unlimited Express Passes!

When you stay at the Loew’s Royal Pacific, Hard Rock Hotel, or Portofino Bay Resort you will automatically receive complimentary Unlimited Express Passes. This pass allows you to go to the front of the line on select rides an unlimited amount of times during your visit. (Shhh, don’t tell anyone I am comparing this but for Disney people this is like having FastPasses for almost every ride!) If you aren’t staying at one of those resorts, but are at one of the other resorts you can pay an additional fee for this Unlimited Express Pass or the Express Pass, which allows you to skip the line once per ride. I prefer the Unlimited Express Pass because you are able to go to the front of the line an unlimited number of times for your favorite rides.

Having the extra passes was very helpful on our first day in Islands of Adventure™. When I first walked through the gates, which had no lines because security is handled way before you get to the gates, I was amazed by the façade. For me it felt like I was at the North Pole and Moroccan trading marketing at the same time, which gave me a very warm happy feeling. Being on property resort guests, we were able to enter Islands of Adventure™ at 8am but we were directed to Harry Potter® world of Hogsmeade. If you are a Harry Potter® fan, walking into Hogsmeade is like the very first time you sat down to watch the first Harry Potter® movie, AMAZING! I felt like I was actually in the world of Harry Potter® . Now Harry Potter® world is split over both parks and if you want to ride Hogwarts Express you must have the park to park ticket, and as much as I loved riding the train, it was not my favorite part of the Harry Potter® worlds. My favorite part was in Universal Studios Florida™ the ride Escape from Gringotts. A 3-D roller coaster taking you on a journey through Gringotts bank while escaping from He Who Must Not Be Named! But first you have to find Diagon Alley in Universal Studios Florida™, which is hidden behind a huge façade.

Let’s head back over to Islands of Adventure™ because I really was amazed at how real, authentic, and alive the attractions felt to me. The amount of thought, care, and detail to plan out each attraction was the most surprising and exciting part of being there. In Jurassic World™ the dinosaurs looked so real, and the ride made me feel like I was in the movie. On the Kong ride, there were many times I felt like the truck was falling but it was just the 3D effects and mechanics of the ride. I can go into each section of Islands but this would begin to get long. One last thing I will say about Islands of Adventure™ is that no matter which section you are in, you really, truly feel like you are part of that world.

Now, let’s dive into Universal Studios Florida™, the originally built portion. It is so much larger than it was 23 years ago, but to me the attention to detail was not as strong as the Islands. It felt more like an amusement park than an experience, except when you are in Diagon Alley. However, that all changes once you enter a building to get on a ride. WOW, you are thrown head first into that attraction. You feel like you are talking to Jimmy Fallon while racing around the streets of New York City, or looking down on the headquarters of Men in Black while waiting in line to shoot aliens with lasers. The details that go into the rides, are like no other amusement park I have ever been to.

Overall, I loved my experience as Universal Orlando® and we will be taking the kids there soon. Most rides you need to be 40 inches or taller to ride, but the play lands in Islands will keep those under 40 inches entertained for hours. I must warn those who experience motion sickness on 3D simulator rides, this may not be the destination for you. There are several rides where you have to wear 3D glasses to experience the full effect. The effects are amazing, but will make you feel a bit off the rest of the day.

Call me to book your next Universal Orlando vacation with your family. If you are thinking you want to split your time between Universal Orlando and Disney, that’s easy! We can easily set that up for you.

Mary is a graduate of the Disney’s College of Knowledge and a Universal Orlando Specialist.

NOTE: All Photos taken by Mary Yohannan, Rights Reserved

Must-have car items for kids on longer trips.

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You may not be flying anywhere, but traveling by car is a must for family trips this summer. Our family travels all over the Tri-state area during the summertime, which means long car rides. So what are my must-have items every time we have a car ride? I am about to give away my favorite, must-have items:

1. Smart tablets. I am a huge proponent of bringing along the Smart tablet or DVD player for the car, if your car doesn’t have a built in system already. Since so many phones can act as hotspot, why not bring the Smart tablet and let the kids play some educational games or watch some movies.
2. Snacks. As soon as we leave the house, the first things I always hear is “what is for a snack?” Pack a cooler with their favorite snack and drinks. I even pack a few bottles of milk for the kids to help curb their appetites until we are able to stop for a meal.
3. Blanket and Pillow. It may be hot outside, but inside the car the air-conditioner is blowing full blast. My kids are always telling me they are cold, so I pack a small blanket for each one of them, and they bring a small pillow to lay their heads against in their car seats. Sometimes they even fall asleep and the silence in the car is so relaxing.
4. Dollar bin items. It is amazing what you can find at your favorite stores dollar bin. Some of my favorite items to grab for less than $3 are the coloring items. At one of the stores we go to, right in the front they have their $5 and under bins. They change the items seasonally but it also seems weekly. There have been various bags with the kids favorites characters and in each bag there are coloring pencils, pads of paper, stickers, and erasers. This item is great for the car, the restaurant, and the hotel room.
5. Games, Games, Games. There are so many games you can play such as “I Spy with my Little Eye…” or “License Plate” where you don’t need any additional materials to play. One of my favorite games to make is Car Bingo. You can make your own version using cardboard paper or buy one at the store, but there are various items you need to see such as a cow or a food truck. You either close the flap on the board, or but an “X” over the item, and the first person to get to their items crossed off either horizontally, vertically, or diagonally wins Car Bingo.

There are so many fun ways to make your car trip exciting, and these are just a few of my favorite must-have items to help the time pass on our car rides. I hope you can tell us some of your favorite must-have car items, and remember…Life is Better Traveling!

Flying with kids Pt III

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How to Keep Your Sanity

You survived preparation and you kept them occupied at the gate. Now comes the most challenging time, keeping them occupied on the plane. In parts 1 and 2 of my series I talked about how I get the look of “you better keep those kids quiet on this flight or I am not going to be happy” and how to keep them occupied at the airport terminal. But each time we fly, we get complimented on how well behaved our children were on the flight.

I know it is not easy flying with kids, but I want to give you some tips that may help you get those same compliments on your next flight.

Don’t rush to board the plane. The sooner you get on the plane the sooner the kids start to ask when is the plane leaving. If it is a large flight and you have per-arranged seating, then take your time boarding.
Talk to the flight attendants as you step foot on the plane. There is always at least one flight attendant there to welcome you, ask them how their day is going or if this is their first or last flight of the day. My husband always makes good with the flight attendant so if we ever need anything, they are much quicker to respond to us.
Make sure you have everything you need in the bag you are going to put under the chair in front of you. You can easily get to the bag under the chair but not the one in the overhead bin.
Let the kids sit where they want to. Even if you have assigned seating and you are assigned the window but they want it, give it to them. If you have two or more kids that want the window seat, then tell them that each of them will have the seat for a certain amount of time.
Wipe down the tray tables, arm rests, and seat belts with antibacterial wipes. Once the kids start asking for their toys, you will feel better giving it to them to play with on a clean surface.

Tips for keeping the kids occupied:

Get out those window clings I talked about in Part 2 of this series. While waiting for everyone else to board the plane and/or during take-off they can decorate the window and the underside of the tray table.
Books are always a good thing to have on the flight. I personally find that small coloring books, sticker books, and/or wipe-down books are fun for the kids and keeps them occupied for some time.
Yes, I dare say it… SMART TABLET! Before you leave your house, load movies onto their or your smart tablet. Nowadays, when you purchase a DVD of a movie you sometimes get the Digital HD version too. Download them so the kids have a movie or two to watch. You can also download some of their favorite games to play, but just make sure that they won’t need WiFi to play them.
When the flight attendants bring drinks, this is usually a good time to give the kids their favorite snack. Even though they may have eaten a meal at the airport, giving them a snack helps keep their energy up and you won’t have that hunger meltdown during landing.
If your child is still using a binky or pacifiers make sure you bring plenty along. This helps to keep them calm, and it will also help with their ears for altitude changes. I find that my children fall asleep with having their binky and the gentle sway of the airplane. This makes me happy because now I have time to relax and take in a movie too.
Bring a small blanket and pillow. We have a small blow-up pillow that helps the kids get more comfortable in the seat. They like the sense of cozy with a blanket around them.
Get out their favorite toy. At some point during the flight they may get antsy and start to kick the seat in front of them. A good way to keep your child from kicking the seat in front of them is by putting their favorite toy in the pocket in front of them. They will think you are being silly by putting it there but if I tell my child that her toy needs to be secured in a seat, just as she is, and that the pocket is her toy’s seat, there are no questions. This eliminates kicking the seat and an angry person in that seat.

I hope some of these tips will help you and your family the next time you fly with your little ones, and as always…Life is Better Traveling with SAFE TRAVELS!

Flying With Kids Part II

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Check me out!

I was recently honored to be chosen as a contributor for the Pittsburgh Moms Blog℠ in Pittsburgh, PA. I am able to talk about all things mommy related, but I really wanted to stick to my experiences as a Travel Agent Mom. I help plan so many amazing vacations for families, but the moms are the ones that confide in me about anxieties they have taking their kids on vacation. Whether they have an anxiety about a long car ride, if the resort will have enough to keep them occupied, dining options, or flying with kids, I am always there to listen and give advice. My favorite advice to give is from personal experiences, so I have decided to dedicate my posts with Pittsburgh Moms Blog℠ to my personal experiences of traveling with kids.

Take a look at my second article on How to Keep Your Sanity when Flying with Kids Part II….CLICK HERE

Check Me Out!

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Take a look at my first article on How to Keep Your Sanity when Flying with Kids….CLICK HERE

Save time when you do this…

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How do you get ready for your vacation?

Check lists, organizational chart, or throw it all in one bag?

I am going on a trip this week and even though I plan, arrange, and make sure all my clients have everything they need, I am finding myself a bit out of sorts. I have been getting together our paperwork, making sure that we have all the arrangements finalized, the document holder is ready to go (yes, the exact same one I give to all my clients I use too), luggage ready, passports, etc. So why do I feel like I am missing something?

I have a travel checklist I give my clients each time they take their trip to ensure they don’t forget anything. This list includes everything they might or are going to need. Documentation, identification, toiletries, clothes, electronics and charging devices, sunscreen, skis, surfboard, etc. Some of the things on the list most people will never take in their travels. I wanted to create a list for all travelers going anywhere so I included everything from the basics to a bit of the exotic.

I am a checklist kind of person. Unlike my husband who will throw everything in his bag the night before, I pack several days in advance to make sure I give myself time to remember everything. So as I am going through my checklist I am finding it really easy to get my stuff together. I have it all laid out on the bed in our spare bedroom or as my toddler calls it, Yia-Yia’s room as my parents sleep here when they are over. Everything looks in order but I still feel like I am missing something.

Now when you travel in the United States if you forget something you just go to the local store and get it. When you travel internationally there is the confusion of which store sells what? There were some stores in Europe that I had no idea what they sold until I physically walked through the door! Depending on what you need or how bad you need it at the time, you may want to be walking in and out of stores. Now we aren’t going far, the Bahamas, and the cruise ship will have stuff too. I am sure we would be able to find whatever we forget in the Bahamas but it has been almost 25 years since I was last there, I may have trouble finding it. The good news is, I still can’t figure out what I am missing so I may not have to find it.

I was telling my husband that I feel like I am forgetting something. This is the thing you do when you are forgetting something, you ask the person who throws it all together at the last minute. He kindly reminded me that I feel this way about every trip. It seems to be more on my mind when traveling internationally. I guess I could go a few days without vitamins or deep conditioning my hair. After all people for thousands of years lived without these things, I can live without them for four nights.

So with this last thought, I guess it doesn’t matter how you pack for your trip. Even having a checklist doesn’t guarantee me to remember everything. If you forgot something, and hopefully it is something you can live without for a few days at a time, you will survive. So the next time pack for your trips and feel this way, know that you aren’t alone, your travel agent feels the same way when she packs.

P.S. CLICK HERE…I am giving away our check list for FREE just for reading this article. THANK YOU!

New at Disney

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What’s new at Walt Disney World ?

This is going to be a great year to take a Walt Disney World Vacation and I am excited to tell you why! January through March, guests can enjoy Disney After Hours at the Magic Kingdom®. This is a great time to take advantage of little to no wait times for over 25 rides and attractions. For adults or adults with teenagers who stay up late into the night, this is a great opportunity to take advantage of some family bonding time. The Magic Kingdom® is usually open until 2am and to keep you going through the night, snacks and bottled beverages are provided. This event is an extra ticketed event, so be prepared to pay around $149 per person.

For the last four years Disney has been hinting at a whole new land in the Animal Kingdom® theme park and we have all seen the renderings, but it looks like it is finally to go open this summer. Pandora – The World of Avatar will have several new attractions including Na’vi River Journey. This ride puts you into a canoe like boat that takes you down a river with the exotic glowing plants and interesting creatures. If you are looking for more of a thrill, then try Avatar Flight of the Passage which will allow you to experience flying with banshees.

Even though the new Star Wars themed land at Hollywood Studios isn’t open yet, that doesn’t mean Disney isn’t taking advantage of adding in new characters from the latest Star Wars Movie. Advanced Weapons Research or AWR are now part of a new scene in the “Star Wars: A Galaxy Far, Far Away” show. There are also new props from Rogue One: A Star Wars Story movie at the Star Wars Launch Bay, and new footage of the behind the scenes of the movie. I was going to talk about this in my next newsletter but I am too excited so I am going to share it now!! Are you ready, this is so exciting?!? If you are a Star Wars super fan, there is now a 7-hour guided tour led by a Star Wars “all-in the know” tour guide!! This tour includes front of the line access to Star Tours, an in-depth tour of the new Launch Bay, Jedi training (ages 4 -12), Star Wars themed menu items from the Backlot Express, and to end it all off, prime seating with sweets and specialty beverages for the Star Wars: A Galactic Spectacular Dessert Party. The number of people on the tour is limited so I highly recommend making reservations in advance.

If you had been to WDW in 2016 you may have been surprised that Hollywood Studio® was half the park it used to be. Don’t worry, all good changes are on their way with new and exciting rides and attractions. They also have recently opened PizzeRizzo, a two-story eatery that serves fresh salads and personal sized pizzas. If you have always been a big fan of Rizzo, like myself, then this is must stop quick service restaurant. A quick note, all quick-service dining plans have removed the dessert from the meal. In return they have added an extra snack to the plan so now everyone on the plan will receive 2 snacks per night of stay.

The Muppets are jumping theme parks! They will still be in Hollywood Studios® entertaining people with their quirky MuppetsVision®, but they now have their own show that plays several times a day in the Magic Kingdom® in front of the Hall of Presidents. Get ready for Kermit the Frog, Miss Piggy, Fozzie Bear and The Great Gonzo in “The Muppets Presents…Great Moments in American History” where they put their spin on the what they believe were the greatest moments in history. This is a live show so you never know what is going to happen.

Epcot is the theme park to go to for their festivals. They host the Food and Wine Festival and the Flower and Garden Festival to name a few. This winter for the first time, Epcot will be hosting the Festival of the Arts which combines visual, culinary, and performing arts all in one place. For six weeks only, you can take art classes, watch Broadway Style singing shows, and feast on delicious creations that, of course in Disney style, look too good to eat! They are only running these special exhibits for six weeks and on Friday, Saturday, Sunday, and Monday’s only.

MagicBands are now part of your everyday wardrobe when you are at Walt Disney World, and I still truly believe have revolutionized the efficiency of how Disney can handle so many people. I am surprised in the last 4 years that Disney hasn’t redesigned the MagicBand to make it sleeker looking, and easy to wear, but wait they have! They have redesigned the look a bit so that it is more flat to your wrist and a bit wider. You will still have all the amazing benefits that the MagicBand had in the past, but now with a cool design.

Walt Disney World has so many changes coming up that I just want to help book everyone an amazing family Disney vacation. Make sure to contact me to book your next Disney vacation because you never know what new changes are coming or have been made!!

P.S. Call me this year to plan your AMAZING Disney vacation. I always recommend to start planning your Walt Disney World vacation 8 to 12 months in advance so we can start planning everything out for you.

Travel Protection covers you for….

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Let’s talk about what you get with Travel Protection, because you may be missing out!

You have been saving up your money for a few years to take your dream vacation. You are at the airport and the gate attendant announces the flight will be delayed due to mechanical issues. This delay causes you to miss your connecting flight to your final destination. Many hours later you get to your destination, and you slipped on a wet spot in the lobby landing flat on your back. You feel a pinch, and have trouble standing up straight and walking. At this point you wonder if the universe is telling you that you shouldn’t have taken this vacation, then you remember, YOU HAVE TRAVEL PROTECTION! You can use your travel protection to cover all of these weird occurrences.

Facts show that 17% of those who traveled had their travel impacted by medical problems, natural disasters like a hurricane, or mechanical/carrier caused issued which delayed their trip for more than 3 hours. When you have purchased travel insurance, also called travel protection, there are three main services that you are getting:

1. Medical Coverage

Most insurance plans, including Medicare and Medicaid, do not cover a person outside the borders of the United States. Your credit card may have some medical coverage, but you may have had to purchase your trip with that card, and even then, the coverage amount is minimal. Hospitals outside of the United States will require a person to make full payment before they are allowed to leave the hospital, no matter how much the charges may be. This could lead to a financial hardship on the whole family. With Travel Insurance, you have several tiers of medical coverage and it can either act as your primary medical insurance or secondary medical insurance.

2. Travel Arrangements

There are many things that can happen including trip cancellation, trip delay, and trip interruption. Life happens and sometimes things happen right before a trip that forces you to cancel but the supplier might have 100% non-refundable cancellation policy. But your travel insurance doesn’t and you can recoup the cost of that trip not taken. Did you know that when you have trip interruptions you can be reimbursed for meals, lost luggage, and missed connections?

3. Concierge services

Most people don’t realize that travel insurance companies offer this service. Want to go golfing? Call the travel insurance company and they will set up a tee time for you. Did you forget to send flowers to your mother for her birthday before you left to go on vacation, call the travel insurance company and they will send flowers, balloons, or a cake. There are so many possibilities to use this service and it is all part of the plan you purchase.

Travel Protection is for everyone who is going to take a vacation or even a small trip. If your credit card offers travel protection, you really need to make sure you check what is covered, how much is covered, and if you need to have purchased your vacation with that card to get the coverage. Since becoming a travel consultant, I have been purchasing travel protection for myself and my family even when we take small trips here in the United States. Why do I do this? I know that it is there if I need to use it, I know how much I am covered for, and if I need any reservations somewhere I can call the concierge services to do it for me. Oh, and it also gives me peace of mind.

Stayed tuned for next week’s newsletter about knowing what you get when to purchase travel protection. Also, if you know someone who is about to take a vacation and haven’t purchased travel protection, please forward this email onto them and tell them to sign-up for my HIGH CONTENT newsletters about travel at LifeisBetterTraveling.com.

Why you may want to check your luggage

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Do you have anxiety about checking your luggage at the airport?

You may never have to worry about that again!

When you buy a plane ticket today, one of the questions you are now asked is if you want to pre-pay for any checked luggage. The last thing you want to think about is checking your luggage if your vacation is months away. Checked luggage causes thoughts of mishandling, stress packing, and anxiety. Many people have been too afraid to check a bag that they have mastered packing their carry-on. But what if the airport could guarantee that 99.5% of the time, all luggage would not be mishandled?

Each year the amount of mishandled luggage is actually decreasing. In 2014, according to SITA, the world’s leading air transport IT and communications specialist, airlines mishandled 7.3 pieces of luggage per 1000 passengers and in 2015 the number dropped to 6.5 pieces of luggage per 1000 passengers. Considering there were 3.5 billion people who flew worldwide in 2015, one might argue that this is still a large amount of mishandled luggage. So what are the airlines doing that the rate has gone down?

In 2005 the McCarran International Airport in Las Vegas introduced RFID technology in tagging checked luggage. Most passengers would not even know that their piece of luggage has an RFID chip on it, as the chip is embedded in the tag that looks similar to the old barcode tag. The barcode tag system has a high accuracy rate of 80 – 95% but since implementing the RFID tag, they have found an accuracy rate of 99.5%. This means that when a piece of luggage is mishandled, instead of deploying teams of people to find luggage that looks similar and scanning the barcodes, they can send out a signal and know exactly where the piece of luggage is at the airport.

But it is 2019, why aren’t all airports doing this? Most airports allow the actual airline to control their luggage handling, where McCarren decided to take it over. The good news is that one of the largest airlines in the industry, Delta, has been slowing implementing this into various airports and seeing almost 99.9% accuracy rates of finding mishandled luggage. IATA, International Air Transport Associate, has insisted that all airlines implement a system where they are able to track each bag, step-by-step, from the checkpoint to its destination by 2018. Having this type of system in place will really give the traveler peace of mind that their luggage will be at their destination when they land. It will also cut the amount of costs that the airlines have to pay out for mishandled luggage.

It sounds like soon Life will be Better Traveling!