The Blonde Diaries

Traveling soon? Check those Airline fees before you leave home

Just when we thought that maybe the nickel and diming fees being charged by airlines might be coming to an end with the rapid decline of oil, we are proven wrong. Delta is the latest and last legacy carrier to assess the checked bag fee for your 1st checked bag. This is coming on the heels of the Delta-Northwest Airline merger which closed last week. Delta is assessing this fee as a way to adopt selected Northwest policies which would benefit them. They also have joined US Airways (not a party to the merger) in assessing seat upgrade fees on selected seats in coach. What this means is if you want an aisle or window seat near the front of the plane you will have to pay them more money! So far it will only affect 10% of the seats in coach but I see that percentage rising in a few months with little to no notice.

Depending on how you plan on checking into your flight (at the airport or at home) make sure you check their website for the latest on which fees will be assessed so you can plan accordingly. If you are on a tight vacation or travel budget, you might even want to check these sites before purchasing your ticket so you can see the “full” cost of that ticket but most of these changes go into affect immediately and do not grandfather many people in.

As always, if you can fly Southwest as they are fee free, fast, and on time.

A budget travel tip learned from this last trip

Last week, my family and I flew up to Pittsburgh to see my grandmother before her surgery. We were not sure what our visit would entail so we did the normal planning and made hotel reservations for our stay and booked a rental car. Little did we know what was in store for us when we arrived, how much time would be spent in the hospital, and how easy it was to use the hotel shuttle back and forth between the two points. Needless to say, the $150 we spent on a rental car was very much wasted.

My point in the above posting is to communicate how efficient and safe public transportation and even private “one-way” transportation is when you go on vacation. In most big cities like Pittsburgh, Houston, and the New York metro area, there is no need to have a rental car because the cost of the rental doesn’t match your usage. I have been looking into a small weekend trip to the New York area. I’ve had a few friends go recently and my aunt was telling me about her girls weekend she had there a few months ago. I am not too sure what I am looking to do but I think it will involve mostly tourist attractions since it will be my first trip. I decided to test the transportation methods and found a Newark Airport Shuttle which runs from Newark to practically anywhere in New York City for a fairly reasonable fee. I figure once I am in the city at my hotel I will rely on taxi’s or the subway but the to and from the airport was a fairly large hole. Now with this shuttle service I have found an answer and a way to save a little bit of money. If you are traveling soon or planning a trip either to New York or another big city definitely think about using shuttle services.

More moving and packing pains

I wrote last weekend about the pains of trying to move in with Mike and attempting to merge households. It wasn’t going as well as I hoped from a furniture standpoint and now from a packing standpoint. I was trying to be proactive and start packing early. Well, some of our packing for the move and unpacking from the hurricane and vacation has resulted in the misplacement of his eyeglasses and nail clippers. Normally when I am picking things up before maintenance comes in I throw everything into my vanity drawers but they aren’t there when I look. I think they might be in a bag under my bed where I dumped some of our miscellaneous vacation items quickly last week. Wish me luck!

Disney Trip Planning: Just got back and here is what I learned!

No matter how hard you try and plan the perfect Disney vacation there are always things you will find out during and after your trip that you just didn’t know about before. So I have started making a list of items to make sure I either bring or don’t bring for when we are packing and planning for our September 2010 trip to Walt Disney World. I hope some of these items help you in your packing and planning!

• Band aids - you think 1 box of 60 is enough for a week but it is not!  Our feet were torn up from all of the walking we did and 2 boxes of 60 barely did the job.  Make sure to pack extras because a box of band aids at WDW is $5.
• Water - bottles of water run about $2 each.  We pack water in our suitcases (3 per gallon sized zip lock) to bring with us.  We drink about 3 bottles a piece per day.  One thing though is you can quickly get water logged by drinking this much water so to help out grab the powerade drink mixes (single servings) which will also help keep your energy up in the heat
• Thick socks help pad your feet better than thin socks.  No matter how broken in your shoes are I found I still had my shoes rubbing on my heels and also causing blisters near my toes.  The thicker socks and ankle high socks really helped protect my feet.
• Take afternoon breaks!  No matter when you go or where you go, it is hot and tiring.  Afternoon breaks even for just an hour in the hotel room will do wonders.  I also can’t tell you how many people didn’t bring their kiddos back for a break and by 8pm they were so miserable and unhappy and parents were having meltdowns trying to deal with a child having a meltdown.  It just doesn’t create a happy family vacation.
• Pop tarts are a fabulous breakfast food and easy to pack.  Ok maybe they are not nutritious but they are easy to eat on the go and you really don’t need a toaster or anything special to eat them.  We were able to eat 1 (1 tart not one pack) each morning at 7 and it would hold us till lunch time around noon.
• You are on vacation and do not need to eat healthily all the time.  Enjoy those Mickey bars, Dole Whips, and frozen bananas because they can’t always be found at home lol.

As I think of other things that we learned I will post them for all of you.  We had a fabulous time and can’t wait to go back.  If you have any specific questions about going, what to expect, where to eat, or about going in September please drop a comment.  I love to talk about vacations!

Disney News: Get in Free on Your Birthday Next Year!

Disney never surprises me with their promotions nowadays. For the past two years, Disney has been celebrating the “Year of a Million Dreams” where Disney has actually given out a million “dreams” in their theme parks each year ranging from free FastPasses, Mickey Ears, and a night staying in Cinderella’s Castle among many others. Next year, Disney is helping you celebrate milestones in your life with the promotion titled “What Will You Celebrate?” Guests celebrating a milestone such as their birthday, first trip, honeymoon, or graduation will be able to obtain a special pin from Guest Service locations throughout Disneyland in California and Walt Disney World in Orlando. Most people who celebrate milestones and wear these pins usually get a little extra attention in the parks by Disney Cast Members. If that isn’t enough, Disney is offering to those who decide to come to the parks on their actual birthday free admission. All you need to do is bring a valid ID and proof of your birthdate. If you already purchased admission you can elect to receive a gift card in the amount of a 1 day admission to the parks from Disney! For more information check out the Disney Parks website.

On a side note: I did celebrate my birthday at Disney in 2006 and it was fabulous. I enjoyed receiving a birthday cupcake at a few restaurants and a free photo from a Cast Member during my stay. It was really fun to wear the birthday button so make sure if you are celebrating your birthday to pick one up. Each park has a different button so try and collect all of them!