06 June 2023

Travelling with a toddler is far from easy. But over the past couple of years we have found some ways to make our trips manageable with a toddler in tow. 1) Snacks. Snacks. Snacks. I can’t tell you how many times a day our 3 year old will say ‘snaaaack’. We always make sure we have packed plenty of her favourite snacks. On flights, we have a lunch box with separate compartments. She now knows this is her aeroplane snack box and gets excited when we get it out on the plane. 2) Preparation. Before we go anywhere new we always sit down and watch videos together of where we are going. Before we go on a flight, we sit and watch videos of airports and aeroplanes. We love to watch cruise ship videos too - maybe more for my benefit aswell! 3) Go with the flow. How your day goes depends on your toddlers mood, right? We have learnt that if she wants a nap, let her nap. If she wants to go swimming, we go swimming. Plans change all the time on holiday with a child so it’s easier to just go with the flow.

16 March 2023

We have travelled many times to Disney World, but this was our first time taking our 2 year old with us. To say I was excited was an understatement. Some people told us we were crazy to take a toddler on a 9 hour flight, but anything to see the mouse! Having plently of entertainment is key when flying with a young child. I bought lots of brand new toys to keep her entertained along with a bag full of snacks. The key to doing Disney with a toddler is to not get upset when things don't go to plan. There were so many times when I found myself having to take a step back and say 'Let's go back to the room for a rest'. Because it can become too much for young children, and I think as adults we sometimes forget that as we just want to make the holiday as magical as possible. I was so excited to get a family picture with Mickey Mouse, but as soon as Willow saw him she burst into tears and from then on she wouldn't go near any other characters! Maybe next time!! My favourite moment was on It's a small world. Willow spent the whole time pointing and looking around her with a massive smile. I didn't watch the ride - I just watched her face gleeming, and that to me is the Disney magic. For the first time I saw it through someone else's eyes and it was pure magic. We are going back again for her third birthday in April and we will just take each day as it comes. We might even get a family picture with Mickey!

10 October 2022

I was recently invited to Disneyland Paris to experience the new Avengers Campus and join in with the 30th anniversary celebrations. After flying with Air France direct from Manchester to Paris, we checked in at Disney’s Cheyenne resort. This hotel is based around the Wild West and our room was a Woody’s round up standard room. The hotel is very spread out with rooms on 2 levels in the buildings – note there are no lifts at this hotel but you can request a ground floor room. We made our way to the Disney parks which was about a 20 minute walk. A bus is available though. Having been to Walt Disney World more times that I can count, this was my very first trip to Disneyland Paris. I was worried that the magic wouldn’t be the same – but how wrong I was. Upon entering the Disneyland Park, the butterflies filled my tummy and I felt the Disney magic. From the music playing down main street to the smells of treats coming from the confectionary store. This was Disney. We had the Disney Premier access which meant on selected rides we effectively skipped the queue. This was great and I highly recommend purchasing for the duration of your trip. The next day we had tours of the Disney hotels including the new Art of Marvel hotel. Just wow. This hotel is modern with a twist of Marvel. Everywhere you look something catches your eye. There’s also an exclusive area just for resort guests where you can take Marvel pictures and maybe meet some special guests! The other hotels we toured were Sequoia Lodge and Newport Bay Club. Both incredible hotels a 10 minute walk away from the parks. Disneyland Paris had it all. What I really loved is that everything is in one area. You can get something to eat in Disney Village and then walk straight to the parks. There’s no waiting for buses like in Disney World. Would I go again? 100%. I’ve already booked my family holiday to return next year!

15 August 2022

Our daughter has a milk allergy and has done since birth, so you can imagine when it comes to eating out we have to be very careful. At home we have our go to pubs and restaurants and know what she can eat off the menu, always double checking though. However, when it comes to travelling, it brings a whole new lot of anxieties for us. On our recent P&O cruise on Iona, we did struggle a bit at first, but I think that was down to us not asking what was available for our daughter. On the second night, our waiter informed us that we could pre-order her food the day before and the chef would make sure her allergies were catered for. The Head server came across and took our details and her food preferences. We then did this every evening, and her food was always ready for us once we were seated. On our 3rd day we had booked a table at The Olive Grove which has some additional charges to items. Our server that day was incredible and asked us exactly what our daughter would like to eat even if it wasn’t on the menu. He then went into a different restaurant to get her food. We rebooked this restaurant a couple more times and the waiter always remembered what our little girl wanted to eat. Where we struggled though was the buffet. All the foods are labelled for allergies but when you are in a line and trying to carefully read each label it can be very time consuming when you have a hungry toddler so we soon realised that eating in the main dining rooms was the way forward. Dairy free spread and a range of alternative milks are available if you ask across the ship. I cannot fault the P&O staff for their hard work and for putting our minds at ease. Not once did we feel we were being a bother. If they couldn’t answer our questions, they would always find someone who could.

15 August 2022

We have recently returned from our Norwegian Fjords cruise sailing on P&O’S new ship, Iona. We have previously sailed on P&O on Britannia in 2017, and to be honest, it wasn’t the right fit of cruise ship for us. However, we thought we would give P&0 another chance and found the perfect sailing for us on the recently launched Iona. We booked a deluxe balcony room to give ourselves some extra room as we needed to put the cot up for our toddler. This cruise honestly surprised us in so many ways. We normally cruise on Disney Cruise line, who are known for their impeccable service, and the service we received on Iona was comparable to this. We were always greeted wherever we went and they made such a fuss of our little one always trying to make her smile. We had lots of conversations with people and nothing was ever too much trouble. Food is a big part of our holidays and the food we sampled on Iona is some of the best we have had cruising. One night we booked a table at the Beach House and my husband ordered the fillet steak. My husband (who will admit he is hard to please!) said it was the best steak he has had in a good 10 years! Now that is a compliment! There are so many different areas to this ship that there’s something for everyone. Our daughter sampled the kids club whilst we sat in the adults only bar one day and I enjoyed a relaxing time at the spa sampling the Hydrotherapy pool and a massage another day. Whilst onshore, we chose to discover our ports of call ourselves, something we love to do when cruising. We would not hesitate to book on Iona again and we would probably do the same itinerary again too!

14 June 2022

Magic. That’s the only way to descibe it. Whether it’s your first time or your 51st time, walking down Main Street and seeing Cinderella’s castle is just pure magic. It’s a feeling in your tummy. It’s the smile on your face. It doesn’t matter your age, everything just disappears in this moment. I’ve been travelling to Walt Disney World since I was 7 years old. First staying in a villa, and then staying in Disney resorts. My favourite ones being Disney’s Polynesian and Disney’s Boardwalk. The last time we visited we mixed things up a bit! We went on a 23 night adventure incorporating lots of different Disney elements – and some none Disney things too! This included a stay at Disney’s Beach Resort in Vero, stays at Disney’s Polynesian and Disney’s Animal Kingdom resorts in Orlando, and to finish a spectacular 7 night Disney Fantasy cruise around the Caribbean.That’s what I love so much about our Disney holidays. They have never been the same. Each year we go I create a different itinerary for our family. We eat at different places. We see the different shows. And the magic is alive every time. Whilst staying at the beach, we ventured further afield in our enormous hire car, something we have never done before! We took day trips to Kennedy Space Centre, did a brewery tour and even saw crocodiles on an airboat ride. The next time we go in October, we will have a completely different experience. Our 2 year old daughter will be experiencing the magic for the first time and I can’t wait to see the smile on her face and live the magic through her.