The Organized Mom Traveler: An In Depth Interview
When I asked Macy to describe her travel mom style and she used the words ‘organized’ and ‘balanced’, I knew her interview was going to be chalk full of amazing family travel advice. And I was right! Read on for some amazing tips to planning the perfect family trip – from Disney World to Europe!
Adventure Mom Macy By The Numbers
Macy is mom to one adventure kiddo, a five year old who just started elementary school. She balances being a mom with a full time job as a Customer Success Director at a tech start up. Somehow between those two jobs she has managed to travel to 22 countries across 3 continents and 32 states. Her daughter is only 5 and has already been to 11 countries!
Have You Always Loved Traveling?
I have loved traveling since a young age. Growing up, my dad traveled often for work, and my siblings and I were homeschooled so we were able to tag along. He would mainly go to East Coast locations, but my mom was terrific about finding fun things to do wherever he was working. That is where my love for small towns and unique adventures started. It wasn’t until I was 21, when I traveled internationally for the first time to Paris, Brussels, and Amsterdam, that my yearning to see more of the world truly began.
How Do You Find Time For Travel?
Planning very far in advance and being organized. I have a note on my phone with travel ideas for the next three years. I started this when my daughter was born and use it as a starting point for planning our vacations. I attempt to plan all of a single year’s worth of travel by the summer of the year before and it’s worked for us! I sit down with my notepad, calendar, school calendar, work holiday calendar, and budget tracker then map it all out. It takes a few hours, but I enjoy doing it!
I am sure to leave room for a few “spontaneous” long weekend trips, day trips, and mental health days throughout the year as well.
I also make it a point to ensure my daughter feels involved in our decisions. For example, we asked her which type of vacation she preferred this year in order to decide where to go for her spring break. This way she is able to participate in the planning and start getting excited alongside us!
What Advice Can You Give To Families Who Are nervous to start traveling with young kids?
Start with a staycation or a nearby road trip, and work your way around from there! I strongly believe in “loose plans,” but mainly going with the flow. Before traveling, I try to look up a few types of activities:
- local and casual things to do (parks, playgrounds, beaches, etc),
- experience ideas (museums, excursions, adventure-type options),
- restaurants (breakfast, lunch, & dinner- you never know when you will make it out and about!), and
- dessert locations, coffee shops, breweries, or other similar type places to hang out .
I look at each day we will be away and make a few notes about what we could do that day. However, fully understanding that we may or may not get to them, and then some ideas for what I want to prioritize. From there, I feel more prepared and able to enjoy the vacation because we aren’t struggling to find what we want to do and we can avoid getting “hangry” without having an idea of where to eat.
Favorite Travel Destination And Why?
This is extremely difficult for me! I have to cheat a little because it’s a tie between two places.
- Croatia. We visited a few areas of Croatia and loved that each location had something new to offer! The views were incredible, the old towns were stunning, and the people were kind and thoughtful. I hope to return one day to take a week-long catamaran trip along the coast.
- Switzerland. This is a very recent vacation location for us, and I can’t even begin to describe how truly spectacular it was. Even from our drive into the country, the jaw-dropping views of the Alps and lakes, the warm welcome from anyone we encountered, and the opportunity to have various experiences in one day. It was perfect. I had always heard how expensive Switzerland is and hadn’t prioritized it, but the location worked out really well for a road trip from Germany.
What Is One Travel Mistake You Have Made?
Overcommitting! We wanted to do and see it all during our first trip to Ireland, and I planned way too much. It took me a long time to get over the “we’ll only be here once” type of mentality because who is to say that’s true? If we like somewhere enough, we can absolutely go back! We were there for 8 days (including travel days), and I planned 5 days of excursions outside of our home base of Dublin. We ended up canceling the middle trip to the Blarney Stone and a nearby town because we couldn’t keep up and felt like we were rushing around to check things off rather than soaking in the experiences. By canceling this trip, we had a wonderful day in Dublin and could see more of the city- so it worked out! We still had a fantastic vacation, even at 32 weeks pregnant, and I don’t regret skipping that day in the slightest.
! Bonus Section: All things Disney !
Favorite Disney World park?
EPCOT! All three of us (me, my husband & our daughter) love EPCOT and we’re sure to go for at least a few hours every trip we take. It’s more laid-back, has delicious food options, a few great rides, and a variety of things to do.
Would you recommend families stay on or off site if they are visiting the parks for the first time?
Onsite! There are a few reasons for this, but it mainly comes back to the “Disney Bubble”. You can really experience everything Walt Disney World has to offer when you stay at one of their resorts. Plus, the perks are nice too! Early park entry, free transportation (buses, boats, monorail and skyliner!), Disney theming, and close proximity to all of the parks. We stayed off-site in a large house last year because we were traveling with a group of 22, the house was super cool but the drive (even only a few miles from Disney parks!) took an hour each way because of traffic. In my opinion, that’s not worth it- especially with kids!
Any tips for families visiting with young children? How many days to do, how to break up the parks, etc?
We took our first trip to Disney when my daughter was 2.5, and we have returned countless times since then – I have learned a lot!
I highly recommend staying onsite for seven days for your first Disney vacation with kids. Travel early to settle into your resort, unpack, and head to Disney Springs for dinner!
An ideal itinerary would look like:
- Day 1: Magic Kingdom
- Day 2: Resort Day
- Day 3: Park Hop between Animal Kingdom and Holly Studios (in that order). If you are a big Star Wars fan, you may want to switch it around to start at Hollywood because Galaxy’s Edge gets busy fast!
- Day 4: Resort Day
- Day 5: Epcot
- Day 6: Resort Day
- Day 7: Magic Kingdom
I recommend keeping your plans fluid and not reserving many meals or experiences. The quick service options in all of the parks are great, and there are plenty of restaurants throughout the resorts for your “resort” days. Another thing to look into is if you want to partake in character dining- our favorites are in resorts, Cape May Cafe breakfast with Minnie & pals at the Beach Club resort, or Topolino’s Terrace breakfast with Mickey, Minnie, Donald and Daisy at the Riviera Resort.
Favorite Disney World Ride?
Hands down Cosmic Rewind (aka Guardians of the Galaxy) in EPCOT. It is a fast, fun, and unique indoor roller coaster with amazing music playing while you ride. The smoothest, most fun ride I have ever been on. You can’t help but dance, sing, and smile the entire time.
Favorite Time of Year to visit Disney World?
This is so tough! My personal favorite is late October, so we can experience the Food & Wine Festival in EPCOT, but Christmas is also very magical throughout all of the parks and resorts. If you go during Christmas, allow more than two resort days because there is so much to see!
Did you love learning about Macy as much as I did? Make sure to give her a follow on Instagram and check out her blog. She is such a wealth of great family travel advice and as a Floridian you know she knows her way around a Disney Trip!! If Macy has convinced you to take a trip to Disney World, check out my ultimate packing list for the perfect spring break trip to Disney.
