Olivia's Disney Adventures

You can now get all those photos you love on the Disneyland Resort PhotoPass+!

The photopass+ now includes your favorite ride photos, character dining photos, and all the park photos you love already. This is huge! The regular photopass does not entitle you to your ride and character dining photos.

You will receive:

• A voucher to exchange for your Photopass+ card (with pre-purchase) at any one of the photopass sales   centers
• Disney Photo Gallery CD with over 300 stock photos
• Unique code to create and order your Photopass CD
• Print packages and digital copies on your photopass+ card from Character dining experiences ($34.95 ea if purchased separately)
• Digital photos from select attractions ($14.95ea for digital download if purchased separately)

Attractions Include:

• Space Mountain
• Splash Mountain
• The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror
• California Screamin’
• Radiator Springs Racers

Dining Locations Include:

• Goofy’s Kitchen
• Ariel’s Grotto
• PCH Grill at Paradise Pier
• Plaza Inn

To redeem your photopass+ voucher take to one of 2 photo centers at Disneyland or Disney's California Adventure. In Disneyland you will find the photo center at the end of Main Street on the right hand side next to the Baby Care Center. In Disney's California Adventure you will find near the entrance on the right next to the lockers. You will be given a photopass+ card on a lanyard. Every time you have your picture taken give this to your photographer or photo counter after exiting rides. At character dinners present your card prior to your picture so they can properly document your card info. During character dining we received the printed picture package as well as photos taken on our photopass+ card.

Preorder your photopass+ for only $69.95. That is a $30 savings! You must order a minimum of 14 days prior to leaving for your next Disneyland trip to receive your package in time. (we ordered ours July 4 and received it July 9). Don't have time to preorder? You can purchase your photopass+ at the park for only $99.95 and receive all the same benefits listed above.

When you receive your package be sure to read all materials and take your voucher with you to exchange for a photopass+ car. Place your voucher will all important vacation documents. If you lose this voucher or forget it, you cannot retrieve this later. Keep all important vacation documents with you. If you are flying keep these in your carry on luggage. Placing it in your checked luggage you could risk losing these if the unfortunate mishap occurs where your luggage is lost or mis-routed.

Once you arrive home log into your photopass account at www.disneyphotopass.com and enter your 16 digit photopass id to claim your photos. You will then be able to view all your pictures. You can edit your photos by cropping, adding borders, or both. Once you have edited all photos you can now order your photo cd using the special code found in the cd that came with your prepaid voucher or in the cd given to you at the photo center at the time of purchase. Be sure to edit all pictures before ordering your cd. This way you receive all edited pictures on the cd and not just the pictures taken.

This was the best money we ever spent! We took 150 photos ( not as many as we hoped to take) but the character dining photos alone paid for the cd. The rest made it worth it!

Once you claim your photos, go to your message center on your photopass account. Here you will find a bonus download for all your ride photos including a license to reprint these photos. You will need the license when you go to print these photos at places such as Walgreens photo center.

For more information and to order yours, visit http://www.disneyphotopass.com/dlrphotopassplus.aspx

You've arrived at your final day and just can't bring yourself to leave the magic of the Disney parks? You can upgrade your ticket.

Before your ticket expires on the final day you can choose to add more days or turn that ticket into an annual pass. Simply visit the ticket counter to explore your options and pay the difference.

I added 2 more days for only $32 a ticket. We arrived at Disneyland with a 3 day hopper so adding more days was very reasonable. If we had more time we could have added 3 days for $38. Sadly, not an option.

Next time you visit the Disney parks whether its CA, FL, or anywhere else find out how you can add more days or even upgrade to an annual pass using your existing ticket purchase (provided it has not expired).

*prices and terms may vary so please see a cast member for the most update information.

When I pack my clothes I place a dryer towel in a sandwich bag and place in my luggage. This keeps my clothes smelling fresh the entire trip. I pack an extra one in a trash bag where I place dirty or wet clothes (bathing suits and beach towels). Placing one in my dirty laundry bag keeps everything from smelling musty or moldy.

I typically begin to pack about a week before we leave on a trip. Packing a week early gets most of what I need set aside so there is last minute washing (except my last 2 trips where I was drying clothes right up to when we left). Packing early also allows me to go through my list checking things off to see what is left or any last minute trips to the store.

This time, however, I'm getting the itch to pack much sooner. Because it is so out of my routine it feels strange. We typically drive the 12 hours so we are on an open schedule. This time we are flying. That means the schedule feels tighter so we have to be organized arriving and departing.
How early (or late) do you start packing?

We are 16 days away before we leave and the excitement is mounting!

Our hotel is booked, tickets pre-purchased, Disney dining reservations made, transportation arranged.
We are beginning to pack and purchase any items we need for our trip. I use a list based on activities to ensure we have all we need for our trip. This cuts down on visits to a store when we should be enjoying our vacation.

I like to work out dining on and off the Disney property to keep us within our chosen food budget. We use a food budget to keep us on from over spending. We are have a souvenir budget for the same reason.

The night before leaving we print all confirmations, receipts, tickets, and place all in a folder so we have everything we need in one place. I do this so there is no worry of losing any if these before or during our trip. If you are flying do not put these in your checked baggage. Always place in your carry on.

For every trip I have a specific ritual. In that I buy everyone brand new socks. This way I know everyone has enough socks for the week. It is something I always do.
What is your pre-vacation ritual?