Travel Tips from an Over Planner

LJ and I just spent 5 days in Orland, visiting Disney World and Universal Studios. It. Was. Awesome. It's the only time I've been to these parks without a child and I have to say, it's just as fun (maybe more!). I'm going to type of a whole guide to visiting Disney later this week, but for now I'd like to spend time sharing some general travel tips I've learned on the couple of trips I've taken. Here they all in bullet-point form:

• Ladies, don't bring your nice purse you normally use. Whatever you bring will probably end up on dirty floors by your feet a lot. I suggest a over the shoulder bag that is big enough to hold the essentials and a folded up cardigan. I have a bag I got in London that's perfect for traveling. It is a great size and the vinyl can take a beating and still look nice. This picture isn't from this trip, but it's the best one I could find of the purse I use when traveling:

(we're pointing at the sign because we saw Wicked in London)

•  Always have a deck of cards with you. It doesn't weigh much and if you ever get stuck at the airport or waiting in an hour line for an attraction to start you'll be happy you have it. Neither of these happened to us this trip, but they have in the past so I'm always prepared.
• Scarves are amazing. I'm not talking the big bulky winter scarves people use when it's snowing, I'm talking about the very think but long and wide scarves people often use for decoration. I'm wearing one in the above picture. They are a traveling must when you're not sure what the weather might do. They fold up nice and small when it's the heat of the day and you don't want it, but can also cover your whole torso if you stay out late and you don't have a jacket. I totally forgot to bring my jacket on our trip (left it sitting on the back of my chair at work :| ) but I had my scarf so I was ok. When it got down into the low 60s/upper 50s at night I was VERY happy I had it. 
• Boat shoes are wonderful if you're going to be walking around a lot, and they can get wet if it rains, and they are slip on so they are easy during security check points, and can you tell I love mine? :) Totally saved my feet this trip.
• This one is pretty common, but always bring granola bars. Stick a few in your bag at the start of each morning and you can prevent hunger from turning your happy family in to monsters.
• My mother in law turned me on to the $1 ponchos sold at the dollar store. Actually they are 2 for $1. They come folded up nice and compact, which means they wont take up much room in your purse/bag and they are so cheap you can just throw them away after you use them. No more buying the $20 poncho in an emergency and then feeling obligated to carry it around the rest of the day because you paid so much for it. 
• Use your camera phone like a memory bank. Got a little slip of paper telling you where you parked your car? Take a picture of it just in case you loose it. Got a flight confirmation number? Take a screen shot of it. It may sound silly, but it's easy to loose stuff and you may not always have service on your cell. However, you can always access your photos and the modern phones take such good pictures that you can zoom in and find the info you need. Just don't take a picture of your license or Passport... if  you end up loosing your phone you don't want to give away your identity.

Hopefully some of those suggestions are helpful if you're traveling in the near future. I may be a little bit of an over-planner in general, but I think these pointers can be helpful for everyone. :)