Disneyland...Should we Fly or Drive?

One of the advantages of being on the west coast is that driving to Disneyland is sometimes a viable option. Our family did the comparison the other day just to see if it might be worthwhile. Thought you might be interested in seeing our numbers!

There are 4 of us. We drive a Ford Explorer that gets about 19 mpg and we would go sometime in June after the kids get out of school. These are approximate numbers, of course.

The Drive:
Length of trip: 14 hours (843m each way)
Gas one way: about $115 (and rising...)
Extra meal stops on trip: about $55
A night at travel hotel each way: $89
Total Travel: $518

To Fly:
Length of trip: 4 or less hours (each way)
Airfare 2 adults (RDM to LAX): $766 ($383 each)
Airfare Kids: Free (until Sept if we book by 5/30/08)
Airport snacks: $35 (each way)
Total Travel: $836

For us it makes sense to spend the extra $318 and save the time, not to mention the car, the sanity and the extra day of vacation time so we can use it at Christmas! We did notice that the airfare prices went up by $40-$50 in July and August though.
But...if you drive straight through with no hotel stay and take grandma and grandpa in the same car...driving starts to make lot more sense. A California roadtrip...You could end up with some great stories to tell!

Why use a Travel Agent?

We think it's a good question, and don't mind answering it.

We know you can make most any travel arrangements all by yourself on the internet and we actually love how knowledgeable all this available information has made our clients. But we (being in the business) also hear all the horror stories too. (ie. "Yeah, we got down to Mexico and the hotel told us that they didn't have our reservation and that we'd have to pay again until they found it..." Yikes! Unfortunately, we hear that one a lot.)
We have plenty of reasons for being partial to professional travel bookings over internet bookings. (Grin)
Here are some of the reasons our clients give.



I already have a job! You do. And so do we. Ours is to take care of the tedious details of your travel plans, and we love doing it. A little internet research about your upcoming vacation can be kind of fun for you...hopefully inspiring (that's what we're after with WonderTrips). But then as you click around you start to realize there is so much out there and that cruise advertised for $399 is really $799 by the time you get to the purchase page and you don't know anything about that ship and can't remember when hurricane season is....and that leads us to the next one we hear.


Overload!! It's a big world. Big internet. Where should you go? Who should you trust? This is where we give our plug. We've been doing this for 15 years and hold a variety of professional certifications ranging from Disney, cruise, and destination specialist to professional Travel Advisor certifications like CLIA and MCC . We make a practice of updating and expanding our expertise with a minimum of 3 (usually more) travel conference / seminars every year.


Peace of mind. If you've ever had a bad travel experience, you already know how important this one is. We call it advocacy. We're here if you have problems, want to make changes, have an emergency, have questions, etc...and we speak english...which can be pretty important when you're in another country...or LA (chuckle).
Besides...we give you free stuff like custom made luggage tags and sometimes underwater cameras with your vacation package and throw client parties and send out cool newsletters and take you to coffee and stuff!

Traveling with your Kiddos

that's always a challenge of one kind or another isn't it?

We came across a couple of really fun websites today and thought you might find them useful.

One is an online store that sells some really cool travel games and accessories called

And the other is a networking community for travelling parents to get advice and ideas from each other. It seems like it could be helpful...now don't go getting on there and booking your travel with someone else. :-)

How to get a Passport

You just never know when you might need to hop a plane to Paris for the weekend! Always have a passport in your top drawer!
There are a few different ways to get your passport depending on your time constraints.
Things you'll need:
1. State Certified Birth Certificate - don't have one? - click here
2. Valid Driver's License
3. Passport Photo - You will need a qualified passport photo. Costco is an easy place to get this done.
4. Passport Form - If you fill this out ahead of time everything will be ready to go. Do not sign the application yet.
5. Money - basic fee is just under $100. You can expedite the process for addtional fees. The Passport Form above has all the details.

In Bend: Take all this stuff to Main Post Office on 4th St., or County Clerk's Office at Deschutes County at 1300 NW Wall St, Ste 200. They say this will generally take 3-6 weeks but be sure to ask them when you apply.

Online: If you want you can do all this online, but it costs more. Here's a link to Passport 123

I'm desperate to get my Passport NOW!
If you are traveling in less than 14 days and you are desperate to get you Passport now, there is a way. The Seattle Passport Agency takes appointments and you can get your Passport the same day usually. Call for an appointment at 877-487-2778. It's a drive up there but if you're desperate, you're desperate!!


You can read all the information you could possibly want about Passports on the Government Travel Page