Today marks 7 weeks until we set sail to Alaska on the Disney Wonder and the whole family is SO excited about our trip. This will be the 4th trip for my husband and me and the 2nd for our kids, so I thought I would take the next several weeks to share some tips and tricks we’ve learned along the way.

Tomorrow, I’ll start with some things I’ve learned to save money on cruise fares as well as how to save money for some of the expenses you’ll have onboard.

But, before I kick things off, I’m interested in hearing from you – what questions do you have about cruising with Disney? Let me know in the comments below and I’ll make sure to answer them in the coming weeks.

If you’ve cruised before, but have been on less than 5 cruises, you’re considered a Silver Castaway Club member and can book excursions and onboard activities starting 90 days before the cruise. For us, that’s a week from today, so I’ve been doing a lot of research and I think I’ve narrowed everything down. But, after 4 cruises, I still worry about how things are going to work out, so I thought I’d share some tips I’ve learned about booking port excursions for those of you who are new to cruising.  These are based 100% on our experience and may or may not work in your family’s particular situation

You don’t have to book excursions at all
If you look at the Disney marketing material and website a lot, you might get the sense that you HAVE to book a port adventure to have ANY fun on your cruise. Sure, the excursions are fun and we’ve always had a great time, but you can also have just as much fun exploring a port all on your own, or, even staying onboard the ship during a port day. We did Cabo on our own and had a great time, exploring the city and then taking a boat over to one of the beaches for WAY cheaper than any of the excursions we looked at. It was quite relaxing and we didn’t feel like we were missing out at all. If we ever do another cruise to the Bahamas, I already plan on just relaxing on the ship the day we’re in Nassau because I was just not a big fan. Fewer people onboard during a port day means more lounger space by the pool!

You don’t HAVE to book port excursions through Disney
A lot of new cruisers may not realize that you don’t HAVE to book one of the Disney port adventures if you don’t want to. Almost everything that Disney provides as an excursion is available to book privately, sometimes at a cheaper cost or with different options. If you see a Disney excursion that looks interesting but isn’t quite what you want, look around to see if you can find it elsewhere. Conversely, if you find a private tour that’s similar to the Disney one, but much cheaper, just verify exactly what you get. The Disney excursions typically include transportation to and from the port and may include “extras” like snacks or lunch that may not be provided in the private tour price. Do your research to find out what option is going to be best for you and your family.

If you go with an external vendor, have a plan and keep track of time
There are always unexpected things that can happen when you’re in port – traffic on the island can be horrible, like it was for us when we went to St. Thomas, or a sudden rainstorm can hit you when you least expect it. If you’re on a Disney-led excursion, the ship is much more likely to wait for you if something delays your return. If you’re on a private excursion, there’s no guarantee they’ll wait, and although it is VERY rare, the ship has had to leave without all it’s passengers a few times. If you only have a short time in a port, you might just go with a Disney excursion to be safe, but no matter what, at least have a plan for emergencies and leave yourself PLENTY of time to get back to the ship before the all aboard call.

Try something different
If there’s ever a time to try something a little out of your comfort zone, I feel like a Disney cruise is the time to do it, especially if you’re looking at doing a Disney-led excursion. Last year on our Mexican Riviera cruise, we did a ziplining tour and an ATV tour – both of which I’d never imagine I would do and I had a GREAT time. Disney takes safety very seriously and if anything goes wrong on the excursions they offer, they are quick to follow up and make sure everything is ok. I know from personal experience after I, um, sort of, flipped my ATV and got a little banged up. Sure I was shaken up and a little sore after the experience, but even now, I’d do it all over again if I had the opportunity, although I’ll be a little more tame on our Alaska cruise since the kiddos will be with us when we head into port!

Book early 
If you’re booking a Disney-led excursion and it’s a popular one, book it as soon as your booking window opens because there are limited spots available and they can fill up quickly. They do say you might be able to add or change an excursion once you’re onboard, but there’s no guarantee, so if you want to do it, book it. All of the Disney port excursions are listed on the Disney Cruise website and there are tons of resources, like the DisBoards, where people share their reviews and experiences on the various excursions. Do your homework ahead of your booking window so you know what things you’re interested in doing.

Those are just a few of the things we’ve learned and I’ll continue to provide additional tips in the next couple weeks about planning your onboard activities, so stay tuned for those! And, if you have any questions I can answer, leave me a comment, I’m happy to help!

Ok, so if you read my post last week, you’ll know that I arrived at the Disneyland Hotel in a less than stellar mood. The cookies helped me feel better, but was what it that put me in a crabby mood in the first place? Well, that’s this week’s trip tip and a perfect example of “do as I say, not as I do”. Oh, and a word of warning – if you don’t care to read about other people’s kids and their body functions, you might want to skip this post

Everything went well and we survived the takeoff and first 15 minutes of the flight without incident. Colorado Princess was a little squirmy, but we didn’t think too much of it, because we were confident she would tell us if she had to go, since she has been great about that so far. She was settling in to watch a movie, but wanted to sit on my lap, which is something we often do at home. Since the fasten seatbelt sign was off, I figured it wouldn’t harm anything, so plopped her on my lap. But, less than a minute later, my lap was suddenly warm and wet. Colorado Princess had peed…ON ME!! UGH! Of course, I didn’t have anything to change into because we had checked our bags, so I got to sit there for the rest of the flight in damp jeans. Who would have thought it would be ME that needed an extra change of clothes?!?! And yet…

I SHOULD have known, because it’s happened to me before. When Colorado Boy was 3, we were traveling to North Carolina when he got sick…on me. And again, I had nothing to change into. I SHOULD have known better

So, as a public service to all of you who might be traveling with a toddler some time in the future, today’s Tuesday Trip Tip is to make sure you pack a change of clothes - not only for your toddler, but also for you! You never know what might happen when you’re stuck in a plane and it’s always good to be over-prepared.

Whew, what a busy weekend! I am WAY behind on posts here, but it was all worth it. We went to see Beauty and the Beast 3D (very good), visited the National Western Stock Show (always entertaining) and did some planning for Colorado Boy’s 9th birthday party. But, now I’m back to prepping for our trip to Disneyland on Wednesday and I have a great tip that we’re going to use for the first time during this trip.

I’ve seen early morning seating times at all of the restaurants below at various times, but definitely check with either Disneyland or WDW dining to make sure your preferred restaurant is still serving breakfast:

Disneyland Resort

• Disneyland – The Plaza Inn: A character breakfast called “Minnie & Friends – Breakfast in the Park”
• California Adventure – Ariel’s Grotto: A character breakfast with the Disney Princesses

Walt Disney World

• Magic Kingdom – Cinderella’s Royal Table: The end-all-be-all of Princess dining at Walt Disney World.
• Magic Kingdom – The Crystal Palace: Character breakfast with Winnie the Pooh and friends.
• EPCOT – Akershaus Royal Banquet Hall: The 2nd Princess dining option at WDW and a cheaper option that CRT. We did this with Colorado Princess last May and she had a FANTASTIC time. I highly recommend this if you either can’t get a reservation at CRT or want a cheaper (albeit only slightly) option.
• Hollywood Studios: Hollywood & Vine: A good character breakfast option for the preschool set, this breakfast includes characters from Disney Junior favorites like Little Einsteins, Special Agent Oso and Jake and the Neverland Pirates
• Animal Kingdom: Tusker House: A character breakfast with some of the Fab 5 like Mickey, Donald and Goofy.

If you’re a DVC member, you’ve probably heard the news that we’ll soon (latest word is “this spring”) be eligible to purchase the Tables In Wonderland card, a discount dining card for the Walt Disney World Resort. Up until now, you’ve either had to be a Florida resident or an annual passholder to purchase the card, so it’s pretty exciting that they’re finally opening it up to those of us who own DVC. But, is it really going to be worth it? After purchasing it for our big family trip last year (I have the Premier annual pass), I definitely think it’s a good option, but with a few caveats.

THE BASICS
Before I get into why it was worth it for us, let me give a bit of basic information. For either $100 for Florida residents, or $75 for annual passholders, you can purchase the card which gives you a 20% discount on food and beverage at participating hotel and theme park restaurants at Walt Disney World. The discount covers parties up to 10 people as long as you’re all on the same check.

In addition to the discount, there are other benefits like free theme park parking if you are entering a park specifically for dining and special events throughout the year that you are eligible to attend (for an additional fee). You can also purchase a 2nd card for a spouse or other family member for $50.

Cards can be purchased by either mailing or faxing the completed application (found at http://www.tablesinwonderland.com) to Tables in Wonderland, or can also be purchased at Guest Services in any of the theme parks or at Downtown Disney. Processing does take some time if you mail the application, so if you’re close to your vacation timeframe, I suggest just purchasing onsite. This is what I did and it was quite simple.

WHY IT WORKED FOR US
As I was planning our big family trip for May 2011, I began to do research on the Disney Dining Plan, which we had never (and still haven’t) used. I was a little worried about it because it didn’t quite fit our typical eating patterns and, since we were staying in a DVC villa, we were planning on eating a few meals in our room so we would have had leftover credits. That’s when I investigated the Tables in Wonderland card. I compared the two options and found that not only would we save more money using TiW, we would also more than recoup the $75 cost of the card, just with that one trip. So, we decided to take the plunge, but decided to just buy the one card for me and not spend the extra $50 for Colorado Dad to also have one. For the most part, we thought that the card was well worth it.

The things we liked:

• The 20% discount is valid for alcohol as well as food (the DDP only covers food). While we didn’t go crazy with this, it was nice to have a glass of wine or a beer with dinner and have it included in the discount price.
• It covered all 7 of us and allowed us maximum flexibility in what/how much we wanted to order. I know they’ve made lots of changes to the DDP to accommodate people without huge appetites, but that had been a concern of mine.
• The list of participating restaurants is pretty extensive and covers the theme parks, hotels and Downtown Disney, and included all of our favorites that we already had reservations for, so we didn’t have to make any adjustments to our plans.

What we didn’t like:

• The only real problem we had was one of our own making – I was splitting my time between touring with our family and attending Destination D, so there was one day when I was not with my family and, because we had not bought my husband the spouse card, they weren’t able to get the discount. While the majority of the waitstaff barely even glanced at the card when I was there, they are SUPPOSED to verify that the person using the card is actually the one named on the card, so you can’t really let someone else “borrow” the card if you’re not there. In the end, we should have bought Colorado Dad a card too.
• It’s only good at Walt Disney World. While I feel like dining is a bigger “thing” at Disney World, I do really wish this program would be expanded to include Disneyland.
• Because we don’t live in Florida, we have never been able to attend any of the special events they provide for TiW members. While this is not the main reason we purchased the card, we are kind of bummed we’re not getting the full value out of the card that we could if we lived in Florida. On the other hand, those events are always an extra cost, so it’s probably better we don’t have another Disney thing to spend money on!

OTHER CONSIDERATIONS
While the card worked very well for our particular trip, there are a couple other considerations you should keep in mind if you’re looking at purchasing the Tables in Wonderland card:

• Not every restaurant participates in the program. While all our favorites are on the list, it is important to verify the current list of participating restaurants so you’re not disappointed. Most of the restaurants on the list are table service restaurants, so if you typically just eat at counter service restaurants, this might not be the best option for you. A current list of participating restaurants can be found at http://www.tablesinwonderland.com.
• There are blackout dates when you’re not eligible for a discount. It’s typically days that I would consider to be really busy dining days like Mother’s Day, Thanksgiving and Christmas Day, so if you’re not planning on traveling on those days, you shouldn’t be too concerned with this, but it’s at least good to be aware of. The list of blackout days can also be found on http://www.tablesinwonderland.com.
• 18% gratutity is automatically added (20% at Victoria and Alberts), regardless of party size. Not necessarily a problem, just something to be aware of when you’re planning and budgeting for meals.
• The card expires one year from the purchase date. Keep this in mind when you’re looking at costs. If you’re only planning one trip during that time period, it may or may not be worth purchasing the card.
• It may NOT be cheaper than a Disney Dining Plan. There’s lot of different criteria – how many people are traveling in your party, how many of those are kids, where you’re planning on eating, etc. I highly recommend doing some research and running some numbers to see which option is going to give you better value.
• As of now, you CAN combine Disney Dining Plan and the Tables in Wonderland discount. So, if you’re on the Dining Plan, but have a glass of wine with dinner, you can use the Dining Plan for the food portion and then use the TiW card for the portion not covered by the plan.

While I am not planning on renewing my card this year because we don’t have any Walt Disney World trips scheduled, I am very excited that DVC will be providing this option and look forward to using it again the next time we’re in Walt Disney World.

Are you staying at a Disneyland Resort hotel during your next trip to Disneyland? If so, make sure to take advantage of the Magic Morning Hours perk available on Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays. Magic Morning Hours allow Disneyland Resort hotel guests and those who have purchased multi-day park tickets that include the option, to enter Disneyland a full hour before the gates open for everyone else.

Only Fantasyland and Tomorrowland are open during these extra morning hours, but if you play it right, you can get a good chunk of your touring done in just an hour. Here are a couple ideas you can use to maximize your time during Magic Morning Hours:

• The Disneyland website suggests that you get there 15 minutes before Magic Hours begins, but we’ve had better luck getting there about 30 minutes early.
• If you’re first stop is going to be Tomorrowland, particularly if you want to ride the Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage, you might want to enter the park via the monorail entrance near Disneyland Hotel. The monorail will drop you right above the queue for the submarines and it’s a quick walk to the other Tomorrowland attractions you might want to visit.
• Focus your efforts on visiting attractions that don’t have a Fastpass option, but are typically busy during regular park hours. Attractions like Peter Pan’s Flight and Finding Nemo are great options to visit during morning hours.
• For hotel guests, make sure you have both your room key AND a valid park ticket. If you don’t have your room key, you won’t be able to enter early.
• Magic Morning Hours are a perfect opportunity to get that picture in front of the castle or It’s a small world, with no one else around. Don’t forget your camera!

Our first day at Disneyland during our trip next week is going to be on Thursday, when the normal opening time is 10am, so we’ll definitely be using our Magic Morning Hours perk to visit a couple of our must-do attractions, like Peter Pan’s Flight and we’ll hopefully be able to get that elusive “empty park” picture in front of the castle. Wish us luck!

Ah, January. I always head into this month with mixed feelings – relief that we can get back to “normalcy” after the craziness of the holidays but also a little bit of sadness/letdown after all the excitement from the past month. Because of that, I try to find something fun to focus on, like vacation planning! Although we don’t have as many Disney trips planned this year as we had the past two years, we do have some good stuff planned, starting with our first trip in just 15 days!

Here are the trips I’m going to be planning this year.

January
A surprise trip to Disneyland for Colorado Boy’s 9th birthday. This is the first time Colorado Dad and I have kept a trip secret from the kids. So far, we’ve done ok, but we keep catching ourselves talking about things we’re going to do while we’re there while we’re in front of the kids. Oops! We couldn’t get DVC ressies for Grand Californian for this trip since it’s pretty last minute, so we’ll be staying at the Disneyland Hotel. Although we have already stayed in one of the updated rooms (very nice!), we haven’t been to Trader Sam’s, so we’re looking forward to enjoying a Krakatoa Punch or maybe a Schweitzer Falls while we’re there!

June
This is the big one for the year – our cruise to Alaska! We won’t be able to start booking our excursions and spa treatments until late March, but I’ve already started combing the interwebs for info. We’re leaving from Seattle, which just happens to be where my company is headquartered, so might spend a couple days there beforehand with some of my work buddies. As we get closer, I’ll be posting various tips we’ve learned on our previous cruises and will, of course, post pictures of our adventure when we return.

August
Are you 23? D23 that is…Colorado Dad and I are both D23 members and are looking forward to another great event in August’s Destination D. This year, the event is focusing on 75 Years of Disney Animation, so I’m sure there will be some great presentations. There aren’t a lot of details on this event yet, but we have already booked our DVC room at the Grand Californian. I’m embarassed to say that we’ve only spent one night at our home resort since becoming members back in 2009, so we are very excited to be spending several days there.

So, that’s what we have on tap for this year…at least so far. Colorado Dad will be in Anaheim for sure in March for a convention, with a possibility to dine in Club 33, so if that happens, I will definitely be joining him

What Disney trips are you planning this year?

Our first trip to a Disney park with kids was in 2006, when Colorado Boy was 3. Since then, we’ve gone on at least one trip to the parks every year, including Colorado Princess’ first trip when she was just 9 months old. So, when people ask me if I think it will be ok to take their toddler to the parks, I always say OF COURSE!

Granted, traveling to a Disney park with young kids in tow is certainly NOT for everyone, and I’ll be the first to admit that it was a MAJOR adjustment for me (I’m more of a “commando” visitor ) But, after some trial and error, we learned some things that helped us tremendously, so I thought I would share some of our ideas with you. I don’t think any of these are necessarily new, but it’s always nice to get confirmation from multiple places that these ideas work.

My first five tips are for the planning and travel day leading up to your park(s) visit

Get your child her own seat on the airplane – I know, I know. There are two issues with this – airline tickets are expensive and lugging a carseat around is a pain in the butt. Very valid issues, but for us, the relative calm we get with a carseat in the airplane WAY outweighs the negatives for us. When she was younger, Colorado Princess was relatively content in her carseat and would even nap. Sitting in our laps, she was a squirmy, crying, exhausted mess.

Don’t schedule anything major on the first day – When we go to Disney World, it’s usually an almost all day trip for us plus we cross over two time zones. We’ve learned not to schedule anything, not even a dinner, for the night we get there because the kids are usually too exhausted. Grab something quick, order room service, or, if you’re staying in a DVC suite, take advantage of a grocery delivery service like GardenGrocer.com and have something delivered and waiting for you. If it works in your schedule, I’d even try to make the whole next day a relatively easy going day so the kids can get acclimated, but I know that’s sometimes easier said than done

Stay on property – Again, this can be an expensive part of your vacation, but we feel like it’s just so much easier to just use the Disney transportation and not have to find parking at the beginning of the day, find your car at the end of the day, potentially have to deal with traffic, etc. It also makes it easier to take breaks in the middle of the day. And, you just can’t beat that “Disney” feeling by totally immersing yourself in the experience Keep an eye out for special discounts on Disney hotels or promotions like free dining that can save you money while allowing you to stay on property.

Bring your own stroller – Yep, I know it’s a pain in the butt to travel with a stroller, especially if you have a big one, but it’s been a lifesaver for us. First, I’ve found that my kids are much more comfortable in their own strollers. The Disney strollers are fine, but they’re a little hard on the backside! Second, have you ever had to manuever a sleeping child OUT of the stroller so you can leave the park and then have to carry said sleeping child to the awaiting bus or car? All at the end of a long day at the park? Yeah, it’s not fun. And that’s why we bring our stroller with us almost every time we go to the parks. By the way, if you ARE going to rent a stroller and are going to be in the parks for multiple days, make sure to do the math – it MIGHT be cheaper to just buy one of the small strollers that many of the shops carry. On our last trip we decided to just rent because we were only going to be there for 3 days, but the Cast Member working at the stroller rental place pointed out that it would be cheaper to just buy the stroller. We decided to take it back with us at the end of the trip, but you could always spread some pixie dust and give it to a family in need on your way out if you don’t want to carry it on the plane.

Have a plan…but be flexible – I’m a planner, so maybe it’s just in my nature, but I cringe every time I hear someone say, “Oh yeah, we’re just going to wing it. I’m sure it’ll be fine.” Disney and “wing it”? Yeah, those two things just don’t go together So, it IS important to have a basic plan of what you’re going to do each day, where and when you’re going to eat, any attractions that are “must dos” etc. That being said, it’s also important to be flexible. I’ll never forget our first trip to Disney World with my son. I had EVERYTHING planned out – exactly what attraction we would ride and when we would do it. We got to the first ride of the day and my son just REFUSED to go on it, even though I knew it was something he would love (Winnie the Pooh). A round of cajoling and begging ensued, with the end result being tears (mine, not my son’s ) I had to change my thinking very quickly and find the places in my plan where we could be flexible about what we were going to do. In the end, easing up made a big difference, and we did get Colorado Boy to ride Winnie the Pooh…and he loved it!

In my next post, I’ll give you some lessons learned while touring the parks with a toddler or two in tow.

The other day I was looking through the pictures from our Disney trips this year and I realized that of the 4 Disney trips I took this year, all three of my trips to Disneyland were without kids (although one was a work trip, so probably shouldn’t count). While I love spending family vacations at Disney, going on “kid-free” trips or even getting a babysitter for the evening allows us to spend some quality time together while experiencing some of the things we don’t usually get to when the kids are with us. It helps us connect as a couple so that, quite honestly, we can be better parents!

To help you plan your own evening out, I thought I would share my top 5 favorite places to have a “kid-free” dinner. All of these places are still “kid-friendly” (this is Disney after all!) so you can certainly feel comfortable taking the kids along if you need to and many of these restaurants provide great kid dining experiences too.

With that, in no real order other than how they came into my head, here are my top 5 picks for a “kid-free” dinner at the Disneyland Resort.

1. Ralph Brennan’s Jazz Kitchen in the Downtown Disney district – This is our absolute “must-do” stop on every trip to Anaheim, regardless of if we’re with the kids or not. Both Colorado Dad and I are rather enamored with New Orleans, but since we don’t get to visit nearly as much as we’d like, the Jazz Kitchen is a pretty decent way to get a little bit of that N’Awlins flavor. I honestly don’t think I’ve had a bad meal here, but my favorites are the Gumbo, Jambalaya and the very rich, very decadent “must try it at least once” Double Chocolate Bread Pudding, which takes 25 minutes to prepare, so make sure to order it early! Other than the food though, there is live jazz most evenings and on Thursday nights they have dueling pianos, which is always fun. We’ve spent many a night listening to jazz and enjoying a Mint Julep long after we’ve eaten our last bites! We’ve also done the Sunday Jazz Brunch, which is great brunch food along with live jazz, although I prefer dinner.

2. Napa Rose at the Grand Californian Hotel – Another one of my favorite restaurants, not just at Disneyland, but anywhere. This truly is a fine dining experience and is not cheap by any stretch of the imagination, so we usually save this for special occasions. The waitstaff is always very attentive and are perfectly happy to pace your meal as slowly as you’d like, so you can relax and enjoy your meal. Their wine selection is excellent and their seasonal menus offer delicious choices for pretty much everyone. Don’t miss their famous “best hot chocolate ever” served with mini donuts. They aren’t lying - it really IS the best hot chocolate I’ve ever had. If you can, make a reservation for the Chef’s Counter – providing you with a front row seat to watch all the action in the open kitchen. If you sit here, you also have the option of having Chef Andrew Sutton prepare dinner specially for you, based on your specific likes and dislikes. Definitely a special event treat!

3. Uva Bar at the Downtown Disney district – The Uva Bar is the outdoor bar adjacent to Catal, a Mediterranean restaurant, which I’ve heard is very good but have never actually experienced because we always just head straight to Uva Bar. This is our favorite happy hour/light dinner location, partially because we’re kind of beer snobs and this is one of the few places in Anaheim where we can get beer we like, but also because it’s a great location to sit, relax, have a bite to eat and people watch. Their olives with sea salt and peppers and trio of mediterranean dips are relatively simple, but delicious. Oh, and the bartender wears big gold “Elvis” sunglasses that always crack me up

4. Steakhouse 55 at the Disneyland Hotel – The lure of a good steak is what brought us here the first time, but I particularly enjoy the decor, with all the dark wood and black and white photos of celebrities from the 50s adorning the walls, I feel like I’ve stepped back into the golden age of Hollywood and almost expect to see Marilyn Monroe sitting at one of the tables. The wine list is good and the steaks are very good, although not the best I’ve ever had. In my opinion, this is probably the least kid-friendly restaurant on my list, just because there is quite an upscale feel to it – even more so than at Napa Rose, but with the high-backed booths, it’s definitely a good place for a “date night”.

5. Gandhi Palace at the Ramada Plaza Hotel on the corner of W. Katella and Harbor Blvd - I just recently found this restaurant during a convention trip with a group of coworkers who didn’t want to spend all their time in Disneyland/Downtown Disney. I’m including this restaurant on my list only because my kids are crazy and don’t like Indian food, so this will ONLY be a “kid-free” meal for us, but normally, this seems to be a pretty family-friendly place. We went for dinner (lunch is a buffet, but dinner is not) and although it was a bit of a rocky start when they looked at us like we were crazy when we ordered a BOTTLE of wine, I was pleasantly surprised with our meal. The naan, both plain and garlic, was hot, plentiful and delicious and the chicken korma was some of the best I’ve ever had.

So, that’s my list, at least so far. Club 33 is on my “wish list” right now and I’m hoping to get an opportunity to eat their next year. Who knows if it will end up on my list or not, but I’ll keep you all updated! And now, I’d love to hear what your favorites are. Do you visit the same restaurants we do? Am I missing your absolute favorite? Let me know by leaving a comment below!