Keeping a travel journal at the parks

[TheVBs]

Hope this is in the right place! If not, apologies to the mods and I understand if it has to be moved.

I always make sure to bring a travel journal on every vacation, especially WDW. It's amazing how easily I forget some of those small special moments. They would be completely lost if I didn't keep a journal while there.

How many of you do the same? And how detailed do you get? I started out just bullet pointing the highlights and now I try to recap the whole day, sometimes even including what we ate. :blush:

[faline]

Because I generally write Trip Reports here on Intercot when I return from my Disney World trip, I usually keep fairly detailed notes during my stay. To do this, I carry a small notebook with me and, when I have time, jot down what I've done to help me keep it fresh in my mind. I may find a few minutes while waiting for a bus or waiting to be seated for a dining reservation etc. I even do this when I head to non-Disney locales!

[TheVBs]

Good idea! I usually try to write up everything before bed, and even in that short amount of time I've forgotten things.

[nicster]

I have done this for many of our trips, Disney & others. Re-reading the events, the *notes to self (as I call them) special things I want to remember if we are in the same circumstance once again). I write it as a journal, but also as a travel guide, so the prices & time frames are also included. If I wait too long, a day or so... it leaks out into never-neverland:confused:

[KylesMom]

I create a PowerPoint mini index card size bound book with all of our trip details including air, car rental, directions, accommodations, daily schedules, ADR dates/times/confirmation numbers, etcetera. There's always plenty of blank pages added in so that we can make notes on our daily schedule while there. We also use the books for planning subsequent trips; i.e., what worked, what didn't, etcetera. It fits in my camera bag, which goes everywhere with me, and we all contribute comments along the way. Not only is it a great planning tool/schedule keeper, it is also a great keepsake! :mickey:

[EeyoresBestFriend]

I've kept travel journals of all of my trips ~ Disney and non-Disney since I've been travelling on my own and with DH.
They are great to look back on and refresh the memory. I have also noted gas prices, room prices, exchange rates, weather, etc and now twenty years later we get a giggle at how some things have changed and how some have not.

[ILoveLegos]

I was randomly chosen to fill out an "Up - My Adventure Journal" EPCOT park journal back in January for "Disney Research Purposes" and I got a $20 gift card for my troubles - I'd Do It Again In A Heartbeat, but I guess I was just at the right place at the right time (turn stalls).

:mickey:

[mjm12000]

I have usually done my journal as a video diary, which is tons of fun, I set up my video camera and basically talk about my day, I will also take video as the day goes along etc so at the end when I edit it all back together I end up with a video diary of my trip that is more like watching one of those travel shows then just a bunch of random scenes.

I tried doing a written one once but found it was too much work... or that I was just to lazy

[homeschool mom]

I don't really journal while in the parks, but I use the park map as my "journal". Upon arriving at each park, I grab a map and immediately write the date and time of our arrival at that particular park on the front of the map. (I also write down the time we depart that particular park.) During our time at that park, I number the shows/rides in the order we do them. My oldest DD has begun doing this as well and she even keeps a journal in a small notebook. Both of these are very helpful when going back through and scrapbooking our trips to WDW.

[Stu29573]

This past trip I just jotted notes in a spiral at teh end of the day. I mainly used them to remind me of what we did every day for when I made our slide slow DVDs.

[Cinderella7299]

I also keep a very detailed travel journal. I take it with me everywhere that isn't considered "home." We take a lot of day trips around south and central Florida (Orlando, Miami, and Tampa/Clearwater are all less than a three hour drive from our home), and I take my journal along and document those little trips, too.

One additional thing I do that I LOVE is journaling with postcards. I keep stamps and preprinted address labels (printed with our home address) in my purse or bag. I'll buy postcards from the places we go and mail them home. I'll take a few moments at a meal or at the end of the day to write out what we did that day on the postcard. I then mail the cards home from the city we're visiting. Not only do I now have an amazing collection of postcards from all over the country, but it's a really fun way to document our travels. Not to mention, it's about the cheapest souvenir you can buy! I even buy them from our local attractions (museums, galleries, etc) if we happen to visit.

I so enjoy going back through my joural and postcards and reading all the stories. It amazes me how much of the "little stuff" I've forgotten!

:mickey: Ginnylynne

[TheVBs]

You guys have great ideas!! Thank you! :mickey:

I would have never thought to note prices in a journal, but that's a great idea. I've often wished I'd written down what souvenirs we buy.

And, typically I just take a journal on our big trips, but now I think I'll include weekend trips too. Really special things can happen on short trips too, and it's just too easy to forget them if I don't write them down.

[Mrs Bus Driver]

I create a PowerPoint mini index card size bound book with all of our trip details including air, car rental, directions, accommodations, daily schedules, ADR dates/times/confirmation numbers, etcetera. There's always plenty of blank pages added in so that we can make notes on our daily schedule while there. We also use the books for planning subsequent trips; i.e., what worked, what didn't, etcetera. It fits in my camera bag, which goes everywhere with me, and we all contribute comments along the way. Not only is it a great planning tool/schedule keeper, it is also a great keepsake! :mickey:

I love this idea, will use this on my next trip. thanks :mickey:

[Suz36]

I keep my Disney travel journal as detailed as possible. I take A LOT of pictures throughout a typical Disney day, and that evening I scroll through those pictures to trigger memories of what we did that day. I also love to journal with my kids - they have such amazing memories, and it's so fun to get their perspective on things!

[ryca1dreams]

I haven't thought about doing a journal, but that's a neat idea.

One thing you may think about though is a small voice reorder. That way you're not stopping to write on something. Plus, many of them will download to a computer as mp3s. Just a thought.

[Olivia's Daddy]

My wife got one of those Disney research journals a couple trips back. She did it and got the $20 gift card. Other than that, I take at least 500 pictures per trip, so we don't really need a journal.

[thejens]

What fantastic and original ideas! I journal every night on my lap top and it is true that one long day at Disney is already fading from my sleepy mind by then! I journal all the time (even when not traveling) but I always try to put together a trip photo/scrapbook/journal when we are through. I love intercot because there is someone besides me with a power point intinerary!!!