Christmas 2018 WDW Trip

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Ahhhh…the most Magical time of year in the most Magical place!

It’s time for another blog of our Christmas trip to the World!

So this trip started with how a lot of our trips have been.  Hey Dan…why don’t we move our 1pm flight to the morning?  Ok.  Then both of us…why are we just not going the night before?  We have the time share points to use.  Ok.   *Carrie dials Southwest…evens saves reward points…New flights booked! Carrie dials DVC…one more night booked!*

So we ended up at Animal Kingdom Lodge again the first night.  Nice room.  Amazing Christmas decorations in the lobby.  Giraffes outside our balcony in the morning.  Sweet score!  We (Okay, mostly me) packed pretty well so that we didn’t have to unpack everything.  The next morning after getting ready for Magic Kingdom we decided to Uber/Lyft to Bay Lake Towers.  Disney will take your luggage to your new resort for you if you would like but since we were heading to Magic Kingdom anyway and can walk there from Bay Lake, we chose this method.  We dropped off all of our stuff at Bay Lake for them to hold until our room was ready and off we went to our “extra day” at the Magic Kingdom.  🙂

I kept it pretty low key (well low key for me) that day.  We rode our favorite rides, took time to meet a character or two, and even didn’t run from place to place!  As it was chilly that day (hoodies and jackets) we didn’t ride Splash Mountain again.  Dan is bummed we keep missing it as he hasn’t been on it since they refurbished it.  We ate at Casey’s that day.  A new one for us!  It wasn’t bad and I would do it again.  The portions are huge, and it’s different from the places we usually choose.  Right after lunch we realized that M had left her stuffed animal and lovey wrapped in the sheets at Animal Kingdom.  We rushed to guest services to call the front desk (don’t ever try to call the front desk of your hotel yourself for anything…even from within that hotel.  You are routed to a general number and they won’t actually get you someone within that hotel).  They thankfully were able to reach someone in the hotel and they just happened to be cleaning our room at that time.  All was found and later delivered safety to our hotel.  We headed back to the hotel around 5pm/6pm and unpacked a bit.  Later ran up to the quick serve in Contemporary for some dinner.  I like their food there.  Good choices for being small and healthier options too!

The next morning we were running late as usual for Hollywood Studios.  Our goal had been to get there early to sign-up for Jedi training and then rush over to get in line for Slinky Dog (since we couldn’t grab a fast pass).  Since we were already running late we grabbed a Lyft and had them drop us off.  The bus/parking/car sharing area is a hot mess right now with construction at HS and the walk is about 5-8 minutes from drop off.  We walked quickly and the line was still pretty long for Jedi Training.  Upon getting into line I quickly gave up all hope of riding Slinky Dog that day.  When we got to the front of that line for Jedi Training, they said they had one more spot open for the first Jedi Training of the day.  We took it (again messing up our plans), but knew since M had been wavering on doing the training or not, this was our best hope for success.  Don’t give her time to think about it!  haha!  It of course was AMAZING and she loved every minute of it like we knew she would.  We continued to tour the park that day with M and Dan riding Alien Swirling Saucers, and us doing Toy Story Mania, plus lots of other rides and shows.  We tried Woody’s Lunch Box for the first time.  Total one and done.  Not a good option for M (no Uncrustables) and Dan and I were not happy with our lunches either.  That evening was a Hollywood and Vine reservation.  One of our faves.  It gets bad reviews, but we always like it.  Good character interactions and lots of food options.  We watched the light show over by Tower of Terror after with the “snow”.  It was pretty awesome!  We then decided it was early enough to head to Disney Springs so we jumped on a bus to see the Trail of Trees.  While nice, it was extremely crowded.  We again grabbed a Lyft back to Bay Lake.  There is totally transportation available everywhere, but we had started to get spoiled and the walk back to the busses seemed like a large hike after a long day and the Lyft pick up was right there.

Saturday was a later (like 10am start) to Animal Kingdom.  Jumped on a bus and headed over around 9/9:30.  We walked into Pandora first hoping to grab a rider swap for Dan for Flight of Passage since he had yet to ride.  No dice.  You had to wait in the line and get all the way to the front before receiving the rider swap and we didn’t have time for that as our first fast pass was 10am.  We headed to Everest and M and I jumped in the regular line at 9:50 (there was only a 15 minute wait) in case she wanted to ride it again.  She rode it once and was a one and done for this trip.  We had time before our next fast pass for the Safari and so we did the newer bird show.  Pretty cool, but I wouldn’t head to Animal Kingdom just for that .  While in line for the Safari, Dan noticed John Stamos walking by with his family.  He was a reader for the Candlelight Processional that week.  As many times as we have been, I think that was my first celebrity sighting.  We then grabbed a quick lunch and headed to our fast pass at Navi River.  It was the first time riding for all three of us.  While in line I happened to check the app and there was a fast pass available for Dan for Flight of Passage for 2:30pm.  Grabbed it!  M really enjoyed the ride and we then decided to leave Dan for him to ride FOP and we headed back to the hotel to change and take a few minutes of down time.  We met up at the Polynesian for dinner at ‘Ohana at 4pm.  One of our favorite things at Disney is the food options (specifically sit-down) so we did have the dining plan again this time.  Doing the math, it came out pretty close in comparison if we paid out of pocket, so we just went for it.  After dinner we took a Lyft over to Fort Wilderness for the campfire/sing-a-long and had a reservation for a sleigh ride later that night.  The campfire was cute and they had bingo for the kids too, plus a meet and greet with Chip and Dale.  We took the internal bus system to get there from the front and then the internal bus system to get to the area where they were doing the sleigh rides.  The ride was fun and we got to see many of the Christmas displays that the campground visitors had put up.  We also got a limited edition pin for those that are pin collectors.

The next morning was Chef Mickey’s for breakfast.  Another one of our favorites.  So much good food and the characters are great!  We then rolled ourselves out of there and took the monorail over to Grand Floridian to see the Gingerbread house and all the decorations.  The line was ridiculous to get hot cocoa and gingerbread (which we aren’t huge fans of anyway) so we just picked up a small one in their gift shop.  We then hopped on the monorail again to head to Magic Kingdom.  It was our Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas party day, but we also wanted to get some extra rides in so we hit the parks up early (a benefit of our Annual Passes) with some Fast Passes.  We could barely still eat at lunch so we grabbed a snack and rode more rides until grabbing our wristbands around 5/6pm for the party.  We then were finally ready to eat so we chose Cosmic Rays (one of Dan’s faves) for a quick meal before heading out to see the shows and parades.  Since we had ridden many rides already in this trip and hadn’t ever been to a party to see these shows/parades/fireworks this was going to be our goal this time.  We grabbled some of the goodies and free snacks and we did the second parade (less crowded) on Main Street so we could watch it snow while we were there.  Got a great spot and after enjoying the parade we headed quickly to see if we could jump on Big Thunder (M’s request) and actually rode it twice in a row before they closed down the line.  It was now after midnight and M fell asleep on the walk back to Bay Lake.  By the way…that walking to Magic Kingdom thing?  Yeah, it’s the best thing ever about our “home” resort.

Monday it was off to Epcot.  We had it timed so that as long as we got to Spaceship Earth by 10am we could hit all of our fast passes.  We also had a bonus fast pass that afternoon from Soarin’ because of a breakdown on another ride the day before.  After hitting SE, Test Track, and the Seas with Nemo, I jumped online to see if I could grab us another fast pass.  Saw one for Test Track (One of Dan and M’s faves) and grabbed it for 6pm.  We then decided to grab lunch in The Land.  Their quick service there is also full of healthier options and not the same boring pizza and burgers.  We also knew M would eat the pasta there and since we were having dinner that night at San Angel Inn, we knew she should eat something good for lunch as she won’t eat much at dinner.  As we were leaving The Land to head to the countries for a bit, the rain started.  I’m not kidding you when I say that EVERY time we are in Epcot.  EVERY.SINGLE.TIME.  So we put on our ponchos and stroller cover and went.  They came on and off a lot that day.   We did about half of the countries and jumped on the boat back to the front of Epcot to hit our Soarin’ fast pass.  We then decided to hit the other countries and then head to our dinner.   It was fabulous as always and M actually decided she liked the 3 Caballero’s ride this time too.  Just in time for them to change it as I see it changing to a Coco theme here in the future as part of the pavilion has already seemed to head that way.  We then headed back to that boat just in time for it to start raining again.  Back on with the ponchos and stroller cover.  As we waited in the Candlelight Processional line (our dinner came with tickets for the show), it started to pour.  Like bad.  M was taking cover in the stroller and staying very dry until we got to the point where they parked the stroller for us.  She then climbed under my poncho and tried to stay dry as the water literally rushed all around us.  This is where we saw the “nasty” of Disney come alive.  You don’t see it often, but when you get to an outdoor auditorium that is only half covered in pouring rain and the seats are very limited under cover, people start pushing.  Dan was ready to bail, but I wanted to give it a few more minutes.  Thankfully right before it started, they found two seats in the front row at the end.  Dan had water rushing at his feet, but it was not on our head and I had M on my lap.  We could see the choir well but only had a limited view of Neil Patrick Harris.  He was amazing as a reader and Dan and I enjoyed it.  M fell asleep.  Yes, with all that singing, she only made about half of it.  What she saw though she enjoyed.   After we found our stroller, we headed to the back entrance of Epcot, walked to Beach Club and did a Lyft back to the hotel.  We at that point didn’t want to do buses.  Too far, too crowded, and again we had gotten spoiled.

That night (yes at like 10pm) we had to pack.  Boo.  And we thought for some reason it was a good idea for our last day to make a Fast Pass for Slinky Dog.  So we packed, we checked our bags, and we had them hold our carry-ons and off we went to Hollywood Studios (another awesome thing about the Annual Pass…a quick pop in was easy!).  When we got there I noticed the line for Toy Story Mania was short and we couldn’t get in line for Slinky Dog yet, so I figured we could push it.  We had a blast on it and on SD but as always I was pushing our time.  We quickly rushed out of HS as we still had to grab lunch and use our last few snack credits.  At Bay Lake we had the slowest cashier in the history of cashiers and she kept screwing things up so I sent Dan to get our food to go and M and I figured out the snack thing.  We grabbed the bus with 5 minutes to spare and made it to the airport in more than enough time.  At the airport our friends from home who had also been there at about the same time were on our flight.  The girls quickly made fast friends and kept each other busy on the plane ride home.

This was another magical trip.  Beautiful decorations, great food, and lots of fun.  We really enjoyed the Christmas holidays, but I have to say fall might still be our favorite time.  It’s a hard call because I love that time at home as well, but the fireworks for the Halloween party are AMAZING, and there is just something about that time of year down there for us.

Onward and upward to the planning of our next trip!  M (and Momma!) is already counting the days!!

Our Fall 2017 Trip to Disney

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I had so many thoughts rolling around in my head from this trip and so many people asking me thoughts and tips from this time, I figured this was the best way to spit it all out.  So here goes.  If there is any bouncing around, I apologize.  I will try to keep it organized but I came back to a Sh*%  Show at home, life, and M’s 5th birthday party, Thanksgiving, Christmas New Years…well you get the point.  My brain isn’t what it used to be.

Summer/Fall 2016 we purchased DVC (Disney Vacation Club) via resell and then shortly before our trip added a 25 point contract direct.  Let’s me just say, I’m in love.  I NEVER thought I would be able to stay in the hotels/rooms that we were in.  Each one was different and amazing.  It’s basically buying a coupon, I know.  But it works for me and my family.  And if asked if I would do it again, the answer is YES!  This trip was everything I wanted (If only Disney would have gotten their calendar correct and had the Christmas party start on our last day it would have been perfect).  Perfect?  No.  But awesome none the less.

Upon arriving at the airport after dropping off our car at Globe parking, I went to check our bags in and realized my wallet was not in my purse.  Thank God we were early…however the taxi driver I swear couldn’t have driven slower.  I had Dan’s phone to communicate to everyone because he had also called me an Uber as I was running away from them trying to get to any vehicle that could drive me home.  However, Dan’s phone locked me out and I couldn’t log back in after I got home found my wallet. In the meantime, Dan and my parents had searched all bags looking for the wallet, and were unable to get in touch with me!  All turned out well though.  Wallet was retrieved and vacation mode resumed after my heartbeat finally settled back into rhythm.

The plane was full and M was bouncing off walls with excitement.  Thankfully I had packed a small pack of Legos which she and Dan built on the ride (Tip: Pack a paper plate if bringing Legos on the plane. Helps them to not roll around; however there is still a Lego head floating on some Southwest airplane…).  After arriving at MCO and checking into the Magical Express (How fabulous is it that you don’t have to pick up your bags and take them to your room??) we were on our way to Bay Lake Towers.  Check-In was a breeze and the staff was excited to give Mom and Maddy both their Birthday pins.  I snuck up to the room while Dan, Mom, and Dad distracted Maddy and put a bag of little gifts, a note from Tinkerbell, and some pixie dust on the bed.  I then snuck back out and waited at the door until everyone came up.  Our room was ready first so we went up to check out the view.  Who doesn’t want to open their balcony door and see the castle and rides like right there?  It was amazing.  After putting away the few things in our carry-ons we went down to the Quick Service restaurant in the Contemporary.   Not bad, but certainly doesn’t have the options that Pop Century has (another one of our favorites).

After a quick meal at Contempo Café, we went over to Magic Kingdom to make sure everything was set up for the girl’s Annual Passes and our Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party tickets. My mom, Maddy, and I are going back in May, so it made sense for us to buy the AP and not buy separate tickets for both trips.  Also, with the discounts and Memory Maker that comes along with it, the Pass is just a good deal for us.  We then jumped on a bus to Disney Springs and planned to browse around for a while.  And grab ice cream.  That is a requirement on all vacations for us.  Lots and lots of ice cream.

The next morning after another amazing breakfast at Chef Mickey’s as it was super cold and not yet pool weather we did some resort visiting.  We went over to the Grand Floridian, and then over to Wilderness Lodge.  At the Grand Floridian we visited the location of the statue for the little boy who lost his life last year.  Broke my heart again for that family.  Such an awful tragedy at what is supposed to be the happiest place on earth.  At Wilderness we checked out the pool and the beautiful lobby.  Hoping to stay there soon.

Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party was later that night.  It was wonderful.  The lines were light (except for the usual subjects of Mine Train and Peter Pan), the candy was beyond plentiful and the atmosphere was awesome.  Dan, me, Mom, & Dad “Disney Bounded” as Mickey, Minnie, Daisy, & Donald and Maddy was an adorable Pluto, because as she said, “Someone needs to be Pluto!”  For those that say it’s crowded and not fun…you are just a Debbie Downer!  Those parties are awesome and I really think the fireworks for Halloween are better than any at other times.  Love the Halloween Party!  Remember if you are going to these “Parties” you can usually get in at a little before 4pm and stay until close, but the party doesn’t officially start until 7pm.

Off to Epcot for Mom’s birthday the next day.  And speaking of Birthdays…this trip was to celebrate both Mom and Maddy’s.  With the birthday buttons and the “Birthday Princess” sash Maddy got on her birthday there were lots of well wishes and free desserts for both of them.  I will say Mom had had enough attention by mid-day on her birthday but my kid (who is just like her mom) celebrated all week long.  At every park and at every hotel.  This was I think our first day ever that it didn’t rain on our Epcot parade per say.  I swear it rains every time we are there.  We did a bit less of the “Future World” part of the park and spent more time walking around the countries.  I feel like our girl’s trip we will do this even more.  We did ride the new Frozen Ride, and Dan and Dad pouted because Test Track was again closed that night due to a break down.  That night we popped over to the Boardwalk for wonderful birthday dinner at the Flying Fish.  One of the best steaks I have ever had.  And I’m not a huge red meat person.  But it was soooo good.  I will say we didn’t stay to see all of Illuminations that night.  I love the concept of the show, but it is one show overall that I can give or take.

The next day was pool day and ‘Ohana for dinner.  It was semi warm so we did head to the pool that afternoon after a quick monorail trip over to Epcot for the girls to ride Test Track.  M loved it.  And this was another perk of our AP.  In and out for two rides, filled up our popcorn buckets and back to the pool in about an hour and a half.   We realized that we were at Disney World the same time as Dan’s cousin and our reservations at ‘Ohana were 5 minutes apart.  We couldn’t have done that if we tried.  No seriously.  ‘Ohana reservations are hard to get!  Thankfully the staff was able to seat us together, although I feel like they thought we were not telling the truth, but I swear we had no idea that they were going to be down there and only found out thanks to Facebook.  M and Avery loved celebrating their birthdays at dinner that night!  Afterwards we headed over to the Poly beach to watch the light parade on the water then back to the hotel to watch the fireworks from our room.  I have to say.  That was one of the best parts of being at Bay Lake Towers/Contemporary.

Maddy’s Birthday was spent at Magic Kingdom and was a beautiful, fun day.  We rode all her favorites, she got to do Bibbity Boppity Boutique, and we had dinner at the Crystal Palace.  She loved BBB and we would do it again.  We brought her own dress (bought off of Etsy as she doesn’t like “itchy” dresses) and they did her hair, makeup and nails.  It was a full day even though we had to leave the parks by 7pm because of the Halloween Party that night.  We again got to watch fireworks from the room and got ready for our next day at Universal.

Our day at Universal started with an Uber trip to the park.  We did not yet have a rental car so it was the easiest way to get there and back.  We enjoyed the day at both parks taking the Hogwart’s train between the parks.  Most of the day was spent in the Harry Potter areas.  I borrowed a magic wand from our friend (Thanks Spence!) for Maddy to use at all the magical areas.  They are super cool but expensive if you don’t go to Universal often so it was great that we could borrow one.  We really really enjoyed that day, but I will say we are still Disney people.  At least until Maddy gets a little older.  There aren’t enough rides to keep Maddy interested at this age.  And Dan and my Dad aren’t roller coaster fans so that limits you a lot.  For older kids and roller coaster fans though I could see how you would just be amazed!  We Ubered back to Disney Springs for dinner that night and then back to the hotel.

The next day Dan was off to the airport to pick up our rental car.  By mid-morning we were packed up and off to Vero Beach after a stop at Disney Springs to use our last dining credits and snack credits.  They thankfully were able to transfer some of our luggage and hold it at the Polynesian until we got back.  That is the hard part about a split trip.  Lots of stuff.  Even with free laundry services, there is lots to take when you are staying for 12 days.  And Disney for us requires stuff.  Hats, bows, ponchos, food (because we snack in the room and parks and still take stuff in for Maddy), light up stuff etc.

At Vero we had two awesome days at the pool with an amazing view of the ocean in both of our rooms.  We ate the first night at their restaurant that was in the hotel and Dan, Maddy, and I ate at a great local Mexican restaurant.  The day before we left it was rainy and cloudy in the afternoon so we headed into the town.  Let me just say on a Sunday afternoon in off peak season it was not worth it.  We did hit a local brew pub on the way back to the hotel.  That night we played miniature golf as we had already done the campfire the night before.

Annnnddd we are back off to Disney World.  The Polynesian was awesome.  We got there early and our room wasn’t ready so we headed to the pool after lunch in their quick service restaurant.  I will say like at Contemporary, the quick service was “ehhh”.  Not awful but nothing to write home about.  I coaxed my kid to go down the slide at the pool because she loved the one at Vero but she was not a fan of this one.  It is a tube and it is dark.  Oh well.  She did try and that’s all that matters.  We also found that we like the quiet pool at the Poly too.  It was close to our rooms, had mug refills and zero entry for Maddy.  M loved the pull down bed with Lilo and Stitch on it and since all 5 of us were in one room, Dan and I took the pull out couch for two nights.  I will say they weren’t as bad as I was expecting from what I had heard.  The room was a little tight with 5 of us, but the amazing walk in shower made up for it!

I do have to review our in room meal that night.  We got ‘Ohana served in room.  We ordered for 2 Adults and got enough food for all 5 of us.  More than enough.  If you couldn’t get a reservation at the restaurant I would say this would be an okay way to get ‘Ohana but personally, I wouldn’t do it again.  Food was luke warm, and it just wasn’t the same.  People rave about being able to order ‘Ohana to their room.  We were just “ehhh” again.

Our last day in the parks was spent open to close at Magic Kingdom.  Seriously.  I have never seen the “Kiss Goodnight” before but we saw it this trip.  We rode all the rides we like at least once, and many multiple times.  We did go back to the hotel mid-day to hang at the pool.  It was a nice break and was possible because we were on the monorail.  I don’t know how people do it when you have to take a bus back and forth to the hotel.  To me that is a waste of time.  You spend so much time in transportation when you could have just found a quiet spot at the parks to relax.  Oh well…to each his own!

On our final day after checking out and checking into our airline, we headed to ‘Ohana for our final character meal.  Another one I wouldn’t recommend.  The food was okay, but I felt we had better food and character interactions elsewhere.  Also, if this is one you go to regularly you will notice they no longer bring out bacon.  You can ask for it though for no extra charge.  We won’t be going to this one again.  But we like to try at least one new restaurant each time we go.  We have our favorites, but we try hard to branch out when we can!

On the note of DVC…Here are a few things I would recommend if you are new to DVC.  We had no dirty room issues.  You see it pop up a lot on Facebook groups and blogs, but there was no issue for us.  I’m sure that some of these people have had real issues, but sometimes I think people forget it’s a hotel.  And they try to keep it as clean as they can, but it’s still a hotel.  Also before we went I had a fear of lack of storage in the rooms because of FB groups.  At both Bay Lake and Vero we had tons for all 3 of us.  Poly was a little more limited due to the pull down bed and there were 5 of us in the room.  I feel that that is the only place I could have used some temporary shelving (which I brought but at that point we were only there for 2 nights so it stayed in my suitcase) hanging in the closet.  Other things I wish I would have had or glad I did have…liquid hand soap (I hate the bar soap to wash my hands…especially with contacts), paper/plastic cups (they had paper plates…why not cups?), a hair towel (as DVC doesn’t get towel service daily having that extra towel was great), a soap dish for the shower.  One big thing we had which I will not bring next time is pool noodles.  Lots of the pools had them and they just ended up being a pain.  Two more things that I was really looking forward to was the Top of the World lounge and the Beach at the Polynesian.  I was not overly impressed on either.

This trip was overall purely amazing.  As my one shirt says, “In my favorite place with my favorite people”.  I truly was.  I saw my baby be super brave and try new things and have an amazing birthday, was able to watch my Dad tear up as he opened the room in Vero with that great ocean view, and while my mom isn’t one for lots of attention I know she loved the well wishes on her birthday and that amazing meal that night.  As for Dan and I…we are just blessed to be able to take them and make these memories.

How do I start planning a trip to Disney?

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So, as we started planning vacation this year (partial Disney and possibly partial beach), I was thinking about all the things I do in the beginning of planning a Disney trip and wanted to share.

Everyone plans Disney different…some do it all themselves…some have their travel agents do it…some fly by the seat of their pants.  In our family it works better if I start it and Dan helps fill in the blanks.  He helps me narrow things down and tries to keep me on task.

Here are some important early steps that I always take:

  1. Dates, dates, dates. After figuring out what deals Disney has going on, we pick our approximate dates.  These may shift slightly in the planning process as special events (Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party, Food and Wine Festival, closures, etc.) usually have some bearing on when we go.
  2. After our dates are picked, we pick which parks on which days. If you are staying on property sometime the extra magic hours have a hand in deciding dates.  With a little one who is still under 3, the Extra Magic hours don’t have as much meaning for us at this stage.  We still try to keep on a slight schedule for her.  As she gets older, they will.  However I have noticed the parks with the Extra Magic Hours that day also tend to be the most crowded.  Something to think about.
  3. We can then decide on sit down restaurants (If you are doing the dining plan or want to pick a few favorites…and if you aren’t doing the dining plan…why not?!?!?). Part of our favorite thing about Disney is the food.  Can you do it cheaper without the dining plan?  Sure, but we like to eat and not worry about costs once we are on vacation.  There are lots of options at each park and we have even left the part to go to restaurants in the nearby resorts.
  4. You might think this is an early step I missed, but it’s not. It’s actually not too important to us.  We then pick a resort.  Always on property.    Pop Century is a favorite for us, but we have done other value resorts as well.  The kicker to this one is that if you go during the fall when the free dining is on, you have to pay a small fee to upgrade to the dining plan that we like (One quick-service, one sit down, and one snack per day).  It’s worth it though.  I do usually price a moderate resort out as well.  Sometimes it’s worth the extra cost.  Sometimes not.  The last few trips we haven’t done a full week so we aren’t spending much time at the resort.  In that case it’s almost always not worth it.  The Value resorts are great and the biggest difference between the Value and Moderate is slightly bigger rooms and nicer pools.  If you aren’t planning to be in the pools a lot there is no reason to do Moderate in my opinion.
  5. Park tickets. Again, another late step for us.  You already picked the parks above but know, some of the Disney Deals require you buy a certain number of park tickets during your stay.  We have in the past added things like the water parks, and Park Hopper onto our pass, but won’t need to again until M is a bit older.
  6. The last one (and some might think this is the first), is to call 407-W-Disney or a Disney travel agent. They can help you plan things out and get you pricing?  Need one?  Another Mom/Disney blogger I know is great.  You can read more from her blog here and reach out to her if you need someone to help with all these steps!

How to save money on your Disney trip…

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So, I have been getting a lot of questions lately about how I save money on a trip to Disney. So here are some of my best “practices”. If you have specific questions on your trip, I’m not a travel agent, but always willing to talk Disney and give my opinion if I can! We plan on taking M as much as we can. Not always for a full week, so that is a big money saver. I’m okay with going down there for a long weekend. Don’t get me wrong, it’s sad to leave on a shorter trip but if it gets us there more often, I’m good with it.

“C”lue- My biggest one is to go off peak season and the Fall is our favorite time. They usually do some dates with the “free dining plan”, and that is another money saver. If you are going to be down there for some of the days that qualify, you can split your trip up and get the free dining for part of it. Their Halloween event at the Magic Kingdom is phenomenal and it’s Food and Wine festival at Epcot. I know that the older kiddos are in school, and my mom (a retired teacher) will kill me for this, but take them out of school if you can.

“L”ink- The Chase Disney card. This website gives you both options. The pay one will sometimes “pay” for itself within a few months, but you need to look at both options to see which one will work better for you and your family. You can rack up “Disney Dollars” and those can be used to pay for your trip and/or things onsite. The one with an annual fee you can use towards flights as well.

“T”hought- It’s always a debate for us on whether to stay at the Value resorts and upgrade to the dining plan with one sit down meal and one quick service meal (YES! You can do that and just pay the difference!) or to just stay at a Moderate Resort and get the dining plan we want. My best advice on this one? Ask the people at 1-407-W-Disney or your favorite travel agent. They will price out both plans for you. I never try to do it myself on the web. They can do it quicker and somehow always get me better pricing than I see anyway.

Hope this helps and honestly, I’m always open for a Disney talk if anyone has other suggestions or questions!

Disney Food Tips

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From the Disney Food Blog…read here.  Some good ideas here if you are heading to Disney soon!  I agree with 99% of them.

Most Important?

4. Make your reservations 180 days prior to your visit whenever possible. Nope — it’s not enough to just make reservations; you need to make them as early as possible. For most restaurants, that’s 180 days prior to the date you’re seeking. If you’re staying in a Disney hotel, you can book all of your reservations for up to 10 days beginning exactly 180 days before the first day of your trip.

16. Visit at slower times of the year to avoid crowds. While slow times at Disney are becoming more rare, there are still a few times during the year that you can go when the crowds are lower. Booking your visit in September, early January, early February, or May can lead to shorter lines and more dining options available.

#16 is really cool especially when you get free dining!