Disney Driving Tip 1: Driving Straight Through vs. Stopping Overnight

Brenda Affordable Disney Vacations, Disney Vacation Planning, Saving Money at Disney World , , , 4 Comments

The first topic I wanted to cover in this series on driving to Walt Disney World is the choice of driving straight through vs. stopping overnight. Depending on where you live, you may need to consider stopping but you may not. I live in Texas so we have stopped along the way and we have driven straight through. Doing this, it takes us 16 hours to get there, including stopping for meals, restroom breaks, gas stops and stretching.

When budgeting for gas expenses, I always use the AAA Fuel Cost Calculator. Each trip it has proven to be extremely accurate and an invaluable tool. All one has to do is enter the make, model and year of the vehicle along with the starting and ending points and it calculates how much one will spend on gas. Here is a link to the site: http://www.fuelcostcalculator.com. I hope you will take advantage of this handy tool. Read more

Wordless Wenesday: Jungle Cruise…an Oldie but a Still a Goodie

Nancy Disney Fun, Wordless Wednesday , , 1 Comment

Once upon a time, Jungle Cruise was the coolest thing around when it came to animals and Disney World.  The idea that you could take a boat ride on some of the “rivers of the world” and have someone guide you as you drifted by wild animals and headhunters…well unless you were planning a real trip down the Amazon, this was the next best thing. In Disney style of course. Then Disney’s Animal Kingdom was born…and suddenly those animatronic “wild” animals seemed sort of…..well not very wild, at least not compared to the real thing.

But I don’t think that has lessened the charm of Jungle Cruise. I still think the animals are pretty awesome, and I still totally appreciate the technology that created them. It really is an amazing attraction!

Of course, the Boat Guides are pretty darn entertaining themselves….. 🙂

Many thanks to Brenda for this great photo!

Tuesday Disney Tips: Save Money by Driving

Brenda Affordable Disney Vacations, Disney Vacation Planning, Saving Money at Disney World, Tuesday Disney Tips , , , , , 4 Comments

The exorbitant amount we Americans are paying at the pump will very likely affect the vacation plans for many families this Summer.  People from around the country have said that the high price of gas has caused them to cancel or change their summer vacation plans in the past, so it is very possible this will happen again this year. Some families, although not deciding to do away with vacation this year altogether, also do not want to plan too far ahead; so instead of planning now for a July trip they are waiting to see if prices go down. The problem is the uncertainty over how high fuel prices could get.

Here at The Affordable Mouse, our wish is for everyone to be able to visit Walt Disney World with their families and we are committed to providing as much information as we can to try to make that a reality for every family. My goodness, Nancy has even become a travel agent to be able to further help you attain this goal. Me, I work full-time elsewhere but I still care just the same about trying to help you visit WDW, and this year is no exception. In fact, this year being so difficult has put even more stress on families and that is when we need more togetherness than ever at the most magical place on earth. Which, thankfully, brings me back to my point and that is, driving to Walt Disney World can save families a great deal of money. Read more

Disney Fun From Around the World: Week of April 18, 2011

Nancy Disney Fun From Around the "World" , , 0 Comment

Greetings Disney Friends! Happy Easter to those of you celebrating tomorrow, and Happy Passover to those of you who celebrated this past week! I hope that these special holidays are a time for you to share some truly magical memories with your family and friends!

Lots of great Disney blog posts this past week as usual! Here are just a few of my favorites!

Chip and Co always offers such a great variety of Disney news and views every day. This week I especially loved two posts, both which were from Ken! The first was another of his Oldies But Goodies series. This one was on Becoming A Kid Again At Walt Disney World The second one I truly relate to because it is a favorite of mine as well: Best Things I Love About Disney – Big Thunder Mountain Railroad

I am enjoying following Disney Bird as she plans her Disney vacation. This week she started getting “souvenirs” to surprise her daughter with when at Disney World: Disney Goodies!

In the spirit of the season, enjoy Ashley’s fond memories of Disney’s Easter Parade at Disney Dispatch: Because I Stinkin’ Love Disney World

Ever wonder what happens if you forget to make your Magical Express reservations? Find out what to do at Disney Driven Life: DISNEY’S MAGICAL EXPRESS

Kelly at Disney Guru shares my love for Illuminations: Reflections of Earth. She talks about this wonderful show and includes some great tips for watching it too!

Would you like “Mickey” to deliver a special gift to a loved one while on your Disney vacation? Well now you can…sort of. Disney Parks Blog tells how: Mickey Mouse in Your Walt Disney World Resort Room

From DisZine comes a sneak peek at some New Disney Ear Hats Inspired by Epcot’s World Showcase Coming in May. What do you think?

Many families love to have matching t-shirts while on their Disney vacations. This week, April shares how to make some really cool ones at WDW Fan Zone: Spray Painted Mickey Mouse T-Shirts

And I was very busy visiting some other Disney sites this week too!

I wrote this for Chip and Co about one of my favorite things to do at Disney World: Beginners Guide to Pin Trading

I shared some of our top planning tips at Disney Dispatch: Nancy’s Monthly Magic

I also discussed my thoughts over at at WDW Fan Zone, about Disney’s “Let the Memories Begin” promotion…..and one very special vacation that we had: Creating Magical Disney Memories

And I made it into some other “news” as well (she said modestly 🙂  ):

Disney Bug provided a very nice review of my new affordable Disney dining ebook: Magical Meals Review! Thank you Amanda!

And you can read the second part of my interview with Examiner.com: Disney travel site: Interview with Nancy Bobby of The Affordable Mouse (part II)

Well that’s it everyone! Have a beautiful, joyous, and truly magical weekend!

Minnie Minus Mickey: A Single Mom Plans for Disney—Planning Your Parks, Day 1

Guest Disney Vacation Planning, Minnie Minus Mickey, Saving Money at Disney World , , , , , , , , 2 Comments
WDW Sept 2008 - Eating at Chef Mickey'sphoto via http://www.flickr.com/photos/peterpanfan1953/2988432838/

Happy Friday, Disney-lovin’ friends!  One thing that is on my mind when planning a Disney trip is which park I’ll be in which day.  So, I check out the calendar for school, flight schedules, and, of course, the Disney Parks calendars.

Since I booked over six months out, I had to wait (and wait, and wait) for the events calendar to come out on the Disney site.  I’m not a big fan of waiting for information I want it NOW, so I checked out historic crowd levels for certain days (all of them were low, due to the time of year we’re going), as well as expected dates for Mickey’s Not-So-Scary-Halloween Party, which we are so excited about!  The dates for that still haven’t been officially announced, but that is a separate ticketed event, and we can get in even if we end up in a different park that day.  Whew! Read more