Thrifty Thursday: Lost in the (Disney) World

Brenda Disney Vacation Planning, Thrifty Thursday , , , 0 Comment
picture perfectphoto via http://www.flickr.com/photos/jewellshoots/3858698368/

Like so many other parents, I know what it is like to be walking down the sidewalk at a Disney park only to realize that a member of your family is missing. I have felt that utter panic and paralyzing fear that is associated with losing a child at Walt Disney World. During our trip in 2000, when my youngest son was only 6, he got separated from us. Those five minutes was the longest time of my entire life. In fact, that event is when I started to go gray.

Lost children are a very serious matter — not only to us as parents but to the Disney cast members as well. First, I am sure you have heard that at Walt Disney World there is no such thing as a lost child, only lost parents. The cast members are excellent at taking care of your precious little prince or princess until you can be found. I hope that your child is never lost, but we all know it does happen, so I am going to share some tips for hopefully making your reunion a lot quicker.

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Tuesday Disney Tips: To Insure or Not to Insure?

Brenda Disney Vacation Planning, Tuesday Disney Tips , , , , 0 Comment

Choosing whether or not to buy trip insurance is one of the things to consider when planning your Walt Disney World vacation. Here at the Affordable Mouse it is paramount to us that we try to give our readers the best possible advice. We really want everyone to have the most magical experience possible when on your Disney vacation. We also try to heed our own advice when traveling ourselves. To me, affordable means the smartest use of, while requiring the least amount of, my Disney vacation money. So, it is not normally my practice to use money on any extras, like insurance, that would keep me from buying a momento for a family member or a gift for a friend while there. This year is a little different.

In all the years my family and I have been traveling to Walt Disney World, we have never purchased the vacation insurance with our reservation. Maybe we were tempting fate, but we all knew that it would have to be something fierce to keep us from making our annual trip to “The World.” We rested on the assurance of faith, combined with good planning and staying healthy. Plus, we have usually traveled at the end of November and we had been lucky in the past so what should change? Still, there is always a feeling in the pit of my stomach as we are driving from Texas to Florida that IF our van breaks down, we could arrive a day or two late, and the thought of that keeps tugging at me until we arrive there safe and sound.

For the first time, I will be purchasing trip insurance for my upcoming trip to WDW this September. For some travelers, this may seem like a waste of money, but I will spend that extra $59 gladly. What I am buying is peace of mind. I consider it to be a wise investment without any doubt for two simple reasons:

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Disney Fun From Around the World: Week of March 14, 2011

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

Hi there Disney Friends and Happy Spring (well, almost….tomorrow it’s official, but let’s look forward…. 🙂  ) It’s time, once again, for our weekly round-up of my favorite Disney blog posts over the past week.

I wanted to start this week with some updates on our Disney friends in Japan. The Disney Blog has been providing a series of updates throughout the week, and it is still clearly a challenging situation. These two articles: Disney suspends all operations in Tokyo and When Should Tokyo Disneyland Reopen? offer news and an interesting perspective. With a slightly different point of view, Your Highway in the Sky shares some thoughts on those wonderful Disney castmembers….and I think all of us who love Disney will not be surprised by this: Disney Employees in Japan – Hidden Heroes

Our other Disney blog friends had, of course, a wonderful selection of interesting and helpful articles. Starting with the folks at Chip and Co who always share so much great information, I found Character Meals: A Disney Do or Don’t? to have some good tips for deciding if one is right for your family. And then in another in his series,Oldies But Goodies Ken discusses: World Showcase, More Than A Bunch Of Buildings Part 2

Destinations in Florida provided a very helpful list of Magic Kingdom Quick Service Dining locations, that you will want to refer to for your next trip!

The Flower and Garden Festival is currently in “full bloom” (sorry, couldn’t resist 🙂  ) and this photo from the Disney Parks Blog shows why this time of year is truly one of the most beautiful: Princess Aurora and Prince Phillip at Epcot

Always interesting and entertaining…and providing very useful information as well, the Disney Dispatch had some great organization and planning tips for your next trip that you may want to try: Happiest Tips on Earth

Disney Driven Life continues to be one of my favorite blogs for the wide variety of incredible articles that are posted. DISNEY DINING PLAN TIPS FOR SNACKS AT EPCOT offered more great tips for dining at Disney World. And this one, KEEP MOVING FORWARD shares some powerful advice with true “words to live by”.

“Our” Kelly shared her favorite Magical Attraction Memories on her blog, Disney Guru and then also helped with something that can be especially difficult whether you are young or old:  How to Buy Time Before Your Next Trip

This post from Chris at Everything Walt Disney World was, I felt, especially important, because it points out something that we don’t often discuss in the Disney blog world: Bad Advice Abounds. We don’t discuss it…but it’s out there: be careful who you are listening to!

So many great posts at WDW Fan Zone, so little time! 🙂 Here are two favorites: Packing Tips and the mouth-watering Top 5 Desserts at Walt Disney World

Last……it would seem that I was all over the World Wide Web this week! First, Chip and Co ran an entire series on all of their writers: we all answered the same questions, and had a fun time providing a peek into “who we really are”. 🙂 If you want to find out a bit more about me, you can stop by here: The Magic Behind the ‘Company’: Getting to Know Nancy

I was also extremely honored to provide a Guest Blog post for Couponing to Disney this week: Dreaming of Walt Disney World: Putting the Pieces Together for an Affordable Disney Vacation

And finally, my monthly blog post on the Disney Dispatch shared some of my favorite ways to “get more out of your trip”: Nancy’s Monthly Magic.

That’s all for this week folks. Have a wonderful, safe, and truly magical start to your Spring!

Be Our Guest: How to Become a Disney Princess

Nancy Be Our Guest, Disney Community , , 2 Comments

Today’s post is courtesy of Disney Guru! Recently Theresa wrote a wonderful review of the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique on Disney Guru and not only shared how the experience works, but also provided some tips for saving money too!

Princess For A Day

Most little girls dream of  being a princess.  The dresses, the hair, the castle, and of course the title of “Princess”.  At Walt Disney World, that dream becomes a reality for children ages 3 and up.

Your child’s transformation takes place at the Bippidi Boppidi Boutique inside Cinderella Castle or at the World of Disney store in Downtown Disney.

Once you arrive, your daughter is given her invitation to “The Ball” which comes straight from Cinderella herself.  When it’s her turn, she is addressed as “Princess (enter child’s name)” and  then escorted to her awaiting throne. Princesses get pampered by their own stylist. . .er, Fairy Godmother In-Training who will give them a royal manicure, hairstyle, and makeup all while a Photopass Photographer captures the memories.

Read the rest of the article……