Minnie Minus Mickey: A Single Mom Plans for Disney – Booking my Trip!

Happy Friday, Disney-lovin’ friends!  It’s been a whirlwind of planning fun this past month here in South Louisiana, and I am enjoying every minute!

I was so nervous, clicking the “send” button on my payment, until a thought occurred to me; the lightbulb in my head turned on…I have a travel agent.  If there is a better deal (because, come on, we’re all reading this because we want the best deal!), she will be as happy as I am about re-booking me to save some hard-earned cash.  The decision to use an agent was probably the easiest I made in my plans.  Ask her.  I go around and around weighing every option like my life depended on it…dining plan or no, which one, value resort or moderate or splurge on a deluxe, vacation club rental points, park hopper, water parks, Disney Quest, Disney transportation or a car…the options are ENDLESS!  I swear, I could go on a Disney vacation once a month (wow, wouldn’t that be a dream come true!) and not have the same experience twice!  As a single mom, especially, having someone to bounce ideas around with was invaluable.  And it’s not costing me a single extra penny.  In fact, it’s SAVING me money.  Wow.

The other person I have been bouncing ideas with is my son.  I have taken almost every aspect of our trip to him for consideration.  We’re going as part of his birthday celebration, so some things will be surprises!  Other than those exciting details, he has had a say in everything.  He is the one who finally made the decision about which dining plan to go with and where to stay, his reasons being so simple that it was a “duh” moment.  He said, “Mom, I want to eat at places with tablecloths and really awesome decorations.”  Ok.  Decision made.  Deluxe dining plan it is.  Yes, it’s more expensive, but picturing his face as we walk into Coral Reef, and later his excitement at eating at a revolving restaurant made the money justifiable.

I don’t mind taking a bus, boat, or monorail.  When I went as a kid, that was memorable to me!  The room to us is just a place to crash.  We’re not staying long enough to park hop, and we’ve got a pretty decent water park here.  My splurge is not worrying about budgeting for food.  It’s paid for.  I’m excited to need a minimal amount of cash to worry about.

That’s the kicker when planning for Disney.  Can it be ridiculously expensive?  Yes.  Does it have to be?  No.  Prioritize!  Walt Disney made the mouse affordable (Get it?  mouse affordable…Affordable Mouse! 🙂 ) by making it for families.  He made a place where parents could have fun with their kids, and in doing so, he made it a playground for everyone, not just the rich.  By finding a good travel agent, reading when you can on theaffordablemouse.com and other Disney devoted websites, and prioritizing your wants, you can definitely have a Disney dream vacation…for less than you thought.

Jolie is a South Louisiana native, who bleeds purple and gold (Geaux Tigers!).  She is a single mom of three children, ages 6, 15 months and 15 months (no, that’s not a typo–they’re twins), and they keep her on her toes, especially when it comes to time and money.  She has traveled the world, including our favorite…Walt Disney World, even following a childhood dream and working there in her early 20’s! When Jolie grows up (or not!), she would love to work for Disney again, and her dream is to live happily ever after in Celebration, Florida.