affordable disney family vacations

Are You an Organizer? The Best Way to Plan a Disney Vacation is with the Passporter Walt Disney World

Nancy Disney Travel Guide, Disney Vacation Planning, Saving Money on Accommodations, Saving Money on Food , , , , 0 Comment

Have you found the best vacation guide yet, to help you plan an affordable Disney family vacation? If you really like to be organized, then have I got a Disney guidebook for you!

PassPorter Walt Disney World is very possibly one of my favorite Disney vacation planners, probably because organization is passportermy thing. 🙂 Filled with lots of detailed information about every aspect of Walt Disney World, in cluding the parks, the resorts, and the restaurants, it is organized so well that it is very easy to follow….and very easy to quickly find just what you are looking for.

The authors cover each of the 4 parks in great detail, including full-color fold-out maps, tons of their personal pictures, and a complete description of every ride and attraction (this is so helpful!). There are also profiles of each of the Disney-owned hotels which also include maps, color photos, and room layouts. And then there are the reviews of each of the Disney World dining options….all 300+ of them. What is especially nice are the average meal costs for each, from counter-service to table-service. This is a great help when trying to decide where you want to eat before you get to Disney!

All of this is great and makes the Passporter Walt Disney World a valuable resource in itself. But the aspect that I like the best are the handy organizer pockets and journal. This is the perfect place to keep your maps, passes, receipts, must-see lists, as well as anything else that you need to keep! And with a place to make notes and journal memories of your trip, you end up with a wonderful keepsake at the end of your trip!

So, is it important to you to have a well-organized Disney vacation planner? Do you like the idea of being able to keep everything in one place? If so, then for you, the best way to plan a Disney vacation will be with the PassPorter Walt Disney World.

(And if you have missed my other posts on Disney vacation guides, you can find them all here.)

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Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World 2010: More Disney Vacation Information Than You Can Possibly Imagine

Nancy Disney Travel Guide, Disney Vacation Planning, Saving Money on Accommodations, Saving Money on Food , , , , 0 Comment

I have been talking in the past several posts about my favorite Disney travel guides……

At over 800 pages, the Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World 2010 is the book for51cYJbqBF6L._SL160_ the Disney World visitor who want to know everything there is to know about the parks. It is thorough and provides an unbiased perspective of all the Disney parks, plus SeaWorld and Universal.

To say that it is detailed would be an understatement. Yet it is this detail that make this the book of choice for many. This guide covers pretty much every aspect of a vacation to the Orlando area that you could possibly think of. And it does it without bias, and is, in fact, not shy about being critical where needed.

I will be honest here though, and say that when I read the Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World 2010, while I appreciated the author’s forthrightness, as a Disney-lover, I was not always a big fan of the cynicism. After all, I am going to Disney for the “magic”…don’t spoil it for me, ok? 😉

All kidding aside though, I will also be honest and say that many folks really want a critical perspective to help in their Disney vacation planning…and if you are one of them, then you will like this book.

Other than that, there is much to appreciate in the Unofficial Guide. One of the most popular aspects of this book are the Touring Plans which offer how-to guides for spending a day or so at each park. Very helpful indeed, especially if you are planning a trip during one of the busiest times of the year.

While all of the detailed information is great, it is alot of information in my opinion, and is definitely not a little book to take to the parks with you. Still, if you want a great planning guide and don’t mind wading through the many chapters, the Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World 2010 may be, for you, the very best way to see Disney World.

Have you missed the other posts in the series? You can check out my reviews of my favorite Disney travel guides here.

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Happy New Year!

Nancy Disney Travel Guide, Disney Vacation Planning, Saving Money on Accommodations, Saving Money on Food , , , 0 Comment

Happy New Year from The Affordable Mouse! I hope that your holiday season has been a special time for you and your families, filled with joy and wonderful memories. And now a New Year is upon us…..where DOES the time go? It seems that the older I get, the faster the time goes. Which is why creating those memories become more and more important to us as time goes on, don’t you think?

I hope that 2010 has a vacation to Walt Disney World planned for you! And I hope that I can help you make it as memorable….and affordable…as possible. 🙂

With that in mind, I want to continue this series of blog posts on some of the most popular…and helpful….Disney guidebooks that are available. January begins prime vacation planning time (got to have something happy to look forward to after Christmas!), so hopefully these posts will be well-timed for you.

Please keep in mind that each book as it’s merits, and while I like them all….for different reasons….one may be better for you than another, depending on your experiences, needs, and circumstances. Which is why I present a variety 🙂

Last time I discussed a special favorite of mine, the Ultimate Disney World Savings Guide. As an e-book, it is different from the others I review, and is therefore not as well known. But it has some great benefits, and if you really want some additional perspective on how to have an affordable Disney family vacation, you may want to give it a look.

517R-nCNB+L._SL160_Today I want to highlight another favorite of mine, the Complete Walt Disney World 2010. This latest edition to this popular series is really, in my opinion, one of the most useful books out there.

As a matter of fact, there are a lot of things I like about this book. To start, the color pictures are extremely helpful in giving lots of detail about the parks, rides, and attractions: this can be a great tool to help prepare for what to expect…especially for little ones.

I also really like the size, as it is small enough to be easily transported with you to the parks, which is a great benefit. Some books have a wealth of information, but are the size of a phonebook….which is just not helpful when you want to find something quickly. And let’s face it, if you are new to Disney World, the chances are very good that you are going to have questions…and isn’t it nice to be able to refer to a well-organized guidebook to find your answers while in the park? Not only is the Complete Walt Disney World 2010 small enough to be able to do this easily, with each park color-coded, you can find what you want almost immediately. I really like that! 🙂

There are also some great tips and ratings on the rides and attractions, which is very helpful for doing your planning. Of special note are the suggested touring plans as well as descriptions, wait times, and a kid’s “Fear Factor” for each ride. Any parent traveling with children to Walt Disney World for the first time should be prepared for the Fear Factor on each ride: nothing ruins the magic more than a terrified child.

These are just a few of the things that I really like about the Complete Walt Disney World 2010. If you would like to see what some others have to say about this guidebook, click here for reviews on the 2009 version. I feel pretty  confident that the latest edition will be just as good if not better. 🙂

I hope you found this helpful! Until next time, I hope your New Year is filled with much joy, great memories, and peace.

Have a magical day!

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Disney World Savings Guide: A Great Place to Start Planning an Affordable Disney Family Vacation

Nancy Disney Travel Guide, Disney Vacation Planning , , , , 0 Comment

Are you planning a trip to Walt Disney World for 2010? Perhaps Santa will be surprising your family with news of a Disney World vacation on Christmas Day?

If so, as you know, doing some planning will make the trip more enjoyable for all, as well as make it easier to actually have an affordable Disney family vacation.

With this in mind, I want to spend my next few posts discussing some of the Disney guidebooks that I have come across in my years of researching the best way to plan a Disney vacation.

Today I want to discuss The Ultimate Disney World Savings Guide an e-book that has been written by a former Disney castmember.

I really like this book because, having been written by someone who worked at Walt Disney World, it offers a perspective that you are not likely to find anyplace else. As an e-book, once purchased, you can download it for immediate access, which is very nice, especially if you are doing research and want immediate answers!

The Ultimate Disney World Savings Guide is also a good size: at 100 pages of tips and suggestions it is far shorter than many other books that you could purchase that don’t offer half of the specialized information that you get here. There is a lot of “bang for your buck” as the saying goes.

Another benefit, which I think is really important, is the unlimited access to the author’s  webpage for updates: it is updated monthly, so you always have access to the most current information, which is so helpful since Disney is known to change and add things on a regular basis. =)

Now I realize that e-books are not for everyone, as many people don’t like to “read” on their computer. But I honestly liked the fact that I could look over everything, and print out only what I wanted/needed for future reference, and then organize it any way that I liked. I found that to be far more productive for my planning purposes than highlighting and bookmarking pages of a traditional book…and then lugging it around all over the parks so I could have it to refer to.

Now, is it possible to find most of this information for “free” on the internet, via message boards, websites, etc etc? Sure it is, but that is the case, really, with any book. The point of this is that it really takes hundreds of hours to research and track down every little tip and suggestion…and who really has time for that?

I know, I have done it. That’s why I am doing this website, so that you don’t have to!

Even so, I do believe that The Ultimate Disney World Savings Guide offers some great information, based on the author’s unique castmember experiences, that I have not found elsewhere.  Which is why I think it is a great place to start planning an affordable Disney family vacation of your own.

Have a magical day!

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Christmas at Disney World: Make Like a Boy Scout and Be Prepared

Nancy Christmas Holidays, Disney Vacation Planning , , 0 Comment

So my motto for the best way to plan a Disney vacation is always to plan, plan, and plan some more. Never is that more important than when traveling to Florida for the Walt Disney World holidays.

In our years of having visited during the week between Christmas and New Years, there are two things that we have found you definitely need to keep in mind…and plan for….

First, is the weather. Let me just say that Florida is not ALWAYS sunny and hot. In fact, traveling at any point during the winter months can provide you with a very cold…and uncomfortable…surprise, if you don’t check ahead. We have visited during the winter and been blessed with sunny days, temps in the 70s, little humidity…weather that made my heat-hating husband actually say, “You know, maybe living in Florida would not be too bad after all”.

100_0805BUT, we have also had days where the temps never made it out of the 50s during the day, and were in the low 30s at night and in the mornings. And if you combine this with some humidity and a bit of wind…well it’s actually winter-coat wearin’ weather!

So if an affordable Disney family vacation is your goal, then check the weather forecast before you leave home. Trust me, if you need warm clothes, and did not pack them, you do NOT want to pay Disney park prices for sweaters, scarves and gloves.

The second thing to consider when planning a trip during the week between Christmas and New Years, is that this is THE busiest week of the year for the Disney parks. It is typical for one or more of the parks to actually close for periods of time, during several days during this week. Disney typically does a staggered type of closing schedule where the parks are first closed to non-Disney resort guests, then to Disney guests who have not already been to that park earlier in the day, and finally, to everyone. While this is most common at Magic Kingdom, it does also happen to the other parks as well.

So keep this in mind, ESPECIALLY if you are not staying on Disney property: go EARLY to make sure y100_0139ou get into the park of your choice.  Have a plan to visit your most important must-dos (especially those that are very popular) first thing, and make very good use of Fast-Passes. Expect the big attractions to have all Fast-Passes gone for the day by lunch, and to have lines of several hours.

With regards to this, my best advice is to have very low expectations. You will probably not see or do everything you want. But go with the flow, and take the time to enjoy the many OTHER things that Disney offers during the Holiday season. Most are absolutely free. 🙂

If you decide to leave any of the parks, make certain that you can live without necessarily getting back in. While crowds often lessen somewhat in the evenings, on nights like New Years Eve….well not so much. If you plan to ring in the New Year in one of the parks, then expect to make a … very…long…day of it.

Having said all of this, the holiday season at Disney World is my favorite time of year. We have done it many times, and will do it many more times. It can be a magical and wonderful way to create family memories….just Be Prepared!

Have a magical day!

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