affordable disney vacations

Friday Disney Savings Round-Up for 7/16/2010

Nancy Uncategorized , , 0 Comment

In This week’s Disney Savings Round-Up:

Be sure to check out the savings from using Restaurant.com at selected Disney property restaurants! In addition, Expedia.com is still running a special Disney sale that you should check out. And be sure to also check out the great sales at DisneyStore.com,   Hotels.com, and Travelocity for some great ways to save money.

I also want to give everyone a “heads up” that there is some internet rumbling going on that Disney *may* be raising their ticket prices…..as they have done every year for the past several years….on the first Sunday in August. If you have plans to visit Disney World at any point in the future, you can save yourself some money buying tickets now: they won’t expire until you start using them! Undercover Tourist is my recommended source for discounted Disney tickets, as they are reliable, helpful, and offer free shipping. Again, if you can, save yourself some money by getting your tickets before the price increase!

Restaurant.com Promotions

Did you know that you can use Restaurant.com Gift Certificates to save up to 60% off on some meals at Walt Disney World? When you go to the Restaurant.com site and enter “Lake Buena Vista, FL” into the search field, you will find the following Disney property restaurants participating: Todd English’s bluezoo, House of Blues,  Garden Grove,   Kimonos,  Shula’s Steak House , and Il Mulino New York Trattoria.

Save 60% Off Restaurant.com $25 Gift Cert. + get a free Orbitz gift. Use code VACATION and pay $4 through 7/19/10.

DisneyStore.com Savings and Promotions

Free Personalization Sitewide at DisneyStore.com with Promo Code: FREEPZ. Shop Now!

The Twice Upon a Year Sale is still in effect.  Don’t miss the chance to Save up to 50% on over 400 items!

Don’t forget: Buying Disney items at home BEFORE your Disney trip is a great way to save money. :)

And you can now save $50 when you become a Disney Rewards Visa Cardmember at DisneyStore.com

Expedia.com Special Promotions: Note several promotions will expire at the end of July.


Expedia is running a Disney Spotlight where you can find great deals for your vacation, including resorts from $89! – Expires 8/7/10

This is a great way to add some money to your vacation: Get a $50 prepaid MasterCard® card with a 3+ night stay at participating hotels! – Expires 7/27/10

In addition, you will want to check out the Expedia Summer Vacation Sale: New Deals & the Lowest hotel prices of the season! – Expires 7/27/10

Plus, they have a sweet Orlando Package Deal: Hotels from $53; Flight + 4 Nights from $319 – Expires 7/21/10

Travelocity Special Promotions

Travelocity has a great promotion that is valid through the end of July: Orlando Makes Me Smile! $50 off a 3+ night GoodBuy hotel booking to Orlando, Use PROMOCODE: SMILE50. Ends 7/31/10.

Hotels.com Special Promotions

Summer Sale – Save up to 40% on hotels. Plus book 4+ nights at select hotels and get a free Flip™ camcorder! Use code FLIP5 at checkout.

Walt Disney World Savings and Promotions: Note the Military Promotion expires at the end of July.

  • Book a Disney Vacation Package and Get FREE Dining!  NEW DATES ADDED!!: Travel August 15 – October 7,  October 22-October 28, November 12-18, November 27 – December 2, and December 10-21.  Stay at a Value Resort and receive Free Quick Service Dining Plan. Receive Free Basic Dining when you stay at a Moderate or Deluxe Resort. Minimum 3 night stay, with 2 day ticket.  You must book by August 14. For more information, visit www.disneyworld.com and click on “Special Offers”.
  • Stay through August 14, 2010 Get a 15%-30% discount off regular room rates. You should know that some blackout dates do apply and that not all rates are available at all resorts. You must book by 8/14. For more information, visit www.disneyworld.com and click on “Special Offers”.
  • Stay August 15, 2010 through Oct. 2, 2010 Get a 30%-40% discount off regular room rates. You should know that some blackout dates do apply and that not all rates are available at all resorts. You must book by 10/2. For more information, visit www.disneyworld.com and click on “Special Offers”.
  • “Kids Stay and Play for Free“: This special offer has been extended and is now valid for stays most nights May 2 – Oct. 2, 2010. Purchase a 4 night/5 day Magic Your Way vacation package (room and theme park tickets) and a child (age 3-9) stays in the room and gets a 5 day park pass for Free. This is basically providing free tickets for one child of this age…or two if there are two adults in the room…which can be a substantial savings! To receive the package deal, you must book by August 14, 2010. For more information, visit www.disneyworld.com and click on “Special Offers”.
  • Military Discount of up to 40% on select Disney Resort rooms, for stays most nights through Sept. 30, 2010. You must book through July 31, 2010. In addition, active or retired members of the military can get a 4 day park ticket for $99. For more information visit the Military Special Offer page on disneyworld.com.
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This Week’s Disney Chatter at Chip and Co.? Saving Money on Meals

Nancy Chip and Co. Posts , , , , 0 Comment

We will be talking quite a bit in the coming months about dining at Disney World….and specifically how to save money on your food budget. This was on my mind as I wrote one of my posts for Chip and Co. this week: 4 Quick Tips for Saving Money on Food at Disney World.

It’s no huge secret that food can end up being one of the major expenses on a vacation to Disney World. Yet there are a number of ways that you can plan your meals and save money. Probably the most well-known option is the Disney Dining Plan, especially if you are able to take advantage of the very popular Free Dining promotion.

But if your travel plans don’t allow you to visit during Free Dining, no worries, there are still a few things that can save you big money on your Disney vacation food budget.

You can read the rest of the post here. Please come on over and join the conversation! See you over there!

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Affordable Disney World Dining: Table Service Restaurants

Nancy Saving Money on Food , , , 2 Comments

Many of you told me you want more information on restaurants, dining, and how to save money on food. As promised, I am taking the next several months….or however long it takes….to go through the different aspects of Disney World dining, which will hopefully provide you the help you need. But be sure to ask questions along the way! Simply comment below, or leave a message on our Facebook page, and I’ll do my best to answer. 🙂

So let’s get started with talking about Disney World’s sit-down restaurants…or as Disney likes to refer to them, the Table Service restaurants.

There are over 50 Table Service restaurants at Walt Disney World, with dining experiences ranging from casual and perfect for family fun to an elegant evening that would be appreciated by any gourmet. And with food representing nearly every type of cuisine you can think of, there is pretty much something for everyone.

Within the Table Service category, Disney further divides this group into 3 “experiences”:

  1. Fine or Signature Dining
  2. Casual Dining (Not to be confused with Quick Service which is basically counter food…and a subject for a different blog post )
  3. Character Meals (Our topic for next week 🙂 )

Fine/Signature Dining

Signature Dining is the best Walt Disney World has to offer…and that best is pretty darn good. It comes at a price though, with entrees for this tier typically being well over $20, usually more like $30+. Still, if you are looking for gourmet offerings, served in an elegant atmosphere where you may actually forget you are at a theme park, then you may want to check out one or two of these exceptional restaurants.

Be prepared to spend a good deal of money for a signature dining experience. Using Table Service credits from the Disney Dining Plan may make it a bit easier to justify, but be advised that most Signature restaurants will require 2 Table Service credits, so plan accordingly. Even so, we have found that we are typically paying less per person for one of these restaurants by using Dining Plan credits than if we were paying out of pocket.

Now are they worth the money? If you enjoy fine food, wine, and atmosphere, and don’t mind spending several hours on a meal while at Disney World, absolutely yes!

Casual Dining

The vast majority of Disney World Table Service restaurants fall into this category, and there are many to choose from. Whether you wish to eat at the resorts, theme parks, or Downtown Disney you are likely to find a casual restaurant that serves the type of cuisine you are interested in. While the biggest concentration of Casual/Table Service restaurants is at World Showcase in Epcot, you will also find some great choices at both Magic Kingdom and Hollywood Studios. And keep in mind that a number of the resorts have very nice restaurants but may not get the traffic that the theme park restaurants get which is kind of nice. And Downtown Disney also offers some excellent choices: a number of these restaurants are not owned by Disney however, so be cautious when booking here if you plan to use the Dining Plan and make sure your choice is on the Dining Plan list.

While these are also table service restaurants, they typically will be more “child friendly” than the Signature Dining restaurants. A bit larger, a bit noisier, service is also usually going to move the meal along quicker, since these restaurants are generally pretty busy. Keep in mind as well that the popularity of many of the Casual restaurants can make getting reservations quite challenging at times of the year…particularly those that are located in the theme parks.

The cost of an entrée at these restaurants will typically range between $10-$20, so while less expensive than a Fine Dining restaurant, you could still find yourself with a bill in the vicinity of $80 for two adults. This should be a consideration if you wish to eat dinner at more than one Casual restaurant, because again, buying the Disney Dining Plan will probably save you money.

Is it worth the money to eat at a Casual restaurant? I think that answer really depends on the individual family. Know your family’s likes and dislikes, and what everyone has the patience for, before you decide. Many families with small children who may not want to sit for a longish meal, or may not like the food choices find that Quick Service meals are best for them.

But….if you like to sit down and relax over a nice meal each day, and your family enjoys new food experiences…then by all means, plans for some Casual restaurants to be part of your Disney World dining.

You can learn more about the Table Service dining choices at the Disney World website. For more detailed information about Walt Disney World restaurant experiences, including reviews, menu information, pictures and more, I always recommend a visit to The Disney Food Blog.

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Travel Tuesday Tales: The Fine Art of Negotiating Disney World ADRs

Nancy Travel Tuesday Tales , , , 2 Comments

One of the things about planning Disney vacations that I take extremely seriously is booking our dining reservations. Known as Advanced Dining Reservations or ADRs, getting these scheduled well in advance of your trip can make life on your Disney vacation soooo much easier…and if you are traveling during Free Dining or a peak time like Christmas/New Years week, then making them is crucial.

In fact, for many restaurants, making them on the very earliest day possible can mean the difference between eating dinner where you want at a time that you would actually want to eat dinner….vs. eating dinner at like, 10 p.m….if you even get in at all.

The official earliest day you can make ADRs is 180 days before you check in (if a Disney resort guest).

You already know we are going over New Years, so clearly I had the 180 date highlighted on my calendar: July 3. I would be ready.

Except that we couldn’t decide where we wanted to eat. I brought it up every couple of days, and each time I did, I ended up with different answers!! Seriously folks, we need to get our act together here, July 3 will be here before we know it.

We agreed early on that our first two nights we would eat in Epcot. We will arrive on Dec. 30 which is the last day of the Candlelight Processional, and that is a must. Disney will be offering Candlelight Processional packages, where you reserve dinner at a particular restaurant, and you get priority seating for the Candlelight Processional. It’s very worth it to do this, especially since you can use the Disney Dining Plan for your CP meal….so it’s just a matter of choosing where you want to eat in Epcot.

However, since those packages had not yet been released, I still wanted to book an ADR for that night, in Epcot “just in case”. (Moms make their families always prepare for “just in case”. We really can’t help ourselves you know, it just happens.)

Our second night will be New Years Eve, and we’ll be celebrating in Epcot. On NYE, once you get to the park of your choice, you don’t leave. So we’ll be eating there as well.

It was decided that our 3rd night will be spent at Magic Kingdom, and then on our last night we will visit Hollywood Studios.

And as of June 16, that is about as far as we had gotten.

Choosing where to eat at Disney World is serious business in our family and negotiations can get intense. DH rarely has a strong opinion (unless it is about staying in Animal Kingdom Villas lol) but DD and I do have differing tastes and ideas. One of my big things is that on this trip, I really wanted to try some places we had NOT eaten before. Meanwhile, DD is bringing a friend and she had some places that she specifically wanted him to experience. Seems he also had a few opinions about where he did and didn’t want to eat.

Soooo, let’s see what we have here:

Me: Some new places, specifically Ohana (yes we have NOT eaten here yet! I know, shocking), and Sanaa, and hopefully the new Mexican restaurant Hacienda de San Angel (once they start taking ADRs there). Pretty much every place in World Showcase was fine too. 🙂

DD: California Grill one night with friend only (date night for us!! 🙂 ), Mexican is good, Ohana is not. Not sure about Sanaa. No Norway or Germany or England or Morocco. Interested in sushi in Japan. Nothing in Hollywood Studios or Magic Kingdom….  Alrighty then.

DF: Wanted to eat Mexican and eat sushi at some point. And keep DD happy. 🙂 (Smart young man I would say….)

DH: As long as we weren’t staying at Animal Kingdom Lodge, he was happy.

The thing is, we had a couple of weeks before I could book our ADRs on July 3, at exactly 180 days out from our arrival date…so I figured we had plenty of time to hash things out and get it all figured out.

And then I found out that people were (maybe accidentally, maybe on purpose?) able to book their ADRs at 190 days out if they did it online.

Whoa Nellie that’s in a couple of days! Fun time is over people, we have some decisions to make.

So let the negotiations begin!

With some shady backroom deals and dubious trading (“I’ll give you one Mexico for an extra ride on Soarin’….”), lots of talks, research on the web (thank you Disney Food Blog and Chip and Co.!), and multiple spreadsheet revisions…..this is what we managed to come up with:

Night One: book at San Angel Inn for now (you know, “just in case”) until the Candlelight Processional packages are released and/or Hacienda de Saint Angel opens for booking.

  • Fulfils Mexican requirement and if Hacienda, some place new.

New Year’s Eve: Chefs de France.

  • We all like this one, and DD told DF that he “will” like it too. 🙂

Night Three: We will have our “date nights” on this night. DD and DF will be eating at California Grill where they will eat sushi to their heart’s delight. DH and I will be finally eating at Ohana.

  • Cali Grill and sushi for DD/DF? Check.
  • Ohana/someplace new for me? Check.

Last Night: Back to Epcot for dinner at Coral Reef, then on to Hollywood Studios for the evening.

  • Not sure who exactly this one is for, other than we are all happy about it, so it’s all good. 🙂

We got it all figured out and agreed upon on the evening of June 22. My date to try booking at the new 190 days out was June 23, at 6 a.m.

And I was ready.

Hopefully we would get all the restaurants we worked so hard to agree on…

……..To be continued…….

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Survey Says: You Have Disney Questions! Now For the Answers…

Nancy Affordable Disney Vacations, Disney Vacation Planning, Saving Money on Food , 1 Comment

I really enjoyed reading the survey results from a few weeks ago. I appreciate the fact that so many of you took the time to share your thoughts and tell me what would really help you in planning an affordable Disney World vacation. What was especially interesting to me was the consistency in what you need: a lot of you voiced the same frustrations, and have many of the same questions….and are looking for the same types of Disney vacation planning tools.

Here are the main things that you told me you wanted help with, in descending order:

  1. Disney Dining. There are many questions about Disney restaurants, cost of meals, what to budget for food, using the Dining Plan and even just needing more ideas for saving money on food. I agree: this can be an especially frustrating area of Disney planning, especially so because it is such a large part of any Disney vacation budget.
  2. Planning spreadsheets. You are looking for ways to keep your planning organized, as well as tools that will help you budget. And a number of you are looking for something small and simple that keeps track of everything, which you can bring to the parks with you.
  3. Accommodations. Another big expense on a Disney vacation, many of you want more in-depth information about your options.
  4. What is the most affordable way for me? There are a number of you that want assistance trying to figure out the most affordable way to get to Disney World. There are so many options to choose from, you worry that you might not be picking the one that will save you the most money.

Well, your wish is my command. 🙂 I am happy to help and am really looking forward to being able to provide you with the information you need to save money at Disney World. In fact, I can’t wait to get started.

However, I won’t be able to do it all at once! So, my plan is tackle each item, one at a time, in the following ways:

  1. Disney World Dining information will be shared weekly in my Monday blog posts, starting next week. For at least the next couple of months, I will discuss a number of different aspects of saving money on your food. I recognize however, that blog posts won’t necessarily dig deep enough into all the details, so at the same time, I will be creating a Disney World Dining Guide. This Guide will use the posts as a base, but will be far more involved. Some of you won’t need this much detail, but for those of you that do, it will be available for you.
  2. Planning spreadsheets are being created as we speak! 🙂 Since I am a planner by nature and live by my spreadsheets, I will basically be formalizing something for you that I am already using. And I will happily make these available to you for FREE, once I am done…which will hopefully be by the end of July.
  3. Accommodations will be discussed, starting in a few months, once I finish the dining. While many of you need help with where to stay, more of you need help with dining, so that is where I am starting.:)
  4. What is the most affordable option? This one is kind of tough, because it is so individual! Everyone’s situation is different, so the right thing for one person is not necessarily the right thing for another. At the same time, I also recognize that it can be overwhelming and at times confusing to know the best way to plan for your family. And having someone to just point you in the right direction can be a huge help.

That was one of the reasons I designed the survey, so that I can be sure to be addressing YOUR needs, and answering YOUR questions. However, my worry is that I can’t write everything fast enough to help you in your Disney vacation planning, especially if you are visiting Disney World in the near future.

But….I have an idea, and I am wondering if you might be interested…

Would it be helpful to have someone to just talk to personally about your Disney vacation, to ask questions and get suggestions about the best way to save money at Disney World? One-on-one time to figure it all out?

If so, then let me know! I want to be able to help you out, so I am going to try something out to see if there is a need. If you want someone to personally help you with your planning, email me at nancy@theaffordablemouse.com and I’ll set up a 30 minute Disney vacation planning call with you. Just the two of us, to talk over your questions, and hopefully help you figure out the best way for you to plan an affordable Disney vacation. Kind of like a talking, personalized Disney vacation guidebook. 🙂

Now there is one thing: while I would love to be able to do this for free, unfortunately I just can’t. 🙁  However, the cost will be minimal, I promise. (After all, I want to help you *save money*!)  So if this is something you are interested in, let me know, and we can chat more.

(Please keep in mind that I am not a travel agent: this does not involve me booking anything for you, nor would I be selling you on any specific type of vacation. This is merely personal assistance in Disney vacation planning that I am offering, if you need it. We’ll talk about it, I’ll help you decide what is best for you, and then you’ll do the rest.)

This is just a trial for now. I’ll see what kind of interest there is, what additional help you need, and we’ll go from there.

In the meantime, watch for your FREE planning tools and spreadsheets in the near future, and the beginning of the Disney Dining posts coming next week!

Oh, and one more thing: let me know what you think, and if I am on the right track for what you need. Either leave a comment, post on Facebook, or feel free to send me an email. Thanks and as always….have a magical day!

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