Disney Vacation Planning | The Memorable Journey ~ The Affordable Mouse

Disney Fun From Around the World: Week of March 28, 2011

Nancy Disney Fun From Around the "World" April 2, 2011April 1, 2011disney blogs, Disney Vacation Planning, planning a disney vacation, walt disney world 1 Comment

Happy April Disney Friends! Hope your weekend and month are starting off great! The day after April Fool’s Day is filled here with lots of great Disney posts that are no joke: they are awesome! Hope you enjoy them as much as I did finding them for you! 🙂

Wow, Chip and Co. had tons of great information this week (as usual of course). This article about the Character Meet and Greets at Walt Disney World will be helpful to you as you stalk your favorite characters around the parks. What about laundry on vacation? Is it a Yes or No for you? Disney World Planning 101 – Doing Laundry versus Packing a Full Suitcase may help you decide. And this article from Lisa is a must read as you prepare for your trip: Whew My Dogs are Tired…Disney World Walking Tips

Disney Driven Life had two articles that really made me smile this week. DISNEY WORLD JOBS I WOULD LOVE TO HAVE is something that I think about ALL the time. 🙂 And any of you who have (or had) little ones, will appreciate I’VE CREATED A MONSTER

Disney World’s theme this year is all about memories. Disney Guru shares a very special one: The Most Magical Dining Experience

Speaking of memories, this post from Magical Mouse Schoolhouse kind of sums up what many of us love about Disney when it comes to our children: Cinderella’s Royal Table

Do you love Pop Century? Or are you considering staying there? Be sure to check out the Pop Century Fan Site: Best rooms to request at Pop Century

WDW Fan Zone had tons of amazing, helpful, and interesting articles this week! This one, from Stuart, really hit home for me, as it will with anyone who dreams of moving to be closer to Disney World: I Believe In The Promised Land. And for those of you who are planning a Disney trip with a group, you won’t want to miss these two great posts about that very thing: Tips to Help Keep Your Group Happy and Traveling to Disney With a Pack. Lastly, Lisa provides some very valuable information for any of you who will be doing some Disney World Packing for a Toddler.

That’s it for this week everyone! I hope you have a truly magical weekend! 🙂

Tuesday Disney Tips: Princesses with a Plan – Planning a Magical Disney Girlfriend Getaway

Brenda Disney Vacation Planning, Princesses With a Plan, Tuesday Disney Tips March 29, 2011June 6, 2011Disney Vacation Planning, disney vacation with a friend, disney world tips, planning a disney vacation, walt disney world 3 Comments

You may have read previously that my husband surprised me by telling me that I can go on the anniversary trip I wanted with a friend, as he is unable to leave town during that time. As you might be able to relate, I don’t just love Walt Disney World I long for it as though I am obsessed. This year especially, I wanted to be at the Magic Kingdom on October 1 and when my hubby said he definitely could not go I just tried to put it out of my head. Enter my soul sister and equally Disney-crazed friend, Susan, and my dream was coming true.

You have to understand that I have a wonderful Disney life with my husband and three kids. Our annual trips to Walt Disney World mean the world to me, and we have traveled twice with Susan and her family as well. But I am a real family girl. The only time I have traveled away from my family was once for work and a few times with my mom and two sisters. This will be the first time in my life I have traveled with a friend – just a girls getaway. So, I want to encourage you Disney lovers out there – if your family can’t or won’t go with you to Walt Disney World, don’t give up your dream; grab a good friend and make a plan! Studies show that relationships outside the family circle are crucial to keeping balance and perspective. I am very grateful to have a husband that is supportive of me, my friendship with Susan, and my deep desire to be at ‘the World’ at that time. I am also very grateful to have a friend who understands me so well, and who loves Walt Disney World so much herself, that she offered to take the trip with me.

Disney Fun for the Week of March 21, 2011

Nancy Disney Fun From Around the "World" March 26, 2011March 25, 2011disney blogs, Disney Vacation Planning, planning a disney vacation, walt disney world 0 Comment

Happy Saturday Disney Friends! It’s time for my favorite post of the week, when I get to share some of the really interesting, helpful, cool, and just plain fun posts from some of the many very talented Disney bloggers. It’s so hard to narrow it down to just a handful each week! But I did my best….enjoy!

Let’s start off talking about visiting the parks with our friends at Chip and Co Lisa had some thoughts about What to Bring to the Disney Theme Parks and then Brenda chimed in with suggestions if you don’t want to carry it all around with you: Disney World Planning 101 – Renting a Locker

By now I’m sure you have heard about the plans for using the FastPass system with the new Mickey meet and greet area. Here is some additional information about how it may work from The Disney Blog: Will Mickey and Minnie Photo-Op say ‘No’ to Late Guests?

It doesn’t feel like spring around Maryland this weekend, but it surely is at Walt Disney World! Disney Driven Life shares some details from EPCOT’S 2011 FLOWER AND GARDEN FESTIVAL

Have you been to the Hoop Dee Doo Musical Revue? I haven’t yet, but Amanda at Disney Every Day recently did, and shares the fun: My First Visit to Disney’s Hoop Dee Doo Musical Review Dinner Show

If you have little ones, you will appreciate this helpful post from Growing Up Disney: Guest Post: 3 Kids in Diapers or Pull-ups

I love Kelly’s series on Disney Guru called Money Saver Monday! This week in Steals & Deals she discusses how to get some of Disney World’s most delicious food items….for less money!

How do you unpack and stay organized once you get to your hotel room? The Relocated Tourist has some excellent suggestions: Organizing Your Resort Room

Another food “event” I have never tried….but now really want to….is discussed by Travelin’ Mamas: Garden View Tea Room at Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort and Spa

This post from Your Highway in the Sky was one that I found extremely interesting, and if you have little girls, I think you may as well:Is the Disney Princess Passe?

Lastly, I was out and about in Disney Blog Land again this week! 🙂

Disney Guru had a review of my new ebook: Magical Meals: A Guide to Affordable Dining at Walt Disney World

And my monthly post over at WDW Fan Zone was also published: Finding Magic in Those Disney Details. I hope you’ll stop by and say “Hi!”

Have a safe, warm, and magical weekend! 🙂

Tuesday Disney Tips: To Insure or Not to Insure?

Brenda Disney Vacation Planning, Tuesday Disney Tips March 22, 2011March 21, 2011disney trip insurance, disney vacation insurance, Disney Vacation Planning, planning a disney vacation, walt disney world 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:

Thrifty Thursday: Creating a Disney Trip Cheater Book

Brenda Affordable Disney Vacations, Disney Vacation Planning, Saving Money at Disney World, Thrifty Thursday March 10, 2011March 10, 2011affordable disney vacations, Disney Vacation Planning, planning a disney vacation, thrifty thursday 16 Comments

I have not yet decided whether I am extremely organized or just uncertain of my ability to remember things but, either way, I compensate by always being prepared. I like to be able to put my hands on whatever I need whenever I need it.

Several years ago, when we first started visiting Walt Disney World, there was so much information about so many different things that I wanted to have a method of keeping track of things specific to our trip at any given time. I decided to create a Disney Trip Cheater book by using a set of colored 3X5 index cards, hole-punched and held together with a loose-leaf clip, like this.