Disney Vacation Planning

Disney Fun From Around the World: Week of January 17, 2011

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

Greeting Disney Friends! How is Ole Man Winter treating you? While here in the mid-Atlantic we have been spared the worst of this year’s snowstorms, I can see that is not the case for many of you. So warm yourself up this morning with a cup of hot chocolate and a few of this week’s best Disney blog posts. 🙂

From our friends at Chip and Co: Lisa discusses which rides to think twice about with preschoolers in Rides to Miss with Little Mr and Miss . Meanwhile, Mike shares his favorite ride at the Magic Kingdom (and I share his fondness for this ride): Walt Disney World Magic Kingdom: The one ride I MUST ride. Finally, Anonymous has a head’s up for those hoping for additional dates for Free Dining this year: Disney Confidential — The End of Free Dining for 2011?

Have you seen the new production with Cinderella’s Castle for the Memories and You celebration this year? Disney Every Day provides a video, and if you haven’t seen it yet, be sure to watch it. After seeing this, I am far more impressed than I thought I would be with this promotion: Video – The Magic, The Memories and You World Premiere at the Magic Kingdom

Looking for vegetarian options when planning your meals? Disney Food Blog has some great tips: A Vegetarian in Disney — Tips From an Expert

Kelly gave us a great review of Pop Century last week. This week she shares more information at her blog Disney Guru: Tuesday’s top ten reasons to stay at Pop Century

And for those of you who want more information about Pop Century, Pop Century Fan Site has a list of rooms and areas you might be interested in:Pop Century reader-recommended room numbers and areas to request

Wondering about the new Fantasyland expansion? Chris has the scoop at Everything Walt Disney World: Fantasyland Expansion Update!

Speaking of the Fantasyland expansion, how do you feel about Snow White’s ride closing? James at Mouse Planning is a little sad…and tells us why: Snow White still lives, fairest in the land…

Lastly, I am honored to be one of the contributing writers for a wonderful new Disney site, WDW Fan Zone. This week, my first article was posted: Affording a Disney World Vacation: Making the Magic Happen

That’s it for this week friends. Stay warm, dry, and SAFE! Have a magical weekend! 🙂

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Smart Souven’Ears’ Saving

DeAnna Saving Money at Disney World, Saving Money on Souvenirs , , , , 2 Comments

When budgeting for a trip to Disney, one thing that must be factored in is souven”ears” (or silverneers as my husband calls them for some reason – he’s a Yankee, so who knows? 😉  Everyone wants to bring home their own little piece of magic, a reminder of time spent in MagicMouseLand.

First of all, Clark, our 13 year old, is as much about Disney as is his Mama.  He wants mucho momentos to sort through once he’s home.  Not only does he share Mama’s Disney obsession, he also shares Mama’s caviar taste on a cracker budget; and of course, since he has no job, he has very little concept of the value of money.  So leave it to my think-ahead husband to solve these problems.

Throughout the year, my husband empties his pockets and puts his loose change into a jar.  Then a week or so before we leave for MouseLand, he sits down with Clark & they roll all the change in the jar, and that is Clark’s souvenir money, no matter the amount.  Once it was $200+, once it was over $300!  This solves a myriad of problems.  Mom & Dad aren’t weakened to fork out the dough at every whine & whim, losing track of how much is being spent, and since Clark has a limited amount of spending money, he’s more choosy about what he takes home. He knows that once the money is gone, it’s gone.  Mom & Dad won’t be opening their wallets for anything else.  This cuts down tremendously on the stress, except for Clark, who has an awfully hard time making the choice of what to place on the counter!

I can’t believe in all their years of doing this, I’ve never taken a picture of My Boyz (as I affectionately call hubby & son) rolling the change for the trip.  As I conclude this article, I vow to digitally freeze this moment in time on our next go round, and have priceless souven-ears of my very own!

In the midst of a tough economy at home and abroad, I trust this has given you an idea to make your next visit less stressful and more affordable!

DeAnna, along with her husband and teen-age son, lives in Wiggins, Mississippi, and has a passion for all things Disney. She is always eager to share the knowledge she has gained from her many trips to Walt Disney World, and has helped numerous people in their vacation planning to realize it’s not an unattainable dream.  Her must-dos on every trip are Pirates of the Caribbean, Rockin’ Roller Coaster & a stolen moment of quiet with her “Boyz” (as she affectionately calls them) having a pastry from Boulangerie in Epcot World Showcase’s France. Disney is so much a part of her life, that she & her husband were married in front of Cinderella’s Castle, and she says it doesn’t get any more magical than that………

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Disney Fun From Around the World: Week of January 3, 2011

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

Greetings Disney friends and Happy New Year to all! Hope you all have gotten a great start to 2011! We had a wonderful time celebrating at Disney World last week, and since we’ve been back, I have especially enjoyed reading Disney blogs as a way to help get over my “post Disney trip depression”….  🙂 Here are a few of my favorites for this week:

Chip and Co starts us off with a great post about the many types of Disney World transportation. We especially love the monorail, it is almost like a park ride itself: Half the fun is how you get there. One of the fun things we noticed last week is discussed in this post: H2O to ‘Oh Wow!’: Custodial Cast Members Wow Guests With Water. Those of you who, like me, have grown children, will especially appreciate this post from our friend Brenda: Some Adjustment Required. Lastly, DeAnna gently reminds us to be grateful to be able to stand in lines: The ‘Long’ Line and The ‘Other’ Line

We noticed some fun new burgers when we visited last week, and AJ at the Disney Food Blog has a review: New “Designer” Burgers at Disney World. (We actually tried the one at Rosies at Hollywood Studios, and it was delicious!)

Disney Driven Life has some helpful dining information as well, with a review of  CINDERELLA’S ROYAL TABLE and then Kristen from Cooking with Mickey shares some GENERAL DISNEY DINING PLAN TIPS

Kelly from the Disney Guru discusses one of my new favorite (and hidden!) places at Disney World: Get your afternoon pick me up at Writer’s Stop (It’s where you get the Carrot Cake Cookie!) She also has a great idea for this past Money Saver Monday!! The Disney Treasure Box.

Alright friends, that’s it for this week! Next week, our blog post round-up will move to the weekend, to make room for some special articles from some new Disney friends! Have a magical day!

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Tuesday Disney Tips: Ten Reasons Why I Love Disney’s Moderate Resorts

Brenda Affordable Disney Vacations, Disney Vacation Planning, Saving Money on Accommodations, Tuesday Disney Tips , , , , , , 8 Comments

Although we are happy we splurged on a great new experience this year by staying in the theme-park view room at Disney’s Contemporary Resort (the iconic deluxe resort of Walt Disney World) my husband and I both agreed that we would not do that again anytime soon. The trip was quite expensive for us to manage and, truthfully, we enjoy the moderate resorts. What is so special about them? Here are my top ten reasons you gotta love the moderates:

1.         Mousekeeping: Mousekeeping is awesome at moderates. They always do a great job at keeping everything clean and they are very friendly.

2.         Wide-open spaces: We like the wide open spaces at the moderate resorts. The grounds are beautiful at the Port Orleans; the Caribbean Beach Resort is tropical and tranquil and we enjoy being outdoors so this is perfect for us. Also, rabbits, squirrels, and sometimes a chipmunk or two can be seen lurking about.

3.         Special touches: There are little special touches you receive at the moderates, like towel animals. There is nothing that says “Welcome back” like little towel animals in your room. Regrettably, we did not see any sign of a towel animal at the Contemporary.

4.         Stairs: I do not like waiting for elevators only to find that 1000 other people will rush in even when you were waiting first. Truth be known, I prefer to take the stairs. Granted, some of the resorts are three stories, but they are an easy trek.

5.         The Staff: The cast members at the moderates are friendly and courteous. Of course, some are cast members extraordinaire but, generally, all are very friendly.

6.         The Guests: I like the guests that stay at moderate resorts. They are friendly and easy to start a conversation with and are usually very happy to be enjoying the resort as well.

7.         Theming: I enjoy the theming at the moderate resorts. From the detail in the building design, to the plants and flowers adorning the property and chosen specifically for that landscape, to the themed-pools. I also thoroughly enjoy the way music appropriate to the theme is piped in around the resorts such as calypso music at the Caribbean Beach Resort or Cajun music at Port Orleans French Quarter. Disney has done a fantastic job with the theming.

8.         Entertainment:  There is great entertainment at one moderate property in particular. If you have not been to Bob Jackson’s show at the Port Orleans Riverside, add it to your list for your next trip. He is awesome. You can read a previous blog article for more detailed information on Bob.

9.         Resort-specific foods: You can find foods specific to the resort when at the Port Orleans Riverside (pralines) or French Quarter (beignets). Mmm, these deep-fried donut-type treats, rolled in powder sugar, just melt in your mouth and they can ONLY be found here.

10.     Boat Rides: Both the Port Orleans properties offer a boat ride to and from Downtown Disney, which is a very enjoyable little trip.

These are my top ten reasons for loving Disney’s moderate resorts. To find out more about any of these wonderful resorts, visit Disney’s resort page. Let me know your thoughts on your own preferred resorts.

Brenda is a native Texan born and raised on the Gulf Coast. She visited Disney World twice as a teenager and always dreamed of growing her family Disney. She took her first-timer husband and their three children to Disney World in 2000 and they now spend every Thanksgiving there. Brenda writes with a comedic twist on various Disney topics. She will be sharing tips she has learned during her travels and also hopes to enlighten people on little-known freebies that Disney has to offer. She wishes she could have met Walt Disney and considers herself to be a student of Walt. In parallel to his dream it is her wish that everyone would take at least one trip to Disney World in order to share in its magic with their families.

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Tuesday Disney Tips: What – No Bounce Back?

Brenda Disney Vacation Planning, Tuesday Disney Tips , , , 1 Comment

A strange thing happened during my visit to Walt Disney World this past November. Unlike previous years, there was no bounce back offer in my resort room. There was a flyer for the free dining program running through September 2011 but it expires before we are due to return. There were no specials to thank us for staying by offering us a good deal to come back at the same time next year. This leaves me in a much different position during this time of year than in the past.

Usually at this time, I have already booked our package for next year’s trip. So that means I am usually investigating all the information about the new resort where we will stay and gathering information for my travel folder. We like to choose different resorts each year so we can experience each of them, although we do have our favorites. Having no idea where we will be staying is certainly a change.

I am going about everything backwards now; researching the resorts before we will book our choice. I am “on hold” for several more months, waiting for next Fall’s specials to be announced. In other words, I am not only suffering from Post-Disney-Trip Depression, or as I like to call it PDTD, but I DO NOT HAVE A WALT DISNEY WORLD RESORT RESERVATION FOR NEXT YEAR.

This gives me two options: either curl up under my princess blanket with my Mickey pillow and wallow in self-pity OR make the next several months a full-out adventure — really looking at every resort from every angle and preparing to know exactly what we will book when the time comes. I have to choose the latter option, being the eternal optimist that I am.

There are many other exciting and new things to look forward to this year that will be different from previous years:

1.      A December Visit: We have visited during Thanksgiving for many years but this year’s visit will be in early- to mid-December. This will give us the opportunity to experience some new events, such as the Candlelight Processional at Epcot which we have only seen once because the first night it is offered is usually our last night at WDW.

2.      Newbie Travelers: We will be taking at least one additional person, possibly two, with us this year – newbies. So I will research 2 rooms at a moderate vs. the Fort Wilderness Cabins with golf cart rental. This is one reason I will have to wait for special offers to come out. I’ve noted that the Fort Wilderness area has many Christmastime visitors who live at the campgrounds during the holiday season and decorate their spaces as well as the golf carts, which sounds like a great thing to experience.

3.      Voluntourism: This year will be our first year to stay an extra day or two in order to be able to serve as voluntourists at Give the Kids the World Village. GKTW is a resort for children ages 3-18 who have life-threatening illnesses and their families. GKTW partners with wish-granting organizations, like the Make-a-Wish Foundation, to provide a full week’s vacation for the entire family in Central Florida. The vacation includes accommodations at the Village, all theme park tickets, and all of their meals at no cost to the family. There are almost 1,300 volunteers needed at the Village every week, year round and we are all very excited about being able to add this wonderful opportunity to our trip this year. Each member of my family, as well as our additional travelers, will need to complete a visiting-volunteer application and be approved by the GKTW Volunteer Services Office before we can add this to our itinerary and travel plans.

So this is where I am in my planning. Basically, I am at square one. I have lots of thoughts and ideas and absolutely NOTHING in concrete yet, while I am usually booked on a bounce back offer already. Hakuna Matata, I will make the most of this unfamiliar territory, and will keep you posted on how things progress. Let me know your thoughts, especially if you have a particular favorite!

Brenda is a native Texan born and raised on the Gulf Coast. She visited Disney World twice as a teenager and always dreamed of growing her family Disney. She took her first-timer husband and their three children to Disney World in 2000 and they now spend every Thanksgiving there. Brenda writes with a comedic twist on various Disney topics. She will be sharing tips she has learned during her travels and also hopes to enlighten people on little-known freebies that Disney has to offer. She wishes she could have met Walt Disney and considers herself to be a student of Walt. In parallel to his dream it is her wish that everyone would take at least one trip to Disney World in order to share in its magic with their families.

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