planning a disney vacation

Disney Driving Tip 3: Keeping the Kids Busy

Brenda Disney Vacation Planning , , , , 1 Comment

Photo via: steveboss.blogspot.com

Today’s tips are about keeping the kids busy and entertained while on your road trip to Walt Disney World. The last thing we want to hear repeatedly is the dreaded question, “Are we there yet?” Spending some time preparing for the trip ahead of time, and planning some activities for your kids, will help make the trip to Walt Disney World much easier for you and for them.

We like to drive in little or no traffic, so we leave at 3:00 a.m. and drive in the dark for several hours. This assures us very little traffic and the kids usually sleep until just in time to stop for breakfast. I highly recommend leaving in the middle of the night, if possible. Read more

Share

Disney Driving Tip 2: Tips for Stopping Overnight

Brenda Affordable Disney Vacations, Disney Vacation Planning, Saving Money at Disney World , , 0 Comment

In my last post, I talked about driving straight through to Walt Disney World vs. stopping along the way. In many cases, it really does come down to your personal preference. Today’s driving tips cover what to think about if your choice is to stop overnight on the way.

First and foremost, if you are going to stop along the way make reservations for your overnight stay in advance. We were planning to “wing it” one year and stop in Baton Rouge on our way back home. It turned out that it was graduation night and there was not a room available anywhere along the highway. Read more

Share

Disney Fun From Around the World: Week of April 25, 2011

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

Happy Weekend Disney Friends! Tomorrow is the first of May and probably my favorite month of the year…warm, not hot (at least not usually here in Maryland 🙂 ), less rain (I hope!!!), and everything is green and in bloom. It is a lovely time of year and you can’t help but smile. Speaking of smiling….here are some of my favorite Disney blog posts from the past week that all brought a smile to my face…and I hope they do to you as well! Enjoy!

As always, Chip and Co. keeps me very busy reading all the interesting and helpful Disney views and news items. I thought this one with some Disneyland Tips and Tricks – Some Helpful Planning Tips might be great for those of you who might be visiting Walt’s “first” park this summer. And this one may have been written specifically for me, because photography is not my strong suite: Walt Disney World Tips And Tricks: Photo Tips Lastly, I wanted to share this post for those of you who may not have Downtown Disney as part of your regular touring plan: Guide to Downtown Disney – ‘Must-Sees’ for First Timers Read more

Share

Disney Driving Tip 1: Driving Straight Through vs. Stopping Overnight

Brenda Affordable Disney Vacations, Disney Vacation Planning, Saving Money at Disney World , , , 4 Comments

The first topic I wanted to cover in this series on driving to Walt Disney World is the choice of driving straight through vs. stopping overnight. Depending on where you live, you may need to consider stopping but you may not. I live in Texas so we have stopped along the way and we have driven straight through. Doing this, it takes us 16 hours to get there, including stopping for meals, restroom breaks, gas stops and stretching.

When budgeting for gas expenses, I always use the AAA Fuel Cost Calculator. Each trip it has proven to be extremely accurate and an invaluable tool. All one has to do is enter the make, model and year of the vehicle along with the starting and ending points and it calculates how much one will spend on gas. Here is a link to the site: http://www.fuelcostcalculator.com. I hope you will take advantage of this handy tool. Read more

Share

Tuesday Disney Tips: Save Money by Driving

Brenda Affordable Disney Vacations, Disney Vacation Planning, Saving Money at Disney World, Tuesday Disney Tips , , , , , 4 Comments

The exorbitant amount we Americans are paying at the pump will very likely affect the vacation plans for many families this Summer.  People from around the country have said that the high price of gas has caused them to cancel or change their summer vacation plans in the past, so it is very possible this will happen again this year. Some families, although not deciding to do away with vacation this year altogether, also do not want to plan too far ahead; so instead of planning now for a July trip they are waiting to see if prices go down. The problem is the uncertainty over how high fuel prices could get.

Here at The Affordable Mouse, our wish is for everyone to be able to visit Walt Disney World with their families and we are committed to providing as much information as we can to try to make that a reality for every family. My goodness, Nancy has even become a travel agent to be able to further help you attain this goal. Me, I work full-time elsewhere but I still care just the same about trying to help you visit WDW, and this year is no exception. In fact, this year being so difficult has put even more stress on families and that is when we need more togetherness than ever at the most magical place on earth. Which, thankfully, brings me back to my point and that is, driving to Walt Disney World can save families a great deal of money. Read more

Share