planning a disney vacation

Thrifty Thursday: Creating a Disney Trip Cheater Book

Brenda Affordable Disney Vacations, Disney Vacation Planning, Saving Money at Disney World, 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.

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Adrift With Disney: Disney Cruise or Disney World?

Brenda Disney Cruises , , , , 0 Comment

Editor’s Note: Welcome to a new series about planning an affordable Disney Cruise: “Adrift With Disney”, courtesy of our friend Brenda. 🙂 Brenda is starting to plan a Disney Dream Cruise because….well….I’ll let her tell you!

photo via http://www.flickr.com/photos/sierraandi/5425751383/in/photostream/

Disney Cruise or Disney World?

That is the question…my answer? How about a little of both?

As my life continues its metamorphosis, so do the plans for our annual Disney family vacation. As you may have read in my previous post, our annual Thanksgiving trip has changed to December this year as my youngest will be graduating from high school and so we will be planning around a college vacation schedule. The latest development in my family is that my oldest son will be marrying his sweetheart this year and, since they will use their vacation days for a honeymoon, they will not be joining us this December.

So, the question is what to do this year. We had planned on a family of 6 at Walt Disney World for 10 days/9 nights and now there will be only 4 of us. Is this an opportunity to try something new? Well, yes it is…and what is newer and grander to try than the brand new Disney Dream? My family has never been on a Disney cruise, so we were excited by the prospect. But, to give up our fun time in the parks was holding us back.

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Changing Resorts at Walt Disney World: How Disney Makes it Easy for You

Nancy Disney Vacation Planning , , , , 8 Comments

I wrote last week about how to handle “change of plans” on your Disney World vacation, specifically what to do when you decide to change your Advanced Dining Reservations literally at the last minute. Disney, of course, made it very easy for us to do, and certainly left me feeling that if we ever want to change our dining plans at the 11th hour in the future, I would not hesitate to try!

This week, I want to talk about change again, but this time related to your hotel/accommodations: what happens when you are staying at more than one resort while on your Disney vacation?

While I this may not apply to a lot of you, you may be surprised to know that there are many reasons while vacationers may decide to stay at more than one hotel while at Disney World. To start, I know that many folks do “split stays” at Disney, especially when visiting during busier times of the year. And some people end up staying at more then one hotel if they decide to add on days to the beginning or end of their trip later in the planning process. Then there are the people that, while they may be staying at a moderate or deluxe hotel for the majority of their stay, will have a late arrival at Walt Disney World, and just want a place to sleep for that first night at a minimal cost. And lastly, some vacationers just love so many of the resorts that they can’t narrow it down to one! 🙂

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

Nancy Disney Fun From Around the "World" , , 1 Comment

Happy Weekend Disney Friends! How was your week? Hopefully it was “magical”. 🙂 I  have lots of great Disney blog posts for you this week, so let’s get down to business! Grab a latte, put your feet up and enjoy my favorites!

Two of my favorites from Chip and Co this week come from Ken. First, he shares ways for seniors (or anyone really!) to get in shape for an exhausting Disney World vacation: Oldies But Goodies – Fatigue Is Our Enemy and then he discusses some great ways to Pick YOUR Best Time Of Year To Visit Walt Disney World . On a completely different note, Brenda had another touching entry in her series Wednesday with Walt: Simplicity at Its Best

Do you love gardening? I do! And I so wish I could be at Disney World during this time of year. Destinations in Florida describes all the colorful events in Epcot Garden – What’s New at the Flower & Garden Festival

And with more great pictures of the Flower and Garden Festival: Disney Parks Blog: Beauty Everywhere at Epcot

Disney Driven Life offered a peak into something new at the Haunted Mansion that has a lot of folks talking: WALT DISNEY WORLD UPDATE…HITCH-HIKING GHOSTS

There were some great articles at Disney Guru. First, Kelly discussed Disney Pin Codes. Are They a Delicacy? And then Theresa gives an interesting review of the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique (including pictures and tips for saving money!) in Princess For A Day

Do you have little ones and are wondering about the high chair situation at Disney World? Growing Up Disney has the 411 for you: High and Mighty (Small): Highchairs & Booster Seats

This next entry is not Disney-related, but I thought it was so important to anyone traveling, that I’m sharing it anyway. Traveling Mamas provides some basic Hotel and Motel Fire Safety tips that everyone should be aware of!

An especially beautiful post comes from Kathy at WDW Fan Zone who wrote a wonderful article introducing us to another of the Faces in the Queue: Meet Kayla!

Lastly, I hope you won’t mind me sharing that I’ve been honored with some very kind reviews this week! WDW Fan Zone put my new affordable Dining Guide in The Spotlight Zone – Magical Meals: A Guide to Affordable Dining at Walt Disney World. In addition, Bob at the Disney Dispatch authored a kind review: Book Review: Magical Meals. And over on My Dreams of Disney Mike also provided a very nice Book Review: Magical Meals. Thank you all so, so much! 🙂

That’s it for this week everyone! Hope you have a wonderful weekend!

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Disney Deluxe Resorts on a Budget??

Guest Affordable Disney Vacations, Disney Vacation Planning, Saving Money at Disney World, Saving Money on Accommodations , , , , , 1 Comment
Disney's Polynesian Resortphoto via http://www.flickr.com/photos/disneyworldsecets

A trip to Walt Disney World is a dream come true for many families. While Disney has thought ahead and greatly accommodated all travelers’ needs by creating resort categories, we all know that being able to stay at a deluxe Disney resort would make that magical dream vacation all the more magical. Believe it or not there are ways to stay at a deluxe Disney resort and stay true to your Disney vacation budget.   My family has been blessed to be able to visit Walt Disney World almost every year. While we always stay on Disney property we do not always stay deluxe. What I can tell you is that when we do stay deluxe I make Disney’s Polynesian Resort my home.

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