planning a disney vacation

Disney’s All Star Movies: Lights, Camera, Action!

Debbie Affordable Disney Vacations, Disney Vacation Planning, Saving Money at Disney World, Saving Money on Accommodations , , , , , 2 Comments

Traveling down West Buena Vista Drive, past the giant basketball hoops and the larger than life musical instruments, you will find a collection of favorite Disney film icons at the All-Star Movies.  Typical of the other All-Star hotels there are five sets of buildings; 101 Dalmatians, Mighty Ducks, Fantasia, Love Bug and Toy Story.  Each building has 2-story, larger than imaginable, characters that distinguish the theme of the building.   The four 101 Dalmatian and Toy Story buildings are in prime proximity to the main building and the bus stops.

As with all the All-Star hotels, the bus stops are in front of the main building. This tends to be the most common issue with the All-Stars, but I have not had too many delays in getting a bus to our destination.  Anytime the line has seemed impossibly long, along comes another bus.  I know some people will differ with me, but I guess luck has been on my side.

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Disney Fun From Around the World: Week of February 7, 2011

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

Greetings Disney friends! I hope that you have had a magical week! This week’s blog round-up has a wonderful collection of just the sweetest Disney articles around (in honor of Valentine’s Day on Monday, of course!), as well as some great information, updates, and just plain fun.

Let’s begin with our friends at Chip and Co. Ken shared a great Oldies But Goodies – Moderate Resorts, A Very Viable Option For Us . In addition, our friend Brenda has a new weekly column: Wednesday with Walt: Our Family Motto. Lastly, Chip himself has a new Baby Princess at home, so all of us combined to create a joint post in her honor: How to Get Your Child Ready for Disney FROM BIRTH!

Disney Dispatch is one of my favorite sites for the funny, interesting, and always entertaining view of Disney. With talk of “love” this week, I share Because I Stinkin’ Love Disney World

Disney Driven Life provided some interesting posts as well with GEOGRAPHY DISNEY STYLE and  ORGANIZING YOUR RESORT ROOM. Then be sure to read A DREAM IS A WISH YOUR HEART MAKES… PART 1 for the very touching beginning to a story. I am looking forward to Part 2.

If you have always wondered what it is REALLY like to eat in Cinderella’s Castle, then don’t miss this from Disney Food Blog: Review: Cinderella’s Royal Table Breakfast. Plus, AJ shares important updates: 2011 Disney Dining Plan Changes

WDW Fan Zone had some very interesting posts this week, as usual. Where to Find Characters has great information for anyone in search of their favorite characters. And we also learned how Epcot’s United Kingdom compares to the “real thing”. Lastly, in  Walt Disney’s Gift – Memories Througout the Generations, Disney Mom’s Panel member Suzanna shares some of her most special Disney memories.

Then to conclude this week’s collection, in honor of Valentine’s Day, I offer this quite amusing post from the The Disney Chick: Three Disney Characters I’d Rather Spend Valentine’s Day With (Now admit it: You are imagining right now, which ones YOU would like to spend time with….aren’t you? Aren’t you??) 🙂

Enjoy the rest of your weekend, and I hope you have the chance to spend Valentine’s Day with those you love.

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Tuesday Disney Tips: Help with Disney Dining Questions

Brenda Disney Vacation Planning, Saving Money at Disney World, Saving Money on Food, Tuesday Disney Tips , , , , 2 Comments

There are few things that brighten my day more than having someone who has never been to Walt Disney World contact me for help with their first ever trip. I get so excited for them and I really appreciate having the pleasure of helping them to plan such an important family trip.

No, I am not a travel agent nor do I have the skills of a travel agent. All I can offer is my advice from my own personal experiences and the first-hand knowledge gained from my travels to WDW this past many years. My children are always telling me I should go back to school and become a Disney travel agent but, as I tell them, I am looking forward to actually being able to stop working one day not start a whole new career from scratch. If I had known 20 years ago what I know now, that is exactly the path I would have taken.

Now, back to the reason for my post today. I was recently contacted by a very sweet lady named Andrea. She had some questions regarding her upcoming first-time Disney trip and I was very happy to help her. I thought that maybe others were having the same questions as she and so I thought I would share the advice I gave to her during our correspondence.

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Disney Fun From Around the World: Week of January 31, 2011

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

Happy Saturday Disney friends! It’s the Super Bowl weekend here in the US: will you be watching? Here at the Affordable Mouse House we are excited to cheer on our Pittsburgh Steelers tomorrow! And speaking of Super….(you knew it was coming, didn’t you??)….I have some SUPER Disney blog posts for you this week. 🙂

So before you get the wings, nachos, and beer ready (or whatever your beverage of choice will be), relax for a few minutes and take a look at all the points scored by these great Disney bloggers:

Let’s start off with our friends at Chip and Co: Debra shared some great souvenir ideas at Downtown Disney: Create-Your-Own & Customizable Souvenirs and Gifts. Meanwhile, Ken discussed something that everyone should try to do at the parks, no matter your age…but ya gotta get there when they open…Disney’s Animal Kingdom Opening Ceremony – Kinda’ Fun (And note that each park has their own version!) Then Lisa shared why Disney never gets old, as she looked at all the things at Walt Disney World that will be new to her on their next trip (which we hope is soon Lisa!): Doesn’t Disney World Get Old?

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Tuesday Disney Tips: Learning to Zig When Others Zag

Brenda Disney Vacation Planning, Tuesday Disney Tips, What to Do at Disney World , , , , , , , 3 Comments

One of the most important things to know when planning your days at Walt Disney World is that you may need to adjust your itinerary based on the habits of the other guests. Learning to zig while others zag is based on experiencing the parks on different days and at different times of the year with varying crowds. There are many books available that speak directly to planning your day in the parks, but what I am referring to is modifying your plan when you are faced with the unexpected. There are many ways to conform to your unique travel circumstances whether at the resort or at any of the four Disney parks.

If you have planned to have breakfast at 7:00 on your first day at the resort and you are greeted with no tables at which to sit, long lines of guests waiting to order and to pay for food, or a loud and chaotic environment, then you might want to rethink your breakfast time on day two. In this scenario, you may wish to plan to sleep in a little while, have breakfast at the resort at 9:30 or 10:00, and then stay at the park later. Conversely, you may want to get up extra early, have breakfast in the room then head out to early extra magic hours. The choice is yours.

Try to be flexible enough in your planning so that you can zig while everyone else zags. In other words, plan your time for less stress and more fun by not going with the flow. Two specific tips I can provide are based on your choice of resort and your choice of park ticket. If you are staying at a Disney resort, taking advantage of extra magic hours is a great idea. But, if you are not staying on Disney property, you will want to avoid the selected EMH parks on those days. Also, having park hopper tickets provides maximum flexibility, so if you can purchase these, I highly recommend it.

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