Want to remember your last Disney trip but don’t want to break the bank on expensive souvenirs or PhotoPass cd? When you get home, there’s one amazing, FREE souvenir that you can personalize and order straight from The Mouse.
Disney’s Customized Maps are beautiful, full-colored, 14×20″ renderings of the Parks (one for each of Disney World’s four main gates)–each attraction is marked with a pin, and you can select which pins are highlighted. Read more
It may seem pretty obvious, but one thing they never tell you about booking your Disney World vacation is that the prices change throughout the year. Duh, right? Every tourist destination has it’s busy season and its off season.
The thing about Disney World is that their pricing seasons don’t always make immediate sense. And it fluctuates often and somewhat wildly. Read more
For Susan and me, choosing our flight to Orlando wasn’t as difficult as for some people. Three things made it a little easier for us:
Greetings Disney Friends! Hope you are having the best weekend ever so far! I hope you’ll 
take a few minutes from your weekend chores to relax with a glass of lemonade and enjoy some great affordable Disney vacation tips and ideas from our Disney blogger friends:
Chip and Co. had some great information this week to share. First, we found out what happens if you have a late reservation at a Character Meal: Ask a Disney Question: How Late do Characters Stay at Meals? And then, some very helpful tips for those visiting Disney in a wheelchair: Accessible Ride Vehicles at the Magic Kingdom
Destinations in Florida reviewed one of my personal favorite places to eat….and have a blast doing it…at Disney World: 50’s Prime Time Cafe at Disney’s Hollywood Studios
Disney Dispatch had a great post that discussed a GREAT idea for a fun…and very affordable…Disney souvenir: Disney Pressed Coins
For a special treat, you might want to consider trying out this lovely idea from Disney Every Day: Details of our Afternoon Tea at the Grand Floridian’s Garden View Tea Room
Disney Guru always has super ways to save money at Disney World. Don’t miss this fun idea: FREE Wilderness Fun!!
I always love how Magical Mouse Schoolhouse blends the joy of Disney with the joy of learning. Epcot World Showcase: Mexico Pavilion is a great example!
And last, but certainly not least, WDW Fan Zone has some excellent suggestion on how making a Disney trip affordable for you: Disney For All Budgets
Have a magical weekend everyone! 🙂
Ahhh, the lazy days of summer – I WISH THEY WOULD GET HERE ALREADY!! It’s been unusually cold here in southern Mississippi…….I wonder how warm and nice the weather is in the Caribbean this time of year?
Speaking of the Caribbean, when you place that word in the same sentence as “Disney”, you have just gained my full attention. There’s just something about those 2 words spoken together that gets me all giddy. First, there’s a chance you’re referring to my FAVE ride of all time, Pirates of the Caribbean. Love the ride, can’t wait for the 4th movie to come out with the talented Mr. Depp.
Yo Ho, Yo Ho….well, you know the rest.
Then there’s the possibility you are referring to Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort (CB) – my favorite place in all the “World” to stay. It is a vacation inside of a vacation. The rooms are nice – the property….even nicer. At 200 sprawling acres, with a 45 acre lake, it is the largest resort in all of Walt Disney World. It is so spread out, you will, at times, feel you are there all alone, and who doesn’t want that?!!?!?!?
The shops are fantastic, the food court is wonderful, the rooms are great, and some have recently been upgraded to feature a “pirates theme”, including pirate ship beds. Behind the shops/food court is a large patio, complete with umbrella tables and chairs, overlooking the lake. There are also various spots around the lake complete with sand and hammock for some quiet relaxation time, or water craft rentals for some time out on the water.
Now what makes Caribbean Beach (CB) better than a value resort (VR)? Well, I’ve stayed in both, so I will give you the MOST VALUABLE differences, in my humble opinion…..
1) BUS STOPS:
VR – stand in a central herding stall rope line out in the Florida heat, waiting on your bus to arrive. At the parks, you will walk allllll the way to the very end of the bus stations to catch your particular bus, doesn’t sound like a big deal, but on Day 2, when your calves are screaming for mercy at the end of the day – BIG DEAL, trust me.
CB – covered pavilion with benches to sit on, ceiling fans & drink machines while you wait. Each section of the resort has it’s own bus stop, so no walking forever to one centralized locale. At the parks, you’re closer to the front of the bus stations, which equals less walking, which equals less of a chance that you will snap and someone will be seriously injured after they’ve complained they didn’t get to ride Space Mountain that 5th time that you promised them.
2) ROOMS:
VR – The basics. Two beds, a bathroom, a small table & chairs, smaller room, and Mickey soap. And it can be a long walk to the front of the resort to get to the pools, food courts, and to catch the bus.
CB – Stretch out roomy. Two beds, a bathroom with TWO sinks (what guy traveling with chicks isn’t happy about that?) a decent sized table with chairs, a refrigerator, a TV armoire with additional storage underneath, lush tropical landscapes, and again, closely located bus stops just a stone’s throw from your front door. You can stop trying to pronouce “armoire” now.
3) POOLS:
VR – Usually two of them, often full to capacity (thanks to all those “special rates”) & often loud.
CB – Big & roomy with water slides. Beautifully built and much quieter than VR. At your request, you can be far enough away that you can’t hear the noise from the pool.
This is, by far, the quietest resort in which we’ve ever stayed. Even the lobby is better in CB. Everything’s better there. We decided to “venture out” and stay at Coronado Springs last time. We realized quickly we were spoiled to CB, spent most of the time comparing and feeling that, for us, CS could not stand up to CB…..
If you can spring for the upgrade from value (usually around $30 per night extra), this resort is worth it’s weight in gold – or should I say, golden silence. There’s not too much relaxing to be had inside the parks. Isn’t it worth it to have that quiet tropical feel in the evening? Yo Ho, Yo Ho……a quiet time for me!
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………