Disney!

All things Walt Disney World

Our family loves Disney World. It has become our go to vacation spot where the adults can act like kids and the kids can act like adults, and everyone can just have a great time. We like to stay "in the bubble" so that we are surrounded by the magic that is Disney. Trips to Disney can be stressful and costly if you do not plan accordingly and that is why I have created this page to hopefully help you plan the Disney vacation of your dreams.

Money Saving Tips:

The number one comment I hear when I tell people that we are going to Disney, again, is how can we afford it? Disney can be really expensive, especially when you stay on site like we do, but there are some great sites out there dedicated to helping you have the vacation of your dreams. Some of my top money saving tips are:

• Go off season! Traveling during non-peak times will result in you getting a steep discount on rooms. While the tickets are not cheaper, the rooms are often advertised at up to 35% off and most times Disney will offer special deals such as free dining or extra days on your tickets. 
• Bring your own food/water/snacks into the parks. Another major expense at Disney is food and drinks. You can cut costs easily by bringing sandwiches, snacks, and drinks into the parks or by taking a break midday to eat in your hotel room or somewhere else off site.  A great inexpensive place to eat lunch is Earl of Sandwich in Downtown Disney. To make it a little more exciting you can hop on a bus to Port Orleans Riverside and take their river ferry to Downtown Disney. It's a wonderful little trip down the Sassagoula River!
• Use a travel agent. There are at on of travel agents out there waiting to help you get the best deal for your budget and schedule. The best part- they are free! If a travel agent tries to charge you for services for your Disney vacation- go elsewhere! Disney travel agents are paid by Disney, not by the customer!
• Set up a Disney Savings Account. For every $1000 you use towards a vacation, you get a $20 gift card. Doesn't seem like much, but every little bit helps.

Check back soon for more money saving tips.

Dining

The most helpful site I have found for dining is allears.net They have all the menus and prices listed for each park and each resort. We usually scope out the places we are interested in trying and get an estimate on how much it will cost, what the reviews are, and how hard it is to get a reservation. This way there are no unwanted surprises when we arrive. Speaking of dining reservations, if at all possible, try to make them at 180 days out. This way you are guaranteed to get those hard to reserve places such as Be Our Guest or Cinderella's. If you find that the ADR you want is fully booked, do not despair. Good things come to those who wait and if you keep checking back and trying again, it's almost guaranteed that you can get what you want. Two trips in a row BOG was fully booked, but I was able to get reservations by routinely checking the site each morning.

Disney News

Disney has released the final list of outdoor kitchens and menus for the Epcot International Food and Garden Show 2015. Check it out here. We tried out many of the different foods around the world last year and we are really looking forward to trying all the new additions!

There are so many changes happening at Disney right now it is hard to keep up! Just a few things of notable importance: Be Our Guest is now accepting reservations for quick-serve breakfast and lunch! The breakfast is a pre-fixe menu with many great selections. Adults are $19.99 and children $11.99. Lunch is the same menu as before, but now everyone can enjoy the benefit of making reservations in place of waiting in the long line outside of the restaurant. Over at Epcot, an sneak peak of Tomorrowland will be featured in the theater that hosts Captain EO. Many are saying that this signals the end of Captain EO's long run at Epcot, but Disney has yet to make an announcement.