Blog - Disney Castle Dreaming Travel

Planning Ahead: Advance Dining Reservations

In last week’s post, I talked about the advantages and disadvantages of making advance dining reservations (ADRs) for Disney table service restaurants. If you read that post, you know that I am a FIRM believer in ADRs, and ideally, I recommend booking as soon as your window opens, whenever possible.

Currently, I am 8 days away from my November anniversary trip with my husband, and in the midst of planning a spring trip with my mom. This weekend, the 180 day window opened up for the May trip I’m planning with mom, and I promised to let you know how my ADR mission went.

In a nutshell…Very smoothly. I was able to book every reservation that I wanted, and in fact, I booked several extra as I’m not 100% on our vacation schedule and our plans just yet. I’ve set reminders in my calendar to make sure I cancel extra reservations as we get closer to finalizing our plans. It helps that our dates fall in the first week of May—after most of the heavy Spring Break crowds are gone, and before all the kids get out of school for the summer. Generally, this is a slightly less crowded time to visit, and it works perfectly for my mom and I. We’re going the weekend before her birthday and Mother’s Day, and while I’m expecting pretty warm temperatures, the heat and humidity won’t be at the extremes of June and July, making for a more tolerable visit for us northerners.

When mom and I go to Disney, generally the big draw is the Epcot Flower and Garden Festival. My mom is an avid and gifted gardener, and Epcot is never more beautiful than it is during Flower and Garden. In past years, my job made it difficult for me to take time off work, so our trips were usually very short weekend trips, sometimes two full days, sometimes three. This year, my work schedule is a little more accommodating, so we’re planning a full 5-6 days for our trip, which is very exciting. I’m planning two days at Epcot for sure, and we’ll have one day where we don’t visit any parks at all—probably spend a few hours at the pool and visit Disney Springs (formerly Downtown Disney).

We have not made flight arrangements yet and Disney has not released official park hours yet, so I’m not able to completely plan our agenda this early. However, I don’t want to lose the advantage that can be gained by booking ADRs 180 days out, so even though I don’t have an EXACT plan yet for our trip, I made a loose plan, with a couple contingencies, and went ahead and booked the reservations that I wanted. That’s the strategy I recommend for you, whenever possible. Take advantage of that early booking window. You can always make changes later!

Key things to think about:

Who is in your traveling party? Are you traveling with kids? With seniors? With people that love sushi or only eat fried food? It’s important to understand WHO you are traveling with. I’ve learned that my trip is much more enjoyable when I plan the trip keeping everyone else’s preferences and priorities in mind.
Are there any special celebrations during your trip? Are you celebrating anyone’s birthday or an anniversary? If so, make sure that at least some of your plans center on that person or that event.
1. Make sure you note any celebrations on both your resort reservation and any meal reservations you make. While you should never expect special treatment, Disney will sometimes add some extra magic to make your celebrations extra special.
2. Make sure you get celebration buttons at the front desk or at guest services. Again, you don’t want to expect any special treatment, but if the person in your group with a celebration is wearing a button advertising that fact, you’ve increased the odds that SOMETHING COULD happen for them. At minimum, they’re likely to get a lot of happy wishes from total strangers, and that’s always fun, right?
How does your party like to travel? Is everyone a night owl that would sooner starve than be up early for breakfast? Or do you have a group of early risers that will be chomping at the bit to get going by sunrise? It’s important to try to structure your touring (and, by extension, your meal plans) to accommodate your group. This minimizes the stress on everyone, and significantly increases the odds that everyone will be happy with your plans.
How many meals per day will your group eat? Some families always eat breakfast, lunch and dinner, while others skip breakfast completely, but might have a late-night supper a few hours after dinner. It’s important to consider the habits and needs of your unique group.
How many days of your trip will be “Park” days? How many will be “Resort” days? Do you have any water park visits planned? How about Downtown Disney? While I don’t want you to feel that you have to nail down exact activities for each day of your vacation, it is a good idea to map out at least a general outline.
Does anyone in your group (or more than one) have a FAVORITE restaurant or quick service meal location that they MUST visit during your trip or [insert dramatic tone here] their “vacation will be ruined!!!” ? (You’d be surprised how often I hear that a vacation will be RUINED if something is left out, or a particular attraction is closed, or it rains, or is cloudy…you get the idea.) Perspective is important! But, while I don’t think we want to assign vacation destroying potential to any one meal or attraction, if your party has favorites, you may want to try to include at least some of those considerations in your planning.
If you have people in your group with very different tastes or priorities, you may find it helpful to give everyone a day where THEY are the primary focus. For example, if you have one kid that LOVES Sci Fi, and the Rock-n-Roller Coaster is their FAVORITE attraction, perhaps you plan your Hollywood Studios day to include lunch at the Sci Fi Dine-In Theatre and fast pass plus reservations for Rock-n-Roller Coaster and Star Tours. Then plan another day around a different child’s interests at their favorite park. If you have eight kids and a 5-day vacation, you may have to get more creative than that, but hopefully, you get the general idea.
What kind of budget are you working with? I’ve found the farther in advance I plan my trip, the better I’m able to manage my budget to make sure we can do the things we want to do. Shorter notice trips generally mean more economical meal and snack choices—perhaps more meals back at the resort or in the room, or perhaps even off property. Eating at Disney is not a budget friendly proposition, so it’s a good idea to review menus and prices when you are planning to help set expectations and to help set goals for pre-trip savings. In the trip I’m planning for the spring, I have a couple higher end meals planned. If, as we get closer, I’m not able to save as much money for the trip as I currently plan, I may cancel or change those reservations. Right now, I have lots of time, so I’m optimistic, but we all know that things can happen to derail the best laid budget plans.

Over the years and planning MANY trips to Disney, I have learned that my strategy in planning a trip for my husband and myself is very different than when I plan for trips that include my nieces and nephews or the trips that I plan for my mom and myself. Consider your audience. Just because your read about “the perfect Disney itinerary” on a Disney trip planning website, doesn’t mean it’s perfect for YOUR group. YOUR perfect itinerary may be very different, based on what is important to your group. AND that may change year-to-year, as your family or travel group changes. Don’t be afraid to re-assess and re-focus during your planning. People change, priorities change and Disney changes.

I realize I’m advocating a lot of planning ahead, both in this post, and in some of my other trip planning posts. And absolutely, I think advance planning is KEY to a successful and enjoyable Disney vacation. BUT, I have also learned to relax a little bit, and to build some flexibility into my plans. I think it’s just as important to include some blocks of time in each day where anything can happen. I might have a loose idea, for example, we will hit Park A, and we will be there ½ hour before the Park opens. We have lunch reservations at X and dinner reservations at Y. I’ll plan some fast pass plus reservations for late morning or early afternoon, and have a plan for where we will start when the park opens. If there is nighttime entertainment, I’ll be cognizant of what time that’s happening and have a general idea of when and where we want to get positioned to enjoy that. Otherwise, I try to relax and see where the day takes us.

The trips I take with my husband tend to be a little more structured, because we both have a TON of favorite attractions and I want to make sure we both get to do as much of the things we like as possible, so I will have a stricter plan of attack, to make sure we get to everything. Trips with kids tend to be much more loosey goosey, just because there are so many variables and unexpected surprises that pop up with kids…you have to be much more flexible—but it’s also critical that you have a broad idea of the major attractions that are a priority because you will have more distractions making it more challenging to stay on track and get the major stuff on your list accomplished.

My trips with my mom are less structured than when I travel with my husband, but more structured than when I travel with children. When I travel with mom, our schedule tends to be more relaxed, and we spend more time sitting, talking, and people watching with a glass of wine 😊 and not quite as much time going from attraction to attraction. I also don’t usually plan any character meals with mom as she’s not really into the character thing. (Although I do generally drag her in for some character photos here and there, and she’s always a good sport about it!)

Also, neither one of us are much into breakfast, so we’ll probably get some bagels or toast and fruit and just eat light breakfasts in our room at the resort. Saves a few bucks and helps get the morning off to a bit more relaxed start. It’s been a few years since our last trip, and I’m really looking forward to some quality time with mom.

I’m hoping we’ll have some time to stop by the newly remodeled Wedding Pavilion where Frank and I got married…I want mom to see it since they’ve redone it. We also may tour a couple of the resorts that have changed a lot in the last few years. I’d love to see the Polynesian now that it has DVC Villas on Seven Seas Lagoon, and Wilderness Lodge now that it has new additions. We’ll play it by ear, but resort hopping is always fun. Lots of great places to sit and relax, have a glass of wine and enjoy the views!! We haven’t decided how many park days we will do this trip yet, so I built a few different options into my preliminary plans.

We will arrive on a Wednesday—since we don’t know yet what time our flights will be, I don’t know if we’ll end up visiting a park that day or not. Usually on a travel day, we’ll visit Disney Springs or check out the Boardwalk area. I made reservations for dinner at the California Grill. Located at the top of the Contemporary Resort, California Grill offers great views of the Magic Kingdom and the Seven Seas Lagoon, terrific food and a diverse and large wine list. An added benefit is that the restaurant features a couple of catwalks where guests can walk out onto the roof and watch the Magic Kingdom fireworks. During the daytime, the catwalks are a terrific location for pictures. I usually try to plan one really good meal during our trips where we can dress up a little bit and take our time and have a leisurely meal. This trip, this is that meal.

I also have an alternative plan, in case we decide to visit a park that day: I booked a dinner reservation at Tusker House at Animal Kingdom with preferred access to Rivers of Light. I don’t expect we’ll end up doing this, but I have a couple of months to make that decision.

Since the primary focus of the trip is the Epcot Flower and Garden Festival, I’ve planned two days at Epcot: Thursday and Sunday. I made reservations for lunches at Rose and Crown in the UK and Via Napoli in Italy, and our dinners are planned for Chefs de France (in France 😉) and La Hacienda de San Angel in Mexico. These are all places we’ve visited before and enjoyed. Via Napoli was a favorite on the wedding trip, and mom and I both really like Chefs de France, so I wanted to make sure we hit both of those.

Friday is a little up in the air at the moment. We will either do Magic Kingdom or Hollywood Studios that day. Or, if we decide to park hop, we will visit Magic Kingdom in the morning and Hollywood Studios in the afternoon and evening…probably with a break in between. To allow for any configuration of those two parks on that day, I booked one lunch and one dinner reservation at each park. Once I have a better idea of our actual plan, I will cancel the extra reservations. At MK, I booked lunch at the Plaza and dinner at Jungle Skipper’s Canteen. At HS, we have lunch at Sci Fi Dine In Theatre and dinner at the Brown Derby. The Plaza is one of our favorite restaurants at Magic Kingdom and is a great place for a sandwich or a salad. Brown Derby is a higher end dining experience at Hollywood Studios; we’ve eaten here for both lunch and dinner before and had great experiences each time. Jungle Skipper’s Canteen is new, and we haven’t been there before. Frank and I are trying it out next weekend–how THAT goes may affect this reservation!

Saturday, I have planned as a rest day—possibly a water park day or maybe a pool and shopping day. I booked a dinner reservation at the Boathouse in Disney Springs in case we end up over there, and I figured we’d grab lunch at our hotel or by the pool. The Boathouse is one of the new places at Disney Springs, and I thought it sounded like a place we’d both enjoy.

Monday will be our last day and will be a travel day. Depending on how many park days we decide to do, we will either visit Animal Kingdom today, or we will have a casual day, maybe at Disney Springs or hanging around the resort until we go to the airport. In case we go to Animal Kingdom, I made lunch reservations for Yak and Yeti.

As you can tell, I’ve left a lot kind of up in the air. At this point, that’s ok. I’ve made sure we have reservations for most meals, and I have a loose plan for our trip. I may still play around with reservations over the next few weeks, until we firm up our travel plans a little bit. Given specific week we are traveling, most reservations should be attainable for another month or two. If we were going during a busier week, booking early like this would have been CRUCIAL. Now, it’s just more of a security blanket. By about 90 days out, I like to have a pretty solid plan, and at that point I’ll release any extraneous reservations, if I haven’t already, and I’ll start planning our fast pass plus reservations.

Also starting to make lists for a potential big family trip with the nieces and nephews in late 2018 or sometime in 2019. The more people involved, the more lists 😊 I find myself making. Absolutely love seeing the kids at Disney; their perspective is so different and so much fun to watch.

What trips are on your horizon? I’d love to hear what you’re working on!

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Epcot Flower and Garden Festival: Cogswell

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Happy dreaming,

Brooke

Emert’s Vinyl Graphics and Designs: Adding a Little Extra Magic to Our Disney Vacation

It’s official. I’ve become one of THOSE people. THOSE people that wear matching shirts on their family vacations to Disney. I admit, I didn’t used to be one of those people…but I must warn you…it can be fun and it’s addictive!

A couple of years ago, when I was planning our Disney wedding, a friend introduced me to the magical place that is Etsy. Wow! Talk about a rabbit hole!! I found so many amazing treasures that became part of our wedding trip on Etsy…bridesmaid gifts, groomsmen gifts, gifts for my husband and my mom…you name it, I searched for it and probably found it on Etsy. During my rabbit hole exploring, I discovered many adorable options for matching shirts–each one cuter than the last. I was HOOKED. I ended up doing matching shirts for Frank and I for almost every day of our wedding trip and it added an extra element of magic…and made it easier to figure out what to wear each day, haha. It ended up being a lot of fun, and we looked pretty cute in our pictures, too.

In planning our Anniversary trip, I knew I wanted to take at least one or two shirts that matched and celebrated our anniversary. So I started down the Etsy rabbit hole…which these days is supplemented by a dazzling array of Facebook shops.

I think it was kismet, because I made an amazing discovery. A fellow Disney Bride and friend had opened her own Etsy and Facebook shops and she just happened to be making Disney themed shirts and vinyls. So of course, I had to check out her shops: Emert’s Vinyl Graphics and StitchesNBows.

Jennine knew I was in the midst of planning a trip for our anniversary and she wanted to help us celebrate. She offered to make us some iron-on decals so I could make matching shirts for Frank and I. She knew I loved the kissing mice, and had used them in our wedding materials, so she designed a vinyl that used the kissing mice and added a “Mr. & Mrs.” along with the words “Celebrating 3 Magical Years”. Jennine uses a high-quality vinyl and her Silhouette Cameo electronic cutting machine and produces customizable items that can be ironed on shirts, magnetized or even attached to walls or windows.

Jennine designed and produced an absolutely adorable iron-on for us from white vinyl and I received them a few days ago. It took me a few days to decide which shirts I wanted to get to actually iron on the designs…Ultimately, I decided to go with long sleeved shirts, since it looks like the temperatures during the evenings on our trip will be in the fifties. The vinyls were very easy to position and iron-on. Jennine provided clear and simple instructions. Basically, I positioned the vinyl where I wanted it, and placed a piece of parchment paper on top. I ironed over the parchment for about 20 seconds in each area. I then let everything cool for a few seconds and then lifted the parchment and tried peeling off the plastic backing…which came off very easily. I did overheat one corner of the design on my first one…I got distracted and left the iron in one place for too long, but I don’t think it’s noticeable. I’m really pleased with how well the shirts came out, and I can’t wait to show them to my husband!

As an added bonus, Jennine stuck an extra little surprise in my package.

She knows I have a deep affection for the original Cinderella animated film, and a particular fondness for Gus and Jacques, two of Cinderella’s mice friends. Look at what now graces our wall??

How cute is that?? And SO easy to put up, and will not damage the wall at all.

If you get a chance, please check out Jennine’s Facebook store, Emert’s Vinyl Graphics, or the Etsy store she shares with her mom, StitchesNBows.

Jennine does the vinyls and her mom offers custom embroidery. I suspect you’ll find something you’ll like. I already have several things on my wishlist to add a little extra Disney magic to our home!

I have gotten a couple other things from other Etsy shops in preparation for our trip…I’ll be sharing those in my next post. How about you? Have you gone down the Etsy rabbit hole? Have you jumped on the matching shirts train?

Happy dreaming,

Brooke

Making your Disney Vacation More Enjoyable: Advance Dining Reservations (ADRs)

One key way to make your Disney vacation more enjoyable is to plan ahead and make some Advance Dining Reservations for sit down meals (Disney calls them “table service” meals) during your trip.

In the early days of traveling to Disney, I never wanted to “waste time” on table service dining. I was very focused on attractions and shopping, and didn’t want to sacrifice time to sit down and order and wait for my food. What I didn’t realize is that often, so-called “quick service” meals take just as long to get through and are often so much more stressful than a table service meal.

If you visit during crowded times, you can end up waiting in line for long periods of time just to get your food. Then, you and your family are walking around with trays of food in your hands, searching for an empty table — or watching people like vultures waiting for them to finish and leave so you can battle the nearby family, also standing there with trays in their hands, for the space. Ah, quick service dining…survival of the fittest! And when you finally get your seat, your food is cold (if it was hot to begin with) and you find yourselves being watched by more vultures waiting for you to hurry up and vacate your hard-won table. It’s so NOT relaxing and recharging. And, to make matters worse, (yes I’m generalizing here) many many quick service offerings are very basic, blah and overpriced. I’m not saying there aren’t exceptions to this—there are definitely some VERY good quick services places on property—but for the most part, Disney’s “quick service” options are like most fast food offerings. They fill the hole in your stomach, but don’t offer much in the way of flavor or experience.

As Disney’s popularity has grown with travelers from all over the world, there are rarely slow times with light crowds any more. During seasons that used to be slower, Disney now offers promotions designed to attract budget conscious travelers, and they are very successful. These days, you can expect at least mid-level crowds almost every day of the year…and the number of days with high volume crowds seems to increase every year. Higher volume crowds mean table service restaurants fill up way in advance, leaving the average day guest to rely on quick service…which can too often lead to the scenario I described above.

A Disney vacation is an expensive vacation. Your park tickets are pricey. It can be very easy to think that you have to spend every minute possible on attractions or in shows to maximize the value of your ticket. However, I have found that I’m actually able to accomplish more, AND the day is much more enjoyable when we take a couple of breaks to sit and enjoy leisurely table service meals. And let’s face it—this is the actual REAL goal of vacation, isn’t it? To have a good time with our loved ones? Sometimes we forget in the overwhelming baggage that an expensive vacation with a lot of expectations brings with it—the goal is to have a good time. If you have a good time, you’ve gotten good value. If you ride every single attraction but everyone is cranky and crabby and fighting…did you get good value? I argue that you did not. So slow down a LITTLE bit, take a break, and sit down and eat. 😊

Advantages of Table Service Dining:

You know what time and WHERE your next meal will be.
If you are budget conscious, you can review menus and pricing online prior to your vacation so you can plan for what you’ll spend on the meal. (To be fair, you can do this with quick service meals too, but generally, if you are going the quick service route, you won’t necessarily know WHICH quick service restaurants you will want to visit, so you’d have to review a lot more menus and prices.)
You get to SIT DOWN AND RELAX. I cannot stress this one ENOUGH. Taking a little time during a busy theme park day to sit down in a comfortable seat and truly REST for a meal is PRICELESS. I realize for many parents or caregivers, even a sit down meal is not a chance for you to relax because you have to take care of your kids—however, sitting down at a reserved table is MUCH more relaxing than standing in line, carrying trays and trying to keep your kids corralled while you search for a table. I promise!
There is air conditioning. Many quick service restaurants offer outdoor seating, usually covered but not always. Some do offer indoor seating, but not all and for those that do, it’s often not enough seating. 8-10 months out of the year, Orlando weather feels uncomfortably warm to most of us that live in other areas of the country. And at least 5 months out of the year, the weather truly is HOT, and even seasoned Orlando residents avoid being outside in the heat and humidity as much as possible. Running all over the parks in that heat can really wear you out. Taking 30 – 60 minutes out of the heat to rest in the A/C is good for all of you…babies to seniors. Have a relaxing meal, recharge your batteries, and you’ll be ready to face the next part of your adventure.
There are no vultures circling. Now, I’m going to be brutally honest here: Disney is a business, and all of their dining options, quick service and table service, are based on the concept that the more people you serve, the more money you make. So the table service restaurants have gotten pretty good at turning tables fairly quickly. The upside to this is that when you’re really hungry, you are usually getting your food very quickly. The downside? Once you’re done, the servers do expect you to move on. BUT you don’t have to. If you need a little time to regroup, to rest, take your time. There won’t be other diners swarming around you with trays, but you may get some extra attention from your server or the host or hostess as they keep an eye out to see when you leave.
You can have amazing experiences. Some table service dining are character meals, where various characters stop by your table to interact with your group and pose for pictures. Most character meals also do little mini-parades where all the children join in and march around the restaurant. Sometimes, various characters will wander through table service restaurants that AREN’T character meals. If you are celebrating a birthday or anniversary, you may end up with a surprise or two at a table service meal that they just don’t have time or resources to offer at a quick service restaurant.
Early morning table service meal reservations can get you into the park before it opens to the public. I have to tell you, if you are a Disney fan, there are few things more exciting than walking up Main Street with 10 or 12 other guests on it instead of hundreds!!! And after breakfast, when you are held at the hub until the park opens, and you can turn and look down Main Street and watch the surge of people coming in and heading towards the castle…it’s a magical moment, that’s for sure!

Disadvantages of Table Service Dining

You MUST plan ahead. There is just no getting around this. I cannot tell you how many times I’ve been sitting waiting for our reservation to be called and I’ve watched MANY people approach the podium, hoping to get a last-minute reservation for later that same day, or hoping to walk up and get seated—99% of the time, those people walk away disappointed. DO NOT ASSUME you will be able to get seated at a table service restaurant at any of the parks at any time during your trip without an advance reservation. You will most likely be disappointed.
You have to be aware of your table service dining reservations when planning your fast pass plus reservations and as you go through attractions during your day. You don’t want to be in a 45 minute line for Space Mountain when you have a dining reservation at Jungle Skipper’s Canteen in 15 minutes.
Table service dining can be more time consuming. Personally, I have found that we can usually get seated, order, get our meals and pay in 30-45 minutes for lunch and 45-90 minutes for dinner, depending on if we include appetizers and/or dessert. Theoretically, you COULD probably do quick service more quickly than that, especially if you choose to eat at non-peak periods (before 11:30 am or after 2:30 pm for lunch, for example). BUT honestly, I believe in my heart of hearts, that you need (at least) a 45 minute break in the middle of your day—so while you may save time doing quick service dining, I suggest you still take a full 45 minute break.
Table service dining is usually more expensive than quick service. There are a couple exceptions, and it of course depends on what you order, but generally speaking, you’ll spend more money to dine table service than you will to dine quick service, especially if you choose specialty locations (Cinderella’s Royal Table in the castle, for example) or character meals. Careful planning can minimize the difference if character meals and specialty locations aren’t important to you, but if you are extremely budget conscious, you won’t be able to plan as many table service meals unless you stick to the most economical options.
Disney charges a $10 per person cancellation fee if you cancel with less than 24 hour notice or don’t show for your reservation. They implemented this policy a few years ago, and they are not kidding around. They used to have issues with restaurants booking up and then half the reservations not showing up, it was awful. People would go booking crazy and never go back and cancel the extra reservations, which made it difficult for anyone else to get a reservation for anything EVER. Note: They will work with you for emergencies or special situations that come up—just make sure you call BEFORE the reservation time.
Less flexibility: The biggest disadvantage is the loss of flexibility. I know for many people, true freedom is important to them on their vacation, and having to be tied to a particular park or meal reservation feels constricting and less fun for them. I know this is aggravating for some people, and I understand. If freedom is more important, you won’t want to be tied down with dining reservations—but understand the trade-offs. You’ll probably stand in more lines waiting for food, and the quality of food you get may not be as good as it would be if you had a dining reservation for a table service meal. It’s all about trade-offs, and only you can decide what’s most important to you!

Even if you’re not a planner, and don’t want to be tied down to a particular park or meal, I strongly suggest that you take a look at the dining options available at each park you plan to visit to see if there are any that you REALLY want to make sure your family is able to do. If so, make the advance dining reservation as early as you possibly can…just in case. You can always cancel it later. (Make sure to cancel at least 24 hours before your reservation to avoid $10 per person fee). Even just a couple of reservations will ultimately help make your trip more enjoyable in my opinion.

Booking Your ADRs

You can book online at Disney Dining Reservations or call 407-WDW-DINE (939-3463). If you are booking online, you will want to be signed in to My Disney Experience so that the system will recognize you and your hotel reservations (assuming you have one!). If you are calling, you will need your reservation confirmation number.

When Can I Make My Reservations?

Reservations can be made up to 180 days in advance for most table service restaurants. If you are staying at a Disney resort hotel (including Disney Vacation Club resorts), your window opens up 180 days from the first night of your reservation…and you can book dining for the entire length of your reservation—up to 10 days.

Disney is a pretty popular place, and seasoned Disney travelers (or those Disney travelers working with savvy travel agents) KNOW that many Disney table service restaurants book up months in advance, so if at all possible, you want to plan ahead and book your dining reservations as early as possible.

You can always cancel or make changes later…but better to have a reservation and later cancel it, than to decide you want a reservation later on but be unable to get one.

What this means for you:

Best case scenario, you want to be planning (at least the basics) your trip at least 6 months in advance—ideally 8-10 months in advance.
If you are planning to stay on Disney property, book your hotel reservation at least 7 months out to ensure you have that full six-month window to book your dining.
Generally park hours are not released until 90-120 days out. While this most likely won’t really affect decisions you make about lunch or dinner, this could impact breakfast reservation decisions. You can use sites like touringplans.com to see anticipated park hours and crowd levels, based on previous years, but understand that those hours may be different that the actual hours, once Disney releases them. And even then, Disney may change the hours a little closer to your trip, based on resort reservations and anticipated crowds.
You need to decide, at least loosely, which parks you plan to visit on which days of your vacation. You also need to consider whether you plan to park hop or not.
You need to review the various table service dining options available at each park and create a short list of the ones you’d like to try and visit during your trip.
Do you have any special occasions you are celebrating during your trip? If so, are there any places you’d like to try for your celebration?
Don’t forget about the resorts. There are many really good table service restaurants at the various resorts around property—if you’re a foodie, Victoria and Albert’s at the Grand Floridian is an award winning fine dining experience that is consistently rated one of the finest restaurants in the American southeast. The California Grill at the Contemporary is located at the top of the Contemporary resort and offers stunning views of the Magic Kingdom as well as an award-winning dining experience.

Fine Dining; Signature Dining. Disney Dining Plan. Food.

Photo: Disney Parks

Photo: Disney Parks

Are you planning to spend any time at Disney Springs? If so, you may want to plan ahead there as well…there are lots of quick service and table service options at Disney Springs, and the reservations aren’t quite as challenging to get as they are in the parks, but during peak periods, you’ll be grateful you made reservations months in advance!
Decide if character meals are important for your group. If they are, decide WHICH ones are highest priority. I tend to recommend Character meals for early pre-open breakfasts…I personally think the breakfasts are a better value than lunch or dinner and you can get the added bonus of getting into the park early before the rest of the visitors.

Disney Character Breakfast Crystal Palace

Character Breakfast at the Crystal Palace at the Magic Kingdom

Disney's Chef Mickey Character Breakfast

Chef Mickey Character Breakfast at Disney’s Contemporary Resort

Find out if any of the restaurants you plan to book require upfront payment. For example, Cinderella’s Royal Table in the castle at Magic Kingdom requires 100% payment at the time you make the reservation. Most table service restaurants do NOT require this payment, but I don’t want it to be a shock when you go to book.
Determine which of your desired reservations are the most difficult to get, and try to take care of those first. Some of the most difficult reservations on property include Le Cellier Steakhouse in Canada at Epcot (Warning: this is a “signature” dining experience and is PRICIER than you would probably expect, especially at lunchtime. Be sure and review the menus and prices before you book!), Cinderella’s Royal Table at the Magic Kingdom, Be Our Guest (dinner) at the Magic Kingdom, The Plaza Restaurant at Magic Kingdom, Akershus Royal Banquet Hall at Epcot, and most other character meals.
If you’re not sure, take some time to review the menus and reviews on Disney’s website and on other great sites like the Disney Food Blog.

I’m currently getting ready to book the advance dining reservations for the trip I’ve got planned with my mom to go down for the Epcot Flower and Garden Festival in May. My reservation window opens tomorrow, so in my next post, I’ll update you all with how that goes! I’ll also talk a bit about which restaurants I personally prefer for this trip, and why.

In future posts, we’ll take a look at the Disney Dining Plan and unique dining experiences at Walt Disney World. I’ll also take a look at the best (and WORST) table service and quick service options to be found. Do you have a favorite Disney restaurant? If so, I’d love to hear your thoughts!

Happy Dreaming,

Brooke

SOLD OUT: November 9 2017 Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party!

Wanted to jump on with a quick update: Usually, the early-in-the-season Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party are a pretty safe bet for lighter crowds and shorter lines. However, the first Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party of the season has ALREADY sold out. This year, the first party is Thursday, November 9, 2017. That party has already completely sold out!!

A couple things that COULD be contributing to this: Perhaps, Disney is releasing few tickets for the very first party of the season, giving them a chance to work out any kinks in this year’s party events, shows and parades. Or, they might limit the tickets for the first party to generate news and stories like this one: this could build excitement and drive people that have been thinking about attending the parties this year rush to commit and buy their tickets before they’re all gone!! Or, quite simply: There may just be a LOT of people planning to attend that very first party. Usually, that week in November is reasonably light traffic–maybe this year is different? Maybe more people are traveling to Disney this November? I don’t work for Disney, so I honestly don’t know. I’ll keep researching and see if I can learn anything more about this year’s crowds.

Our tickets for Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party are for the 5th party of the season, November 16. I will be sure to report back after the party to let you all know how crowded it is (or isn’t!) and whether it’s sold out by party night. Here’s a link to my post with more details about Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party.

How about all of you? Are you planning to visit Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party this year? Have you bought your tickets yet? I’d love to hear from you!

Happy Dreaming!

Brooke

Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party: Is It Worth It?

One of my very favorite times to visit Walt Disney World is during the Christmas Holiday Season. I LOVE seeing all the resorts and theme parks decorated for the holidays, and I love the little “extra” holiday magic and cheer that seems to permeate WDW at this time of year. Having said that, however, I do want to add that I tend to avoid the ACTUAL holidays as the crowds Thanksgiving week and the week before and after Christmas tend to be INSANE, with parks reaching capacity and actually closing to additional guests on some days. The last time I went for the week of Christmas, we were in the Magic Kingdom on a day the park closed to additional guests at 10 a.m.!! The crowds were crazy. Standby lines were up to four hours for some attractions, and it was uncomfortable and difficult to even just walk around. Moods were challenging and finding the holiday spirit was a little more difficult than usual. I don’t enjoy the parks as much when they are that crowded, so I tend to avoid that time of year. (Note: It is ABSOLUTELY possible to go and have a great time during the holidays, as long as you set your expectations properly, plan ahead and pack your patience. I don’t want to imply you can’t have a terrific vacation at this time of year—it’s just a little more challenging. I’ll cover that in a separate upcoming post.)

I have found that by visiting in mid-November or early December, I can enjoy most of the benefits of the Holiday season at Walt Disney World without the Thanksgiving or Christmas crowds. If you are lucky enough to visit WDW during this time of year, I highly encourage you to take some time to visit some of the resorts to see their Holiday decorations—each resort decorates differently, and in accordance with that resort’s overall theme. I’ll talk about “Resort Holiday Décor” (another favorite topic) in a separate post, AFTER our upcoming vacation when I hope to get some updated pictures, time permitting!

Many of Disney’s holiday festivities can be enjoyed with your regular park admission. Hollywood Studios Jingle Bell, Jingle BAM! And Sunset Seasons Greetings are included in a visit to Hollywood Studios this year, and Epcot’s International Festival of the Holidays and classic Candlelight Processional are both part of your standard Epcot visit during the season.

At the Magic Kingdom, however, many of the “special” holiday activities are part of a special ticketed event: Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party. Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party (MVMCP) begins in November and runs several evenings per week through Christmas. On the days when the party is held, the Magic Kingdom will close early to regular park guests. If you are visiting WDW during this time, I strongly suggest you check the party dates and plan to visit the Magic Kingdom on a non-party date, unless you have park hopping tickets and can visit a different park in the evening, once the park closes.

MVMCP requires separate admission, and includes special shows, parades, character greetings, merchandise and fireworks only offered during the parties. The tickets are on the pricey side, so deciding if MVMCP is right for your vacation takes some consideration.

PRICING

Pricing varies for the party, based on the day. Weeknights earlier in the season are a little more economical….the most expensive dates are after Thanksgiving and peak a few days before Christmas. MVMCP occurs on 24 nights, starting on Thursday, November 9 and running through Friday, December 22. In November, the dates fall primarily on Thursdays and Fridays, with a couple Sundays and Tuesdays. There are no parties Thanksgiving week. In December, it’s most Sundays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays.

Prices start at $89 for adults (plus tax) and $84 (plus tax) for children, ages 3 – 9 for early parties and rise to $95 for adults (plus tax) and $90 (plus tax) for children after Thanksgiving, and peak at $109 (plus tax) for adults and $104 (plus tax) for children just before Christmas. There are a couple Fridays in December with $99 (plus tax) tickets for adults and $94 (plus tax) for kids.

Note: Disney Vacation Club Members do have access to slightly discounted pricing…but for select nights. For the early parties in November, DVC members can save $7 per ticket; later in the month, the savings drops to $4 per ticket—and there are no DVC tickets available after December 12. Annual Passholders have access to the same discounts as DVC members.

You can click here to buy tickets direct from Disney: Disney MVMCP

Undercover Tourist: You can save $7 off the price of the regular Adult ticket by purchasing through Undercover Tourist here: Undercover Tourist MVMCP

Note: UT prices include tax where Disney ticket prices don’t add the tax until you check out. This sometimes can cause confusion, so I wanted you to be aware.

UPDATE: Some December dates have already sold out this year, including December 8, 19, 21 and 22.

SCHEDULE

The party officially starts at 7 p.m. and runs until 12:00 a.m. Guests with party tickets can enter the Magic Kingdom as early as 4 p.m., but party-related events, characters, and merchandise will not be available until after 7 p.m.

Something they started last year that will be continued this year is that the park will close to regular day guests without party tickets at 6 p.m. That should significantly help with the crowds at the beginning of the party. In past years, some day guests would stay and enjoy some of the atmosphere, shows and merchandise without having purchased a party ticket, and this created some frustration and larger than anticipated crowds for party guests. Day guests couldn’t access any rides without a party ticket, but if they avoided cast members, they could still enjoy some of the other benefits. Hopefully, the extra hour before the party start will help the cast members move most day guest stragglers out before the party starts. While I understand the frustration of day guests not wanting their day to end early, if I pay extra to attend a special ticketed event, I expect that everyone else enjoying the event with me has also paid the premium. Disney does a good job of alerting guests that there will be a party that evening and the park will be closing early, so guests can plan to attend a different park that day if they choose, or if they have park hopping privileges, they can “hop” to a different park at 6 pm when the Magic Kingdom closes.

To maximize the value of this pretty expensive ticket, I recommend you plan to be at the Magic Kingdom at or near 4 pm. This gives you the opportunity to enjoy a few rides and have an early dinner before the party begins, and gives you a little more park time for your party dollar. Fast Past Plus reservations are not available during the party, but you should be able to book a couple for the late afternoon. Remember, Fast Pass Plus windows are one hour, and you have a grace period of 10-15 minutes after the window closes to use them. You may want to try and book a 3:30 FP, a 4:30 FP and a 5:30 FP if there are attractions available that work for you. Arriving at 4 p.m., you’re within your 3:30 – 4:30 window for the first attraction. No FP+ will be available after 6 p.m.

Guests with Party tickets will be issued a wristband. You MUST have a wristband to ride attractions, shop or dine after 7 p.m., once the party has begun. If you enter the party at 4 p.m., you will get your wristband then. If you are in the park on a regular admission prior to 4 p.m., (I don’t recommend burning a regular park day on a day when you have a party ticket unless you are an Annual Passholder) there will be stations at various places where you will be able to show your park ticket and get your wristband. Yes, Disney will sell same day party tickets to day guests in the park who want to stay for the party—unless the party is already sold out. Same day tickets are priced higher than purchasing in advance.

The official show and parade schedule for 2017 has not been released yet as the first party is not until November 9. I will update once the “official” schedule is out there.

But unofficially, based on last year’s schedule, I think there are a few things we can count on:

It will SNOW on Main Street. At many points throughout the evening, SNOW will fall. For those of us from snowy climates, this may not be that exciting. But for thousands who NEVER see snow, this is a relatively big deal. And, I have to admit, does add to the Holiday magic. (Protect your cameras though…the “snow” has soap in it and is not great for those expensive lenses.)

Mickey’s Once Upon a Christmastime Parade will happen twice during the party. Once relatively early and once later in the evening. Last year, the times were 8:30 p.m. and 11:00 p.m. Note: that’s the time the parade will depart from it’s starting point in Frontierland near Splash Mountain. Depending on where you go to watch the parade, your time to see the parade may vary. Generally, the first parade is more crowded than the second, although if you go on a very busy/popular/sold out night, it is likely that BOTH parades will be very crowded. This is a big highlight of the party for me—it’s one of the best parades Disney does, second only to the Halloween themed Boo to You parade featured during the Halloween parties. Note: After the parties end just before Christmas, Mickey’s Once Upon a Christmastime Parade will happen during regular park hours for a few days, so if you ARE going to be in the park during Christmas, you CAN see this parade during the day without a Party ticket. I really like seeing it at night though.

Holiday Wishes Fireworks will happen between the two parades. Last year was at 10:00 p.m. I LOVE fireworks, and Disney fireworks are just AMAZING. Holiday Wishes is another favorite of ours. This is another MUST NOT MISS part of the parties for us.

Frozen Holiday Wish will happen twice during the evening. This is the short “mini-show” where the castle’s holiday icicle lights light up for the evening. The first show was at 6:30 p.m. last year, so day guests could see it as well as party guests. The second show was at 8:15 p.m. Generally, both of these are pretty crowded, but the second will be less crowded than the first. (Note: This happens every night during the holiday season, usually at 6:30 p.m., so this is one party event that you don’t have to be at the party to see, you can see it on another night if that works better for you.) I am a BIG fan of the icicle castle, my husband will tell you I take dozens of pictures of it every trip during this time of year…but the extreme crowds in the hub and on Main Street for this make it a hit or miss, no big deal for me personally.

Mickey’s Most Merriest Celebration (Castle Forecourt Holiday Show) will happen several times during the evening. Last year’s times were 7:40 p.m., 9:25 p.m., 10:30 p.m. and 12 a.m. This holiday themed show features Mickey and Minnie as well as many other characters and runs about 25 minutes. For us, this is a must-not-miss show, so we will try to catch it sometime during the party.

Totally Tomorrowland Christmas will happen several times during the evening. This is a cute show at the back of Tomorrowland, and features Stitch, Buzz Lightyear, and Mike Wozowski and is upbeat and fun. It’s around 15 minutes long. Last year’s times were 7:40 p.m., 8:30 p.m., 9:20 p.m. and 10:45 p.m. This one is cute but unless we happen to be back there when it is happening, we don’t tend to catch it. Too much else to do!

Character Greetings will happen throughout the party. Another big highlight of MVMCP is the special Character Greetings you may not be able to get any other time. Some characters have special Holiday/Winter attire, and sometimes there are characters (Scrooge McDuck) that you NEVER see. One really popular staple is Jack Skellington in his Santa suit. Once this year’s information with specific characters and locations is released, I will update this post.

DINING

There are “complimentary” treats available during the party to party guest. Usually there are four locations that feature treats. Last year, you could find Hot Cocoa and Snickerdoodle Cookies at the Tortuga Tavern in Adventureland; Hot Cocoa and Peppermint Bark Cookies in Tomorrowland at the Lunching Pad; Eggnog and Ginger-Molasses Cookies in Liberty Square at Heritage House and in Fantasyland, you could find Apple Cider, Sugar Cookies and Snow Cones at Pete’s Silly Sideshow. There are healthy options available upon request.

In addition, some of the Quick Service spots that remain open during the party (this is LIMITED, so I recommend you have dinner BEFORE the party—besides, you don’t want to spend time sitting down and eating when you could be enjoying all the party festivities!!!) offer “special” items only available during the parties. These are NOT free, but can be fun “Special” treats. Last year’s special treats includes Holiday Tree cupcakes, Peppermint hot fudge sundaes, Frozen Snowflake cupcakes and holiday cookies.

Most restaurants close early on party nights, so plan to eat early. Again, you probably don’t want to spend party time eating dinner. Our very first Holiday party we didn’t plan for dinner, and didn’t realize how limited dining options would be after 7 p.m. We ended up getting room service at 1 a.m. back at our hotel! Don’t assume all the Quick Service places will be open—Pinocchio’s Village Haus becomes a treat station and Columbia Harbour House closes completely. You can make Advance Dining Reservations (ADRs) for sit down restaurants up until the party starts; if you don’t have a party ticket, be advised that they will ask you to leave the park after you have finished dining. I recommend planning either a late, big lunch and snacking during the party or doing an early dinner (before 6 p.m.). This year, we’ve got reservations at Liberty Tree Tavern at 5:25 p.m. on party night. We’re planning to enter the part at 4 p.m. and hitting a couple of rides before dinner, then we’ll be all set for the party!

ATTRACTIONS

Most, but not all, attractions are open during the party. Usually, less active attractions like Carousel of Progress are closed. Generally speaking, party crowds are lighter than a typical busy Magic Kingdom day, and there are no Fast Pass Plus reservations so everything is standby lines. Usually, lines for the attractions that are open are significantly shorter than during a regular day, especially later in the evening.

Seven Dwarfs Mine Train is the newest “big” attraction—it tends to still have long lines, even during the parties. If possible, get a pre-party fast pass to minimize your wait time for this one, or plan to visit it near the end of the night. I wasn’t successful in my Fast Pass mission, so I will be keeping an eye on the wait times here throughout the night. It’s our first night of vacation, and our first time back in three years so hitting our favorite attractions IS a priority for us…just not the only priority.

Obviously, sold out parties and more popular evenings are busier and have longer lines than earlier, less congested parties. If you plan to attend a party closer to Christmas, be prepared for heavier crowds. If you set your expectations properly, you will still have a great time—you just may have to be a bit more strategic.

Disney has not yet officially announced which attractions will be open during the party, but usually all the most popular attractions are open. One of the best values of the party for us is being able to walk on (or have very short waits) for most of our favorite attractions. It can still be a struggle to get everything done though, so make sure you take a look at everything you want to do during the party and plan your attraction visits AROUND the special party events. You don’t want to be riding It’s a Small World and miss the special, party only Fireworks, if the fireworks are important to you. Yes, riding all your favorite attractions with short lines is AWESOME, but most likely, you will be visiting Magic Kingdom at least once more during your trip—make sure you get the most bang for your park ticket and take advantage of the party activities you won’t be able to do on a regular day. If that Scrooge McDuck meet and greet is important, prioritize that over a third time on Pirates, know what I mean? Don’t let time get away from you. The actual party time is 5 hours, 7 p.m. until 12 a.m. That’s actually NOT a lot of time with all the activities and character greetings going on. Pick your most important activities and make sure you work everything else in around those.

PHOTOPASS/MEMORY MAKER

If you’ve been reading this site for awhile, you already know that I am a BIG proponent of PhotoPass and Memory Maker. For me, photos are my FAVORITE souvenir. Writing this blog, looking through photos of past parties and park visits brings back feelings and memories—it’s hard to top having visual captures of special moments and memories. I mean, the moment my husband proposed is forever captured in a PhotoPass picture—it’s a running joke between us that I drag my husband and any other family members traveling with us to as many PhotoPass photographers as I think I can get away with before they kill me. Some family members are more understanding of this than others. Note to self: Death is a quick way to ruin a vacation!

Unless it’s a really short trip, or you just REALLY don’t like getting your picture taken, I highly recommend purchasing Memory Maker before your trip. If you have an annual pass, Memory Maker is included with your Annual Pass. Here’s a link to my detailed post about PhotoPass and Memory Maker: Disney PhotoPass/Disney Memory Maker

During the parties, there are usually some special “Magic Shots” or “Animated Magic Shots” that are available ONLY during the parties. If you aren’t familiar with “Magic Shots” these are the pictures where a PhotoPass Photographer “adds a little magic” to the picture after he/she take it. Some “Magic Shots” from last year’s MVMCP included Toy Soldiers, Tinkerbell in her Holiday outfit, Jack Skellington’s dog Zero, and the “Kringle Krew” dancing through pictures in “Animated Magic Shots”.

PhotoPass Photographers will be at many locations around the party, and they stay out until after the party ends and the park closes, so take LOTS of pictures. The more you take, the better the odds are that you will LOVE some of the finished results! I like to play the odds! 😉

After the party, you’ll find special borders and stickers available to you for the pictures taken during the party.

Note: If you DON’T have Memory Maker, Disney DOES offer a one day option for $59.99 that you can have guest relations add to your account—If you think there’s a remote chance that over the course of 5 hours (or 9 hours if you enter the park at 4 pm) you’ll like at least 5 pictures enough to want to keep them, this is a DEFINITE MUST. (Of course, if you’ve read any of my other posts, you know that I recommend you get Memory Maker for your trip anyway—if you already have Memory Maker, your party pictures will automatically be part of it, along with the special party-only borders and stickers.)

ADDITIONAL OPTIONS

Disney offers a Holiday Wishes Dessert Package for an additional price. Each package includes desserts and beverages and special fireworks viewing areas. The Fireworks Holiday Dessert Party at Tomorrowland Terrace features reserved seating throughout the experience, both during the Dessert Party and during the fireworks. Tickets for this package are $79 for adults and $47 for children ages 3-9 (tax not included). This is IN ADDITION TO your ticket for Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party.

The Fireworks Holiday Dessert Party with Plaza Garden Viewing includes desserts and (non-alcoholic) beverages and a seating area for the dessert portion of the party; after dessert, you are led to a standing room only viewing area in the Plaza Garden. Tickets for this package are $59 for adults and $35 for children ages 3-9 (tax not includes). This is IN ADDITION TO your ticket for Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party.

If you would like to book either of these experiences, call 407-939-3463 or book online at Disney MVMCP Dessert Party Options

I am a fan, generally, of Fireworks Dessert Parties, especially for very crowded park days. In fact, we have tickets for the Plaza Garden Viewing party for another night during our trip, primarily for just that reason. The park will be crowded, and we LOVE Disney Fireworks and getting good pictures of them are very important to us. The parties are a good way to insure you have a great spot to view the fireworks and who can resist lots of desserts? I don’t think the Tomorrowland Terrace Dessert Pary is the best value—while you’ll have seating the whole time, it’s a lot of money for a chair and it’s not the best spot for the Fireworks. I was really happy when they added the Plaza Garden option as it’s more economical and, I believe, a better spot to see the fireworks. We’ll find out when we get there in November! I’ll be taking pictures and posting my review after our trip.

BUT: Even though I am a fan of the Dessert Parties in general, I do NOT think they are worth it for the parties. Unless money is just NOT an issue at all for you, and you could potentially attend more than one party during the season, I don’t think the Dessert Party (either one) is a good value during the limited party time. Basically, you’ll end up spending 1 hour or more at the Dessert Party, and while that will include the fireworks, it’s a BIG CHUNK of party time where you won’t be available to do other party activities. Or you’ll cut your dessert party time short (potentially missing out on the treats you are paying for) to enjoy more of the party activities. I think it’s a losing proposition. The party ticket is already pretty pricey, and then to add another $60-$80 (plus tax!) on top of that just seems pretty excessive to me. In addition, the party crowds ARE smaller than a regular park day, so I don’t think it’s as important to set aside a special viewing area for the Fireworks. We’ll find out for sure when we are there in November; I’ll be posting a review of this year’s party and our personal experience after our trip.

The MVMCP Fireworks Dessert Party might make sense for you if you’re attending a sold out party, have issues standing for long periods of time, or if you have big issues with the crowds; if you can afford it, and it makes sense for you and your traveling group, go for it.

BOTTOM LINE: IS IT WORTH IT?

Everyone is different, and I encourage you to think about your unique situation to determine if this is a good value proposition for you and your traveling party.

Things to consider:

Ages of Your Group: If you have very young children, you may not want to attend an event that keeps them up past midnight. Alternatively, you may choose to leave the party early to protect their bedtimes (and your enjoyment with them the next day 😉 ). If this is the case, your party time shrinks from 5 – 9 hours (if you enter the park at 4 p.m.) to 3 – 5 hours. The party may NOT be a good value at that point—you have to evaluate what activities you could complete in the available time to determine if there’s enough value for it to make sense for YOU.

What you have planned for the next day: If you have a BIG day or really early start planned for the next day, you may NOT want to do a party that lasts until Midnight. We tend to MAXIMIZE our party enjoyment which means we stay as long as we can, until they basically kick us out 😊. Think about how long it will take to get back to your resort. Depending on where you are staying and how big the crowds are for the buses and monorails, it could be 2 am before you are in bed. This year, we have an Epcot day planned for the next day, with a 9 am park open. I will probably make breakfast in our room, so hopefully we won’t have to get up until 7ish…and we can walk home from the Magic Kingdom, so even staying late, we should be in bed by 1ish. Think about what you’ll do the next day. Can it be a rest day? Or a sleep really late day?

Do you (and the rest of your group) enjoy the holidays? If yes, the party is a big YES. If NOT, avoid the party—you will NOT be able to escape Christmas music and holiday magic if you attend MVMCP.

Finances: There is not getting around it: These party tickets are pricey. A few years ago, tickets were under $60, and the decision was a LOT easier. Now that tickets are nearing $100 for what is, essentially, a five-hour event, the decision is not as clear cut. However, the party does include a LOT of value. The parade and the fireworks alone are worth the cost of admission TO ME. Your mileage may vary. Short attraction lines and unique character greeting opportunities are extra value FOR ME. Throw in free cookies and special PhotoPass Magic Shots and I’m THRILLED. But everyone is different. For us, this meant working a couple extra weekends to make enough extra $$ to be able to do it. It also meant NOT doing a couple other things we might have done otherwise…but for us, this has a lot of value, and is an important component of this year’s vacation.

Souvenirs: Are you a pin collector? Do you always try to find that one t-shirt that no one else has? The parties feature unique merchandise that is ONLY available during the parties (and sometimes at outlets a few months later, haha). Last year’s party only merchandise includes several shirts, a Christmas ornament, a special magic band, and some special pins, including a limited release pin only available for Annual Passholders. The pins almost always sell out, as does most of the other limited edition special “Party Only” merchandise. Disney has not shared what this year’s merchandise will be, but one of the advantages of attending a party earlier in the season is that you are much more likely to have a lot more to choose from than later in the season. They don’t re-order; once it’s gone, it’s gone.

So…is it worth it for YOU? I’d love to know what you decide. For us, it’s absolutely worth it. We LOVE the Christmas parties. I am SO excited that we are kicking off this year’s trip with the party—it will be a GREAT way to celebrate our anniversary and our return to Disney.

I can’t wait to share with all of you our party-going experience after our trip! 22 days to go!

Happy Dreaming!

Brooke

28 Days to GO!

I can’t believe we are FINALLY less than thirty days from our long-awaited return to Walt Disney World! Here are some things to consider as you round the corner for your final thirty days before your vacation:

Confirm/Add Dining and Fast Pass Plus Reservations: At 45 days out, people that had booked tentative vacation plans will firm up their plans. Often, this results in cancellations, both in Advance Dining Reservations (ADRs) and Fast Pass Plus (FP+) reservations. What this means for you (and me!): If there was a ADR or FP+ you wanted, you might get lucky. My rule of thumb is to check a few times a week on the couple of ADRs I was not able to get for our trip. I am already pretty happy with my FP+ reservations, so I’m not messing with those, but if I wasn’t, I would absolutely be checking and making changes as availability changed.

For this trip, there were several ADRs I wasn’t able to get, primarily because of the “early” Thanksgiving this year, and the resultant higher crowd levels than I am used to. Our trip ends up falling the weekend before Thanksgiving and a LOT of people head to Orlando for Thanksgiving week. The crowds are projected to hit peak levels by Sunday, and this definitely impacted my ability to book the meals I wanted to book for us, even though I booked as soon as our 180 day window opened up. Specifically, I wanted to do at least one more character breakfast, either at Magic Kingdom or Epcot. I keep checking, but alas, nothing has opened up. I’ve also checked for Be Our Guest reservations for breakfast or lunch as an alternative, but nothing has opened up there either. That’s a different reservation as it’s a “Quick Service” restaurant, but I still prefer to have a reserved spot rather than just wait in line. The other one I’ve been trying to get is a change to our Tusker House character breakfast on Monday, November 20. We currently have an 8:10 am reservation, which was the earliest reservation I could get, and worked when I booked it as the park opens at 9 that day. BUT Disney has since added Extra Magic Hours for that day at 8 am (AACK, now 7 am!), and I sure don’t want to spend that extra “Magic” time with lighter crowds at breakfast! Most likely will cancel, but in the meantime, I keep trying, hoping a 6-7 am will open up for us.

Review and Confirm Flight Information. I booked our flights back in June; I have often had flight times changed by the airline as the date of flight draws closer. The airline doesn’t always notify me (in my experience), so I’ve learned to double check. In this case, our outbound flight was originally scheduled for 9:05 am, with a scheduled arrival in Orlando at 12:40 pm. Unfortunately, that has changed slightly. We now depart at 9:47 am and land at 1:35 pm. Not a whole lot I can do about it, but at least I know. The worse impact is on our return flight. It now leaves Orlando almost two hours earlier than originally scheduled. THIS change pretty much completely kills my plans to visit Disney Springs on our last day. I had made a lunch reservation at the Boathouse that will have to be cancelled as it’s for 12:30, and we’ll need to be at the airport by then. I always hate leaving at the end of a vacation, and having the airline steal two of my last hours from me makes me very sad. Again, not a whole lot I can do about it, and at least I know and can change our plans to make the best of that morning…but I’m BUMMED.

No, we’re not flying Alaska Airlines OR going to Disneyland. But how cute is that plane?

Review and Confirm Transportation Plans. This is a big one for us this trip—still trying to decide what to do. As you may or may not know, Disney offers FREE transportation to your Disney resort hotel to and from the airport, called Magical Express. They will retrieve your luggage, and transport it to your resort for you, and deliver it to your room within 3 hours of your arrival.

Disney also offers FREE transportation between resorts and theme parks via monorails, buses and boats. The advantages of Disney transportation is obviously, it is free. Also, you don’t have to worry about navigation or getting lost. As long as you make sure the sign on the front of the bus says it’s going where you want to go, you’re good to get there. Generally, Disney transportation will get you closer to the “front door” than parking in the lots will. Disney transportation is easy to use, and often results in fun additional stories for your vacation memories as you meet and talk to other passengers on your mode of transportation. These are all good things.

The problem is that I’m a control freak. I admit it freely and clearly. I don’t have a lot of patience, especially when it comes to going from park to park. Disney recommends you allow AT LEAST an hour to go from point A to point B if you are using Disney transportation. When we are ready to go, I like to GO. I don’t want to wait. I like the freedom of having a car. I like the freedom of knowing that if we need to leave property and go to the grocery store, we can. I like the freedom of knowing that if I want to leave the park in the middle of the day and go to another park, or back to my hotel, I just have to get to the car, I don’t need to wait for a bus or a monorail. But given our current financial situation, is it smart to rent a car? Maybe not. I found a pretty good deal, and I have a car reserved for us at the moment. But I’m wrestling with the decision. I hate buses. I tend to get carsick. Even the bus that goes to the rental car places at the airports can make me ill. But we’re staying at a monorail resort that is walking distance from the Magic Kingdom. So, we have two parks that we will definitely NOT drive to—MK and Epcot. It’s just easier to walk or take the monorail. That leaves general errands, getting to and from the airport, going to Disney Springs potentially on the way to the airport, and driving to Animal Kingdom and Hollywood Studios. I WANT to have a car. I like having a car. I like driving around Disney property. I like driving to different resorts and going exploring. I don’t want to NOT have a car. BUT it would be smarter to NOT rent a car. So I’m debating.

Currently have a reservation and I continually check for better rates. Also on my list: I have to call and find out if we can rent the car we have on reserve currently with a debit card instead of a credit card. Again, given our current financial situation, this may be a deal breaker. And the reality is, we don’t have a lot of fluff time built into this trip. The only real “exploring time” we have is the day we arrive and the day we leave. I don’t know. Hate to give up the car, but….

Start Planning Touring Strategies. It’s time to start thinking about your strategies for each park. Let’s face it, you don’t want to wait in long lines and you want to maximize your time at attractions your group wants to do. Review your Fast Pass Plus reservations, park hours, ADRs and start to make a plan of attack. I tend to have a loose strategy, based on my experience over the years and many, many park visits, but I also visit sites like Disboards and Touring Plans and review their strategies and advice.

At thirty days, I also check Disney’s posted park hours and fireworks/evening entertainment schedules as those often change closer to trip time. Especially around the holidays, Disney pretty frequently will add hours and/or second shows, based on anticipated demand. I believe Disney HAS extended park hours for several days of our trip; however, their website has been down a LOT the last few days and I haven’t been able to confirm on their site. I have a full-time job (and a second job too!) and unfortunately, I can’t play on the internet all day. Bummer. Fortunately for me, I also use TouringPlans.com, and they are great about updating park hours and show times.

As suspected, park hours have already changed:

Friday, November 17: No change so far on this, our first full park day. We are planning to hit Epcot, which is currently scheduled to be open from 9am to 9 pm, with Illuminations at 9pm. We had an Illuminations Dessert Party for our guests on our wedding day, so this show holds a lot of sentimental value for us and will be a highlight of the day for us for sure! We’ve got ADRs booked for lunch at Via Napoli and dinner at Le Chefs de France (one of our favorite restaurants at Disney theme parks).

Saturday, November 18: I have planned this as a Magic Kingdom day. We have ADRs for lunch at the Plaza and dinner at the Jungle Skipper’s Canteen. Original park hours were 9 am – 10 pm, with Happily Ever After Fireworks at 10pm. NEW HOURS: 8 am – 12 am; Fireworks still at 10 pm. This changes our plans for that day…not by a lot, but it does relieve a little pressure and ensures we take an afternoon break. We’ll plan to walk over to the park around 7:15, and will probably leave shortly after lunch to return to the resort and rest for a few hours. While the crowds will be high, I think with a good touring strategy, we’ll be able to do everything we want to do and not wait in significant lines. I’m pretty happy with the three hours Disney has added. Means a nice relaxing afternoon break for us for sure!

Sunday, November 19: This day is planned as a Hollywood Studios day. When I originally booked our ADRs, the park hours were 9 am to 8 pm. Disney later added EMH for 8am. I cancelled our breakfast reservation at Hollywood and Vine, partly because the last time we did that one it was terrible and partly because if it wasn’t going to be something we could do BEFORE the park opened, I didn’t want to do it. We also have ADRs for lunch at the Sci-Fi Dine In Theater (a FAVORITE of our, so FUN) and the Hollywood Brown Derby for dinner. Now the park hours have been extended to 9 pm and they’ve added a Jingle Bell, Jingle BAM! Parade at 8 pm. Not sure yet if we will check that parade out as Fantasmic is currently scheduled at 8:30 pm and we enjoy that…but we have seen Fantasmic several times and may want to take advantage of lighter crowds in the park during that last hour before it closes—and we’ve never seen the Jingle Bell Jingle BAM parade.

Monday, November 20: Wow this one has a big change, so glad I checked! We are planning Animal Kingdom for Monday, November 20. Crowds are at peak levels on this day as Thanksgiving week has arrived. I’m expecting crazy crowds. Original park hours were 9 am to 7 pm. Later, EMH got added for 8 am. NEW Hours are now 8 am to 10 pm, with EMH at 7 am!! Also they’ve added two shows of Rivers of Light: one at 7 pm and one at 8:45 pm. I may completely re-work our touring strategy for this day…I’m very excited to see Rivers of Light, and Animal Kingdom is SO beautiful at night. Very excited they’ve extended the hours BUT I had planned to go back to MK maybe (or at least our resort) to watch one last Happily Ever After fireworks at 10 pm…may need to rethink that. (And see where the car comes in handy? We could stay as late as 9:15 at AK and comfortably make it back to MK for fireworks by 10 if we have a car. If we are using buses? Probably need to leave by 8:30, just to be safe.)

Tuesday, November 21: This is our last day, and now, thanks to earlier departure flight, probably means we won’t do much at all. MK opens at 8 am instead of 9 am, so maybe we’ll stop by one last time for an hour or two before we go, assuming we’re all packed. More realistically, we will probably use the morning to pack and IF WE HAVE A CAR, visit Disney Springs and at least the GIANT World of Disney store on our way to the airport. {Sigh, the thought of leaving is already making me sad and we haven’t even gone yet!!! Yes, ladies and gentlemen, I’m a little crazy!}.

Review and Confirm “Other” Reservations. For us, “Other” includes our Owner’s Locker. Owner’s Locker is a service we use to store a box full of “stuff” in Orlando in a temperature controlled environment. It’s a genius idea and a GREAT solution for frequent Orlando vacationers. Basically, you get this big purple plastic storage tote, it’s 20” x 22” x 13” deep. They deliver it to your resort on the day you arrive. The first time, it’s empty. You fill it with non-perishable items you don’t want to have to pack and carry down every time you visit. On the last day of the trip, you pack it up, zip tie it closed, and they come and pick it up and take it back to the warehouse. Next trip, they deliver it to your resort on your arrival date. Once you check in, you tell Bell Services you have an Owner’s Locker and they will bring it to your room. (Side note: They’re usually heavy, packed with all your stuff, so be prepared to tip the bell person a little bit). Owner’s Locker also will store golf clubs; they rent strollers, too.

Our membership includes one visit per year; additional visits are $27.50 per visit. We keep all kinds of stuff in ours. Shampoo, conditioner, laundry soap, hair spray, a frying pan and burner (we usually stay in DVC studios that don’t include a stove), rain ponchos, general first aid supplies like band-aids and blister packs…. all kinds of stuff. It makes packing for our Disney trips a lot quicker and easier. We basically just need to worry about clothes. This trip, we’ll have to clean our box a bit, as there’s been an unplanned delay of three years between visits. No doubt some stuff has expired or deteriorated. This service is especially perfect for DVC (Disney Vacation Club) members as most DVC members visit at least once per year, but I think it’s great even if you are a regular vacationer that tries to visit every 10-18 months. Especially if you have kids…lots of stuff you want to have “just in case” but don’t always want to take up suitcase space with…store it in a locker.

There’s a onetime fee at the beginning of $75 and then you pay annually, based on how many lockers you have and which plan you select. There’s a basic storage plan, where you pay $85 per year, and just pay the $27.50 each time you visit. {Prices are based on ONE locker}. This plan is best if you don’t visit every year. There a moderate plan, which is $105 per year, and includes one visit per year. Finally, there’s a Deluxe plan that is $196 per year, but includes unlimited visits. For us, it’s been a pretty good deal. Especially in years where we went a few times. We can pack in 20 minutes and head to the airport. (NOT that my husband would ever be happy with that…he’s a planner…likes to be organized and packed WAY ahead. I’m just saying we COULD pack and leave in 20 minutes!) They deliver the lockers to the resorts in a purple van…if you ever see a bright purple van zipping around Disney property or at Orlando resorts, it’s probably Owner’s Locker. When the box is delivered and we open it, it’s a little like Christmas. This time, it’s been forever since we’ve seen our beloved park bag with all it’s pins…Can’t WAIT to see it again!

Candles

First Aid and Toiletries

Park Bag

Toiletries

Cooking Stuff

Rain Panchos

Plan for Real World Complications: Now’s the time to make sure your pet sitter or house sitters are confirmed. Make sure you know when you need to refill your prescriptions, and that you won’t be running out of critical medication while you’re on vacation. If you’re going to be gone for more than a few days, you may want to place a vacation hold on your mail and newspapers. Now’s the time to start making plans for coverage at your job. Remind your boss when you’ll be gone, and let them know your plans for getting the important stuff done while you’re gone. For previous trips for us, this meant processing payroll and taking employee and vendor phone calls at the parks…fortunately, my current job is a little less demanding and will more easily wait for me while I’m on vacation. I’m processing some things early before I go, and a few things will have to be done FIRST thing on my first day back, but for the most part, my company won’t be TOO affected by my absence this trip. But it’s important to make a list of everything you do that’s mission critical that may come up while you’re gone, and have a plan to make sure those things get addressed or at least, have a plan to deal with it if a ball gets dropped while you’re gone. You don’t want to come home to giant piles or big fires…it will make vacation a punishment and not a reward. Knowing its covered while you’re gone will make your trip MUCH more enjoyable. Confirm the plan for when you get home: are you picking your pets up that night, or the next day? Are you dropping the kids off at your mom’s as soon as you get home or a few hours later? Are you going straight to work from the airport? How are you getting to and from the airport? Will you drive and park? Uber? Cab? Is a family member or friend taking you? Now is the time to get that all figured out. Side note: If you park at the airport, take a picture of where you parked your car. And where it is in proximity to the transportation pickup point. One year, we spent a LONG time in blazing heat trying to find our car; we’d written down the lane number, not realizing both sides of the building used the same lane numbering strategy and we were on the opposite side of the building. OOPS!

Check the Weather. Check the planned weather for the time you are going and start thinking about what you want to pack.

what should you do if it rains on your disney vacation rainy day parade

Rainy Day Parade Photo: Brooke Hudson

Plan ahead…we use the guest room bed, just like my mom taught me when I was a kid 😊 and start putting things on the bed that we think we’ll want to take. It’s our anniversary trip and I have a few surprises planned, so not EVERYTHING will go on the guest room bed but we’ll start the piles in the next week or two. Note: Make sure to check the weather when it gets closer to your trip date. One year, the weather changed dramatically a couple days before our trip, and the originally predicted 70’s and sunny changed to 40’s and SNOW. Yes, we went to Disney in early November and had SNOW. And it hadn’t snowed in Chicago yet that year. Ay yi yi! While it was a good excuse to buy some new sweatshirts and some Disney gloves, it’s usually better (and more economical) to pack for the right weather!

Break in your Shoes. I think I mentioned this in a previous blog post, but if you are getting new shoes for your trip, get them now and start breaking them in. If you’re not getting new shoes, make sure whatever shoes you are taking are comfortable and that you’ll be ok standing and walking in them for 12 plus hours per day, up to five miles (on average) per day. If the answer is NO, better come up with a back up plan!

Online Check-in/Add Celebrations. Anytime after thirty days, you can check in for your resort reservation online. This simplifies and expedites check-in (theoretically) when you arrive at your resort. This is also the time when you can make room requests and/or add celebrations to your resort reservation. At the moment, the online functionality is NOT allowing you to add celebrations; you’ll need to call Disney to do that. It’s a nice touch though. If you’re celebrating a birthday, they’ll have a birthday button ready at check-in for the celebrant, and they’ll usually wish them Happy Birthday. In our case, we’re celebrating our wedding anniversary AND Frank’s birthday, which falls the day after we get home. It only takes a few minutes, and while you should never EXPECT cast members to do anything special for you, the additional information SOMETIMES can result in something special. Note: If you call to add a celebration to a trip, you will need your reservation confirmation number. DVC Members will also need your DVC Member ID.

I’m planning a little something special to help us celebrate our anniversary, but I’ll tell you about THAT in a separate post. HINT: It involves CAKE.

Well as usual, I’ve probably told you way more than you EVER wanted to know. And of course, I have lots more to share in future posts 😉. Just can’t seem to help myself. And I’m so excited to share my first trip report with all of you once we get back!

Happy Dreaming,

Brooke

Disney Parks: News and Updates

It seems as if there has been a lot of Disney Parks news over the last couple of weeks that is getting a lot of conversation. Just in case you haven’t visited the forums and witnessed some of the crazy debates happening, I thought I’d post a quick “wrap-up” of the biggest recent announcements.

runDisney Cancels Disneyland Races

Rumors have been going around for the last several weeks about this, and yesterday, runDisney made it official. They have cancelled ALL scheduled Disneyland races in 2018 and will NOT be scheduling races in 2019 or 2020, at least at this time. They will be refunding all race fees already paid for the races scheduled (and nearly sold out) that had already had early registration. Normally, there are four race weekends at Disneyland each year, with an estimated 25,000+ people per weekend. The races are usually held during slower season, and bring in a ton of revenue, both for Disney and the Orange County local economy.

Officially, runDisney is stating that all the construction happening at Disneyland/California Adventure for the next few years (Star Wars Land, new Hotel at Downtown Disney and The Disneyland Eastern Gateway) are the reason the races have been cancelled. The races usually go right through the parks; that’s part of the attraction, and runDisney states they are concerned that the quality of the race experience would be negatively impacted by the construction.

Rumors abound that the root of the cancellations, however, are at least partially the result of pushback from the City of Anaheim. At Walt Disney World, all races occur completely on Disney property. A significant portion of each of the longer races is on roadways outside the parks, but they are Disney owned roadways. At Disneyland, the parks are smaller, and the amount of property that Disney actually owns is much smaller. For this reason, Disneyland has never hosted a full marathon; the longest races hosted by runDisney at Disneyland have been half marathons. The half marathon has a significant portion take place on the streets of Anaheim, and requires a lot more coordination with city and county services. There have been some complaints in the last couple of years about the runDisney race series at Disneyland by seasoned runDisney participants, and lots of rumors that Anaheim is not happy that they don’t get a bigger slice of the Disney revenue pie. All we know for sure is what runDisney says in their official statement, which bases the decision completely on the Disneyland expansion construction.

I’ve never been Disneyland nor competed in a race there, but completing a Coast to Coast challenge is on my bucket list, and I’d targeted 2020 for that. Very disappointing for the thousands of runners that planned to race at Disneyland over the next few years, myself included. Obviously, with runDisney events at Disneyland cancelled for the foreseeable future, the Coast to Coast challenges are also cancelled. Officially, runDisney is using the term “hiatus”, so perhaps we will see these races return at some point in the future. runDisney makes a LOT of money for Disney with these events, so it’s hard to believe they won’t return to Disneyland in some form eventually, but who knows?

runDisney has stated there are no plans to cancel or change the runDisney events at Walt Disney World or Disneyland Paris.

The final race scheduled for Disneyland will be the Super Heroes Half Marathon Weekend taking place November 10-12, 2017.

How do you feel about this news? Are you affected? Will you plan a race at Walt Disney World or Disneyland Paris to replace a cancelled race at Disneyland?

Walt Disney World Will Welcome Dogs at Some Hotels

It was announced last Friday that some hotels at Walt Disney World are rolling out a pilot program this week that will allow guests to bring their dogs on vacation with them. There will be a limit of two dogs per room, and the dogs will be required to be leashed when outside the room and the dogs must have proper vaccinations (and, one would assume, proper documentation of those vaccinations).

Visitors who choose to book rooms for themselves and their dogs will pay an additional $50-$75 per night for the privilege, depending on the hotel. The fee is for extra cleaning, and additional amenities that Disney will be providing for those booking a “dog” room, including a mat, bowls for food and water, ID tag, puppy pads and plastic disposable bags and maps of green spaces for the dogs to exercise and presumably “do their business”. At this time, the hotels offering this option are: Art of Animation Resort, Port Orleans Riverside Resort, the cabins at Fort Wilderness Resort and the Yacht Club resort.

Most likely, this new option is in response to a growing trend in the travel industry to offer pet-friendly accommodations. Disney hasn’t released many specifics, but I’m assuming they have set aside specific areas at each of the participating resorts that will be “dog” rooms, and those rooms will be the only rooms that will allow guests with dogs, to help protect guests with allergies and phobias.

I was really surprised at the vehement response to the announcement, on BOTH sides. Many dog lovers are SUPER excited, and seem to have been waiting YEARS for this news. On the other side, many guests are worried that dogs will overrun the resorts, the resorts will be damaged and people won’t pick up after their dogs. They are worried about dogs barking and “ruining” the magic. They are worried that Disney will allow guests without dogs to unsuspectingly book a “dog” room and fall victim to allergies from residual dog dander. All manner of catastrophic worries have been put forth…While I understand the fears that people with extreme allergies and/or dog phobias have, I have a lot of faith in Disney. I believe the “dog” rooms will be kept separate and won’t be given to “unsuspecting” non-dog guest who might suddenly go into anaphylactic shock from traces of dog dander. For people with extreme allergies, the best-case scenario will be to avoid these four resorts. For the time being at least, these four resorts are the only ones allowing dogs. At least for now, I’m willing to withhold judgement and see how it goes.

For those guests who want to bring their dogs on vacation, but not share their room with their pets, “Best Friends Pet Care” has been a Disney property staple for years, and is a resort on Disney property for pets (NOT owned or operated by Disney). They offer discounts for Walt Disney World Resort guests.

NOTE: Service dogs have always been accommodated by Disney. Service dogs have always been allowed in the theme parks, on Disney transportation, and in Disney resort hotels.

What do you guys think? Are you excited to book a “dog” room at one of these resorts? Do you take vacations to get away from your pets or your neighbor’s dogs? I’d love to hear from you!

Disney’s Fairy Tale Weddings to be a Series on Freeform

I’m not sure how many of you saw the “Disney’s Fairy Tale Weddings” special that ran in May on Freeform (owned by ABC, which is owned by Disney), but it was a BIG success for the network, receiving the highest rating for any unscripted TV special on that network so far. Hosted by Bachelor alum Ben Higgins and his then-fiancé, Lauren Bushnell (they have since split), the special featured events at Cinderella Castle at the Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Animal Kingdom and Disney’s Wedding Pavilion.

[Note from an actual former Disney bride: the events shown were pretty expensive, over the top events, and the special didn’t really provide accurate information about the way Disney prices events, or the actual limitations imposed by Disney Fairy Tale Weddings in the real world. It was lovely to look at, and for couples dreaming of a Disney Wedding, certainly provided inspiration and fantasy fodder. Just know that they dangled a lot of very pretty carrots that your average couple would NEVER be able to afford.]

Following up on the success of the special, Disney has moved forward with creating a series that will focus on weddings and engagements at Disney Destinations around the world. So far details have been limited, but it sounds as if Disney may work with Disney Fairy Tale Weddings couples and perhaps “enhance” or “add magic” to their existing plans. Regardless of exactly what they are doing, I’m sure it will be lovely and a weekly infomercial for Disney Fairy Tale Weddings. I’m not quite sure how I feel about it; I was a little frustrated with the special, even though it was gorgeous.

But, obviously, I’m a fan of Disney Fairy Tale Weddings, and love thinking about my own Disney wedding, so I will definitely give the show a chance and see how it goes. The show is set to premiere in the spring and will run for seven episodes.

How about you guys? Will you watch the show?

Increased Partnership and Presence with Orange County Sheriff’s Department

For the fiscal year that began October 1, 2017, the agency that provides governmental services to Walt Disney World’s property has approved a multi-million dollar spending increase to hire Orange County Sheriff’s Deputies. This is the second year to see significant increases in this budget. Last year, the Reedy Creek Improvement District, which includes Disney cities Bay Lake and Lake Buena Vista, doubled its annual public safety budget from $7 million per year to $13.7 million, following the terrorist attack at Orlando’s Pulse nightclub. This year, the budget increased again to $15.8 million. While Disney and the Orange County Sheriff’s Department do not disclose how many deputies patrol the resorts for security reasons, the impact on resort guests is that you WILL see more police presence in and around Disney theme parks and resorts.

Unfortunately, we live in scary times, and Disney hosts millions of guests from all over the world every year. Disney is a symbol of America to many people worldwide and as such, is a potential target. Disney has long been a world leader in the area of security, and I suspect there are many security measures in place that are unseen that we will most likely never know about. Orange County Sheriff’s Department Deputies in uniform are more visible certainly, than many measures Disney has in place, but sometimes, more visual measures are necessary and help serve as a deterrent. Many guests argue this police presence “ruins” the magic, and I certainly understand that perspective. However, I am more concerned with the safety of my family and our fellow park and resort guests and will happily comply with whatever security measures are necessary to protect us, within reason. The presence of more police doesn’t concern me, although personally, I’m a fan of the invisible shield technologies in Star Wars…can we maybe get that?

How do you feel about the security measures in place at Disney? Do they make you feel safer or more insecure about your safety?

That’s I have for today for news and updates. I’m working on a vacation planning update that I’ll post later this week. We are down to less than thirty days now!!

Happy Dreaming!

Brooke

Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party — Is it Worth it?

Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party (MNSSHP) is the Halloween-themed special event for Halloween at the Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World. Please note: There is also a Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party offered at Disneyland. Since I’ve never been to that one, I don’t feel like I can tell you much about it, so this post is strictly about MNSSHP at WDW. It’s held on select evenings starting in AUGUST (which seems REALLY early to me to start thinking HALLOWEEN but I digress). The party is a special “extra” event that requires a separate ticket. The event runs 2 – 3 nights per week through November 1. Officially, the party goes from 7 pm to midnight on the days it is scheduled, so the Magic Kingdom closes to regular day guests at 7 pm.

Party ticket prices start at $74 for the parties at the beginning of the season, and gradually increase, the closer you get to Halloween. Tickets for the parties close to Halloween tend to sell out early, even though they are priced $100+. This year, the dates for MNSSHP are August 25 and 29, September 1, 7, 10, 12, 15, 17, 19, 22, 24, 26, 29 and October 1, 3, 5, 6, 9,10, 12, 13 15, 17, 19, 20, 22, 24, 26, 27, 29 and 31 and November 1.

The main question I usually get is “Is the Halloween Party Worth it?” And my answer, as with many things Disney is, “It depends.” A few years ago, when tickets were still $50-$60, my answer was an automatic YES. I think the parties are fun and the parade and the fireworks are really something special. However, prices have gotten a lot higher over the last few years, making it a much more challenging decision.

Benefits:

Early admission: Even though the party doesn’t start until 7 pm, you can enter the park with your party admission any time after 4 p.m. 4 p.m. – 12:00 a.m. means 8 hours in the Magic Kingdom; and with the exception of the “SOLD OUT” parties and the parties close to Halloween, generally the crowds are lighter than a “typical” park day at the Magic Kingdom, so you can usually take advantage of shorter lines and ride more attractions.
Boo to You Parade: This is one of my favorite parades that Disney offers. The Boo to You parade features floats and dancers that you don’t get to see any other way. All the Disney characters featured in the parade are wearing their Halloween costumes. It’s fun and not to be missed if you attend the party. It’s offered twice during the party, once at 9:15 pm and once at 11:15 pm. Generally, we attend the 11:15 pm parade as the crowd is lighter by then.

Hallowishes Firesworks: At 10:15 pm, a special Disney Villains themed fireworks display shoots off over Cinderella’s castle. If you’re not a fireworks fan, it’s a great time to get on rides with short or nonexistent lines, but if like me, you’re a fireworks fan, Hallowishes is pretty terrific.
Headless Horseman: Right before the parade, as long as the weather is good, the Headless Horseman gallops down the parade route, through the empty streets (blocked off for the parade). It’s creepy and cool at the same time. Note: He does not always ride so you can’t count on it 100% but when he does, it’s a big highlight of the night.

Special party-themed merchandise: At 7 p.m., the shops will put out special Halloween Party themed merchandise that is ONLY available during the party. At minimum, there are usually special pins, shirts, and ears, and often other “special” items. There are special Halloween Party pins available for Annual Passholders and DVC Members, again, that you can only get during a party. If you’re not a merchandise person, this is no big deal but as a (somewhat reformed) souvenir junkie, I’m always eager to check out the special party themed merchandise.
Treat Stations: throughout the park, there will be “Treat” stations where you can stand in line with your trick or treat bag and get free candy from whomever is a party sponsor that year. This is something I think has kind of deteriorated in recent years, but still seems to be a fairly big draw, especially for the kids. You used to get more candy, and a bigger variety of candy. Now, it seems the lines are longer, the candy is pretty standardized, and you don’t get much at the various stations. Not a big deal for me personally as I generally skip this altogether, but for some people it’s a main attraction. This year, there are 14 “Treat” stations, including a special “allergy-friendly” station in the Town Square Theater for those with special dietary restrictions.
Castle Forecourt Stage Show: There is always a Villain themed stage show offered on the Castle Forecourt Stage a few times during the party. It’s usually a 15-20 minute show and I’ve always enjoyed them as a way to see characters you don’t often get to see in the parks. This year’s show is themed the Disney classic Halloween movie, “Hocus Pocus”. I haven’t seen it yet, but I’ve heard good things. It sounds campy and fun.
Costumes: MANY MANY MANY guests dress for Halloween for these parties, and that is one of the best highlights for me personally. I love seeing everyone in their costumes. The creativity and variety is really fun to see. There are some restrictions for security purposes—you can’t wear any costumes that cover your face, you can’t carry weapons, etc. (for a full list of restrictions, check out Disney’s website), but people manage to do some pretty terrific costumes. You don’t have to wear a costume, but it’s more fun if you do–even if it’s something quick and simple. One note: Keep the Florida heat and humidity in mind. It is NOT fun to melt in your costume, trust me on this.

Character Greetings: As with the parade, all the characters at the Character greetings during the party are in their Halloween costumes, so you can get unique pictures that you can’t get on a normal park visit.

Special PhotoPass Themes: If you have PhotoPass pictures taken during a Halloween party, you will have access to the Halloween party themed PhotoPass stickers and borders that you can add to your pictures.
There are usually some special “Magic Shots” only available during the Halloween Party. If you’re not familiar with Magic Shots, these are pictures taken of your group by PhotoPass photographers with something special added “magically” into the picture after they take it. For MNSSHP, these usually include hitchhiking ghosts or a ghostly hearse driver. Note: I have heard recently that ghostly magic shots are no longer limited to MNSSHP; however, in my experience, you had to get the picture taken at the party to have access to those special shots.
Shorter lines for attractions: You cannot book Fast Pass Plus reservations for any attractions during a party, but generally, you won’t need them. Once the party gets going and regular day guests have left, there are a lot fewer guests in the park than on a regular day. There are exceptions to this: In recent years, Disney has increased the number of tickets they sell for parties, and the sold out parties, especially near Halloween, can get pretty crowded from what I’ve heard. I’ve only ever attended parties in late September or early October, so our experience has always reflected pretty light crowds, especially later in the evening after parents with little kids have gone home.

Things to Consider:

There’s no getting around it, this is a pricey ticket. If money is no object, the parties are fun and offer some unique merchandise and entertainment that you won’t get to see unless you buy a ticket to a party. So, I say go for it. If, however, you are like me and money IS a big deal, this can be a much more challenging decision. If you are an Annual Passholder, you technically already have a park ticket for this day, so you can feel like you are paying twice to attend a party.

Some ways that we’ve made the party ticket a worthwhile spend for us: 1) we usually plan the party for a day we DON’T visit any other parks—we just go to the party. Often, this is the day we arrive, and would most likely not get a “full” day in at the parks anyway. 2) We avoid parties that fall on weekends or close to Halloween—those tend to be more crowded (and more expensive!) 3) We plan to arrive at MK at 4 p.m. to maximize our time at the park for the evening. If possible, we either sleep late that day, or, if it’s a travel day, we try to catch a short nap in the afternoon before the party. 4) we stay for the entire party, not leaving until they throw us out after midnight. 5) We take advantage of as many party-themed unique entertainment options as we can. In other words, we watch the shows, we go to the parade, we stake out a good spot for the fireworks. We will take character pictures if the lines aren’t too long. 6) We ride as many of our favorite attractions as we can during the party, knowing the lines will be longer on other days. We usually ride during the first parade, as well. 6) We take lots of PhotoPass pictures.

If you are NOT an annual passholder, planning to attend a party means you can buy one day less on your park tickets. If you were planning to purchase 5 day pass, purchase a 4 day pass instead. Just make sure you don’t visit any parks on the day of the party—make it a rest day, or a Disney Springs day. It’s not a big savings on your park pass, but it can help defray the cost of your party ticket a little bit.

Do you LOVE Halloween? Do you like to be SCARED at Halloween? This is NOT a scary Halloween event, like Halloween Horror Nights at Universal or Fright Fest at Six Flags. This is a family themed Halloween event, much more focused on FUN than SCARE. So, if you love haunted houses and people jumping out at you, you might not enjoy Disney’s idea of Halloween.
Do you like to dress up for Halloween? Do you have a terrific family theme idea for your Halloween costumes? Do you like seeing the characters in unique costumes you don’t normally see them in? If any of these answers are yes, you would probably enjoy the party.
AGE and ENTHUSIASM. I’m not sure this is a great value for families with small children, even though small children are part of the target audience. Most of the time, I see families with small children leave after the fireworks, about an hour and a half before the end of the party, and often I see small kids conked out on parents’ shoulders or in strollers way before that. That’s a lot of money to spend for a couple of hours of entertainment and some trick or treating. And some REALLY cute pictures! Definitely an individual decision for sure. If you know you won’t be happy after 10 pm, you’ll just be too tired, the party probably isn’t worth it for you.
There is an available add-on you can get, again, if money is simply not a concern for you: there is a HalloWishes Dessert Party, priced at $79 per adult, $47 per child ages 3-9. Note: the HalloWishes Dessert Party requires a MNSSHP ticket, so this is $79 on TOP of the party ticket. Basically, Halloween themed desserts and a special fireworks viewing area. Personally, I don’t think this is a good value at all…it takes up too much of your time and there is just too much other stuff going on at the party that you don’t want to miss. Plus, WAY too pricey in my opinion.

So…the bottom line:

If money is not an object and you like a FUN Halloween Disney themed event….plan to attend Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party.

If you can attend a party earlier in the season, and replace a regular park day with attending the Party, MNSSHP may be a reasonable value for you.

If you are a costume junkie (or LOVE seeing Characters and visitors in costumes), MNSSHP should definitely be on your wish list, if the pricing makes sense for you.

If you like to go to bed early, or prefer your Halloween to be truly terrifying, give MNSSHP a pass.

I’d love to hear your perspective on Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party. Are you attending this year? Planning for next year? Let me know!

Happy Dreaming!

Brooke

Disney PhotoPass/Disney Memory Maker

One question I get asked a lot is “Should we purchase the Memory Maker?”. The short answer: It depends.

Ok, for me, it’s pretty much always YES…but I’m a HUGE photo nerd.

For more NORMAL people, there are several things to consider, and I will get to those in a moment. But first for those of you that DON’T know:

What is Disney PhotoPass?

Disney PhotoPass is a service that Disney added years ago, and I think it’s absolute GENIUS. Basically, they have photographers stationed at numerous locations around each park to take pictures of you and your group. This completely solves the “Did Mom even GO on that vacation? She’s not in ANY of the pictures” dilemma. For many families, there is always one person that takes all the pictures and they are never in any of the shots. Or, people rotate who takes the pictures, but there are never any pictures of EVERYONE together, because one person always steps out to take the picture. For some, Selfies have helped to address this problem, but with a Selfie, it’s still really tough to get a group or to include people AND a landmark in the picture.

The Solution

Disney has solved that. Basically, the PhotoPass photographer will take your group’s picture, usually with a park icon or landmark in the background, and then they will either scan your magic band (the easiest) or give you a PhotoPass card with a 16-digit number on the back. Note: If you are given a Photopass card, immediately take a picture of the back of the card just in case. If you lose the card, but have the number, you can still locate your pictures.

Big Group Attractions

Generally, at big group attractions where PhotoPass take lots of pictures (Enchanted Tales with Belle, for example), the photographer will hand out PhotoPass cards at the end; once you enter the number on your computer, you’ll have access to ALL the pictures they took during that particular event. If your kid had a role in the show, you do NOT want to lose that number! So take a picture of the back of the card, just in case!

PhotoPass photographers will also take pictures using YOUR camera or phone, so don’t be afraid to ask. This can be a way to save on Memory Maker or PhotoPass downloads.

Ride Photos and Videos

Some rides take your picture during the ride…those are now PhotoPass pictures, and can be attached to your Magic Band or PhotoPass card. The RFID technology in your MagicBand communicates with the reader at the attraction and automatically adds the photos or videos to your account.

Splash Mountain Attraction Photo (Photo: Disney PhotoPass)

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Seven Dwarfs Mine Train in the rain Photo: Linda Harkness

Character Meals

Some character dining meals also offer PhotoPass pictures, but not all of them. Also IF there is a PhotoPass photographer at a character meal, it will usually just be for a picture you take before you enter the restaurant. PhotoPass photographers do not go around with the characters as they visit your table, so ALWAYS bring your camera to character meals.

After You Get Home

After your trip, you will be able to visit the PhotoPass website to view all your pictures. You can add borders and stickers to the photos, and you can make products like Photobooks, calendars and mugs featuring your pictures on the Disney PhotoPass website. One picture can turn into 10 or 15 by the time you are done playing with borders, cropping, black and white, etc. Some borders are unique to particular locations, seasons, or events, adding a little extra magic to those photos.

PhotoPass pictures are also now available in the My Disney Experience app, so you’ll be able to look at them as your trip goes along. Most photos and videos appear in your app within 20 minutes.

NOTE: Pictures are only available on the PhotoPass site for about 30 days (unless you are an Annual Passholder.)

What is a Magic Shot?

Magic Shots are pictures taken by a PhotoPass photographer with a little something extra magical added later. The most common ones feature TinkerBell standing on the palm of your hand, or a bunch of balloons added to your upstretched arm. There are a variety of Magic Shots available at different times. During Star Wars Weekend a few years ago, we got Magic Shots with light sabers added. Recently, they added some pirate themed Magic Shots near the Pirates of the Caribbean attraction.

During Mickey’s Not-so-Scary Halloween Party, there are special Magic Shots offered near the Haunted Mansion that feature some Happy Haunts.

How to Get a Magic Shot

Disney changes what Magic Shots are available from time to time, and not all PhotoPass photographers will offer to do them. Your odds are better if there’s no line and if you’re nice and friendly. PhotoPass photographers work very hard, and are on their feet for many hours a day, usually in pretty hot temperatures and sometimes not treated very well by guests. In my experience, if you are nice and there’s not a line, they’re more likely to spend a few extra minutes with you, and usually that results in some Magic Shots. To see what Magic Shots are currently available, visit the albums at the Disney Photo Pass Facebook Page.

What is Memory Maker?

Memory Maker is the product Disney sells that enables you to download all the PhotoPass photos, including attraction pictures and videos, linked to your My Disney Experience account for one price. You get the rights to the photos, allowing you to print them through any service you like. If you DON’T purchase Memory Maker, you can download individual PhotoPass photos, Magic Shots or attraction rides or videos, but individually, they are priced high.

Another benefit of Memory Maker: SHARING. If you have friends or family that share media with you via My Disney Experience, you will have access to all the PhotoPass photos and digital content on THEIR PhotoPass account, too. For our wedding trip, this worked out AMAZING. We purchased the Memory Maker and our whole group shared their pictures with us. Combining pictures from everyone, we got to see lots of amazing moments that we missed during the trip. We made CDs for everyone after the trip with all their pictures after we’d downloaded them. This is a great way to help defray the cost of Memory Maker—if you can share the cost with other family members, it makes the purchase much more palatable.

How Much Does Memory Maker Cost?

Currently, you can purchase Memory Maker for $199. If you plan ahead and order Memory Maker at least 5 days BEFORE your vacation, you can purchase it for $169. Note: Photos in your PhotoPass account will expire 45 days from the date taken, so make sure you download all your pictures before you hit that 45-day mark.

Note: If you are an Annual Passholder, PhotoPass downloads are included with your Annual Pass (Photos and other digital content expire 365 days from date of capture for Annual Passholders). For us, this was a big factor in choosing which park tickets we’d purchase this year. But that’s a topic for another day 😉.

So, back to the original question: Should I purchase Memory Maker?

Yes, I strongly recommend you purchase Memory Maker for your vacation (purchase it in advance to save $30) unless

1. 1. you hate having pictures from your vacation with everyone in them, including you
  2. it’s a super short trip, and you’re not likely to have the chance to have many PhotoPass shots taken
  3. you (or most of your group) refuse to pose for pictures
  4. rides: you don’t care about attraction photos or videos or you don’t tend to ride any rides
  5. Basically, if pictures are NOT a priority for you or your group, Memory Maker probably DOESN’T make sense for you.

If finances are a concern, and let’s face it, for many of us, finances are a major concern, you can try and play the odds. If you think you’ll end up with 10 or less pictures that you’ll really want to “OWN”, you could try NOT purchasing the Memory Maker. But if you get home and find there are 50 pictures you can’t live without, you’ll find yourself spending MORE money after the fact. At the prices Disney charges for individual photo downloads, if you end up wanting 15-20 of the pictures, you’ll spend more on individual downloads than you would on Memory Maker, which would get you EVERYTHING taken during your trip and linked to your account.

Note: You CAN purchase Memory Maker after your trip, but at the $199 price, not the pre-trip $169 price. But if you find you have LOTS of pictures you want to download, it will probably be cheaper to buy Memory Maker, even after your trip, than to purchase individual downloads. (Tip: if you have any friends or family traveling within 30 days of your trip, you could split the cost of the Memory Maker and share your photos and digital content. Just make sure to add your borders and download the pictures relatively quickly after the second trip is complete–you don’t want to risk any pictures dropping off).

A Disney vacation is a significant investment, and I firmly believe capturing those memories in photos is an important part of that investment. So, I plan for Memory Maker (and the post – vacation photo book I will make) in my vacation budget and savings plan.

Maximize Your Investment

I will say this: If you DO make the investment in Memory Maker–make sure you take advantage of it! Hit lots of PhotoPass photographers around the parks, use different poses, ask for Magic Shots. You don’t want to get home and regret the purchase. As long as you use it, Memory Maker can be a good value. With individual pictures priced at $12.95 (5×7), it doesn’t take THAT many photos for Memory Maker to make sense.

As I mentioned before, I’m a total photo nerd. I make my poor husband stop at almost every single PhotoPass photographer in every park. I LOVE having pictures from our vacations. We went once for a weekend trip (Memory Maker was more economical in those days, granted) and I almost didn’t buy the Memory Maker…I decided to go for it, and was so happy I did. I think I ended up with 45 PhotoPass pictures from that trip, before I started adding borders and stickers, and cropping them, etc. It was well over 100 by the time I was done “playing” and downloaded them. That’s a pretty light PhotoPass load for us, but I wouldn’t have wanted to miss out on any of them.

Sharing

For the wedding trip, there were only 3 park days, but we ended up with more than 200 pictures, once everyone shared their media with us. It was AWESOME. (Note: If one person buys Memory Maker, that purchase is linked to THAT account and they are the only account that can download the pictures for everyone that shared media. Everyone linked to the account can VIEW them, but only the purchaser can download. It’s super easy to share after you’ve downloaded though, so I don’t view this a big concern—just wanted you to be aware.)

Also, I like to stack the odds. If you take one picture, the odds are fairly high that you won’t love it. If you take 20 pictures, the odds are fairly high that you will love AT LEAST 2 or 3 of them!

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Spaceship Earth (Photo: Disney PhotoPass)

Photos are a great way to relive magic moments. Disney vacations are typically FULL of magic moments you don’t ever want to forget. Disney’s PhotoPass and Memory Maker are great tools to help make sure your memories are preserved.

Make a Copy!

One more tip: If you do purchase Memory Maker, or even just individual PhotoPass photo downloads, make sure you make a back up copy of the files and store it somewhere different from where you store the original files. The cloud, another computer, a jump drive–just have a copy. I’m currently hunting for PhotoPass pictures from our January 2014 trip. With all the wedding planning that year, I didn’t do my usual routine with Disney trip pictures, and they are NOT where they are supposed to be. {sigh. I know I made a copy. I just don’t know WHERE I made the copy 😉}.

Do you have any questions about PhotoPass or Memory Maker? I’d love to hear from you! Or send me your favorite PhotoPass pictures and I will share them here, with your permission (of course!).

Happy Dreaming!

Brooke

runDisney Marathon Weekend 2018 Medals Revealed!

Lots of excitement rang through the runDisney community this week as Disney revealed the bling they have planned for January’s Marathon Weekend at Walt Disney World. For those of you that don’t know, Marathon Weekend usually falls the first weekend in January, and includes several runDisney events, including a 5K, a 10K, a half-marathon and a full marathon. In addition, there are several special challenges that award medals for finishing multiple races that weekend. Finally, there’s the Coast to Coast medal, which you can earn by completing a runDisney long-distance race on both coasts in the same year.

There are many reasons to participate in runDisney events. The thrill, the companionship, the undeniable excitement of getting to see parts of the parks that few people get to see, the physical challenge, the excitement, the fireworks, the race shirts…all very good reasons.

Me? I’m STRONGLY motivated by BLING. I love the medals. I love the weight of them, I love the moment after you cross the finish line when they give you the medal. I love seeing them hanging on my wall. I love the bling. I’m not saying it’s the only reason to do a runDisney event…or even the MAIN reason I do them…but it’s a heck of a bonus.

So, even when I’m not participating in an upcoming race, I’m always very excited when the new medals are announced. I’d be MORE excited if we were doing the races this year, because these medals are pretty awesome, but I was still pretty happy with the pictures Disney released earlier this week.

January 2018 marks the 25th running of the Walt Disney Marathon at Walt Disney World. To celebrate, the medals this year a little extra special. Take a look:

Here’s a closer look at the marathon medal:

The center of the medal appears to be a spinner. For those of you that participated in the 20th anniversary marathon, you may remember that medal also featured a spinner. It’s a really nice touch and makes the medal EXTRA special.

Here’s the medal for the 10K:

Usually, the 10K features Minnie Mouse, but this year, Mickey is appearing on all the medals, again due to the anniversary. The Marathon is “his” race, but he’s cheering everyone else on, too!

Donald’s Half Marathon:

How cute is that? The half is my personal favorite distance so I have a special fondness for this one.

Here are the Challenge Medals:

You can win the Goofy Challenge if you complete both the half-marathon and the full marathon (indicating you’re a little GOOFY 😉). The Dopey Challenge includes all FOUR Marathon Weekend events: the 5K, the 10K, the Half and the Full Marathon. Because, as they say, if you do all four of those distances in a four day period, you’ve got to be Dopey! Just kidding. Those folks are AMAZING.

We won’t be able to participate in Marathon Weekend this January; it just doesn’t work for us financially right now, but I’m hopeful that we’ll be there in future years. It’s a great way to kick off the year, and, since we got engaged on Marathon Weekend in 2013, will always hold a special place in my heart.

So…How many of you will be bringing home one (or more!) of these medals? Do you love this year’s designs? I’d love to hear from you!

Happy Dreaming,

Brooke

*Note: All pictures are courtesy of DisneyParks.com

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