Budgeting - WDW Magical Castles Travel

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

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

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)

Rainy Day at Disney World; What to do when it rains on your Disney Vacation

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!

Spaceship Earth Disney Fall 2021 Vacation Packages Available

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

72 Days to Go…Part 2

Walt Disney World Vacation Planning Tips: PLANNING THE SCHEDULE

Note: This is part 2 of a 3 part article. If you’d like to read the first part, please click here.

We are arriving on November 16, which is our actual anniversary. We’ll land around noon, assuming no delays, so by the time we get our luggage, get our car (this is still not a firm decision…we normally rent a car because we like the freedom and flexibility of having our own wheels BUT the smarter financial decision is to NOT rent a car and use Magical Express and all the free Disney transportation. Still deciding on this) stop and get water and breakfast foods and snacks and get to the hotel, it will probably be 2pm or so…

So I had a couple tentative plans initially:

Check in and have a lazy afternoon at our Resort.
MAYBE go visit the wedding pavilion and say hello to where we got married, maybe go inside if it’s open and take some pictures, maybe kiss on the spot where we kissed at the wedding, stuff like that.
Have a nice dinner somewhere for our anniversary. Somewhere with fireworks views because HELLO first visit back in three years and we LOVE WISHES. Except that WISHES is gone. There’s a new show, Happily Ever After, which I’m sure will be amazing too…but {sigh} we loved our Wishes. Oh well, change is part of life. For this, I was thinking either California Grill at the Contemporary Resort or Narcoosee’s at the Grand Floridian. We’ve had great experiences at both of these, although California Grill gets a slight edge because we really love watching the fireworks there, and it’s a little easier for us to get to because Bay Lake is attached to the Contemporary. Pricewise, they’re both about the same…way more than we should be spending on one meal!
Alternative to nice (expensive) dinner: Attend Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party at the Magic Kingdom. MVMCP is a special ticketed event. It officially starts at 7 pm, but you can get in the park with your MVMCP tickets as early as 4 pm. Generally speaking, the weeknight parties, especially early in the season, have lower crowd levels than a regular park day, and it can be a great way to see more attractions with shorter lines. PLUS, the Merry Christmas parade is one of my favorites (the Halloween party parade is better, though) and that happens twice during every party. There are special Holiday-themed fireworks (usually called Holiday Wishes, but I don’t know if that’s been re-themed as well since Wishes no longer exists…I will have to investigate that). They distribute free hot cocoa and cookies (well, “free” is a relative term since you are paying for your party tickets) and the party goes until Midnight. Oh, one more thing: It “snows” on Main Street frequently throughout the party. There are some cute little shows and dance parties that happen around the park too—and of course, special MVMCP themed merchandise you can ONLY get at the party.

I knew a couple of main things: I didn’t want to burn a park pass day on Arrival Day and I wanted to make sure we saw Magic Kingdom fireworks (and the CASTLE) on our anniversary. Of course, a couple other options exist. As DVC members staying at Bay Lake tower, we can go up to the Tower Lounge on the roof and watch the fireworks from there. They have appetizers and a bar and the view is similar to the view from the California Grill. Also, since we’re spending the extra points for theme park view, we could just stay in the room and relax and watch from there…assuming it’s a decent view. Third, we could go watch the fireworks from the Contemporary…there’s a large balcony of sorts right where the Bay Lake Tower walkway meets the Contemporary…we took a bunch of our wedding pictures there, so that would be a nostalgic spot as well.

I went ahead and made a dinner reservation at California Grill, figuring I could cancel if I decided to go a different direction.

Planning the park days: Using the crowd calendar and taking into consideration our personal preferences, I started plugging in park days on our schedule. Assuming we’d either do the Christmas party at Magic Kingdom or at the very least see the Magic Kingdom fireworks Thursday night, I decided that Friday we would go to our second favorite park, Epcot and we’d return to Magic Kingdom on Saturday. A couple of factors: There’s another Christmas party Friday night, so I knew if we did Magic Kingdom Friday, we’d have to leave by 7 pm—I wasn’t about to buy tickets for a party AND burn a park pass day in the same day—it was either go to the party on Thursday night or not at all. I wanted to make sure we have at least one full day at MK so I decided Saturday.
We generally like to visit all four parks when we visit, as long as we go for at least four days, so next I plugged in Hollywood Studios and Animal Kingdom for Sunday and Monday—primarily based on park hours and projected crowd levels.
So current plan: Epcot Friday, MK Saturday, Hollywood Studios Sunday and Animal Kingdom Monday. We fly home Tuesday afternoon so Tuesday morning will either be lazy, pack, hang around the resort (Frank’s preference) or one last mad crazy dash to Magic Kingdom and then Disney Springs (Brooke’s preference). We’ll see how that works out….
Once I plan my park days out, I start working on meal reservations. I actually started making reservations for meals mid-May—I think even before I bought our airline tickets. Disney lets you book ADRs (Advance Dining Reservations) six months out. A big part of our Disney experience is good, sit down meals in air-conditioned restaurants. We like the breaks to recharge our batteries, relieve our favorite moments from the day (so far) and talk about what we still want to accomplish that day. Yes, taking the time for a sit down meal “takes away” from time we could be visiting attractions, but I learned pretty early on that if I want my husband to actually ENJOY his trips, I need to build in lots of breaks and give him time to rest and recharge. An interesting side effect was that I learned how much more I enjoyed myself when I gave us those breaks. So for me, sit down meals are MANDATORY. Now, this trip we have some budgetary constraints so I may have to cancel some of these, and we may need to go off property and grab quick economical meals at someplace like Perkins (assuming we have a car) or just do sandwiches in the room—but I decided to make reservations initially and then I will cancel as we get closer to vacation if it looks like we won’t have the funds.

I hope my “real life” stories as I plan our trips are helpful to you as you plan your own vacations. My goal is to offer Disney vacation planning tips and tricks to my readers, and to help all of you navigate the sometimes challenging process of planning a Disney vacation!

Happy Dreaming!

Brooke

To continue to part 3 of this article, please click here.

Category: Budgeting

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

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

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Disney PhotoPass/Disney Memory Maker