Tag Archives: saving money

Rumor has it…

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Rumor has it that WDW will be offering free dining to the general public starting Thursday July 12!

This is always one of the best discounts available at Disney. The amount of rooms at each hotel for this offer is limited. Remember, if you already have a trip booked during this time frame, you can apply the promotion by calling Disney. Your arrival date must be within the promotion dates. You will also be charged the new ticket prices, if you booked before June 3.

Dates this will probably be available:

Update 7/12/12: The dates are accurate. Remember you have to arrive for your trip within that window to receive free dining. Also, to get free dining you must book a 6 night/7 day vacation.
9/30-10/4
10/19-11/1
11/9-11/15
11/24-11/29
12/10-12/13

Here is the link:  free dining

Oh no…I don’t have dining reservations!

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If you read my previous post about the importance of dining reservations and are now freaking out, don’t worry! There are wonderful restaurants throughout WDW that will have open tables for walk up customers. I would not recommend going without dining reservations, but I am anal retentive and like to have my schedule planned out! Do not expect to get into character meals, these are always booked and impossible to get in unless you have lucked out with a cancellation! Epcot is always a good choice because there are so many restaurants. Yacht Club & Boardwalk are walking distance from Epcot & a long walk or boating distance from Hollywood. Contemporary, Grand Floridan & Polynesian are on the monorail line, so you can head there from Magic Kingdom and Epcot very easily! You can always call the reservation line – (407) WDW- DINE or use your smart phone and book through the internet!

Restaurants where you can get a table with little or no wait: Continue reading →

The Importance of Dining Reservations

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If you are new to WDW, you will see all sorts of information on Advanced Dining Reservations (ADRs). If character meals & where you eat are important to you then I would highly recommend doing your dining reservations as soon as you book your trip. You can book dining without being on property and even before you book your trip.

Here is how it works: Continue reading →

Traveling with Babies & Toddlers

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I have so many people tell me that they will wait to take their kids to Disney when they are older. I recommend going while they still believe in the “magic”! Often, that means taking your preschooler with the baby tagging along.

First of all with young children, plan to travel during the late fall or winter season. Don’t take little guys when it is hot unless that is the only time you can take vacation.  The weather is so much better, you will enjoy yourselves more, & the prices are at their cheapest! If you do have to go in the heat, plan on daily breaks at the hotel to rest and cool down and have plenty of snack and drink breaks.

Continue reading →

Agent P’s World Showcase Adventure

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Agent P’s World Showcase Adventure is up and running at Epcot’s World Showcase. For previous visitors of WDW, Agent P is basically a repurposed Kim Possible. For those of you new to this interactive way to visit the countries, I would highly recommend doing it! This is a free activity at the park and is a great way for kids to enjoy the World Showcase. I would do this in conjunction with the Kidcot stations where the kids color a Duffy Bear and get stamps at each country. Both of these are free of charge and the Kidcot is a free souvenir.

You can sign up at an Agent P kiosk at the International Gateway or the Odyssey Bridge between Future World and World Showcase. Innoventions had a place to get your mission, but that is not open yet.

You will receive a F.O.N.E (field operative notification equipment) which basically looks like a cell phone. This is your guide to a mission in your assigned country. You will be given instructions from Phineas and Ferb characters and given clues and directions to stop Doofenshmirtz. The F.O.N.E will give you pictures of places you need to stand near and have you push ok for things to happen. It will also ask you to find clues and codes and input them into the F.O.N.E. After you finish your mission, you will be asked if you would like to do another in a different country or the F.O.N.E will show you where to deposit your device in that country. Continue reading →

Sam’s Club can help you save for Disney…

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Today we went to Sams Club to buy Disney Gift Cards to play towards our trip. You are able to purchase gift cards at a discounted rate. They had $25, $50, $75 denominations. The $50 was the best deal at $48.88 per card. So, we bought a bunch and saved more than  2% to pay toward our trip. We went originally for $100 gift cards, which supposedly are discounted and include $10 off Disney store merchandise. Ours was out of those, so we settled for the $50. Now I just have to input a load of $50 gift cards onto my account….

For more about ways to double dip and save for WDW, see my previous post.

Sorcerers of Magic Kingdom

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There is now an interactive game at Magic Kingdom called the Sorcerers of the Magic Kingdom. This is a role-playing card game in which you are an apprentice to Merlin and your goal is to fight various Disney villains throughout Magic Kingdom. Continue reading →

Disney is increasing ticket prices!

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Disney is increasing the prices on park tickets, park hoppers, etc. tomorrow June 3rd! If you have a trip coming up and are planning on buying the tickets when you get there, it might be a good idea to do it today. Here is more info on the price increase.

Keeping the kids happy while waiting

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Disney is a world of hurry up and wait. Rush through the morning to get to opening and wait at the turnstiles. Race to a ride then wait in line for 20 minutes. Head to the airport hours before your flight to learn that it is delayed. Walk to the bus stop and find your bus pulling away. The list goes on and on. Disney is a great lesson in patience for both children and adults!

I have a few tricks I use to keep the kids busy while waiting in line, for transportation or in a restaurant. Continue reading →

Ship your stuff instead of packing!

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Did you know you can ship items to your hotel before your arrival? The hotel will hold it in bell services or their business center until you check in. You may not think that shipping a box UPS or USPS would save you money, but it really can in the long run. Some airlines charge $25 or more to check a bag, which is $50 round trip. When you have a family of 4, you have just added $200 to your vacation.

In the past, I have shipped boxes that contained our consumables for the trip. This saved room in our luggage and we were able to fly checking only 2 bags for the 4 of us. Here are some ideas on the things you can ship: Continue reading →