Things we learned from our Disney trip

So after staying at Disneyworld for nine days, there were a few tips and tricks I thought I should pass along, in case anyone is planning a trip and would like to save a few bucks.  Here are some helpful hints to have a great vacation without breaking the bank.


1.  Do sign up for a Disney photopass plus BEFORE going to Disneyworld.  This is the link to purchase it in advance: http://www.disneyphotopass.com/specialoffers/wdwppp.htm#.  The purchase price of $149 seems steep, but it already guarantees you a photopass CD of all the photos from your trip before you even leave for it.  If you decide after your trip to buy a photopass CD then you will be paying $169 plus shipping (the $149 includes shipping).  You also get an entire CD of stock photos that you can use on your blogs, facebook page, and later in your photo books, etc. that you will order with your photos from your trip.  You are given a voucher to redeem at one of the photobooths at any of the parks or Downtown Disney, and this special red photopass card is worth its weight in gold! If you are doing any Bibbidi Boppiti stuff with your daughter's or Pirate's League with your children, you will extra photos of all their photo experiences, and any photo that you have to pay for (for Pirate's League its extra to get the photo they take after they are made up), you will get it completely free! This is also true for any character dining experience or any character meet and greet.  Photographers throughout all the parks went out of their way to do extra pictures for us at every venue we were at, and we were even approached by photographers to have pictures done while we were walking.  The extra photos we received at Cinderella's Table, The Pirate League, Chef Mickey's, etc. saved us $50 alone.  Not to mention the fact that after your vacation you get to edit all the photos (plus it keeps a copy of the original photo) and every photo you have (whether its 1 or 1,000) gets put onto the CD and you get to do what you want with them.  This is a great way to do photobooks of your trip cheaper than the price that Disney charges for their products online.  I strongly recommend getting this card before you leave.  We will always be purchasing this before our vacations to Disney in the future!

2.  Unless you are a family of 5+ and really can't do a moderate or deluxe resort, DO NOT stay at the Art of Animation.  It is a great concept resort, it just isn't very well executed.  The standard rooms (which are much cheaper at the older value resorts) are no different than anything you are going to get at Pop Century, All-Star Sports, etc.  If you have to have one of the suites because of the size of your family, then it is a lot cheaper than the deluxe resorts you are usually shoved into.  Now many of the moderate resorts have options and larger rooms for larger families, and I would definitely look into options before booking here.  We have stayed at the Coronado and Caribbean Beach resorts in the past and have been very happy, where Art of Animation was disappointing.  The refrigerator in our room (which they called a cooler and said it wasn't even a refrigerator...apparently cooler's have motors and lights) was not cold for over 48 hours after checking in, and kept warming up and cooling off during the week.  We had constant problems storing our milk for the kids during the week because it would get warm until the milk stank, and we would have to throw it out and buy another.  The staff kept swearing that nothing was wrong with it, and that we were having no problems.  The staff is not very knowledgable and seems to still be learning (even though its been up and running since last year).  One staff shift would know Disney policies and procedures and then the next shift would have no clue and claim that what you were asking them didn't even exist (even though the earlier staff took care of the same problem 6 hours prior).  They are not as courteous as the staff at other Disney properties we have stayed at, and I was very disappointed. The Art of Animation also doesn't seem to have many buses as the other resorts to transport you to the parks.  It would take three times as long to get a bus from Magic Kingdom back to the Art of Animation that it would for Pop Century, just because more buses actually showed up for Pop Century.  Finally, THE FOOD SUCKS!!!! The Landscapes of Flavor that is the food court at Animation is horrible! You wait a long time to get the food, get charged Disney prices, and its not even good! Our party walked to Pop Century resort (they have a bridge that connects the two resorts) and the food was much, much better! So definitely look into other options for staying on Disney property (if you stay there at all).

3.  Go during the school year when school is in session (no spring break times) or during the fall when prices are lower on resorts and Disney dining plan is free! We paid $1100 for our dining plan add on, and even though it was worth it, it does upset me when I think about how we could have gotten the same trip and paid less for it if the rest of our party could have gone during the fall.  So if you are able to go during these times it will be worth it! Lines for rides/characters are much shorter, you will get more attention by staff and photographers, you will save money, and you will beat the Florida humidity (literally I would stand for 10-15 minutes and be drenched in sweat....I wasn't even moving, just standing in lines).  We would have avoided hour long waits that we had (for EVERYTHING) if we had just gone at a different time of year.  

4.  Look into staying off Disney property.  Even though there are perks to Disney property locations (buses taking you anywhere you need to go, Disney Dining plan, special hours at the parks for guests on Disney property, free shuttle from airport to resort and back, avoiding paying $14 a day to park), there are some great deals in the Orlando area for very nice hotels.  Many of the hotels in Orlando, closer to Universal, have many options for larger families that won't break the bank.  Many have free breakfast for kids, free buses to all parks (even Universal and Sea World) and have gorgeous accommodations (some with entire kitchens).  I would look at what you want to do in Orlando, and if you will only be going to Disney for a few days so you can explore what else Orlando has to offer, I would suggest staying off property.  Many places do special deals, some as low as $59/night, and if you aren't doing a Disney exclusive vacation, this would be worth your while.  Just a warning, if you do stay off property and drive to the parks, the cost of parking is now $14/day (but if you park hop, you can use your earlier parking at the next park's parking lot if you do it on the same day).  It also takes quite a bit of time to get from the tram or monorail to your parking lot when you leave a Disney park, but if you go at a less busy time of year it won't be that bad of a wait.  

5.  Definitely do Pirate's League or Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique if your children are into dressing up.  We couldn't do the princess boutique for Brynn this time because she was under 3 (and it can be a very long process with a long wait, so I do not recommend it for children who can't sit a long time), but we did Pirate's League for the boys and it was a ton of fun.  You get to dress up (if you want) and get made into a Pirate, with a Pirate name/makeup/sword and pictures.  The staff is in full character and have a great time asking the kids about their ships, booty, and how they want to serve with Captain Jack.  This made the boys trip (besides meeting Darth Vader) and it was a blast to do! They even have packages for adults and girls (which is similar to Bibbidi Bobbidi with getting your nails/makeup done, you just become a Pirate Empress or a Mermaid), but you have an amazing time! Though if you have the prepaid photopass plus, your pictures at the end are completely free and they will take extra pictures that will be on your photo cd (and they come in a cute paper frame with a pocket to hold your scroll with your new name and agreement to sail in Jack Sparrow's crew).  If you don't have photopass plus, pictures are an extra $10 each and you won't get any extra photos put onto your photo cd account.  

6.  If your children like characters, DO Cinderella's Royal Table for girls (or drag some boys, the princesses usually pay special attention to the boys) and Chef Mickey's.  We did both this time and our kids loved every minute of them! We had a hard time finding a time/place where Mickey is able to meet people in the parks now that they got rid of his house in Toontown for the new Fantasyland.  We got to meet Mickey, Donald, Goofy, Pluto, and Minnie at Chef Mickey's, as well as get a family picture (and some extras) at Chef Mickey's.  It was only one table service credit on our dining plan, and well worth doing.  If you pay out of pocket, it will be the best money you spend on a meal at the parks! The food is plentiful, the characters are great, and the kids LOVE it!  Cinderella's table was a bit more formal, but the staff is amazing, your children get treated very well by everyone (constantly being called princess made both Brynn and Addy's day!) and the Princesses spend a good amount of time at each table.  You can even pay to have a special cake made and presented to your child there (which one family did and the look on their daughter's face was priceless).  That was two dining table service credits, but well worth it, and the price tag of $35/plate was worth it too. The food was excellent, the views of the park amazing, and just a great memory to have for your princess.  

7.  Finally, DO NOT take large groups to Disney.  If you have to take a large family (we took 11) to Disney then make sure you have dining reservations for EVERYTHING and understand that even with reservations you are going to have to wait (sometimes for awhile) because you have such a large group.  My suggestion for a large family vacation would be the beach, because you are mostly relaxing on the surf and not really going out much.  With Disney you are constantly in line for something and they just aren't as equipped as normal restaurants to handle large parties.  

Those are my recommendations, I hope this helps anyone looking into a Disney vacation in the future!

To the House of Mouse...

Summer has begun and this year we had decided to go on a large vacation, now that Brynn was a little older.  We had started planning a Disney trip with my entire family last year, and decided to go a few days before Memorial Day.  The kids were pumped and we were gearing up for the 12 hour drive.  We started at 8 pm on May 24, and pulled into Orlando around 7:45 the next morning.  The kids were beyond excited once we arrived at the Art of Animation, and we patiently waited for my family to arrive.  We ate with princesses, rode a ton of rides, met many characters, had the boys turn into pirates and even got to be apart of Star Wars Weekends (which I strongly encourage any Star Wars fan to visit Hollywood Studios during that festival... it was a ton of fun!) The week went quickly, but we were able to get a ton of memories and enjoy one last big family vacation.  Locations like Disney are just too difficult to take a huge group, so we are going to stick to beach vacations when traveling with extended family.  

Another great thing we were able to do while in Disney was visit with Travis' grandmother.  We have not been able to visit since the last time we were in Disney (five years ago) and it was really great to get to see her.  This was Riley's second time meeting her, and the first for Andre and Brynn (I was pregnant with Andre last time we saw her).  The kids loved getting to hang out with her and it was a joy to get to introduce them to her.  

So here are some pictures to show our week in the Florida sun:

Hanging out on the Boardwalk after dinner at ESPN cafe.

Found out that Brynn LOVES carousels!

Meeting Princesses at Cinderella's Royal table (worth the money or dining credits to anyone taking a little girl to Disney)!

Brynn loved the Princess attention!

Making her own cupcake creation at Cinderella's Royal Table!

Mark Backbender...the newest pirate to Jack Sparrow's crew! Another great experience for any gender of child at any age! Such a fun time :)

Thomas Squidcheese swashbuckling his way onto the crew! The Pirate's League was a great time!

Chef Mickey's breakfast buffet! A great way to meet characters (that usually have the longest lines in the Magic Kingdom) and good food!

Running through Nemo's playground at Art of Animation!

Family pic after we just did a 12 hour drive to FL!

Visit to the Elephant graveyard playground after everyone arrived!

The many photo op stops in line waiting to take a picture with Buzz and Woody!

Snuggling with Daddy at Mama Melrose's

Perry decided to climb a tree to do some spy investigating :)

Trying on some hats in China :)

Their favorite character meet of the entire trip!

Dinner at Be Our Guest (the Beast's new restaurant in his castle)!

The enchanted rose in the Beast's room.

The kids being thrown in prison with Zurg :)

It was a great trip, but we definitely will be staying away for a few years so Brynn can get a bit taller to ride more rides.  I'm glad we got this experience, and I can't wait for our next Disney vacation!