Let's Just Not Talk About It AND WDW Events

Don't you just love the way deadlines go whooshing by? I can only excuse my complete procrastination on an alarmingly busy school year and I will endeavour to do better this year.

On a more positive note, I start at Disney World on June 5! This means more regular and in-depth planning ideas. Ideally, I'll be back with Orlando Informer around this time as well. I'm also playing around with some ideas for a side project which I'll throw out some sneak-peeks of before then.

I won't bore you with any more excuses or news. Let's just get on to the good stuff!

EPCOT International Flower and Garden Festival 2009

 Making a Disney Trip Even More Special: Festivals and Events

Making More of the Mouse

A trip to the World is always tons of fun. Racking up a bill that will take you months to pay off? Not so much fun. It’s surprisingly easy to lose track of how much you’re spending. There are six tricks I use to save some money on my trips to the World, and they’ve saved me a bundle. Before we left for Disney last time, I added up two bills – what we would actually be spending, and what it could have been if we hadn’t kept a careful watch on our wallets. The difference ended up hitting the $2000 mark for a two person trip.

Munching on a Meal Plan

There's been some big buzz over the last few years about the Disney dining plans. They've been around for a long time but it's really only been recently that I've heard such a huge emphasis being put on them. Seeing as V and I used the plan when we went, I thought I'd take the time and do the math on it to see if the hype really does match the product.

Let's go with the standard Disney Dining Plan ($46 per day for adults as of 2011). That means one quick service meal, one table service meal, and one snack per person per day. With each service meal, you'll get a non-alcoholic drink, an entree, and a dessert. In the majority of cases, no menu item is out of bounds for your entree (some places, like Teppan Edo, will have sections of their menu that are a la carte so you can't use your plan but I've found these cases are rare) and many restaurants will let you substitute an appetizer for your entree if you ask (I had the calamari basket at Raglan Road instead of an entree).

A Model Day of Food and WDW:
Breakfast - $6.70
The foodcourt in your resort will offer a variety of breakfast foods that are pretty much standard across the Disney property.
Let's say you go with the traditional favourite and order a Mickey Waffle with bacon.

Lunch - $6.60 + $2.40
You start your day at Magic Kingdom and tackle the famous Casey's Corner for lunch. You grab a hot dog meal (with the toppings of your choice) and french fries. For dessert you pick a brownie.

Snack - $3.50
We're going to go for another classic with this one and get a premium Mickey ice cream bar for a mid-afternoon snack.

Dinner - $28 + $8.00
You've headed over to EPCOT for dinner at Restaurant Marrakesh and it looks like you have your eye on the roast lamb meshoui and a bastilla for dessert. Yum!

Just taking in your three basic meals and a little something sweet to get you through the afternoon, you're looking at spending around $55 per person per day. This is not including drinks (the average bottle of water in the parks will cost you $2.50). You'll just about break even if we substitute drinks throughout the day and at meals for the second quick service meal) by saving $10.

(Tip: While $10 doesn't seem like all that much difference, keep in mind this is for your whole vacation. Assuming you stay for a week, that's at least $70 you'll be saving.)

So, do I think the dining plan is worth it? Heck yes. When V and I used it, our receipts for food added up to much more than this (lived a little high on the hog for the week) and there's no way we could have afforded it if we hadn't had the meal plan. Not having to look at prices or saying byebye dessert because I wanted the more expensive entree was absolute bliss. With a plan, you can get the $15 meal or the $40 meal without having to pay out-of-pocket. It makes meal time far less stressful when you're trying to stay within a budget.

Of course, if you don't think you'll eat three meals per day, or even a huge breakfast/lunch and then a full dinner, it may not be for you. But if you plan to eat and eat well, I'd really suggest looking into it.

To find a meal plan that's right for you and for a full list of restaurants participating in the Dining Plan, check out the Disney website pdf.

If there's anything else you'd like to know about the Disney Dining Plan, feel free to ask in the comments. I'd love to answer any questions!

♥ Rhys

Sorting Out Resorts

One of the most daunting tasks you'll have to undertake when you're planning your trip to Disney World is by far choosing a hotel. Assuming you've decided to stay on property (free transportation around the parks!), you'll have 29 different resorts and villas to choose from in every price bracket. Do you go with the value hotel and save some money or do you aim for something extravagant and shell out for a deluxe resort? It really depends on how you want to vacation and what you can afford.

There are three categories your resort can fall into: Value, Moderate, and Deluxe. The names are fairly explanatory and most Disney planning sites give you the basic rundown of what to expect from each (values offer basic facilities while still being remarkably well-kept and not at all sub-par in terms of room quality while deluxes offer more sprawling, luxurious properties with fine dining restaurants and extra amenities). I've found, though, that it's the little things most sites don't tell you about that will really set one level apart from another.

My last trip to Disney World was my boyfriend V's first time to the rat trap. That was MY first time doing the planning and I never thought it would be so involved. I had to decide what we could afford and what I thought we would need in a hotel. That experience made me hash out a rough ticky-box list of resort traits to make the whole process easier. Once you figure out what resort category you should probably be looking at, you just have to pick which style of theme you like the best and what area of the property it should be in. (Tip: finding one closest to the park you're more interested in is always a good idea) Here's hoping I can pass on the useful!

For each quality, rate your view from 1 to 5 (1 being 'not at all' and 5 being 'absolutely')

My resort should:
Not have to be subject to a tight budget
Give me a space to relax and hang out in because it's not just a place for me to sleep
Offer exceptionally themed rooms
Be well-themed with a fancy lobby and resort grounds (including transport loading areas)
Have a sit-down restaurant on the property (not just a quick service station)
Have a decorative, relaxing swimming pool atmosphere
Have access to a spa or gym facility
Be catered towards more adult guests rather than young families and children

If you answered mostly 1s and 2s, you'll want to look at value resorts.
If you answered mostly 2s to 4s, you'll want to look at moderate resorts.
If you answered mostly 4s and 5s, you'll want to look at deluxe resorts.
Of course... this is all meaningless if you answered 1 to the first quality in which case you're best to examine what you can afford rather than worry about extras. Having done Disney on a tight budget, I can promise that resorts in lower categories are also tons of fun.

Now, I don't want to ramble on too long so I guess I'll call it here for today. The ticky-box list will give you the most basic traits of the resorts but if anyone is interested in the more finicky stuff let me know and I'll try to write up a bit about specific resorts or categories or something!

♥ Rhys