Hello, RHOK Stars! It's my turn to post and as usual, I'm always wondering what to write about now days. So I thought I'd just write about me. Self-centered, much?! Ha ha!
Well, it's sort of not just about me. It includes my family and a much needed family vacation. You see, I think I've convinced my husband that we should visit Disney World again. We went back in 2004 when our older daughter was 6. Well, we've since added to our family and our little one is now 5 and almost the perfect age to enjoy the magical place. Perfect age to me is 6-8. She will be 6 in December. But, you can't just do it last minute. Or at least none of my friends do. They are professional Disney goers. They have spreadsheets and stuff. I have stuff - just not anything related to Disney World.
Source: google.com via Dawn's Diversions on Pinterest
So what's a novice Disney goer to do? You ask those in the know on Facebook! And, WOW! I got some great advice. I got so much great advice that I'm now so clueless and scared that I'm thinking we should just go to Branson. LOL! I kid. Sort of.
I haven't even had a time to process or research what was shared with me. Just look at a few of them...
This from my friend Amanda:
"Renting" DVC points (the Disney timeshare) is the cheapest way to stay deluxe on sight. December and January is my favorite time to go. We go 4-5 tmes a year. Our fave resorts are Animal Kingdom Lodge and Boardwalk Villas. And renting points you can do the dining plan, which usually saves us around 30% on food. We love having everything pre-paid and being able to order whatever we want guilt-free. I use several websites for crowd tracking and predictions, and we never wait more than 15 minutes for anything! Message me if you want more info and I'll be happy to share them with you!
If you go in October, Disney offers classes for kids at no charge and you also get deeply discounted tickets for the whole family. The program is operated year-round for youth groups, but during certain times of the year, it's open for individual enrollment. There are a variety of classes, each about 2-3 hours long. It's called the Disney YES programs. Here's the link.... Individual Enrollment | Disney Youth Groups
www.disneyyouth.com
Disney Youth Groups
www.disneyyouth.com
From Sarah:
When we went we flew Allegiant Air. You have to travel to AR or MO to flyout but we did round trip tickets for 5 of us for $500! Kathy Short turned me on towww.TourGuideMike.com it's $20 and you get all kinds of codes to use. Well worth the $20. I ordered the pins that you trade with on ebay.
From Ginger:
If u stay at a Disney hotel. You get to go in parks early. On animal kingdom day go early. Make an immediate left and do the safari or the line gets ling fast. Also if u stAy at Disney hotel pay $10 extra per day and you get a room up front. Well worth it, all that walking. Also go to jcpenny or sears and buy some Disney clothes-cheap. then you won't spend so much money on souvenirs.
From Laura:
We just went last summer. Stay in one of the Disney resorts & watch for free Disney Dining...we saved close to $1000 off our bill with that!! You guys will have a blast! And we brought our own panchos & a power strip to charge multiple phones, camcorders, cameras :D sorry, I'm getting excited just remembering!!
From Nicole:
we took a neutral colored back pack for each kid last time, with markers for the characters to sign. Served for autographs and snack/water holders.
From Lindsay:
We're going in May and went with the dining plan. I think it is the way to go. Mamacheaps.com has good info. I made out an intenary for each day with show/parade times since those are all available on disney.go.com. Also, the character meals start booking 180 days in advance so try to get those reservations made as soon as you book. You can make reservations through the disney dining website. Good luck, it is overwhelming to plan but now that it's done I'm so excited!
From Kathy:
Here is my friends info. who plans Disney Vacations for free. She is amazing! She will find you the best deal and even give you a daily schedule if you want. (What park to go to on what day, ride order, etc.) She will help you book the meals as well. She is actually at DisneyWorld right now then going on a Disney Cruise so it may be next week before she can get back to you. I would also suggest tourguidemike.com and easywdw.com. We have gone in Dec. and love it but it is busier. This year we went in Feb. and it was great! We took the YES classes (they aren't free) but you get deeply discounted tickets. This may not work for you if you are getting a packaged deal. Bethany can help you sort all of that out. Also, we get Nathan a Guest Assistance Pass because of his aspergers. It really makes a huge difference for us and is probably one of the main reasons we can go back every year. PM me if you want more info. Bethany has planned trips for several of my friends and they have been more than pleased. We stay at Beach Club or Saratoga Springs, both of which are DVC resorts. Let me know if you have any questions, I love planning Disney Trips. I have helped a lot of people plan trips and sort through the overload of info. but Bethany is a "Disney" professional. She has acess to good deals/packages that us common folk don't. :) Happy Planning!
Email bethany@crazyaboutthemouse.com
Website http://www.crazyaboutthemouse.com/bethany
Crazy About the Mouse - Vacation Planning Agents - Bethany Houser
www.crazyaboutthemouse.com
This isn't even all the advice I got. Can you see why my head is spinning?!? So, might as well make it spin more by asking you all for any tips, websites, advice that you may have about Disney World. I just may make a spreadsheet myself and add your stuff to it. I want to have Disney stuff, too. Some of my friends even make their kids (as in sew) Disney clothes to wear that match. Holla! I'm pretty sure my kids will be cheated, according to the standards my friends have set, no matter how much work I put in to it. Shhh..... Let's not share everything with them, Mkay?
~Mrs. Albright
Planning a magical Disney vacation, like a....
P.S. I hope all this information proves helpful for your very own Disney vacation!
