Disney World Planning Tools

Planning for Disney is a multi-resource kind of endeavor. Many people employ the use of travel agents (read this enlightening article about travel agents) which can cost you NOTHING! If you're
interested in seeing what an agent can offer you, you might try:

Ears of Experience: a Disney-centric travel agency that is fee free! Their website could use some updating, but they are active on Facebook and one of their specialties is booking military discounts with Disney vacations for current/former service members. Their services are free so long as you are booking at a Disney-owned resort for accommodations. If you aren't, there are concierge packages available to you for $130-$150 and those services include personalized itineraries, dining reservations, and more! (also recommended by Military Disney Tips - see below!)

If you want more options for finding a travel agent, look no further than than this agency locator: Authorized Disney Vacation Planners. Travel agents and agencies come with all different skill sets- you MUST use one that is a Disney-centric agency if you want to get the best deals and most thorough info on current WDW happenings. This site will return a list of local-to-you agents or online agents (or both) and you can then further research their websites and    policies to find your right fit.

Aside from travel agents, you will find hundreds of blogs, Disney-related Pinterest pages, and websites devoted to planning tips, itinerary-building, maps, and more. Some of the sites I've taken advantage of:

Touring Plans - for $12.95, you get year-long access to TP's excellent trip-building tools. Interactive itinerary-builders allow you to use pre-made itineraries with wait and walk times for your specific dates based upon crowd-data for those dates. You can go on to customize your itinerary completely per day adding any and all types of attractions. You gain access to the TP forums upon joining, and the friendly forum members are ready to offer advice and answer questions. If you are detail-oriented and need to          understand just what it will take to make a plan for your Disney trip
(read more here about planning vs. not planning your days in the parks).

Kenny the Pirate  - If you're interested in meeting characters while you're at the World, Kenny the Pirate is for you! This blog has many useful features (a crowd calendar and character location maps are just two of them!) Kenny even has an info-packed app! It involves a couple more steps to properly work on your device than your typical app, but the reviews say it is worth it!

WDW Prep School - Shannon's blog is packed with good stuff for your trip to Disney World. Her site is clean, neat, and easy to navigate. One of the coolest features of WDW Prep School is that Shannon does podcasts! So if you're strapped for time and can't sift through tons of info on your computer, you can take her anywhere!

Military Disney Tips - though it isn't the prettiest of prettiest when it comes to blog designs, it has TONS of info for military discounts of every kind (and they aren't limited to just Disney discounts, but other major Orlando-area discounts as well). The Armed Forces Salute FAQ section is thorough and perfect for any and all AFS ticketing questions. If you're part of the military sector- you can't plan without stopping in here and having your questions answered by Steve!

Mouse Savers - this site is so simple and easy to use, it is one I'd recommend to start with if you're overwhelmed by Disney planning. The info that is included here is extensive, well-organized, and easy-on-the-eyes as there aren't visual distractions, just information.


Finally, in 2015, a Walt Disney World trip can't be planned without the use of Pinterest (Well, ok, maybe it can, by why would you want it to be? All of those colorful pictures and diverse posts- I can't get enough!).

Which sites and apps (post on must-have apps coming later!) have you relied on when you're planning a WDW vacation? 

Disney Tickets- Military Deals & Steals

In 2009 Disney created the Armed Forces Salute program for members of the U.S. military and their families. The AFS includes steep discounts on park tickets and 30-40% off Disney resorts. Since I already discussed that our family size prohibits much of a savings on Disney resort rooms (even with a 30-40% discount), I'll focus on the AFS tickets in this post. If you have a smaller family size, the room discount could significantly impact your choice to stay on- or off-property.

Military Tickets:
If you or your spouse is active-duty or retired from the U.S. military (including Reservists, Coast Guardsmen, and National Guardsmen) you are eligible to purchase up to six Military Promotional Tickets during each offer period (current offer valid September 2014-October 2015). Military Promotional Tickets (a.k.a. Armed Forces Salute tickets) have extensive savings:

• 4-Day Park Hopper Ticket for $177 OR
• 4-Day Water Park Fun & More Ticket for $177 OR 
• 4-Day Combo Ticket for $207
• When you buy on base- these are tax free! 
• No expiration date within the 09/2014 - 10/2015 timeframe

Who can use the Armed Forces Salute tickets:

• Anyone accompanying the service member (friends or family!) 
• Anyone accompanying the service member's spouse in absence of the service member

How these tickets activate:

You will receive a voucher upon purchase that can be linked to My Disney Experience to set up your FastPass+ passes, however, you will still have to activate the voucher and exchange it for plastic card tickets at any one of the parks on your first visit. All members of the party using the Armed Forces Salute tickets must be present for activation, but then your party can split up if needed/wanted. 

If your immediate family has more than six individuals, Disney will allow you to purchase additional tickets for them at the above prices. Note that this courtesy is only available for dependent family members. If your family has only two or three members, you could purchase double your needed tickets(up to six) and use them back-to-back on the same trip, allowing for a total of eight park days per person! Just think of the amazing Disney honeymoon a newly married military couple could take with these tickets- 12 blissful days in the Most Magical Place on Earth for just over $1000!

If you need additional days for your park tickets, the Armed Forces Salute Tickets can be upgraded at Walt Disney World to Annual Passes. Otherwise, you can purchase the Magic Your Way tickets at a base ITT office or Shades of Green and receive a small discount (typically about 5%). Note that the MYW tickets with military discount CANNOT be purchased at Walt Disney World gates/ticket offices. 

Let's see some savings in action. My family of six needs 5 tickets (child under 3 is free and we still have one of those!):

• Armed Forces Salute Tickets 4-Day with Park Hopper = $885 (no tax)
• Magic Your Way 4-Day Tickets with Park Hopper = $1901.05 (with FL tax)

To be fair in comparison pricing, you have to really consider which options you'd purchase if you had to buy tickets without any discount. The first thing we'd nix would be the Park Hopper option. Even for an adults-only trip we took, we didn't park-hop. It isn't worth the extra money for the way we tour the parks. For some it is invaluable. You have to decide how your family will visit WDW and if that is important.

If you were willing to fork over $1900 for four days hopping parks, then check out what you can get if you drop that Park Hopper. If I were taking my family of six (one baby) to WDW and I chose to nix the Park Hopper option from my plans look at what I could afford:

• Magic Your Way 10-Day Ticket No Options = $1879.75 (with FL tax) 

Balancing that against my family's needs and our price-range I wanted to know what I could get for all six of us in the $885 range when shopping on Disney's site. My answer: 

• 2-Day MYW Tickets No Options (this actually costs $980 with tax)

If you choose the Armed Forces Salute Tickets with both the Park Hopper and Water Park Fun & More option - you end up getting two additional days (one each for Typhoon Lagoon and Blizzard Beach) outside of your four Disney World days plus entry to several other Disney attractions. We don't have a group that is great with swimming yet- so we will save that option for a later trip since it would add $150 to our ticket total. 

The Armed Forces Salute Tickets are an amazing deal for a minimal amount of park days. If you're lucky enough to have a family size (or age group) that will allow two of your six tickets to go to Grandma & Grandpa, just think of the amazing memories you can make together! 

Additionally, this blog is an amazing resource: Military Disney Tips 

How have you made the Armed Forces Salute Tickets work for you? 

What We're Wearing at the Parks - Part I

I absolutely adore matching family shirts for Walt Disney World vacations.
The only problem is that I don't find it to be super cost-effective. There are a number of reasons for this:

• I like to personalize each tee in my designs, which results in a higher cost
• I often use trademarked characters, which print shops can't print
• Lower cost solutions (freezer-paper stenciling and iron-on transfers) have their limits

I really wanted to wear personalized tees every day we are in the parks. After pricing them out at CustomInk (a company I love!) I realized I just couldn't spend $150 on one day's worth of tees (and forget four day's worth of tees at those rates!). I know you're thinking, "Of course you couldn't do that, crazy woman!" but I was ready to do just that when an alternative idea came to mind. 

My compromise turned out to be this:

Purchase two-days' worth of shirts from the Disney Store and make the remaining two shirts at home. I will customize the Disney Store shirts with iron-ons (more on that in another post!) and will print iron-on transfers at home (these transfers are awesome!) to fully-create shirts for the Magic Kingdom and Hollywood Studios. 

These are our shirt options for Epcot (top of post) and Animal Kingdom (below):

They aren't particularly themed for either of these park choices, but they will do! I got a great deal on the chalkboard/mouseketeer tees by using a 25% off coupon code that included free shipping while purchasing these shirts during their Buy 2 or More Tees, Each for $10. The chalkboard tees of Mickey & Minnie only received the 25% off as they weren't included in the sale prices (they are Official Park shirts). The AWESOME thing about buying ear hats BEFORE your trip is that the Disney Store not only allows you to stack your discounts on them, but they always have a running percentage-off deal on specific quantities of Official Park items. Shopping at the Disney Store is going to save us a ton on clothing and souvenirs. More in a later post! 

Ear hats are marked at $13.95 - I paid $9.41 each! 

What have you worn to the parks? What got you the most noticed by Cast Members?

The Disney Store - Save or Splurge?

When I started planning our first trip as a family of six I assumed (incorrectly) that shopping at the Disney Store was far too expensive. I thought that I would save money by shopping for souvenirs at big box stores like Walmart or Target. I couldn't have been more wrong! One fateful evening the Bestie and I entered the Disney Store in our local mall and it was all I could do not to buy everything on sale. I walked away with over $60 in savings on a $100 purchase. That's right, I spent about $40 on $100 worth of Jake and the Neverland Pirates merchandise for DD3 (she is slightly obsessed with this show and her birthday is just weeks before our big vacation!).

Some of the amazing deals I've taken advantage of:

• BOGO for $1 - plush toys
• Buy 2 or more playsets - $10 each (savings of $2.95 each)
• Buy 2 or more tees - $10 each (savings of $2.95-$4.95 each)
• 25% off entire purchase (above and beyond the above-mentioned deals!)
• Free Shipping on $75+ Orders (savings of $9.95+)

UPDATE: New sale today 2/18/15 - Kids' tees for $8 each and adult's tees $12! 

My current order would cost $180 without the savings codes offered but instead, I'll be paying $110! More later on the souvenirs I've picked for our kiddos, ages 2-7 years old!

UPDATE: After placing my order with a ton of savings, I popped into my local Disney Store. I noticed that the Buy 2 or more tees-$10 each deal was much better in-store! In-store was offering each tee at $8, no minimums. After discussing this recent purchase with a Cast Member, the manager said that if I bring my receipt in within 10 days of receiving my order, they'd be able to refund the difference. I will update again with more to let you know how that works out.

Pop over to What We're Wearing at the Parks to see some of my purchases! What are your can't-live-without-it Disney purchases?

"Here we gooooooooo!"

Can anyone name that Disney classic? In my 30(ish) years of life, I've been captivated by many Disney films (who hasn't?) and have had the pleasure of visiting Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida, three times (soon to be four!). I would never claim expert-status on planning a WDW vacation, however, when I latch onto an idea, I research it with the same dedication that Aladdin has in his neverending quest for bread! This...skill, of mine, has its pros (the main one for our family of six being maximum fun for minimum coin) and its cons (computer-screen-induced delirium).

Come along on this magic carpet ride and you'll read posts about money-saving tips (before and during a trip to The World), DIY projects, park touring strategies, downloads, and everything in between! This Mouse Ears Mama can't wait to show you The World!