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Christina Wood

For more travel planning articles by Chris, check out her Disney travel blog, Everything Walt Disney World. Chris is also a member of the Mouse Chat podcast team and an authorized Disney travel planner with Pixie Vacations, and visits the parks about 55 days each year. To get free planning and assistance with your next Disney vacation, please call her at 919-889-5281 or email at [email protected]. You may also fill out a quick Disney Vacation Quote form here.

Picking a Disneyland Character Meal

Last week I talked about the great character interaction you’ll find at Disneyland Resort, but by far the easiest way to meet characters is by going to a character meal where you’ll bypass the lines and have a much more relaxed experience. For research purposes (okay, I had a 5-year old with me), I tried out three of the five breakfasts available on property and I’m happy to report there wasn’t a bad meal in the bunch.

Storyteller’s Breakfast at the Grand Californian Hotel and Spa:

We did this first and I’m glad we didn’t let it scare us off from character dining at Disneyland Resort because it was, especially when compared to character meals at Disney World, pretty quiet and low-key. This is actually a good thing because your kids will probably find it easier to focus on their food without a ton of noise and activity. We met Rafiki, Terk, Meeko, Koda, Pluto and Dale, who came back to the table more than once. Since we went in early February, one of the slowest weeks of the year, the dining room was almost empty and the character interaction was top notch, even if my son didn’t recognize all of the characters.Read More »Picking a Disneyland Character Meal

Should you buy an Annual Pass for your next Disney World trip?

If you plan on visiting Disney World more than once a year, an annual pass might be the way to go. Non-Florida residents pay around $650 for unlimited access to all four parks and free parking, but they also get resort and merchandise discounts throughout much of the year. Of course, the one problem with having an annual pass is that while it can save you money, the opposite is also true: It can make going to Disney more often than you probably should make perfect sense!

Here’s who an annual pass works for:

1. You take at least three short trips, for a total of 10 park days. Because of the way ticket are priced more expensive on the front end, even if you go just three short weekends a year, your pass will have you come out ahead.

2. You go once a year but you can space out your trips to use your pass twice. So say you go February 1, 2013 and that’s when your pass starts. Your 2014 vacation would be sometime at the end of January, getting in all those last few days on your passRead More »Should you buy an Annual Pass for your next Disney World trip?

Disneyland Differences

Sure, Disneyland is Walt’s original park, but is it better than Disney World? Yes and no. At Disney World we’ve got miles of green space, lakes, boats, a massive monorail system, more than twenty-five resorts (and counting) and over two hundred places to eat, to say nothing of four parks, Downtown Disney, and two water parks. Disneyland is tiny by comparison, with just three Disney-owned resorts, two parks, and a smaller Downtown Disney, all surrounded by a bustling urban area.

Before last year, I had no desire to visit Disneyland, but my boss had an event out there that we were able to cover and who am I to say no to an impromptu Disney trip? Still, I remember heading the airport and wishing I was going to Disney World instead. Fortunately, I couldn’t have been more wrong. Smaller, more intimate, less crowded and busy, Disneyland has so much to offer the Disney World fan. Here’s what immediately struck me about the differences between the two parks:

1. Disneyland is a local park.
Part of the charm of Disneyland is that it’s a local park. You’ll see families who’ve been going there for generations; It’s just part of what they do for fun. While the bulk of Disney World guests are doing the hardcore version of park touring, which can lead to a lot of stress, you don’t see as much of that in Disneyland. This makes the park easier to tour, I think. Less drama, fewer parents having meltdowns. It’s just a very different atmosphere when your attitude isn’t “do or die.”

2. No Magical Express.
I’m sure I’m not the only Disney guest who’s stood in the middle of LAX and wished for Magical Express. If you fly into Los Angeles, you’ll pay around $30 for a shuttle to and from the airport if you don’t have a car. And if you have a car? Get ready for some serious traffic. Orlando International Airport is an easy 45-minutes away from Disney property even on the worst days. Disneyland is as close as 45 miles, but It can take you hours to drive it if you hit rush hour at the wrong time—and rush hour starts early and goes late.Read More »Disneyland Differences

Five Extras You Should Consider Skipping

For most of us, vacations are a luxury. You save, plan and make priorities. Unfortunately, when it comes to Disney, it’s sometimes hard to say no to all the little extras. If your budget allows, by all means add a fancy meal or upgrade your ticket, but if you’re on a budget, here are some suggestions for things you can skip—and never miss:

1. You can’t do it all in one trip—or even ten trips. Your basic ticket is expensive and the price can initially be intimidating, but the entertainment value you get for that ticket will fill your time from sunrise to sunset. Don’t fall into the parental guilt trap and add extras like Bibbity Bobbity Boutique or fancy tea parties unless your budget allows. Your kids will be too busy to notice, I promise.Read More »Five Extras You Should Consider Skipping

Top 10 Tips To Get the Most from the Disney Dining Plan

I’ve already written about whether or not the Disney dining plan is a good deal, but I haven’t discussed how you use it. Chances are if you’re a first-timer using the plan, you’re a little overwhelmed: You’ve got credits and refillable mugs and desserts that you might not even want coming out of your ears! Fortunately, using the plan doesn’t have to be confusing and it can be easy to maximize your credits so that you get the most out of the plan. Here’s how.

1. The dining plan starts as soon as you check into your resort and get your Key to the World Card. Contrary to popular belief, “check-in” at a Disney resort doesn’t start when you get your room, which may be as late as 3:00 in the afternoon, but when you check into the resort, which can be any time of the day. You’ll get all your dining credits and then you can start using them immediately. On a related note, your credits are good until midnight the day you check out.

2. Quick-service and table-service meals each come with one entrée, dessert, and a non-alcoholic drink. At buffets, this means access to the buffet and drinks.Read More »Top 10 Tips To Get the Most from the Disney Dining Plan

Picking the Right Resort for your Disney World Vacation

If deciding where to stay on Disney property were as simple as sticking to your budget, you’d book a value room and be done with it. After all, they’re clean, comfortable, and give you all the benefits of staying on Disney property while still being kind to your wallet. Unfortunately, it’s not that simple. Staying at a Disney resort is half the fun of visiting Walt Disney World, with each resort offering a unique feeling and experiences that make choosing downright difficult. Need a little help in deciding where to stay next time? Then try the following suggestions:

1. Set a budget within your comfort zone. Sure, you can probably swing $3500 for a week at the Grand Floridian, but how does that make you feel? If it makes you feel uncomfortable, it’s not the right resort for you even if you can afford it. The nice thing about staying within your budget is that it allows you to potentially say yes to a lot of other things, whether its tickets to a holiday party, a toy your child wants, or a big dinner at a signature restaurant. Read More »Picking the Right Resort for your Disney World Vacation

Dealing With Early Morning Dining Reservations at The World

It’s one of those classic Disney conundrums: What do you do when you have an early morning breakfast reservation at another resort but you don’t have a car? Without question, one of the trickiest aspects of getting around Disney World is the fact that there’s no resort to resort transportation, forcing you to treat the parks as transportation “hubs” from which you transfer to other resorts. This usually poses no problem at all, but what do you do when the parks aren’t open yet? Well, you get a little crafty.

Probably the easiest solution is to take a cab, but it’s also the most expensive option, at around $25 for a ride anywhere on property. The good news is that it’s a direct route, so you’ll get there a lot faster. This is ideal if your family is like mine and likes to lollygag in the morning. Even better, because Disney is always looking out for guests, you can be assured that cab drivers who are allowed to operate on Disney property are fair. Nonetheless, make sure you establish a price before you get into the cab. Tips are welcome but not required.

The more complicated solution is to take Disney transportation. As noted above, since there’s no resort to resort transportation, you’ll have to take a bus (or boat or monorail) to the park nearest to your destination and then go from there. Officially, Disney transportation starts running 60 minutes prior to park opening, which isn’t at all reassuring when your reservation starts at 8:00 and the park opens at 9:00. Worse still, you have to allow time to get not only from your resort to the park and then to the other resort! The good news is that Disney “unofficially” runs buses sporadically about 90 minutes prior to opening. The bad news is that part where I mentioned the word “sporadically. I’ve been late more than once to a reservation because I missed the one bus that was running that early.Read More »Dealing With Early Morning Dining Reservations at The World

2013 EPCOT Flower & Garden Festival Details

Looking for something different that’s fun for kids and extra-special for grownups? Guests visiting Disney World from March 6th through May 19th can check out Epcot’s Flower and Garden Festival. First-time visitors with young children often overlook Epcot, assuming that it’s mainly for older kids, but there’s so much hands-on learning and fun at the Festival that a visit is well worth your time. In addition to flower towers, playgrounds, over 100 topiary, 240 floating mini-gardens, and countless beds with hundreds of blooms, this years festival offers a few surprises:

  • For the first time, Future World and the World Showcase will have illuminated gardens full of sparkly lights each night. I think this is my favorite new addition.
  • There will be a new circus-like play area based on the film Oz: The Great and Powerful, which is being released on March 8, 2013. The play area will feature various play systems that will cultivate your kids’ imagination while they exercise, red and white circus tents, and plants that will recall the movie.
  • The Garden Marketplace will feature drinks like Hot Sun Tomato Wine from a local Florida winery and everyone’s favorite Dole Whip, this time with spiced rum. There will also be non-alcoholic beverages like Frozen Desert Violet Lemonade.
  • Kids will love the all the topiary featuring their favorite characters, including Phineas and Ferb, Mike and Sully, and Tinkerbell and Friends.
  • A Radiator Springs interactive raceway located on the Test Track walkway will have Lightening McQueen and Mater in attendance.

Read More »2013 EPCOT Flower & Garden Festival Details