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What’s a Pin Code?

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You may have heard of the term “pin code,” but wondered what it was, exactly.  A pin code is a discount offered by Disney that’s personal to the individual whose name it comes in, and not only the name, but the address must match as well. These codes come out several months prior to general public promotions and are usually room discounts or free dining offers. While they are often an indication of what the general public will receive in the near future, they generally cover a broader span of time. Additionally, room discounts under a pin code are often better and cover more room categories than those offered to the general public.  In the case of free dining, pin codes are sometimes offered in place of a similar general public offer.  For these reasons, pin codes are highly desired.

In the last year, Disney has indicated that it is more interested in marketing directly to certain groups of consumers rather than releasing the broad, general public offers of the past decade. If you look at the most recent free dining offer, for example, the exclusions are surprising: Port Orleans French Quarter and the Art of Animation were excluded from the offer entirely and Riverside, long a top first choice for families of five,  had almost no rooms available under the offer.  Why is this? It’s not because more people are visiting Disney World and because fall has suddenly become a “busy” season. It’s because the pin code that came out several months prior, which did, incidentally include the suites at Art of Animation and Port Orleans French Quarter, did such a great job of filling rooms before the general public was ever offered a discount.  So when free dining was released to everyone, the rooms available under the offer were, for many room categories, scant at best.Read More »What’s a Pin Code?

Walt Disney World Roadtrip Tips

We are developing something of a roadtrip theme on the blog today. After reading the post about the Griswold’s you may want to organize your own family road trip. Blogger Sarah of Sweet Lil You did and has created this video with great tips for… Read More »Walt Disney World Roadtrip Tips

Your Top Ten Secret Disney Indulgences.

Do you ever find yourself doing something in a Disney park you wouldn’t do anywhere else? Like how you rationalize eating an entire cupcake as big as your head? Or putting pink glitter in your hair? Well don’t feel alone. There are thousands of other guests who share your secret shame. Now, I’m not saying I do all of these, but let’s just say I’m, ahem, familiar with the following:

10.  Hunting down the biggest snack that will count as your snack credit.

And why wouldn’t you? If you want to beat The Mouse at the dining plan, you’re practically obligated to do so.

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9.  Feeding the kids a Kitchen Sink for dinner.

Six months later when the kids are complaining about having to do their homework and eat vegetables and how you’re the worst parent ever, whip out those pictures and silence them (almost) immediately.Read More »Your Top Ten Secret Disney Indulgences.

Planning a Disney Trip for a Large Group.

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Planning a vacation for a large group can be full of challenges: Different budgets, egos and agendas can and will clash.  The payoff is spending time in the happiest place on earth with some of your favorite people. When you book a vacation for a group, Disney will give you a “group travel” number that ensures your rooms will be next to (or at least near) each other if you’re at the same resort. That’s the first step in organizing your group. Here’s some other tips that will help:

1. Designate one main planner who will communicate with everyone else. This should be the most Disney crazy person in your group.  I’m guessing this might be you.

2.  Consider creating a basic webpage where everyone can keep up with planning.Read More »Planning a Disney Trip for a Large Group.

The Number One Thing You Need to Know about Trip Insurance.

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When you’ve booked your trip through Disney, you were probably asked if you wanted to purchase trip insurance. Chances are, you bought it, at about $151 for two adults. But did you make the right decision? Well, there are some good reasons to buy trip insurance and I’m not going to cover those now. The real question is, did you buy it at the right time?

When you buy trip insurance, it’s non-refundable.  This means that if you book your trip six-months out on the 20th of the month and cancel on the 30th of that same month, you lost $151.  But what would you have lost if you hadn’t bought the insurance? Nothing. Not your deposit, not the money you put toward your trip. Nothing.

Read More »The Number One Thing You Need to Know about Trip Insurance.

Disney Off the Beaten Path and On the Cheap

Disney World is expensive. Okay, so that’s not a newsflash or anything, but not everything at Disney World costs money. Some of my best moments have been on the cheap or pretty close to it. Sitting on a bench and people watching? Absolutely free and… Read More »Disney Off the Beaten Path and On the Cheap

The Disney Blog Readers Offer Their Top Ten Disney Newbie Tips.

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Think back to your first trip: What do you wish you’d known?  Was there a moment where you thought to yourself “I could have saved myself a lot of time (or money) if only I’d known that!” In my case, my first “real” trip came when I’d moved from Florida and was no longer taking quick day trips. There were so many things I didn’t think about when Disney World was just a few hours drive away.  John was wondering that too, so he put out a question on the Facebook page and here are some of your answers. I hope you find something you can use –or even pass on to a Disney newbie:

This isn't looking good, is it?

This isn’t looking good, is it?

10.   Suzanne G. is a girl after my own heart. She advises to take a jacket (or a sweater), even if it’s supposed to be warm.  While you’re at it, bring a poncho too.  It’s probably going to rain at least once on your trip.

9.  Get to the Magic Kingdom at opening and make a beeline toward Fantasyland.  Sometimes you buck conventional wisdom; this is not one of those times. If you have little kids, you want to knock out Pooh and Peter Pan first since these rides are some of the most popular in all of the parks. After that you can take on the mountains.

The New Rooms at the Polynesian are Gorgeous.

The New Rooms at the Polynesian are Gorgeous.

8.  Stay on property.  I’ve found it’s hard to sell someone on Disney property if he or she is looking at the bottom line. If you’re purely interested in saving money, you can usually stay cheaper off site, but if you think that time is money, you might find quite the opposite:  That you actually save money by staying on property. So do the math, but always remember the convenience factor. It’s huge.

7.  Pace yourself: You can’t do it all in one trip.  Going completely “theme park commando” for days at a time is overrated.  Take in the little details, people watch, eat some good meals. It’s all part of the experience.Read More »The Disney Blog Readers Offer Their Top Ten Disney Newbie Tips.

What’s Behind The Disney Parks Ticket Price Increase

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As they say on ABC’s hit show “Once Upon A Time,” magic has a price. If the magic you want to experience is one of Disney’s theme parks, that price has just increased… again. This time with tax and fees it now costs more than $101 to buy a one day, one park ticket to Disney World. Disneyland is a little cheaper at $92 (no sales tax on theme park tickets in California). With attendance at both resorts still very strong, I’m not surprised by the move.

At Disneyland the cost to buy a one park, one day adult admission is now $92 while 9 and under is $86. The adult price is a 5.7% increase. If you want to hop between the two gates at Disneyland you’ll have to pay $137 for an adult (a 9.7% increase) or $131 for a child. With a stiff increase like that, Disneyland must want to discourage park hopping.

At Walt Disney World an adult one day, one park admission is now $95 and 9 and under is $89. Disney World wants to encourage you to stay longer, so a 5 day one park per day pass only went up five dollars to $265 (9 and under is $244). That’s a much more reasonable $53 a day admission price. Read More »What’s Behind The Disney Parks Ticket Price Increase