EEEK! It's a Mouse!

Not just any mouse... THE Mouse.
As in "M.I.C-- see ya real soon-- K.E.Y. Why? Because we like you!"

Got a future trip planned to see Mickey and friends? If not, it's completely worth the wait, headache, and expense to get there. Having not taken a trip in 2+ years, we decided to bite the bullet and go. The twins are 9, the Sisternator's 5, and Quatro just turned 1-- not that she'll remember this trip, mind you, which I suppose gives us a reason to return in a few years. :)

Whether you will meet up with Mickey on land or by sea, here are a few do's and don'ts of WDW:

Do:

1) Use a WDW travel agent, when making your travel arrangements. They are paid by Disney, so if you change your plans 1,000 times, it's no skin off their nose. If you need one, you need to contact me, as I have a fabulous one! They will make suggestions of things to do, while in the parks that might not have crossed your mind.

2) Stay on the property- I've weighed this out in my head so many times that I honestly can't find a reason to not stay on-site. Are hotels cheaper off-site? Probably. Will they run a shuttle to the park? If they're close enough, but you'll have to check on how often they pick up/drop off. If they don't run a shuttle, how much is it to park your vehicle? $15/day... yikes!

3) If you fly, use Disney's Magical Express- We have made the drive to Orlando and flown on separate trips. Given that we are c.h.e.a.p., our cars are o.l.d., and when taking extensive trips, we rent vehicles to save the mileage. The cost difference this time between flying and renting/driving/gas/parking was only going to be $200, so it was worth 20+ hours of driving to us to pay the difference and fly. With the Magical Express, when you stay on the property, you check your bags where you board and don't touch them again until they arrive in your room. The same is true when you depart. You check out at your Disney hotel, get your boarding passes for your flight home and don't see your luggage again until you arrive at your local aeropuerto... just like magic. :)

4) Get the Disney Dining Package- I feel like I should put exclamation marks after this one. Given the ages of our children, they are very much about the character experiences, but I am very much not about paying for them! The cost of a character meal is easily $25/adult and $15/child for a buffet, and I'm only talking about breakfasts. With character dinners, it's sometimes upwards of $40/adult, if you're paying cash. Friends, my entire family will eat out at home for under $40 (with coupons and such), so I'm certainly not about to pay $40 per person! (!!) With the dining package that consists of 1 table service meal, 1 counter service meal, and 1 snack a day, you can use your table service meals each day for character meals. There are only a handful of character experiences/restaurants that take 2 table service meals for that one meal. Needless to say, we did not do those, but we have plenty of friends who have. Getting down to the "nitty gritty", if you go when Disney offers the dining plan for FREE, it sweetens the pot even more... which is why it's so very helpful to have that Disney agent who can tell you whether or not it's being offered. :) We stayed in a value resort, so we had to pay around $100 to upgrade to the free dining, but when you pay around $100 and get $1200 worth of food (?!?!) I'd say it's worth it, wouldn't you? (?!?!)

Next time, we'll talk some more about money saving things at Disney. Save on, friends! :)