How to Plan your OWN vacation to WDW!

Let me begin by saying I am not a travel planner or travel agent, I like to plan my own trips with the input of my family. I am NOT saying in this entry that you shouldn't use a certified Disney travel planner which costs you nothing extra than the cost of the trip, however, I think you should have the opportunity to plan your own trip if you so choose to and you shouldn't feel intimidated in using the Disney website. At the end of this entry there will be a series of video tutorials on how to use the planning website.

First thing I do after we figure a budget is choose a time we'd like to go to WDW. This part includes checking school schedules and possible conflicts. The next thing we like to do is choose which resort we'd like to stay at and check availability for a family of five. Most every WDW resort will accomodate a family of four or less while families of five or more have fewer choices, they have plenty of choices but fewer. Also when choosing where you want to stay keep in mind how you will get to the parks. The closer you are to the Magic Kingdom the more expensive your resort will be (only exception is the Animal Kingdom Lodge) The three monorail resorts, Contemporary, Polynesian, and Grand Floridian are three of the four most expensive resorts. They all have monorail access to the Magic Kingdom and in the case of the Contemporary it is an easy walk to the MK. There are then what Disney calls Moderate resorts and then Value Resorts. When choosing a resort keep in mind how much time you plan on actually spend in the parks versus the room. Another thing to decide is whether or not to get the Dining Plan. I am pro-Dining Plan but it may not be in the best interest for all people. You probably need to do more in-depth research into this but there are three levels or plans Quick Service Plan which gives you two quick service meals and one snack per person per night of your stay, the Disney Dining Plan which includes a table service meal and a quick service meal plus a snack per person per night of your stay, then there is the Deluxe Dining Plan which offers three meals (either quick or table) and two snacks per person per night. Each plan is pre-paid and includes a re-fillable mug per person which can be used at any Disney Resort to fill up with soda, coffee, or tea at no extra cost, they also make great souveniers, we have a bunch of these in our cabinets. One thing to keep in mind is that the plans only include meals and snacks for the number of nights you are staying so plan accordingly, it will include your check-in day but not your check out date. You can use any left-over meals or snacks on your check out day but plan accordingly.


When you have decided all of the above now it is time to actually book the trip.

As promised before here are some links to instructional videos that I hope will help you...
Disney Travel Planning
Disney Travel Planning II
Disney Travel Planning III
Disney Travel Planning and FAQ

I hope you learned a little bit more than you knew before. Until next time have a great time...

Welcome 2016!

It is the middle of January and I am sitting here at my Mac and pondering what to write about. I enlisted the help of my older two children, Nick and Corri, by surveying them about their favorite parks, attractions, and resort at Walt Disney World. Even though I got some good answers I wasn't inspired so I will sit here banging on the keyboard about my first idea that came to me by listening to the WDWRadio podcast soon after the new year began. As are many broad and/or podcasts are in late December and/or early January it was partially retrospective about the previous year, 2015, so I began to jot down my favorite moments of 2015 as it pertained to Disney and my family. I also began to think about the upcoming year, 2016, and of course I began to jot down for ideas about our next trip to WDW. So, with the planning process complete, sort of, I begin to see some route to go in this my first entry of 2016 of this blog. Before I start I resolute to at least update this blog monthly throughout 2016 and beyond.

Last year my family and I headed down to WDW on Good Friday and spent Easter in EPCOT and the rest of the week exploring DHS, AK, and the Magic Kingdom while staying at the wonderful Port Orleans Riverside. Some of my firsts were the Tiki Room, Dumbo's ride, Star Tours and Test Track. We ate at a new eatery called The Spice Table in the World Showcase at EPCOT (Morocco) which was good although I was pretty hungry so any bit of food would have tasted fantastic.

This year we are switching our routine. Instead of our usual Spring Break trip we are going to experience WDW in the fall. We will head out on a Friday after school/work and drive into WDW early the next day and spending the next week experiencing the transformation of WDW into a Christmas Wonderland.

Everytime we have gone to WDW there have been some subtle changes, sometimes not so subtle. My wife and I went in 1994 in a period I like to call BK, before kids, during that time WDW consisted of the Magic Kingdom, EPCOT, and MGM Studios. Since then MGM has changed to Disney Hollywood Studios, Animal Kingdom became the fourth theme park and Downtown Disney has transformed in to Disney Springs. There also has been the closing of one water park, River Country, closed in 2001, and the opening of another, Blizzard Beach opened in 1995. We returned with our children in 2008 and have gone back five times since. Since 2008 we have seen a change in the parks and as I mentioned before Downtown Disney has become Disney Springs, Mickey's Toon Town is gone to make room for a huge overhaul of Fantasyland which added a fourth Magic Kingdom roller-coaster, Seven Dwarves Mine Train. There have also been changes in the resorts including the addition of the Art of Animation.

This brings me to my final part of this entry. With all of this change going on I hear or read of how people are upset over the constant changing. My only answer to this is you better get used to it. Since 1971 Walt Disney World has gone through all of the aforementioned changes as well as tons more, too many to mention in this entry. In 1955 when Disneyland opened in California there were only eighteen attractions and there wouldn't be a WDW for another sixteen years. If there wasn't change we couldn't enjoy what some of us call home.