My Disney Experience (not the mobile app)

This past summer, my wife and I celebrated our 10 year wedding anniversary! It is amazing to think that I have shared a third of my life with this woman, and I could not be happier. When it came to our decade of decadence I was sweating bullets over what to get her as an anniversary present.  I knew she would love a bigger diamond, but quite frankly I cannot afford what she wants, and I have a hard time spending so much money on a rock (I know that statement is going to stir the pot, but you cant argue facts… its an expensive rock). So I decided to take her and the kids to Disney World over winter vacation.  It was a dream come true for my wife since she is a Disney fanatic.

We had a great time and shared as much as we could via Facebook.  We had our trials and tribulations such as 30 degree weather, rain, and a case of influenza, but we made the best of it and had a great time together.  Since going on vacation I have had many inquiries from friends and family on how we planned our trip. Here is how we did it and things that worked for us!

We started our planning process in October for our New Years voyage.  Depending on the time of year you are going, you may want to book even further out.  I must say this up front, we wanted to have a good relaxed vacation, but we do not have a blank check to write, so many of the decisions we made were a good balance between fun and financial.

Travel and Lodging

Our first step was to figure out where we were going to stay.  Staying at one of the Disney resorts is more expensive; however, they provide transportation to all of the parks and if you drive your own car or get a rental vehicle your parking is free.  We decided to stay at Port Orleans French Quarter.  Right now Disney and its resorts are offering generous military discounts, so it was only $15 a day more to stay at a mid-range resort vice a value resort.  It was in our budget to stay at one of the high end resorts (Contemporary, Grand Floridian, or Wilderness Lodge) but we didn’t plan on spending much time at the hotel other than to sleep.

Initially we planned on driving to Orlando, but after calculating gasoline and food, it was going to cost about $500 round trip. Saving money was important, but the stress of driving was not worth it for us, not to mention the wear and tear on our vehicle which is at 120K miles already. Doing some research online, I found tickets for around $1,000. Since we decided to save money by staying at a mid-range resort, we figured it was worth spending the extra money on flying and saving ourselves from the stress of a 15+ hour drive (one-way).

Now that we had our travel and accommodations planned out, we needed to actually reserve the room and book the flights.  I started by calling Disney and reserving the room.  Once the room was reserved the Disney representative (or Cast Member as they call them) asked if we wanted to book our flight through them. My response was “only if you can get it for less than $1,000!” He paused, asked what dates and times we wanted, then came up with 4 round trip seats for $950 (after taxes and other superfluous charges). I was surprised to say the least.

One advantage of booking with Disney is that they take care of your luggage for you! Once the bags were checked in Baltimore, they picked them up from the airport in Orlando, transported them to our hotel, and had them waiting in our room for when we checked in! It was great not having to worry about waiting at the luggage carousel then fighting for position in order to retrieve your multiple bags which conveniently all come out at the same time and fly by at a speed that is just a hair too fast for you to pull all of them off the first time around!

Magic Bands

About six months ago Disney started using high-tech bracelets for all transactions at the park, hotel, gift shops, restaurants ect… introducing the Magic Band!  We received ours in the mail a few weeks before we departed for our trip.  They were programmed with all of our information.  Our flight itinerary, hotel location, room key, park tickets and most scary…. credit card information. They were AWESOME! When we arrived in Orlando, we followed the signs for “Mickey’s Magical Express” (their bus system from the airport to the resort).  All we had to do was scan our Magic Bands, the Disney “Cast Members” pointed us to our bus, and we were on our way.  Check-in at the hotel… Magic Band.  Room key… Magic Band.  Gift shop souvenirs, restaurant bill, and park entry… you guessed it, Magic Bands!  No more fumbling for a room key, or trying to fish a credit card out of a purse or wallet.

I was able to deactivate purchases on the kids bands, and we utilized a pin number for the adult bands.  That way if we lost our bands, someone else couldn’t pick them up and charge away… they would also need to know your pin. The other cool feature is that when you charge a purchase to your band, it goes to your hotel room charges as an incidental.  That way you can keep track of your purchases in one consolidated place.

My Disney Experience (the mobile app)

The Magic Bands work with the My Disney Experience app on your smart phone, tablet, or any other Wi-Fi enabled device.  From this app you can schedule dinner reservations, Fast Passes for rides, or check wait times for the different parks.  We had some problems navigating the app while at the park, but it was very convenient. Oh, and there is free Wi-Fi internet at all the Disney resorts and Parks!

Food

Theme park food is expensive, lets just get that fact out in the open.  Disney offers a dining plan (booked the same way as the hotel, and plane tickets) that includes several options.  When we talked to the Cast Member about the plan, it was going to cost us $1200 for 7 days.  That was $171 a day for three adults (12 yrs and up is an adult) and a child.  Park food is expensive, but there is NO way we would spend that much per day!  Another trick is meal sharing.  Disney portions are huge!  Most of the time the kids would get their own meals ($7-10) and wifey and I would split an adult entree ($15-20).  Since we were on vacation, dessert was almost always in the plans! That allowed us to eat lunch, dinner, snacks, and desserts for about $100 a day.  We also saved some time and money by eating oatmeal for breakfast and taking cereal/protein bars for snacks.

***Hotel room oatmeal: pack enough oatmeal packets for the entire trip, it doesn’t take up much space, plus after you consume it, there will be space in your suitcase for souvenirs. Transport the individual oatmeal packets in Tupperware, it will offer more protection from airline searches AND double as a bowl for the mornings (you can also use the Styrofoam cups they provide for the coffee). Most hotels have plastic ware, so take a few spoons each time you pass one of those common areas! If you have a microwave, your set… if you only have a coffee maker, just run it through a cycle without a coffee packet… viola, hot water!  The last day we ate at the hotel restaurant.  It was $30 for three meals. The oatmeal and cereal bars only cost us $20 for the other 6 days!!! Plus, this may be the only “nutritious” meal you get all day.***

Another advantage of meal sharing is that you don’t have to carry around left-overs… or throw out good food for that matter.  We also managed to maintain our current weight (she actually lost a pound!) without working out at all.

Rides

I have to commend my wife for the ride strategy.  She looked at blogs and web sites that gave information on peak crowd days, what rides have the longest wait times, and which rides have short lines in the morning, afternoon, and evening.  I won’t go into detail on this because it is what worked for our family (two extreme ride enthusiasts, one thrill ride enthusiast, and one that only watches shows!).  Here is the basic strategy: book fast passes in advance for the big rides, get to the park early and head to the back of the park, then work your way to the front.  Don’t forget you can always use your My Disney Experience app to check on wait times.

The bests of…

Best ride @Disney was Aerosmith’s Rockin’ roller coaster! You cannot go wrong with combining heart pounding Rock n’ Roll with a fast paced looping coaster! The Tower of Terror was a close second.  Both of these rides can be found at the Hollywood Studio’s park.  Overall, if you are a ride and thrill enthusiast, this is the park for you! I must give honorable mention to Expedition Everest and Star Tours!

Best food @Disney- In the fine dining realm Artist Point @ the Wilderness Lodge was extremely delicious and equally expensive. They are known for their cedar plank salmon, but I indulged with the Filet Mignon. Not to mention the wine flight for her, the Johnnie Walker flight for me and a superb cheese plate appetizer. The four of us splurging (plus tip) was $200.  The best “regular” food was found at the Backlot Express @ Hollywood Studios.  We shared the Angus bacon burger w/ horseradish sauce.  The burger was on point and the fries were crispy and salty… and the Yuengling was cold, enough said.  Honorable mention goes to the Shrimp Po Boy at the Port Orleans French Quarter restaurant. (P.S. Tony’s Italian restaurant at the Magic Kingdom does not serve wine… for a table service Italian restaurant, that is not very Magical!)

Best dessert @Disney is an unfair category… they are all spectacular.  That being said there was a clear winner: the Red Velvet cake pop at the Confectioner (Magic Kingdom). We made sure to get the one with the Purple sugar topping… Go Ravens! (next season).  A close second would be the cupcakes from the Starring Roles Cafe at Hollywood Studios… once again I had the Red Velvet, while the girls went with the highly recommended Butterfinger (FYI, the Red Velvet had Butterfinger too!!!).

In addition to Disney World we also spent two days at Universal Studios Florida (kinda… the youngest kiddo got sick so I didn’t go the second day when they experienced the Islands of Adventure)

Best ride @Universal- Since I didn’t go to Islands of Adventure, I cannot accurately comment on that park! The best ride was the Transformers by far! It was not the most thrilling I have ever been on… however, it was done flawlessly.  I was not able to get on them, but my better half says that the MIB and Mummy rides were just as good if not better.  I need to take a second to mention our trip to Springfield!!! I grew up watching the Simpsons and I was happy as a clam sitting at Moe’s bar, eating at the Krusty Burger, drinking Duff Beer, and following it all with a few delectable Lard Lad donuts…mmmmmmm donuts. That might have been the pinnacle of my trip!

Best food @Universal- The chicken and waffle sandwich from Krusty Burger!!! Fried chicken breast topped with a maple syrup drizzle sandwiched between two Belgian waffles, side of Moe’s tater tots, and washed down with an ice cold Duff Beer for me (Duff Beer for you, Ill have a Duff, you have one too!!!). It was soooooo good I wanted to go back for dinner to eat a Krusty Burger… maybe next time! There will be no runner up or honorable mention.

Best dessert @Universal- Lard Lad’s donuts in Springfield of course! Old fashioned, glazed, and a Colossal donut with pink icing and sprinkles…they were all good.  Unfortunately our goal was to get one of their apple fritters. We waited too long and they sold out… next time.

The End… I could not have possibly included all the details of our planning process and our trip.  All I can say is the more planning you do before, the less stressful and more enjoyable the trip will be! I was a Disney skeptic because I never went as a child… in fact the first experience I had with Disney was in 2007 when I was 25 years old.  I did not have too much interest in seeing Mickey Mouse or watching parades.  It is because I didn’t understand the Disney Experience!!! I would sound like a lush if I tried to explain it, but there is truth to it being the “happiest place on earth.” This was our sixth Disney experience (2 trips to Disney World, 3 trips to Disneyland, and a Disneyland Half-Marathon) and it certainly won’t be our last!

Please feel free to ask questions or post some tips of your own.

-Fritz