Author:
Affording the Mouse
May
22
I’ll be taking a break from blogging this week, as we are headed to the World this very afternoon. We’re driving with our girls, ages 2 and 5, so you can pray for both our safety and our sanity!
Our weather forecast isn’t too promising, either–storms predicted for most of the week. But that’s OK. We have our ponchos, and we’re not afraid of getting wet. In fact, maybe the rains will thin the crowds a bit! (Can you tell that I’m trying to keep a positive attitude. On the inside, I’m bummed.)
Hope to report back soon with lots of photos.
Filed under:
Just for Fun
Author:
Affording the Mouse
May
21
Today’s tip: Bring your own stroller. Yes, Disney rents strollers. Yes, they’re very nice. But at $15/day for a single stroller and a whopping $31/day for a double, you could easily buy a new lightweight stroller for one day’s rental. (Multiple day–or “length of stay”–rentals bring the price down to $13/day for a single and $27/day for a double. Still pricey!)
I know it’s a bit of a hassle to take one on the plane, but I have a solution for that too–buy a cheap one online and have it shipped directly to your hotel in time for arrival. Even with shipping, you’ll save money. Here’s one scenario:
Kmart.com has a variety of single umbrella strollers for $14.99 plus tax. Even with the $7.50 shipping fee, the total comes to just $22.49 plus tax. In less than two days of renting, you could have purchased a new lightweight stroller.
Or, if you have access to a car on your trip, visit the local Wal-Mart or Target and buy a cheap stroller upon arrival. You’ll save the $7.50 shipping, and you may find an even better deal in stores. (Our local Wal-Mart sells umbrella strollers for around $12.99.)
Still not convinced? One more thing to remember: Disney only rents strollers inside the parks–not at any of the resorts. If you have very young children, you’re going to need a stroller just to get through your hotel. The only way to have it every time you need it is to bring your own.
Author:
Affording the Mouse
May
19
(Not really. Actually, I just wanted to use this cute pic of my daughter in this post.) But meal prices are, indeed, going up temporarily. Memorial Day weekend begins “Seasonal Dining” prices at WDW–which is really just another way of saying that you’ll be paying more to eat if you visit during the summer (or Easter…or Christmas…or any other “peak” times throughout the year).
These prices apply to buffet or set-menu meals at locations such as 1900 Park Fare (Grand Floridian), Akershus (Epcot), Biergarten (Epcot), Boma (Animal Kingdom Lodge), Cape May Café (Yacht & Beach Club), Chef Mickey’s (Contemporary), Cinderella’s Royal Table (Magic Kingdom), Crystal Palace (MK), Garden Grill (Epcot), Hollywood and Vine (Disney’s Hollywood Studios), Liberty Tree Tavern (MK), Ohana (Polynesian), Trails End (Ft. Wilderness), and Tusker House (Animal Kingdom). Prices will increase $4 for ages 10 and up and $2 for kids 3-9. Dates for these increases are May 24 through July 11.
Author:
Affording the Mouse
May
15
Coming November 6 to a theatre near you: Disney’s A Christmas Carol. But this isn’t the animated version starring Mickey Mouse. This one is live action, starring Jim Carrey (playing multiple roles!), Gary Oldham, and Colin Firth–and directed by Oscar-winning filmmaker RobertZemeckis. Oh, and did I mention it’s in DisneyDigital 3D and will be shown in IMAX 3D?
To get your engines revving about this one, Disney is pulling out all the stops with a 40-city cross-country tour beginning in LA on May 22. To see a map of scheduled stops for this 24-week journey, click
here. Covering more than 16,000 miles, this
FREE event, driven by Amtrak and sponsored by HP, will feature Christmas carolers and decorations, 3D preview footage of the film, demonstrations of performance capture technology, film props and costumes, authentic artifacts on loan from the Charles Dickens Museum of London, and plenty of giveaways.
Sounds like a fun event for the whole family!
Author:
Affording the Mouse
May
14
Welcome to my new segment titled, appropriately, Thursday’s Tip. Each week I’ll dispense one of my favorite tried-and-true tips for getting the most out of your WDW vacation. Here’s a simple tip that can give you peace of mind:
Take a digital picture or photocopy of the back of each ticket in your party as soon as you get them. There’s a code on them that allows you to replace lost or stolen tickets–but only if you know the number. It’s very easy to lose theme park tickets, especially when you’re taking them in and out of your pockets to feed them into FastPass machines. And, rarely, tickets will be “eaten” by a FastPass machine. But if you have your ticket identification number, Guest Services can issue you a new ticket with minimal hassle. This tip could end up saving you hundreds of dollars–especially if a ticket were to be lost on the first day of a multi-day pass!
