Here’s a question for you. What has been your all time most fun vacation? And compared to your other vacations, which was the best value for your money?
We were discussing this just the other day. Not including visiting the family for holidays, we’ve been on a couple vacations. We’ve done the following:
10 day trip playing tourist in New York City ~$1200
7 day Carnival Cruise down the Mexican Riviera ~$1700
7 day Carnival Cruise to the Bahamas ~$1700
6 day Disney World Vacation ~$1500
New York was the cheapest, however we were crashing at a friend’s place, so lodging was free. We ice skated in Rockefeller Center, were in live audiences for TV shows, ate great pizza, and went to the top of the Empire State building. Very cool trip, great pictures, and awesome memories.
The Mexican Riviera Carnival cruise was really fun, we did zip lining through the jungle, ate great unlimited food, and it was relaxing.
The Bahamas Carnival cruise was also relaxing. We caught the comedy shows, laid out on picturesque beaches. Lovely.
At Disney we had an adrenaline rush every day going on rides like Rockin’ Roller Coaster or Expedition Everest. We looked at giraffes through night vision goggles at Animal Kingdom Lodge. We ate Dole Whips, Chocolate Crescents, and Tonga Toast to name just a few. We learned why Fatima is such a popular name while visiting the Morocco Pavilion. We saw Tinkerbell fly, cheered for our favorite singer at Disney’s American Idol Experience, and kept our hands up the WHOLE time on the drop down Splash Mountain. And this paragraph could actually be extended into multiple pages of all the fun stuff we did.
But what was the best? We narrowed it down to our cheap New York trip and our cheap Disney trip. In New York we were sleeping on an air mattress (which we were very grateful for since it was free). At Disney we were at a luxurious vacation resort, Animal Kingdom Lodge. In New York we saw a bunch of sites. However they were not as thrilling nor as jam-packed as our cheap Disney days. So we felt the difference in 300 dollars was well worth it.
After we started chatting about it, Disney really was the clear winner for best money spent on a vacation for us. It was truly a cheap Disney vacation and was wildly, awesomely, super fun!
We want to go back!
Which reminds us, we need to download the most up to date copy of Beth Haworth’s Ultimate Disney Guide to see some of her other money saving and fun increasing tips. (Remember that once you buy it online, you have unlimited access to any future updates.)
Disney Lost and Found: Our Personal Experience
Wednesday night. Coming home. My husband realized his cute Orioles hat was gone.
Thankfully we remembered that he left it on Rockin’ Roller Coaster about an hour before park closing.
Tip: Remember the time and what ride you lost your item on. It will help you get it back.
The next morning, we went to Guest Services between shows at Hollywood Studios. The friendly cast member explained that all Lost and Found items go to the Theme Parks Lost and Found at the end of each day. Since we lost the hat the day before, that’s where it hopefully was.
Tip: You can call the main Lost and Found at 407-824-4245
When it was convenient for our schedule, we took the monorail over to the Ticket and Transportation Center. The Lost and Found is on the other side of the ticketing counters, opposite the boat landing to get to Magic Kingdom. Look for the Kennel Building signs.
My husband stood in line while I talked to a nice lady with 2 adorable Westies. Triumphantly, my husband waved his Orioles hat in the air.
“Disney has this down to a science, I gave him the time and place I lost my hat, and poof, there it was.”
I guess even the Lost and Found has some Disney Magic.
Parking at Disney
My husband’s 1st experience with Disney was…the parking lot. And he was amazed. Disney parking lots can hold A LOT of cars.
We prefer walking to the cars rather than using the tram. Fortunately, we usually were able to park so close to the gates that walking wasn’t a problem. You will be especially grateful if you can forgo the experience of wedging yourself next to a very overweight, sunburned, rather sullen woman and just walk to your car.
Here are some tips for successful parking at Disney:
1. Arrive 30 minutes before park opens. You will most likely get a spot close to the entrance. Disney will have the trams running, because that is just what they do in parking lots. But most of the time we found it is faster to walk.
2. If you arrive in the afternoon, drive as close to the entrance as possible. The Disney vacationers who got there 1st thing in the morning are probably pooped out by now. They left. And their parking spots are open! Yay!
3. Make sure you don’t forget your parking spot. Use your cell phone to text yourself your section and lane. Don’t be that family that needs to ride around with security looking for your car. Can I get a wha-wha for Dopey 110!
4. Do you know how many black sedans are in a Disney parking lot? Have an orange ribbon around your antenna or on your rear view mirror to make it easy to spot.
5. If you are at Hollywood Studios in the morning and doing World Showcase in the afternoon, try using the boats so you don’t have to park at Epcot and walk all the way through Future World to get to the World Showcase.
We prefer walking to the cars rather than using the tram. Fortunately, we usually were able to park so close to the gates that walking wasn’t a problem. You will be especially grateful if you can forgo the experience of wedging yourself next to a very overweight, sunburned, rather sullen woman and just walk to your car.
Here are some tips for successful parking at Disney:
1. Arrive 30 minutes before park opens. You will most likely get a spot close to the entrance. Disney will have the trams running, because that is just what they do in parking lots. But most of the time we found it is faster to walk.
2. If you arrive in the afternoon, drive as close to the entrance as possible. The Disney vacationers who got there 1st thing in the morning are probably pooped out by now. They left. And their parking spots are open! Yay!
3. Make sure you don’t forget your parking spot. Use your cell phone to text yourself your section and lane. Don’t be that family that needs to ride around with security looking for your car. Can I get a wha-wha for Dopey 110!
4. Do you know how many black sedans are in a Disney parking lot? Have an orange ribbon around your antenna or on your rear view mirror to make it easy to spot.
5. If you are at Hollywood Studios in the morning and doing World Showcase in the afternoon, try using the boats so you don’t have to park at Epcot and walk all the way through Future World to get to the World Showcase.
Review of Tour Guide Mike
What possessed me to try it?
Ok, so you might be judging us right now. Why would a couple who is concerned about their tight Disney budget spring $21.95 for an online service? Remember that we had already purchased Beth Haworth's Ultimate Disney World Savings Guide which saved us over $1400 in lodging. Well, online Disney experts really do give good money saving advice.
We decided to try it because $21.95 was only 1.5% of our budget. On Tour Guide Mike’s website he promises no long lines or huge crowds on your Disney Vacation.
We reasoned that if we could even save ourselves two hours of waiting in line, this service would pay for itself. That’s because our two hour cost of being in the park was more than $21.95.
You see, I’ve experienced the enormous-crush-all-hope-of-fun-again Disney lines. I’ve waited 90 minutes to ride Splash Mountain. It’s awful. And my husband has a hard time when he gets stuck in traffic. And he had never been to Disney World before. I knew my husband and long lines was not going to be a good combination on our Disney vacation.
So we bought it. My husband thought it was a bit silly but he humored me since I have some more Disney experience.
What we found on the site
Tour Guide Mike could have sold a book with all the information on his site. It can be a bit overwhelming. We’d recommend setting aside a morning or afternoon to sift through the different information. Here are some highlights of what we found.
General Park Strategies: Tour Guide Mike does a really great job setting up a framework for you to plan your vacation. It’s obvious he’s a pro at park touring because he incorporates firework shows, how tired you will be, and Florida heat into the mix.
Least Crowded Park Days: This is our most favorite feature of the site. This is also why Tour Guide Mike works a million times better than a book. You can find customized plans for when you will actually be at Disney. He updates them complete with park opening and closing times and lets you know when big parades and fireworks shows will happen. He also gives his reasoning for why the Magic Kingdom will be super crowded one day and not the next. This list was EXTREMELY helpful. You can bet we planned to go to the least crowded parks.
Sample Touring Plans: This is another section we found quite helpful. Mike put together touring plans for each park. Not only that, he has touring plans for thrill seekers, families with little guys, and adults who aren’t interested in thrillers. We wanted to go on all the thrillers, so we found a plan that fit perfectly for us.
Seating: Tour Guide Mike also has detailed reviews of EVERY attraction at Walt Disney World. Included in these reviews are where to sit. For example, Mike explains what to do if you don’t want to get wet on a ride or if you want to have the best view of the fireworks show.
That’s just a smattering of what Tour Guide Mike’s website offers. We felt like it was excellent preparation of what to expect in the parks from crowd levels to rides to food.
How we utilized it on our vacation
We printed out over 100 front and back pages of information from Tour Guide Mike. We were not expecting to have internet at Disney. So we had a rough idea of what we were doing on what days, but that was it.
The night before we went to a park, we set aside 30 minutes to review what we were going to do the next day. We looked at the sample touring plan that best fit us, read over the rides we wanted to ride and came up with an ordered list of how we would hit everything with minimal wait times.
Did it work?
ABSOLUTELY! Longest wait time was 15 minutes.
My husband was spoiled. After spending a successful morning at Hollywood Studios, we were walking out to get lunch. We walked by Toy Story Mania and the wait time was 80 minutes.
“Are people seriously waiting that long?!?!”
“Yes honey they are. That’s how most families experience Disney. My family did the same thing.”
“Wow. Tour Guide Mike is good!”
Seriously.
Tour Guide Mike. You rock!
Ok, so you might be judging us right now. Why would a couple who is concerned about their tight Disney budget spring $21.95 for an online service? Remember that we had already purchased Beth Haworth's Ultimate Disney World Savings Guide which saved us over $1400 in lodging. Well, online Disney experts really do give good money saving advice.
We decided to try it because $21.95 was only 1.5% of our budget. On Tour Guide Mike’s website he promises no long lines or huge crowds on your Disney Vacation.
We reasoned that if we could even save ourselves two hours of waiting in line, this service would pay for itself. That’s because our two hour cost of being in the park was more than $21.95.
You see, I’ve experienced the enormous-crush-all-hope-of-fun-again Disney lines. I’ve waited 90 minutes to ride Splash Mountain. It’s awful. And my husband has a hard time when he gets stuck in traffic. And he had never been to Disney World before. I knew my husband and long lines was not going to be a good combination on our Disney vacation.
So we bought it. My husband thought it was a bit silly but he humored me since I have some more Disney experience.
What we found on the site
Tour Guide Mike could have sold a book with all the information on his site. It can be a bit overwhelming. We’d recommend setting aside a morning or afternoon to sift through the different information. Here are some highlights of what we found.
General Park Strategies: Tour Guide Mike does a really great job setting up a framework for you to plan your vacation. It’s obvious he’s a pro at park touring because he incorporates firework shows, how tired you will be, and Florida heat into the mix.
Least Crowded Park Days: This is our most favorite feature of the site. This is also why Tour Guide Mike works a million times better than a book. You can find customized plans for when you will actually be at Disney. He updates them complete with park opening and closing times and lets you know when big parades and fireworks shows will happen. He also gives his reasoning for why the Magic Kingdom will be super crowded one day and not the next. This list was EXTREMELY helpful. You can bet we planned to go to the least crowded parks.
Sample Touring Plans: This is another section we found quite helpful. Mike put together touring plans for each park. Not only that, he has touring plans for thrill seekers, families with little guys, and adults who aren’t interested in thrillers. We wanted to go on all the thrillers, so we found a plan that fit perfectly for us.
Seating: Tour Guide Mike also has detailed reviews of EVERY attraction at Walt Disney World. Included in these reviews are where to sit. For example, Mike explains what to do if you don’t want to get wet on a ride or if you want to have the best view of the fireworks show.
That’s just a smattering of what Tour Guide Mike’s website offers. We felt like it was excellent preparation of what to expect in the parks from crowd levels to rides to food.
How we utilized it on our vacation
We printed out over 100 front and back pages of information from Tour Guide Mike. We were not expecting to have internet at Disney. So we had a rough idea of what we were doing on what days, but that was it.
The night before we went to a park, we set aside 30 minutes to review what we were going to do the next day. We looked at the sample touring plan that best fit us, read over the rides we wanted to ride and came up with an ordered list of how we would hit everything with minimal wait times.
Did it work?
ABSOLUTELY! Longest wait time was 15 minutes.
My husband was spoiled. After spending a successful morning at Hollywood Studios, we were walking out to get lunch. We walked by Toy Story Mania and the wait time was 80 minutes.
“Are people seriously waiting that long?!?!”
“Yes honey they are. That’s how most families experience Disney. My family did the same thing.”
“Wow. Tour Guide Mike is good!”
Seriously.
Tour Guide Mike. You rock!
Review of Beth Haworth's Ultimate Disney World Savings Guide
The Ultimate Disney World Savings Guide (DisGuide)
Why I decided to buy
My husband said he would take me anywhere I wanted after I graduated from grad school. I chose Disney World. And since he had never been and I had been about 2 dozen times, the planning fell mostly on me. And I was happy to do it because I love Disney!
Problem: I always went as a kid and never planned a trip. I’m an adult now. I have to do all the planning. YIKES!
Solution: Do some research.
In fact, I started to do research for this Disney vacation 18 months before we left. And I got overwhelmed. Big time. Wowza! There is so much information on Disney vacations. You may even be overwhelmed reading what little we wrote for this site. When I started researching I realized I needed to pin down what dates were best to go, if it was better to stay on Disney property or off Disney property, whether we wanted a dining plan or not, and if so where to go to make reservations, what shoes were best to wear, figure out what the heck Toy Story Mania was because everyone on the internet talks about it, whether we should fly or drive in, ahhh!!!
Enter the DisGuide.
My favorite features of Beth Haworth’s Ultimate Disney World Savings Guide
Confession: This was my first e-book purchase ever. I wasn’t sure what to expect but a few features helped quell any misgivings.
-Full refund if you aren’t satisfied. Suh-weet.
-Exclusive discount on Disney World tickets. This alone made up for the price of the e-book.
-Constantly updated. As of 7/20/2011, it was 141 pages.
-Lifetime Access. Some e-books only have the download page available for a day or so. Not so with The Ultimate Disney World Savings Guide. You will always have access.
How it helped us
This guide is no joke. When I first downloaded her e-book, it yielded a 140 page document chocked full of most everything you need to plan a Disney vacation. The only thing that was lacking was how to physically tour around the parks. For information on that I recommend checking out Tour Guide Mike. Overall this guide was extremely useful for major Disney vacation purchases - or in other words, lodging and tickets.
Lodging: Beth Haworth is extremely comprehensive with all the lodging options. And she explains many cheap Disney resort stay options. Of the Disney lodging options she reviews, we chose to rent from a Disney Vacation Club Member. However, she also includes special offers to some off-site Disney resorts with discounts!
Discount tickets: She also does a fantastic job explaining ticketing at Walt Disney World. We bought our tickets from one of her recommended discount Disney World ticket vendors and saved some money. We also didn’t have to waste precious time while we were at Disney buying our tickets.
Very up-to-date: Disney changes their ticket and lodging prices often. Beth has up-to-date charts on the exact pricing of tickets at the time of download.
Did it work?
Heck yes it did! It would’ve taken me ages to figure out how to stay in a Deluxe Disney Resort for cheap. We saved so much money on lodging and got a great value for our dollar. We also wouldn’t have found those cheap tickets either.
We highly recommend this guide for planning your cheap yet super fun Disney vacations.
Purchase Beth Haworth's Ultimate Disney World Savings Guide here.
Why I decided to buy
My husband said he would take me anywhere I wanted after I graduated from grad school. I chose Disney World. And since he had never been and I had been about 2 dozen times, the planning fell mostly on me. And I was happy to do it because I love Disney!
Solution: Do some research.
In fact, I started to do research for this Disney vacation 18 months before we left. And I got overwhelmed. Big time. Wowza! There is so much information on Disney vacations. You may even be overwhelmed reading what little we wrote for this site. When I started researching I realized I needed to pin down what dates were best to go, if it was better to stay on Disney property or off Disney property, whether we wanted a dining plan or not, and if so where to go to make reservations, what shoes were best to wear, figure out what the heck Toy Story Mania was because everyone on the internet talks about it, whether we should fly or drive in, ahhh!!!
Enter the DisGuide.
My favorite features of Beth Haworth’s Ultimate Disney World Savings Guide
Confession: This was my first e-book purchase ever. I wasn’t sure what to expect but a few features helped quell any misgivings.
-Full refund if you aren’t satisfied. Suh-weet.
-Exclusive discount on Disney World tickets. This alone made up for the price of the e-book.
-Constantly updated. As of 7/20/2011, it was 141 pages.
-Lifetime Access. Some e-books only have the download page available for a day or so. Not so with The Ultimate Disney World Savings Guide. You will always have access.
How it helped us
This guide is no joke. When I first downloaded her e-book, it yielded a 140 page document chocked full of most everything you need to plan a Disney vacation. The only thing that was lacking was how to physically tour around the parks. For information on that I recommend checking out Tour Guide Mike. Overall this guide was extremely useful for major Disney vacation purchases - or in other words, lodging and tickets.
Lodging: Beth Haworth is extremely comprehensive with all the lodging options. And she explains many cheap Disney resort stay options. Of the Disney lodging options she reviews, we chose to rent from a Disney Vacation Club Member. However, she also includes special offers to some off-site Disney resorts with discounts!
Discount tickets: She also does a fantastic job explaining ticketing at Walt Disney World. We bought our tickets from one of her recommended discount Disney World ticket vendors and saved some money. We also didn’t have to waste precious time while we were at Disney buying our tickets.
Very up-to-date: Disney changes their ticket and lodging prices often. Beth has up-to-date charts on the exact pricing of tickets at the time of download.
Did it work?
Heck yes it did! It would’ve taken me ages to figure out how to stay in a Deluxe Disney Resort for cheap. We saved so much money on lodging and got a great value for our dollar. We also wouldn’t have found those cheap tickets either.
We highly recommend this guide for planning your cheap yet super fun Disney vacations.
Purchase Beth Haworth's Ultimate Disney World Savings Guide here.
Fun Disney Picture Ideas
Pictures are some of the best souvenirs that you will take from Disney. So why not make them more fun! Here are some fun picture ideas that we loved.
Favorite Cast Members: We took the boat between Hollywood Studios and Epcot (See transportation article). We thought our boat operator was the dude. He could turn our boat on a dime! We decided to take a photo with him. From the look on his face, I think we made his day.
Jump Pictures: Nothing captures Disney fun like being suspended in mid-air. Need we say more?
Characters in Epcot: We were more interested in hitting rides than character greetings. However, the least crowded character greeting spot we saw was right near Club Cool in Epcot. First thing in the morning, Minnie and Donald were waiting for children to come up to them. How often does that happen?
Favorite Attractions: Disney World knows how to focus on the details. Even the signs in front of the rides are magical looking. My favorite ride is Rockin' Roller Coaster, so I got a picture right in front of the entrance. My husband's was Tower of Terror. What’s your favorite ride or show? Take a picture in front of the sign for it.
Animals on Safaris: It’s best for the group photographer to sit on the ends for Kilimanjaro Safari. Sometimes the animals are behind you, in front of you, or even right next to the truck! Take this rhino for example. It’s much easier to maneuver when there is no one between you and the animals.
Someone Else with Animals: We got a great shot with my husband and a giraffe. The giraffe looked right at the camera as I snapped the picture. There's only one rule when picture taking with animals...you are on the animal’s schedule. Move the human and the camera and you might just get lucky with a photogenic creature in the background. For great shots, visit Animal Kingdom Lodge and walk out onto the overlook area. It’s free!
The Art of the Ask: Most people are willing to take a photo of you and your group. It helps after you get the yes to give a quick tutorial on your camera. For instance my husband explained that pushing lightly auto-focuses the camera and pushing all the way takes the picture. Most impromptu photographers took nice pictures if they had an explanation of how the camera works.
The Iconic Classics: Cinderella Castle, Tree of Life, the geodesic dome (or that giant golf ball to most of us), and the Mickey Hat are must have pictures in my opinion. Capture the classic icon from each park.
Favorite Cast Members: We took the boat between Hollywood Studios and Epcot (See transportation article). We thought our boat operator was the dude. He could turn our boat on a dime! We decided to take a photo with him. From the look on his face, I think we made his day.
Jump Pictures: Nothing captures Disney fun like being suspended in mid-air. Need we say more?
Favorite Attractions: Disney World knows how to focus on the details. Even the signs in front of the rides are magical looking. My favorite ride is Rockin' Roller Coaster, so I got a picture right in front of the entrance. My husband's was Tower of Terror. What’s your favorite ride or show? Take a picture in front of the sign for it.
Someone Else with Animals: We got a great shot with my husband and a giraffe. The giraffe looked right at the camera as I snapped the picture. There's only one rule when picture taking with animals...you are on the animal’s schedule. Move the human and the camera and you might just get lucky with a photogenic creature in the background. For great shots, visit Animal Kingdom Lodge and walk out onto the overlook area. It’s free!
The Iconic Classics: Cinderella Castle, Tree of Life, the geodesic dome (or that giant golf ball to most of us), and the Mickey Hat are must have pictures in my opinion. Capture the classic icon from each park.
Give Yourself a Disney Discount on Photos
In our humble opinion, pictures are the BEST souvenirs you can get. Why is that? They have you and your family in it, they are help capture the memory, they’re fun, and best of all they’re CHEAP!
However, pictures at Disney can be expensive. Disney's PhotoPass for our family was just a little too pricey. Also, we didn’t see a lot of Disney PhotoPass photographers in the parks. Besides, it really is just cheaper to have a random person snap your picture.
Disney enjoys taking your money in another way - getting you to buy your ride pictures. A picture of you and your family of four on Rockin’ Roller Coaster will cost you $30. Yikes. We'd rather get a cool painting of Animal Kingdom Lodge for that price. Check out our Souvenir article for more ideas.
Alternatively, nothing stops you from taking a picture of your picture on screen. We did this for the pictures after Rockin' Roller Coaster, Expedition Everest, and Tower of Terror. Sure, they may be a bit grainy, but they still capture the fun! If you are worried about upsetting the Disney people, never fear. There are typically Disney Cast Members around the screens flashing after-ride pictures. Not one of the workers said anything to us.
However, pictures at Disney can be expensive. Disney's PhotoPass for our family was just a little too pricey. Also, we didn’t see a lot of Disney PhotoPass photographers in the parks. Besides, it really is just cheaper to have a random person snap your picture.
Alternatively, nothing stops you from taking a picture of your picture on screen. We did this for the pictures after Rockin' Roller Coaster, Expedition Everest, and Tower of Terror. Sure, they may be a bit grainy, but they still capture the fun! If you are worried about upsetting the Disney people, never fear. There are typically Disney Cast Members around the screens flashing after-ride pictures. Not one of the workers said anything to us.
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