FREE Disney Parks Vacation Planning DVD AND Countdown to Disney Printable (+ Reader Tips)
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Headed to Disney? Request your FREE Disney Parks Vacation Planning DVD – just click on the banner above and fill out the short form. Your FREE Vacation Planning DVD will include a complete tour of the Walt Disney World Resort in Florida and a tour of the Disneyland Resort in California, affordable ways to play and stay during your Disney vacation, planning tips and more!
Add some fun to the days/weeks leading up to your Disney trip! Head over here to print a free Countdown to Disney image (use cardstock paper if you have it on hand!). Then just cut the sides of the paper to fit into an 8×10 photo frame. Each day, use a white board marker and write on the glass frame to indicate the number of days left in your countdown.
Check out these Disney reader tips:
Buy Disney gift cards at Target for 5% off if you have their REDCard, then buy park tickets and whatever else in the parks with them.
I saved my Disney Movie Reward points to get gift cards and I plan on buying discounted gift cards at Sam’s Club.
At Disneyland, you can get a free cup of ice and water at any of the quick service restaurants; not the food carts, but the pizza place, Harbour Galley, etc will do this. Huge savings and then you don’t have to carry your own water bottles around. If you or your kids don’t like plain water bring those little bottles of Mio or Crystal Light or something. Always pick up a few ponchos at a dollar store to bring into the parks. They’re great for the water rides and it saved us from getting soaked last July when it suddenly starting raining.
Consider renting a house instead of staying on property. We rented a beautiful 3 bedroom house with our own private pool for a hundred bucks a night. There were Disney themes throughout the house so it still felt like Disney and it was nice to have someplace to get away from all the craziness. After factoring in the price of the car we had to rent, it came out to about the same price as when we stayed at a moderate resort. And honestly, I didn’t miss having to ride the bus after the fireworks.
We always take our crock pot and find a grocery store nearby (we take our food in a cooler if we drive). Put dinner in the crock pot before we leave in the AM and then we head to the hotel around 1 to eat and then we take sandwiches back to the park with us. We save SO much money this way and the maids always mention how smart it is. LOL. We also make sure the hotel has a hot breakfast and eat a huge meal before hand. Take snacks into the park and drinks for the times when the kids are fussy. We ALWAYS take a “park break” and go back to the hotel to rest.
We have been twice. Last trip was in August of last year. Take rain ponchos. Also it’s tough to be a bug scared my 4 year to.death. she didn’t like any dark rides after that. The only life saver was we took our gun range earmuffs and she wore them on every ride. Set dinner reservations early if wanting sit down resulturants. Rent a stroller offsite or scooter – way cheaper.
For my family and me, the best decision we made was to purchase a Magic Your Way package, which included Disney Dining. We stayed on-site at Pop Century. Even though it is rated as a “value” resort, we thought it was great. The rooms were standard hotel rooms, which was fine for us. The grounds were lovely, and the hotel pools were nice. It was WONDERFUL to have our meals paid for in advance. It took the worry out of vacation and truly allowed me to enjoy myself. It felt luxurious to be able to tell my kids they could order a dessert if they wished and to choose whatever beverage they wanted. If we had not purchased the Disney Dining Plan, I would have obsessed over how much I was spending at every meal. Also, we thought the character dining was fantastic.
We purchased the Memory Maker. It was so nice being able to take as many pictures as we wanted and to be able to download those pictures when we got home. I loved the Disney transportation, too. The one feature I purchased that I wish I hadn’t was the park-hopper option. I thought we would use it, but I think we only ended up using the park-hopper one time. If I’m blessed enough to be able to take another Disney vacation, I think I’ll save the $250.
If you are thinking about a trip, contact me! I am a certified Disney vacation planner and my services are totally FREE. I not only plan your trip but I make reservations, daily itinerary and I even price watch to ensure you always have the best deal! Bstratton@themouseexperts.com Facebook.com/Britani.earsplanner
Are you able to do just tickets? I contacted a travel agent a little bit ago and she was really rude, basically saying she could add nothing to our trip outside of what’s advertised on the Disney site. We are hoping for a very economical trip for our family of 6!! Ty!
Yes, you can always book just tickets.
Hey, just a tip, a 5 day single park pass is the same price as a 3 day park hopper. I buy mine to Disneyland at getaway today.com for about $30 cheaper then the disney site.
Free dining plan is being offered right now! We loved staying on property with our toddler and grandpa lives in Orlando…fighting the traffic and parking lots and transportation eats up a lot of time when we stay off property with grandpa.
Katie, I am also a Disney travel planner. Free dining is not being offered right now. The offer you are referring to is one free quick service meal per person per night and it is only if you stay in a value resort. Disney is also offering a free 5th day ticket if you buy 4 days along with room discounts.
If anyone is interested in getting a vacation quote please feel free to contact me. My services are completely free and I deal directly with Disney. No middle man.
mandy@lovethemousetravel.com
I dont see the banner…
Does anyone have any ideas on how to save money on a seaworld vacation?
Watch the documentary Blackfish and you won’t want to! Seriously not judging but our next trip to Orlando area will not be including Seaworld – I watched it while pregnant with my son and cried my eyes out watching those poor mama whales 🙁
I was very disappointed in Sea World when we went in September. We were literally bored after just a few hours. Everything is an “experience” instead of just getting to see animals and marine life. I felt like it wasn’t much better than a glorified zoo, and we have some really nice zoos plus a great aquarium in the Chicago area. I thought we would see a bunch of stuff we couldn’t see at home, and those things consisted of the Shamu show, the sting rays you could touch, and the giant sea turtles. In my opinion the money could’ve been better spent doing something else, and the time could’ve been better spent swimming at our rental house.
Seaworld was a complete bust for our family. The flamingos and the stingrays were the only cool things we saw. I was not impressed at all
Check out mousesavers.com… Tons of mouse saving tips!! Used their tips to guide us for our last trip and it was amazing!!
I wonder if you can use the Disney gift card idea when you make your reservation online, and if you can use more than one?
Yes, you can make payments toward your trip with Disney Gift cards and we were able to use multiple ones. You’ll just have to put each payment through in a separate transaction.
And my travel agent also warned me: with gift cards, if they have to refund you for any reason, they will make it onto the original gift card you used – so keep the used cards in a drawer until you’re back home and sure the money’s gone! I’m paying for our next Disney cruise with gift cards from Target (for the 5% off) and I’ll be keeping the stack until we’re back 🙂
I think I called in all my gift cards after I bought them at target with the red card discount.
I’ve done “the Disney gift card” thing for about 10 years now (I go at least every-other-year) and I recently discovered a better way to do it! You can now open a Disney Savings Account (though Disney! It’s legit!) and add all your gift cards into that. Then make reservations or buy tickets using the savings account! You can also use the account to consolidate gift cards onto one gift card! But be forewarned, there’s all kinds of rules… you can only request $1K every 90 days (or something like that) and have to have the account open for 60 days before cashing out. So read all the FAQ and fine print.
On a side note, I get my tickets through Undercover Tourist using the link from Mousesaver’s newsletter. I have done lots of price comparisons over the years and they consistently come out cheaper. Well, except for the current DVC offer… but not cheaper by much (and you have to be a DVC member, of course).
We packed a backpack of prepackaged snacks. Then in line for the shows the kids would sit down and have a picnic of snacks. It saved time not having to wait in line for lunch, saved money, and entertained the kids in line. My kids were excited to get the junky prepackaged stuff we don’t normally eat. I went with a large group. We were able to rent a 7 bedroom house with a private pool for much less then motel rooms would have been.
I am also a travel agent specializing in Disney Vacations! Would love to help plan your magical vacation!
jdtownson@yahoo.com
My services are free! Disney pays me.
°o°
I live a hour away from Disneyland, CA.
I would NEVER take my twins/friends/family on a weekend!
We always go on a Monday or Tuesday as soon as it opens.
The lines are quick and the crowd in LESS!
SO MUCH MORE ENJOYABLE!
I’m also an Authorized Disney Vacation Planner and would love to help in any way I can. I’ve been to most of the resorts (including Aulani in Hawaii) and been on all 4 ships (my family’s favorite way to do Disney). If you’re thinking of going the gift card route I can help you save an additional 5-7% ON TOP of the Target Red Card 5% and another 2% on top of that for a total savings of up to 14% off! Feel free to email me if you’d like details on that or if you’d like a quote for your family’s magical vacation! I do all the work, you have all the fun! °o°
My email address would be helpful. shar@gomdv.com. 🙂
I would be interested in getting in touch with a vacation planner for our trip this summer! Babygirl120401 @ yahoo . Com
I have never been to Disney and doubt I will ever go. It sounds to crowded for me. I am glad my daughter never wanted to go and I hope the grand kids never want to go. LOL
Relax Debbie Downer
It’s not right for everyone but it sure is magical for lots of people. The crowds can vary quite a bit depending on season. And for people worried about crowds I frequently recommend a Disney cruise. All the magic of Disney at a a more laid back pace and with a maximum number of people allowed.
My family of 10 is also planning a trip this June to disney world florida. Would love some tips too. My email id is couponlover1280@yahoo.com
Thanks
Check out my blog:
https://magnadoodlemama.wordpress.com
I just wrote a post on Disney World.
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How do you save 5% with your Target card?
Wendy, the Disney gift cards are classified as merchandise so when you purchase them in store or online the 5% discount is applied.
The Swan and Dolphin hotels receive the same benefits as the Disney hotels. You can earn points to pay for room through Amex Starwood. They also have flight and nights program that gives you airfare and 5 nights.
I’ve stayed at the Swan and Dolphin several times. They are very nice indeed (love the “Heavenly Beds”!), but they don’t get all of the same benefits as Disney resorts. The biggie that they don’t get is the free Magical Express ride from the airport. You can book a shuttle pretty easily, but it’ll cost you a bit of money. Also, I’m pretty sure the restaurants at those hotels are also not on the Disney dining plans. And you obviously can’t use Disney gift cards there. But it is a very cost effective way to get a nice hotel in the primo Boardwalk location. I had the Starwoods Amex in the past and we were able to quickly save up enough points to pay for our week-long honeymoon in London! 😊
We are booked for spring! But where were staying doesn’t offer free shuttle service 🙁 is there a way to get a ride to the park as most hotels offer?
If you’re planning a Disney cruise (which you should, they’re amazing), find out the day they release new itineraries and plan to book that day. Seriously! We booked a February 2017 cruise the day they released itineraries, and it was $1200/pp for the week. 2 months later, other members of our party went to book and cabins were up to $1400/pp. Another month and I went to check prices and now they’re $1550/pp!! Waiting 3 months would cost you an extra $700 per cabin! Deposits are fully refundable until 100 days out; if the price happens to go down you can cancel and rebook, or if you change your mind about the trip entirely. But for the most part the interior cabins only increase in price because that’s what everyone wants to book – and apparently the prices increase fast!
So you can really save on park tickets by buying gift cards at Target? Then do I take the cards to the park? Someone help me, please. Thank you!