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 below and fill out the short form.

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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!

Countdown to Disney Hip2Save

Add some fun to the days/weeks leading up to your Disney trip! Head over here where you can 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. How fun is that!?

Check out these Disney reader tips:

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 bottles of Mio or Crystal Light. 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.


crock-pot

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.

disneyworld

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.


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.


Memory Maker

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.

Do you have more tips to add? Please share!

Join The Discussion

Comments 55

  1. Jenn

    I just booked our first Disney Cruise, I’m super excited! If anyone has cruise tips, please share those, too! 😀

    • Kay

      May I ask the best place to book a Disney Cruise? There’s so many choices and I of course want the best deal 😊

      • chris

        Actually booking ours tomorrow. Going through Costco. They offer a $330 Costco gc, shipped after the cruise

      • Jenn

        I booked using a Disney travel agent, however the prices were pretty similar to what is on the Disney website. Using the travel agent is free, and they offered credit to use on the ship. I also looked at Costco. The gift card is also a nice option but as its out first cruise I like having the travel agent to guide me through everything!

      • Katie

        Just got back! Literally this morning! The best agent is Costco, they give you the most back at the end in the form of Costco gift cards – BUT, they won’t hold your hand if you have questions, so be prepared to research, or use another agent. All agents have the same price – if you see a different price, it’s either wrong or the agent is about to be visited by the Mouse lol!

      • Emily

        I am a Disney Travel Agent and would love to help book your Disney vacation. My services are free. Email me at emily@mickeyworldtravel.com. Thanks!

    • Katie

      The doors are magnetic – look up door magnets and make your own, or buy some. So much fun!

    • Kim

      Use Expedia and go through ebates. They offer the same onboard credits and we got 10% back on our Disney cruise (from ebates). About one day later we got the confirmation from Ebates that our cruise qualified for the 10% back and we would receive it in our ebates account four or six weeks (can’t remember which) after we traveled!! Best deal I found. Just checked and they are still offering the 10%.

  2. Kara

    Opinions please! We are headed to visit family in SC. We have an option of driving 5+ hours each way to visit Disney World with our 4 year old (we also have a baby who will be 7 months at that time).
    Is this crazy? It would be June.
    Should we wait a few years? We are only considering it now because we will be so close. Thanks

    • Jenn

      I would go for it since you’re going to be so close.

    • Fabiola

      From what I’ve heard they are to small and it involves a lot of walking. My kids will be 10, 8 & 5 when we go just because I want them to have a first experience and take them again once their older.

    • Erika

      We went to Disney for the first time when our kids were 4 years and 6 months. It was magical! It was actually the easiest trip with our youngest because he was content to ride in the stroller. There are also a lot of rides that infants can go on. I wouldn’t hesitate to do it, especially since you can drive.

    • krista

      Parent switching for the rides will be something you want to do! It will allow all if you except for baby to ride and your older child will get to ride the second time with the second parent. Our older daughter got to ride many things twice and it made it an extra special treat!

    • Heather

      Our first visit was when my ladies were 18 months and four years old. Do it! It’s awesome….the girls (now 6 and 8) love looking a pics from their first visit and hearing the stories…

    • Kara

      Thanks everyone!

    • Tanya

      I think 4 is one of my favorite ages to take them. The magic is all real still. By even 6 they are starting to figure out make believe and reality. Go while they still believe in magic. It’s so much fun.

      Just take a good double stroller. Lots of snacks, sunblock and I like to stay as close to the park as possible with a baby so we can go back to the room for a nap if we need.

    • Emily

      I am a Disney Travel Agent and would love to help book your Disney vacation. My services are free. Email me at emily@mickeyworldtravel.com. Thanks!

  3. Fabiola

    To the reader who rented the house, do you have that information you can share? Planning our first Disney vacation for this summer and taking a road trip there!
    Wanting to travel the country and not spend entire savings!

    • Nichole

      I think they may be talking about Windsor Hills. I think each unit/condo is privately owned, so you can rent it straight from them. It has a clubhouse, kid pool, arcade, playground, workout room, etc. and only 2 miles from the park. My husband and I were doing some research this past week and are considering staying there when we decide to take the family.

    • Ashley

      We booked a home near the park off AirBnB. Remember to factor in the cost of parking every day, but it was still worth it for us. We found a place with a private pool/hot tub and it was 15 minutes from Magic Kingdom.

  4. AP

    My dad offered to pay to send me, my sister, and our kids to Disney World. I’m so intimidated, I don’t even know where to start! But I better start soon before he forgets, the offer was late last year.

    • Erika

      Get a good travel agent that specializes in Disney – they can help out tremendously!

      • Wendy

        If anyone is looking for an excellent Disney travel agent contact my sister at astack@mousemagictravel.com! No extra cost to you and full of lots of great information.

  5. krista

    We just got back from a trip. It was great, and I highly recommend packing lunch and snacks into the park. It saves money and time, as we had kids eat parts of their lunch in lines for rides and never had to wait in a food lines.

  6. Emy

    Taking my 3 kids for their first Disneyland visit in late April – we’ll be at the park for 3 days — any thoughts in the Dining Plan — is it worth it or not ? And what is the best bang for your buck for character dining ? Any tips appreciated ! Thx

    • Jen

      I’ve never purchased the dining plan but we do one character meal each time over the years, Cinderella royal table, princess storybook, chef mickey, & crystal house. We went to crystal house 2 years ago & I have to say it was, hands down the best value, it was like $28 for adults & $15 for kids, & the food was excellent.

    • Kim

      Disneyland does not have a dining plan.

  7. Angie

    I recommend finding someone who has the Disney credit card that can refer you, if you are referred, there’s no annual fee (if you go straight to chase and apply, there’s an annual fee). If you are approved and spend $500 in the first 3 months, you get a $200 Disney gift card that can be used for parking, food or snacks or souvenirs at Disney! I have this and it saved me $ by using the gift card when I went last year in April

    • Cbeths

      There are two types of Disney credit cards offered by Chase. One has no annual fee. But the promotion on it may be $100, not $200. I can’t remember specifically.

      • Angie

        The one without an annual fee is only $100

        • Angie

          If you need a referral email me at rainyangel175 @yahoo.com

        • Angie

          *unless you are referred

      • Tomoko

        If anyone need a referral for Disney Visa Card $200 GC offer (NO ANNUAL FEE!) Please email me.
        kubachan1@gmail.com

        I can send you an invitation email through Chase.

    • pebi_pebi

      Does anyone know how fast you will get the credit card once you are referred? Will go to disneyland in 2 weeks, is it too late?

      • Angie

        If referred, the referral will come into your email in 2-7 days then if approved you should get card within the next week. So you can’t get the bonus for your trip but if you go to downtown Disney (now called Disney springs) and spent $50 or more on the card, you get 10% off. You can also use gift card at disneystore.com.

      • Tomoko

        Hi,Pebi-Pebi. As Angie said I received my Disney Rewards Visa Card pretty quickly after I got approved. As soon as I received the card I purchased our Disney Tickets (that was more than $500.) The $200 Gift Card came couple weeks after the first billing period.Hope that will help.

  8. Flavia

    I’ve taken all five of our children at all different ages and even while I was pregnant. I would take them if given the chance! The youngest they were was when my oldest was 3, my second was 9 months and I was pregnant with our third. We’ve gone many times since then and they are now 13, 11, 10, 8, and 5.

  9. Jen

    Please look up Disney’s Y.E.S program if your kids are school aged. We saved about $150 on each 5day pass we bought through the program. It essentially gives you a guided tour of a particular parks highlights & your tour guide takes you through the fast pass lane on a few of the parks attractions.

  10. rachael

    We are going three weeks from today! I am so nervously excited. This post could not come at a bettet time. I am in need of some unique money saving ideas. Everything seems to be the same on pinterest. We are staying at the Caribbean beach resort (which was less than any value) and we have the dining plan. Any tips would be welcomed

    • wishinitwas

      We just went after Thanksgiving and stayed there! We loved it!!! Get a room close to transportation and first floor was really nice too for use with kids.

    • Eka

      Was there with my 2 girls recently on the hotel, park, dining plan. To save money I bought Disney themed light up wands before leaving home and gave them to the girls during the parades. Saved a bunch. Took my own double stroller. Take a balloon with you and place it in the stroller to locate it easier when coming out of rides. I took ziplocs to save any left over fruits or food that could serve as snacks in the later in the day.

  11. rachael

    Also, we paid for our trip by using our red card at target and buying the gift cards there for 5% discount

  12. Yvonne

    I own Disney Vacation Club since 2005. This was one of the best purchases we ever made. We live in California and have used it at Disneyworld, Disneyland, Mexico and Hawaii.(several times) We have stayed in several Disney resorts and they have all been wonderful. I know for a fact that if we never bought the DVC membership we wouldn’t travel as much as we do. Its kinda of a use it or lose it type of thing and we love it. When we went to DisneyWorld in 2016 we stayed in a two bedroom unit at the Animal Kingdom Lodge. This was one of the best places we ever been too. I would highly recommend DVC to anybody.

  13. Maria

    I did not get t know you needed a referral to avoid the Disney chase card anual fee. I have it If someone needs a referral to get the Disney chase card, e- mail me I will be happy to refer you. Au_tag@ Yahoo

  14. MandyK

    If anyone needs any help or has any questions about planning a Disney vacation I am a Disney vacation specialist. My services are FREE. There are lots of discounts including FREE day’s ticket when you upgrade to a package with a minimum 4 day ticket.
    https://facebook.com/mandyatlovethemousetravel

  15. Cbesths

    For anyone going to Disney World. You can get free ice water at any of the counter service restaurant. You don’t have to purchase anything. Walk up, order, and they hand it to you. Much easier than bringing water bottles for our family of 12. Also we bring the little squirter things of flavor.

  16. Tarri

    Just a heads up Disney tickets go up in price tomorrow and same with Annual passes, only two didn’t go up in price is the two highest price ones

  17. Jamie

    Current promotion for Disney CC is $200 at sign up (no annual fee) after you spend $500 in the first 3 months. . Email me at jlk702@yahoo.com if you’d like a referral.

    • Tray

      I sent you an email

  18. DinerMom

    We just got back from a Disney Cruise on the Dream ship….amazing!!!! Our daughter turned 6 on the cruise and we have a 3-yr-old. It was awesome!!! We used Carey from https://www.kingdomkonsultant.com/ and she gave us lots of tips and cruise cash. Loved it!!! Can’t wait to go back!

    • Angie

      Sent you referral, you should see it in 2-7 days from chase, thanks!!

  19. Rosie

    Hi,
    I was wondering if Disney is still mailing out there free Vacation Planning DvD. I had heard that they weren’t going to provide them anymore. The only way to view it would be online only.

  20. Samantha Kasper

    I requested one 2 months ago and haven’t received it.

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