Theme Park Thursday: EPCOT

It's Theme Park Thursday, where we spotlight something about one of our favorite parks. I recently had a mom ask me "I've got a 10 year old boy. Is he going to find EPCOT boring?" Well absolutely not! Here are some things that you may not know about this park:

She Says: 

How To Budget And Pay For Your Disney Vacation

As die-hard Disney fans, my family has been to Disney World more ways than I can count. Not times. Ways. You see, a trip to Disney World (or Disneyland) isn't cheap. Some families are lucky enough to go annually, and some save up for that once-in-a-lifetime trip. For us, we go based on our budget. That means sometimes we stay in a moderate resort onsite during a free dining promotion, and yes, we have stayed at the (literally) $20 a night hotel and driven to the parks each morning, we have stayed at local timeshares, and even rental houses nearby.  Here's how my family budgets for our semi-annual trips - hopefully some of these will help you too!

1) Choose the time of year you'd like to go. This can be based on temperature, crowd level, your personal work vacation schedule, and cost. Working with a vacation planner (like me!) can help you pick the best time of year to go. You can literally vary THOUSANDS of dollars, all things being equal, just based on the time of year you go.

2) Once you have your dates set, ask yourself how are you going to get there? (Your vacation planner can help with this too.) For some families, flying makes sense. For those with frequent flyer miles, or those close to their favorite major airline hub - I won't keep it a secret, I do fly a lot, and Southwest is my favorite airline - and a low number of family members, it may make more sense to fly. For instance, if it costs $211 round trip for three family members to fly to Orlando, that's a total of $633. However, if your family has four children, that flight just became $1200. It's not for me to judge whether that expenditure is affordable or not, so for other families, driving makes more sense. Depending on where you live and the gas mileage of your vehicle, driving can cost between $150-300 total. Your travel planner can also create a spreadsheet that tells you if you'd save the most money driving your own car and renting. If I am going to Disney on business, I will fly, but for my family, driving is always more budget-friendly for us.  Similarly, if you live in Washington state, it may be more budget-friendly for you to go to Disneyland in California, than Disney World in Florida.

3) Time of year, check! How to get there, check! Now, where to stay: Never assume that staying at a Value resort on property is always the most affordable - it truly depends on the promotions being run at the time you arrive. Let's say Guest A wants the dining plan, and to stay on property. They choose to go starting September 1st, and stay at Pop Century, with a dining plan.
Guest B goes one day later, and upgrades her resort to a moderate resort, and the same dining plan.  She saves literally $600 over Guest A!
Guest C goes one day later, and chooses a value resort during free dining week, and upgrades to the same dining plan. She saves $700 over guest A, AND $100 over Guest B! Working with your travel planner will help you with saving the most money you can. All of these families had the same age and
number of guests, and it's hard to imagine the same family can save that much but it's true. And remember, what's good for one family isn't perfect for another. An on-the-go family may be much happier with a quick service dining plan and may feel as if they've bought more than they needed with a plus dining plan.  You can bring in many a goldfish cracker and water bottles in a collapsible ice cooler, that will help stretch your hard-earned dollars even more and complement that dining plan you've chosen.

3B) Don't overlook Good Neighbor hotels, especially at Disneyland. Good Neighbor hotels are hotels that are near Disney property, still come with many of the vacation package perks, such such as Extra Magic Hours, where you can go to one of the Disney parks earlier than the rest of the crowd not staying onsite, and usually come with shuttle service to the parks. Typically, if Disney is offering a sale promotion, onsite properties will be more affordable, but if there isn't a sale, and you're open to a Good Neighbor hotel, be sure and ask your travel planner to check for you.

4) Saving for your trip: If you have already saved up the money to go, congratulations! If you haven't, here are a few trips to put a little extra back each month.

• Do you have a daily expenditure you can cut back on? For example, do you have a $5 coffee that you buy every day, where you can substitute it for a $2 daily drink? Or that $5 drink once a week? 
• Can you cut back on services? For instance, getting a slightly slower internet speed, or bundling services for telephone and internet may save you money. 
• What about personal shopping, can you freshen up existing wardrobe pieces with accessories, scarves, and belts in pops of color instead of buying a new wardrobe for a season or two? 
• What about the kids - we all know they grow whether we want them to or not. Is there a mom-swap club near you that swaps good-quality kids clothes, or a consignment shop that would help you stretch your clothing budget for a season? 
• And lastly, can you cut back on eating out while you're saving for a vacation?
• Once you have that money saved back, put it away so you don't spend it!

My friend Renee says "the best way to save money is not to spend it". It's true! If you want to save towards that vacation, cut back just a little bit in other places and you'll be there in no time.

5) Paying for your trip - one of my very favorite things about a Disney vacation (which is true with most Good Neighbor hotels as well, but NOT true with staying at any other type of property offsite) is that you just need a $200 deposit to reserve your vacation. You can then make payments using your saved money as often as you like until 45 days before you depart.  At that time your full balance is due. But what better way to take what can seem like a huge figure and make payments on it, interest-free, rather than placing the entire balance on a credit card at one time and making interest payments on it?

So there you have it. Work with your travel planner (that's me!) to choose the best dates that can literally save you hundreds of dollars, don't overpay by paying for someone ELSE's perfect vacation - pay for what's right for you, save for your trip, and by all means, take advantage of Disney's wonderful payment plan option. And hopefully, I'll "See Ya Real Soon".

°o° ~ Karen
Mission: Mouse Blog
5/27

New Disney World Sale Released for Late Summer...

Eenie Meenie, Miney Mo. To Which Disney Resort Should I Go? Not sure which Disney Resort is right for you this Fall? Will certain specials steer you one way or another? Here's a little insight to help you decide.  Disney has released their Disney-Visa-Cardholder-Only discount for hotel rooms for the late summer.  Need details? Here you go: Save up to 30% on Walt Disney World Resort hotel stays, most nights 8/15/13 – 9/28/13. Discounts off basic room-only rates vary based on the resort. 

• 5% off – all Deluxe suites, All-Star Movies, Animal Kingdom Lodge (savannah view and Club Level), Animal Kingdom
• 15% off - Art of Animation (all room types except the Little Mermaid rooms), All-Star Music, All-Star Sports, Pop Century
• 20% off - Caribbean Beach, Coronado Springs, Port Orleans-Riverside, and Ft. Wilderness Cabins as well as Wilderness Lodge
• 30% off – Animal Kingdom Lodge (standard/pool view rooms), Yacht and Beach Club, Beach Club Resort Villas, Boardwalk Inn and Villas, Grand Floridian Resort and Spa, Polynesian, Animal Kingdom Lodge, Saratoga Springs, Old Key West, and Contemporary resort and Bay Lake Tower.  

The fine print: Ft. Wilderness campground, some 3-bedroom villas and the Little Mermaid rooms at Art of Animation Resort are not included in this offer. Some resorts, room types and date combinations will not be available. If you don't have a Disney Visa, don't worry. Non cardholders can have these sale rates in just a few days. 

Now I know what you're thinking. "Karen, I want an entire package. not just a room." No worries! I can add tickets and your choice of dining plan, which will still save you money overall.  

More fine print: You have to book by 7/31/13.  If you're choosing room-only, you need only pay for one night's room and tax up front, and the rest is due upon arrival. If you choose to do a full vacation including tickets and dining, the full balance is due 45 days prior to arrival. Still confused? Just contact me and I'll help you choose the right resort for your family. See ya real soon!

°o° ~ Karen

Top 10 Ways to Announce "We're Going to Disney World" to Your Children

Sometimes, you get to be a famous football star, and upon winning the Superbowl, announce to the universe from deep within the confetti blizzard: "We're Going to Disney World!"

And then there are the other 313,914,040 or so of us who did NOT win the Super Bowl. 

What in the world are you going to do to tell your family? Or do we tell your family? If you don't tell your kids, and they're young enough that they can't spell, you resort to spelling each time you talk with someone about your upcoming trip. "We're going to D-i-s-n-e-y in March. Suzie has a reservation at the C-a-s-t-l-e for breakfast." Sometimes, my travelers and I come up with code words, and even safe words that the parents will say when an unexpected child pops into the closet where the parent is hiding during our call.  (Let me just tell you, that is hilarious when it happens.)  Some of you do tell your children, and in fact, use that as bribery for the next nine months or so. As one client shared "Mickey doesn't let children in who can't be nice to their brothers." Perhaps not, but I can in fact, personally attest to the fact that you can find a time-out corner at Disney World.

So besides bribery and hushery, how would you break the news to your children that you're going to Disney? Here are the top 10 ways to tell (or not tell) your family about their upcoming trip:

10. The Daisy / Countdown Chain. These are fun for littler kids who don't have an exact concept of time. You simply make a paper chain, and for each day that passes, they can pull one ring off the chain. Be forewarned, this method is super fun, but don't be surprised if you catch your tot trying to take two off at once to make the event get here quicker!

9. Goodie Bags/Boxes. Some parents will gather up a collection of Disney goodies and put them in a box addressed to the kids and let them open it. Who doesn't love mail? Even as a grown-up, I love getting paper things in the mail that don't require a response in the form of a check! And if we grown ups love it, you know the kids do too!  I have seen them include everything from a life-size Mickey-shaped balloon, to plush toys, and even Mickey-shaped treats.

8. Phone calls.  Some parents like to involve others in their crimes of deceit. Such as having Cinderella make a very sweet phone call to tell your princess the news, or even having a character send them an invitation.

6. Incorporate the goodies that your travel planner (that would be me, wink, nudge) sends you. You may have a different travel planner - I can't tell you what she'll send you, but I usually send a few goodies for each child, just to get them excited, and it may or may not (wink, nudge) include some of the things in this list!

5. Going TODAY. I recently got so tickled at a client who videotaped her kids from inside their vehicle which was parked in the airport parking lot. The dialogue was a bit like this: "But where's our stuff?" (Peek into package tray area, then wide-eyed shock, then "AHHHHHH!!"

4. Just Got Here. And then there are those of you who can REALLY keep a secret. The kids don't have a clue until you literally pull up in front of your resort hotel. Having done this before myself, I can tell you how we did our trip. We simply packed the kids up in their pj's and said "Buckle up". That was about 9 pm. Next thing you know, they woke up to bright sunshine and asked "Why are we still in these seats?"

3. Lies, Lies, and more Lies. Is it fair to say 99.99% of us have incorporated some little white lie into our vacation plan? From the explanation to why you're getting on a plane, to possible threats of leaving one or more children at home due to behavior unacceptable at the Happiest Place on Earth, to even stretching the truth (just a little) about how far off the trip is, you use your childlike reasoning skills and catlike reflexes to keep sprinkle your own version of pixie dust over your family vacation.

2. Scavenger Hunts. I applaud you! To devise an entire hunt with clues and cards, and hiding places is amazing! 

 But when you end up with a final shot like ((this one)), every second was worth it! (By the way, I think this is my favorite client photo!)

1. The "Family" Trip. Some of you tell your kids very early on! You research together, plan what to wear to each park, and even look online together at your must-do ride list. They are as much a part of the trip as you are, right down to the planning. You are my clients who, at the end of the day, I'm not sure who is more excited, you or them, because as a family you've just had so much fun in this planning process!

As for my hubby and I, we're a number 5, number 4, and okay, maybe number 3 kindof family. We enjoy picking the kids up at school at noon, telling them we're going for a ride and ending up at Disney. (Although the time hubs told the kids we were taking Aunt Char to work (who we also picked up to come with us on that trip) and she worked far away led to them thinking for a few days that she worked at Disney World!) We like covering our ears when they see the first Disney billboard in Florida and realize we are not, in fact, just heading to a Walmart far away because ours is closed. There is no right or wrong answer for each family. What's perfect for you will be perfect for you, and you'll know it when you see it.

As for me, I'm busy plotting how to get a new passport photo made for my hubby without his knowledge so I can surprise my "chief surpriser" with a surprise of his own. Wish me luck!

°o° ~ Karen