DisneyDawgs

Tag: #magickingdom

  • Disney Festival of Fantasy Parade [Video]

    Disney Festival of Fantasy Parade [Video]

  • 109 Days

    Christmas has passed and we are now counting the days more than ever.

  • Trip Planning – Getting our Ducks in a Row.

    Hi Everyone, welcome back to our Vacation Planning Blog for our 2020 Disney World Vacation.

    Our last post we showed how we secured airfare from Rhode Island to Orlando if you haven’t read that post, click here

    We have now purchased the most important part of our trip, room, tickets, and more.

    When we first started taking the pups to Disney World, the plane tickets were easily the most expensive cost.  This is no longer the case.  Park tickets are now extremely expensive, costing almost 70% more than the first time that we visited in 2005.  Disney World Resort Hotels are also almost twice as much today as when we stayed in All-Star Movies back in 2005.  With that being said, this will most-likely be the last time that we travel together as a family with my pups going off to college, so we decided to bite the bullet and purchase a true Disney World Vacation, still on a budget somewhat.

    Disney World Resort Hotel

    Our first Disney World Resort Hotel that we stayed in was the All-Star Movies.  We have also stayed at Coronado Springs and Art of Animation.  But our favorite of all that we have stayed at is Pop Century.  Pop Century, for our family, was very comfortable.  We found that the amenities at this resort we very easy to access and the prices that they charged were affordable for our family.  I have been trying to book a room at Pop Century for several months now and the prices for rooms are short of ridiculous… $249/night for a value resort????  I know that most of the rooms have been renovated and Pop Century shares a stop on the Disney Skyliner so they could pretty much charge what they want for a room. But $249/night for our family is a little out of our price range.

    Trying to somewhat stay in our budget, I started looking at the All-Star Resorts.  We do not need anything special for a hotel room.  All we need is a place for the four of us to sleep, take a shower and get dressed in the morning.  We expect a clean and quiet room.  While searching for a room at the All-Star Resorts, I noticed that the prices for rooms there were quite high too, $149/night.  We had only spent $68/night for All-Star Movies back in 2005.

    Thinking that we were not going to be able to afford a Disney World Resort Hotel, I checked on a website that I normally purchase tickets from, Undercover Tourist.  When I purchased tickets and hotel through Undercover Tourist, the price was WELL below what Disney was charging (even with their so called 25% discount).  So I booked our room for our vacation through them and we are staying at the All-Star Music Resort for our vacation.

    Although we have never stayed at All-Star Music before, I did some research before I booked the room.  Results were varied, but all agreed that the rooms were clean and the Cast Members were very friendly.  As I said, we do not need a spectacular room because we spend the majority of our waking hours in the parks.

    Disney World Tickets

    If you haven’t checked lately, Theme Park Tickets are obscenely priced today.  Whether it is Disney, Universal, SeaWorld or LegoLand the cost of JUST admission to a park will run you and average of $100+/day per person.  For my family that is a minimum of $400/day just to get in to see Mickey.

    As you probably figured out by now, I bundled my ticket purchase with my hotel room with Undercover Tourist.  By doing this, I saved $500 off of what Disney has listed as their 25% off price.

    When purchasing your park tickets, make sure to shop around.  Most years we have used Undercover Tourist, but there have been years where AAA have been cheaper.  Sometimes when Disney World Resorts is offering a special bundle price, it is actually cheaper to purchase your tickets through Disney.

    Car Rental

    You will hear people say that you do not need a car when you visit Disney World. And for the most part, this is true.  Disney World has an excellent transportation system that will take you from your room to the parks.  But what happens when you want to go off of Disney Property?  Taxis, ride sharing and Minnie Vans can get quite expensive very quickly.

    We prefer renting a car due to the fact that Disney food prices are beyond ridiculous. Because of this, when my family first gets to Lake Buena Vista, FL, we will go to a local Target or Walmart and get our snacks and supplies for the week.  Also, there is nothing worse than spending 16hrs on your feet and then having to stand in line with a crowd of exhausted, sweaty, tired people who also just want to get back to their room and having to wait in the vicinity of 30 minutes to get on a bus and up to another 30 minutes standing on a bus getting back to your resort.

    With that, we have rented a car for the time that are down there.  Again, as with anything in Orlando, prices for renting a car from Orlando International Airport (MCO) are very expensive.  The average to rent a car for the time in April in which we are going is around $450 for a compact car!  Luckily, we were able to find an intermediate sized car for much lower than the average cost.  As with anything in the Orlando area, do your research and it is possible to find a little lower of a price.

    Our Vacation Itinerary

    So now that we have gotten all of the frustrating stuff out of the way, now comes the fun part of planning our Disney World Vacation.

    The first thing that we did once the purchase of our tickets and hotel were completed was to link them to our MyDisney Experience Account.  If you have not purchased the tickets or room from Disney, this can be a scary experience and you hope that it works and you did not get scammed.  Fortunately, we purchased our tickets and room from Undercover Tourist and did not have any problems and we never have.  Just follow the directions on the MyDisney App and it should take only about 5-10 minutes to do.

    Once our room and tickets are linked to our account now we can start to have some fun!

    Because we are staying at a Disney World Resort, we are allowed to start booking Dinning Reservations within 180 days of the first day of our visit, which we are, so we booked three Disney Dinning Experiences for our visit:

    • Cinderella’s Royal Table
    • 50’s Primetime Cafe
    • Story Book Dining at Artist Point with Snow White

    We will also be able to start booking FastPasses within 60 days of the first day of our trip

    We are also able to Check-In now so that we do not need to go to the front desk when we arrive at the All-Star Music Resort.  Trust me, this will actually save you about an hour.

    With our trip we though about the Disney Dining Plan, but when we crunched all of the numbers, it would be more expensive.  Once reason is that we would have to cancel the room registration that we purchased through Undercover Tourist and purchase the room through Disney. That would be almost $400 right there.

    Remember, even though you have booked airfare, car and hotel, if you find a better price or better offer, you can usually change for little to no fee.  So we will keep looking and hope that Disney comes out with some lower priced rooms at Pop Century or if Southwest lowers the price on some later flights on the day that we head home.

    So now we have the vacation booked and paid for.  The next thing that we will do is to get our FastPasses in February and then start shopping for our trip.

    Thank you for taking the time to read our blog.  DisneyDawgs is a family blog that will hopefully be able to give you information or insight at Disney World to let you save some money or have even a better vacation.  Our family has loved going to Disney World in Florida for fourteen years and we hope that we are able to share some of the experience that we have picked up, to make your day even better.

     

  • Tips for First-time Disney World Visitors: Arriving in Orlando

    See our previous article Tips for First-time Disney World Visitors: Pre-Trip Planning.

    OK, your plane has now landed (I am assuming at Orlando International Airport), so what do you do next?  One tip is to find the restrooms when you get off of your flight because it may be a little while before you are able to have a minute or two to relieve yourself or even splash a little water on your face.  Once that is done, there are a some restaurants to grab a bite, or you can wait until you get to the main terminal.

    The First Ride in Orlando

    You will want to make your way to the MCO People Mover that will take you to the main terminal.  The People Movers are automated shuttles that ferry passengers from the main terminal to the satellite terminals and visa-versa.

    Once you have arrived at the main terminal, you will be on level 3.  Here you are able to visit stores from Disney, Universal, SeaWorld and NASA. There are also several photo opportunities in this area.  There is also a greater variety of restaurants and shops in the food court and mall area.  There is also a hotel in the main lobby of the 3rd level.  We have stayed there and it is excellent if you have a very early morning flight.

    Baggage Claim

    Once you have made your way through the main terminal, you will want to take the escalators down to level 2 the baggage claim.  At MCO, depending on which airline you have used, it will take approximately 30 minutes for your bags to get from the plane to the baggage carousel.  This area can be a mad house if several planes come in at the same time.  I usually go up to the carousel and stake my claim to an area and wait for my bags to come to me. I also make sure to rent a baggage cart before I go to the carousel, they are worth their weight in gold if you have several heavy bags and just got off of a long flight.  Again, this area can get quite busy and everyone just got off of a plane, so I would advise that you take a deep breath and your bags should be out soon.

    Transportation

    Now that you have your luggage you’re going to need to get to Walt Disney World or your hotel.  All transportation is on level 1 of the terminal.  You will want to make your way to the elevators and head down.  If you have opted to take Disney’s Magical Express, follow the signage and there will be a Disney Castmember to check you in.  Car Rentals are toward the other side of level one.  Be prepared to wait!  No matter how many times I have rented a car at MCO it amazes me how the rental agencies know when there will be an influx of people coming off of a flight, yet, they NEVER have enough agents ready to handle the lines.  If you have pre-paid for your rental, you may be able to skip this step and go right across the street to pick up your rental.  If you did not rent a vehicle or are not staying at a Disney Resort Hotel, taxis and shuttle services are right outside the doors.

    Picking Up the Rental Car

    Make sure that you are alert when picking up your rental car.  Some Rental Agencies, not all, but some are very sneaky and there could be quite a few hidden fees that you may not be aware of until you receive your credit card statement after you’ve returned from your trip.  Be aware that one of the biggest scams that they pull at MCO is that when you return your rental, you have to show them a receipt from a gas station that is within 5 miles of where you return the vehicle.  There is only one station that I’ve found to be that close and they conveniently charge over $5/gallon.  If you do not fill up the vehicle within this range or if you do not have a receipt, all agencies will charge you for a FULL tank of gas at THEIR rate.  This is even if the vehicle is showing the tank to be full on the gauge.

    Before you drive out of the parking garage with your rental, make sure to go over the vehicle with a fine tooth comb.  Take pictures and/or video of any scratches, dents or damage anywhere on the vehicle (body, tires, glass, etc.) and make sure that your report them to the agent BEFORE you leave the garage.  Once you leave the garage, YOU are responsible for the damage on the vehicle if you did not report it.

    Heading to the Disney World Resorts

    Once you have your vehicle and have loaded all your bags and have buckled everyone in (In Florida you MUST wear a seatbelt) you are now ready to head to your hotel.

    There are two exits to Orlando International Airport, North and South.

    If you take the North Exit, you will want to get on the Martin Anderson Beachway Express, west-bound (SR-528) to Interstate 4 South to the Disney World exits.  Keep in mind, I-4 is the main highway for ALL of the theme parks and the Metro Orlando area.  This highway is very busy and will have constant backups and delays.

     

    If you take the South Exit (I find this to be shorter and MUCH less traffic)  You will want to take Jeff Fuqua Blvd South to the Central Florida Greenway West-bound (SR-417) to either World Center Dr or West Osceola Pkwy, depending on which resort you are staying at.

    Whichever route you take, be aware of the toll-boths.  Florida was very sneaky the way that they designed the toll plazas.  If you purchased tolls with your car rental, you really don’t have to worry about this.  But if you didn’t, as I don’t, the plazas are tricky.  If you are paying cash for the tolls, be aware that for all cash tolls you will need to go to the far right of the plaza.  This area almost looks like a highway offramp.  If you get confused and stay on the main highway, a picture of your license plate will be taken and you will be charged by the rental agency for renting the ez-pass system for your entire rental (usually $20+), plus any tolls that should have been paid.  This can get quite expensive, very quickly.

    Also, be aware that during overnight hours, many of the toll booths are unmanned.  So if you do not have exact change, you will also be charged by the rental agency.

    Arriving at Your Disney World Resort

    So you have finally made it to your resort hotel.  If you are able to check in (Normal check-in time is 3PM, but you can usually check-in earlier.) you can head to your resort.  Each resort has a guard shack that you will need to stop and give your driver’s license or government issued ID to so they can verify that you are actually checking into the resort.

    Once past security, if you have done online check-in, you may head directly to your hotel room (if it is ready).  If you did not use online check-in or if there are any problems, you will need to go to the main lobby of your resort and go the Guest Relations desk.

    Once any problems are taken care of, you will want to move your vehicle as close to your room as you can.

    Checking Out the Room

    Once you are in your room, make sure to check that you have enough towels and that the room is clean.  Although it rarely happens, you will want to take care of this right away.  If you need extra towels, pillows or anything from Mousekeeping, you may want to do this as soon as you get into your room.  Mousekeeping does an excellent job and I have never had a problem, but mistakes do happen.

    Getting Supplies

    Once all of my bags have been unloaded and everything is OK with my room, I will usually head out to the nearest Walmart or Target to get some supplies.  As you must already know, Disney is VERY expensive.  A bottle of soda from the resort is over $4 and the snacks are even more.  If you go out to one of the local stores, prices are AT LEAST a THIRD of what you would pay on the resort.  Picking up snacks such as cookies, crackers, peanut butter, etc will save you quite a bit of money.

    Beyond the snacks, the local superstores all carry Disney Souvenirs at much cheaper prices than the parks.  Mickey and Minnie ears, Autograph Books and pens, shirts and some even carry trading pins at half the cost in the Disney Parks.

    Getting Some Rest

    Usually, the day that I arrive in Orlando I do not go to the parks.  I think that it is a waste of a $100+ ticket to not spend the entire day inside the park.

    So once I get back to the Resort Hotel that I am staying at, I will either explore to see what the resort has to offer, or I will drive or take a Disney Bus over to Disney Springs and spend a couple of hours there.

    Once done with Disney Springs, I will head back to the Resort and maybe go for a swim in the pool if there is time.  If not, I will head to bed early so that I can hit the ground running early the next day at my first park.

    I hope that this post was able give you some ideas and/or information about arriving at Orlando International Airport, all the way through checking into your Disney World Resort room.  Check out my next post on the ways to save some money on park mornings and how to quickly navigate Disney Property and Transportation so that you can make the most of your day at a Disney World Theme Park.

     

  • 125 Days

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  • Success – First step of our Trip Planning is Done!!!

    It took a little longer than we planned, but the first step of our 2020 Disney World trip has been completed.

    The first thing that we do when we are planning a trip is to secure airline tickets from Rhode Island to Orlando.  This used to be the most expensive part of the trip, not anymore.

    So Southwest Airlines opened booking for airfare for April, 2020 and beyond yesterday (October 30, 2019).  We were able to get direct flights from PVD to MCO and MCO to PVD for a pretty good price.  As always, we purchased the early-bird option for an extra fee.  This means that we do not have to sit at the computer 24hrs before our site and hope that we get a good boarding number.  If you do not know, Southwest does not have assigned seating.  This means that seating is first come, first serve and if you do not have a low number on your boarding pass, your party may be separated on the flight.

    Now we have always flown with Southwest and have gotten used to the way that flights are posted and the costs of certain flights at certain times.

    Usually it costs much more to fly home (MCO -> PVD) than to fly down to Orlando.  Also, early morning flights are usually as much as 2.5x the cost of evening flights.  So we usually fly down on a 6:30PM flight, getting into Orlando around 9:30ish and to the resort by 10:30PM.  The same is with the returning flight, we usually do not leave MCO until 6-8PM, getting back into Rhode Island around 11PM and not back into our house until Midnight.

    For some reason, this year is different.  Flying down to Orlando, we were able to get an early flight, a VERY early flight, where we will be in Orlando before most people are in work.  Also, this year, our flight home will cost MUCH less than the one to start our vacation and it is also a very early flight.  The early flight coming home is good because both of my pups and my wife have to be in school the next morning.

    Well, there we go, I guess we can check plane tickets off of our “2020 Vacation ToDo List”, but we still have quite a bit more to do.

    • Plane Tickets
    • Hotel/Resort
    • Theme Park Tickets
    • Car Rental
    • Boarding the Dogs
    • New Clothes for Trip
    • Buy new Disney Trading Pins for girls and wife

    As you can see, there is more for us to do.

    Thanks for visiting our Blog!  Subscribe and we will send an email each time a new post is made or updated.  Again, thank you and have a Magical Day!

  • Trip Planning – Our 1st Fail

    It is kind of disheartening when the very first thing I try to do in planning our 2020 trip to Orlando falls through.

    Let me set the stage.  We usually plan our vacations roughly six months in advance and what we do is based on the cost of airfare.  You see, we live in Rhode Island and our main airport is located in Providence [PVD] (Warwick, RI to be exact, but that’s another story for another time.).  The only carriers located here that fly into Orlando [MCO] or Tampa[TPA] are Delta, American, Frontier, United, Southwest and JetBlue.  United, Delta and American Airlines are very expensive to fly out of PVD with roundtrip fares averaging about $900 per a person (there are four of us).  Frontier Airlines is fairly new to Rhode Island and what I have read about them, not too dependable.  That leaves us Southwest and JetBlue Airlines to get our flights.

    Of the two airlines, I prefer Southwest for flying to Orlando from Providence.  Although both carriers provide direct flights, JetBlue’s fares are slightly higher with only two scheduled flights per day to and from Orlando and JetBlue also charges for luggage where Southwest offers anywhere from 10-15 flights a day, both ways and luggage is included within the cost of your ticket.

    With that being said, we have two windows of opportunity for vacation in 2020… February or April school vacations. I have two teenaged daughters that are in high school and my wife is an elementary school teacher so our vacations, as I said, are based on the 2020 school calendars.

    Also, this year will most-likely be the last time that we all visit Disney as a family.  My oldest daughter will be graduating high school in June and will be moving away to college in the fall.  College and grade school vacations do not line up.

    OK… So we are hoping to go in February this year, but we cannot make any further plans because both Southwest and JetBlue have not announced their flights for February and beyond as of yet (Southwest is booking through early January and JetBlue through the week before we would be leaving in February.).

    After checking through Google a few weeks ago, Southwest announced that they would be opening flights for January – March, 2020 on July 10, 2019.  I was excited that I was actually going to be able to begin the planning of our 2020 vacation.  The cost of the airline tickets with affect what we are able to do and where we are able to go for the rest of the vacation.  I was glad that I would at least get the ball rolling.

    Well, yesterday was July 10, 2019 and when I went onto Southwest’s website at http://www.southwest.com and tried to search for tickets, they were still only accepting reservations through January 5th.  What? REALLY??? I tried again today, July 11, 2019 and, nope, they are still only accepting through January 5th.

    Come on Southwest!  It is not like I went to some Travel Blogger’s site to get this information.  I got it directly from your website www.southwest.com.

    Well, I guess that I will continue to search and watch to see when JetBlue will start accepting reservations for the third week in February, 2020 and see who has the better price.  My daughters were a little disappointed last night, as was I, due to the fact that once we have the plane tickets, we strategically plan the rest of the vacation as a family.  When we sit at the kitchen table to figure where we are going on certain days, it can get more intense than a NFL team’s war room on draft day.

    My plans are now put on hold, which to be honest is not a major disaster in the grand scheme of life.  But, Southwest, I would have expected better from you than to put out incorrect information that would mislead your customers.