Disney World Vacation

I'm sitting here imagining my next Disney World Vacation. I have Epcot's entrance music playing in the background, and imagining the warmth of the sun mixed with the cool morning breeze. Walking towards the Electric Umbrella (near Innoventions) and hearing this wonderful music played over the hidden speakers. It's wonderful.

My husband and I go on a trip to Disney World almost every year. Once we went twice within 9 months, and the following trip wasn't for another 18 months. It definitely varies, but the truth of the matter is that by the time 3 months have passed, we begin getting very antsy about planning the next Disney vacation.

Every year, one of us gets a Birnbaum's Walt Disney World travel guide book for Christmas, unless I get it as a birthday gift (end of November). As much as I would like to try one of the many Walt Disney World guide books, such as Frommer's, The Unofficial Guide, PassPorter's, The Complete Disney World Guide, WDW for Special Needs (written by two members of AllEars.net), and even some of the e-books I see touted around the internet, I just can't afford all of them. While Birnbaum's is probably not the best one available, we don't actually use it for planning our vacations- we ARE the experts. But because Birnbaum is the official guide, it works really well for looking up quick info like when the best time to visit Disney World is, average temperatures in Orlando, FL, dates of special events like EPCOT's Food & Wine festival, Night of Joy, and other similar things, and it has two pages of Disney World coupons in the back.

Someday I will probably buy each of the available travel guides and do an in depth review with comparisons, but that day is not now.

We've spent some time looking at various websites that talk about planning a Walt Disney World vacation on a budget, but honestly, most of the suggestions are totally unrealistic, or unsuitable for us. What we do to save money on vacation is plan very carefully. Both of us make out a budget based on our information gathering, and then we sit down and discuss everything that we've found.

For example, while a budget minded website may say something like "eat at the restaurants for lunch instead of dinner because the menus are practically the same but cheaper", we've found that many of the restaurants have been changing this. Lunch is the basic menu, but most of the interesting meals are offered at supper/dinner only. However, the portions are usually very large, and you certainly can't pack up the leftovers to take back with you unless you're staying in a suite.

I realize that in most cases, you won't want to eat at a counter service for every meal. At first glance, it seems that all they offer are burgers, hot dogs, and sometimes pizza. This seems especially true if you take "Magic Kingdom vacations" (only visiting the Magic Kingdom instead of the other parks). The only alternatives are The Plaza, Crystal Palace, and Cinderella's Table, right? Wrong.

Liberty Tree Tavern is another table service restaurant with incredible food and an awesome decor. The prices are much better than Cindy's restaurant, but even Liberty Tree isn't your only alternative. For example, Columbia Harbour House has amazingly good clam chowder, chicken fingers, battered fish fillets, sandwiches, and my husband swears by their salads. El Pirata Y El Perico has tacos when it's open (seasonal), and while Casey's is indeed hot dogs, their corn dogs are beyond amazing. And since the Magic Kingdom is the toughest nut to crack when it comes to non-burger based meals, Epcot, Disney's Animal Kingdom, and Disney's Hollywood Studios are a veritable riot of cheaper but yummy and diverse food choices.

I recommend looking up AllEars.net's menu section and pre-planning your meals with that.

I think it's great that you can easily find specials that will provide you with cheap Disney World packages. There are tons of specials listed on Disney's own website right now, and there are ads popping up everywhere! We rarely take advantage of them because we prefer to book our hotel room and tickets separately, rather than in a package, though we've been discussing the options. After all, you can save money with the Disney Dining Plan, and booking a full package through AAA will save you a nice chunk of change too. There are a lot of Disney travel specialists who keep their ears to the ground for any upcoming deals and package offers, and may even be able to get deals not available to the general public.

It's unfortunate that the best way to plan a Disney World vacation is after you've already been there. There is absolutely no way to truly understand and get a feel for the place until you've actually had a vacation there. The next best thing is to get a friend who has been to The World to help you plan, or, failing that, get a special Disney World travel agent to help you. I don't mean the kind of travel agency that has a Disney poster on their wall, I mean an agent who does nothing but Disney travel. There are a number of those on the internet, and while you may not be able to meet with them face to face, you'll still get better, more personalized, and more knowledgeable service than you could ever get elsewhere.

After six vacations to the Orlando, Florida area and a habit of reading up on news of the parks, my friends have decided that I'm the go-to person for planning their vacations. Despite the fact that I don't use the Disney Dining Plan, I actually recommend it to most of my friends. There's a good reason for it- it saves you money, and it takes the guess work out of budgeting your vacation.

When you book a vacation at Disney, you have the option to choose special packages they put together for you. Like, you can choose from any of the hotels on property that are owned by them, in any price tier. Even though their resorts seem more expensive initially, it's well worth it. If you drive to the parks, you'll get free parking. If you don't drive, they have free transportation that runs all day every day. You can have purchases sent back to your hotel to pick up the following day rather than having to lug all of your souvenirs around the park or renting a locker to store them in. Plus, you're staying much closer to the action than any hotel that's off property. Remember, Walt Disney World is 44 square miles. Just because a hotel says "minutes from Walt Disney World" doesn't mean "minutes from the parks".

The hotel rooms are included in the packages, though you can book those separately (not a package) if you prefer. Also included are tickets, which range from one park per day tickets, to park hopper tickets (you can visit more than one park in a single day), to park hopper tickets that also include the water parks, special shows, and more. You'll also have the option of choosing a dining package, of which there are two. One such package has two counter service (think fast food) meals and a snack, and the other package includes one table service restaurant meal, one counter service meal, and a snack.

If you book one of these packages in addition to your method of travel, you'll know exactly how much money you'll need for your vacation, no guesswork needed with the exception of souvenirs and any other extras, such as alcoholic beverages, additional water and drinks, and so on.

And speaking of the hotels, you really can't ask for better. To be honest, even the so called luxury resorts that I've seen elsewhere simply look cheesy in comparison to the Disney owned hotels, in my opinion. I'd take a Disney Value Resort (All Star Resorts, Pop Century) over a Hilton or Marriott any day. Now, that's just my opinion, but honestly, the themeing carries through the rooms and into the landscaping.

Port Orleans Riverside had two themed sections: the mansions, and the bayou. As lovely as the mansions are, I prefer the bayou section which is filled with dark green bushy plants and night blooming bushes.

We haven't yet stayed at a Deluxe Resort, but on our lists are the Animal Kingdom Lodge, the Wilderness Lodge, and Saratoga Springs if I can talk him into it. I have to admit, though, the new DVC (Disney Vacation Club) rooms at the Contemporary, located in the brand new Bay Lake Tower, look incredible and have the benefit of being attached to the main building of the Contemporary via a breezeway a few stories up (what? I'm a sucker for that stuff).

I'll admit, there's so much to discuss that it's difficult to narrow down. So please, if you have any questions about taking a Disney World vacation, leave a question in the comments or email me with your questions and I'll try to answer them.