My turn

Walt Disney World Tips

(Written Saturday, January 17, 2009)

I love Walt Disney World. I have been there 8 times at least. I have a few Disney books and have spent countless hours studying them. Whenever I go, I go to new places to" research" them for future visits and information to pass on to others. Disney is not a cheap place to go by any means but I have figured out ways to get by and do it for less. So here are my thoughts on that great place.. Disney!

I have yet to find a single coupon or discount to Disney. If you go to one of those time share deals and sit in their talk for a half day they may offer you tickets for free but I don't count that. Dave and I bought 6 day Park Hopper passes in 1999 at AAA for a special price but that price wasn't any or much different than what Disney offered. I recommended just dealing directly with Disney directly on everything when it comes to lodging and tickets.

In 2009 if you go to a park on your actual birthday you get in FREE!! This is a $80 savings if you are an adult or $60 if you are a kids. Call Disney for more info-- I think you need to tell them ahead of time.

Kids under the age of 3 enter the theme parks for free and eat at the character dinners for free.

I have stayed on site and off site--
*Benefits to staying off site-- you have a vehicle to go where you want, when you want.
*Condos are very reasonable only 5 minutes away and can be cheaper than the the cheapest Disney hotels.
* You can save money on food having an off site condo with kitchen.

Benefits to being on Disney grounds:
* Magical Express bus from airport is free -- no need to rent a car for the entire visit.
*Everything is connected by bus, boat or monorail in Disney and you can use it for free ( some lines and bus rides can get long at busy times of year)
*you can take advantage of the Disney Dining plan if you buy park tickets with your room package. The Dining plan is nice and is cheaper than just purchasing Disney meals as you go.
*You kinda feel like you get more of the full Disney experience.

Going to the parks is very costly but if you buy park tickets for each day you are staying there it goes down in price significantly BUT who wants to spend ALL their time at the parks? What you could do it chose the 1 or 2 parks that would be most fun for the age your kids are. If your kids are 10 and under I think Magic Kingdom is a must but if you are going with Middle schoolers and up Epcot and Hollywood Studios are great. For a family of 2 adults and 2 kids 9 or under it costs $280 apx per park per day (gate price). If you plan to do ONE big Disney trip with your kids I would try to get in all the parks. Keep in mind you can park hop for a little more money and see Animal Kingdom for 1/2 a day then Hollywood Studios at night one day then take a day off and swim at the hotel then the next day go to Magic Kingdom 1/2 a day and Epcot a half day. You will not see near everything if you do it this way but it is a way to save $$ and still be a part of it all. I just can't see paying $ to be in parks but spend them at your hotel pool. Make sense? Call a Disney rep and they can lay out all the options for you on this.


Character dinners are super fun but I personally recommend doing this on a different day than a park. Most of the Deluxe hotels have them. Chef Mickeys in the Contemporary is great to see all the regular characters like Mickey, Minnie and Donald etc... We also went to the Grand Floridian for the Princess dinner and it was AMAZING! Figure it will cost you apx $120 to feed 2 adults and 2 kids. They are all buffets or family style. The 2 I mentioned are highly recommended by the official Disney guide as well and we agree with them! I hear not so great stories of eating in the Castle itself even from the books. If there are certain characters you want to see just look up or ask Disney where they are located. MAKE RESERVATIONS THROUGH DISNEY AS SOON AS YOU KNOW YOU WANT TO GO!! You can always cancel if you have to.

My picks for Best Hotel bets:
1. Best Deluxe hotel for the best price: Wilderness lodge. Super close to Magic Kingdom. National Park themed.
2. Best Moderate hotel: Port Orleans Riverside (Louisiana Bayou themed). Connects by boat to Downtown Disney.
3. Best value resort: Pop Century. ( for location and newness)

Best books to buy about Disney:
If you buy 1 buy : Birnbaum's Official Guide to Disney(current year)
If you want more details: The Complete Walt Disney Disney World ( Coconut Press)

Best facebook group for Disney recommendations " I'd rather be at Walt Disney World".

Check the calendars in the parks section at Disney.com to pre plan each parks hours and activities from home before you arrive. It will also tell you what rides are being refurbished so you can give forewarning to kids if a certain ride won't be available.

Buy 80 cent emergency rain ponchos at Walmart (found in the camping section) before leaving home and have them in a backpack for theme park days. Throw them away there when you are done. :)


There are lots of things to do on Disney property but not the 4 theme parks that are great fun but cost little to nothing. Here are my fave's:

1. The Disney Boardwalk Hotel ( near Epcot).. too much $ to stay at but fun to visit! It is like a turn of the century Atlantic City Boardwalk all around a lake. There are several restaurants including the ESPN Club, some shops, an ice cream shop but the best of all is every evening several people come out and do magic show for the kids, a man who does amazing stunts, musicians, jugglers, etc... and you may just be walking and come upon them. Great free fun for the kids. If you stay late enough Epcot is just over a wall and you should be able to see some of their fireworks around 9 or 10 pm. You can also rent a surrey bike with your family and bike around the lake. Across the lake is another amazing resort called the Yacht and Beach Club where there is a great ice cream shop over there if you decide to walk around the lake and take a break over there.

2. To see lots of animals but not pay to go into Animal Kingdom to see them head on over to the Animal Kingdom Lodge hotel. (If you are visiting by car tell the attendant you would like to visit the hotel ) Enter the hotel then walk through to the back where there are signs directing you to the savannahs. Then go down the hallways where the rooms are and you will see more spots to see the animals. We saw a family of giraffes, zebra, vultures, flamingos, and other African animals. Free! We stayed and ate lunch there too.

3. Disney Marketplace at Downtown Disney is alot of fun. There is a Lego store for kids with lots of Lego tables for kids to build at. Great restaurants, LOTS of shops of anything you can think of Disney and others. Make sure you pop your head in the Ghiradelli chocolate shop and they will give you each a free piece of chocolate! This place has the most going at night but is the busiest time of day. It is beautifully lit up too. West side and Pleasure Island are of more interest to adults. If you are in a rush I would skip these. However if it is a rainy day you might want to catch a movie at the AMC theaters in Downtown Disney West side.

4. If you are feeling adventurous hop on a bus or a boat or monorail and hotel hop. There are cool things to see as they each have a theme at all the highest end hotels in particluar. Find the playground or shop in their store before moving on.

5. The water parks are good too for the older kids crowd and less expensive than the 4 main parks.

6. Pop over to Fort Wilderness and have the kids pay on the playground, walk through the petting farm or ride a pony ( couple $ for pony ride) or if you are there in the morning look for the ranch area and see them get the horses ready to bring to Magic Kingdom for the day. Or sit on the beach and let the kids play in the sand. Then follow the nature trail through the woods and head over to the Wilderness Lodge and watch the geyser go off and walk around the hotel. (If you are at either of these hotels at night be on the look out for the Electrical Water Pageant on the lake.

7. Bring some of your own snacks into the parks and eat counter/quick service meals instead of along sit down meal. Saves $$ and lots and lots of valuable park time.

Well I will certainly add to this list and will answer any questions anyone has as well. As you can see I didn't even talk about anything IN the parks!! Hope this helps start your Disney journey!!


Here is a link to our most recent Disney trip:

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=56811&l=7ea2e&id=744746310

And here are some from the Animal Kingdom Lodge:

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=1368946&l=ab57c&id=744746310

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=1368947&l=8cbbe&id=744746310

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=1368948&l=8c55d&id=744746310

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=1368952&l=be7a6&id=744746310

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=1368953&l=27a62&id=744746310

Hope this helps!! As you can see I haven't talked about anything IN the parks. I will continue to add to this I am sure.

posted by Kathy @ 9:26 PM