LOOK BACK EPISODE: Trip Planning Tips for Walt Disney World (original aired in May 2025)

[00:00:00] [SPEAKER_02] Welcome to Where I Long To Be, a Magical Trip Report Podcast. My name is Virginia and I am your host. It is September the 25th, and it is almost 530 and I have to head out the door to go to the airport for my Paris trip. I didn't want to leave you empty handed for an episode this week, so I'm choosing to re-release one of my absolute favorite episodes that I've ever put together. It's not a trip report but it is the trip planning episode I did for May 2025. Some of the information may be a little late, but I'm going to go back to the airport.

[00:00:30] [SPEAKER_02] It's still out of date today. I don't know. I haven't gone back and listened to it any time recently, but I just remember loving this episode so much because I was able to collaborate with so many previous guests who are travel agents to put this together. And at the end of the day, I was just so proud of how it all came out. So I hope you enjoy this one again. The next time you will hear a new episode after this will be, I'm just looking at it.

[00:01:00] [SPEAKER_02] My calendar will be Monday, October the 12th. So I'm going to take Monday, October the 5th off. There will not be any new episodes and there will not be a re-release that week. But this is just something that I hope that you enjoy hearing again, even if you listen to it when it originally aired. And with that, take it away past Virginia.

[00:01:33] [SPEAKER_02] Welcome to a special episode of Where I Long To Be, a magical trip report podcast. My name is Virginia and I am your host. Only today is not a trip report. Today, I wanted to talk about trip planning, specifically planning a trip to Walt Disney World in Orlando.

[00:01:51] [SPEAKER_02] Now, for some people, myself included, the planning of a trip is almost as much fun as the trip itself. I think especially if you are planning your first trip or if you haven't had a lot of planning experience, it can be difficult to know exactly where to start. So my hope is that this will be helpful for you or at least entertaining. And I know I will have fun putting this all together for a little something different.

[00:02:15] [SPEAKER_02] Please enjoy this episode. And if you do, and if you have other topics you'd like me to do a dedicated episode on, please send me a message either through my website, which is whereilongtobepodcast.com or by DMing me over on Instagram. All right, before we dive into the steps I would go through in planning a trip, if you are someone who doesn't like to plan or who needs help planning, I will use this opportunity to remind you that using a travel agent is free.

[00:02:44] [SPEAKER_02] It doesn't cost you anything because Disney gives them a commission after you've traveled. You'll hear from some of my friends who are agents sprinkled throughout this episode, and I will link to them in the show notes. If you are planning to work with a travel agent who is not recommended here on the podcast, I suggest that you make sure that they not only have planned Disney trips for people before, but that they travel to Disney themselves regularly.

[00:03:09] [SPEAKER_02] There's so much that goes into a trip like this, and it's so important to make sure that you're working with someone who has experienced the parks and resorts firsthand.

[00:03:20] [SPEAKER_06] Hey, this is Kristen Gallagher with Make Your World Travel, and I have a travel tip for first timers. I actually have three tips for you. My first one is to realize that you are not going to be able to do it all. Walt Disney World is huge. You have four parks, countless rides, shows, dining, shopping, characters. There is just so much to do, which is what makes it so great, but it is too much to do in a single vacation.

[00:03:47] [SPEAKER_06] So my suggestion is to have everybody make a list of priorities, a couple of things that everybody wants to do, and have those be your must-dos and plan on hitting those. That way when you don't get through everything, there is no disappointment. My tip number two is to plan ahead. You cannot wing a Walt Disney World vacation. Lightning lanes, dining reservations, park itineraries, all of that work ahead of time.

[00:04:17] [SPEAKER_06] We'll make sure that your park days run smoothly. You don't want to spend your time going back and forth from Tomorrowland to Adventureland to Fantasyland and jumping all over the park. If you have a plan and you plan ahead, you'll get a lot more done. And then obviously tip number three is use a travel planner.

[00:04:42] [SPEAKER_06] They're free to you, and if you want to do all of the planning on your own, that's fine. Travel planners can be as hands-on or hands-off as you want them. Just think of us as like your fairy godmother where we're an extra set of hands if something does come up or if you want to bounce ideas off of somebody. Or if you just want somebody in your corner that cares as much about your vacation as you do, your travel planner is like your best friend.

[00:05:07] [SPEAKER_07] It's Miranda, and I am with 101 Vacations Travel Agency. So my biggest tip as a first-timer, honestly, is find a travel agent that you mesh with well. Sometimes it's not the right fit between you and your travel agent, and that's okay. Finding that perfect fit really is going to be so important for your trip. You want somebody who is going to understand what your priorities are.

[00:05:37] [SPEAKER_07] And if you don't have priorities, your travel agent can help you identify those priorities, whether that is meeting a lot of characters or riding rides, or maybe it's a good balance of rest and some play. They'll also help you decide the perfect resort. They will help you determine the best dining reservations for your family.

[00:06:00] [SPEAKER_07] And another thing I personally love to do is help my clients navigate food allergies and maybe any mobility considerations we need to take into account.

[00:06:13] [SPEAKER_02] All right, I have divided this show into 10 steps, and I've invited my son Alex to kick off each section. Take it away, Alex.

[00:06:24] [SPEAKER_08] Step one, decide when to take your trip.

[00:06:29] [SPEAKER_02] The first thing to consider when planning your trip is when you will travel. For some people, this will be set for you. Maybe you can only go when it's your child's school break, or you have a designated time that you're allowed to use vacation from work. Some people might be lucky enough to be able to pick basically any time they want. And if that's you, congratulations. The place I would start is really to ask yourself how you feel about the weather. Are you able to tolerate the hottest temperatures of the summer?

[00:06:58] [SPEAKER_02] If not, you should probably plan to go sometime in late fall through early spring. Say, maybe November-ish through, let's say, April. Once you have the time of year set, you'll need to decide how many days to travel and what days to travel on. Again, this may be another area where your designated time off dictates what you will do. Any amount of time at Disney is great, but for me personally, I like my trips best when they are at least week long.

[00:07:26] [SPEAKER_02] Disney has four different parks, plus two water parks, plus Disney Springs. There's just so much to do, and it's good to have at least one day in each of the four parks and have a day or two mixed in for some resort time or time for other activities in the area, if that's possible. Once you have your ideal plan of when you would like to travel, you're ready for the next step.

[00:07:48] [SPEAKER_05] Hi, this is Kelly from Wishlist Travel, and I want to talk about the best times to go to Walt Disney World. Personally, I think any time is a great time to go, but my family has some favorite times of the year to visit, and typically it's when the crowds are at its lowest. So starting in the fall, we really like going mid-September to October. It's also where the Halloween party is.

[00:08:14] [SPEAKER_05] We find that most of those weeks are very low crowd level because kids have gone back to school. It's a great time to plan a long weekend trip. We also like the month of November minus the week of Thanksgiving. My daughter's birthday is in November, and we've gone several times in the beginning of November and have found the weather to be really nice and the crowds to be low.

[00:08:38] [SPEAKER_05] December is great as long as you kind of go during that time period after Thanksgiving and before Christmas. Again, we like to go for the holiday decorations, the very merry Christmas party. And then finally, we actually really like end of January to beginning of February. We like it during that time of year because the weather isn't too hot.

[00:09:08] [SPEAKER_05] And we've gone before on MLK week, and we've arrived on the Sunday. We've spent the MLK holiday at Animal Kingdom, and then we've spent the next three days at the other parks. So those are just some thoughts from my family. But again, any time is a great time to go.

[00:09:29] [SPEAKER_08] Step two, make a budget.

[00:09:34] [SPEAKER_02] Before you move forward with making any of your actual reservations, tickets, etc., you need to plan how much money you feel comfortable spending in total so that you know what you're working with. Set that number now before it balloons out of control. Some trips you might be trying to do as affordably as possible, while others you might feel comfortable splurging for a nicer hotel or an add-on experience. So now that you have that number in mind, you'll of course need to set that money aside,

[00:10:03] [SPEAKER_02] earmark it, so to speak, start saving, whatever. And don't forget that sometimes you can get deals on Disney gift cards at places like Costco or BJ's or other warehouse-type stores. And socking those away is a great way to save a little. So your budget's going to be very personal, and that will help you make all of the other decisions that you need to as a part of this planning. Step 3. Decide on the type of ticket.

[00:10:33] [SPEAKER_02] There's not a whole lot of flexibility with park ticket prices, so I like to think about that before I ever start thinking about hotels or flights, since presumably with hotels and flights, you'll have some choices. So you do have some flexibility. How many park days you would like to do will be your personal choice. If you're doing a week trip, I like to do at least four park days. But it's nice to have five or more so that you have the ability to repeat a park or go back to do something that you missed.

[00:11:01] [SPEAKER_02] But if park time is not your priority, maybe you want to do less park days than that, to just focus on the resorts or focus on other things. You'll also need to decide whether you want to visit one park in a day, or if you want to get a ticket with park hopper added, so that you're not limited to only entering a single park within a day. If this is not your first visit, or if you're okay spending the extra money, I really love getting the park hopper on my ticket. It gives you the ability to pivot more easily.

[00:11:31] [SPEAKER_02] So if you're in a park and the kids are not feeling it, you can make the switch to another park easily. If Epcot gets crazy crowded because of a festival, you can board the monorail and head over to the Magic Kingdom, or walk to Hollywood Studios. You get the idea. So the reason that I recommend it more for people who aren't first timers is because when it's your first time, you don't necessarily need the added pressure of making use of that hopper feature just because you paid for it.

[00:11:58] [SPEAKER_02] Again, if you have the budget for it and you want to add it just in case, I say go for it. One thing to know if you're a first timer is that if you do purchase a one park per day ticket and you decide once you're there that you'd like to hop, you can always go to the ticket desk at the front of the park and have the park hopping feature added to your ticket on the spot. It's going to add about $90 or so to your ticket cost. And once it's added, it's good for the remainder of your trip. You'll just pay the difference of what you paid for your original ticket.

[00:12:27] [SPEAKER_02] The same thing is true if you decide you want to upgrade to an annual pass. As long as you have not finished using up all of your ticket days, you can go to the ticket window and upgrade to an annual pass and you'll get credit for the amount that you've already paid. The only thing you have to be aware of there is that you need to be able to upgrade to an annual pass that would have given you access to the days that you've already visited. If you're from out of state, you will only have access to the highest level pass unless you're a DVC member who has that as one of their benefits,

[00:12:56] [SPEAKER_02] a so-called blue card member, if you know, you know. Before you buy your tickets, you also want to decide the best place to buy your tickets from. You can, of course, buy directly from Walt Disney World through their website, but don't forget to check other options that you might have available to you. So, for example, Disney has a special site that I will link to in the show notes that is specifically for veterans offering better prices on tickets. It's through Disney still, but it's for veterans.

[00:13:24] [SPEAKER_02] Some employers may also have discounts. If you're going to be visiting from the UK, there are great deals on tickets through sites like OrlandoAttractionTickets.co.uk that allow you to park hop between Walt Disney World, Universal, SeaWorld for a total of 14 days. I will definitely link that in the show notes as well. And if you're a longtime listener, you will have heard some of my UK guests talk about that option. Lastly, this is not sponsored at all.

[00:13:53] [SPEAKER_02] I wish it was. But I have used Undercover Tourist in the past before I was an annual pass holder. And it's always discounted. And it's totally a legit place to get your tickets. I'm actually going to be using them to buy my Disneyland tickets for June for the evenings of my conference that I'll be attending that I want to visit the parks after all my meetings are over. All you do after you purchase the tickets there is link them in your My Disney Experience app.

[00:14:19] [SPEAKER_02] If you're new here, My Disney Experience is the Walt Disney World app that you'll need to download before your trip. There is where you'll be able to see all of your tickets, your resort if you're staying on property, and you can even use the app to open the door to your room if you need to. You'll see your dining reservations that you end up making. You can use it to see maps of the parks, to identify where the nearest restroom is, to get walking directions to something if you're not sure how to get there, within the park, and so much more.

[00:14:49] [SPEAKER_02] Now, My Disney Experience is not a perfect app. It does have its issues. But it is pretty much required to have it at this point going on a Disney trip. So you will want to make sure that you have that downloaded to your phone. And also, everyone in your party should have it as well. It will make your trip so much easier. I have heard so many times of people having one member of their party who just doesn't want to download it. And all it does is complicate the issue

[00:15:17] [SPEAKER_02] and will make your trip that much more challenging. So for every single adult that is in your party, make sure they have that My Disney Experience app and make sure they have their own login. It will make your trip much easier.

[00:15:32] [SPEAKER_07] Miranda here with 101 Vacations Travel Agency. Another question I get a lot is, if I'm doing Disney World, should I do it before or after a Disney cruise? Well, my personal opinion is do it first. Just spend the time in the parks. Disney tends to be quite exhausting. So I normally recommend hit the parks hard. Normally two to three days is enough. And then make the short trip over to Port Canaveral.

[00:16:02] [SPEAKER_07] It is very easy to set up transportation for your Disney cruise directly through a Disney resort. And we are happy to help you as travel agents. Or maybe it means hopping on the Bright Line from the Orlando Airport down to Fort Lauderdale. This not only gives you access to some different sailings, ships, and itineraries, but a lot of times the sailings out of Fort Lauderdale are cheaper too. So sometimes it may make more sense to add a train ride to the journey.

[00:16:34] [SPEAKER_08] Step four, choose a resort.

[00:16:38] [SPEAKER_02] Okay, I am going to be honest here. I am an on-property lady, so I'm really going to focus on that. There are times when it may make sense to stay off property. And I'll leave that to you and your family to decide. But as you make that decision, I really want you to keep these things in mind for off-property options. First, how are you going to get to the parks or to Disney Springs? Ubers and Lyfts can really add up if you're taking them everywhere.

[00:17:05] [SPEAKER_02] So if you stay off property, you'll want to be mindful of that. Your off-property resort might have a shuttle. And if it does, you need to make sure that you understand all the ins and outs of its schedule. In some cases, the amount of time that an off-property shuttle will take because of the limited times that are available, or because multiple resorts share a shuttle, it can take a lot of time away from your vacation. If you plan to rope drop, which is the term for anyone who's new out there,

[00:17:34] [SPEAKER_02] for getting to the park and being ready to walk in the moment they allow guests out of the main hub area, that will be much harder to do from off-property. So it is something to be aware of. Next, if you have your own car, don't forget parking fees. If you're staying on Disney property and you've paid to park at your resort, you can park at the parks for free because you've already paid to park at your resort and it's good for the day. But if you're staying off-property, you'll be paying to park at the parks every single day that you're there

[00:18:03] [SPEAKER_02] unless you happen to have an annual pass. So don't forget that. And then lastly, don't forget to look for the hidden fees. There are many off-property resorts that I've seen that look cheaper than a Disney value property. And by value, I mean the category of property. But have resort fees that are tacked on on top of the nightly rate. And between that and dealing with non-Disney transportation, to me, it's always worth it to stay on property

[00:18:31] [SPEAKER_02] even if you're staying at a Disney value resort. That's just my opinion. But again, that's a personal choice. And maybe you have reward points with a specific hotel chain or you prefer to rent a vacation home, etc. Whatever it is, if off-property is right for you, that's okay. You do you. Since this will be focused on on-property though, let's get into the resorts. First, what are the benefits to staying on property? Number one, location, location, location. You are closer to the action.

[00:19:01] [SPEAKER_02] Number two, transportation, transportation, transportation. Once you have arrived on property, you really don't need a car to get around Disney. Disney transportation, while it can have its challenges sometimes, is overall very good. Number three, being inside the bubble. You hear this phrase a lot, but there's a lot to be said about that magical Disney feeling that you get when you're on property.

[00:19:26] [SPEAKER_02] And by staying at a Disney resort, you get to have that feeling even when you're not in the parks. The theming and the cast members are really what give you that magical feeling. So that's worth a lot to me. Number four, early entry. If you are staying on property, you can start your park day 30 minutes before other park visitors. And depending on how you strategize, that can mean getting a highly popular ride in without a long wait.

[00:19:52] [SPEAKER_02] Or sometimes you can get multiple rides done if you aren't choosing one of those showstoppers. Number five, charging privileges. If you are someone who likes to have all of your purchases on one bill, you can charge your merchandise and meals back to your room using your magic band or your room key if you don't have a magic band. Number six, access to discounted magic bands. If you're staying on property before your trip, you will have access to purchase a discounted magic band in advance of that trip.

[00:20:21] [SPEAKER_02] You can see that in the resort section of your My Disney Experience app. And if you buy a magic band, whether you use the pre-arrival discount or you purchase one later, always buy it directly from Disney. They are non-transferable, so you don't want to purchase a used one accidentally from someone. I definitely recommend a magic band so that you don't have to keep up with a key card. But while you're at it, make sure you buy the locks from Amazon so that you don't accidentally lose it. I'll link the ones that I purchased before in the show notes.

[00:20:51] [SPEAKER_02] That helps keep your band safe and secure and you will not lose it when you're on a ride or doing other fun things. All right. Now that I've convinced you that on property is the way to go, let's talk about the different categories of Disney resorts. I'm going to give a brief description of all the resorts in each category with some pros and cons, and I'll mention which are my favorites for each category. So this is kind of going to be a long section. So hopefully you're in here for the long haul. All right. The first category of Disney resorts is value.

[00:21:21] [SPEAKER_02] As you might guess, these are the most affordable of the Disney resorts. These resorts are all motel style, meaning the door opens to the outside. It's not an interior hallway. There are a couple exceptions. They all have a pool. They have bars. They have a lobby that will include a food court and a resort store and an arcade usually. And they also have a lot of friendly cast members that are there to assist you. The value resorts are great.

[00:21:48] [SPEAKER_02] They're big and a lot of families choose to stay there, but it's Disney, so there's families everywhere. If you're going for an adult-only trip, you may want to level up. But overall, the value resorts are a great option for anyone. There are five value resorts to choose from. The first three are often lumped together. They are all situated in a row, and they're basically the same layout but with different themes. We have all-star sports, all-star music, and all-star movies.

[00:22:18] [SPEAKER_02] So with these, you can just pick your theme you prefer, and you're good to go. Each has giant icons that you can take photos with. So you want a photo with a giant sports ball? I don't even know what to say there. But when you see it, you'll know what I'm talking about. There are giant statues of different things within the theme, and they're great for picture-taking opportunities.

[00:22:43] [SPEAKER_02] All-star sports of these three is the most affordable, and it's kind of notorious for having cheer teams, dance teams, and groups like that staying there. If you're looking to save the most money on your resort, though, it might be the right choice for you. So music and movies are not that much more expensive. So if you prefer those themes, you might give those a try. Most of the rooms at the All-Stars sleep four people between a queen-size bed and a Murphy bed that pulls down out of a couch or a table.

[00:23:13] [SPEAKER_02] Music, it should be noted, also has the option of family suites, which is where we stayed for our Disney Dame's budget-to-bougie trip in January. And these family suites sleep up to six people. They have a queen-size bed in the bedroom, and in the main living area, there's a Murphy-style bed behind the couch and a Murphy-style bed behind the dining table. Those suites in All-Star Music include a separate kitchen with a full-size fridge, a sink, and a microwave.

[00:23:42] [SPEAKER_02] They don't have a stove or anything like that, but it's perfect for heating up leftovers and for making sandwiches and that sort of thing. There are also two full bathrooms in these suites as well, which you know when you're traveling with a group makes all the difference in the world. All of the All-Star resorts are bus transportation to the parks and Disney Springs only, so you will only have that option or, of course, Uber or Lyft or your own car. The last two value resorts are Pop Century and Art of Animation.

[00:24:11] [SPEAKER_02] These are sort of sister resorts that flank the last step on the Skyliner. So they both have bus transportation to Magic Kingdom, Animal Kingdom, and Disney Springs, but you can use the Skyliner to get to Epcot and to Hollywood Studios. Or, if you want, to make a stop at the Riviera in the morning for some coffee and some banana bread from La Petite Cafe. Be aware that the Skyliner does typically have a week or two in January where they do regular maintenance yearly.

[00:24:38] [SPEAKER_02] So double-check when you're booking that the Skyliner will be open. Pop Century is themed after the different decades between the 50s through the 90s. And Art of Animation is themed after animation. It has a Cars section, a Lion King section, and a Little Mermaid section. So at Pop, you're going to have things like giant Rubik's Cubes to take photos with. And at Art of Animation, you'll see a life-size Lightning McQueen and all his friends in the Cars section.

[00:25:06] [SPEAKER_02] So it's really easy to walk between these two resorts because they are situated so closely with the Skyliner between them. So you can enjoy both sides for all of those photo opportunities. Between these two, Pop Century is much more affordable. And essentially, it's really very similar to an all-star resort, but with different theming and the Skyliner access added. Art of Animation is actually priced more closely with an upper moderate or a deluxe resort.

[00:25:34] [SPEAKER_02] And that is because most of the rooms at Art of Animation are actually family suites. They're family suites that are themed like Cars or Lion King or Finding Nemo. It is very heavy on the theming, and that could be a lot of fun for kids. Maybe not as much fun if it's an adults-only trip. Like All Star Music, there is a queen-size bed in the bedroom. And the living area can sleep another four people. So that's a total of six people. But the difference here is that it's not two Murphy beds.

[00:26:03] [SPEAKER_02] It's a pull-out couch and one Murphy bed that comes out of the table area. The kitchen in the Art of Animation suites also looks to be a mini fridge to me, not a full-sized fridge from what I've seen in the photos. Art of Animation is, I have honestly not stayed there yet, but it does look like it's a mini fridge. So unless the Skyliner is what's guiding your decision and you need a suite, I really recommend the All Star Music Resort for a suite.

[00:26:32] [SPEAKER_02] If you don't need a suite, I recommend Pop Century for the value of it and also that Skyliner access. At the end of the day, though, just know that you really can't go wrong with any of your value options. Of the value resorts, I have stayed at Pop Century the most. And I also stayed in the All Star Music suite in January with the Disney Dames, like I mentioned. My top value recommendation, with the caveat that I've only stayed at two so far, is Pop Century.

[00:27:00] [SPEAKER_02] I continue to go back time and time again. I love that resort. I think it's so much fun. I love the nostalgia in the lobby of the different things that they have there showcased from the different decades. So, you know, if you're a kid of the 70s or the 80s or the 90s, they have sort of like a museum display in the lobby that shows you things from those different decades.

[00:27:24] [SPEAKER_02] And it's just so nostalgic to look and see something that you had as a kid and to show it to your children. And I just love it. I think it's a great value and literally a great value in the value resort category. And it's so easy to get places on that Skyliner. So that would be my top recommendation. I will say I did really enjoy my stay at All Star Music, though. I enjoyed that suite. I thought it was a great experience. And it was a nice introduction to me to the All Stars.

[00:27:54] [SPEAKER_02] I will be going back to stay at All Star Sports very soon for the first time. And then, of course, I will eventually make my way around to All Star movies and to Art of Animation because you've got to catch them all just like Pokemon, I guess. The next level up after value will be the moderate category. And you have four options in this category. Caribbean Beach or Caribbean Beach, however you prefer to say that. Coronado Springs, Port Orleans French Quarter and Port Orleans Riverside.

[00:28:24] [SPEAKER_02] Like the value resorts, a majority of the rooms in these resorts are motel style, meaning that they are open to the outside, not to an interior hallway. Though Coronado Springs does have Grand Destino Tower at the heart of its resort. And that is a hotel style tower. At the moderate resorts, you will have everything that the value resorts have to offer. But you will also have a slide in your resort pool, something that you do not have at the values.

[00:28:52] [SPEAKER_02] And you will also be more likely to have a sit-down table restaurant or a lounge in addition to a food court and just a regular bar. Since I mentioned Coronado, I'll start there. So this resort is Spanish and Mexican and Southwest American themed. And Grand Destino Tower sits in the center. Grand Destino Tower is beautiful. You have access to multiple table service restaurants and bars.

[00:29:17] [SPEAKER_02] And you can easily get to the food court and the store through an attached indoor corridor that connects that main tower building over to the convention center that it's attached to. This is a moderate resort that feels like a deluxe resort because it's attached to that convention center. So there are a lot of convention guests that come to do their convention there. And then they're staying right there at the resort. So that is something to be aware of.

[00:29:46] [SPEAKER_02] And for some people, that's going to maybe slightly feel a little less Disney to them. But to somebody like me who really likes the deluxe resorts, it's a great way to have that deluxe feel but have the moderate price level. The outer buildings at Coronado are all very nice too. They're peaceful and there are some quiet pools scattered around amongst them so you don't have to go over to the main pool. The main pool is where you would have access to that water slide though.

[00:30:15] [SPEAKER_02] So it can be a little bit of a walk to get over to the tower to access the food court, to access the different dining options. But there's an internal bus loop if you don't feel like walking. For somebody like me who walks a lot in New York, it's really not that bad. And especially if it's good weather, it's just a nice peaceful walk through the resort to get where you need to go. If it wasn't going to be so great weather, that might be a different story.

[00:30:42] [SPEAKER_02] All right. Caribbean Beach or Caribbean Beach. I still can't decide how I want to say this so I'm just going to keep switching it up. I might change it every single time I say it. It is themed like the Caribbean, obviously. It is a huge resort. It also has an internal bus loop and there are scattered quiet pools throughout in addition to their main pool.

[00:31:03] [SPEAKER_02] The food court has a lot of Caribbean themed food in addition to the basics that you might find like burgers and chicken fingers and that sort of thing. So if you really like those flavors, you might be very happy here. Caribbean Beach is the one moderate resort that is on the Skyliner. So a lot of people love it for that. To me though, the biggest draw of this resort is its proximity to the Riviera. So that's the biggest draw for me.

[00:31:32] [SPEAKER_02] That's the biggest pro that I can think of with this resort because if I were staying there, I would probably spend most of my time walking over to the Riviera to be honest with you. Next, we have Port Orleans, which is actually divided into two separate resorts that are both New Orleans themed. Port Orleans French Quarter is themed like the French Quarter neighborhood in New Orleans with touches of Mardi Gras throughout. If you're looking for the famous Mickey shaped beignets, this is where you will get them.

[00:31:59] [SPEAKER_02] In addition to bus transportation to the parks, you have boat transportation to Disney Springs or over to visit Port Orleans Riverside, though you can actually walk very easily between those two resorts. This resort only has a quick service option and a jazz lounge. So there's no table service restaurant at French Quarter. If you want table service though, you have such easy access to Disney Springs, it really makes up for it. So don't even worry about that.

[00:32:28] [SPEAKER_02] French Quarter is a very small resort. It's very easy to walk to all the rooms and to get to the main building for food or to visit the shop. I love the look of this resort. It has so much wrought iron and the Spanish moss. The Spanish moss, friends, is everywhere. And I'm obsessed with Spanish moss. There's something about it that is just so pretty to me. I absolutely love it. Port Orleans Riverside is much larger.

[00:32:55] [SPEAKER_02] So it does have an internal bus loop, whereas French Quarter does not because it's so small. Riverside is divided into two different sections. So one section is called Magnolia Bend and it has buildings that look like the old mansions of New Orleans. The other section is called Alligator Bayou and that has more of a cottage feel to it. Alligator Bayou, I know for a fact, has some rooms that can sleep five and the entire resort is dog friendly.

[00:33:23] [SPEAKER_02] So that is a plus if you want to bring your man's best friend, woman's best friend, your furry friend with you. If you want to upgrade your stay a little bit while you're at Riverside, Magnolia Bend, the mansion section, features some so-called royal rooms. And these are princess themed and have some magical touches. Specifically, they're very Tiana themed, but there's little touches from all of the different princesses in there. I don't want to spoil anything.

[00:33:51] [SPEAKER_02] And it has the coolest light up headboards on the beds that you can push a button and they just magic happens. It's a lot of fun. There's also some other hidden things in there. If you want to see those, you could certainly check those out in a resort review on YouTube and you can easily find that. Just look up Royal Rooms, Port Orleans, Riverside.

[00:34:15] [SPEAKER_02] At Riverside, you will have access to a food court, but you'll also have table service restaurant there and a lounge where you can go and watch the famous Yeehaw Bob entertain on certain nights of the week. He is a lot of fun. So whether you're staying at Port Orleans Riverside or French Quarter, if you have time, I recommend heading over there, having a drink, watching him entertain. He is just he's just a born entertainer and you will have the best time.

[00:34:43] [SPEAKER_02] I have stayed at all four of these moderate resorts and my favorite of the four is French Quarter. I love its laid back vibe and its beauty. I love how small it is. I love that it is so close to Disney Springs and I like having all day access to beignets. So what else is there that you could want? A close second for me, though, I will say is probably Coronado Springs. And that is because of that deluxe feel.

[00:35:13] [SPEAKER_02] That Grand Destino Tower has made such a difference for that resort. And it's just a really sophisticated place to stay in the moderate category. I would recommend it, especially if you're doing an adult stay. I mean, really, you can stay anywhere in an adult stay. But if you want that elevated feel where maybe there's not quite so many kids running underfoot, Coronado Springs might be the place for you. Next, we have the deluxe resorts and the deluxe villa resorts.

[00:35:42] [SPEAKER_02] And you know, I love a deluxe. A deluxe resort refers to hotel rooms, while deluxe villa refers to DVC rooms. You don't have to be a DVC member to stay there. You can pay cash to stay in one of the DVC rooms directly through Disney, though they don't release those directly through Disney until about a month before because they have to reserve them for DVC members to be able to use their points for.

[00:36:07] [SPEAKER_02] If you want to stay in a DVC room and you want to plan more than a month in advance, you can always rent DVC points through an owner or through a third-party company like David's DVC Rental or DVC Rental Store. I highly recommend going through a third-party unless it's a DVC member that you know personally, not just somebody on Facebook. I've heard about people getting scammed in that way. It should be a personal friend of yours, in my opinion.

[00:36:34] [SPEAKER_02] I have used David's DVC Rental at times when I haven't wanted to use my own points and I wanted to still stay in a DVC property. It will save you a lot of money. DVC Rental Store is another very reputable company, so those are the two I would go with. Just make sure that you read all of the terms and conditions. But they're legit companies and they can save you so much.

[00:36:56] [SPEAKER_02] By renting DVC points, you can actually stay in a DVC studio for a similar price to a moderate resort or even get a one- or two-bedroom villa for the price of like a regular deluxe hotel room. It's just so much money that you save. But again, read those terms and conditions. Depending on what company you're going with, it might be easier or harder to cancel your stay. So you kind of want to be sure of your trip dates and make sure that you've read whether there is cancellation allowed.

[00:37:26] [SPEAKER_02] David's, when I've used it in the past, has kind of been final sale. But I know that there are others, and it might be DVC Rental Store, that allows you to cancel within a certain amount of time. So just something to be aware of. The other thing with renting DVC points is that typically, in my experience with David's, once you have been matched with a DVC point rental and you're getting all that set up, you pay for it all at once.

[00:37:51] [SPEAKER_02] Whereas with the Disney resorts, you usually pay for one night's worth as a deposit, and then you have plenty of time to cancel, and you don't owe the rest until you've checked out, basically. Although you can pay in advance, of course, but you owe it at the end of your stay. With these DVC points rentals, though, you mostly have to pay in advance. So you just need to be ready to make that purchase. Deluxe resorts and villas have water slides in their main pool, like the moderate resorts.

[00:38:19] [SPEAKER_02] And they also have access to table service restaurants, every single one of them, usually a lounge as well. Quick service restaurants will be in these resorts, not a food court. So a quick service, you know, something fast, you can walk up to a counter and order, but it's not going to be a gigantic food court where you have lots of options for fast food. They usually also have more than one transportation option.

[00:38:45] [SPEAKER_02] They also all have gyms and arcades, and usually, more often than not, they have more than one transportation option. Not necessarily just to the parks, but maybe a transportation option to get to Disney Springs and that sort of thing. There are a lot of these in this deluxe category, so I'm just going to move really quickly through them. And I'm going to start with the two that I have not stayed at yet, Animal Kingdom Lodge and the Yacht Club. Animal Kingdom Lodge is the closest to Animal Kingdom.

[00:39:11] [SPEAKER_02] Like all deluxe resorts, you'll have access to that water slide, to a table service restaurant, actually multiple table service restaurants, a quick service, not a food court, a lounge. It's going to be hotel style, hallway access to your room. But every deluxe resort has something special about it. And at Animal Kingdom Lodge, it's the animals. There is a savannah right outside that you can see directly from your room if you book a savannah view. That's right.

[00:39:38] [SPEAKER_02] You can have coffee on your balcony while you watch the animals. Animal Kingdom Lodge does only have bus transportation. As I'm talking here, I'm realizing this is the only one I think that only has bus transportation. All the others should have a second form of transportation. We'll see as I go through the list. The next one that I have not stayed at, the next and last one that I have not stayed at, is the Yacht Club. The Yacht Club is closest to Epcot, and it's also walking distance to Hollywood Studios.

[00:40:05] [SPEAKER_02] You have access to the Skyliner in case you don't feel like walking, or again, if you want to visit the Riviera. But it would probably just be faster to walk or about the same amount of time as to walk all the way over to the Skyliner top on it. The theming here is that of a yacht, if that's not obvious. So you're going to be thinking lots of wood, lots of nautical touches. It's very she-she. I have not stayed at either of those resorts, so Animal Kingdom Lodge or Yacht Club.

[00:40:34] [SPEAKER_02] I am most excited to try Animal Kingdom Lodge. I feel like Yacht Club feels a little stuffy to me for some reason, but Animal Kingdom Lodge is just so different than anything you can experience anywhere else. So I am really looking forward to getting to try that sometime soon. Right next door to the Yacht Club is the Beach Club. These two resorts do share a gigantic pool called Stormalong Bay.

[00:41:00] [SPEAKER_02] And pool is maybe too small a word to use for it because there's so many parts to this pool, if you have not seen it. Part of it has a sand bottom. There's a section that is a lazy river, but just beware. It is super deep for whatever reason, so just be careful. Like literally, if I went and put my feet on the bottom, I think I'm not sure that my head would still be above the water. It is that deep. And lazy rivers are not usually that deep, so I have no idea what's going on there.

[00:41:29] [SPEAKER_02] They also have the water slide. It comes out of a shipwreck, which is really super cool. If you are a parent of a small child listening, though, I do want to warn you that you have to exit the entire pool area and cross over the sidewalk there to access the entrance to the water slide. So if you have a kid that is not old enough to do that by themselves, you're going to be schlepping back and forth a lot. The Beach Club has a beachy theme. Again, these themes are pretty obvious.

[00:41:57] [SPEAKER_02] And it has a table service that has a character meal right there at the resort. So you can book that if you want easy access to eating with the characters. It's about as close as you can get to Epcot. So you will have easy access to the restaurants in the park also if you have a park ticket. Hollywood Studios is walkable from the Beach Club for sure. I'd say probably about 20 minutes if you are walking at a leisurely pace, like a very leisurely pace, and 15 minutes if you kind of speed walk it.

[00:42:26] [SPEAKER_02] Across the lake from the Yacht and Beach Club is the Boardwalk Resort. This resort is made to feel like the New Jersey Shore. The lobby has a carousel vibe, and you have easy access to several great bars and restaurants down there on the boardwalk. From here, you can also very easily walk into Epcot or to Hollywood Studios. And you can access the Skyliner if you don't feel like walking.

[00:42:51] [SPEAKER_02] Again, it's probably going to be faster for you to walk to Hollywood Studios than to walk over to the Skyliner and then take it from there. And depending on where you're staying within the resort, it might be faster from one end than the other. But I just always feel like if you're able to, walking is a great option from any of these three resorts. One thing I do want to note about the boardwalk, if you're thinking about staying there, is that you have to go outside to access the quick service.

[00:43:20] [SPEAKER_02] So in bad weather, that's going to be a downer. You're not going to have that at Yacht Club and Beach Club, which I think share their quick service between the two sort of in the pass-through area. I could be wrong about that. There might be two. I think there's two separate now that I'm saying it. But either way, you get to stay indoors to access that quick service. Even if you're staying, say, in the villas section of the Beach Club, you're in a covered walkway. So you go outside, but it's covered.

[00:43:49] [SPEAKER_02] So if it's raining, you still have a way to get there without walking through the rain. Boardwalk, that is not the case. If you want to go to the quick service, you are heading outside in the weather to access that. So just something to think about when you're thinking about staying at the boardwalk. Now, let's move over to the Magic Kingdom area deluxe resorts. The Grand Floridian, the Polynesian, the Contemporary, and Wilderness Lodge.

[00:44:16] [SPEAKER_02] Besides Wilderness Lodge, the other three are located on the monorail. So let's start with the Grand Floridian, which is the flagship resort of Walt Disney World. The theme here is Victorian, and it is beautiful. It's also home to the Wedding Pavilion and to the Grand Floridian Spas. The table service restaurants here are aplenty.

[00:44:40] [SPEAKER_02] You have the Grand Floridian Cafe, you have 1900 Park Fair, Narcooses, Citricos, and of course, there is the famous and insanely expensive Victoria and Albert's, which is a bucket list meal for all true Disney fans. I'm going to link to my friend Elizabeth in the show notes because she was lucky enough to experience a meal there, and it was fascinating to hear about.

[00:45:05] [SPEAKER_02] The Grand Floridian also has the Enchanted Rose Lounge, which is themed after Beauty and the Beast, but in a very classy and subtle way. Like if you really weren't thinking about it or paying too close attention, it just looks like a beautiful lounge. If your kids are like most kids and like to spend time in the pool, the kids splash pad section of the main pool has an Alice in Wonderland theme, which is so cute. I also really love the quiet pool at the Grand Floridian.

[00:45:34] [SPEAKER_02] It is so peaceful and it has a really good bar, so something to think about. In addition to the monorail, you will also have boat access to the Magic Kingdom, or you can easily walk over to the Magic Kingdom from the Grand Floridian. If you walk from the Grand Floridian away from the Magic Kingdom, though, you will come to the Polynesian. The Polynesian is themed like the South Pacific. The pool at this resort is so much fun.

[00:46:02] [SPEAKER_02] It has a really wonderful bar right there, and the splash pad is just insane. This is another resort where I also actually really love the quiet pool, though. What I love the most about the Polynesian, though, is just the vibes and also the food options. There is something about the food there that is just so good to me. Even their quick service, Captain Cook's, is amazing. That's where you're going to find those pulled pork nachos that I always talk about. Oh, so good.

[00:46:32] [SPEAKER_02] Or the coconut meatballs. Oh, to die for. Chef's kiss. In addition to the monorail at the Polynesian, you will also have boat access to the Magic Kingdom, just like the Grand Floridian does. You can also technically walk to the Magic Kingdom from the Polynesian, but you will have to go past the Grand Floridian to get there. There's also a third option in addition to the monorail and the boat.

[00:46:59] [SPEAKER_02] You could technically walk over into the Ticket and Transportation Center and take the ferry. I'm not sure why you would do that, but it's an option, right? The last monorail resort is the Contemporary, which is modern theming. The hotel rooms within the Contemporary actually have an Incredibles overlay to them, and there are some DVC rooms there too in a tower section called Bay Lake Tower. You can walk from the Contemporary over to the Magic Kingdom,

[00:47:29] [SPEAKER_02] and you do have access to a boat that will take you over to Fort Wilderness Campground, where you can visit the Hoop-dee-doo Review if you want, and that is a dinner theater performance, or you can take the boat over to the Wilderness Lodge. There are several table service options at the Contemporary, including character dining at Chef Mickey's, and you'll also have access to California Grill, Steakhouse 71. If you're DVC, you'll have access to Top of the World Lounge if you have that blue card membership.

[00:47:59] [SPEAKER_02] So there are a lot of great things about the Contemporary. The last of the Magic Kingdom resorts, and the one that is not on the monorail, is Wilderness Lodge. It's rustic, it's homey, and it really gives you that feel of being away from everything. The trees are pine trees, and you just feel a million miles away from Florida, and a million miles away from the Magic Kingdom, even though you are a short seven-minute boat ride away. And I've timed it.

[00:48:29] [SPEAKER_02] It's seven minutes. I have said it before, and I will say it again. Wilderness Lodge is my favorite resort. I absolutely love the vibe and the coziness of it, while feeling like I'm getting away from it all. You cannot beat it during the holiday season, with the Christmas trees that are up, and the decorations. It is just gorgeous. There's really nothing better to me than grabbing a cocktail from the Territory Lounge

[00:48:56] [SPEAKER_02] and sitting in that upper balcony area of the lobby in front of one of those fireplaces, just sipping my beverage, reading my book, and people watching. That is a non-park day from heaven. Oh, so good. Last, I'm gonna run through the deluxe villa resorts that are all villas and no hotel rooms. So those would be Old Key West, Saratoga Springs, and the Riviera. Old Key West and Saratoga Springs

[00:49:24] [SPEAKER_02] are both very large resorts. They are older DVC properties. In fact, they are the oldest. And they both have internal bus loops. They both also have boat access to Disney Springs. From Saratoga, you can actually walk to Disney Springs from some of the rooms that are close. But from both, you can have that boat access. So it's an easy way to get over to those wonderful table service restaurants. Now, both of these resorts do have table service restaurants,

[00:49:53] [SPEAKER_02] but they are not the best in my opinion, except for perhaps brunch at Olivia's, which is at Old Key West. The rest of the restaurants, I can take them or leave them. They're there if you need something, if you need an option. But when you are that close to a boat to Disney Springs, in my opinion, that's what you should be doing for your meals while you're staying at those two resorts. Old Key West is going to have that Old Key West, Florida vibe, while Saratoga is themed after Saratoga Springs, New York,

[00:50:22] [SPEAKER_02] with a big emphasis on horse theming. And that is because Saratoga Springs is known for being a place where there are a lot of racehorses and lots of racing. So it is also Saratoga, home to one of the Disney golf courses. Between those two, Old Key West and Saratoga Springs, I strongly prefer Saratoga Springs. That is because I like being able to walk over to Disney Springs if I want. Old Key West, I just wasn't vibing with it.

[00:50:51] [SPEAKER_02] The rooms were very old feeling. They desperately need a renovation sometime soon. I just wasn't feeling it. So between those two, Saratoga Springs would always be my top choice if I'm having to choose from Old Key West and Saratoga Springs. The last villa property is the Riviera. And you want to talk about bougie. The Riviera, in my opinion, is one of the most luxurious of the Disney resorts.

[00:51:18] [SPEAKER_02] It's gorgeous, and it has so many good restaurants and bars and access to the Skyliner. I love the style of this resort. It is swanky, but also chill. I love seeing people outside enjoying the pool or playing chess with those giant lawn chess sets. And I'll just say it, it has the best coffee on property, in my opinion. If I have to rank my top three deluxe resorts, I would say Wilderness Lodge, number one,

[00:51:46] [SPEAKER_02] Polynesia, number two, and Riviera, number three. I didn't talk about the campgrounds before, but I think they do have to be mentioned. The campgrounds are available if you want to rent a spot for your tent or for a camper that you have. You can always rent a camper to rent for use on the campgrounds if you want, but I think a lot of people who stay there actually own their campers. Who knows? They also have cabins that you can stay in there, and those recently became DVC cabins.

[00:52:16] [SPEAKER_02] I haven't had a chance to stay at the campgrounds or Port Wilderness cabins, but the one thing I've gathered from my research and from talking to people like my friend Kate, who stayed, is that you really want to rent a golf cart if you're staying at the Port Wilderness campgrounds or at the cabins. It will just make your life so much easier to get around. All right. That is all the resorts. I'm going to link the Touring Plan Room Finder

[00:52:46] [SPEAKER_02] into the show notes. It has a database of the view from thousands of Disney Resort rooms, so I'd like to provide that to you in case you want to get a better sense of what your view would be from a different room and help you decide if you want to make specific room requests. If you are a paid subscriber to Touring Plans, you can also have them send your room request over to Disney a few days before your trip. That way you can request a specific room type if you want. There are no guarantees, obviously, but it doesn't hurt to ask for what you want

[00:53:16] [SPEAKER_02] and maybe you'll get it or something comparable. I often use the Room Finder just to look and see like, oh, will this room on this floor be staring directly into a tree or will I be able to see the rest of the resort easily and have maybe a slightly better view? So I find it to be very helpful as long as you understand that your request will not necessarily be honored.

[00:53:42] [SPEAKER_06] Hey, this is Kristen Gallagher with Mickey World Travel. I have a travel tip for how to decide whether you should stay value, moderate, or deluxe. Obviously, when you are choosing a Disney Resort, you want to make sure that you are staying within your means. Disney can be expensive, but it doesn't have to break the bank. When we are choosing a resort, we kind of look at what type of vacation we are going on. So if it's a quick weekend trip where we know we're going to be spending majority of the time in the parks

[00:54:10] [SPEAKER_06] and we're just looking for a place to sleep, then we will go with a value resort. If it's a longer vacation, a week where we know we're going to be doing some rest days, maybe taking some midday breaks and using the pool, then we definitely like to stay deluxe. The deluxe resorts have some amazing amenities. And if you know you're going to use them, then it's totally worth it. So basically, if you know you are going to be in the parks from open to close

[00:54:39] [SPEAKER_06] and you're just looking for a place to rest your head, then go with a value resort. If you're looking for some rest time and some fantastic pools and dining options, then a deluxe resort would be the way to go.

[00:54:54] [SPEAKER_05] Hi, this is Kelly from Wishlist Travel. And I want to talk to you about finding the perfect resort on the Walt Disney World property. One of the things that I really like about Walt Disney World is there's lots of options in terms of where to stay. And I typically think about three different things when choosing my Disney resort. One is budget. Two is location on the property. And three is Disney transportation options. So let's start with budget.

[00:55:24] [SPEAKER_05] Disney has three resort categories, value, moderate, and deluxe. My family tends to like the value and moderate options. We spend a lot of time at the parks when we're at Walt Disney World. So ultimately, our resort is a place to crash at night and sometimes do a pool break during the day. So those options end up working really well for us. The deluxe resorts are absolutely amazing and they have all the bells and whistles. And if that's something that's important to you, then those are a great choice as well.

[00:55:54] [SPEAKER_05] When you're thinking about location at Walt Disney World, somebody once said to me that the property is the size of the city of San Francisco and that really put it in perspective for me. So one of the things to think about is where is your resort located on the property and what are you closest to? Do you want to be near Disney Springs? Do you want to be near Magic Kingdom? Do you want to be near Epcot, Animal Kingdom? And then ultimately, how long will it take you to get to the various places? And that brings me to the last one, which is Disney Transportation.

[00:56:23] [SPEAKER_05] At Disney, you can take boats, you can take the Skyliner, you can take Disney buses, and you can take the monorail. Our favorite is the Skyliner. So really, these days, our two favorite resorts are Pop Century, which is a value option, or Caribbean Beach Resort, which is a moderate option. And again, we like those two options because of the Skyliner, which will take us directly to Hollywood Studios and Epcot. Ultimately, my goal is to stay at every Disney resort.

[00:56:52] [SPEAKER_05] And I'm getting close, which is exciting. And we really have never stayed any place we didn't love for one reason or another. So when talking to your travel agent, really think about those three key components, location, Disney transportation, and of course, your budget.

[00:57:09] [SPEAKER_07] Miranda here again from 101 Vacations Travel Agency. See, a question I get a lot as a travel agent is, is it worth it to stay deluxe? Well, it's definitely up to you and your family. And that is where we as travel agents come in to really help dial into the most important parts of your trip. So particularly if you are a family who is made up of maybe little kids,

[00:57:37] [SPEAKER_07] or if you have grandparents coming on the trip, sometimes that quick return to the resort is more important than ever. If you have teenagers and you're more interested in having a bit more space, it may not matter quite as much. But what I will say is staying deluxe truly gives you a different experience. Each resort is a bit different as well. So I love helping to decide

[00:58:06] [SPEAKER_07] which is the best resort with my clients. I love having conversations on the phone to nail down which resort has the best pool or the best room layout, or which park are you going to be spending the most time at? So which resort makes the most sense for you? Or maybe your kids really like animals, so maybe Animal Kingdom Lodge really is the best option. These are all the things that I have discussions with my clients about before we choose a resort for their trip.

[00:58:41] [SPEAKER_08] Step five, consider transportation.

[00:58:46] [SPEAKER_02] If you are able to drive to Orlando, that's the best, and you will definitely save some money there. If you're coming from far away and driving, you'll have access to your car, which is nice, but you do have to build in that driving time into your trip. Many people don't want to use vacation days for that. So we're going to talk about flying, not very much. This is a very personal choice. If you are flying, you will need to compare all your options, obviously, to get that best price and to get the best times for you. And then you'll need to also arrange

[00:59:15] [SPEAKER_02] for how you will get to the airport from your resort. I know the Mears bus service has mixed reviews, but I've mostly had great experiences with it. Uber and Lyft are also always an option, and there are a number of private car services that you can book so that you know that they'll be there and waiting once you land. I'm not really going to spend any more time on this because this is a very personal choice based on your preferred airlines. Any episode of the podcast that someone has used a car service that they like,

[00:59:44] [SPEAKER_02] I always link to it in the show notes. So if you're ever listening to an episode and you hear me talk about a car service or you hear guests talk about a car service, those will be linked in the show notes. My best recommendation when it comes to transportation, and this is not going to surprise anybody, is just make sure you have TSA pre-check. I think it's always worth having, but anyone who has tried to fly out of Orlando can tell you that the lines of security, particularly in Terminal A and B, can get very long.

[01:00:15] [SPEAKER_08] Step six, book your dining reservations.

[01:00:21] [SPEAKER_02] Disney has a dining plan that you can utilize, and I encourage you to really think about it before you sign up for it. If you like paying in advance and knowing that you don't have to worry about it, that's great. But you have to work really hard to so-called get your value out of it if you're talking about dollar amounts alone. You'll want to order the more expensive items on the menu and always take advantage of the included alcohol if you're old enough to drink to get your bang for your buck. The Main Street Dish podcast

[01:00:50] [SPEAKER_02] has a wonderful episode where they break down the dining plan with someone who works with data and statistics and that sort of thing, and it was so interesting to hear. For some families, the dining plan is 100% worth it because of what they're getting their value from.

[01:01:08] [SPEAKER_00] Hi, everyone. My name's Haley, and I'm with Smart Moms Travel. My piece of advice is if you have little kids or yourself who loves to do character dining, I think the dining plan is 100% worth it. I know for my family, we love to do at least one character meal a day. My husband is not a huge fan of waiting in character lines,

[01:01:36] [SPEAKER_00] and a character meal is 100% the way to go. I can distract everybody with food while the characters come around, and if you get the dining plan, you get to do the character meals and a snack, and you get a little alcoholic drink and a quick service meal every day of your trip, and then you don't have to worry about the big price tag for each individual character meal.

[01:02:05] [SPEAKER_02] As you heard, Haley has a solid reason for loving the dining plan. She gets her value out of the dining plan by utilizing character meals, which can be pricey, and based on the fact that she and her husband enjoy the alcohol that's included in the dining plan, this makes perfect sense for her. For me, my value is placed more on the total dollar amount that I'm spending, not on the prepayment aspect of it or getting that all-inclusive feel. So I have done my own casual testing over the years

[01:02:35] [SPEAKER_02] where I keep track of all of my food and drink costs and basically just buy anything I want to eat or drink when I want to eat it or drink it, and I also purchase the resort refillable mug out of pocket, and when I've totaled all that up, it still came out to be less than what I would have paid if I'd booked the dining plan. I always say it's sort of like in gambling. The house always wins, but in this case, the mouse always wins. But I also recognize that not everybody's

[01:03:04] [SPEAKER_02] going to be dollar-driven like me, and to some, the experience of just being able to swipe and not think about it is worth a lot. If you're hooked on that dollar amount like me, though, the dining plan actually takes more thought than not having it because I would always be trying to beat the system. My recommendation is always that anyone who wants that prepaid feel but isn't really sure about the dining plan, put the amount of money that would have cost you to get the dining plan

[01:03:34] [SPEAKER_02] onto a Disney gift card and then use that to make all your food and beverage purchases. At the end of your trip, you're probably going to have money left over and then you can use it for souvenirs or you can save it for your next trip or a trip sometime in the future. All right, on to dining reservations. Dining reservations can be made 60 days in advance of your trip. So another benefit for staying on property is that at the 60-day mark from the first day of your trip,

[01:04:03] [SPEAKER_02] you can book all of the days for your trip that you're staying at that resort. Meaning, if you are staying at one resort for the whole time, you can book your whole vacation's worth of dining plans on that 60-day mark. If you're doing a split stay, however, you can book your first whole part of the split at the 60-day mark and then you'll need to wait for the 60-day mark to happen for the next part of your trip. So for example, if I am staying at one resort for two nights and then moving

[01:04:32] [SPEAKER_02] to a second resort, my 60-day mark for those first two nights is going to be different than the 60-day mark for the next part of my stay. So you just have to be aware of that. If you're staying off property, your 60-day mark will be every single day. So you will need to hop onto the dining reservation system and each day try to book those. That can make it kind of competitive if you are trying to get dining reservations and they've already been taken up by people

[01:05:02] [SPEAKER_02] who are staying on property and you're staying off. Also, if you're doing that split stay thing, you will not have access to make dining reservations for the end part of your trip whereas you would if you were staying at one resort the entire time. So it's just something to consider. What I find is that people tend to get really stressed out about the dining reservations. So here's my tips for you. Number one, determine which reservations you want that will be the hardest to get and book those first when you sit down

[01:05:32] [SPEAKER_02] at that 60-day mark. You may also want to book them for towards the end of your trip time so that there will be more availability in those later days of the vacation whereas some of the beginning days might get taken up by people for whom that was the end of their vacation if that makes any sense at all now that I'm saying it. Number two, I recommend no more than one table service reservation per day max. Table service reservations take up a lot of time and they're pricey. Also,

[01:06:01] [SPEAKER_02] because it's a reservation you have less flexibility because you actually have to step away from the opportunity to do other things to go sit down and have your reservation. So, I recommend no more than one per day and I actually recommend having some days where you don't have any dining reservations. That will give you maximum flexibility on those days. If you have a no table service day and in the middle of the day you decide you'd like to sit down somewhere for a nicer meal you will find something. Just check in the app

[01:06:31] [SPEAKER_02] and there will be plenty of dining options for you across property so I guarantee you're going to get something at the last minute if you want to. So, just keep that in mind but having that day of flexibility where you can say oh yeah sure let's make a dining reservation or you can say you know what we're happy here at the pool let's just keep doing the pool and when we're done we'll walk over to the quick service that sort of thing. So, it's nice to have that flexibility and that will give you a more relaxed feeling on your vacation

[01:07:00] [SPEAKER_02] than trying to run to make that there's so many things to run to on a Disney vacation the last thing you want to do is to be running to get to your reservation for a ride and running to a dining reservation there's just so much running around that's happening having a day where you don't necessarily have to be somewhere at a certain time is really nice. And number three if the reservation you want is all booked up just keep checking new reservations will pop up as people change their plans particularly

[01:07:29] [SPEAKER_02] the closer you get to your trip there are even websites where you can have it keep an eye out for you and then it will email or text you when it finds one so you can just jump in and try to get it the ones that I have used the most that I will link in the show notes are free or have free options so the ones that I've used mostly have been called Stakeout Mouse Dining and the Touring Plans Dining Reservation Finder at the end of the day I just want everyone to know that you

[01:07:59] [SPEAKER_02] can have a magical trip even if you don't end up getting all the dining reservations you were hoping for try not to stress too much about it

[01:08:09] [SPEAKER_03] Hi I'm Molly at Magic Memories with Molly and I have a way to save some money on your next Disney trip something I do is order grocery delivery to my resort case of water breakfast foods snacks just a few odds and ends to kind of keep us from having to buy every single thing in the parks and it really does help another money saving idea when it comes to food is to order a kids meal at quick service restaurants I find that it is typically plenty of food

[01:08:38] [SPEAKER_03] for me especially when we're walking around the parks all day you don't always want a big sit down meal with every single meal so those are my two money saving tips when it comes to food at Disney thanks

[01:08:50] [SPEAKER_07] this is Miranda at 101 Vacations Travel Agency one of my biggest tips for dining at Disney is it is completely okay if you go and split entrees and appetizers at restaurants this does not include your character dining or your buffets but for some of your pricier sit down dinners so for example Sanaa is one of our

[01:09:20] [SPEAKER_07] personal favorites also great for gluten free dining if you have an allergy we find that their food is a little bit heavier it's a bit more savory and so we like to go and split bread service and then maybe split butter chicken and get some drinks to go with it that is a great way to not only control you know how much you're spending on dinner but also to be able to try some more items so we love splitting dishes

[01:09:50] [SPEAKER_07] at dinner I also love hitting up a lounge so one of my favorite lounges is Citricos love going to grab their side salad with some chicken on it and then picking another appetizer to go with it paired with a fun cocktail so don't be afraid to try some of the other sit down restaurants at Disney without having to order a full three course meal

[01:10:12] [SPEAKER_08] step seven book add-on experiences

[01:10:21] [SPEAKER_02] when I say add-on experiences I'm talking about things like the dolphins in depth tour that my friend Molly did which I actually think went extinct within the past year the experience I should say not dolphins dolphins still exist or the behind the seeds tour that Amy recently did these can usually be booked up to 60 days in advance of your trip just like the dining reservations and some of them will fill up very quickly like the up close with rhinos tour that my friend Krista

[01:10:50] [SPEAKER_02] did and by the way I'm going to link to all these people's trip reports in the show notes for you if you're interested while others I'm thinking like the behind the seats tour that I mentioned that Amy did can be easier to book closer to your trip time or have even heard about people booking those on the day of all of these add-on experiences are cool but they're just that an add-on you don't have to have them to have a wonderful trip I think they are better suited for people who are not visiting for the first time or maybe a first-timer

[01:11:20] [SPEAKER_02] who has a trip that is a week or longer and you just have the time since you will have decided on your budget and presumably have booked your resort and major transportation plans by now you should have a sense of whether any of these extras may fit into your budget but don't spend any money on them yet because we need to go to the next step

[01:11:41] [SPEAKER_08] step eight consider whether you want to use the lightning lanes

[01:11:46] [SPEAKER_02] and now the big question to lightning lane or to not lightning lane depending on the time of year you go you may not actually need lightning lanes to have lower wait times but if you're going during a busy time like spring break or during the holidays I think it's really worth budgeting for it my recommendation is that check out trip report episodes of this podcast from the time of year that you're planning to go you can use the search bar function on my website which is wherealong2bepodcast.com

[01:12:16] [SPEAKER_02] and search for a month it will pull up all the episodes with that in the title and I always put the month of the trip in the titles there are several different ways to use lightning lanes so I'm going to start with the most expensive way and work my way down to the end so it won't seem so bad for us regular folks by the time we get there so the most expensive way is to book a VIP tour and that is because on a VIP tour they walk you to each ride through the lightning lane these are super pricey though

[01:12:45] [SPEAKER_02] it's $450 to $900 per hour with a minimum of 7 hours required now that does get you 10 people into the tour so that's a lot of people maybe you could split it with friends the cheapest that would be if we're and my understanding is that most people tip at the end the rate of one hour of service so really it would be more like $3,600

[01:13:14] [SPEAKER_02] minimum and that would be talking about 7 hours the maximum number of hours you can do is up to 10 hours if you're talking about the higher end of the $900 per hour or 7 hours that's going to be $7,200 for the 7 someone wearing plaid fondly referred to as the plaids walking around with a group of people those are the

[01:13:44] [SPEAKER_02] people that are on a VIP tour you are not restricted to staying in one would like to get done within your 7 to 10 hours I do know because I've seen them doing it is that if you book your hours towards

[01:14:14] [SPEAKER_02] the end of the day and you have it coincide with the beginning of happily ever after they will deposit you into a VIP section to watch happily ever after so you know take that for what it's worth if you want to plan around that if you're able to afford one of these tours because for most of us this would be like a once in a lifetime thing I have considered it in terms of

[01:14:56] [SPEAKER_02] might be doable to have the opportunity to do it at least once or maybe you just have somebody who wants to invite you on one for free you know a friend who's very generous I

[01:15:26] [SPEAKER_02] to have a time to have a in your party and it's good for one day's access to all of the lightning lanes in one park so you cannot use it to park hop the good thing about this pass is that you don't have to book any rides in advance you can do each ride one time and you can do them when you want to do them so you have

[01:15:56] [SPEAKER_02] the catch is that you can only do it one time right so if you love a ride and want to do it again you have to find another way to ride it like riding at standby your ride photos are going so if you

[01:16:26] [SPEAKER_02] doing that for a party of people that's a lot that is a lot I could see myself maybe splurging one day on a solo trip if it were $129 not if it were $449 can I see myself splurging on this on a family trip with the three of us I mean at this point because we have annual passes and we have been so many times no I really can't but it's a hard amount to

[01:16:56] [SPEAKER_02] swallow when you're talking about a family because when you got multiple people in there it adds up and you're the only one paying for it if it were a group of friends or a solo trip maybe I could see that lightning lane access that most people take advantage of if they're going to pay for something like this is called lightning lane multi pass multi pass can also be purchased up to 7 days in advance of your trip if you're staying on property or 3 days in advance if you're staying off property

[01:17:26] [SPEAKER_02] if you're staying on property you can book for all the days of your trip that you want to use it at that 7 day mark so reminder just like with the dining reservations if you're doing a split stay your 7 day window will book

[01:17:57] [SPEAKER_02] other rides or attractions one at a time from there how you're able to pre book your first three lightning lanes is going to vary depending on the park so for animal kingdom you simply pick three things from the list of everything that's available for that park for your booking day the other parks you'll get to pick one thing from a top tier of the most popular attractions and then you'll get to pick two other reservations from a second tier list of experiences

[01:18:27] [SPEAKER_02] or you can always pick all three of your choices from the tier two list but the ones that are in that top tier are the ones that most people are trying to ride because you can book your fourth and subsequent lightning lanes as you go one at a time it does benefit you to book one lightning lane earlier in the day on a park heavy day for me I like to rope drop and get at least one thing in with little to no weight and then I like to have my first lightning lane window be around like the 930 time frame you

[01:18:57] [SPEAKER_02] get a whole hour to tap in to that experience plus a 15 minute grace period so if you have a 930 lightning lane you actually have between 930 and 1045 to tap into it so it's not nearly as early as it sounds and if you get there for rope drop you can ride that big ticket item with hardly any weight and then you can go and have some breakfast or coffee or whatever before you go and use that lightning lane experience the good news about lightning lane multi

[01:19:26] [SPEAKER_02] pass is that it's good for the whole day and you can use it to park hop so that means if you rope drop animal kingdom and you have your first three pre-booked experiences there once you tap in to one lightning lane and you start booking your fourth and subsequent lightning lanes for the day that fourth lightning lane doesn't have to stay in animal kingdom you can do it for the park that you know you are going to hop to so it's nice to have that flexibility the price is going to vary for this multi-pass service also based

[01:19:56] [SPEAKER_02] on how busy they anticipate it will be but the price range is going to be much more easy to swallow than the premier pass lightning lane multi-pass is going to run you between $15 to $39 per person per day that is not cheap when you're talking about a family but if you plan for that expense in advance it's not going to break your bank either also there's nothing that says you have to get

[01:20:41] [SPEAKER_02] per park so we paid for four days of multi-pass and on those days we focused on the rides in that park and then sometimes we park dropped of course to take advantage of another park as well but we did one day of multi-pass for Magic Kingdom one for Epcot one for Hollywood Studios on our non multi-pass days we did other things we enjoyed the resort we wrote a couple things

[01:21:11] [SPEAKER_02] worth it for at least a couple of days of your trip you just have to make the most of it on those days so when you purchase it you paid that price and you just dive in and get as much done as you can with the multi-pass that's how I

[01:21:41] [SPEAKER_02] in multi-pass and you can book as an individual lightning lane those are called lightning lane single pass those do not have to be in the same park so for me that means I'm booking a lightning lane single pass every day for Guardians of the Galaxy Cosmic Rewind in Epcot even if I'm spending a majority of my day at Hollywood studios say that's just how we roll in our

[01:22:11] [SPEAKER_02] for Hollywood studios it's Rise of the Resistance and in Magic Kingdom you have the two Seven Dwarfs Mind Train and Tron to me single passes will always be worth it for Cosmic Rewind and probably Flight of Passage too for the others if you've never ridden them before it's nice to have so that you can skip the line but I probably am not personally going to buy them again never say never but it really does add up and you have to pick and choose the reality though is that you can find ways to ride

[01:22:41] [SPEAKER_02] all of these rides with a low wait time if you rope drop if you plan your day accordingly maybe you ride it at the very end of the night while fireworks are going off so it's a lower wait time there are ways to do it you don't have to

[01:23:16] $22

[01:23:17] [SPEAKER_02] I don't know it's about that so it would add up especially if you're buying for a whole family so you really have to decide what's worth it for you just remember you don't necessarily have to get any lightning lanes you can have so much fun you can have your magical vacation without it no doubt about it you just have to plan if you're going to get on some of those more popular rides by taking advantage of the times when it will be a lower wait time so it's just something to think about if it's within your

[01:23:46] [SPEAKER_02] budget to get multi pass I think it's it's completely worth getting that because then you can at least have a few rides that you know you're going to be able to get on with that lightning lane I but you don't have to have it to have a magical time you can always have a magical time in Disney with or without any of these extras

[01:24:16] [SPEAKER_08] step nine order things you need for the trip and get packed

[01:24:23] [SPEAKER_02] okay you have your trip booked and you're basically ready now you have to pack what you will pack is really time of the year dependent and it's personal if it's a hot time of the year you're going to want your fans and your cooling towels and your sun hat and all that stuff if it's December or January or February you don't know what kind of weather you're going to have so you're going to want layers it could be 40 degrees or 75 degrees you just don't know there is a lot to consider with a Disney trip because in

[01:24:52] [SPEAKER_02] addition you might want to pack your pin collection to do some pin trading so you might want to think about all that in advance are you a family that's going to order matching shirts if so you

[01:25:34] [SPEAKER_02] you you can give a subtle nod so maybe if you are doing a Disney bound as Cinderella you might be wearing some blue and some silver and maybe doing your hair with a ribbon like that sort of thing just a very subtle nod if you are planning to order shirts for your park days this is where I have a shop linked on my website again that's long I don't have a ton there

[01:26:04] [SPEAKER_02] yet but I have a little bit of stuff and I have shirts for every country in Epcot that is what I do have and I have shirts that are dedicated to my two favorite in park bars La Cava Del Tequila and the Nomad Lounge so I encourage you to take look at those I have one shirt dedicated to Terminal C at MCO make your packing list early that is my advice for you so that you have time to think of

[01:26:34] [SPEAKER_02] everything it is so easy to forget something there are a lot of Disney packing lists out there available to you on the internet so I'm just going to tell you a couple things that I have on my personal list that I think

[01:27:21] [SPEAKER_02] are they're very cheap and I think you get like 10 or 12 you get a bunch in a pack there are a lot of different colors so you can match it to your magic band and you can have enough for your whole family with one order I don't know how much they are quite yet I'm going to put the link in after I'm done recording this but I think I remember them being about eight dollars for a pack of 10 or 12 so super affordable number two I love to use a phone lanyard when I'm at Disney I do not

[01:27:51] [SPEAKER_02] use one in my everyday life but cross body strap to me so I can pull it out easily take a photo check my Disney experience app put it back in my pocket let's say I accidentally drop it it's not hitting the floor

[01:28:21] [SPEAKER_02] because it's attached to my body I also when I get on rides I up this price yet I feel like I remember it being like $25 or $30 as opposed to one of the $10 ones

[01:28:50] [SPEAKER_02] but this one is nice and thick it's got some loops that you can hook some things to if you need to like if you have headphones or something that are on a little carabiner type clip you can just hook it on there so very nice I love label maker and I put each of our names on one we bring them now to use in the bathroom on our trips

[01:29:20] [SPEAKER_02] we use them at Disney I took them with me to London so on the bathroom sink area you know sometimes you have limited space it can get very cluttered with everything for a family sitting out I don't like the visual chaos of clutter it makes me feel so anxious by having these collapsible bins they fold flat and they pack very easily into our suitcases but then

[01:29:50] [SPEAKER_02] you pop them out and it's a place for each family member to keep the things that they would normally just have sitting on the counter so my toothbrush goes in there my floss my retainer case because yes I have it is corralled these little collapsible bins can stack on top of each other

[01:30:20] [SPEAKER_02] as well so if you have very limited counter space you can even just have them sitting there stacked which was the case for us in London I just had all three stacked and I believe if you go into the highlights bubble on my Instagram for the London trip I took a photo of it because I was like people need to see these little bins number four big binder clips and that is not something you probably would have guessed that I was going to say but I bring big binder clips with me

[01:30:49] [SPEAKER_02] on trips like this I have two for each label maker and I put our names on them as well and what I use these for is to mark our towels in the bathroom so when you have a family staying in a hotel room it's really easy to get

[01:31:19] [SPEAKER_02] confused about whose towels who whatever so we have these and when you pick up a clean towel and you use it

[01:31:50] [SPEAKER_02] continuing to use the same one so we do this it's super small to pack into your bag it's very cheap way to organize your towels so maybe not necessary to some people but necessary to me and number five lastly I

[01:32:20] [SPEAKER_02] each of us has a color and if we start a drink and we don't finish it you just slap one of your little stickers on it so we know who's whose and really this comes into play because I order bottled water in advance on our trips and you know how it is if you have a bunch of bottled water and people start drinking bottled water setting it down you don't know whose is whose they all look exactly the same and you can't always rely on like oh I took my I I pulled the label off of mine so that you

[01:32:50] [SPEAKER_02] know that one's mine because there's only so many combinations of what you can do with the yours so we just have these small little stickers you just put them on there again mine is pink so if I just put that on an unfinished bottle of water then everybody knows it's mine super easy and it's something cheap that you can just get in the school supply section of your local Target Walmart pharmacy whatever a couple other things I always like to have in my bag that I'm not going to link to

[01:33:20] [SPEAKER_02] are a sharpie because you never know when you're able to munch on it again later and finally I always have a pair of scissors with me on a trip and that's to cut

[01:33:50] [SPEAKER_02] tags if I buy something and I want to cut the tag off of it so I don't worry about accidentally ripping it or my park bag just in case I need a tiny pair of scissors and I have often

[01:34:20] [SPEAKER_02] needed a tiny pair of scissors on my park day

[01:34:23] [SPEAKER_03] hi I'm Molly with magic memories of Molly and I soar from walking around all day while just like watching safety smart on the Disney hotel room TV so consider packing a

[01:34:53] [SPEAKER_03] foot roller for your next Disney trip

[01:34:56] [SPEAKER_07] Miranda here again from 101 Vacations Travel Agency one of my biggest tips for park bag packing is to pack cheap disposable ponchos they are the best for if there is to throw them on or if you want to ride splash mountain and not get soaked or if it's come a shower and you want to take a seat on the bench at Fantasmic

[01:35:26] [SPEAKER_07] now you have a dry place to sit so I love using ponchos and I normally order a 20 pack on Amazon for like $20 so highly recommend lots of disposable throwaway ponchos for your trip especially in the

[01:35:53] [SPEAKER_02] the final step is to enjoy your trip even with the most careful planning not everything will go perfectly and that's one thing I love about all the trip reports I do here is hearing about how people's plans changed how they dealt with something that went wrong try not to stress too much sometimes the best memories come from the things that you don't expect or from the hilarity of something that totally

[01:36:22] [SPEAKER_02] or that of the people that you are with so try to go with the flow as crush likes to say before I wrap up this extremely long episode I've got some more tips for having a great trip to share from my wonderful friends who are travel agents who have boatloads experience in planning Disney trips for other families as well as planning their own trips

[01:36:45] [SPEAKER_07] Miranda here again from 101 Vacations Travel Agency my next tip is to carry on the magic as you leave Walt Disney World I highly recommend picking up a couple snacks to either take for the flight or the drive home my personal favorites build your own popcorn bowl over at the confectionery at the Magic Kingdom I also love the Werther's popcorn from Epcot in Germany and a

[01:37:15] [SPEAKER_07] Rice Krispie treat another favorite for many of my clients is taking a stop at Gideon's and grabbing some cookies there they freeze really well in the freezer so take a little bit of Disney magic home with you hey

[01:37:33] [SPEAKER_01] Virginia thanks for having me I'm Renee at Magical Travels by Monty and I'm a Disney focused travel agent at Main Street Travel I wanted to give some advice if you're traveling with a large party that might have competing priorities I would say have everybody in

[01:38:04] [SPEAKER_01] your to keep in mind that it's impossible to do everything that you want to do on every single trip that's the beauty of Disney it

[01:38:34] [SPEAKER_01] each person in your group hey

[01:38:39] [SPEAKER_04] Virginia it's Kate Andrews I'm a travel agent with placation travel limited and I'm also a registered nurse and I live and work in Ontario Canada the tips that I wanted to share today are about flying with someone who has some special needs for me specifically it's in that neuro divergent area my son does have an intellectual disability which really affects his executive functioning so all of the

[01:39:08] [SPEAKER_04] things that you need to be able to do in an airport like wait patiently follow instructions be comfortable around a lot of people with lots of different sounds can be really difficult for him my biggest takeaway for folks would be doing that hard work at home before you travel so not expecting that the travel is going to make people happy in your family make things easier so really do some skill building some counseling things that would really apply to whatever your

[01:39:38] [SPEAKER_04] child's and your family's needs are working on communication there's social stories different things like that but there also is sunflower lanyards and that is recognized at the Orlando airport so those are just lanyards that you wear around your neck and what they do is identify you as having some special needs but you may not be able to see that you do so that really fits perfectly for my son and then my other piece of information would be

[01:40:08] [SPEAKER_04] for people to get sleep I try to make sure I have food as well expecting some challenges so thinking about all of that and making sure I have what I need to be able to support him thanks so much for taking some advice from us have a great day hi

[01:40:35] [SPEAKER_03] I'm Molly with magic memories of Molly and my advice for a great Disney trip is to slow down I know it can be really tempting to rush and fit as much in as possible when you're there but I definitely think that the most memorable moments I have are from the times when I just took a moment to sit down slow down and enjoy just being there just being in the magic is really wonderful so just make sure you take a moment to do that while

[01:41:05] [SPEAKER_03] you're rushing around

[01:41:06] hey

[01:41:08] [SPEAKER_06] this is Kristen Gallagher with Mickey World Travel my travel tip is for anyone that is traveling with young children my advice is

[01:41:39] [SPEAKER_06] we did we would go back to the hotel they would nap in their crib and this is what worked for us we also made sure that when we traveled we packed sound machines okay to wake cloth a sheet from their crib so that they felt comfortable and like they were at home and thankfully we never they

[01:42:09] [SPEAKER_06] get dinner a bath a book a song and they go to bed and that is what we do on vacation still to this day and they're six and four and they get dinner a bath a book a song and they go to bed and it's like they don't even miss a beat so it definitely keeps the tantrums to a minimum and it keeps everybody happy on our vacation

[01:42:35] [SPEAKER_05] hi this is kelly gray from wishlist travel and i want to talk to you about beating the heat at walt disney world obviously when you travel down to florida especially during those summer months it is going to be hot and there's no way to avoid it go for a swim we take a nap and we go back out in

[01:43:05] [SPEAKER_05] the evening and it may seem like you're losing time but i think when you're coming back rejuvenated you're really getting a chance to maximize and really enjoy your time in the park the second thing is know the attractions in each park that bring you inside and give you a chance to cool off every single park cool and comfortable maybe bring

[01:43:34] [SPEAKER_05] cooling towels make sure you have your sunblock and of course stay hydrated

[01:43:42] [SPEAKER_02] spectacular advice from kelly there's nothing that can ruin a trip faster than being dehydrated or overheated my personal goal i set every trip is that i finish at least one bottle of water before i ever set foot in a park each day usually that means i start drinking one as we're heading out the monorail or the sky liner that way i'm starting the day with at least one bottle down i also like to bring little electrolyte packets and keep a few in my park bag so that

[01:44:12] [SPEAKER_02] if i start feeling like i need the extra boost i can add it to my water okay i have talked your ear off so i should wrap this up enjoy your Disney trip enjoy your Disney trip planning and remember that there's magic to be found around every corner as long as your heart and your imagination are open to it thank you so much for listening and keep daydreaming about where you long to be