Disney Dining Plan 2013 Costs and Review

The 2013 Disney Dining Plan at Walt Disney World is now available for booking, and not much has changed from the 2012 Disney Dining Plan, besides the price. As has been the case each year since the popular meal plan was first offered, there are more price increases for 2013. Luckily, the 2013 Disney Dining Plan does not feature any cuts to what’s included in the meal plans, which has happened in many years prior.

2013 ”Free Dining” is now available for Walt Disney World guests with arrival dates between September 2, 2013 and September 25, 2013 (meaning you have to arrive between these dates to be eligible–so if you arrive September 24, 2013 and stay until October 4, 2013, free dining is available for your entire stay!), and we anticipate even more Free Dining dates will be offered in 2013. If and when this happens, it’s important to compare the “Free” Dining Plan to other discounts. If the Disney Dining Plan is “free,” that means you’re paying rack rate for your room and full price for a minimum number of tickets, whereas other packages may discount your room or tickets. For most people, Free Dining is the best discount that Disney offers, but you should still check. Whether Free Dining is best depends upon party size and resort tier, so do the math and compare the Free Disney Dining Plan promotion to other available discounts–if there are other available discounts. (more…)

Greetings from Tokyo Disney Resort!

Welcome…to Tokyo Disney Resort. (Read that like John Hammond in Jurassic Park.) We have made the pilgrimage to Japan to visit what many Disney fans regard as the pinnacle of the Disney theme park experience. Barring issues with our flights or our poor senses of direction, we are now at Tokyo Disney Resort to celebrate Tokyo Disneyland’s 30th anniversary, and to visit Tokyo DisneySea (where we will undoubtedly acquire at least 27 Duffy souvenirs).

We’re mostly disconnected from the rest of the world on this trip, but we (mostly Sarah) will be posting occasional photos to Instagram, assuming the modems we rented for our iPhones work. Further assuming that the nifty Instagram plugin works, you should be able to view our 20 most recent live photos from Tokyo Disney Resort on this post below. If for some reason photos don’t display below, or you want to see all of our photos from Japan (not just the Disney ones), follow us directly on Instagram: Sarah here or Tom here. Tokyo is 13 hours ahead of the east coast of the United States, so expect daytime and nighttime photos to be roughly reversed in terms of night and day back in the US.

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Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party 2013 Tips

The schedule and ticket prices for the 2013 Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Parties at Walt Disney World is now available, with the party occurring September 10, 13, 17, 20, 24, 27, & 29, and October 3, 4, 6, 10, 11, 14, 17, 18, 20, 22, 24, 25, 27, 29, & 31, plus November 1. On these nights, the Magic Kingdom closes at 7 p.m. to guests who haven’t not purchased tickets for the Halloween Party.

So you can prepare for the Halloween Party, we thought it would be a good time to look back at our experiences at past parties to help you determine whether this expensive hard ticket event is worth it to you, and if so, what your “Plan of Attack” should be to efficiently conquer the various offerings.

Should I Attend?

So at over $50 a pop for tickets to the 2013 Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party, you might be trying to determine, “is it worth it?” If you’re asking this, you’ve probably never been, otherwise you’d know the answer to this question. Our opinion, as Disney-biased tourists, is that it most definitely is worth the price: at least once. Once you’ve experienced the party once (it doesn’t change much year-to-year), you might determine that it’s simply too expensive to experience again. For a one time event, though, it’s definitely worth it for everyone except those on traveling on thin budgets. Personally, we prefer Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party, but I think it’s fair to say that the two are about equally popular with guests (the guest costumes at Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party are pretty awesome to see).

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Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party 2013 Tips

Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party is a special hard ticket event held in the Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World. For 2013, the party will be held on November 8, 11, 14, 15, 17, 21, & 22, and December 1, 3, 5, 6, 8, 10, 12, 13, 15, 17, 19, & 20. After December 20, the party entertainment is available to all day guests (and included in theme park admission), but waiting until Christmas week also means going during the busiest time of the year, and when rooms and dining are most expensive.

Here is our party review and tips for 2013, based upon our experiences attending the party for the last five consecutive years. The Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party 2013 schedule has not yet been announced, but it will take place select dates in November and December. Ticket prices will vary for 2013 based upon whether you purchase in advance or on the day of, are a child or adult, and whether you have an Annual Pass, Disney Vacation Club membership, or some other affiliation that entitles you to a discount. In any case, the event is not cheap, starting at $57 for children with advance purchase on select nights and exceeding $70 for adults on the “Premium” night! To purchase tickets, visit Disney’s Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party page.

That said, if you’re visiting Walt Disney World in November or December, Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party is an absolute must-do! But more on that later. First, let’s provide an overview of the events to those who haven’t been.

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Disneyland Paris 2012 Trip Report: Part 5

This day would be our last full day at Disneyland Paris. If you haven’t read about the previous days, before reading this, you should check out the previous installments, which contain hundreds of photos. The last installment ended up taking the site down several times throughout the day when it was posted, so this report will contain fewer photos (which also means the entire report will not be done this week since there will need to be additional installments). My apologies if you had trouble accessing the last installment. Now, on with the report!

Some famous scientist (probably Al Gore) is credited with once having said, “Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again but expecting different results.” Hoping to break my streak of overcast mornings with a glorious sunrise, I was once again up early and out, waiting for the fog to break. Of course, it didn’t. Sarah, being much more sane, elected to stay in bed and have me come back and get her when I was done with my exercise in futility.

For us, I have found this is one of the great benefits of staying at a “within walking distance” hotel at any of Disney resort complexes. Sarah is very patient with me, and goes on little sleep when we’re on vacation, but she generally can’t do the 4 hours of sleep a night that I can run on. At night this is no issue–I usually just wander around the hotel where we’re staying and take photos, while she goes back to the hotel and goes to bed. In the morning, it’s more of an issue. If I’m within walking distance of a park, I’ll generally start my day in that park when I’m up and ready and either go back to the hotel to get Sarah when she’s ready, or have her meet me in the park. If we stay at a hotel that isn’t within walking distance, I generally just wait for her. I’m a bit like a dog whining at the door anxiously trying to get outside to chase cars when I have to wait. Sarah really ought to win a Noble Peace Price or a Major Award for putting up with me.

Anyway, I started out the day with breakfast at Inventions by myself (they again accepted my Sequoia breakfast ticket without additional payment), and then headed to the park to wander around. As you can see, there wasn’t even the most remote chance of seeing the sun that morning. (more…)

Disneyland Paris 2012 Trip Report: Part 4

Sorry for the delay in getting this installment posted. I know this is the highlight of approximately no one’s day, but still. We were in Walt Disney World a couple weekends ago and since I’ve been working on some exciting things that we can’t wait to share with you soon. (This seems to be the excuse everyone else uses when they have a lapse in blogging, so I figured it will work…sitting on the couch watching It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia counts as an “exciting thing,” right?) If you’ve missed any of the first three installments, or want to revisit them, start by going here.

The good news is that all of the photos from this trip are now edited, which is generally the hold-up in getting these things posted. As for the text, I usually just run this site through Gizoogle, and copy and paste the results here. It’s quite simple, as my Control+C/Control+V skills are impeccable. Anyway, I hope to have the remaining installments all up soon.

We still had a bit of time to kill before our reservation at Blue Lagoon, so we headed over to the Storybook Land Canal Boats (actually called Le Pays des Contes de Fées, which translates to Fairytale Country) and Casey Jr, which were more or less right next to one another, just as they are at Disneyland. In Disneyland Paris, it was almost as if they were tucked away into their own mini-land (which was added to the park in 1994–this 2010 map gives you an idea of their location), almost how New Fantasyland is a bit separated from the rest of Fantasyland in the Magic Kingdom.

These are two attractions that we absolutely love at Disneyland, and the Paris versions did not disappoint. Casey Jr. was all upside. It was like a modernized version of the Disneyland classic, with no “downside” that I can think of. The beauty started in the queue, which winds and passes through a wooded area; there were some traces of fall colors remaining when we visited, making this area especially beautiful. The rest of the attraction is pretty much the same as Disneyland’s, except with superior visuals. (more…)

Monstrous Summer All-Nighter Planning Tips

During the Monstrous Summer All-Nighter, Walt Disney World’s Magic Kingdom, Disneyland & Disney California Adventure will be open for 24 consecutive hours beginning on May 24, 2013 at 6 am until 6 am on May 25, 2013. This is an extension of the “Limited Time Magic” promotional efforts and the kick-off of the Monstrous Summer to promote Disney*Pixar’s Monsters University. It also falls on the Friday before Memorial Day weekend, making it the perfect time to take a long weekend trip to Walt Disney World or Disneyland! We participated in the events of “One More Disney Day” (the 24-hour Leap Day event in 2012) and it was a ton of fun. It was also a great, unique opportunity for photography–so great that I made an eBook about the experience!

Based upon our experiences last year, here are some tips for enjoying these special events if you’re going to be Walt Disney World or Disneyland, and also some tips for those of you watching the fun from home! While this planning guide is a great primer, if you want a better idea of what to expect during the 24 hour event, I strongly encourage you to read our trip report from 2012′s “One More Disney Day” 24 hour event. Even if you’re not going, there are some pretty photos from the event!

Also, check out our general Disneyland Trip Planning Guide and Walt Disney World Trip Planning Guide if you’re not a “regular” at either park for more general planning tips. With that said, here are our Monstrous Summer All-Nighter tips! (more…)

Pop Century Review

Disney’s Pop Century Resort is a value hotel in Walt Disney World with a reputation among frequent Disney guests as being the est value hotel. Since the opening of Disney’s Art of Animation Resort, this reputation no longer holds true, but Pop Century is still an excellent option for guests looking to save money on lodging but still desiring the perks of a Disney hotel, such as Extra Magic Hours, Disney’s Magical Express, and free transportation around Walt Disney World.

As we stated in our All Star Movies Review and All Star Sports Review, the Value Resorts are quite divisive. Some love them for their convenience and price-points, others hate their design and feel they’re over the top and tacky. Although they’re far from being our favorite hotels, we don’t mind the Value Resorts for what they are.

Whether the Value Resorts are right for you comes down to the nature of your visit. If you’re taking a “the room is only for sleeping” type trip during which you want to be in the parks as much as possible, the Value Resorts are great because they’re often $100 or less per night, and allow budget-conscious guests to stay on Walt Disney World property. (more…)