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…)

50′s Prime Time Cafe Review

50′s Prime Time Cafe is a table service restaurant in Disney’s Hollywood Studios at Walt Disney World that specializes in American comfort food the way mom would have made it in the 1950s. The menu isn’t the only part of the restaurant themed to the 1950s–the restaurant itself looks like a 1950s home, and “mom” and your other relatives are actually on hand to serve your meal to you. The kitschy ambiance of the restaurant and the “show” put on by the Cast Members at 50′s Prime Time Cafe are truly the stars here, and they make 50s Prime Time Cafe one of Walt Disney World’s best unique dining experiences.

When you walk into the restaurant, you find yourself transported to a 1950s living room. Right down to the black & white television, “wood” paneling, and gaudy animal knick-knacks. You go through Mom’s Kitchen to get to the seating areas, which look like time capsules from kitchens of the 1950s. Although I wasn’t alive in the 1950s, for decades my great grandma’s kitchen was also a time capsule of a 1950s kitchen, so I know the look. The level of theming in 50′s Prime Time Cafe is very impressive, and this nostalgia trip alone would make for great ambiance even without Mom around to make you mind your manners (don’t rest those elbows on the table or leave food on your plate!).

50′s Prime Time Cafe has always been a special place for me. Growing up, 50′s Prime Time Cafe was my parents’ favorite restaurant (my mom dealt antiques so she appreciated the decor and design) and we visited the place every year on our annual trip. Once I finally understood that the Cast Members were putting on an act and I didn’t really have long lost relatives in Florida, I loved our annual visits there, too. It became my mission during each of these meals to eat everything on my plate so I could join the “Clean Plate Club” and receive a sticker for my accomplishment. It was always a highlight of our trips for me, so my view of this restaurant is undoubtedly a bit biased. (more…)

Tips for Celebrating at Walt Disney World

Celebrating birthdays, anniversaries, honeymoons, and graduations, among other things, at Walt Disney World is extremely popular, and for good reason. Not only is Walt Disney World a great place to visit on any ole ordinary day (as you presumably know given that you’re reading a Disney blog), but it’s a great place for a celebration, with a lot of special activities and add-ons possible, and an overall atmosphere that is conducive to celebrations.

Disney prides itself on its parks and resorts being great places to visit to celebrate (although to be fair, I think they want everyone to visit, no matter what the reason…they’d likely market the parks as being great places for zombie enthusiasts if it were profitable enough demographic), so much so that a recent year-long marketing campaign was actually called “What Will You Celebrate?”

Celebratory fun at Walt Disney World can come both from pre-planned activities and via the spontaneous acts of Disney Cast Members. Obviously spontaneity cannot be planned, but here are some of our recommendations for celebrating your special event at Walt Disney World. (more…)

Choosing the Best Travel Tripod

Tripods are a great tool for quality night and low light photos, but when traveling, carrying a bulky tripod is generally not an option. This guide will help you choose the best travel tripod, and help you weigh the variables to determine which tripod might be best for you. Unfortunately, there are trade-offs with these variables…something that’s lightweight and very stable is likely to cost a small fortune. Something that’s cheap is likely to be bulky. Unless money is no concern, you have to make a compromise somewhere with your travel tripod.

Unfortunately, finding the tripod that makes the fewest compromises and is best for your needs and travel is incredibly difficult. You could always just spend $0, rest your tripod on a garbage can, and call it a day…but that’s probably not the best solution, either.

For the last several years, I’ve been using the same tripod, but have been looking for a marginal improvement over it for greater stability. I’ve combed photo forums, reviews, Amazon, and even local camera stores to find something. (Tip: Best Buy’s tripods are absolute garbage, and unless you live in a large city with a really nice camera shop (like B&H in New York City!), chances are your local camera shop sells garbage tripods, too.) My recommendations in this article are a result of reading about and inspecting DOZENS of tripods.

Obviously, I’m approaching this guide as someone who most often carries a tripod around Walt Disney World, Disneyland, or other Disney properties. However, I also carry my tripod in National Parks and when we travel to other destinations. I’ve found that these same principles apply to all of those destinations. In each case, I do a lot of walking (or hiking) while carrying a tripod.

Here’s what you want to consider when looking for a tripod for Walt Disney World, Disneyland, or travel in general. (more…)

Disney Dining Plan v. Paying Out of Pocket

Walt Disney World’s Disney Dining Plan has become a popular pre-paid “eat what you want” meal plan that some people swear by. It’s especially popular during “Free Dining” season, when it’s offered as part of a package discount (unquestionably the most eagerly anticipated discount of the year for Disney enthusiasts). The Disney Dining Plan is easy to use and if you eat a certain way, or plan well, you can save a lot of money. There’s no question about this, and we even have a number of resources on our site devoted to helping people maximize their savings on the Disney Dining Plan.

What isn’t so clear is whether using the Disney Dining Plan saves you money versus paying out of pocket if you don’t eat the certain way it is designed. If you’re party consists of light eaters, or you are spontaneous, or are able to use the Tables in Wonderland card, is the Disney Dining Plan right for you? A lot of guests visiting Walt Disney World just assume the Disney Dining Plan will always save them money, which isn’t always true. In fact, a lot of times it will cost more money than paying out of pocket, and that’s the case even when the Disney Dining Plan is offered for “free.”

Rather than approaching this in the abstract, we decided to do a little “case study,” taking all of our receipts from our most recent 4-day trip to Walt Disney World, adding up our totals, and comparing our out of pocket costs to what we would have spent if we used the Disney Dining Plan. We’ll then examine free dining to explain why that doesn’t always save you money. (more…)

Walt Disney World Discounts: Examined

Disney World has already announced discount vacation packages and other room only, military, and free dining discounts for 2013. Some of these Disney World discounts are better than others and discounts are quite predictable as they typically repeat, so to get an idea of how the various discounts stack up, we’ve put together this article rating Disney’s discounts. To see which discounts are best for particular “types” of guest read our summary and review of all Walt Disney World discounts below.

Rather than this being a generic post providing specific details (like dates) of the various discounts at Walt Disney World, this post will instead editorialize. You can find the information concerning applicable dates and the like on DisneyWorld.com or on a myriad of other fan sites that simply copy and paste the information from DisneyWorld.com. This post is meant to help those of you who are unfamiliar with Walt Disney World discounts get an idea of how good the discount you’re considering really is (despite Disney’s best marketing efforts, some discounts are better than others).

I’ve planned every Walt Disney World trip we’ve taken over the course of the years, and I’ve learned a lot about traveling frugally to Walt Disney World in the process. Hopefully this provides a primer for those who don’t visit as often, but are looking to save the most money possible when planning their Walt Disney World trip! (more…)

Carthay Circle Restaurant Review

Carthay Circle Restaurant in Disney California Adventure is Disneyland Resort’s top in-park dining experience. This review covers our experiences at both the bar & lounge and the table service restaurant located in Carthay Circle Theatre. Carthay Circle Restaurant’s menu consists of trendy modern cuisine with a diverse range of flavors and locally sourced ingredients. Many items on the menu are flavors of Southern California, but it’s not an overly “California” menu. Inside, it feels like an upscale old Hollywood place. Sort of like the Hollywood Tower Hotel, except without the lightning and stuff (although I did half expect to find Rod Serling inside).

Being an upscale restaurant inside a theme park is a tough balancing act–upscale dining requires a certain menu, level of service, and ambiance, whereas theme parks are bustling places often filled with sweaty tourists. Nailing the ambiance thus becomes a bit of a challenge, as the restaurant’s clientele is not typical of what you’d find in a comparable SoCal restaurant. In this sense, Carthay Circle Restaurant was a bit of a gamble for Disney. Napa Rose in Disney’s Grand Californian Hotel has proven quite popular, but it benefits from locals being able to visit without paying park admission.

By contrast, Carthay Circle Restaurant caters only to the theme park crowd, and has to compete with attractions for the attention of this crowd. Unlike other restaurants that have gone “extinct” at Disney California Adventure in the past, Carthay Circle Restaurant is located prominently in Disney California Adventure’s wienie, making it more difficult for Disney to just shutter. On top of that, much of the dedicated Annual Passholder base at Disneyland was a bit perturbed when Carthay Circle Theatre was announced as the home of a restaurant and two lounges rather than an actual attraction. In other words, Carthay Circle Restaurant has had a lot of pressure on it since even before it opened to really offer an incredible experience. (more…)

Disneyland Paris 2012 Trip Report: Part 3

Only a few hours after going to bed, it was time to get up for our 7:00 a.m. breakfast time slot at Sequoia Lodge. We opted for Sequoia Lodge rather than going to Disneyland Hotel this morning because Sarah thought she might go back to bed after breakfast and the walk to Disneyland Hotel and back would waste a decent amount of time.

Breakfast at Sequoia Lodge wasn’t nearly as good as it was in Disneyland Hotel at Inventions. The only standout to speak of was this delicious juice that reminded me of the juice served at ‛Ohana’s breakfast. I don’t know what it was called or what it contained (probably a mix of passion fruit, pineapple, and mango, but I could be entirely wrong), but it was delicious. I made repeated trips to the breakfast bar, coming back with a fresh cup of that and of coffee each time. I probably had 5 cups of coffee that morning, and for someone who doesn’t drink coffee (or even for someone who does) that’s a lot. This was basically my regimen for the trip: sleep very little, drink a lot of caffeinated stuff. You might want to consult a physician before undertaking a similar regimen, but I’m pretty sure they’d highly endorse the practice and tell you it’s incredibly wise and the best way to become physically fit.

Sarah went back to bed after breakfast, but I was too wired to possibly even consider sleeping, so I headed to the parks, opting again for Disneyland Paris. We did go to the Walt Disney Studios Park eventually, I swear. (more…)