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…)

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…)

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…)

101 Great Disneyland Tips

Disneyland and Disney California Adventure are generally considered “locals parks,” and there are a lot of things they do that you, too, can do to save time and money, or just improve the quality of your vacation. Here are 101 random tips based upon our visits to Disneyland as Annual Passholders, and based upon lessons we’ve learned while in the parks from locals we hang out with who have been visiting for years.

Our 101 Great Walt Disney World Tips list was so popular that we’ve decided to do this one for Disneyland! Not all of these tips will be applicable to everyone (not everyone is going to need to know about a Baby Care Center!), but there should be something for everyone here. Whether you’re a first time planner or a weathered veteran who still has nightmare-flashbacks to Light Magic, there are tips for you here!

Let’s get started…

101 Disneyland Tips

1. The Disneyland Dining Plan is nothing like the Walt Disney World Dining Plan. Very few Disneyland guests use it because, for most people, the Disneyland Dining Plan is not worth the hassle.
2. Disneyland now enforces FastPass return times as of 2013, but there is a 15 minute grace period, so don’t discard your FastPasses if you’re only a bit late!
3. Walt Disney World regulars fond of “Drinking Around the World” in Epcot can have a similar bar crawl experience at Disneyland Resort in Disney California Adventure, Downtown Disney, and the Disney-owned hotels!
4. If you are celebrating a special occasion, make sure to pin up a button reflecting the celebration at one of the Disney-owned hotels or in the parks from Guest Services (or at a restaurant if the line at Guest Services is long). You may receive special treatment if wearing the buttons. If you are not celebrating a special occasion but just want a free button, ask a Cast Member for one in Cars Land at Disney California Adventure.
5. If planning your trip, you may encounter outdated resources suggesting that there’s little benefit to staying in on-site, Disney-owned hotels at Disneyland Resort. This changed in June 2012 with the opening of Cars Land, as early access to Radiator Springs Racers can be very valuable. Our on-site v. off-site hotel post reflects the current pros and cons of staying off-site and on-site.
6. Guests may be able to ride in the Lilly Belle car on the Disneyland Railroad and the Mark Twain Riverboat Wheel House on a first-come, first-served basis. Just ask a Cast Member working either attraction or visit City Hall. If you strike out with one Cast Member or on one day, don’t be afraid to try again later.
7. FastPass should be used to avoid long lines, but if you must wait in one long line, make it Indiana Jones Adventure. The queue is an experience in itself, and you can use this decoder to translate some Mara-glyphics in the queue.
8. If you’re visiting on a night when Disney California Adventure has 2 or 3 World of Color performances, always go to the latest one for the lowest crowds. This means strategically pulling your World of Color FastPass later in the day so you don’t get “stuck” with an earlier show. If you do get a FastPass for an earlier show, see a Cast Member near the distribution and request to exchange it for a later show. If there are multiple showings of Fantasmic, the last one is also the least crowded.
9. Mad Hatter plays “musical chairs” with kids at Coke Corner on Main Street in Disneyland once daily. This usually occurs at 2:30 p.m., but the time is subject to change and is not listed in the Times Guide. Ask a Cast Member at Coke Corner for the exact time it will be occurring during your visit.
10. Due to the large population of Annual Passholders and how blockout dates redistribute them, the best time to visit Disneyland isn’t as simple as when school is in session. Some of the best times to go include late January and early February, April, and after Labor Day through early November (except weekends). (more…)