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…)

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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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…)

Disney World With Kids Tips…By Non-Parents

Parents planning their child’s first trip to Walt Disney World often have a lot of questions, as visiting Walt Disney World with kids is uncharted territory that can be intimidating. This guide answers some of those questions and is written, naturally, by people who don’t have kids.

Why would you want to read a guide by people with no first hand knowledge of something? It might seem like the equivalent of learning to ride a bicycle from a teacher who has watched a bicycling video on YouTube, but has never actually ridden one. But, perhaps it’s the equivalent of having a fresh set of eyes offer logical insights based upon years of observations, but no direct experience (sort of like those “Washington Outsiders” constantly campaigning for political office).

If you’re planning your first trip with kids to Walt Disney World, chances are that you won’t be reading only one planning article or guide–or at least you shouldn’t. So while we think we offer some potentially fresh advice here, we also aren’t definitive experts on this topic. Make sure to read a few other online guides and buy or check out a couple of books from the library (we recommend The Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World).

Normally, we don’t cover topics about which we’re so blatantly uninformed. But we do have a bit to say on this topic, and people keep finding this blog via Google (not knowing we don’t have kids) and emailing us questions about traveling with kids. So here’s a guide for those folks. Since there are some serious gaps in our knowledge concerning visiting Walt Disney World with kids, we’ve enlisted the help of our brilliant (and did we mention good looking?) Facebook fans, who provided us over 100 tips for traveling to Walt Disney World with kids. You can find their quotes scattered throughout the article. The great thing about these quotes is that they often provide a sharp contrast to our opinions (and even actual parents can’t seem to agree on things), so they provide multiple perspectives from which you can determine what will work best for you.

This guide is meant to supplement other guides (including our own Walt Disney World 2013 Trip Planning Guide) and provide a reasonably informed (hopefully) perspective parents might not otherwise hear. All in all, we think this is a pretty decent resource to read as you plan that trip with the kids to Walt Disney World! (more…)

Disney Theme Park CDs and Music

Walt Disney World and Disneyland park music is available on official album CDs and via MP3 download, leaked original source recordings, and on-site live recordings. Park music has become incredibly popular as it is one way people can relive their vacations and instantly transport themselves back to their “happy places” in Walt Disney World or Disneyland.

A lot of effort goes into creating the music heard in Walt Disney World and Disneyland. Most people are familiar with the big-name attraction themes, like those from ‘it’s a small world’ and Haunted Mansion. Many of these songs were penned by the Sherman Brothers, two of the most significant people in the history of Disney. Other music heard in the parks is far less famous, but resonates with us just as strongly. Off the top of your head, you may not have any idea what music plays in the ‘background’ of Tomorrowland or the Innoventions breezeways. However, I’ll bet if you download and play those tracks, you would instantly recognize them. That’s what I found when I first started “collecting” Disney theme park music, and I have so much now that despite having it play for several hours each day, I can go an entire week without playing the same track twice!

Fortunately for fans, unlike Disney parks book collecting, music collecting is a relatively inexpensive hobby. In fact, it can even be free! I keep all of my music in digital form, so unlike books, it also doesn’t take up any physical space. This primer will get you started on the road to having an excellent collection of music from the Disney theme parks. (more…)