I have been to Disney World several times over the years. However....this past trip was the first time my kids have had the chance to experience all 4 parks. I decided to do a little research this time so that we could get the most bang for the buck. In the past when we have visited, we just went with the flow and had fun! All of those trips were wonderful but we did not accomplish a whole lot as far as attractions or the must dos.
My first decision was to stay on Disney's property or off. In the past, We have always stayed somewhere off the property. A couple of times our accommodations were a timeshare offer. The pros were cheap or free lodging. The cons.....a mandatory tour(one included free 3 day passes to any of the parks). I decided to stay on Disney's property at Shades of Green since this would be something new for all of us! This is a military hotel so I know not everyone has access to stay here. I was very impressed and enjoyed our stay(even though we did not spend a whole lot of time at the hotel). Besides it being our first time to stay on property, the other pluses were no parking fees and Extra Magic Hours. For anyone staying on Disney's property, your family has access to certain parks each day an hour early or 2 hours after closing. This was a huge plus for us since we were trying to accomplish 4 parks in 3 days.
To save money, I only booked 2 nights. We have friends that live less than 2 hours from Disney so we stayed 2 nights with them. Shades of Green will let you do an early check in. Although you will not get your room, it allows you to take advantage of the free shuttle and Extra Magic Hours( I am sure other hotels do this as well)!
Once I decided on the hotel, then the rest of my planning could begin. Please take note that I am a deal lover. When planning, I tried to make it special but at the same time save money.
Some may call me crazy(my hubby included) but I decided to keep a notebook on all my findings.
The crazy part........... I made a cute little Disney cover. Hey.......mine is just a folder on Disney steroids!
Some of you may be laughing or rolling your eyes right about now but let me tell you.........this thing came in handy!!!!!
Inside my notebook was........
Any reservation confirmations in the front.
The middle contained all the information needed for each park.
Magic Kingdom
Epcot
Animal Kingdom
Hollywood Studios
The last part was any extra tips or ideas.
Here is a list of websites which helped during my research
Disney website - This is the official website for Disney. Great for planning your vacation or looking at what each park has to offer(with pictures)
My Disney Experience - If you have an iphone, ipad,etc, I would strongly suggest getting this app(it's free). You can see each ride in the park and wait times(huge plus and time saver!), which attractions offer a fastpass and when there all taken, times the shows start and allows you to have a plan.
Park Crowd Planner - This will help you to know the best parks to avoid or attend for each day of your vacation.
Easy WDW - This is a great overall website which explains in detail highlights of Disney.
Top Ten Lists - List the top ten of everything
Military tips - Great for if your military!! We got the special military 4 day hopper passes for $156!
Disney Food Blog - Everything on Disney food. Did you know you can bring your own food into the Disney parks? I brought snacks and 1 meal into the park and it saved us a ton of money!
Blogs I found useful
123 Homeschool 4 Me - Loved this one!
There are a lot of blogs out there written by moms who know Disney. These were just a few that I found helpful.
My advice:
Find out what is popular at each park and use the fastpass opportunity. Don't be confused if you go to Six Flags often. You do not have to purchase a fastpass.
What is a fastpass?
Now for the ideas/crafts from our trip
I decided several months prior to our trip that I wanted to do outfits for each day. It started out just for the girls but eventually I jumped on board. My son would only agree to plain same colored shirts. I immediately searched for ideas that would be budget friendly....remember I am about saving money!
I found these shirts from Lolly Wolly Doodle for only $12 each.
I was lucky enough to find these Minnie Mouse shirts at Walmart on the clearance rack for $3 each.
I made these (minus the skirt) for Animal Kingdom. I got the shirts from Target(I already had my black one) for $5 each. The material and ribbon at Hobby Lobby for around $10. I used a Target coupon for the flip flops so they were free.
I made these pocket tees for Epcot.
I got the t shirts on sale at Michaels for $1.96 each. I used ebay balance for the chevron material. Total for the shirts....under$6.
I also made bows to match for my youngest daughter. I only had to buy the Chevron ribbon which I got at Hobby Lobby. Total cost for 2 bows......$2
The Minnie Mouse I made using fabric I already had. It is removable so the clip and bow can be worn separate.
Here is a tutorial on how to roll the fabric. To make the Minnie Mouse you roll 1 big one and 2 smaller ones.
I made these signature book since we were going to eat lunch with the princesses and see characters.
I bought these at Hobby Lobby for $2.50 each. I used my cricut to cut out the names and Mickey head. I hot glued the bow to make it a Minnie. These were great because they had bookmarks attached to them. This made it easy to find the next page.
I also used my cricut to turn the plain water bottle into Disney water bottles.
Since we went to Disney in June (when its hot), these were wonderful! Many places in the park will give you a free cup of ice water. We kept refilling these all day. Saved us a lot of money! Hint: We brought a few of those single Crystal Light packets if we wanted flavored water.
The added names on the bottle helped the girls to know which bottle was theirs.
I got the bottles at Walmart for $1.50 each.
I saw this idea on pinterest and knew it was a must!
I used polish I already had to make the Mickey toes. I used a tip of a Q-tip to make the face and the end of a pointed Q-tip to make the ears. I did this on the big toe and thumb.
Total cost......$0.
These next couple of items are not crafts but more like should haves.
When you sit down to watch the parade at Magic Kingdom. Cast members pop out from all areas with these glow-in-the-dark-everythings! Back in February I heard......"Mom I want one!" "Mom everyone else has one!" and my favorite "Mom I won't ask for anything ever!"
This time around mom was smart(or lame some may think).......I got these at the Dollar Tree for $1.07 each.
Glow-in-the-dark-wands
They worked just as well as the $10-$20 ones. They even spin as long as you keep manual twirling them.
If you go in the summer, I can't stress enough about this next must have!
Fans and a spray fan bottle. These were a life saver! Yes, you can buy them at the park....but they are $20. We got our blue one at Academy for $9.99. We also got the kind that hang around your neck and blow upwards for $5. I wish I would have gotten us each one of those.
The last tip and I will be done. Bring a poncho just in case. It rained everyday we were there. You will not want to leave the park or hide for cover because that is the best time to ride rides(that are still open of course). We didn't mind getting soaked because it was hot. We mainly used them to keep our bags dry. Be careful about buying cheap $1 ponchos. Sometimes they rip just putting them on.
I hope that this was will help you in planning your next magical trip to Disney World!
My advice:
Find out what is popular at each park and use the fastpass opportunity. Don't be confused if you go to Six Flags often. You do not have to purchase a fastpass.
What is a fastpass?
Use the FASTPASS. It’s
free and saves you time from standing in long lines. When you get to a
ride you can see how long the wait time is. The most popular rides do
have longer wait times. It is better to grab a Fastpass and then go to
another ride. Upon return to the ride you can enter the Fastpass lane.
You can only get a FAST PASS every 2 hours so be sure to grab them on
your favorite rides. Don’t waste it on a ride that has a 20 minute wait
time when others have a 75 minute wait time. - See more at:
http://itssoverycheri.com/2012/05/28/how-to-do-disney-world-tips-to-save-you-time-and-money/#sthash.YacWnyGg.dpuf
To Use FASTPASS Service:- Look for the “FASTPASS Distribution” sign near the entrance of an attraction.
- Check the return time displayed on the sign.
- This time indicates when you should return to enjoy the attraction using your FASTPASS ticket.
- For attractions, the return time is a 1-hour window (e.g., 1:10 PM to 2:10 PM), and you can show up anytime between then. For shows, your return time will be for a specific performance.
- If the return time works for you, insert your valid admission ticket into the FASTPASS Service machine. (You may use your Walt Disney World Resort admission ticket, re-entry ticket, Key to the World card or Annual Pass.)
- The machine will generate a FASTPASS ticket printed with your return time.
- Go back to the FASTPASS ticketholder entrance when your return time rolls around, show your ticket to the Cast Member and enjoy the attraction with a minimal wait.
- FASTPASS tickets are valid only on the day of issue.
- Everyone in your party using the FASTPASS ticketholder entrance must have a FASTPASS ticket.
- The time at which you can get your next one will be printed on your ticket. FASTPASS Service machines will not issue another ticket until the time stated on your current one.
Use the FASTPASS. It’s
free and saves you time from standing in long lines. When you get to a
ride you can see how long the wait time is. The most popular rides do
have longer wait times. It is better to grab a Fastpass and then go to
another ride. Upon return to the ride you can enter the Fastpass lane.
You can only get a FAST PASS every 2 hours so be sure to grab them on
your favorite rides. Don’t waste it on a ride that has a 20 minute wait
time when others have a 75 minute wait time. - See more at:
http://itssoverycheri.com/2012/05/28/how-to-do-disney-world-tips-to-save-you-time-and-money/#sthash.YacWnyGg.dpuf
I decided several months prior to our trip that I wanted to do outfits for each day. It started out just for the girls but eventually I jumped on board. My son would only agree to plain same colored shirts. I immediately searched for ideas that would be budget friendly....remember I am about saving money!
I found these shirts from Lolly Wolly Doodle for only $12 each.
I was lucky enough to find these Minnie Mouse shirts at Walmart on the clearance rack for $3 each.
I made these (minus the skirt) for Animal Kingdom. I got the shirts from Target(I already had my black one) for $5 each. The material and ribbon at Hobby Lobby for around $10. I used a Target coupon for the flip flops so they were free.
I made these pocket tees for Epcot.
I got the t shirts on sale at Michaels for $1.96 each. I used ebay balance for the chevron material. Total for the shirts....under$6.
I also made bows to match for my youngest daughter. I only had to buy the Chevron ribbon which I got at Hobby Lobby. Total cost for 2 bows......$2
The Minnie Mouse I made using fabric I already had. It is removable so the clip and bow can be worn separate.
Here is a tutorial on how to roll the fabric. To make the Minnie Mouse you roll 1 big one and 2 smaller ones.
I made these signature book since we were going to eat lunch with the princesses and see characters.
I bought these at Hobby Lobby for $2.50 each. I used my cricut to cut out the names and Mickey head. I hot glued the bow to make it a Minnie. These were great because they had bookmarks attached to them. This made it easy to find the next page.
I also used my cricut to turn the plain water bottle into Disney water bottles.
Since we went to Disney in June (when its hot), these were wonderful! Many places in the park will give you a free cup of ice water. We kept refilling these all day. Saved us a lot of money! Hint: We brought a few of those single Crystal Light packets if we wanted flavored water.
The added names on the bottle helped the girls to know which bottle was theirs.
I got the bottles at Walmart for $1.50 each.
I saw this idea on pinterest and knew it was a must!
I used polish I already had to make the Mickey toes. I used a tip of a Q-tip to make the face and the end of a pointed Q-tip to make the ears. I did this on the big toe and thumb.
Total cost......$0.
These next couple of items are not crafts but more like should haves.
When you sit down to watch the parade at Magic Kingdom. Cast members pop out from all areas with these glow-in-the-dark-everythings! Back in February I heard......"Mom I want one!" "Mom everyone else has one!" and my favorite "Mom I won't ask for anything ever!"
This time around mom was smart(or lame some may think).......I got these at the Dollar Tree for $1.07 each.
Glow-in-the-dark-wands
They worked just as well as the $10-$20 ones. They even spin as long as you keep manual twirling them.
If you go in the summer, I can't stress enough about this next must have!
Fans and a spray fan bottle. These were a life saver! Yes, you can buy them at the park....but they are $20. We got our blue one at Academy for $9.99. We also got the kind that hang around your neck and blow upwards for $5. I wish I would have gotten us each one of those.
The last tip and I will be done. Bring a poncho just in case. It rained everyday we were there. You will not want to leave the park or hide for cover because that is the best time to ride rides(that are still open of course). We didn't mind getting soaked because it was hot. We mainly used them to keep our bags dry. Be careful about buying cheap $1 ponchos. Sometimes they rip just putting them on.
I hope that this was will help you in planning your next magical trip to Disney World!
Use the FASTPASS. It’s
free and saves you time from standing in long lines. When you get to a
ride you can see how long the wait time is. The most popular rides do
have longer wait times. It is better to grab a Fastpass and then go to
another ride. Upon return to the ride you can enter the Fastpass lane.
You can only get a FAST PASS every 2 hours so be sure to grab them on
your favorite rides. Don’t waste it on a ride that has a 20 minute wait
time when others have a 75 minute wait time. - See more at:
http://itssoverycheri.com/2012/05/28/how-to-do-disney-world-tips-to-save-you-time-and-money/#sthash.YacWnyGg.dpuf
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