For many of the Disney geeks out there, we've done nearly everything in the parks. We've ridden all the rides countless times, ate at most of the restaurants, and got our picture with Mickey Mouse at least twice. Not that this deters us from going back again and again. But sometimes it's fun to try something new and that's what I did on my last trip to the world. My husband and I took the Keys to the Kingdom tour and we both loved it!
The Keys to the Kingdom tour is a 4-5 walking tour in, of course, Magic Kingdom. The cost is $65/person and there's an age restriction - you have to be 16 years or older. The age requirement was a great plus for us - we don't have kids and there were several other young couples in the same boat as us who took the tour with us. It was an easy way to make friends for the day. Anyway, the tour includes a lunch at Columbia Harbor House, which isn't spectacular, but decent. The tours are given 3 times daily, 8am, 8:30am, and 9am. It was almost worth the $65 just to be able to enter the Magic Kingdom before the crowds swarmed Main Street. We got some great pictures that morning. Which brings me to my next point - no cameras are allowed on this tour. We rented a locker to stash our stuff during the tour.
Once you check in at City Hall (to your immediate left right after you walk under the train station), you are given an earpiece and name tag. The earpiece is for your tour guide's voice. It was genius - we were walking through crowded MK and could hear perfectly what our guise was saying because he was talking through our earpieces.
Anyway, our tour started promptly, and we spent a lot of time in Main Street, talking about Walt Disney and his vision for his theme parks. He was really an amazing man - the more I learned, the more I was impressed. Did you know that Disney considered his parks a "stage" and we were his audience? As you enter the Magic Kingdom, the "curtain" to his stage is the train station. Then, as you stroll (or race) through Main Street, if you were to look up, you would see the "credits" to Walt's masterpiece. In the windows of the upper stories are names: Walt's, his brother Roy, etc...
We moved from Main Street to Adventureland, where we were able to ride the Jungle Cruise - only with our tour guide as our narrator. That was a lot of fun! Then we made our way to Frontierland/Liberty Square, where we were let into the Haunted Mansion. We saw a little bit of the "servant's quarters" but not much. We rode that ride as normal - you can shut off your ghost narrator apparently!
After that was lunch at Columbia Harbor House in their upstairs room. Our lunches were laid out ahead of time for us.
Lunch break was short as we needed to cover Fantasyland next. Your guide will talk some about the hotel suite in Cinderella's Castle, but don't get too excited. You aren't allowed to see it in person. Last stop was Tomorrowland (you aren't led through Mickey's Toon Town Fair) and then your tour of the above ground park is complete.
The backstage part, the most exciting part, is why cameras aren't allowed on this tour. Your guide will take you behind Splash Mountain and you can see how the water for that ride is pumped into the attraction, Also you are able to see storage for the parade floats. We actually saw the parade leave the backstage into the park, but that was coincidence. Then you are led underground into the first floor of the MK, called the Utilidors, and can see where cast members navigate throughout the parks unseen. Seeing the Utilidors was truly worth every penny of this tour!
Overall, the Keys to the Kingdom tour was a lot of fun, and we enjoyed doing something new. We were able to see Magic Kingdom a little differently, and for us the magic of the park was just enhanced all the more. I could tell you a lot more, but that would spoil all the surprises. Go and see for yourself!
Sunday, February 21, 2010
Friday, February 19, 2010
Discounts on Park Tickets
Question: I have sat down this morning to plan a spring break trip for my family to Disneyworld… We lived in south Florida up until 3 years ago…and I always took advantage of the Florida resident discounts… this is my first trip as an out of state resident (Alabama) and I’ve nearly had a heart attack at the cost of this trip so far…
I have 4 children… 16, 10, 8, and 4 …all girls… and I’m actually looking for tickets only to the 4 parks (different park daily) for 4 days… and hoping to do one character breakfast for the 4 year old….
I have plenty of hotel points and our lodging will be free… and we will be driving to Orlando.
Are there any cheaper ticket sites than buying directly from the Disney website?? Help!!!!!
Answer:
Great question, and I am going to start with what NOT to do, before going into what you can do to save a little on park tickets.
Don't buy older, used tickets from anyone (before the finger scan) because there is no way to verify the # of days left on the ticket until you are at the park, ready to use it. Someone may sell you a ticket that they say has 4 days left, but in reality there's only 1 day left. Also, don't buy into the whole "get a free ticket" in you listen to a 90 minute time share spiel, unless you are willing to use up most of one of your vacation days listening to a sales pitch. Those spiels always take longer than 90 minutes and are never worth it (in my opinion). Finally, beware of eBay and Craigslist - lots of scamming going on there.
But onto where you can get valid discounted tickets. Unfortunately, there really aren't great discounts on the park passes for the most part. As you well know, the FL discount is probably one of the best Disney offers. But there are a few places you should try. I am only recommending vendors that sell new ticket passes (nothing used).
For reference without any discount, a 4 day no park hopper pass for an adult will cost you $239.63/each and for a child $204.48/each, including taxes.
One place you can check for a discount is AAA. If you're a member of AAA, I know that some branches offer discounts, but I'm not sure how much those discounts are. Another place to check is your corporate office - my workplace offers me Disney discounts through a website called www.ticketsatwork.com. Another good website to check out is Undercover Tourist (http://www.undercovertourist.com/united-states/florida/orlando/attractions/tickets.html). Their prices are a little cheaper: $232.95 for adult each and $198.95 for child each. That price includes all taxes and shipping is free. Not much, but something.
Something else that is a great idea to help save some money is to get involved in Disney's Give a Day, Get a Day program (http://disneyparks.disney.go.com/disneyparks/en_US/WhatWillYouCelebrate/index?name=Give-A-Day-Get-A-Disney-Day). Your entire family can volunteer (the opportunities vary for each area, but in my area I had the choice to make 2 fleece blankets as my volunteer job and didn't even have to take a day off work) and in return Disney will email you a free ticket voucher, which is good at any of the 4 parks, though not at the water parks. This will save you the cost of one day at least, and you will be doing something nice for someone else!
I wish I had better discounts to recommend to you but really there isn't much out there. I do want to note that if you plan to make a return visit to Disney in the next year or so, then it would be worth getting a 10 day pass for everyone and add the no expiration option to it. You'll save money (lots) in the long run. And your 8 year old, who is a child now, would be able to exchange her no-expiration child ticket at the park ticket gate for an adult ticket free of charge, last I heard. So you'd be paying child's prices for an adult the next time around. And if you ever want to visit the Water Parks or DisneyQuest, you can add that option to the 10 day no expiration pass for $55.38/ticket (the cost of one day's admissions to either place) and you will have 10 visits to the water parks/DisneyQuest that will never expire until used up, even when the tickets no longer have park days on them.
Hope this helps a little bit and have a great time on your trip! If you haven't already decided what character breakfast to go to, I've heard Chef Mickey's at the Contemporary Resort is one of the best and is a short monorail ride from the MK.
I have 4 children… 16, 10, 8, and 4 …all girls… and I’m actually looking for tickets only to the 4 parks (different park daily) for 4 days… and hoping to do one character breakfast for the 4 year old….
I have plenty of hotel points and our lodging will be free… and we will be driving to Orlando.
Are there any cheaper ticket sites than buying directly from the Disney website?? Help!!!!!
Answer:
Great question, and I am going to start with what NOT to do, before going into what you can do to save a little on park tickets.
Don't buy older, used tickets from anyone (before the finger scan) because there is no way to verify the # of days left on the ticket until you are at the park, ready to use it. Someone may sell you a ticket that they say has 4 days left, but in reality there's only 1 day left. Also, don't buy into the whole "get a free ticket" in you listen to a 90 minute time share spiel, unless you are willing to use up most of one of your vacation days listening to a sales pitch. Those spiels always take longer than 90 minutes and are never worth it (in my opinion). Finally, beware of eBay and Craigslist - lots of scamming going on there.
But onto where you can get valid discounted tickets. Unfortunately, there really aren't great discounts on the park passes for the most part. As you well know, the FL discount is probably one of the best Disney offers. But there are a few places you should try. I am only recommending vendors that sell new ticket passes (nothing used).
For reference without any discount, a 4 day no park hopper pass for an adult will cost you $239.63/each and for a child $204.48/each, including taxes.
One place you can check for a discount is AAA. If you're a member of AAA, I know that some branches offer discounts, but I'm not sure how much those discounts are. Another place to check is your corporate office - my workplace offers me Disney discounts through a website called www.ticketsatwork.com. Another good website to check out is Undercover Tourist (http://www.undercovertourist.com/united-states/florida/orlando/attractions/tickets.html). Their prices are a little cheaper: $232.95 for adult each and $198.95 for child each. That price includes all taxes and shipping is free. Not much, but something.
Something else that is a great idea to help save some money is to get involved in Disney's Give a Day, Get a Day program (http://disneyparks.disney.go.com/disneyparks/en_US/WhatWillYouCelebrate/index?name=Give-A-Day-Get-A-Disney-Day). Your entire family can volunteer (the opportunities vary for each area, but in my area I had the choice to make 2 fleece blankets as my volunteer job and didn't even have to take a day off work) and in return Disney will email you a free ticket voucher, which is good at any of the 4 parks, though not at the water parks. This will save you the cost of one day at least, and you will be doing something nice for someone else!
I wish I had better discounts to recommend to you but really there isn't much out there. I do want to note that if you plan to make a return visit to Disney in the next year or so, then it would be worth getting a 10 day pass for everyone and add the no expiration option to it. You'll save money (lots) in the long run. And your 8 year old, who is a child now, would be able to exchange her no-expiration child ticket at the park ticket gate for an adult ticket free of charge, last I heard. So you'd be paying child's prices for an adult the next time around. And if you ever want to visit the Water Parks or DisneyQuest, you can add that option to the 10 day no expiration pass for $55.38/ticket (the cost of one day's admissions to either place) and you will have 10 visits to the water parks/DisneyQuest that will never expire until used up, even when the tickets no longer have park days on them.
Hope this helps a little bit and have a great time on your trip! If you haven't already decided what character breakfast to go to, I've heard Chef Mickey's at the Contemporary Resort is one of the best and is a short monorail ride from the MK.
Thursday, February 18, 2010
Downtown Disney
I don’t have a question to answer this time, but I do have a topic to talk about – Downtown Disney.
I’ve spent quite a bit of time in Downtown Disney and really enjoy starting my trip or ending my trip there. If I start there, it whets my appetite for the next full -blown magical day spent in the parks. If I end there, Downtown Disney eases me into life without Mickey Mouse and fairytales.
Here are a few great things that I like about Downtown Disney and would recommend to you:
1. Earl of Sandwich: This restaurant was one of my favorites of the enitre trip! Not only was it very, very affordable (for Disney standards) but the food was tasty! If you go, try the All-American sandwhich. It tastes like Thanksgiving.
2. Ghirardelli’s: You want something sweet? This is the place. Try something with either hot fudge or peanutbutter fudge or, if you are brave, both!
3. Disney Tails: If you are a pet-lover, this shop is for you! My favorite part about this store is the customizable pet ID tags for $10/each. Adorable.
4. The World of Disney: I know, I know, this one is obvious. The largest Disney store in Disneyworld. But I actually have a money-saving tip here. If you are a Disney Visa card owner, you get 10% off you entire purchase (over $50 or more) at this store. So when I visit Disney, I rarely buy souvieners in the theme parks, rather if I see something I like, I wait until we get to the World of Disney and make one big purchase.
I’ve spent quite a bit of time in Downtown Disney and really enjoy starting my trip or ending my trip there. If I start there, it whets my appetite for the next full -blown magical day spent in the parks. If I end there, Downtown Disney eases me into life without Mickey Mouse and fairytales.
Here are a few great things that I like about Downtown Disney and would recommend to you:
1. Earl of Sandwich: This restaurant was one of my favorites of the enitre trip! Not only was it very, very affordable (for Disney standards) but the food was tasty! If you go, try the All-American sandwhich. It tastes like Thanksgiving.
2. Ghirardelli’s: You want something sweet? This is the place. Try something with either hot fudge or peanutbutter fudge or, if you are brave, both!
3. Disney Tails: If you are a pet-lover, this shop is for you! My favorite part about this store is the customizable pet ID tags for $10/each. Adorable.
4. The World of Disney: I know, I know, this one is obvious. The largest Disney store in Disneyworld. But I actually have a money-saving tip here. If you are a Disney Visa card owner, you get 10% off you entire purchase (over $50 or more) at this store. So when I visit Disney, I rarely buy souvieners in the theme parks, rather if I see something I like, I wait until we get to the World of Disney and make one big purchase.
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
Disney Dining plan - worth it?
Question:
A coworker is heading to Disney World in a little over a week, and has been talking non-stop about how much fun they're going to have.
I'm also planning a trip, and when they found that out, they strongly urged me to go with one of the Disney Meal Plans. They seem kind of pricey, so I was just planning on paying as I go... what is the better bang for my buck?
Answer:
In my experience, the Disney meal plans are not worth the money spent on them; however, each person is different, and there are instances when opting for the meal plan is a better deal than not. It depends a lot on how much and often you like to eat. If you are going to Disney with a plan to hit all the parks (including water parks), ride all the rides 3 times over, and make it to all the shows, then you probably won’t have the time spend at least one meal/day at a sit-down restaurant. But if your approach to Disney is much more laidback, and you enjoy your sit-down meals as a break from the craziness of the parks, then it’s worth looking into the dining plan.
To be sure if you will save money, you need to be able to plan ahead a little bit. First figure out how many meals you plan to eat out. For instance, when I go, I bring my own breakfast items and do not typically eat out for breakfast. Then you should make a list of restaurants you want to visit, especially making sure you include all the sit-down restaurants (quick service restaurants don’t require reservations and cost less $$ so we can average the expected price you will pay, without knowing which quick service eatery you’ll choose). Then go to www.allears.net and check out their AMAZING menu list, which will give you a good idea of how much you can expect to spend at each restaurant. For quick service, I assume I’ll spend $15/adult and $10/child. You can add more or less to that average, depending on what you typically buy (we get water and skip dessert).
Tally your est. meal expenses. Then check the prices of the Disney meal plans and see which total is higher. It’s that simple! Of course, it does require a good amount of pre-planning on your part, but if you want to save money, this is how you do it.
I do want to caution you – if you decide to go with the meal plan, make sure to use all your dining credits. The leftover credits are lost at the end of the trip and the dining plan becomes less and less a deal especially if you have to skip a meal or two and you don’t use those allotted credits elsewhere. Part of the reason I’ve never chosen to use the dining plan (besides the fact we don’t eat breakfast out) is that I don’t like to feel like my meal time is competing with my park time. I would prefer to spend more time touring than eating.
A coworker is heading to Disney World in a little over a week, and has been talking non-stop about how much fun they're going to have.
I'm also planning a trip, and when they found that out, they strongly urged me to go with one of the Disney Meal Plans. They seem kind of pricey, so I was just planning on paying as I go... what is the better bang for my buck?
Answer:
In my experience, the Disney meal plans are not worth the money spent on them; however, each person is different, and there are instances when opting for the meal plan is a better deal than not. It depends a lot on how much and often you like to eat. If you are going to Disney with a plan to hit all the parks (including water parks), ride all the rides 3 times over, and make it to all the shows, then you probably won’t have the time spend at least one meal/day at a sit-down restaurant. But if your approach to Disney is much more laidback, and you enjoy your sit-down meals as a break from the craziness of the parks, then it’s worth looking into the dining plan.
To be sure if you will save money, you need to be able to plan ahead a little bit. First figure out how many meals you plan to eat out. For instance, when I go, I bring my own breakfast items and do not typically eat out for breakfast. Then you should make a list of restaurants you want to visit, especially making sure you include all the sit-down restaurants (quick service restaurants don’t require reservations and cost less $$ so we can average the expected price you will pay, without knowing which quick service eatery you’ll choose). Then go to www.allears.net and check out their AMAZING menu list, which will give you a good idea of how much you can expect to spend at each restaurant. For quick service, I assume I’ll spend $15/adult and $10/child. You can add more or less to that average, depending on what you typically buy (we get water and skip dessert).
Tally your est. meal expenses. Then check the prices of the Disney meal plans and see which total is higher. It’s that simple! Of course, it does require a good amount of pre-planning on your part, but if you want to save money, this is how you do it.
I do want to caution you – if you decide to go with the meal plan, make sure to use all your dining credits. The leftover credits are lost at the end of the trip and the dining plan becomes less and less a deal especially if you have to skip a meal or two and you don’t use those allotted credits elsewhere. Part of the reason I’ve never chosen to use the dining plan (besides the fact we don’t eat breakfast out) is that I don’t like to feel like my meal time is competing with my park time. I would prefer to spend more time touring than eating.
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
Cost for a Disney weekend
Question # 1:
What kind of total costs should one expect for a budget minded trip for two people? Maybe a long weekend - hotel - food - entrance - etc.
Answer # 1:
The kind of cost to expect would depend a lot on the time of year you plan to visit Disney. But since you mentioned that you are “budget-minded”, I am going to assume that you would plan to go to Disney during the off-season (January-February, and some dates in the fall after the kids are back in school). I will also assume that a long weekend means arriving on Thursday afternoon and staying through Sunday.
Assuming that, here’s the breakdown of estimated costs:
3 nights in a value resort: ($82/weekday night and $92/weekend night): $266.00
3 day Park Hopper pass (Friday-Sunday): $271/each or $542.00 total for 2 adults
Quick service meals, a.k.a. Disney’s version of fast food, (dinner Thursday, 3 meals Fri/Sat/Sun): $25/meal for both adults or total $250.00 for 10 meals
Misc expenses (parking/locker rental/souvenirs): $75.00
Total est. cost for a long weekend at Disney for 2 adults: $1133.00
This does not include travel to the Orlando area, of course, and also does not take into account the very likely possibility that Disney will be running a special discount of some sort that will save you a little money.
Also, if you want to shave a little cost off that total, you can take off the Park Hopper option on your tickets (although I highly recommend the PH option), which would reduce your ticket cost to $438 total, or $104 less, making your trip total cost: $1029.00.
You might be thinking that this seems expensive for a long weekend get-a-way and it is. This is because Disney likes people to stay longer than a few short days. Most of the discounts available to guests are geared toward trips for 5 days or more. This doesn’t mean you’ll spend less money than above, but you’ll get more for you money! For example, if you were to buy a 7 day PH ticket instead of the 3 day PH ticket listed above, your cost would go up a total of $30 or $15/ticket. Buy more, spend less per unit.
What kind of total costs should one expect for a budget minded trip for two people? Maybe a long weekend - hotel - food - entrance - etc.
Answer # 1:
The kind of cost to expect would depend a lot on the time of year you plan to visit Disney. But since you mentioned that you are “budget-minded”, I am going to assume that you would plan to go to Disney during the off-season (January-February, and some dates in the fall after the kids are back in school). I will also assume that a long weekend means arriving on Thursday afternoon and staying through Sunday.
Assuming that, here’s the breakdown of estimated costs:
3 nights in a value resort: ($82/weekday night and $92/weekend night): $266.00
3 day Park Hopper pass (Friday-Sunday): $271/each or $542.00 total for 2 adults
Quick service meals, a.k.a. Disney’s version of fast food, (dinner Thursday, 3 meals Fri/Sat/Sun): $25/meal for both adults or total $250.00 for 10 meals
Misc expenses (parking/locker rental/souvenirs): $75.00
Total est. cost for a long weekend at Disney for 2 adults: $1133.00
This does not include travel to the Orlando area, of course, and also does not take into account the very likely possibility that Disney will be running a special discount of some sort that will save you a little money.
Also, if you want to shave a little cost off that total, you can take off the Park Hopper option on your tickets (although I highly recommend the PH option), which would reduce your ticket cost to $438 total, or $104 less, making your trip total cost: $1029.00.
You might be thinking that this seems expensive for a long weekend get-a-way and it is. This is because Disney likes people to stay longer than a few short days. Most of the discounts available to guests are geared toward trips for 5 days or more. This doesn’t mean you’ll spend less money than above, but you’ll get more for you money! For example, if you were to buy a 7 day PH ticket instead of the 3 day PH ticket listed above, your cost would go up a total of $30 or $15/ticket. Buy more, spend less per unit.
Monday, February 15, 2010
Beginnings
Hi all. My name is Sara and I am a planner at heart and a Disney lover. I did not grow up going to Disney World as a kid, but have discovered the magic late in life. In the past 3 years, I've made 3 trips to Disney World and plan to visit again in May 2010. I also hope to visit Disneyland in January 2011.
My goal is to answer all questions about Disney, whether it be about the World, the Land, or anything in between, in my blog posts. You can email your questions to: disneyworldanswers@gmail.com.
I know that I am going to have so much fun answering all questions. I will pull my answers from my guide books (I own and have read all existing Disney guide books, believe me), my own personal experience, and if you stump me, I'll find the answer and tell you where I got it!
So - ask away!
My goal is to answer all questions about Disney, whether it be about the World, the Land, or anything in between, in my blog posts. You can email your questions to: disneyworldanswers@gmail.com.
I know that I am going to have so much fun answering all questions. I will pull my answers from my guide books (I own and have read all existing Disney guide books, believe me), my own personal experience, and if you stump me, I'll find the answer and tell you where I got it!
So - ask away!
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