planning a magical vacation :: walt disney world tips

The week before Christmas my husband and I took our two girls on a surprise trip to Walt Disney World. Even before we went I started getting asked if I had any tips on visiting Disney World from friends who were also about to travel there for vacation. Once we returned I decided to write up my favorite pieces of advice for planning a most magical vacation. (Stay tuned next week for some of my favorite resources from planning our trip.)

1) Is staying on Disney World property actually worth it? Did you know that when you stay at a Disney World resort you get special perks such as daily Extra Magic Hours and free transportation on Disney World property, on top of all the fun taking place at the actual resort? Disney also offers a special service called Magical Express that made our arrival and departure a truly magical experiences.

2) Well then, where exactly should we stay? Think about at what would work best for your family as far as room size, location, price, and theme. My girls were SET on staying at the Little Mermaid rooms in the Art of Animation resort. For our next visit we will have a younger sibling along and will want to stay closer to the parks with more living space. Disney World has so many different type of rooms that you are sure to find a fit. If you’re flexible with your travel plans you even can look for one of the times when Disney World offers specials on room or meal plan rates.

3) Do you really get your money’s worth out of the meal plans? For my family our meal plan was a perfect fit. With this being said, I need to point out that I did quite a bit of research in how to best use our meal plan credits. I also used many of our Table Service (that is sit down service meal) credits for Character Dining experiences and buffets – we REALLY got our money’s worth out of those visits!

4) What is Memory Maker and why would anyone purchase it? You can get the lowdown on Memory Maker on the Disney World website HERE. Not wanting to lug my camera around at the parks I left the picture taking up to the wonderful cast members at Disney and their PhotoPass photographers. All we had to do was scan our MagicBands after our photos were taken and it was automatically added to our account. When we returned home I downloaded 318 photos and can now print them up where ever or when ever I want.

 

*I was in no way compensated for the above post. All opinions provided are my own.*