Save money and buy before you go to Disney

     You all know how expensive it is to have kids at Disney, they want every toy they see.  I have a simple solution, buy toys before you go.
     We have a couple of Dollar Stores in our town.  I have been buying a few Disney toys at the Dollar Stores and putting them up.  I plan on suprising my 3 kids with a few gifts every day of our trip.  When we wake up and get ready for the parks, my husband will take the kids out of our room while I set out a few gifts for each of my kids.  When we come back to our room for our mid day rest, the kids will have a surprise from their favorite character.  They will be so excited and will want to take their gifts to the parks with them.  These toys will keep them occupied that they will not be asking for every toy they see.     
     Here are just a few of the toys I have purchased at the Dollar Stores.  And all these are made by Disney.
>Drawing pads with characters on it.
>Markers
>3" characters
>Small Balls
>Princess Tiara
>Disney theme reusable tote bags
>Small Plush characters
>Kalideoscopes
>Small photo album
>Paddle ball

     These are only a few items.  If you go and look at your local Dollar Stores you will find lots of Disney made toys.

     Also, I buy the glow in the dark necklaces/bracelets at the Dollar Stores (Not a Disney item).  Those are great to bring out at night before the parades.  I have also found glow in the dark swords and princess wands.
   

Paying for Disney

A lot of people say they just can't afford to go to Walt Disney World.  It can be expensive but I have a few tips that I do during the year to save money for our trips to WDW.

     1- One of the best tips is to book your WDW vaca many months in advance.  When you book you put down a $200 deposit.  After that you can make payments to WDW kind of like paying a bill.  You can either pay monthly or even weekly.  This is a big help to make payments instead of paying one big lump sum at the due date.  Paying a little over time doesn't hurt your wallet as much as paying it all at once.

     2- My husband and I rarely use change.  If we break a dollar, we always put the change in a jar, our vaca jar.  We collect the coins all year long until vacation time.  About a week before our vaca, I roll the coins up and take them to our bank and trade them out for cash.  This is usually part of our spending money.  Within a years time you can collect hundres of dollars from just saving coins.

     3- A few weeks before our vaca we have a yard sale.  Our resent yard sale we got over $300.  We sold clothes, household items and some tools, etc. from the garage.  This is an excellent way to clean house and make money.

     4- Buy Disney gift cards.  You can either go to your local Disney store or go online and purchase the gift cards.  Buy a gift card once a month or weekly.  The cards can only be used at Disney locations so you know you won't spend it but only at Disney.  Gift cards are great for kids.  It is like their own credit card.   The Disney gift cards have no experations and no fees.  Another place you can get Disney gift cards are through www.plasticjungle.com .  They have gift cards that you can purchase for cheaper than the value.  For example you may find a $50 Disney gift card and pay only $40.  They have many different gift cards from a wide range of businesses so you can purchase gift cards other than Disney.  They don not always have the gift card you want but keep checking their site.

     5- Owning a Chase Disney Visa reward card can help you save money.  When you pay anything with the card you earn reward dollars.  Let the reward dollars add up a cash them in for a Disney gift card for  your vaca.  You can either call Chase and have them send you the Disney gift or like I do and go to customer service at Down Town Disney and they can cash it in for you and give you the Disney gift card.  You can also use this credit card at some Disney shops and restaurants and get a discount, but be sure to ask a Cast Member if they give the discount. 

     6- Another way to save money for WDW is to go during their off season.  Not only is it cheaper, but it is also a lot less crowded.

These are just some ways to help save for Disney.  A Disney trip may be expensive but I believe it is well worth the price.  Hope all these tips help you out and if you have a tip, please let me know.
    

First Aid at WDW

As some of you may know from FaceBook, I burnt my fingers last night.  While laying in bed in pain, I thought about my next blog, First Aid.  Fist Aid centers are located at all 4 theme parks and the 2 water parks.

-Magic Kingdom first aide is located near the Crystal Palace right off from Main Street.
-EPCOT first aid is located at the Odyssey Center on a small walkway between Test Track and the Mexico Pavilion.
-Hollywood Studios first aid is located near Guest Services on the left as you enter the park.
-Animal Kingdom first aid is located at Discover Island behide Creature Comforts right before you go over the bridge to Africa.
-Typhoon Lagoon first aid is located behind Leaning Palms cafe to the left of the park entrance.
-Blizzard Beach first aide is located  between Lottawatta Lodge and Beach Haus to the left of park entrance.
*There are no first aid centers at Down Town Disney*

The first aid centers will have plenty of common medicine such as tylenol, Advil and Alka Seltzer.  They also have bandaids and gauzes for minor cuts and scraps.  The Cast Members who work there are very friendly and are willing to help.  The cost of the meds are free.  The parks also have nurses if you think you need to be checked out with a major illness.  If you just get too hot and need to set down in a cool place to rest, you can do that at these centers.  You can buy meds at all the stores but will cost you around $2 for a sample pack.  If you need meds for a headache and are willing to walk to the other side of the park, I suggest to go to the first aid center where there will be no crowd and you can get your free meds and sit in a cool room and relax for a while.

The Best Time to visit the World

Before you book your Walt Disney World trip, you need to decide when is the best time for you and your family to go. Many people have to work around their kids' school schedule, but if you are the lucky ones who can go anytime, I have a few suggestions. Here is my top 3 choices.

1- My favorite time of year to go is between the week after Thanksgiving and the week before Christmas. The parks are less crowded and the tempatures are usually in the 70s. But be warned, it can get cold. We have been when they had a record cold and we froze to death. We wore layers on top of layers. At this time of year the parks and resorts are decorated for the holidays. At EPCOT you can walk around World Showcase and see all the different countries' version of Santa Clause and hear their Christmas stories. At HS they have the Osborne Family Christmas Lights. The lights dance to music. My favorite is at MK. They have the Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party. You have to pay a seperate price to attend but it is worth it. After the park closes, they give out free cookies and hot chocolate, snow flurries fall on Main Street and most rides are still open with short lines. They also have a special parade called Mickey's Once Upon A Christmastime Parade.

2-September through October is also a great time. Kids are back in school which mean less of a crowd and the temps are still a little warm but not scortching hot. Around the middle of September, WDW starts celebrating fall and Halloween. A popular event at MK is the Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party. Kids and adults have fun dressing up in their favorite costumes and go trick or treating around MK. When you enter MK you will be given trick or treat bags but I suggest to take you take your own, the ones you are given are not really big. You will leave with an overflowing bag of candy and not just cheap candy, the good ones. Last year they handed out Ghirardelli chocolates. This is also a seperate priced event but well worth it. This is the only time you will see Snow White with the seven dwarfs, the Disney villains, and characters from the Haunted Mansion. They have special fireworks and a parade called Mickey's Boo To You Halloween Parade. Don't worry parents, this is not a scary event like other theme parks I know.

3- Spring time at Disney is wonderful. March and May is not be the least crowded but it's deffanately not the crowdest. Be sure to avoid the two weeks around Easter, WDW is very crowded during that time. The temps are usually in the 80s. During this time EPCOT celebrates their Flower and Garden Festival. EPCOT is beautiful with blooming flowers and topiary displays. You can attend garden workshops and hear great singers. One reason I love this time of year is beacuse I love to garden and you can find all kinds of merchandises relating to gardening at this time that you can't get any other time of the year.

Anytime really is a great time to visit Walt Disney World.

A little more about me and my family

     I am a stay-at-home mom of an 11 yr old autistic son, 3 year old daughter and a 1 year old son.  My first visit to WDW was in 1983 when I was 5 years old.  I have been in love with Disney ever since.  As a child, my famly took trips to WDW every other year.  In the past 10 years we have been taking trips almost every year.  We did not go last year because of the birth of my son.  We always stay on Disney property.  I believe the resorts are part of the Magical experience.  In August 2007, one of my dreams came true.  My husband and I were married at the Wedding Pavilion located at the Grand Floridian.  I truely felt like a princess marrying my Prince Charming.  We had a small wedding with only our families.  We spent the week at WDW for our honeymoon along with our families.  Family is very important to me.  I was so happy to have spent that week with all of them.  And I loved being able to experience Grand Gatherings.  I am hoping to be able to do the Grand Gathering with my family again. 
     Our wedding was my husband's first visit to WDW.  He didn't know what to expect.  He has since fell in love with WDW. 
     My 11 yr old son has been to WDW 9 times.  He also has a huge love for Disney.  He can tell you about evey ride and show at Disney, even the ones he hasn't rode yet.  He loves to draw and is great at it.  He has some awesome drawings of Mickey and other Disney characters.  Right now he LOVES pirates (you know kids change their minds a lot).  The Pirates of the Caribbean movies are his favorites. 
     My 3 yr daughter is a true diva princess.  She loves her tiara and all the princesses.  Her first trip to WDW was in 2009 on her 1st birthday.  Her favorite was of course It's a Small World.  She has only been to WDW one time but talks about Disney almost every day and can't wait to go back. 
     My 1 yr old son has never experienced WDW but he will soon.  We will be going on our next WDW trip in Sept. (this trip is a suprise trip for the kids).  He will be getting his first hair cut at the MK.  Right now my son loves cars, anything with wheels.  I am sure he will love Lights, Motors, Action!

     My husband and I hope to be able to move to Celebration, FL one day and be able to experience the Disney Magic everyday .