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Walt Disney World Holidays – What You Should Know About Dining on Your Disney Christmas Vacation

December 10th, 2009 No comments

Do you have a vacation planned during the Walt Disney World holidays? A visit to Walt Disney World during the Christmas season can be especially fun, filled with extra doses of Disney magic, festive decorations and entertainment, and of course, good food. In this article, we will discuss specific things you should know about dining at Disney World during this time of year, as well as the best way to plan a Disney vacation to make the most of your time and meal budget.

To begin with, you need to make dining plans, because if you are visiting between Christmas and New Year’s, you will be at Disney World during the busiest time of the year. This is one time of year when you can’t really be spontaneous about eating…unless you like waiting in line for hours, or not being able to get seated at any table service restaurant at a decent time. You will be sharing the parks with many, many other people, so be prepared to plan a little ahead about your meals.

So the first tip is to make your dining plans in advance, and if you plan to have any table service meals, make your Advanced Dining Reservations (ADRs) before you leave for Disney World. More importantly, if you are visiting during Christmas week, make them now.

Let’s talk about ADRs. Disney provides folks with the ability to make Advanced Dining Reservations far in advance, currently 180 days in advance. So people have been making ADRs for Christmas week for months. This means that the most popular restaurants and times fill quickly, especially for the big days of Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, New Years Eve, and New Years Day. Can you just walk up and get a table during this week? Perhaps…but don’t hold your breath. Don’t take the chance, make your ADRs now if you want table service meals.

What if you can’t get ADRs for any of the restaurants you want? Consider some of the lovely and lesser-known restaurants at the hotels: many are wonderful, and it is a great way to see some of the fantastic Holiday decorations at the resorts. They are a little off-the-beaten path, but it can be nice sometimes, during all the hustle and bustle, to have a little peace and quiet.

Another good strategy, especially if you can’t get decent ADR times, is to consider eating meals at “off” times. Try having your main, table service meal for lunch instead of dinner. Eat early: lunch at 11, dinner at 5…or late: lunch at 2, dinner at 8. You may be able to get table service seating this way, and for counter service meals, the crowds tend to be a little lighter during these times.

Of course, typical advice about eating some meals in, especially if you have access to a kitchen, can be helpful. Many folks with these types of amenities in their accommodations actually do the entire turkey and fixings, which can be very nice and a great way to create some special memories….and save some money in the process.

So what is the best way to plan a Disney vacation during the Walt Disney World holidays when it comes to meals? Plan ahead. You will be rewarded with less stress for dining, and a wonderful trip filled with special holiday memories.

Nancy Bobby has been planning Disney World vacations (and doing it affordably) for over ten years, and has had 11 (and counting) family vacations to Walt Disney World. To learn how to plan an affordable Disney family vacation, and to receive a free Disney vacation planning bonus, visit www.theaffordablemouse.com.

Purchasing Disney Theme Park Tickets

February 6th, 2009 No comments

Youve saved all year long to take your family to Disney in order to have the time of your lives. Youve heard all about all of the wonderful things that the Disney theme parks have to offer their visitors and youve been waiting for your chance to get there and experience the worlds most wonderful vacation getaway. The question is – how do you make your trip perfect? There is so much to do and to see at Disney that you want to make sure that you dont miss anything, but you dont want to shell out a bunch of extra money for things that you dont necessarily need.

Here are a few quick tips to help put your mind at ease about your Disney vacation and to ensure that you

Do Your Research

There are almost too many things to do on a Disney vacation. There are tons of parks, water parks, places to eat and events – getting there without at least groundwork for what you and your family would like to see could lead to a lot of confusion. You dont want to spend half of your vacation trying to figure out what to do – so its a good idea to know what types of activities are available, where they are and which ones youd most like to visit so you can put those options into your tickets when you buy them.

Leave Room for Improvement

All Disney tickets are called Magic Your Way for a reason, you can specialize your ticket options for the specific activities which will be the most fun for your family. You can feel free to load up on and pay for all of the options that you think you will use when purchasing your tickets or you have the option of just purchasing the basic tickets when you book your trip and upgrading them with specific options at the ticket window when you arrive at the park.

Getting the basic Magic Your Way tickets is usually the best option, because things may change in one way or another as time gets closer to the actual trip. Changes in weather or things like the current health of certain family members may cause you to have to make a change in plans so saving the money up front and only paying for the upgrades that you will surely use is the best option.

The ability to add options to your tickets is beneficial in many ways – if some sort of problem arises and you need to end your trip just a day or two in after having bought seven day passes, you can upgrade your tickets to have no expiration and use those same passes at a later date.

Shop Around

There are several different places that you can obtain Disney theme parks tickets, so look for authorized discount providers to save money when purchasing your passes. Look through all of the options that the ticket vendor has available; you may find that youll save a great deal of money by changing the number of days that your passes are good for. For example a one or two day pass will cost more per day than a three or four day pass and a three or four day pass will cost more than a seven day pass. If you are going to be in Disney and visiting the parks for five or six days by the appropriate pass to save as much money as possible.

Going on a Disney vacation may be a once in a lifetime opportunity for you and your family, youll want to do your best to make sure that its memorable. There truly is something for everyone at the Disney theme parks, but you need to make wise decisions when purchasing your tickets and managing your time to make sure you can participate in all of the activities that will make it the best possible vacation for everyone that goes.

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