Author: Em

Married mum of two (human) girls and two (beagle) boys! Getting a bit Disney obsessed!

Turn and face the strange…..

Em

There’s not really anything strange about the content of this post, but it is about a couple of changes that we have made to our trip and David Bowie’s Changes popped into my head so here we are!

First things first, let me tell you that we are now booked into Disney’s Beach Club Resort. We looked at this resort when we first went to make this booking, as we really wanted a resort within walking distance of the parks. We also looked at Club Level rooms, but none were available and so we decided to book at the Riviera Resort instead.

A couple of weeks after my last post, we received a phone call from our travel agent saying that a Club Level room at the Beach Club had become available and would we like it? The answer was yes!

Now, these don’t come particularly cheap and if you are planning to spend the majority of your time in the parks and not spend time at your resort, this may not be for you, but it is worth investigating!

For those of you (like us) who have never been to WDW Club Level* before, here are a couple of the benefits you can expect to get:

  • Separate check-in
  • Access to the club lounge at various intervals throughout the day for food, snacks, desserts and drinks (including alcohol)
  • Ability to purchase extra fast passes (more about this below)
  • Club Level concierge service

*Note that Club Level is only currently available at Deluxe Resorts and one Moderate Resort (Disney’s Gran Destino)

The extra fast passes can be a great perk if you have some spare money in your budget. There are pros and cons to this though:

Pros:

  • Three extra fast passes per day can be purchased from signature services with NO tier or park restrictions (i.e. you could ride Slinky Dog and then Test Track and then back onto Slinky Dog if you wanted) giving you six fast passes total in one day.
  • These can be booked at 90 days before your first day, meaning you’re pretty much guaranteed to get whatever fast passes you would like.

Cons:

  • Extra fast passes at $50 for an extra 3 per day and you have to purchase this perk for a minimum of 3 days, per person. So if you have a large group all wanting to use the service, this can get costly. However, not everyone in your group has to use it.
  • The 90 day booking window is only for the days you are purchasing the extra FPs; all other days have to be booked at 60 days out as usual.
  • You can only use the signature fast passes after you have used the regular ones in the day. This isn’t a really big con, but if, for example, you wanted to ride Flight of Passage first thing in the morning then make your way over to Epcot and go on Soarin’ straight after, well… you wouldn’t be able to.

We were all set to take on these extra fast passes. It was a benefit we discovered through Disney Food Blog and due to the lousy tier system in Hollywood Studios and the fact that a lot of our combined favourite rides were in that park (Tower of Terror, Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster, Slinky Dog Dash, Toy Story Mania) we thought they would be of use to us. So we saved up the $600 (EEEP) and then last week the news came that the fast pass tiers had changed and we were very happy, decided we now no longer needed to pay for the extra fast passes and had $600 to spend on something else! HOORAY!

So, we are very excited to try Club Level and I think it will be nice, but I also fear a little bit that we may have paid more money unnecessarily and won’t make enough use of the Club Level amenities. Although we do have some resort days planned in this time around, so maybe we will. Will have to wait and see. I will come back and tell you all about it!

Have you used Club Level? Here’s an article I found that helped me from The Points Guy

Whoops!

Em

I am SO rubbish at keeping on top of blogs! But that doesn’t mean that I haven’t been keeping on top of the Disney planning!

My massive apologies for not posting for FIVE MONTHS(!) but I am going to fill in some of the gaps now with what has been going on with the plans!

Something a Bit Special

Em

As mentioned in my previous post (ooof! Six days ago? Sorry! We are on vacation in Europe!) we are looking to do a few extra things with our budget this trip.

Here are a couple of the things we are hoping to include:

After Hours. We have been reading up about these and watching videos (mostly from the TimTracker) of what these could look like and because they are limited number events, the crowds and wait times are hugely reduced, even in the peak summer season. This is a big draw for the whole of our family!

These are separately ticketed events and cost $125 (approx £101) plus tax per person. They include entry for 3 hours (the hours depend on the day and the park AFTER the park has closed. Also usually you can get in for an extra couple of hours with the regular park goers too.)

As they are late nights and we have two quite young children, we have already decided that we will definitely be doing the three parks, with some relaxation days at the resorts or the water parks in between.

We were considering a non-private VIP tour in the Animal Kingdom as it is our favourite, but after weighing up what we could find as pros and cons (outlined below) we decided on the After Hours for this one too. Unless we are missing something massive, the only con we found was that it would be a third very late night for the girls.

VIP (ultimate nights of adventure)

  • Cost: $249pp
  • Time: early evening (5pm)
  • Length: 4 hours
  • Ride access: Expedition Everest, Kilimanjaro Safari, Flight of Passage, Na’Vi River Journey, DINOSAUR and Rivers of Light show Only
  • Lines: None. VIP access.
  • Food: signature snacks and a specialty drink
  • Perks: guided by a cast member. Possible behind the scenes info/goodies.

After Hours

  • Cost: $125pp
  • Time: late night 9/10pm
  • Length: 3 hours (optional extra 2 hours)
  • Ride access: Expedition Everest, Kilimanjaro Safari, Flight of Passage, Na’Vi River Journey, DINOSAUR, Rivers of Light show, Pandora Drummers, Mickey & Minnie Adventures Outpost, Tree of Life Awakenings, it’s Tough to be a Bug, TriceraTop Spin and more (perhaps not Kali River Rapids which is our favourite.)
  • Lines: little to no wait time
  • Food: unlimited ice cream, popcorn and bottled drinks
    Perks: limited event means much smaller crowds.

  • Speaking of water parks, this brings us to our next special treat: We will be heading to Typhoon Lagoon and/or Universal’s Volcano Bay, and if we can get one, we will be getting hold of Beachcomber Shack (a cabana) for the day at Typhoon Lagoon (these are approximately $349 – approx £282) or the equivalent at Volcano Bay – still pricing this one up.

    Next up, we thought we might treat ourselves to the Fireworks and Desserts party one night. We love the fireworks and we love desserts – this seems like a no-brainer! It will be lovely to have a really nice viewing place for the fireworks too. Although I have to admit, last year we were stuck in a little corner and still had a really good view. Unlike at Disneyland Paris, we didn’t have any problems with our view watching any of the shows at all, so no cause to complain at all!

    And last, for now, we have the two park VIP at Universal Studios. We have a few more places planned into our trip this time around and as much as we loved Universal, we managed to do both parks in one day, twice! So we have decided to VIP it this time, so we are able to front of the line it for the rides that are included, get breakfast and dinner in with the price of the tour AND once the tour is over with the guide, from what I have gathered, we get unlimited ride express passes for the rest of the time. Well worth the money!

    Just talking about it here is making me very excited! Yay! It’s still all so far away though!

    Wherever You Lay Your Head.

    Em

    Last year, we stayed in Disney’s Art of Animation resort. It is classed as a “value” resort, meaning it is one for those of us on a tighter budget, but let me tell you, we LOVED it.

    A fantastic restaurant, Landscape of Flavors – where the only negative for us was the constant looped soundtrack of what appeared to be only about six songs!!) a fab shop, a MASSIVE main pool which you could sit in on an evening and watch Disney movies on a big screen, and other little pools throughout the resort.

    We stayed in the Little Mermaid part of the resort as she is my favourite and we loved this too! We were a little late booking to get a hold of a family suite but if we had booked sooner we definitely would have tried for one of those. As it was, we only got a standard room which was a bit small for the four of us, but we weren’t in it much so it was lovely.

    The only downside for us was that it was a bit far from the parks. Each bus journey was just a bit too long and waiting for buses in the heat in the parks was very wearing for us. This is, of course, part of why these resorts are classed as “value” and it was our choice to take the free buses rather than spend money on Lyfts or Ubers or grab a Minnie Van.

    After all of this, we made a decision for a next trip to be closer to the parks. We have booked into the as yet uncompleted brand new Riviera Resort which is two steps up and is classed as a Deluxe Villa Resort, so a couple of steps up. It is much closer to the parks which is what we wanted.

    We actually had a bit left over in the budget and we were going to upgrade to a resort that was walking distance to the parks, but then we’ve decided that as we are already much closer we would use the money to treat ourselves to some more special treats instead. So we are putting that and the money we have saved with the free dining promotion and see my next post for what we are looking at treating ourselves to!

    Food, food, EVERYWHERE

    Em

    As I mentioned previously, we are on the Disney Dining Plan for our holiday. We always take the plan, just like when we go in a regular holiday we go All Inclusive, because then we know food is sorted and paid for and our spending money can go towards extra things like souvenirs or excursions. (If you’re reading this and thinking, “dining plan? Huh??” then check out this page!!)

    This time around we have got the free dining, which is a bonus and definitely something to look out for when they have it! I think it is still available for 2020 trips at the moment! (As at July 2019)

    Now though, we have the mammoth task of narrowing down the food choices and planning where to eat! Did you know there are over 200 places to eat at Walt Disney World?

    This is made slightly easier (and a bit sadder) by the fact we have two picky eaters in the family. Not sure where they came from – Stephen and I will pretty much eat everything. But with two fussy daughters this does at least mean we can eliminate a few places immediately.

    There a definitely a couple of places we wanted to go last year that we couldn’t get bookings, like Yak and Yeti and 🤞 Be Our Guest for dinner (although we did have breakfast there and that was lovely so that might be enough if we don’t get a reservation) and we are going to try to get as many character dining reservations as possible. Those are always fun for us and beat waiting in hot lines to meet people.

    So far on our ‘definite yes’ list we have:

    • Yak and Yeti (restaurant) in Animal Kingdom
    • Be Our Guest for dinner with Beast
    • Tony’s in Magic Kingdom
    • Pizzafari in Animal Kingdom (my eldest daughter loved this one!)
    • Garden Grill
    • ‘Ohana (youngest has GOT to have breakfast with Stitch!)
    • Storybook Dining – definitely want to get in with Snow White, the dwarves and the Evil Queen!
    • Cinderella’s Royal Table. Now, I know this one is pretty extravagant and possibly not worth 2 table service credits, but we have got to do it just once!
    • and there are a few more we are wanting to try too! Especially the character dining experiences. Anywhere I can sit and eat and meet characters is just great for me!

    Do you have any favourites or any recommendations? Would love to hear your thoughts on eateries!

    What You Should Know…

    Em

    Before we start, I think it’s important to point something out. I have never been the best bargain hunter – if my mum ever asked me to pick my favourite outfit in Miss Selfridge when I was young, I would invariably pick the most expensive one without knowing I had. It’s not deliberate, it’s just me.

    Also, despite generally being quite possibly one of the most disorganised people around, I have a need to be organised on trips like this, with regard to food and fast passes and things, because I know that once those things are sorted we can fill the rest of the time however we want. Then I can stick them all on a timetable and the fun begins!

    Hence the need for all the planning – we are not actually going for almost a year, but dining reservations are available to be made 180 days in advance of your trip, and that is 170 days from now, so that is less than half way!

    What I’m saying, in a very nonsensical way!, is that our way of doing Disney is very possibly not your way of doing Disney. That’s totally okay! You may want to spend way less or even much more than us! I will endeavour to put the different options where available and I will be very happy to share any and all tips that come my way with regard to saving money.

    But here are our basics and these will always happen: we will always stay in a Disney resort, because for us the benefits of staying in one far outweigh not staying in one. And we will always get the Disney Dining Plan too.

    Credit Where Credit is Due

    Em

    I will do my absolute best to credit the source in the post whenever I find some really good info or a great tip, but I’m going to also put everything together in a master list too, so people can see where I have been going / am planning to go for my information! Keep checking back – it will get updated as I go along!

    This list has now moved to its permanent spot in the main menu here: Credits

    A Little Introduction

    Em
    Me and the family at the Adventurers Outpost
    Animal Kingdom, WDW. 2018

    My name is Emma. I am a 40 year old wife and mother of two daughters (at the time of writing they are 10 and 12 years old) and I. LOVE. DISNEY. I probably am not as mad about it as some, but definitely more than others.

    I mean, I have always loved the Disney animated films, ever since I was 10 and The Little Mermaid was released and I used to get up every morning before school to watch it on VHS, but I never expected to get SO caught up in the Disney magic!

    When the girls were younger we decided to take them to Disneyland Paris for a little trip as part of our summer holiday and my husband, Stephen, and I firmly believed that they would have fun and we would be annoyed by the end of our five days there, by all the repetitive music and constant smiling and characters in your face all the time, but we LOVED IT. So much so that we got home and booked to go again the next year.

    Fast forward a few years to 2018. My mum had just passed away after a quick and pretty brutal fight with cancer. It took her swiftly after less than a year and we all needed some magic to keep us going, so I called my lovely Travel Counsellor and booked us a fortnight in Walt Disney World and we were there in just over two weeks!

    We had the most amazing time, but because of the short time frame, we really had no idea what to expect, or anything about what we were doing! We were WELL out of the Fast Pass+ and dining reservation booking windows, so we didn’t have a hope in hell of getting any of those! It was brilliant, but I know with some planning, we could really get everything we want in, without having to queue for ages and without having to spend long days in the park too.

    Which brings us here. To this blog. I really need to plan for our next trip which is booked for July 2020. I’m blogging because I’m hoping if I keep a proper note it will 1) give me inspiration and I’ll be able to refer back to it and 2) people will chime in, tell me if I’m on the right track and where I could do better/cheaper/quicker!

    Wish me luck! Here goes nothing!