trip planning Archives - Page 4 of 5 - Buster and the Banshee

WDW Four Park Character Meet Challenge Recap, Part One

Archivecharacter meets, trip planning, walt disney world

It's been several days since we completed our WDW Four Park Character Meet Challenge to benefit the Phelan-McDermid Syndrome Foundation (click here if you still want to donate). SPOILER ALERT: We ended up meeting 31 characters in one day! Since we have recovered from the experience, we finally have time to put together a recap of our experience for the community. If you want to see more pictures, please visit our Instagram page where you can get a visual retrospective. Overall Thoughts Before we get into the more detailed play-by-play, I wanted to summarize our general feelings about the challenge:…

WDW Four Park Character Meet Challenge – ONE WEEK TO GO!!!

Archivecharacter meets, trip planning, walt disney world

We are so excited that we only have one week until our WDW Four Park Character Meet Challenge to raise awareness and money for the Phelan-McDermid Syndrome Foundation! For those you might not know what I'm talking about, you can read about it here and here. We have mostly finalized our itinerary. I say "mostly" because we will continue to check the character meet schedule up until the day of the event. But here is what we have so far. Part One: Epcot As I mentioned in my initial article, Epcot seems to have the most opportunities for character meets.…

Update on the WDW Four Park Character Meet Challenge

Archivecharacter meets, trip planning, walt disney world

A few weeks ago, we announced our Walt Disney World Four Character Meet Challenge to raise awareness and money for the Phelan-McDermid Syndrome Foundation. In this article, I am going to share some very exciting updates that we have with regards to our challenge. We've Set a Date! First, we have set a date for when we will be making our attempt at this challenge. That date is Friday June 30th 2023. We changed our Park Reservation to Epcot, where we will begin our challenge. Our Donation Site Is UP! Second, we have created a donation web site for the…

Trip Planning Summer 2023: Five Weeks To Go!

Archivetrip planning, walt disney world

It's been awhile since I have posted any trip planning updates for our 2023 trip. This article will serve to catch everyone up on where we are at, as well as list out our remaining "to-do". We are glad to have you following along! Where We Are At Cinderella's Castle at the Magic Kingdom Here is a quick summary of our current plans, as of the date of this article We plan on traveling to Central Florida on Sunday June 25th via car. We currently have ten park days planned: June 26th-30th, July 3rd-7th We will be returning home on…

The Disney Dining Plan Is Back! But Is It Worth It?

Archivedining, disney dining plan, trip planning, walt disney world

Last week, Disney announced a number of big changes coming to Walt Disney World in 2024. One of those changes that is getting the most attention is the return of the Disney Dining Plan. This is a pre-pandemic feature where guests staying at a WDW hotel could pre-pay for their on-property meals prior to their trip. The popularity stemmed from the fact that you could budget for dining in advance and, if you took full advantage of the plan, you might actually save money. In addition, Disney sometimes offered "free dining". This is where you could get a dining plan…

Announcing the WDW Four Park Character Meet Challenge!!!

Archivecharacter meets, trip planning, walt disney world

IMPORTANT UPDATES: Learn more about our latest updates here. Go to our donation page and DONATE MONEY to the Phelan-McDermid Syndrome Foundation. Follow us on Instagram for exclusive challenge day updates. Leave any tips that you might have for us in the comments. SPREAD THE WORD! And now, the original article.... We are always up for a challenge, especially when it involves Walt Disney World. People do ride challenges, like the Mountain Challenge. Others do drinking challenges like the infamous Drink Around the World Showcase Challenge. There was one person who last year ran a mile at every WDW resort,…

Our Experience Buying WDW Annual Passes

Archiveannual passes, tickets, trip planning, walt disney world

As I mentioned in my previous article, Disney announced that they are resuming sales of Walt Disney World Annual Passes. This was met with a loud cheer, but also some anxiousness. This was for two reasons. First, Disney explicitly stated that "[t]he quantity of passes will be limited and passes, or a pass type, may become unavailable for purchase at any time". With all of the pent up demand for AP's and the potential for getting shut out yet again, you know that people are going to be slamming Disney's website as soon as they go on sale. That brings…

WDW Annual Passes are Back! But Are They Worth It?

Archiveannual passes, tickets, trip planning, walt disney world

The biggest Walt Disney World news of the week is that Annual Passes will once again be available for purchase! Previously, Disney had suspended sales of all passes except the lowest tier weekday pass which is only available to Florida residents. The general message from Disney had been that they wanted to prioritize park reservations for non-pass holders, since those visitors tend to generate more revenue for the company. While this makes sense from a pure dollars-and-cents standpoint, it alienated many of Disney's most ardent fans, particularly Disney Vacation Club members who tend to make multiple trips per year to…

Using Reward Points to Stay on Walt Disney World Property

Trip Planningmoney saving tips, trip planning, walt disney world

In the first part of my series on saving money on your Walt Disney World vacation, I discussed how you can save money by buying Disney gift cards at Target using the Target RED Card, driving instead of flying, and staying off property. Originally, I was going to use Part Two to provide suggestions on saving money on dining and souvenirs. However, instead I am going to do a deeper dive into using "reward points" to stay on property. But First, My Disclaimer The strategy that I am going to talk about involves earning points through signing up and using…

WDW Park Reservation Update: Mar 26, 2023

Archivepark reservations, trip planning, walt disney world

Welcome to the March 2023 installment of our ongoing series on Park Reservation availability. Last month we started to see reservations for the Magic Kingdom for Annual Passholders reach capacity, mainly due to the opening of the new Tron ride. This month, we are seeing a lot more parks hit their limit around the Easter holiday. What Does Park Reservation Availability Look Like Today? As is the case every year, crowds start to grow the week before Easter. With many school spring breaks coinciding with the holiday, more people are making the pilgrimage to WDW during this time of year.…