walt disney world Archives - Page 8 of 10

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.…

Hardest Places to Use a Wheelchair at Walt Disney World

WDW With Disabilitieswalt disney world, wheelchair

Little Banshee has Phelan-McDermid Syndrome which, among other things, means that she has low muscle tone. The upshot of this is that she needs to be transported in a wheelchair when we visit Walt Disney World. While I commend WDW for making the parks generally wheelchair accessible, there are still many places where pushing her in a wheelchair is problematic for us. Note that this article is written from the point of view of someone who is pushing an approximately 100 lbs individual in a 30 lb manual wheelchair. Therefore, it may or may not apply to your own personal…

Park Hopping Strategies at Walt Disney World

Archivegenie+, park hopping, trip planning, walt disney world

In our previous article about buying Walt Disney World tickets, we touched upon the Park Hopper option, which allows you to visit multiple parks per day (with some restrictions which I will touch upon below). Today we will talk about some strategies to make the most use of this add-on feature. What is Park Hopping? The Park Hopping option allows you to visit multiple WDW parks in a single day. In the past, there were no restrictions to park hopping. You could go to the Magic Kingdom for rope drop, head to Epcot for lunch, bounce over to Animal Kingdom…

Ranking the Countries of Epcot’s World Showcase

Archiveepcot, parks, walt disney world, world showcase

The World Showcase at Epcot is one of our favorite areas in all of Walt Disney World. The country pavilions give you a taste (pun intended) of the culture of each country, especially when they are staffed by natives of those countries. Yes, we know that it isn't the same as actually traveling to said country. However, it does give you some perspective on the variety of peoples, foods, customs that makes us each unique. More importantly, it allows us to celebrate our similarities, as human beings aren't defined by arbitrary lines on a map. Of course, Banshee and I…

Tips For Saving Money at Walt Disney World, Part One

Trip Planningmoney saving tips, trip planning, walt disney world

We all know that a Walt Disney World vacation is not cheap. Between the travel, the park tickets, the food, the souvenirs, your vacation bill can add up quickly. However, over the years, we have learned ways to help soften the blow to our wallet/pocketbook. In this article, I will be sharing some of our favorite strategies for saving a few bucks. Enjoy! General: Disney Gift Cards From Target This strategy requires a little bit of work, but the effort is definitely worth it! The key to this strategy is using the Target RED Card. This is Target's in-house credit…

Banshee: Flower and Garden Festival Foods Must Tries

Archivedining, flower and garden fesitval, walt disney world

Not to be outdone by Buster, I have my must-try list for Flower and Garden. I followed the same rules as Buster in that these are items that I didn't try during our trip last year. Also, I noticed that Buster had a drink item on his list. Therefore, I included a bunch of drinks on my list. Drinks Joffrey’s Coffee & Tea Company: Melonade This is the only item that both Buster and I chose. Unlike Buster, I might take this with the Grey Goose Vodka! BAUERNMARKT: Apfelschaumwein This is a combo of sparkling wine and apple liqueur. Sounds…

Buster: Flower and Garden Festival Foods Must Tries

Archivedining, flower and garden fesitval, walt disney world

This week Disney finally announced the food booth menu for this year's Epcot International Flower and Garden Festival. We were lucky enough to sample a few items during one day visit to WDW last year. Spending one day there was nice but it only left us wanting more. Fortunately, our yearly two week WDW trip happens to coincide with the tail end of the festival, so we will get a much longer bite at the apple, so to speak. In anticipation of our upcoming trip, both Banshee and I are putting together a list of the top food items that…

WDW Park Reservation Update: Feb 25, 2023

Archivepark reservations, parks, walt disney world

Welcome to the latest installment of our WDW Park Reservation update. As you may recall from last month, WDW Park Reservations dates were pretty much wide open, with the exception April 4th at the Magic Kingdom specifically for Annual Passholders. As we explained, this likely is due to the fact that this is the opening day for Tron Lightcycle Run, so it makes sense that a lot of locals want to be among the first to experience this ride. What Does Park Reservation Availability Look Like Today? The good news is that Park Reservation availability is still pretty much wide…