Part of the fun of living in Florida, is being able to be a true Disney connoisseur. If you have never been to Disney World, start to plan a trip. It is truly a magical place & life changing trip for kids of all ages (0 to 101). Next weekend I will be taking another enchanting trip & in honor of my trip I thought I would share some secrets & tips:
Florida Residents can receive great discounts in Disney World (in case you are not a resident yet, call me I can relocated you in time for your next vacation). As residents of Florida we get deep discounts on hotels, many times you just have to ask. Sheraton Hotels for instance usually has a Florida resident rate of about $100 less per night, but they will not offer it…you have to ask nicely. On www.disneyworld.com (Disney World’s official website) you will note in tiny print on the right-hand corner a link specifically for Florida Residents. They offer many discounts & special offers for Florida Residents. In addition to hotel rates, Florida Residents enjoy special ticket prices (yet another reason to call me & relocate to Florida).
The web is a great resource, two of my favorite websites are Mouse Savers & WDW Info. Mouse Savers has great tips on all Disney trips & puts out bulletins on special discounts on rates. I recommend you sign-up for the newsletter. WDW Info has one key feature that I love, which is a restaurant finder, complete with menus. Often we have no idea where to eat & what is truly the price range. On this site, I can browse what the menu offers & what price each menu item is. It even gives you a list of buffet foods, which is great. This site is extremely helpful when travelling with picky-eaters & children.
When I travel to Disney World I usually stay at a Disney Resort, because it makes my stay much more special. The resorts are all themed & offer great amenities. Room rates can range from less than $99 to $600+ a night. Disney breaks up their resorts into 3 categories: Value, Moderate & Deluxe. There are pros & cons to each resort, but my picks for each category are as follows: Value Resort pick is Pop Century Resort. Moderate Resort pick is Coronado Springs. Deluxe Resort pick is The Grand Floridian.
However there are non-Disney Resorts on Disney Property, the Swan & Dolphin Hotels are my favorites which are owned/operated by Sheraton. These unique resorts are walking distance to Epcot & in fact you can see the Epcot ball from the Swan & Dolphin. There is also a ferry boat that will take you to Epcot & Hollywood Studios (formerly known as MGM Studios) Parks, which is very convenient. Other hotels on Disney property can be found in the Lake Buena Vista area; these hotels have great shuttle services to & from all the Disney parks & all are walking distances to Downtown Disney.
Do not purchase tickets from unauthorized vendors. I am not saying that they are all fake tickets, but I have heard of many tourists being ripped off. In my eyes there are only 4 places to get tickets, 1) is directly at the park ticket windows, 2) the official Disney Store at the mall, 3) Online from Disney World’s official website only www.disneyworld.com & 4) AAA, even if you are not a Florida Resident, AAA has great discounts & is authorized to sell tickets.
If there is a special event, such as it’s your first visit, anniversary, just married or birthdays…be sure to visit City Hall or Guest Services at any of the parks. They will give you a button acknowledging your event & all day long you will receive extra special attention from the Disney staff. This is a free way to add extra magic to your trip.
And my final tip for Disney is to plan ahead. You can call 407-WDW-DINE to reserve all your dining reservations up to 180 days in advance. For some character meals, you must book at least 60 days prior.
Well that’s all for now, I need to get ready to see Mickey! If you have any questions or want to share your Disney tips, please email me or post your comments below. M-I-C-K-E-Y-M-O-U-S-E