Tag Archives: Memories

5 Easy Money Saving tips while in Walt Disney World

16 Tuesday Jun 2015

Posted by in Dining, Disney tips, Food, Magic Kingdom, Travel, Vacation Planning

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I put a list together for 5 easy ways to save a few bucks while in Walt Disney World.

1. Water

Water can get very expensive while you are in Walt Disney World. They charge $2.75 for a Bottle of Dasani. An easy way to save money is to get some FREE water, yes free. You can easily go to any of the quick service restaurants and just ask for a free cup of ice water. Or another option is to have cases of water delivered to your room. You can use a personal shopper or one of the sites like Garden Grocer to deliver it to your room. There will be some service charges but its still cheaper than buying 10 bottles of water in the parks. This goes for groceries as well.

2. Snacks

Snacking can get expensive in Walt Disney World but one easy thing to do is bring some snacks with you in the parks. You can easily pack granola bars, Goldfish or any snack that doesn’t take up much space in the suitcase. You will be glad you did especially if you have young kids with you. As mentioned with water take advantage of the grocery deliveries and get some fresh fruit delivered.

3. Skip the Souvenirs

Some not all items in the parks may be found at the Disneystore.com online. They often run sales throughout the year with 20% off or more. Take advantage of those sales and skip the souvenirs until you are home. Or if you have a car there are 2 Disney Outlet stores within a 15 minute ride of Walt Disney World where you can purchase some park souvenirs as well.

4. Order A La Carte

At the quick service restaurants you will often see items listed as a combo. As a quick example over at Casey’s on Main Street at the Magic Kingdom the hot dogs are listed with french fries. So just ask for them without fries. That will save you a couple of bucks and some calories as well.

5. Skip dinner and do lunch

This only goes for the sit down restaurants but if you are willing to skip doing dinner at a sit down restaurant choose to do lunch instead. Often times the menu’s are the same and the meals might be a little smaller but they are always cheaper than the dinner menu. Choose a later lunch say around 3 o’clock and then do dinner later that evening in a quick service restaurant. The good news there is that the crowds are lighter.

My favorite Wishes moment.

12 Thursday Feb 2015

Posted by in Disney Memories, Walt Disney World

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Wishes has always been my favorite night time spectacular. I have always loved listening to the music but after my 2010 trip I had more of an emotional attachment to the show.

Back in 2010 my wife and I made our last trip as non parents. Granted my son was cooking in the oven but he wasn’t here just yet. This trip is definitely a top 5 trip of all time for us.

Staying at Old Key West we were able to just really relax and really appreciate each other before our son was born. We spent more time just walking in the parks as opposed to riding attractions. It was more of a stop and smell the roses type of trip. I really enjoyed the time we had for ourselves. We didn’t need to go commando style we appreciated everything that was around us. I can recall sitting in the flower garden in the UK Pavilion and just admiring how pretty and actually how quiet everything was. Or just sitting in different spots along Main Street USA and just people watch. Sometimes even in Disney you need time to just relax and soak it all in.

As nighttime approached and we found our spot to watch Wishes it was then that I realized just how special Disney really can be. Over the years my wife and i have collected a jar full of memories but now as the birth of our son approached I knew just how different those memories were going to be. I imagined what it would be like taking him on his first ride, or meeting Mickey Mouse for the first time. Or just the simple moments that happen for no reason. I had so many great memories of Walt Disney World and I want my kids to have those family memories that last a lifetime.

As the music from Wishes played my emotions, thoughts and dreams caught up with me and I had tears of joy running down my face. At that moment Wishes and I connected. As the words say “Dreams really do come true”. At that moment my dreams were coming true. I had a beautiful wife, a child on the way and I was truly in the happiest place on Earth.

Each Disney trip is special and unique. There is always one memory that stands out and it will be something you will never forget. That trip had many moments and the best thing is that the next trip will have ever more moments but this time I have 2 kids to share it with.

My First Disney Park Visit – Sean

12 Tuesday Aug 2014

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My First Disney Park Visit – Sean

In the summer of 1984 thirty years ago this month I made my first pilgrimage to the place that has brought such fond memories to my life. At the age of 9 I knew very little about Walt Disney World except for what I had seen on TV or from friends who been before me.

Believe it or not I have few actual memories from visiting Walt Disney World in that year. I have more memories of driving in the car or the reluctance of my older sister to actual go with the family. But the memories that I do have are the ones that help to lay the brick work for future visits.

The only food I can honestly remember eating was having a Monte Cristo Sandwich at Pinocchio’s Village Haus. The Reason I remember that so much is not only loving the sandwich but waving to the passengers on the boats for It’s a Small World. I can’t really recall riding many attractions from that trip but I do recall 2 attractions that are no longer at the Magic Kingdom.

I loved riding the Skyway from Fantasyland to tomorrow because that gave me a bird’s eye view to my favorite attraction 20k Leagues Under The Sea. This attraction fascinated me because at the age of 9 I really thought we were going under water. But 5 years later I discovered that was not true and broke my heart, but that’s another story. To ride 20k Leagues at that age it was magical. I could not believe what lurked under the sea in Walt Disney World. From mermaids to gems I wanted to see it all. My mind would wander on that attraction thinking about what it would really be like to be in a submarine on the ocean floor. Good thing I never joined the Navy cause I would have been thoroughly disappointed.

I can also remember visiting River Country which is still there but no longer operating. I was fascinated with that place because you were swimming in water from Bay Lake just a short distance to the Magic Kingdom. And Heck I even remember swimming with Goofy, what is better than that.

When visiting Epcot Center I can remember riding Spaceship Earth, Journey Into Imagination, Horizons, World of Motion and World Showcase. Boy did I hate World Showcase back then. I thought it was the most boring thing in the world but honestly it was when you take into account those previous attractions that I mentioned. Epcot Center back in 84 was a wondrous place. Our future was taking place right before our eyes and you just needed a little imagination to take you there. The imagination attraction was incredible you couldn’t help but smile while riding it. There are lots of things from the other attractions I can remember from Walter Cronkite’s spiel on Spaceship Earth to the voyage outside of the attraction at World of Motion but it was Horizons that I feel in love with.

Horizons was a look at our future and it was a great big beautiful future. I wanted to step into that world or at the very least explore the sets to Horizons. From the Music to the message that was shown I saw a future that looked like a lot of fun. From space exploration to the deep ocean floor it was all there to explore. I never got to explore the attraction but I felt the love and the appreciation for what that attraction was.

Sean