Tag Archives: Organization and Plannning

MEETING THE HIDDEN MICKEY GUY

Most of us are familiar with hidden Mickeys and whether or not you avidly search for them I’m sure you have spotted one or two every time you visit Disney property.

Started by Imagineers, a hidden Mickey is an image of Mickey Mouse found in many different forms that have been discreetly placed throughout Disney locations most notably their theme parks. The most frequently used hidden Mickey is three circles representing a head and two ears. Other variations of Mickey can be more difficult to spot and one must have a keen eye to find them. No one has a keener eye than renowned Dr. Steven M. Barrett celebrated author of “Hidden Mickeys A Field Guide To Walt Disney World’s Best Kept Secrets” now in its 4th edition.

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HONEYMOON WITH THE MOUSE BY LAND OR SEA

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, Disney is NOT just for families. I talk all the time about the numerous girls trips I have taken there and often times get strange reactions from people. A few raised eyebrows or someone giving me a look that says ” why?” and I realize that they believe that you can only go to Disney if you have a few rugrats attached to you. Now I know that not everyone is like this and so does Disney because they have a site devoted to getting honeymoon info for future newlyweds. I don’t know too many newlyweds who are bringing kids along on their honeymoon so yes, this is a market for couples only.

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SAVING ON TICKETS


I’ve previously talked about ways to save money getting to the World and how to save on your room while you’re there.  And while you could go to Walt Disney World and have a great time without ever setting foot in the parks, most people will need admission tickets.

The first rule is to only buy what you need.  By that, I mean, consider how you and your family tour the parks.  Don’t buy add-ons like the Park Hopper or Water Parks Fun and More unless you really think you’ll use them.  If in doubt, leave them out.  You can always add these options to a base ticket later if you decide you need them.  My family, for example, has found that we rarely park hop.  We can save $52 per ticket (plus tax) by not getting that option.  For a family of four, that’s a savings of over $200.

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MILITARY DISCOUNTS AT DISNEY


Current and retired members of the military have some special opportunities to save on their Disney vacations.  Since I’m retired from the military, this is especially important to me.  While many of you may not be able to take advantage of these discounts, I thought I’d pass them on for those of you who can.  Or maybe some of you out there have a friend or family member in the military who shares your passion for all things Disney, and you can pass them on.

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STAYING AT THE HOUSE OF MOUSE – WITHOUT GETTING CAUGHT IN A TRAP

Even if you absolutely must stay in an “official” Disney resort, there are still many ways to reduce the cost.  The easiest way is to stay during the Value Seasons.  Notice how I use the plural, because there are several times throughout the year that Disney considers to be the Value season.  Generally, these are January and early February, late August through September, and the week after Thanksgiving until the week before Christmas.  But to make it even more complicated, the Value season varies between resort categories.  For example, the first week of August, when we’ve been forced to take our vacations the last couple of years, is in the Value Season for Deluxe resorts, but not for the Value and Moderate resorts.

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LETTING YOUR KIDS ‘GO IT ALONE’ AT WDW



Hello all, my name is Beth and I have been asked to share my expertise on special needs with everyone here. I’m often asked why the term “disabled” is not used. Special needs encompasses so much more than disabilities. I will cover topics on anger, stress, parenting and more as this affects many and is not limited to disabilities.

I am a mental health professional so I will focus on the mental health aspects of travel to a Disney park.

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PICTURE GALLERY FOR CHILDREN WITH AUTISM

Even though my son Joshua looks normal for an eight year old, he has autism and is very limited verbally.  He is also a veteran of the Walt Disney World parks.  He knows what he wants to do, but he gets frustrated when he can’t communicate his desires to us at the parks.  To help with this we have created a picture schedule of the park attractions, which can be found at www.wdwautism.com in the planning section.  While this pre-printed page was helpful, it was still one more thing that we had to bring with us into the park.

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OUT OF THE WORLD SAVINGS


One of the biggest expenses in a trip to Walt Disney World is your resort room.  Fortunately, it’s also the area where you have the most control over how much you pay.  This makes it especially important to try to save as much as you can here.

Undoubtedly, the way to save the most on your vacation room is to stay off-site.  There are a plethora of hotels, motels, condos, and vacation homes available in the Orlando area.  Because Disney seems to gear its rooms mostly to families of four or smaller, staying off-site can be particularly beneficial for families of five or more.  Staying off-site is also good if you’re planning on seeing some of the other attractions in the Orlando area.  (But who would want to do that?)

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THE TASTES OF ITALY

The new pizza shop and restaurant coming to the Italy Pavilion in Epcot’s World Showcase will be here in about a month and Disney Parks Blog has given us the latest scoop as to what will be on the menu.  Via Napoli Ristorante e Pizzeria will be a 300-seat table service restaurant located near the back of the Italy Pavilion and one of the main features of the restaurant will be its wood-burning stoves used to cook the pizzas.

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RULES FOR LETTING KIDS PACK FOR DISNEY

The first rule is never let your kids pack for a Disney trip.

The second rule is never let them know you won’t let them pack for a Disney trip.

I’m sure there are some kids that won’t ever open a dresser drawer or their closet to help pack for a vacation, while others are so excited to go to Disney they would pack their bedroom furniture if it would fit in their suitcase!

If you have little ones to children approximately age 10, here’s my advice. Let them pack what ever they want any way they want. Don’t argue with them, don’t fight over anything they want to bring, and don’t say a word to them. Once the kids are asleep, go through the suitcase, pull out what they won’t need and pack the items they will need. Make sure you close the suitcase and keep it a safe distance from their room. Also, keep the items removed in a safe place where your child won’t find them. If your child comes to you with something they forgot but don’t need to bring tell them you’ll take care of it and then place it with the other items you removed from the suitcase. Depending on your children, you may want to keep their suitcase locked to avoid any unnecessary tantrums. My suggestion once you get to Disney and your children discover the missing items is to tell them Tinker Bell came at night and re-packed the suitcase. When that excuse doesn’t work, try bribing them with a Mickey bar or some other Disney snack. Usually kids are so excited to be at Disney they won’t remember (or care) what’s not in their suitcase.

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SAVING FOR YOUR DISNEY TRIP


To provide some concrete examples of how you might save for and save on your next Disney vacation, I thought I’d use our own upcoming trip as an example.  Hopefully, you can look at our vacation plan and come up with some ideas that will help you save on your own.

Our total budget for this trip is just over $4,000.  We’re going to be gone a total of ten days, six in Orlando, and four getting there and back.  We’re driving down over two days, with an overnight rest stop, and doing the same on the way back.  We conceivably could make the trip in a single day, which would save us two nights of hotel bills, but we’ve decided we’d rather spread it out.  Our thinking is that we’d arrive late at night after driving 14 hours and be so exhausted that we’d really not enjoy the parks that much the next day.  Also, my wife, having spent several years as an ER nurse, is more safety-conscious than perhaps most people are.  She’s concerned about fatigue resulting in a car accident.  That would certainly put a damper on our vacation!

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COMMANDO OR PARK RAGE?

Every day, thousands of guests march through the turnstiles at Walt Disney World parks filled with great expectations of fun and excitement. This is where the magic is supposed to happen, and this is why Disney World is known as the happiest place on earth.

If that’s so, then why do I always see so many angry parents and crying children? I decided to take a look at this growing phenomenon I call “park rage.” What causes it and how to prevent it?

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GETTING THERE CHEAPLY PART II – ROAD TRIP


Driving to Walt Disney World probably offers the most flexibility of any method of travel.  It allows you to pack heavier than by plane, including the possibility of packing a cooler and some food to save money.  Our youngest is a picky eater, so we sometimes will pack Pop-Tarts and cereal for breakfast, and peanut butter, jelly, and bread for lunch.  You also have the ability to stop at a grocery store and stock up.  By driving, you aren’t dependent on Disney transportation once you get down there.  And you also have the ability to incorporate other stops into your vacation, such as visiting friends, relatives, or other sites of interest along the way.

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7 ADVANTAGES OF DRIVING TO WDW WITH CHILDREN

I’ll bet after reading the title most of you are thinking I must have lost my mind that there are no advantages of driving to Walt Disney World with children. So, for those of you who think that let me just say, I beg to differ.

With my family driving to Walt Disney World this year my wife and I have been bracing ourselves not just for the long drive but for the expected fighting between our 17 year old son and 14 year old daughter. Separately, my children are wonderful angels, but put them together and you have Maleficent meets Jafar. The only reason we decided to embark on this long journey from Thunder Road and the Jersey Shore to the Sunshine State is a Bar Mitzvah we are attending in Charlotte, North Carolina. Since we planned on driving to the Bar Mitzvah we decided why not extend the journey to the land of hopes and dreams, Walt Disney World.

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GETTING THERE CHEAPLY PART I – THE SKY’S THE LIMIT


The obvious first step in enjoying some time in the World is to get there.  Basically, your choices come from the classic Steve Martin/John Candy movie—“Planes, Trains, and Automobiles.”  Our family usually drives.  We’ve only taken the plane twice.  And we’ve considered, but not yet taken, the Amtrak Auto Train.

Many people live outside of a reasonable driving distance of Walt Disney World.  For those folks, flying is really the only option.  And your choice of air carriers may be limited by which airlines operate out of the airports near your home.  The main way to save money on airfare is to stay up to date on any discounts the airlines are offering.  Check the websites of the airlines that service your area.  Sign up for the airline’s e-mail notifications.  It will probably be beneficial to sign up for the airline’s frequent flyer program, possibly tied in with a credit card that offers points for money spent. Also, if your job requires frequent air travel, see if you can get trips paid for by the company applied to your personal frequent flyer account.

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WHICH DISCOUNT TO CHOOSE?

Disney recently announced the return of its popular free Dining Plan offer for the fall.  During this same time period, August 15 to October 2, there are currently three discounts available for the general public—the free dining, a room-only discount, and the “Kids Stay and Play Free” offer.  So which one is best for you?  Obviously, there’s no simple answer.  It all depends on you and your circumstances.

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HOW IT ALL STARTED

Hello, everyone.  I’m Mark, NDD#102, and I’m new to the Disney Driven Life website, but not to the Disney Driven Life itself.  My wife (NDM#237) and I didn’t set out to become “Disney People.”  It just sort of crept up on us.

I guess it all began back in 2003, while I was in the Middle East with the military and Disney offered a great package for military members—40% off rooms, a free 5-day pass for the military member, and $99 5-day passes for the family members.  My wife started planning a Disney World vacation for when I got back.  With such a great discount, we were going to stay on-property for the first time.  I had always thought that was just for rich people.

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HELPFUL HINTS FOR YOUR DISNEY TRIP

You are soon leaving on your vacation to Walt Disney World and the time has come to put together a list of what you plan on bringing with you. Well, the first two things on my list are my iPod and laptop. My iPod is essential for the trip down as it is filled with my favorite Disney podcasts. Over the last year my laptop has become indispensable as it allows me to keep in touch with the Disney online community no matter where I am and now I’ll be able to write about my experiences while they are fresh on my mind. My wife and kids will really enjoy that. While they’re trying to sleep I’ll be transferring my notes to a word doc or tweeting.

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THE PRINCESS AND THE BLOG

When I started teaching, I was 22 and I literally had to practice my “tough” faces in the mirror before school.  I’m now in my pre-40s and I don’t have to practice anymore.

In fact, over the last snowstorm, we passed some time playing with costumes, and when I put on my old Snow White costume, spoke in a very soft voice, and watched my own kids quickly fall into line as they tried to impress the princess. In fact, there is much discussion of expanding my wardrobe to include the princess who reads (Belle), the princess who is tough (Mulan) and the princess who swims (Ariel) although I’d have to work on that voice.

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SECRET AGENT DAD

Anyone who has been reading my blog contributions (all 1 of you) know this summer I will be going to Walt Disney World for what promises to be a wonderful family vacation. What you don’t know is that I’m really going disguised as a geek dad. I’m not really the mild mannered neurotic Disney dad that writes about his passion for the parks week in and week out. I’m really a secret agent being sent to Walt Disney World on a top secret mission.

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