Guess who's back.

Hi there!  I'm rolling into 2013 with some real momentum.  I really want to expand my Disney travel business, and help many more families make their dreams come true.

Won't you give me a chance to plan your family's dream vacation?

Email me - hilary@mouseketrips.com

Back to your regularly scheduled posting, soon.  <3

Know Before You Go

This post originally appeared on MouseBuzz.

One of the biggest mistakes I see with Disney vacation travelers is the lack of planning. A little planning can go a long way to ensure that you have a magical vacation!

The best use of your time to ensure you trip starts out well is to choose your hotel wisely. There is a raging debate between the “On-Site” and “Off-Site” crowds, and honestly there is no one right answer for everyone. One of my favorite articles on this subject was written by my colleague Keith … check it out … The Many Splendors of Disney Hotels

Disney offers a resort for every family – for those on a budget, all the way up to those spending the trip of a lifetime at the resort. Knowing what your family needs – and wants – in a resort will help you choose the best one for your family. Do you want an amazing pool with a themed water slide? How about signature dining opportunities? A kid-friendly paradise? Or just a place to crash after an exhausting day at the park? Disney has just what you need!

Not only are there great sites like MouseBuzz to help you out … many of the Disney resorts have Unofficial Fan Pages. My personal favorite is Tikiman’s Polynesian Site – check it out at TikiMan Pages.

Spending just a few minutes to be sure of your resort choice will pay off when you arrive at Walt Disney World!

Visiting Disney When You’re On The Spectrum

This post originally appeared on MouseBuzz.

Do you have a family member on the Autism spectrum? Disorders considered as “autistic” include not only classic Autism, but Asperger’s, some forms of ADD, and PDD-NOS (pervasive developmental disorder, not otherwise specified). These disabilities can wreak havoc on an otherwise magical vacation if not properly planned for. My stepdaughter is a recently diagnosed “Aspie” with inattentive-type ADD. And if that wasn’t enough … she also has moderate binaural hearing loss. These different-abilities certainly made us think carefully when planning our most recent trip to Disney World.

Luckily, Disney does an amazing job of accommodating those with all sorts of disabilities. The stimulating and inclusive environment allows children of all ages to enjoy a magical vacation. However, if you are not careful, the stimulation may lead to a “meltdown”. Here are some of my tried-and-true meltdown-avoiding tips:

1. Have a plan. Booking your vacation with a travel agent that understands your needs is important. He or she can assist you with finding the right resort for your family, dining reservations, and touring plan suggestions. Know your family’s needs, don’t be afraid to share them, and be an advocate for them.
2. Know your family. What are the “triggers” that you face? Waiting in lines? Being hot? Too much sun? Not enough to eat? Understand what can cause drama, and avoid it. Having a solid touring plan will really make a huge difference – you don’t have to be militant about your day, but knowing what to ride and when will make a difference.
3. Get a GAC. Disney is very accommodating to those with different-abilities, and has ways to make the experience better for those with special needs. This is done by issuing a GAC, or Guest Assistance Card. These cards are not meant to replace a good touring plan or the Fastpass system, but they’re meant to make the visit more enjoyable for everyone involved. My next article will explain the GAC in more detail.

What have you found that has helped out during your trips on the spectrum?

I'm not the real Gossip Cop. I'm more like a Magic 8-Ball.

One thing that's constant is that there are TONS of rumors about Disney out there.  Just like anything else, someone hears from their friend's brother's uncle's ex-wife who is a Disney bus driver ... so it MUST be true!

Props where they're due ... this post was inspired by my friend TinkerKell and her mention of the Test Track rumor.

Here's some current rumors, and my knowledge about their status.

Rumor:  Disney will be controlling their drink fountains and refillable mugs.  No more re-using your old mugs.
Status: TRUE.

As discussed on just about every Disney site and blog earlier this week, the heyday of free soda for all is just about over.  Disney is currently testing RFID-enhanced mugs at All Star Sports Resort.  This process has a long push-handle under the soda dispenser, and an RFID chip in the refillable mug.  It dispenses soda ONLY if a mug or cup purchased at an appropriate time is used. 

This is both a blessing and a curse.  For those of us hardcore rule abiders, I say GOOD.  If I'm paying $15 for another mug every time I go, then everyone should.  No more of this soda theft!

Rumor: The monorails will not work anymore.  They're closing.
Status: NOT EXACTLY.

Disney has announced on their official blog that monorails will now stop running one hour after regular park closing. This means that if you are an extra magic hours type of person ... you'll have to take a bus, or a boat, or some other means of transportation back to your resort.  There is much debate about the rationale for this move ... some say it's cost cutting, some say it's maintenance ... but the bottom line is that you'll need to carefully plan transportation if you're staying after EMH.

Rumor: Brazil will be the next country added to Epcot's World Showcase.
Status:  MAYBE.

Disney has always had a pretty cozy relationship with the (in)famous Brazilian Tour Groups.  Whether you've been around them, seen them in line around you, or have run the other way when you hear them cheering ... they're a factor at Disney.  Brazilian culture is complex, beautiful, and FUN.  So this makes a great addition to the WS, if they do it.

Watch the D23 Expo ... I bet you'll see some big reveals!

Check it out ...

My Christmas In July offer is going strong.  Check out the new ad ... more "cute" than you can handle.

I love making magical memories for families.  Won't you let me help you with yours?  Contact me TODAY ... hilary at mouseketrips dot com

Shhh ... it's a secret.

ZOMG It's Totally A Disney Day!

So, last night, I finished my College of Disney Knowledge training.  That's right ... I am now officially ready and able to book ANY Disney-related travel for you!  Just drop me an E-mail (hilary at mouseketrips dot com) and we'll get your vacation started. 

AND THEN, this morning?  My friend Kristen over at Cooking With Mickey managed to get her hands on the menu for my two most anticipated Food and Wine Festival booths ... Hawaii and Caribbean.  To say that I SQUEE'd when I read that post is an understatement.  Seriously - Dragon Berry Colada?  Tuna Poke?  Lotus Root Chips?  The foodie in me is rejoicing!  And even better - The Panda will be with me to shepherd the kiddies around and to ensure that I ride the Tron-O-Rail back to the right resort.  ***hiccup***

And then ... it gets better.  Disney has now released the rooms and suites at Disney's Art of Animation Resort for booking, starting October 4, 2012.  AND, you can start booking the new Royal Suites at Disney's Port Orleans Riverside Resort during January, 2012. 

Seriously.  I might explode from all the mousey fabulousness that abounds today.

Free Dining. Well, kinda.

From my good friends at MouseMisers ... Disney has released the Free Dining package to the Disney Visa cardholders.  It'll be available to the general public next week (May 2).  Here's this year's offer, valid for stays from August 28 - September 24:

• You must book at least a three night stay, and your stay cannot be longer than 14 nights
• You must include at least a two day Magic Your Way base ticket
• You must pay your $200 per room deposit at time of booking, you cannot “hold” a reservation

Values get the Quick Service plan (all counter service places), and Moderates / Deluxes / Deluxe Villas get the regular Dining Plan.  No suites are included in this (except the All-Star Family Suites).  You also must pre-purchase a PhotoPass CD to get this price ($100).

Ordinarily, I would just zip my lips and be happy with what I'm offered.  But this time, I don't have to.  Why, you ask? Because this doesn't apply to us.  We arrive on September 28.

I'm not a big fan of this offering.  I know that Disney has said that they're going to "wean the public off of discounts".  Well, that's all fine and dandy, except for the fact that air prices have went up considerably.  And I don't know about you ... but gas is $4.16 here in Columbus, Ohio (which means I pay $4.36 or higher since I have to put premium in my car).  Not exactly a good time to start eliminating discounts.

 Not to mention that, for a family of four like mine (three Disney adults and one Disney kid), the addition of the PhotoPass CD reduces the savings from $900 to $800.  Actually, for my family, it adds about $75 to our tab because I always participate (usually lead) a PhotoPass share.  Our own CD isn't something we'd have bought, so that's an added expense.  And all this whining is for absolute NAUGHT, since the dates don't include ours anyhow.  :)


I'll be interested to see how this one pans out for Disney.  I don't know that it'll be as big of a deal as it historically has been, and I think requiring the PhotoPass purchase is an interesting twist on the "value added" concept.

It's The Little Things.

Recently, I read a fabulous post over at WDW Fan Zone. I commented about it a little bit on a previous post, but wanted to delve more deeply into its contents now that I have time.  It outlined some of the great things that you can do to add some "pixie dust" (also known as "that Disney magic") to your vacation.  Lynn gave some fabulous advice - go check out the article HERE.

Adding to Lynn's list, I'd like to add a few of my own.  Some are at no additional cost, and some are a bit extra.  All, in my opinion, are worth the effort.  And now, I'll share my ideas ... in no particular order.

That pre-rope-drop breakfast.  This is one of my daughter's FAVORITE things.  There's nothing quite like waltzing past the growing crowds at the gate to the Magic Kingdom, scanning through the turnstile, and dancing like idiots on an an empty Main Street USA.  If you're there early enough, you'll even meet the Mayor!

The Wishes Dessert Party.  Held on the Tomorrowland Terrace, the location is king (or queen) here.  The desserts are good, and they are plentiful.  But if you can spare the $25ish for adults and $15ish for the kiddies ... do this.  It's an exhilarating feeling, just watching Tink fly right over your head.  Plus, not having to waste valuable touring time to stake out a fireworks viewing spot?  Worth every penny.

Resort Hopping.  Very few people really truly appreciate the resorts around The Walt Disney World complex.  Take some time out of your trip to walk through some of the other resorts.  Now, don't go using their pool ... that's not allowed.  I'm talking about walking around the grounds at the Grand Floridian to see the landscaping.  Tour the beautiful French Quarter area of Port Orleans.  Go over to Pop Century and have a meal in their food court ... it's the best one, I think. 

Don't Just Ride ... Crawl.  One of the best bits of advice I've gotten is to try a "crawl".  Get on the monorail, and stop at every resort (Contemporary, Polynesian, Grand Floridian).  Check out their bars, and try the signature drink at each.  Just make sure that you have a safe way to get back to your room ... I can give you first-hand advice that the Lapu-Lapu is Hawaiian for "knocks you on your arse".

Until next time ... enjoy your day!

A great new resource

You know, I'm totally a TGM devotee.  However, Mike seems to be slipping a bit lately.  His wisdom is great, and his knowledge is vast.  And I've made some really great friends from the forums.  But one of the main reasons I subscribe is because of his Least Crowded Park Charts (LCPCs).  Mike's been pretty slow with getting them out, and this has caused some folks to miss their ADR day ... or worse, they've made bad decisions while waiting for the charts to be released.

Although I'm a pro now and I can pretty much figure out what's what on my own, I still subscribe to TGM for the forums.  The peeps are nice and hey ... Finchy's coming on Friday!  Everyone loves Finchmas.

Anyhow, I found a new resource to help with the park planning, as a way to fill the gap left by Mike's tardiness.  Check out EasyWDW.  I've been nosing around there for a bit, and even compared their suggestions to the plan I've already laid out.  And you know what?  Their calendar was right on with my assessment.  Again, I've got a pretty good handle on the whole "what park, what day" thing, based upon experience and understanding of crowd levels during my chosen travel time.  However, I like to have an independent source give me the OK too ... sort of a Stuart Smalley Affirmation, if you will.  Because I'm good enough, I'm smart enough, and doggone it ... people like me.

At any rate, check out EasyWDW.  I'm LuvsTheMouse on their forums (shocker, right?).  So far, I've lurked around a good bit and like what I see. The park calendars seem to be right on - not as detailed as Mike's, but in my opinion they're very very good.

Adding Pixie Dust To Your Trip

Not that Disney isn't a magical place in and of itself, but our friends at WDW Fan Zone have some fabulous tips about making the best, even better.

Check out the post at http://www.wdwfanzone.com/2011/03/ways-to-add-extra-pixie-dust/

Also, I will be making a fabulous announcement here on the blog (and on Facebook) within the next few weeks. Stay tuned ... I am really excited!

I'm in full-on stalker mode.

For those uninitiated types, Disney opens up the dining reservation (aka "ADR") window a full 180 days prior to your arrival.  One of the perks of staying on-site is that you get to book at the 180+10 mark.  This means that, 180 days prior to your arrival, you can book for up to 10 full days of your trip.  Essentially, I need April 1 to arrive so that I can book our ADRs for the whole trip.

With me so far?  Good.  Because this can be a bit confusing, if you've never been Disney-crazy before.  After all, what moron plans out what they're going to have for dinner, six months in advance?  As my Maddie says ... "Who has two thumbs and has issues?  THIS GIRL, RIGHT HERE!"

So, today is March 16.  My ADR date is April 1.  I have approximately two weeks to get this trip planned (what park what day, then what dining what day).  

And Disney, in their infinite wisdom, has not published the October park hours yet.

Doesn't the Mouse know that a girl's got NEEDS?  And by that I mean "an OCD-like propensity to plan out her trip, a full six months in advance"?  I mean, I need to know what nights MNSSHP will be (hint: if Magic Kingdom closes at 7 PM, that's a party night).  I need to know when Extra Magic Hours will be, so that I can avoid that park.  And most importantly, I need to know what night I'm going to plan my DATE NIGHT.  

Come on, Mickey.  Give a momma a little love here, please.

I'm the (wo)man with the plan.

So, here we are.  Nearly February.  My NCAA Football season is over (blah Auburn blah ... it'll be vacated in 5 years anyhow).  I'm filling the void with basketball until draft time.  I'm a football girl, but just can't get into the NFL.  Bunch of whiny crybabies. 

Anyhow, I'm occupying my time with working on a few new ventures, MBA work, and the usual ESPN rotation (save for tennis - that sucks).

Oh.  And planning our next Disney trip.

I think that we're going to go back the same week as last year (September 28 - October 4).  This is Wednesday - Tuesday, and for good reason.  Airfare.  Look at what Southwest charges, and when.  The cheapest days to fly with them are Tuesday and Wednesday every week.  If I stalk the sales, I can likely hit airfare for $59 each way, per person.  Plus, leveraging the "off days" for Magical Express is perfect.

Another reason to choose that week - we can catch the Food and Wine Festival soft opening on September 30th.  The booths are all open, and are serving the same food ... but with 100% less crowds.  And of course, who can forget MNSSHP?  It's quite possibly the perfect week.

Of course, I plan to go "home" to the Polynesian.  My husband has always dreamt of staying at the Contemporary though ... I need to talk it over with him and see where he wants to stay.  Both are similarly priced (we'd do Theme Park View Tower at the Contemporary versus Garden View at the Polynesian), but the reality is that I just love the Polynesian.  Maybe a little aggressive negotiation is in the works?

Next time I write, I need to talk through a few things ... my thoughts on the water parks, Halloween costumes, and my stepdaughter's pending diagnosis.

Not Quite Wordless Wednesday

Dear Fellow DisNerds:

Well, hello there. It sure has been a while.  Sorry I haven't written much lately, but life has kinda happened.  Between finishing my first MBA course with a 98.3%, Christmakwanzakkuh, New Year's, and a whole lot of other things ... life's been busy.  But I realized one thing - I miss writing about my favorite place on the planet.

I'm getting ready to book my trip for 2011.  Of course, we'll be staying at the Polynesian again in late September/early October.  We get the best of both worlds, spanning months ... the annual Free Dining discount (allegedly, it hasn't been released yet), and the kickoff of the Food And Wine Festival.

And boy, do I like the Food And Wine Festival. 

ESPN: The Weekend

My Panda and I are huge sports fans.  And I may or may not have a schoolgirl-like crush on Mike Golic (of Mike And Mike In The Morning fame).  So, the opportunity to mix two of my favorite things (sports and Disney) is really appealing.

At this year's ESPN: The Weekend, I'd have the opportunity to actually stalk meet Golic face-to-face.  Of course, this will require me to actually get out of bed at a relatively early hour (when one fine female is usually just getting to bed), and to stand in line to get a table.  I'd also have to decide what's most important: Golic, or rope drop?

Also - if I get to the radio show's broadcast at oh-dark-thirty, will I have to stay the whole time?  I'd honestly want to get in, get my hero-worship completed, squick out my husband, and give up my table / seat to another fan in line.  I really don't need to stay for the entire show, merely just long enough to not get arrested for trespass / stalking / other inconvenient misdemeanor offenses.


Also scheduled to appear is Chad Ochocinco.  I've been a fan of his for a while now, and would actually enjoy stalking meeting him as well.  If Jared Allen ends up being scheduled to appear, I may be forced to move in to the Polynesian (or the Yacht / Beach Club, as I hear that most of the talent stays there) to catch him too. 

So, in case anyone has been keeping score, we're planning a Christmas trip next year.  And this trip in March ... so that means we'll be at The World twice next year, minimum.  WIN.