Now, what next?
This is totally how I felt a year ago when I decided to take my kiddos {3 and 5} to Disney World last summer. I had wayyy too many questions and not a lot of people that I knew to ask. BUT, the best part of Disney is the PLANNING and the planners that do this for a living. A few questions I had going in was 1} Where should we stay? 2} Where should we eat? 3} How long should we stay? 4} What have I gotten myself into?
Before Booking the Trip
Before you book or even think about booking, there are some things that you need to think about. First, you should know what time of the year is the best time to go. You probably don’t want to go when it is blistering hot or when the crowds make it unenjoyable. Pixie Vacations, an authorized Disney Vacation Planner {meaning they have actually done the work to become an earmarked Disney agency}, has done the work for us and found the best times to go to Disney {World, Land, Cruise, Aulani in Hawaii, whatever you are looking for}. We went in August at that perfect spot between when other school districts started back and ours started. There were hardly any crowds. We decided on 6 nights, 5 days. 4 of them were park days. Disney also recommends that you book your trip 18 months in advance, so this is where the planning comes into play. Pixie Vacations also has the latest vacation offers and discounts. If a new better discount becomes available they will move you to the better offer to save you money on your upcoming vacation. Don’t even know how much to expect to budget for? Check out these convenient quick quote requests forms on the Pixie website for Disney World, Disneyland, and the Disney Cruise.
Saving Money With Packages
I definitely worried about cost. Who doesn’t when they plan a Disney trip? My dad warned us that we would pay for the park, hotel, food, flight, etc, only for our kids to want to swim in the pool all day, like we did. We knew that we wanted to get a bang for our buck. Personally, we stayed at one of the discount resorts on the Disney World campus, All Star Movies, but decided that we would invest in staying at a resort with better travelling options, like the Polynesian or Animal Kingdom {Giraffes walking around outside of our windows?? Yes, please!!}.
The Disney packages also includes meal plan options, as well as resort, flight, park entrance, photo pass options {You are gonna want the photo pass!}. Disney does have times of the year where they offer free meal plan options {Look that up here!}, but the meal plans offer pre-paid food options that you can pick based on your family’s needs. For us, whether it was a good or bad decision, my husband and I were the only ones that would have used up our meal plan offerables. Our kids, being little, could share a kids meal or a snack and be perfectly fine. My husband and I even shared many meals to save on cost and calories! It didn’t make sense for us to get the meal plan, BUT if we had big eaters, that would have been number one on our NEED list!
Thankfully, Disney takes care of us with convenient packages that they pass along to their travel agents. Check out more about their packages here.
The Magic of Magic Bands
Oh, Magic Bands. They are the loves of my Disney heart. Disney has tried to make every single bit of your trip magical, starting and ending at the airport. If you book a package {see above} with a hotel stay, your magic bands will arrive a few weeks before your trip and will be your everything at Disney. Also a few weeks before Disney will send you your travel arrangements to and from the hotel that include magical luggage delivery from the airport to your hotel room. Let me reiterate :: After you check your luggage in at IAH or Hobby Aiport, you do not have to touch it again until it arrives magically in your room. From the moment you get off the plane, your mind is on fun and relaxation and Disney bibbidi-boppity-boo’s your luggage for you. The magic bands are also your key card into your room and your debit card everywhere else. Oh, did I mention that through your travel agent and the Disney App, you don’t even need to check into your hotel. It’s done for you. ALL you have to worry about is the fun!
When You are at Disney and Why I Should Have Used a Travel Agent
So, we made a few mistakes when booking our trip and I know what I need to do better for next time {Will there be a next time??}. First, we really tried to do a park a day, with one day in between set aside for lounging at the pool. This was so hard on our little ones, especially at Magic Kingdom. Luckily there were a bunch of rides that they couldn’t do yet, but my husband and I really sacrificed our adult rides that we wanted to do. I really recommend two days at Magic Kingdom, especially if you have littler ones who are DONE around 2:00pm or so. Our second mistake? We knew nothing about the Fast Passes that Disney offers. When you register beforehand, you can sign up to get Fast Pass options for different rides throughout the parks. I knew next to nothing about the rides and next to nothing about which Fast Pass options were good for us, so most of the time I would reorganize the Fast Passes {and lose some of the good ones} day of and mess up our whole day.
That’s where a Disney travel agency, like Pixie Vacations, comes in. Pixie will get to know you and your family, your vacation preferences, kids likes and dislikes, and will help you plan the perfect Disney World, Disneyland or Disney Cruise just right for you. Disney World Fast passes, Disney Dining reservations, and setting up the My Disney Experience App can be confusing. They are here to help us with Disney Fast pass and Disney Dining questions.
The Best Part?? There is no charge to use a Pixie at Pixie Vacations when you book with them. They are happy to book the best offer for you and then let you plan your Disney dining and Fast passes if you like. They are here to help with questions and to bounce ideas off of. Let their 1,500 positive reviews do the talking for you.
If you aren’t ready for Disney World, feel free to check out a Disney Cruise instead. If you love the service and storytelling of Disney, you are going to enjoy Disney Cruise Line. From fireworks at sea, Castaway Cay – Disney’s Private Island Paradise, Broadway Caliber shows, amazing dining, and more Pixie Vacations is here to save you money on your Disney Cruise. Here are some Pixie tips on saving money on a Disney Cruise.
Connect with Pixie Vacations to start planning your next trip!
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