Character Dining

You are planning your perfect Disney trip.  You are researching the parks, rides and dining experiences.  As you research you come across character dining.  The question becomes, is it worth it?

The answer is YES.  YES.  Oh, and YES.

This is a really fun way for your kids to interact with the characters.  You get some great pictures/video and the food is usually pretty good.  Plus, if you are on a time crunch and can't stay at the parks long, it saves having to wait in line for the character meet and greets.

As I've said before, you MUST set your budget prior to planning...otherwise you can blow it out of the water pretty quick.  But, there are ways to make this happen.

• Keep in mind that most of the character dining experiences are usually buffet, which means children under 3 are free.
• Go during breakfast or lunch.  There is a price break between these meals and dinner.
• If you are going during the offseason, prices tend to be reduced a bit.
• If your budget is tight, consider getting pb&j and making lunch in your hotel room.
• If you are staying onsite, and not renting DVC, look for the special offers that include free dining (currently running for the fall months).

One great resource to check out menus and pricing is Allears.net.  Visit the Walt Disney World website and look at all the options.  Read through the trip advisor reviews. There are many options, with different character selections, that will be perfect for your little prince or princess.

Renting Disney Vacation Club Points

One of the best kept secrets to staying at Disney is renting Disney Vacation Club (DVC) Points.

The DVC is Disney's timeshare program.  Members buy points at their home property--Animal Kingdom Lodge, Sarasota Springs, Old Key West, Fort Wilderness Lodge, Bay Lake Towers, Beach Club Villas, Boardwalk Villas or the new Grand Floridian Villas-- pay a yearly maintenance fee and then stay in either a studio, 1 bedroom or 2 bedroom villa based on how many points they have.

Each year DVC releases their points chart.  Let's say you are a family of four and your two kids are ages 2 and 4.  You want to go to Disney for 6 nights and stay in a studio at Animal Kingdom Lodge (AKL).  You are going in January when the crowd levels are lower.

For the sake of this post, let's say you rent points at $13 per point.  You can stay at AKL in a studio ranging from 69 -125 points per week.  That translates to $897 for a standard view studio to $1625 for the concierge level per week.

By comparison, rack rates are currently $2565 for 6 nights at AKL with a standard view. That is a 65% savings!  If you opted for the Savannah View (which I recommend!) is $3536 plus tax versus $1326 renting DVC points.  That is a 63% savings.

Keep in mind each DVC property is different and the time of year dictates rates.  Members can secure reservations at their home resorts 11 months prior and 7 months prior if it is a DVC property that is not their home resort.  If you want to stay at Bay Lake or Wilderness Lodge, I suggest that you get your reservations in early.  If you are only a couple of months out, there is usually plenty of room at Sarasota Springs or Old Key West.

Where do you rent points?  There are a few options.  There is David's Vacation Club Rentals, DVC Rental Store, or you can contact members directly.  MouseOwners.com  is a forum for those who own DVC.  There is a thread for those looking to rent points.  The prices vary.  Just keep in mind, this is a direct person to person transaction which may involve risk.

Have you rented DVC points?  What are your thoughts?

Money Saving Tips

You want to go to Walt Disney World but fear the costs.  Here are a few simple ways to save money:

1: Go during the off season.  Disney tends to run special offers including discounted rooms at various resorts or free dining.

2: Consider renting DVC (Disney Vacation Club) points.  This is our favorite option.  DVC owners often are not able to use all of their points.  They will rent them, either directly or through a broker.  On average you can save between 40-60% off of the published rack rate. Check out David's Vacation Club Rentals, DVC Rental Store, or Mouseowners.com.

3: Purchase tickets through Undercover Tourist.  On average you will save a minimum of 5%. However, if you are taking advantage of a Disney Special, bundling tickets may be required.  Do your research ahead of time.

4: Don't eat all of your meals out.  Eat breakfast in your hotel room and bring PB&J and fruit to make for lunch.  Many rooms have mini-fridges so you can keep milk and other perishables.  Inquire at booking or check-in.

5. Pre-pack snacks.  I use zip-lock bags and pack 2 snacks a day for each kid.

6. Bring your own water.  Also, you can ask for a cup of water at most places that have fountain drinks.

7. Pre-purchase Photopass or Photopass+.  If you pre-purchase the cost is $120/$150.  If you wait until you arrive at the parks it will cost either $169 for regular photopass, or $199 for Photopass+.

8. Get the Disney Visa Rewards Card.  If offers 1% (or 2% if you are a premium card holder) cash back on all your purchases.  Plus, they give you a $50 or $100 Disney Gift card when you sign up.  I am not advocating the use of credit cards.  We were strictly cash, check or debit prior to this.  But now we exclusively use our Disney card, make weekly payments so we don't carry a balance and earn points towards our next vacation. The month before you leave for Disney, cash in those points.  They will come in the form of a Disney Gift Card.

9. If you can, bring your stroller with you so you don't have to rent one.  Trust me, the littles will need the ride.

10. Buy Disney gift cards (or ask for them for gifts) prior to arriving.  It is sort of like a savings account.  You prepay (which means you are spreading out the cash outlay--say you buy one $50 card a month for 10 months) and then when you arrive, you know exactly how much you have to spend.  This helps keep me on budget.

Do you have tips on saving money?  Leave a post in the comment section below.