Skip to main content

Category: Disney World

character meals

Too Many Character Meals

dis/dom Leave a comment

I plan a lot of Disney vacations. While you think you may go to Disney a lot, and do a lot of planning, I plan over 500 Walt Disney World vacations a year. I see every possible scenario you can imagine, everything from people on a tight budget to unlimited budgets, adults traveling by themselves to large groups of 50+ family members, you can’t imagine a scenario I haven’t seen. I am usually pretty flexible on requests, but there is one thing that clients insist on that I do not agree: character meals. While I am not against character meals, I do them with my family all the time even though my kids are teenagers now, I do have a problem with too many character meals.

Why I am not a fan of Walt Disney World character meals

  • Character Meals take a lot of time. The standard character rotation at most character meals is 60 – 90 minutes, meaning that if you want to see all of the characters, you have to wait at your table for 60 – 90 minutes. Most of the time that means wasted time just sitting around in order to Eeyore and Piglet.
  • Buffets. Just about every character meal at Walt Disney World is a buffet. For the most part, the food offerings at buffets are sub-par, you typically get much better food at non-character meal restaurants. If I can avoid a buffet, whether at Walt Disney World or at home, I do.

I have quite a few clients that insist on booking one or two character meals each day of their trip. I can’t imagine anything that will ruin your Disney vacation faster. Almost universally, every client that insists on doing that, does not do it on their next Disney vacation. They realize that after one or two character meals, their kids just don’t like it. Both adults and kids burn out pretty quickly on character meals. Meal time is a great time to take a break from all the over stimulation of the theme parks, but by adding characters to every meal, you never get that mental break.

My suggestions on Walt Disney World character meals

  • Make 1 or 2 character meals during your stay. If you don’t have little kids, you can skip them all together, but I do still think they are worth doing. Even though your teenage daughter will throw a fit at the mention of dining with princesses, deep down they still love it, and will have a blast, though you may never know it the expression on their face.
  • Spread your reservations out. Do one character meal early in your trip, maybe the first day as a start to your vacation. If you are doing a second, try to schedule it at the end of your trip, as a farewell to Disney meal.
  • Make your reservations for a late breakfast or early lunch time, that will give you a few hours in the parks to get things done, and you won’t feel rushed to eat and get back to the parks. That will also cover both breakfast and lunch for you in one stop.
  • Everyone loves Cinderella’s Royal Table, but consider doing Royal Akershush Banquet Hall Storybook Dining instead. It is half the price (when on the Disney Dining Plan), you still get to see all the princesses and I think the food is quite a bit better. You can meet Cinderella at dinner at 1900 Park Fare. Hollywood and Vine is doing some awesome seasonal themed dinners, and offers Star Wars themed meals during some months.
  • Don’t follow the sheep. While everyone loves Chef Mickey’s and Cinderella’s Royal Table, there are other character meals that offer better food and are more interesting.
  • Please note, Be Our Guest in the Magic Kingdom IS NOT a character meal. While Beast is there at dinner time, he only hangs out in a little alcove, and does not go table to table. If you didn’t know he was there you probably wouldn’t even notice him.
  • Make reservations at restaurants you wouldn’t normally do at home. Walt Disney World, and especially Epcot, offer some very watered down version of restaurant that you may not visit when at home. Not many people have a Moroccan restaurant near their home, but Epcot has 2 (3 including Tangierine Cafe, the quick-service restaurant). Just about every restaurant at Walt Disney World is kid friendly, it is Disney after all, the place is crawling with kids. I have taken kids as young as 5 to California Grill, Flying Fish and other nice restaurants. They expect kids on a daily basis, and know how to deal with them. Expose your kids to nice places or different cuisines at Disney, it is the perfect place to do so, and makes it much easier do to so at home as they have already had an easy experience at Disney.

Do you do character meals on your Disney vacation?

disney things

5 Disney Things You Should Know This Week – April 15, 2016

dis/dom Leave a comment

Each Friday, I provide 5 Disney things all Disney fans should know from this past week, just in case you missed them. Here are the super important Disney news items for this week:

 Fastpass+ Changes

fast passes

This week, Walt Disney World made some significant changes to their FastPass+ system. While not all the issues are resolved with the system, these changes go a long way towards making it much more guest friendly.

  • You will now be able to choose individual FastPass+ experiences and times, and will no longer need to make all selections for the same day at the same time.
  • While you will continue to be able to select up to three experiences in advance, they now will be able to book fewer than three selections, if desired.
  • In addition, when you have used their first three FastPass+ selections, you will now be able to make an additional FastPass+ selection via the My Disney Experience mobile app, in addition to in-park kiosks. You will no longer be forced to find one of the kiosks in the park. Once you have used the fourth, they will be able to select another, and so on.

For more information on these new FastPass changes: FastPass+ Changes

2017 Summer Disney Cruises

2017 Summer Disney Cruises

Disney Cruise Line released additional 2017 Cruise itineraries and dates for all four Disney Cruise ships. Bookings for cruises are not available through September, 2017. Disney Cruise will be sailing to both Alaska and Europe during the Summer of 2017, and some great cruises have been added from Florida as well, including 4 and 5-night cruises on the Disney Dream with 2 days on Castaway Cay, as well as a 10 and an 11-night Southern Caribbean cruise on the Disney Fantasy.

Check out the details: 2017 Disney Cruises

An update on Disney After Hours

Several weeks ago, Walt Disney World announced Disney After Hours, a new night time event hosted in the Magic Kingdom. The cost is $149 per person, and grants you 3 hours in the Magic Kingdom after the park closes (the ticket also gets you into the Magic Kingdom 3 hours before closing, so you do get 6 hours in total in the park). Last night, April 14, as the very first night of Disney After Hours. We had an agent in the park, she sacrificed herself for the cause. While very little details were released when announced, you can see from the image below that basically all attractions are open during the event. Last night, it was reported that there were less than 1,000 people in the park for those three hours. Lines were completely nonexistent, and our agent was able to ride every single ride in the Magic Kingdom in less than 3 hours. I think she is still asleep.

While $149 per person is a lot of money, there are some situations where it may be worth it. Disney After Hours isn’t for everyone, but it may be great for some, which is the whole idea.

Disney After Hours

Amorette’s Patisserie Opens May 15 at Disney Springs

mickey cake

If you have a bit of a sweet tooth, this may be right up your alley. Amorette’s Patisserie is set to open in Disney Springs on May 15, 2016. Classic and contemporary cakes and pastries are the stars in this high-end pastry shop where guests can watch pastry chefs decorate signature cakes in the on-stage finishing kitchen. Even the beautiful boutique-style packaging, inspired by old-fashioned hatboxes, lends to the sophisticated feel of the location. I can’t wait!

Night of Joy Tickets now on Sale

night of joy

The annual Christian Music festival is coming to Walt Disney World again in 2016. Tickets are now on sale. This 2 day event features many of the world’s best known contemporary christian artists. One big change this year, the festival will be held at Disney’s Wide World of Sports rather than in the Magic Kingdom.

There are a few different ticket options:

  • A single-night, concert only ticket for Friday, September 9 – $39 plus tax (in advance); $45 the day of the show (if available).
  • A single-night concert and one-day Disney theme park ticket (valid for one of the four Walt Disney World Resort theme parks) for Saturday, September 10 – $99 plus tax (in advance); $114 plus tax the day of the show (if available).*
  • A two-night concert ticket (which includes both nights’ concerts and one-day Disney theme park ticket (valid for one of the four Walt Disney World Resort theme parks) – $119 plus tax (in advance).*

And, if that weren’t enough, guests who purchase the two-day ticket on or before August 9, 2016 will also receive one (1) admission to their choice of Disney’s Blizzard Beach or Disney’s Typhoon Lagoon valid from September 6 – September 12, 2016.

Check out NightofJoy.com for more information and to purchase tickets.

Did I miss any Disney news this week that should have been included?

disney world pin codes

Disney World PIN Codes

dis/dom Leave a comment

We all know about Disney discounts. Well, if you don’t, you need my services more than anyone else. From time to time, Disney feels the need to discount some rooms, but may not have enough rooms to do a full blown discounts with TV and print advertising. Plus, big, general public discounts do have their downsides for Disney. The problem with general discounts like Disney Free Dining or a 30% off your room discount is that anyone can book them, even those that were previously paying full rate, and were happy paying full rate. Disney does limit the number of rooms available at each resort, so it limits the number of discounts that are available. However, that often makes guests angry when they are advertising a discount on national TV but nothing is available. So, rather do do a full blown discount, Disney World uses PIN codes.

A PIN code discount targets individual guests rather than everyone. In order to use a PIN code discount, you actually have to have a PIN code assigned to you. You cannot use a friend of family members PIN code. These PIN codes usually come by postcard or email directly to you. They are not sent to your travel agent, and travel agents like Mouseketrips cannot assign you a PIN code. In fact, you can’t even call Disney and get one assigned, remember, they are targeting you, not the other way around.

The Walt Disney PIN codes are 15 digit codes, and are required in order to even check prices for your dates with the discount. Typically you must also provide other information to Disney just to prove that you are the intended recipient.

If you hear about a PIN code online or from a friend, but don’t get one, don’t worry. Disney will mail out offers to their “top” list, and then to additional people as needed, until they fill up their needed rooms. One other hint, sometimes Disney means to send you a PIN code, but it just doesn’t make it for some reason, either going to an old mailing address, an old email address or possibly your spam folder. If you have heard about a new PIN code, feel free to call Disney and ask if they have one for you. They will look up your name/address and check. Never hurts to ask.

Typically PIN codes are discounts that are similar to other discounts released by Disney World, but are usually for additional dates or possibly dates that are not otherwise discounted.

The problem is that there really isn’t any way to know how to get on Disney’s list. I have been to Disney several times a year for 15+ years. I own Disney Vacation Club, I have a Walt Disney World annual pass, and I NEVER get a PIN code. Apparently, Disney thinks they have me hooked (and they do). I have had clients who have been to Disney once, 5 years ago, and never thought about going again that get several PIN codes a year. Once you are on the list, I don’t think you are ever taken off.

Here are a few hints to get yourself on the Disney World PIN Codes list:

  1. Make sure you have a DisneyWorld account. Most people do, but go check.
  2. Update your profile on your Disney account and make sure your address, email address and everything else is up to date. Check every tab and link to make sure you have input as much information as possible.
  3. Go book a vacation on the Walt Disney World website. Price out a few options, several dates, resorts, etc. If you can hold one of those reservations for a few days, go ahead and do that.
  4. Try this same process again a week or two later. Make sure you are logged into your account the entire time while checking on prices.
  5. If you are unable to hold a reservation, go through the entire process until you get to the payment screen and leave or start over.
  6. Watch the online videos for Walt Disney World or order a free Disney DVD. Again, make sure you are logged in the entire time. There is a link at the bottom of every Disney World page that says “Free Vacation Planning Videos”
  7. Stop by and check dining reservation availability for several dates and restaurants. Again, make sure you are logged in.

Repeat this process every few months until you receive a PIN code. Hopefully these actions will put you on Disney’s radar and get you on the list. Unfortunately, there isn’t any way to know if you are on the list, unless you start getting PIN codes.

Well, there you go. One note, from time to time Disney World sends out emails and postcards that look just like PIN code offers, except, they are just FULL RATE offers. Don’t be fooled into book something at full rate just because you get an email. Contact us at Mouseketrips, we would be happy to tell you if your email is actually a discount. We can also help you get the PIN code discount booked or you, check on prices or anything else.