Food Cost

Disney Parks, Food Cost, Travel

Magical Express Picks Up Near Bells Services
Magical Express Picks Up Near Bells Services

We had checked out of our room at the All-Star Movies resort in the morning before we headed off to the parks.  We didn’t quite know what to do with our bags though.  We could have checked them through to the airlines, but didn’t want to do that because the last time we did it with the cruise line, we got charged for our bags despite having the Citi AAdvantage Executive World Elite Mastercard (it gives us one free bag per person).  We decided instead to leave our bags with Bell Services and pick them up when boarding the Magical Express to the airport.  read more

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Food Cost, Travel

Signs direct you to your gate at Dulles Airport
Signs direct you to your gate at Dulles Airport

Our travel day finally arrived for our trip.  The girls had school that day, so we had arranged to pick them up at 10:45 so we could get home in time for the taxi to pick us up at 11:30.  Our flight was scheduled for 1:45 pm, so with the taxi ride, we would have two hours at the airport to get through security, get some lunch, and arrive at the gate.  We picked up everyone and got back home in plenty of time for the taxi to arrive and take us to the airport.  We breezed through security thanks to TSA PreCheck.  read more

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Disney Parks, Food Cost, Planning

My Disney Experience Website
My Disney Experience Website

You’ve made your travel plans, picked the perfect days to visit the parks, and gotten your tickets.  You’ve even planned out your outfits for the park.  What’s left to do?  Dining, of course!  One of the fantastic benefits of choosing a Disney vacation is the multitude of dining options they offer in the parks and resorts.  Disney World accepts advanced dining reservations for most of the table service dining locations up to 180 days in advance.  The most popular ones may book up before the day of your visit.  So, how can you get a reservation to make sure you have the best dining experience possible? read more

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Disney Parks, Food Cost

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If you are a Florida resident, Disney Vacation Club Member, or a Walt Disney World Annual Passholder, the Tables in Wonderland card is a great way to save money while dining on Disney property.  The Tables in Wonderland card will save you 20% off the price of food and beverages, including alcohol, at more than 100 different restaurants at Walt Disney World.  The discount applies to dining parties of 10 people or less. The Tables in Wonderland card costs $175 for Florida residents and $150 for annual passholders or Disney Vacation Club members.  A second card can be purchased for your spouse or partner for $50. read more

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Disney Parks, Food Cost, Hotel Cost

One of the tricks I’ve described before is to look at alternate travel arrangements.  When considering whether to upgrade our tickets this summer to annual passes, I looked for economical travel/lodging arrangements for other possible trips.  We had several school breaks to consider, including a Halloween-based trip (which includes some teacher work days in November) and an early February trip (using teacher work days as well).  Since these were “quick” trips to fit into a fixed calendar, we needed to be able to fly down to Florida in order to maximize our Disney time. read more

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Food Cost, Grocery Store

Feeding a family at Disney World can get expensive.  You usually won’t have access to a kitchen if you stay on property, so you will be relying on restaurants for most of your meals.  Disney restaurants can be pricey; the meals can cost from double to triple what a comparable meal would cost at home.  How can you reduce your expenses in this area?  Here are a few methods we’ve employed: read more

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