MouseFest 2008 - Schedule of Events

The planners and organizers for MouseFest 2008 at the Walt Disney World Resort have released the Park Day schedule. This will determine the location of MouseFest activities and probably your Advanced Dining Reservations during the week. Can you believe it's only about six months away?!

Here is the schedule:

Thursday 12/11/2008: Magic Kingdom (Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party is optional in the evening)

Friday 12/12/2008: Disney's Animal Kingdom/Disney's Hollywood Studios

Saturday 12/13/2008: Mega Mouse Meet/Epcot

Sunday 12/14/2008: Magic Kingdom (Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party is optional in the evening)

Monday 12/15/2008: Disney's Hollywood Studios/Epcot

For the "split days" (Friday and Monday), activities will start in one park and transition to the other. There will probably be simultaneous/overlapping events in both parks during the early afternoon on those days, so if you want to make lunchtime Advance Dining Reservations, choose your preferred park and restaurant now, rather than wait until the final event schedule has been posted (sometime in October).

MouseFest dates for 2008: Cruise - 12/7-12/11/2008 Walt Disney World 12/11-12/15/2008

Please remember to think of our travel partner, Destinations in Florida, when booking your resorts, dining, cruises, and tickets for MouseFest 2008.

Stay at a Nicer Disney Resort for Just a Few Dollars More

This summer, you can stay at a Disney Deluxe Resort for about the same price as a Disney Moderate Resort. Disney is offering a discount promotion this May 26-June 7 on room only reservations at the Disney Deluxe Villas. The Disney Deluxe Villas including Disney's Saratoga Springs Resort, Disney's Old Key West Resort, Disney's Boardwalk Villas Resort, Disney's Beach Club Villas Resort and The Villas at Disney's Wilderness Lodge Resort.

For just $15 more per night, you can upgrade to a nicer Disney Resort with better in-room and resort amenities. One of the popular features of the Disney Deluxe Resorts is the bedding. The Deluxe Resorts have Queen Beds instead of Double Beds, to make your vacation experience more comfortable. The rooms at the Disney Deluxe Villas also have microwaves and mini-refrigerators in every room. The 1-Bedroom and 2-Bedroom Villas even have a fully equipped kitchen and washer/dryer. The prices for this promotion start from $204 per night plus tax in a Deluxe Studio.

As an added bonus, book with Destinations in Florida Travel for 5 nights or more and receive a $50 Disney Gift Card to use during your vacation on fun stuff like recreation, meals, or merchandise. Click here for more details about this promotion.

Visit our ebook for more details about this discount and other ways to save money on a Disney World vacation.

Disney Dining Plan Food & Facts

The free Dining Plan at Walt Disney World has turned into one of the most popular discount packages at Disney World. Today was the first day to book this discount package and the phone lines were busy at Disney! This package is popular because it is an excellent savings on meals at Disney World. Everyone likes free food, right? In this blog, I wanted to write a little bit about the food and facts of the Disney Dining Plan to make sure this package is right for your family.
The Dining Plan includes (1) sit down meals, (1) counter service meal and (1) snack per person that you can use anytime during your vacation. The sit down meal and counter service meal includes an entree, dessert and non-alcoholic beverage. The snack includes ice cream, popcorn, fruit, water soda, etc.

Some facts to know about the Dining Plan. Fact #1: The sit down meal does not include gratuity, so plan on paying for tips after your meals. This is not covered under the Dining Plan and many people do not realize this is not included.

Fact #2: The sit down meals no longer includes an appetizer. In the past years, the Dining Plan included an appetizer (per person) with the sit down meals. For this year, the Dining Plan no longer includes the appetizer. Even without the appetizer, the sit down meal is still quite alot of food.

Fact #3: During your vacation, be sure to use all of your meals. We have heard lots of stories (from past guests) about forgetting to use all of their meals. If you are not using all of your meals and snacks, you are just losing money. Be sure to keep track of your meals. An easy way to do this is to pre-book all of your sit down meals. You can also plan an itinerary. In your itinerary, you can include your counter service restaurants, too.

If you have any questions about how many meals or snacks you have left, be sure you check. You have several ways to learn how many meals and snacks are left on your Dining Plan. After you finish a meal, your receipt will tell you have many meals are left on your Dining Plan. You can also ask a Cast Member at the front desk of your resort.

Fact #4: You have your Dining Plan booked for your Disney World vacation, so start making your sit down restaurant reservations. More people are enjoying sit down restaurants because of the Disney Dining Plan. To make sure you get your favorite restaurants, book your reservations immediately. If you need help, contact our friends at MouseDine. All they book is Disney Restaurant Reservations. For one low price, they give you suggestions of the best restaurants for your family and then book all of your restaurant reservations. This is a good discount if you are an International Guest. This will save you hundreds of dollars on International phone calls.

The Disney Dining Plan is a great way to save money and have a stress free Disney World vacation. You now have all of the facts about the Disney Dining Plan!

Disney Free Dining Promotion

We just heard a rumor from our travel partner, Destinations in Florida, that Disney World is going to bring back it’s FREE dining promotion for August and September of this year! Yeah! We know this is a very popular promotion that everyone looks forward to each year. The details are still a bit sketchy, but it sounds like it will be announced early next week to begin booking late in the week. We were told the dates would be August 23-September 22, 2008. This is a fantastic promotion that books VERY fast every year, so keep checking back for more updates and please, use our travel partner for booking your vacation!

April-May Discounts on Disney World Packages

Disney World released a new discount for room only reservations and Magic Your Way Packages for vacations this Spring. These discounts will save you extra money on your vacation, if you are visiting from April 20-May 21. Check out the Insider’s Guide to Disney World for more details on this discount promotion.