How to make a Disney trip EXTRA Magical!

When I recently went to Disney World, it was for my sister’s graduation from high school. Due to this, I decided to make each day just a little more magical by adding a surprise to each day. There are many ways to add extra magic to your Disney trip and here are the few that I did!

1.      Disney Custom Shirts:    In Downtown Disney there is a store called Design-a-Tee. You fully design every aspect of your t shirt. When I was in Disney in May, I made matching t-shirts for my sister and I to wear on our way to Disney. Right before we were getting ready to leave for the airport, I pulled the shirts out and surprised her with them! Good idea if you are going with family in order to easily spot everyone while traveling (you also get lots of compliments!)

Our matching t-shirts!

2.      Disney Florist In-Room Celebration:   www.disneyflorist.com is a great website to add some extra magic. Although this site is a tad expensive, it was totally worth it for us! One section of their website is for In-room celebrations. This is where Disney Florist Employees come in and decorate/leave fun items in your room while you aren’t there. I chose the My Magical Triumph package because of her graduation. This included a banner on the door, balloons, confetti, banner in the room, sparkling fruit juice, mickey glasses, photo frame, certificate, giant Mickey doll, Medal of Honor, and a hidden Tinkerbell.

My Magical Triumph!

They have many other celebrations you can decorate your room with including: Mickey’s Welcome, Birthday, Anniversary/Proposal/Romantic, Princesses, and Pirates. If you don’t want to spend the big bucks on the in-room celebrations, they also have smaller stuff that can be delivered to the room!

3.      Cinderella’s Slipper dessert at CRT:   Cinderella’s Royal Table has quite a few ways to add extra magic to your meal. Once you have your reservation, you email wdw.crt.special.events@disney.com and they will tell you all the special items they offer. I chose Cinderella’s Slipper dessert and had them personalize it by writing “Congratulations Colleen!” on the plate in chocolate. Other items they offer is “Her Royal Highness” which gives the princess in your party a giant balloon on her chair, tiara, and her favorite princess designed cake. If you have a little prince, they adjust this package in order for it to appeal more to little boys. The last they offer is the proposal package. It includes an actual glass slipper with the date and occasion, champagne and your own personal photographer to capture that special moment! All of these obviously have an additional cost on top of your meal, but they might just be worth it!

These are only three special ways to add a little extra magic to your trip, but Disney offers much more.

Thanks for reading and have a magical day!

J

Is the Dining Plan really worth it?

During my latest trip to Disney World, we decided to use the Disney Dining Plan. Our allotment was 1 table service, 1 quick service and 1 snack per night of our stay per person (12 per total for our whole trip). During the trip I made sure to make note of the actual prices and determine whether the Dining Plan is worth it or not. Here are the details:

Table Services:

1. Tusker House, Animal Kingdom, Buffet with Characters, Little rushed through the characters, but decent food. Table Service Credits Used: 2 - Total Bill: $68.14

2. 1900 Park Fare, Grand Floridian Resort, Buffet with Characters, My favorite meal all week! Table Service Credits Used: 2 - Total Bill: $80.92

1900 Park Fare with Drizella!

 

3. Chef Mickey’s, Contemporary Resort, Buffet with Characters, Good food and great character interactions. Table Service Credits Used: 2 - Total Bill: $91.57

4. Hollywood & Vine (Fantasmic Dinner Package), Hollywood Studios, Buffet, Great food and service, loved getting prime seating for Fantasmic. Table Service Credits Used: 2 - Total Bill: $76.66

5. Coral Reef, Epcot, Menu items, decent food, but awesome aquarium views! Table Service Credits Used: 2 - Total Bill: $91.53

6. Crystal Palace, Magic Kingdom, Buffet with Characters, good food and character interactions. Table Service Credits Used: 2 - Total Bill: $59.62

Total Table Service Bill: $468.44

Quick Services:

1. Cosmic Rays Starlight Café, Magic Kingdom. - Quick Service Credits Used: 1 - Total Bill: $18

2. Leaning Palms, Typhoon Lagoon. – Quick Service Credits Used: 2 - Total Bill: $34

3. Be Our Guest, Magic Kingdom. - Quick Service Credits Used: 2 - Total Bill: $35

Be Our Guest!

 

4. Good’s Food to Go, Old Key West Resort. - Quick Service Credits Used: 1 - Total Bill: $14

5. Sunshine Seasons, Epcot. - Quick Service Credits Used: 2 - Total Bill: $40

6. End zone Food Court, All Star Sports Resort. - Quick Service Credits Used: 3 - Total Bill: $52

Total Quick Service Bill: $193

**Note: we only used 11 of our 12 quick service meals. We ran out of time and room in our stomachs to get the last one.

 

Snacks:

1. Mickey Pretzel, Magic Kingdom. Snack Credits Used: 1 - Total Bill: $5

Mickey Pretzel!

 

2. Mickey Ice Cream Bars, Epcot. Snack Credits Used: 2 - Total Bill: $8

3. Cupcakes, Cakepops, Cookies & Water (Using up remaining snacks!) Snack Credits Used: 9 - Total Bill: $36

Total Snack Bill: $49

 

Total Amount that would have been spent if we paid with cash: $710.44

Amount Paid for Dining Plan: $703.92

Saved: $6.52

 

Overall we would have saved approximately $20 if we used our last quick service meal. So the Dining Plan for us was basically the same as it would have been had we paid with cash. The Dining Plan worth really depends on what restaurants you eat at and what you pick off the menu. For me, I find the Dining Plan completely worth it. Yes it may have cost basically the same thing, but the convenience of it, is what I love. They just scan my magic band and we are on our way, not having to worry about carrying cash around.

I hope you found this helpful! Thanks for reading and have a Magical Day!

J