travel budget

Disney Planning – What are we Riding?

Florida, Travel, United States

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Once you have selected which Disney parks you want to visit on which days and with who, you will have to narrow down the rest of your ideas. Gone are the days of visiting a theme park and riding everything or eating everything in one day. In this digital era, you will need to plan, plan, and plan.

Probably one of the most important things to figure out is if everyone can ride everything. Like most theme parks in the world, you need to be tall enough to ride, healthy enough to ride, and within other size requirements. Naturally, this will make it harder for young kiddos, and bigger adults. My husband is 6’4” and a lot of things are not built for people of his height. I am 5’2” and many times things are not adjusted for my short (roller coaster pads sometimes give me headaches as I am jostled around). If you are plus sized, some of rides will be downright uncomfortable, so it’s important to read reviews and make a list of rides that work for your group. For a good list and information, click here. For those with health conditions such as heart, back, and neurological, pay attention to warnings and do your research before you travel. There is nothing more disheartening than telling your kiddo that they can go on Splash Mountain, but they have not quite hit the required 40”.

My personal tip, if you are traveling with littles, is to go to the Disneyland, click here, and Disney World, click here, websites and review every single ride and their height requirements. Make a list of everything that is small person friendly and then pick what are the top rides for your group.

Also, as a side note, don’t try to push the rules and make the kids seem taller, these size guides are for your child’s safety and enjoyment and you will likely get caught!

IF you are not traveling with vertically challenged people, then select what rides you have not done, look the most fun, or are considered “classics”. I am looking at you Pirates of the Caribbean.

Once you have a list of rides, arrange them in a hierarchy of what is the most important. For my upcoming trip, it will be Splash Mountain, Space Mountain, Haunted Mansion, and Pirates of the Caribbean. As I have never been to Disney World I have set plans on these. Mostly, I NEED that photo of my stepdaughter and I coming off Splash Mountain! However, your priorities may differ, maybe you need to see Ariel in her Grotto, or Dumbo is your jam, totally fine. My tip is to get the My Disney Experience App and review what is the most popular on a similar day you are visiting. So if you are going on Tuesday in October, look at Tuesdays and see what have the longest wait times through the day. From there you can select were you can use your FREE Fast Passes.

Fast Passes are essentially a line skip option, or a reservation for a ride. Everyone gets 3 selections to start their time in Disney, pick 3 and use them, then get 3 more for your day. Passes can be cancelled and altered throughout your time in Disney and you can make initial reservations 30 days ahead with tickets. If you are staying on property, you can make reservations 60 days in advance.

Perhaps the most important part of all of your activities planning is so you get to see your top activities, and save time waiting in line. Fast Passes allow you to skip the 2-hour wait for Frozen Ever After and get on with your day.

As an additional tip, if you can’t get a fast pass for what you want, monitor availability throughout the day to see what may become available as people cancel or alter their Fast Passes.

Happy Travels!

There is Always a Cost

Travel

Here is a cold hard tip for travel.

It costs.

It costs money to go.

Or points that came from spending money.

It costs fuel, gas, electricity.

It costs for your food.

It costs for someone to clean up after you.

It costs for someone to make you food.

It costs for someone to fly the plane, to run the train.

It costs money to travel.

I don’t mean to sound like a jaded children’s poet, but I think there is a disconnect from the thrifty and the reality of expense.

While I love saving money, just like most people when I travel, I think it’s also important to understand that there is a minimum cost of everything. This minimum costs has to come from somewhere.

I say this because I notice trends in the travel industry that look like something too good to be true, and really are too good to be true.

For instance, one may see amazingly cheap resorts in Mexico. Which is great for those of us with limited means. Yet when you break down the real cost of some of these vacation packages, there are added costs. There are costs to how well the people are paid, less profit can mean lower or stagnant wages.

Then there is the AirBnB mess that i constantly hear about. Someone books a house to save a little money, and then they find out that the place wasn’t what they thoughts, gets cancelled at the last minute, or the locations ends of being some type of illegal renting situation. It’s not that every AirBnB is bad, but that sometimes the “discount” isn’t really a discount.

From my work in the travel industry the best deals and most security come from doing the following:

  • Joining loyalty programs for hotels, airlines, resorts etc.
    • These are usually free and they often offer things like better rates, free Wi-Fi, discounts on future bookings, points accumulations etc.
  • Book a package
    • Companies like FunJet work with airlines like Southwest to create better rates for flights to popular areas like Cancun, Mexico and the Dominican Republic. This doesn’t always save a significant amount of money, but it can have bonuses like resort credits, spa credits, free transfers from the airport etc.
  • Go in the off-season
    • research pricing in advance to find the seasons that are lower. This can sometimes save 50% off air and hotels, versus going around Spring Break or winter holidays.
  • Book Ahead
    • If you DO have to go in the high-season, then make sure you book as early as possible. This usually can save you a significant amount on your rates, and ensure availability.
  • Book Last Minute
    • If you wind up with some extra vacation time to burn, a last minute booking can prove to be really economical and get you into places wanting to fill a spot. This works best in shoulder and off-season time-frames.
  • Find Hidden Gems
    • Sometimes the best experiences are away from the crowds and the chaos of popular areas. For instance, instead of high-end lodges in Africa for $1,000 per night, one could have a similar experience at a lesser-known lodge for closer to $300 per night. Sometimes the lodges don’t have the luxury pools and details of the luxury lodges, but they do have fantastic views, wildlife experiences, and animal viewing that is sure to amaze.

What are your budget finds that don’t risk losing out?

Happy Travels!