New Year's Eve at the World

                  This year marks the 14^th year that I have spend New Year’s Eve at Walt Disney World!  I can’t believe that I have been going to WDW for New Year’s for that many years.  I know that many people avoid the parks on this holiday because of the intense crowds and the possibility that the parks will reach a capacity closing, but for me, I could not imagine spending New Year’s Eve anywhere else in the world. 

                  This year, since we live in Orlando, we didn’t feel like we had to arrive at Magic Kingdom at 7:00am and just stay until midnight.  We took a lower key approach this year, and I would not have changed a thing about our evening.  First, we planned to go to the luau at the Polynesian Resort for the 5:15 show on New Year’s Eve.  This was also a strategic decision so that we could park at the Polynesian and avoid the crowds at the TTC.  Parking restrictions are always enforced during busy times, so we wanted to make sure that we did not have any issues parking.  After arriving at the Polynesian, we made our way to luau cove where we enjoyed an excellent luau performance.  The menu has changed recently, and the new additions and changes are definitely for the better.  The dessert has changed, and they have also added pulled pork to the entrée portion of the evening.  I miss the Hawaiian rice that used to be served, but the pork was delicious.  The dessert was head and shoulders better than what they used to serve in the past. 

                  After the luau, we took a deep breath and prepared to enter the fray that is the Magic Kingdom.  We were prepared for chaos and disorganized crowds, but I have to say that this is not what we found.  The castmembers at Magic Kingdom did an excellent job of moving people from one side of the park to another.  Backstage bypass routes were open, and we did not experience the usual misery that is typically involved with Magic Kingdom on New Year’s Eve.  Our plan was to ride the train to Fantasyland as soon as we entered the park so that we could make our Fastpass + reservations for Peter Pan.  We had no trouble making it to Fantasyland, and we continued on our journey after Peter Pan.  We even viewed Holiday Wishes from Fantasyland.  After Peter Pan, we snuck into Philharmagic, which was almost empty.  After a welcome rest, we ventured over to Big Thunder Mountain, which again, was not painful.  Normally, the crowds are unmanageable as you walk though Frontierland, but this year, we did not have any trouble finding our way.  After riding Big Thunder, we hung out in Frontierland for a while, and then we boarded the train again to make our Fastpasses for Buzz Lightyear and then a quick spin on the Peoplemover.  Finally, we scouted out a spot for the midnight fireworks on Main Street.

                  Overall, we had a magical evening that could not happen anywhere other than WDW.  In order to enjoy our evening, a few key things were important.  First, we knew that Magic Kingdom would be crowded, so we went into the park with the expectation that we would hang out and avoid really popular attractions.  Also, having Fastpass + reservations was a huge help.  We were able to ride attractions that had 2-3 hour waits.  We just scanned our bracelets, and we were on the attraction with no waiting.  The system worked just like it should.  We also had ADRs for dinner, which really took the hassle out of attempting to make it into a quick service location.  Finally, I think that the mid-week holiday really caused the crowds to be less crushing this year than if the holiday would have fallen on a weekend.

                  So, have a wonderful New Year, and try to make it out to WDW for at least one New Year’s Eve.  We are so blessed to be celebrating 2014 as Floridians living out our Disney dreams!  Until next time, have a magical day, and keep moving forward!

Limited Time Magic: On the Hunt for Disney Characters

           A few weeks ago, on a trip to the Magic Kingdom, my husband and I did something we have never done; we did not run to get in line for a ride when we arrived at rope drop.  Instead, we queued up to meet characters.  It was hard to fight the urge to run to Tomorrowland and secure our spot on Space Mountain, but we succeeded, and we had a great time! Now, we did not just randomly decide to meet and greet characters, we had a tangible goal, to collect Limited Time Magic Christmas cards from all of the characters in the Magic Kingdom.  As part of this particular Limited Time Magic promotion, there were 29 Christmas cards in total to collect.  The story goes that Duffy had organized these cards as part of a Secret Santa type of prize swap for all of his guests at WDW.  Of course, I cannot pass up free Disney paper ephemera, so we had our quarry, and we gave ourselves the entire day to achieve our goal.

            Since we are not professionals at character Meet and Greets, we really had to come up of with a plan of attack for getting all of the cards.  Before we even started, we knew that two of the cards were impossible to get because the Fairy Godmother had already run out of cards, and Mary Poppins was not doing her usual meetings that morning.  So, we knew that we could only get 27 cards out of the possible 29.  With this in mind, we referred to both the Times Guide as well as the My Disney Experience App in order to make our plan.  In order to get all of the cards from the characters, we had to start at the flagpole in the front of Magic Kingdom.  Since many of those characters are only available until 1:00 or 2:00, we knew that we had to go through those lines first. I had no idea that the lines to meet the characters would be so long!  After waiting an eternity for Minnie Mouse and Duffy, we decided that we had to split up in order to get all of the characters before they retired from their locations. 

            So, I headed to Tomorrowland, while my husband (who is wonderful to do this with me!), waited in line for Marie near the flagpole.  Some castmembers would just hand you the Christmas card and not make you wait in line for a photo, but some characters were running out of cards, so you had to wait in the line in order to get the card.  My husband had to wait in the extremely long line for Marie, while I was able to get Alice, the White Rabbit, Stitch, and Buzz Lightyear.  Luckily, I only had to wait for Buzz, which was an awesome meet and greet opportunity anyway!  Eventually, we made it around the Magic Kingdom on a whirlwind tour in order to meet all 27 of the characters that had cards.  We also met the Fairy Godmother even though she had already run out of cards; I mean she is the Fairy Godmother! 

            One of our favorite experiences of the day was Enchanted Tales with Belle.  I was picked to be Mrs. Potts during the story, and we just had a great time with all of the secret surprises that took place during that character encounter.  I highly recommend making time to have this experience, even if you don’t have children.  In addition to this attraction, we really enjoyed meeting Mickey Mouse.  He talked to us and interacted with us, and it is always just so cool to meet the Big Cheese! Finally, when we were walking through Fantasyland, the two stepsisters were strolling around just throwing the Christmas cards at people.  It was so funny, and they were just so entertaining.  I always love to see them out and about!

            Overall, we had a great day meeting characters and stepping out of our comfort zone when it comes to park touring.  We were able to get Christmas cards from Minnie, Pluto, Duffy, Chip & Dale, Woody & Jessie, Alice & the White Rabbit, the Step Sisters & Lady Tremaine, Wendy & Peter Pan, Buzz Lightyear, Stitch, Belle, Cinderella, Aurora, Snow White, Rapunzel, Merida, Marie, Goofy, Donald, Daisy, Mickey, Ariel, Aladdin & Jasmine, Winnie the Pooh & Tigger, Tinkerbell & Periwinkle, Princess Tiana & Naveen, and Gaston.  It was a very long day, but we took it as a challenge!  So, if you have the opportunity, take the time to meet the characters and interact with them.  They are a huge part of the magic in the Magic Kingdom! 

Living the Frugal Disney Dream

Sometimes Disney makes it far too easy for me to part with my hard earned cash!  There is so much merchandise and so many wonderful places to dine that it is very difficult to keep the money from parting ways with my wallet.  Since we now live so close to Disney World, we really have to control our spending with regard to eating out at restaurants and purchasing merchandise.  Some of the tips that we have learned since we moved here can also help you to save some much needed cash even if you are vacationing at Walt Disney World.

First, we really try to bring lunch and/or breakfast with us when we are in the parks for a long day.  We pack sandwiches and snacks.  Now, I know this is easier for us because we have a refrigerator in our home, but you could stash some snacks and some easy to tote finger food in your hotel refrigerator.  Many people bring snack food and even breakfast items with them on their trips.  You can save so much money if you are willing to trade one expensive meal for a sandwich or some well placed snacking throughout the day. If you are on vacation, you could splurge on a table service for dinner.  However, since we live here, we try to limit our table service meals due to the expense of Disney dining.  We definitely treat ourselves to a nice meal from time to time, but we realize now that there is no need to cram in seven table services in a week. 

Next, we always bring our own water to the parks.  If you purchase water, you will be paying at least $3.00 a bottle.  That is pretty expensive especially since you really need to stay hydrated during all of those hot days in central Florida.  In addition to bringing our own water, we have also gotten creative with what else we bring into the parks.  Since we don’t want to spend money on expensive coffee, I brew coffee before we leave home.  We either bring hot coffee, or we add ice depending on the temperature outside.  Again, we are trying to limit our temptations while we are visiting the parks!

Some of our more interesting cost cutting measures have been made possible by buying an insulated thermos that either keeps food hot or cold.  We really enjoy seeing Fantasmic, and in order to avoid the temptations of all of the tasty desserts that are offered, we have used our thermos to bring ice cream! Yes, we have brought and successfully kept ice cream cold while waiting for Fantasmic!  We have even made Mickey Mouse waffles at home and brought them to eat at Fantasmic, complete with a container of syrup for dipping. 

Not only can you save money on food, but you can also save money by being prepared for the extremes in Florida’s weather.  If you check the weather before you go to the parks, you will avoid buying a poncho or a sweatshirt. We always pack a small poncho or a light jacket depending on the weather forecast.  It might be 80 degrees during the day, but at night, it could go down to 40 degrees.  It definitely pays to plan ahead and be prepared.

It is so tempting to purchase every popcorn bucket, snack, souvenir, and other merchandise that Disney offers.  However, if we did that, we would quickly run out of money to spend.  Moving so close to Disney has definitely been a blessing, but it has also taught us how to avoid giving in to the temptation of buying just one Starbuck’s coffee or just one box of popcorn.  All of those delicious snacks add up over time, and they can definitely make more than a dent in my wallet. So, even if you don’t frequent the parks as much as we do, you can adapt some of these tips to help you save money while you are still enjoying your vacation.  Until next time, have a magical day, and keep moving forward!

It's hard to be frugal when you love Disney merch as much as I do!