Magical Blogorail: Best Uses of Disney Dining Plan Snack Credits

Welcome to those of you joining me from A World View and those of you just hopping aboard. I am the 4th stop on our Magical Blogorail.

Today my Magical Blogorail Red buddies and I are discussing our favorite uses for Disney Dining Plan Snack Credits.

1. Food & Wine Festival or Flower & Garden Festival Marketplaces

Many of the food items available at these Epcot special events can be purchased with snack credits.  Just check the menu boards for the ubiquitous purple DDP logo.  This can be a great way to make the most of your snack credits as some of the festival foods can get pricey.  Make sure to schedule your table service meals so that you have some stomach space available.  We don't normally make any dining reservations on the same day that we would like to 'eat around the world.'

2. Bakeries, ice cream shops

Don't assume that you must use your credits at the various carts around property.  You can also pop into a bakery for a morning "snack" of pastry, enjoy one of the freshly made ice cream cookie sandwiches, or the oh-so-magical carrot cake cookies.  That said, one can never go wrong with a Mickey ice cream bar.

3. Treats to go

If you get to the end of your vacation and still have snack credits on the table, pick up a few of the prepackaged treats at your resort's gift shop to take home.  Extending the magic with some character shape cookies will bring smiles to both the kids and the vacation planner in your family.  Just check the tags in the store for the DDP logo.  (This same tip works for quick service credits.  If you have a credit left on your departure day, consider getting lunch to go.  Prepackaged, refrigerated sandwiches from resort food courts make a good lunch while you are killing time at the airport.)

Our travel party from Fall 2006

As Disney Vacation Club members, we don't get "free dining" however we did purchase the plan twice, once each in 2006 and 2007.  It was new at the time and really a bargain.  We got one table service meal per day with appetizer, entree, dessert and beverage with gratuity included.  The daily quick service meal was entree/combo, dessert and beverage.  One snack credit per day was a part of the plan. It was a convenient plan since there were extra friends or family traveling with us.  There was no squabbling over the check at dinner; my dad would give the server his Key to the World card and all was well.  Of course, Ridge and my husband tried to see how much they could "spend" at every meal.  I'd blame them that the dining plan is no longer a great deal.  While it was fun, the Disney Dining Plan does not match how we would eat if paying directly out of pocket and is no longer a good idea for us.  We prefer Tables in Wonderland.

Do you prefer to use one of the Disney Dining Plans or pay as you go? What is your favorite DDP snack option?  Please leave a comment below.

Thank you for joining me today. Your next stop on the Magical Blogorail Loop is My Dreams of Disney.
Here is the map of our Magical Blogorail should you happen to have to make a stop along the way and want to reboard:
1st Stop ~ Disney Donna Kay

2nd Stop ~ Colorado Mountain Mom

3rd Stop ~ A World View

4th Stop ~ Growing Up Disney

Final Stop ~ My Dreams Of Disney

Photo Flashback! Animal Kingdom Villas, a Disney Vacation Club Resort

I've posted several pictures taken at The Animal Kingdom previously, I wanted to share some made at the Animal Kingdom Lodge.  On our trip in November, 2012 we went to SANAA at Kidani Village at Disney's Animal Kingdom Lodge for lunch.  Several animals were out taking a stroll for lunch also and we took some wonderful pictures of the animals.  Hope you enjoy these. - DisneyDad

Five Photos: Festival of the Lion King

One of my favorite shows at Disney's Animal Kingdom is The Festival of the Lion King.  These pictures were taken in April 2012. --DisneyDad

Trip Prep: Four Weeks Out

My girls (soon to be 2 and 4) and I will be joining my parents in Walt Disney World in mid-May for a week's vacation.  They just booked the trip about two weeks ago and I accepted their invitation 10 days ago.  It's a short planning period but since we are frequent visitors, five weeks is plenty.  

Here's what I've done so far to get us ready:

• Booked flights (direct!)
• Started planning spreadsheet and reviewed Touring Plans and All Ears to choose parks
• Booked ADRs- Hollywood & Vine, Garden Grill and Crystal Palace (Dad reserved Le Cellier) 
• Started regular walks
• Practiced with stroller and kinder kords
• Pigtails every day (getting my little one accustomed to having her hair pulled up again)
• Started reviewing menus for counter service
• Ordered and tested stroller bag for gate check
• Reviewed old Minnie Moms articles 
• Started checking clothes to see what we need and what may still fit from last summer
• Reviewed menus from Flower and Garden marketplaces to choose 'must dos'
• Started practicing "Disney foods" (uncrustables, applesauce cups, etc) to see what the toddler will/won't eat and check the mess level

Yes, the big one is supposed to ride in the back of this stroller, but the little one finds it so much fun.

Practicing to be 'watch buddies.'

 (Kinderkords are great but not in production. I was given prototypes a few years ago and love them.)

Disney's Fairy Tale Weddings: Photos You Just Can't Take Anywhere Else

Today Andy and I are celebrating our eighth wedding anniversary.  Our Disney Fairy Tale Wedding was truly a magical experience.  One of the things I loved as a Disney kid was all of the wedding photos that you just can't take anywhere else.  Let's take a look at a few of those special images.   ~Amy

If you are going to be photobombed, the monorail is pretty high on the fun scale.

LOVE THIS! They told us the monorail was required to stop if they saw a wedding couple.  And purple is my favorite color! 

How "Grand" is this?!? (And we went with a limo over Cinderella's Coach $$$.  I ran the marathon the day before our wedding planning session and decided the coach just didn't go far enough for me.)

Cinderella Castle.  Need I say more?

Another great view of Cinderella Castle.  The wedding pavilion is perfectly positioned for beautiful backdrops.

Majordomo = Amazing  Be sure to check out the full post on him and the awesome prank pulled on our brothers.

Our Disney wedding cake was beautiful and delicious.  Don't miss the entire story.

Cinderella slipper dessert. Wow.

Trip Planning with My Disney Experience

My Disney Experience - Web Version

Not every iPhone app or website is a winner.  But Disney has a winner in the making with its "My Disney Experience".

If you haven't seen it, My Disney Experience is a combination of a website and an app that allows you to plan your Walt Disney World vacation (as of today, My Disney Experience does not appear as a selection on the Disneyland web site and the app only shows WDW).  Planning is not limited to one person.  You can link others in your vacation party so all can plan and all plans show in the website and app for those you want to share with.  The website and app also stores the confirmation numbers for all your reservations.

My Disney Experience app on my iPhone

For the trip mom and I are sharing with Amy, Tink and Minnie, I made our reservations on the DVC Members site, www.dvcmembers.com.  As I have logins for the members site as well as www.disneyworld.com when I logged in to look at My Disney Experience my DVC reservation was there.  On the My Disney Experience website, I added all the members of the party and had it to send Amy an email to join in on the planning.

The My Disney Experience web and app work and look a little different, but both show you the same information.  The web version shows you every day of your stay and any reservations you have for each day on one screen.  On the iPhone app, it automatically shows you "today", and you use a calendar to find the dates of your stay and choose each one individually.  Both show you your reservations, notes and any "things to do" you have placed on your calendar.

I made reservations for lunch at Le Cellier Steakhouse at the Canadian pavilion at EPCOT.  Those reservations linked in.  The reservation shows not only the reservation but each person's name along with an  avitar of your choosing for each person.  You can also set reminders for events or attractions you want to see and they show on your day also.  So if you need a reminder of what time the "3 o'clock parade" is, you can add it.  For notes, I added Amy's flight numbers and arrival and departure times so I don't have to ask any more.   Amy has made some reservations and as soon as they are made, they are available on our shared My Disney Experience vacation planner, so we can see all reservations for our trip.

MDE park guides

MDE activities

Among other things, you can see park maps, resorts, attractions, restaurants along with menus as well as book your dining through the app or of course on the web.

I know My Disney Experience does more than just help you plan your trip.  Since we are only planning process for our trip, that is all I'm reviewing here.  Later Growing Up Disney will review the in-Park functions when we are in the park.

 If you are THE planner for your trips, I think it's worth downloading the app and logging into My Disney Experience on the web.  It seems to be a good dashboard view of your trip and all the planning you have done for you time at Walt Disney World.

--DisneyDad

Photo Flashback! The Letter 'J'

We are participating in the hop at Focused on the Magic again and today's theme is 'J.'  I had quite a bit of fun with this.  Hope you enJoy!

JOY

JEWELS

JONES

JUNGLE CRUISE

JINGLE BELLS

JUMPING

JOURNEY

JEWELRY

JUNK

JAMMIN'

JOKES

Sneaking in those pre-Disney Training Walks

For those of us who aren't currently in RunDisney shape, hitting the road for exercise before a Disney vacation is still very important.

We are going to Walt Disney World in five weeks for the Flower and Garden Festival. The weather here is gorgeous today and preschool started back so I had no excuse not to get in a walk.

If you are having trouble fitting in the pre-Disney miles that will make your vacation easier, try my trick. I put my younger daughter in the jogging stroller when we arrive at preschool. After we get Tink to class, Minnie and I walk the parking lots of the church/school before getting in the van.

Consider taking a walk while you are somewhere you have to be anyway. That way there is no extra travel time. Just keep some good shoes in your car and take a few laps before you head off to your next destination.

Happy Birthday DisneyDad!

Happy birthday, Dad! 

I'm proud to call you mine. Thank you for being a great father and grandfather. I hope you have a terrific day! ~Amy

I've been looking for an excuse to post these photos for a while. The ones with Mom in the red sweater are from their 25th Anniversary in December of 1998. They celebrated with dinner at Cinderella's Royal Table. I worked with the manager to have some special surprises brought to Mom on Dad's behalf with dessert. The last shot is from May 1998 and speaks for itself.  Aren't they cute?!? (Forgive my rotten camerawork and scanned photos.)

And congratulations on twenty years as a Disney Vacation Club Member!

Photo Flashback! Spring is Here

This week Deb at Focused on the Magic suggested we post our April calendar shot.  Thinking of April at Walt Disney World makes me think of A) Tink's first birthday party and B) the Flower and Garden Festival. I decided to share these shots of princess topiaries from the 2010 Festival, which happened to be our trip for Tink's first birthday.  

Sanity Saver: Toy Rotation

Sometime last year, I had enough of my daughters' toys. I mean, you can only pick up little pieces of plastic so many times before you lose it. It was time to get organized.

Minnie's bedroom is where we keep most of the toys and it has two narrow closets. The one in the corner is for more long term storage and our book rotation. In the easier to access one, I have a toy rotation system that helps keep our house a bit less cluttered and means clean up time is much quicker.

The girls' favorite toys, such as the princess castle and dress up supplies, stay out all the time. The rest has been divided into 6 groups. 5 bins are stored in the closet and the other set is out for play. Even if they drag it all out, the smaller quantity of toys at any one time keeps me calmer since I know it won't be a huge project to put away.

It works best when I swap out for a new bin every week but I don't always get around to it. The girls love getting "new" toys and it is fun for me to see the new ways they play with things they haven't seen in a while.

We have a bunch of Fisher-Price sets and those are one set per bin. I also try to put together toys with a similar theme, for instance, most of the instruments are in one box.

If you're crafty, you could label the bins but I don't. When I put away this week's toys, the bin goes to the bottom of the stack. Without labels, I can dump them all out and re-sort after a birthday or Christmas.

When I'm on my game, I'll pull out toys they've outgrown while I'm switching them out, but that doesn't always happen either.

In the top of the closet, I have books I'm saving for when the girls are older and toys require some sort of supervision or parental help. The Potato Heads are up there because I don't want those small pieces all over the house. I get that box out when I need a little more time to finish up dinner and the girls will play nearby but not right underfoot while I'm cooking.

Hope this idea helps you and if you already do this, I'd love to hear your tips to make it work even better!
-Amy