Where to Stay at Disney?

There are lots of "where to stay" at Disney, both on property and in the surrounding areas.

My dad was a State Farm agent when I was growing up, and SF hosted a number of conventions at Disney.  The first was the year it opened and we got to go.  We stayed at the Contemporary Resort and loved riding the monorail to the Magic Kingdom (the only park at the time).

Since then I have stayed at Port Orleans, Caribbean Beach Resort, Pop Century Resort and RV camped.  All were wonderful and the RV camping was so quiet and peaceful!

There are lots of hotels and timeshare options in the areas surrounding the park.  We have been able to stay at timeshare condos which for us are great.  You can get a lot of folks into the condo (several families) and have multiple bedrooms, bathrooms, laundry facilities and a kitchen.  Until recently we had "bought" on of my sisters timeshare weeks but now we have our own and can utilize it.

Advantages of staying on property ~ you can park your car when you get there and not drive again till your vacation is over.  Your on property hotel includes your parking and all the Disney transportation system....monorails and buses. And at different times of the years, you can get extra hours in the park that are only for Disney guests.  Downside~this is usually a pricier option.  There are a variety of hotel choices on property but none are really a "value" resort anymore.

Advantages of staying off property ~ its cheaper, especially if you need more than one room to accommodate your family//friends.  You can have larger accomodations and a kitchen to help with meal costs.  Downside~ driving to the park and paying parking (but with the annual pass parking is included).

We love both options.  Since we now have a timeshare ~ we will be using it to the fullest.  Hopefully in the future, we can treat some grandboys to a magical adventure.

Next post is about Eating!  Something we all do everyday!

Disney Tickets

Last year I was cleaning out a drawer and found a neat bit of Disney History ~ I had one of the old coupon ticket books with some tickets still in it.  My tickets include an A, 2 D's and an E.  E tickets were highly sought after, so I don't know how we have one all these years later!  

But so much has changed~

Wading thru the options of Disney tickets is not as daunting as it sounds.  For Walt Disney World, a one day ticket gets you into one park for the day ~ either Magic Kingdom, Animal Kingdom, Hollywood Studios, or Epcot.  My opinion ~ if you only had one day, and you had children with you...go to Magic Kingdom.  Your children will be able to ride, see a parade or two, meet a character and have a magical day.

Ticket price breakdowns are 1. under 3 years old is free (all 3 of my original kids have been for free ~ Amy was the youngest, the week she turned a year old), 3-9 is the next price, then 10 and up.  I personally think there should be a fourth one for older folks who may not or will not ride the crazy stuff but no one has taken me up on this suggestion yet.

You can buy tickets for the length of your stay for each member of your party.  1-however many days.  You can add the option of park hopper, where you go to more than one park in a day.  You can add a water park option.  With each day over one added to your ticket, the per price day goes down.  And I believe Florida residents have a whole different price structure.

There are also different annual passes. The pass Greg and I bought is able to be used from the day we first used it, to 364 days later.  The year doesn't start counting down until you use it for the first time.  Ours is for all 4 parks, the memory maker photo pass, new magic bands, parking pass (now $22 per day) and includes a discount in select restaurants and shopping.  I am excited to see at the end of the year, how many days we actually used it and then see our cost per day (I am such a nerd that way).  

We also found out there is a price break when you renew your annual pass ~ I think this applies 60 days before your expiration date and 30 days afterwards.  The discount is 15%.  Which is a significant savings for 2 adults. AND there is an annual passholder gate at each park, you don't have to stand in the lines.  A detail we didn't know until our next to the last day.  

We had to order our magic bands and they came in the mail quickly.  These are already linked to our account.

And what is a magic band?  The magic band takes the place of the plastic, credit card sized, admission card to the parks.  You get in the gates by placing your magic band on the scanner and your finger for your finger print.  If you lose your band, no one else can use it for admission as its linked to your finger print.  Setting up a My Disney Experience account (there is an app for that), allows you to link all to your magic band ~ you can get fast passes for rides or shows, link a credit card if you are staying on property, link your photo pass for character shots, photographers on the streets or pictures during rides.  

I am just writing this for information for anyone who needs it.  We are in no way affiliated with Disney World or any travel agent.  Just sharing tips for trips to the Happiest Place on Earth!

Life is Good!

Its me again!

My recovery is almost complete.  The Lord has blessed me with most of my strength and endurance returned.  Greg and I even went to Disney a couple of weeks ago and I didn't have any real issues.  More on that later.

Will has been a big help getting the garden planted.  He did all the tilling and helped me plant.  We have squash, tomatoes, potatoes, green beans, cucumbers, corn, and sunflowers.  I have a couple of pots of marigolds and have divided my mint and chocolate mint into little pots as gifts.  The yard has been mowed a couple of times.  We have peaches and nectarines on their trees.  The apples don't seem to have done much.  My blueberry bushes (or booberry as Aiden calls them) are loaded.  And our muscadine vines are growing.

The weather here is GA has been so weird.  We were still using our fireplace into April some.  One day would be 80 and the next would be 50.  It looks like the warm weather is here to stay now.

Our newlyweds are doing great.  I love having them 15 minutes away.  They have been married for 6 1/2 months now!  Time flies.

The grandboys are all getting bigger.  Robert is almost 6, Thomas just turned 4, Aiden will be 4 in August, and Alvin will be 3 in September.  We don't have babies anymore!  I love their sweet hugs and kisses.  They love to get together and play.

Back to Disney,  we have been reminded a number of times thru the years, that each day together is a precious gift.  In Dec.  that hit us upside the head again.  (Back history, we both lost our first spouses thru death, my husband in 1996 and his wife in 2004.)  We've worked and saved for years, put kids thru college, had a major part in our 4 married kids weddings, etc.  We decided to indulge our Disney love and buy an annual pass.  We live 8 hours away, so we can easily do 4 or 5 days and get home.  When we went to Disney in April, it was my first time in 34 years with no kids.  It was fantastic.  We've told everyone we were going to do the old folks trip.  Walk, people watch, snack, watch shows, ride some rides, take it easy.  And that's what we did.  This is the first time I have come home, ready to go back again.  I could go tomorrow.  We are planning more trips in the near future.

We thought up a series of blog posts for "Disney for Seniors" or "Disney just the 2 of us" or something similar.  Stay tuned!