Disney World

** Check out ALL the details of our trip on WDW Prep School’s podcast with Shannon Albert here. **

Although our family travels to Florida have included a day or two at Disney in the past, this was our family’s first chance to spend a full week staying on-site!  This can easily be a very expensive trip, so we wanted to research ways to cut cost and make it affordable.  We were also excited to splurge in a few ways as well, since our family was celebrating hitting some big financial goals!  For all these details, you can hear our interview with Dave Ramsey here.

Details:

Our favorite money-saving tip from this trip was to rent DVC (Disney Vacation Club) points!  DVC is essentially Disney’s equivalent to a timeshare.  When owners don’t use their points, they have the option to rent them out to others.  Because of this, we were able to rent a week at Disney’s Polynesian Resort at a FRACTION of the cost of an average nightly stay.  You can find all the logistical details on WDW Prep School’s site here.  You can also go directly to the site we booked through to plug in your dates and find out pricing: DVCRequest.com.  We found that there were few downsides to booking this way, and several benefits!  When booking DVC points, parking and laundry at the resort are free and the DVC rooms at the Polynesian included an extra pull down bed and two bathrooms!

Cinderella’s Royal Table

Notes and Tips:

• One of the best decisions we made during our trip was choosing to rent a stroller from Kingdom Strollers even though our kids are older and don’t normally ride in a stroller.  It was so helpful for the long treks to transportation and gave them a change to rest while waiting for the parks to open, having a snack, etc.
• Our family is not huge fans of buffets in general.  You are constantly getting up and down with young kids, and it kind of defeats the purpose of taking a restful break during your park days.  Try these great character meal alternatives that serve food family style: Garden Grill at Epcot and Ohana at the Polynesian for breakfast!

Gear:

• Although it was a little bulky to carry around, our kids loved the Encyclopedia of Animated Characters as an alternative to an autograph book.  It includes loads of colorful pictures and fun information about most every character you will meet in Disney World.
• Spoiler alert, Disney World can be HOT!  Our kids loved these inexpensive spray fans to keep them cool through out the day.

Accommodations:
Disney’s Polynesian Resort

Extra Activities:
Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique
Magic Kingdom Firework Dessert Party
Jedi Training Academy

If you have questions or tips for traveling to Disney World with your family, let us know and comment below!