Tips about Disney Vacation Club, Epcot, Planning and Resorts
Boardwalk Villas - I have a money-saving tip for all of the BoardWalk hotel guests staying without cars. As DVC members we almost always stay at our home resort, the Boardwalk. We also use Magical Express and never bother to rent a car while there. (Gotta love that free Disney transportation!) Luckily there is a Hess station across the street from our resort entrance. On our first day there my husband and I will unpack one of our large suitcases and wheel it on over to that Hess station where we fill up on gallons of water, bottles of soda, orange juice and beer, plus some snacks and simple breakfast foods to stock our hotel fridge. We may look a little strange loading all that up into a suitcase and walking back to our hotel but we are able to stock up on drinks for a whole week at less than half the cost of the resort. - Erin
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Being a DVC member saves us loads of money especially with booking a 1- or 2-bedroom villa that has a full kitchen. We plan on having breakfast in the room almost every day. - Linda B.
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We are Disney Vacation Club members, Annual Passholders and have the Tables in Wonderland dining card... I go on AllEars.Net and look at the menus to help me get a feel of how much we will be spending on each meal -- don't forget to add on some drinks. Then I include my discounts and tip so I can estimate how much we will need per day for food. It is a lot of work to do this planning, but it helps us a lot and I will pretty much have it paid for before we leave. - Michelle G.
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Being a Disney Vacation Club member has allowed us to stay in a one- or two-bedroom villa when we visit. We plan our meals ahead of time and purchase groceries for our stay. We ALWAYS eat breakfast in our room and then plan lunches/dinners/snacks based on our itineraries. If we have a car for our trip, we shop at a discount retailer a short distance south of Walt Disney World. If we don't have a car we use a grocery delivery service. Even with the delivery surcharge, it's considerably cheaper than paying for all our meals on the property. - Donna Wisely
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I always book 'room-only' reservations. I find it's the best deal. This vacation I'm using my friend's Disney Vacation Club. I'm paying her $11 per point, which lets me stay somewhere (Animal Kingdom, Kidani Village) I never would have wanted to stay for the price. We're staying in a one-bedroom villa for $315 per night, no tax. That's better than a 40 percent room-only discount! We usually don't skimp on anything when we vacation so if we can save a buck on the big items like tickets and hotel we consider ourselves lucky. I also shop for airfare, from New Jersey well in advance. Three of us are flying from Trenton for a grand total of $353! Advanced planning is everything. - Mary Ann W.
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Did you know that the cost of booking a vacation with a Disney travel agent is the same as booking a vacation yourself directly through Disney? Sometimes it can even be cheaper, as the agent will watch for discounts to help you get the most value for your hard-earned dollar. - Melissa Weis
We travel in the fall or mid-January when rates are the lowest. If you request a Disney Vacation Club information packet, it lists the cheapest and most expensive times to travel. - Tammy W.
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Research! Utilize the excellent menu feature here on AllEars.Net. Know what the different restaurants or service counters offer so that you know they serve something both you and your kids like. With the costs of an entree, you definitely don't want your child to tell you they don't like what you ordered. Make a list of the places in each park that satisfy all of your needs. Then, if possible, actually make choices before you go. Stick with what you know works, especially for your kids. - Tom Galloway
If you are staying at Pop Century or Art of Animation, you can ride the other resort's bus from the park to the resort. The bus stops at the parks are next to each other (except AK) and it is a quick walk across Generation Gap bridge. My wife and I would take whichever bus arrived first instead of waiting. For example, we recently stayed at Pop Century (the '60s) and would sometimes ride the AOA bus if it came first, the Pop Century line was really long or if a scooter needed loaded. It only takes a couple minutes to walk from the AOA bus stop across the bridge to the '60s. - Mark
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All the way in the back of Morocco (in Epcot) across from the restaurant is an area where characters sometimes appear (especially during rain)... but late at night it's empty back there and there is a great backdrop for taking photos. There is a carpet and a wall painted to look like the city where Aladdin and Jasmine live. We spent a good 20 minutes back there with our Princess Jasmine fresh out of the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique before anyone else came in and got some great shots! - Cathy
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All the way in the back of Morocco (in Epcot) across from the restaurant is an area where characters sometimes appear (especially during rain)... but late at night it's empty back there and there is a great backdrop for taking photos. There is a carpet and a wall painted to look like the city where Aladdin and Jasmine live. We spent a good 20 minutes back there with our Princess Jasmine fresh out of the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique before anyone else came in and got some great shots! - Cathy
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We stayed at the Art of Animation Resort in the Little Mermaid rooms from April 21-28. I was a little apprehensive since I read so many posts about how far the walk to the building was! We stayed in building 9 (even got a free upgrade to a King bed for our anniversary), and we had no issue with the walk. Walking to the buses in the morning is easy, using the sidewalk on the outside of the buildings. This was especially convenient because they set up a breakfast cart by the Flippin' Fins pool every morning with grab-and-go items, so we didn't have to deal with the crowds at Landscape of Flavors. - Ginger
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