Saving at Disney: Pin Trading

One thing my oldest son enjoyed doing when he was younger was buying and trading Disney pins with cast members.  All cast members wear a lanyard filled with various Disney pins.  If you ask to trade with them, they have to do so (as long as your pin is a Disney pin and in good condition.  See rules here).  You may also luck up and find another park guest to trade pins with you!  But, buying pins can get expensive in the parks.  One way to enjoy pin trading without spending a lot of money is to buy Disney pins off Ebay prior to your vacation.  That way you aren't spending so much once you get to Disney.  We have found a great assortment of pins on Ebay where they cost as little as 50 cents per pin!  Even if we don't like what we get, we know we can trade them for ones we like once we arrive at Walt Disney World!

Read about Official Disney Pin Trading here!

You can also read about Disney Pin Trading Etiquette here.

image from disney.go.com

Magical Blogorail Blue: Disney in the Rain

Welcome to those of you joining me from Cooking with Mickey and those of you just hopping aboard. I am the final stop on our Magical Blogorail.

There are so many fun things to do at Disney when it rains.  Our family typically puts on our Disney Ponchos (and yes, I prefer to have the REAL thing rather than carry our own cheap ones from home- even though I suggest that in my blog to save money!) and presses on in the parks doing what we can.  We have been known to dance around, splash in puddles and ride rides.  But, we usually try to find the indoor attractions to enjoy while the rain falls.  It can be miserable being soaking wet when the rain stops!  But, there are several other options for those of you who don't want to get soaked or wear a fashionable rain poncho.

1) Find a restaurant or shop in the park and hang out until the rain stops.  All of the parks have great restaurants where you can grab a snack, small meal or drink and hang out.  There are also multiple shops in all the parks to keep you and your family occupied while the rain falls.  MouseGears at Epcot and the shops on Main Street in the Magic Kingdom are my favorites.

2) Head back to the resort for a nap.  This is always a good option if you have small children or if it's the end of your vacation and you could use some rejuvenation!  The rain showers at Walt Disney World tend to be short, so heading back to the resort to catch some zzzz's will fill that time nicely.

3) Head back to the resort to swim (unless it's lightening, then you need to stay clear of the pool).  Most people stay away from the pools when it's raining, but as long as there is no lightening, the pools are usually empty during rain.  What a fun way to have the pool all to yourself!

4) Go to Downtown Disney and shop, eat, watch a movie, visit DisneyQuest or go bowling.  Downtown Disney at WDW has so many options for families.  There are several sit down and counter service restaurants to choose from.  They now offer bowling at Splitsville- a 50,000 square foot facility with bowling, billiards, shopping, food and more and a movie at AMC- a 24 screen theatre complete with food and snacks.

5) Hop on the monorail and ride continuously until the rain stops- or hop off at the Monorail Resorts, look around and visit the lounge.  The Contemporary, Polynesian and Grand Floridian are all three deluxe resorts where I often dream of staying on a vacation!  I love visiting these resorts, looking at the food options and gift shops.  Each resort is uniquely themed and offers it's own magical touches.  During the rain is a great time to visit these resorts and stay dry!

What do you like to do at Disney during the rain?

Thank you for joining Magical Blogorail Blue this month. We will be back Friday, June 14 with an all new theme. Keep checking in with our blogs in between loops to keep up to date with our Disney info, photos and stories. If you are looking for more Disney magic, you can make your way over to The Magical Blogorail website to see all our members and their blogs, as well as all our previous loops.

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 ~  Pursuing the Magic

2nd Stop ~ Disney Babies Blog

3rd Stop ~ Cooking with Mickey

Final Stop ~ A Disney Mom's Thoughts

Wordless Wednesday: The Letter K

Kermit

Kodak Picture Spot

Kusafiri Bakery

Tiggerific Tuesday Trivia: CBS at Disneyland

On this date in 1992, I was exactly 1 week away from my high school graduation!

But more importantly, did you know on May 14, 1992, CBS This Morning had weatherman, Mark McEwen live at Disneyland.  He would talk about various Disneyland attractions, such as Fantasmic!, and then deliver the weather forecast.  Disney's Dapper Dans opened the segment of the show by entering on a fire truck singing "Oh, What a Beautiful Morning" and playing the shaker chimes.  Then Donald Duck, Roger Rabbit and Pluto came in to greet the viewers.

You can see some photos and listen to the broadcast here.

WDW Must Have Monday: Disney Trivia, Games and More for Your iPhone

There are so many apps for your iPhone these days.  I honestly think you could find an app for anything and each day new apps are being released!  My phone is filled with various apps related to Disney.  Last week I shared some of my favorites for planning a trip to WDW.  Today I'll share some of my favorites along with my 4 year old son's favorites.  Please comment with your favorite Disney games, tips, trivia, etc apps.  I'm always looking for new ones! 

My favorites:

WDW Trivia- This is a great app for Disney fans from Orlando Attractions Magazine.  You can choose to play Magic Mode, Time Trial or Free Play.  With Magic Mode, you are asked trivia questions about the WDW resort until you get one wrong- then the game is over.  Time Trial means you have 90 seconds to answer as many as possible.  When you play Free Play, you can start and stop the questions when you feel like doing so.

Mouse Trivia  I have reviewed this app before and love it!  You can choose timed or free play to answer over 1,300 questions about Disney movies, songs, characters, parks and more.  YOu can even choose which categories you want featured in your game.

Where in WDW? This app shows you a photo of a location in the Magic Kingdom at WDW. First you choose the land, then the attraction or restaurant.  The faster you answer, the more points you earn.  When you get three strikes, your game is over. 

WDW Daily Tips- I reviewed this app in the past too.  This is a great app to help you plan your vacation.  You will get daily tips sent to your phone that can help you prepare.  Or you can search past tips in the following categories: General, Attractions, Restaurants, Shows, Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Hollywood Studios, Animal Kingdom, Downtown Disney, Water Parks, Trivia, Did you know and Tips.  

Disneyland Secrets-  I have not been able to use this tip "live" before, but I think it would be a great addition to traveling to Disneyland.  You can see over 110 secrets of the Disneyland Park organized by lands.  When you approach a new land inside the park, open your app and read about the different secrets!  I'd love to see this for WDW!

Main Street Windows- Similar to the Disneyland Secrets, this app will walk you through the windows on Main Street at Walt Disney World.  There are three different tours on this app- with photos, without photos and a search game.  I can't wait to use this on our next WDW trip to learn more about the windows on Main Street!

My 4 year old's favorites:

Disney Jr Appisodes- This is the newest to our app collection.  My son loves interacting with the different Disney Jr episodes on my phone.  He will be yelling at the phone when Mickey tells him to do something to help with the "appisode!"  He continuously asks me to give my phone more money so we can download new appisodes to play.

Jake's Pirate School- What 4 year old boy doesn't love Jake and the Never Land Pirates?  This app has great animation and music to help you learn to be a pirate- sail a pirate boat, take band lessons, learn to fly like a fairy, and learn to use a spyglass!  Earn badges to complete your pirate school.

Watch Disney Jr.- Exactly what it sounds like- watch your favorite Disney Jr cartoons.  This is only used when we have wifi!  You can watch Sofia the First, Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, Octonauts, & Little Einsteins.

Fix-It Felix Jr!- This is a fun game exactly like the video game on Wreck It Ralph.  My son and I both like this one.  It takes me back to my Atari 2600 days.  :)

Toy Story Memory Game  This is a great memory game for my little one.  He loves to play the timed challenge.  You can choose easy, medium or hard and timed or free play. 

Disney Story   This is a new app I just learned about this weekend called Disney Story.  I have it downloaded, but haven't actually played with it much.  It provides you with a place to tell your story through pictures and videos on your phone.  This would be great to use after your WDW vacations.  It will group your photos in your iPhone into categories based on when and where the photos were taken, or you can create you own story board.  Once you're finished you can email or post to facebook your story.

ESPN Score Center  Some might think this is a stretch, but Disney does own EPSN now!  I love my ESPN app to help me keep up with the scores and news of my favorite college and professional sports teams!

Saving at Disney: Bring it from Home

Let's be honest.  Disney can suck money out of your pocket without you even realizing it!  Especially if you have kids who beg for every snack, toy, shirt, pin and more at each turn.  Here are a few ways our family has saved some money while at Walt Disney World.

Plan on bringing the following with you from home:

• Medicines (prescriptions and over the counter), even if you aren't sick.  You can buy OTC meds at the gift shops in the hotels, but it will cost you a fortune.  If you do have your own car or rental car, do you really want to spend your time on vacation finding the closest drug store or Wal Mart just to save some money?  Just pack it and bring it with you.  It's much better to have it and not need it, than need it and not have it.
• Sunscreen.  Again, you can buy this in the parks and at the hotels, but why spend a lot of money when chances are you already have this at home - or can buy it much cheaper at home.  If you are buying, consider buying the travel size tube or stick so you can easily carry it into the parks to reapply.  The florida sun is brutal!
• Bugspray.  This also falls into the same category as sunscreen.  The mosquitos can be harsh in the swampy, humid, Florida heat.  Bring it from home and consider a travel size of this too!
• Water bottles.  You can bring a case of water from home to carry into the parks each day or you can bring an empty water bottle and have it refilled for free at counter service restaurants.  You will get hot and you will want water while at Walt Disney World.  Who really wants to spend $2 on a bottle of water each time you get thirsty?  If you are flying and don't want to pack a lot of bottles of water, consider using Garden Grocer and have them deliver water and snacks to your room!

• Snacks.  While it is fun to get snacks at Walt Disney World shaped like your favorite characters, these can add up and cost a lot of money.  Consider buying Disney themed snacks ahead of time and bring them into the parks with you.  If you keep your eyes peeled, there are a ton of Disney snacks at the grocery stores that can be kept in a backpack.  You can also make your own snacks if you are a creative mom or dad!

  

  image from amazon.com

• Lunches.  This is an easy way to save money!  Bring items to have a picnic lunch in the parks.  There are so many off the beaten path places to have a nice lunch.  We bring 2 slices of bread in a Disney themed sandwich container for each person.  We also bring Jif to go peanut butter cups and squeeze jelly packets from fast food places.  Don't forget to pack a plastic knife or spoon to spread it all on the bread!  You can also get Starkist tuna kits complete with mayo and relish.  Throw in some chips (Pringles work well because they don't get squished in their cylinder container), fruit (fresh, dried or in cups), and little Debbies and you're set! You can also use silicone cupcake liners to put into tupperware type containers to separate snacks and keep them from getting squished in your bag.  

So, there you go.  Ways our family saves a little bit of money on our Disney vacations!  Next week I'll share another bit on saving AT Disney!

What do you do to save money while at WDW?

Wordless Wednesday: Resorts and Relaxation