With Christmas Day, and New Years both falling on our regular blog post days, there might be a delay! Don't worry, Disney Magic Mommy isn't going anyway, and the plans for 2019 (and a trip "Home") are well under works! 

We are wishing you, and your loved ones a Happy, Healthy, and Wonderful rest of 2018. ​

New year, new Disney Dining Plan!! There have been a few changes, and it’s up to YOU to decide if the Disney Dining Plan is still the best for your family or not.

The price has gone up compared to in 2018, however the price only went up for children's dining plans! Could this be because of the dramatic price hikes for beverages and snacks, this past fall? Keep reading to see the new prices! 

Disney Dining Plans can be a little bit confusing if you've never used one before.  If used wisely, the Dining Plans are a fantastic way to save a little or a lot on your trip, depending on what you eat or how much you drink, letting you add even more magic to your vacation!

Here's a basic overview about the Disney Dining Plan for 2019 to help you decide if the plan is right for you.

Disney World offers three dining plans for guests staying on property. The Quick Service Dining Plan, the Dining Plan, and the Deluxe Dining Plan. Each plan comes with a refillable souvenir mug that can be used at any resort during the length of your stay.​ Each restaurant will have a different theme, so it's often fun to try a new place each time. 


The Quick Service Dining Plan is our favorite right now since we have small kids who don't want to sit still at a sit down restaurant for very long. This plan includes 2 meals per day, consisting of an entree and it's included side(s) (think half chicken, green beans and mashed potatoes, or sandwich and fries) and new in 2018, those under the age of 21 can choose to have soda, tea or coffee, a milkshake, smoothie or other specialty non alcoholic beverage. Those over the age of 21 with valid ID can choose to have a beer, cider, mixed drink or wine if available. This plan also includes 2 snack credits which can be used on a variety of things from soups or salads, drinks, desserts or packaged snacks. My favorite thing to use a snack credit on are the themed cupcakes. Gigantic works of art and delicious! We have never felt like we've sacrificed food choices with this plan. Quick Service doesn't mean you are stuck with just burgers and fries. There are yummy salads, seafood, fajitas, and so much more. Mr. Disney Magic loves going to Animal Kingdom and having lunch at Flame Tree BBQ so he can order the Ribs, chicken and pulled pork plate that includes baked beans, coleslaw and jalapeno cornbread. With Quick Service meals, no gratuities are charged and you do not need reservations.


The Dining Plan is the standard meal plan with Disney World and it includes 1 Quick Service meal, 1 Table Service meal and 2 snacks. You get everything as above with the Quick Service plan, but the Table Service meal can be a buffet or a sit down restaurant, and includes a dessert. This is a popular plan because it's the best of both worlds. You can have a quick lunch if you want and a leisurely dinner to unwind after a day at the Parks. There are a few Table Service restaurants that even offer special seating for nighttime shows, or Character Meals including breakfasts, however some of those might require the use of two meal credits. Gratuity will be added on additionally for Table Service restaurants just like if you went to a sit down restaurant at home. Reservations are usually required, and may be reserved up to 180 days before your trip.


The Deluxe Dining Plan is the most expensive plan because you get a lot more. This plan includes 3 meals, your choice of Quick Service or Table Service. If you choose the Table Service, in addition to the above entitlements, you also get to choose an appetizer. Gratuity will be added on additionally for Table Service restaurants just like if you went to a sit down restaurant at home. Reservations are usually required, and may be reserved up to 180 days before your trip.


The prices for the 2019 Disney Dining Plans are as follows:


Quick Service -  Per night            Ages 10 and up $52.50                Ages 9 and under $23.78 


Dining Plan – Per night                 Ages 10 and up $75.49               Ages 9 and under $27.98


Deluxe Dining Plan – Per night     Ages 10 and up $116.25           Ages 9 and under $43.49



There are some legitimate reasons as to why, or why not this plan might be good for you. If you love the idea of having all meals paid for in advance and if you like to have Table Service meals and don't mind planning in advance this plan may be perfect for you. If you just like to snack in the park, or want to bring in part of your own food and just eat one meal in the park, you might not get as much benefit from this. 

An incredibly easy way to see if you will come out ahead or not if you buy this plan is to use this fabulous dining plan calculator. DisTripPlanner.com has put a lot of work into making your decision as easy as can be. Just make sure that you do add in the refillable mug in step 2, in order to get the most accurate result. Just click here to see the calculator. 

A few things to remember.

• Obviously, if you have the deluxe Dining plan, to get the best bang for your buck you are going to want to eat at all Table service restaurants. You are also going to want to make sure that you use up all of your dining credits (as in, no skipping meals because you aren’t hungry) or else you'll be paying for something that you didn't get.

 

• All children 9 and under must choose off of the kid's menu for meals, unless at a place where there is no kids menu.

 

• Gratuity will be added on for Table Service restaurants.

 

• Reservations are usually required, (and are pretty much mandatory for the most popular restaurants) and may be reserved up to 180 days before your trip.

 

• All sit down restaurants require a deposit of $10 per person in case you don't show up.

 

• It's a good idea to browse the menus ahead of time to determine which plan is right for you, and to also save precious park time once you actually arrive! You can see all of the menus and learn which places are a Quick Service or a Table Service by clinking this link here and going to Disney.

 

• You can read all of the details for each of the Dining Plans on Disney's site, by clicking here

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• Your meals are not limited just to the Parks. Your resort and also Disney Springs (Formerly Downtown Disney) all have restaurants and places to use snack credits. You'll even be able to find specialty items to use snack credits on in shops or bakeries.

 

• Those with large appetites or interested in having a meal with a character would benefit from booking table service for buffets, or character dining. Some restaurants even include VIP seating for nighttime shows. 

 

• When using a snack credit, remember to specify that you want to use a snack credit, otherwise it might be rung up as a regular purchase. (See Shana's comment below) If you have any questions as to if something is, or isn't a snack credit, just ask, and the Cast Member will be able to tell you, even before the purchase is rung up. 

 

• Remaining meal and snack entitlements will always appear at the bottom of your receipt, so hang on to those, or at least your most recent one so that you make sure to use all of your credits before your trip is over. The night before your departure, or the day of, stop by the gift shop to use those last few snack credits so nothing gets wasted. 

• Everyone staying in the Resort room must be on the plan. Meaning, you can't get the plan for just two members of your four person family. 

• Some restaurants take two credits, like Be Our Guest, at dinner. Breakfast and lunch are still quick service, so one credit each. 

Want to read more?


Click here for tips and tricks to maximize your Disney Dining plan credits

Click here to read about bringing your own food in at Disney

Click here to read about how to save HUNDREDS in just a few minutes at Disney

​Ahh! Tis the season! The bath set and gift set season! They are everywhere, and this year, there's a lot of fun Disney stuff that would be perfect to give as is, or, take out of the packaging and fill a stocking, or make a fun gift basket! Here are some of our favorites! Everything here is at Walmart. It's not just kid stuff either! 

First up... these  nail polishes you saw up top. I won't lie...I want these just for the bottles! They look like skirts! And $10 for all 18 of these? WOW! Give them all at once, or split between people! 

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It's hard to beat $5 for 4 chapsticks, and a cute little box to put them in! 

A younger version, for little girls who want "lipstick" 

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Disney "spa day" anyone? 
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Lip gloss for the tween, or the adult who wants a little more Disney in her purse! 

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When bathtime is this fun, maybe they won't argue about it?
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Fun in or out of the tub! 
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There are a lot more things, and you can see, the prices are great!! Are you hoping for a little Disney Magic in your stocking this year? I know I am!! 

With a growing number of families having conflicting work schedules and everything going up, but paychecks, vacation time is even more precious than before.


If you fly or take a train to get to your trip, this isn't really going to apply to you, but if you drive, keep reading! Please!


When going a distance of more than a few hours, there are surprisingly large numbers of people who leave in the middle of the night, or, drive through the night to make the most of their trip. The reasoning for many is less traffic, kids sleep through, and you don't waste any precious time. If you are one of those people that do that, or if you are considering doing that, I would urge you to be careful, or even reconsider.


The National Safety Council has some alarming statistics! Did you know that most of the crashes that occur from midnight to 4am are from fatigue? And being short just two hours of sleep has the same effect on your driving as having three beers would!


If you really feel like there is no other way to travel, then please follow these tips!

• Don't drive if you've been awake for 16 hours or more
  
• Stop every two hours to rest
  
• Pull over and take a nap if you're drowsy
  
• Trade off with another, ALERT driver
  
• Don’t drive faster to try and arrive sooner
  
• Listen to something engaging on the radio
  

Above all else, always wear your seatbelt, and PULL OVER if you start to doze off! Don’t risk your life, those in the car with you, or others on the road. You'll arrive refreshed, and energized, ready to start your day. 

I've seen some cute advent calendars in the stores, I'll bet you have too! The problem for me, is either we don't want cheapy tasting chocolates, or little Tsum tsums! We want something we love!! PINS!! 

The best part of an advent calendar is opening a door, and then the anticipation of what's inside, right? So while YOU don't have to fill your advent with pins, I'll bet there's something you, or the person you are making the advent for does love! Stickers? Coins? Better tasting chocolates? A joke or riddle? 

You can be totally creative, and make an awesome advent calendar with most anything you have laying around, or, you can dust off your advent box (thank's dad!) that you might have gotten a few years back when they were so popular! 

​Day one, ohhhhh a slipper, from Ariel! 
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Since we are planning to go "home" this summer and spend a wonderful week at Disney, we are going to need to start collecting pins! I forsee the Easter Eggs being loaded...! And this is just another run way to start collecting! 

What will be inside of your advent calendar?