Walt Disney Wednesday’s (Let’s Reserve Your Memories)

So you think you’ve decided where you’re going to stay and what you’re going to do? Than let’s reserve your vacation! Is it really that easy? I don’t have the thousands of dollars yet! It’s ok. You don’t have to pay for your entire vacation up front when you plan directly through Disney. We simply put down a $200 deposit months before we’re going just to insure our desired dates. We started late and basically just threw together our vacation, but you can learn from our mistakes and benefit from our advice. Because like most of you, we went into planning our vacation blind and just wanting to go to Disney. Let’s start with understanding the deposit and looking at your ‘payment window’.

Everyone’s misconception is that you NEED to pay for your vacation all at once up front. Like every other vacation this is true. But with a Magical Disney Vacation they allow you to begin your journey by reserving your dates first. You MUST attach a deposit to your reservation, but this doesn’t put you into one of those strict monthly payment plans like any other sales operation where they hunt you down and threaten to cancel your package. Luckily for you and your budget, Mickey only asks that you finalize your last payment and pay for your entire package four (4) weeks before you’re scheduled check in whether it be months in advance or a year in advance. Think of it like “layaway”. This is something I wasn’t aware of when we started looking into our vacation and was shockingly amazed when our agent filled me in.

The last ‘reservation’ tip I want to share here would have to be dining. Whether you have a dining plan or not, if you have the available budget to create some additional memories, then meal reservations with characters is GREAT! What if you don’t have kids? There’s so many beautiful restaurants with great food and a wonderful atmosphere. Whether you’d like to dine with Cinderella or overlooking the Savannah in Animal Kingdom, lock those reservations down immediately! It cost nothing to reserve a table; unless you cancel last-minute then you must pay a fee. For the most part we nailed all our dates down, but there’s additional dining experiences we want like the Cinderella Royal Table. It’s such a tough reservation to get, but we’ve got available meals in our meal plan that we can play ‘chess’ with if a slot becomes available. Unfortunately for that, some of the popular dinning reservations fill up fast and you have to be on the ball. Don’t be fooled by the dinner time to experience character dining. Yes it’d be nice to sit down and eat dinner with them, but your family would appreciate it just as much as if it were a breakfast or lunch. It’s best to be mindful of the open opportunities before they’re gone! Dining experiences like Cinderella’s Round Table, Akershu’s Royal Banquet Hall or Chef Mickey are once in a Disney moment lifetime. It’d be a waste to let these magical moments slip by if you have the opportunity whether you’re a child or a grown up.

The key points are understanding the crucial aspect of convenience in each of your reservations. Whether it be convenience of your time or convenience of your budget. Disney’s all ‘ears’ when it comes to listening to your family’s financial position. So it doesn’t matter if you’re planning for this summer, next summer or anywhere in between. I promise you by just putting down a deposit on your vacation, you’ll find that making your way to Disney is easier than you think. Everyone’s ready to join in on the magic. Sometimes we just need the directions on how to get there. Book your vacation and begin reserving your memories today!

Also, make sure to catch up on all our latest Walt Disney Wednesday posts:

4 – Walt Disney Wednesday’s (Dining)

3 – Walt Disney Wednesday’s (Park)

2 – Walt Disney Wednesday (Resorts)

1 – Walt Disney Wednesday (Planning Our Family Vacation)/