Posts from — February 2010

OVERVIEW: DISNEY’S MAGIC EXPRESS AT WALT DISNEY WORLD

(This page is one of a new series explicating Walt Disney World lingo, abbreviations, and FAQ for first time family visitors to Walt Disney World.)

Note: Disney’s Magical Express service will end at the end of 2021. No replacement or intent to replace it has been announced.

Disney’s Magical Express is usually described as one program, but it is actually two, plus it shares in a third:

1.  Free bus transport between Orlando International Airport and your Walt Disney World resort hotel, both ways (you can schedule it for one way trips as well, if more convenient for you) and

2.  If you ride the bus, you can also get free transfer of your baggage, if you checked it, from your arriving plane to your hotel room (that is, you do not need to claim it at Orlando baggage claim, or schlep it around).

Your carry-ons will also be transported for free, but you need to get them from the plane to the bus, and from the bus to your room

3. A separate, but related, program that is available to all Walt Disney World resort hotel guests, whether or not they are using Disney’s Magical Express, is free resort airline check in services for domestic flights at the hotel

• Using this service, you can check your bags and get your boarding pass before your return to Orlando International Airport—whether on Disney’s Magical Express or through other means.
• Only certain airlines participate in this separate resort check in program (you can use ANY airline flight that lands at or departs from Orlando International Airport–MCO–for the Magical Express program.) See this page for more on airlines that participate in the separate resort check in program.

These services are available only to guests staying at Walt Disney Word owned and operated hotels.  See this for which they are.

Disney’s Magical Express is not available, therefore, at Shades of Green, the Swan, the Dolphin, or the hotels of the Disney Springs Resort Area–or any off-site hotel.

To use the Disney Magical Express between the Orlando International Airport and your hotel, you need to sign up in advance.  You can do this over the web or at 407-939-7675. You can sign up in advance to use it for your return to the airport, or sign up from the resort itself.

These programs save money and reduce complexity.

MORE DETAIL ON DISNEY’S MAGIC EXPRESS AT WALT DISNEY WORLD

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This is part of The Comfortable Guide to Walt Disney World

OVERVIEW: THE COMFORTABLE GUIDE TO HOW LONG TO STAY AT WALT DISNEY WORLD

I have noted elsewhere in the instructions for typical families visiting Walt Disney World for the first, and perhaps only, time, that they should plan to be there for 8 nights and 9 days to see all of its best, while also building in sufficient time to relax and rest.

These instructions are designed for typical first time family visitors who are not sure whether or not they will ever return.

This page addresses how long to stay at Walt Disney World for a subset of first time visitors: those seeking the most comfortable visit.

It is part of a series about the most comfortable way to visit Walt Disney World.  Its companion series is about the most inexpensive way to visit Walt Disney World,

I am publishing both series at the same time to help those who are looking for bargains and deals on some things, so that they can spend more on others!!  Links to everything in these two series are at the bottom of the page.

MORE ON THE COMFORTABLE GUIDE TO HOW LONG TO STAY AT WALT DISNEY WORLD

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Because of changes to Walt Disney’s World’s summer Fantasmic schedule, the old seven-night Easter/Summer itinerary no longer works for summer dates.

Because it still works fine for Easter, it has been renamed the Seven Night Easter Itinerary. (Click here to see it.) 

A new seven-night summer itinerary has been published.  You can find it here.

Any problems or concerns?  Use the comment form below to contact me, or email me at [email protected].

SEVEN NIGHT WALT DISNEY WORLD SUMMER ITINERARY

This itinerary is based on the Summer Itinerary, but is one night shorter. [Read more →]

SUMMARY: SHADES OF GREEN RESORT

My family has made a number of trips to Shades of Green.

We visited most recently last month, in a trip sponsored as always by my father (retired career Navy) that included my test niecelets—that’s them in the photo.

Based on these visits, Shades of Green is a wonderful choice for eligible returning visitors to Walt Disney World.

However, for first time family visitors, it is not the best choice. 

It does not participate in key programs that Disney owned and operated resorts offer, especially the Disney Dining Plan and Disney’s Magical Express.  (It does participate in Extra Magic Hours.)

Shades of Green has little kid appeal, and despite a great location across the street from Disney’s Polynesian Resort, so-so convenience.

Families who need to take advantage of Shades of Green’s great value—it is indeed one heck of a bargain—will have their best first family visit to Walt Disney World by staying in it as part of a “split stay.”

That is, they should split their visit into some time at Shades of Green, and some at a more highly recommended Walt Disney World resort.

See this page for more on the best way to fit a stay at Shades of Green into a first family visit to Walt Disney World

Another great option—though much harder to pull off—is to get overflow rates from Shades of Green for a recommended Walt Disney World resort.  See this page on MilitaryDisneyTips.com for more on overflow rates.

POSITIVES OF SHADES OF GREEN

[Read more →]

MILITARY DISCOUNTS AT WALT DISNEY WORLD

Update: the 2019 Armed Forces salute is out! See this.

Military families are eligible, of course, for all Walt Disney World deals and specials available to the general public.

In addition, Walt Disney World often makes special deals available to members of and retirees from the U.S. military, and from related DoD organizations.

The most valuable of these is the Armed Forces Salute.

In addition, Shades of Green, an Armed Forces Recreation Center located near Walt Disney World’s Polynesian resort and nestled among Walt Disney World’s renowned Palm and Magnolia golf course, offers wonderfully low rates for the quality of its rooms.

Shades of Green discounts its already low rates from time to time.

And of course Disney’s general public deals and specials apply to military families as well.

This site recommends Shades of Green for first-time visitors only under a couple of special circumstances.  See this for more on first time family visits and Shades of Green.

Steve Bell is the Military Moderator on this site. And Steve’s Military Disney Tips has for years been the go-to site for military families looking to make the most out of their Disney World vacations.

But like every other website (especially mine), finding exactly what you need to know, in the right order, sometimes isn’t as easy as you’d like it to be.

So the great news is that Steve has just published a Disney World guidebook for military families.

With entire chapters devoted to the 2016 Armed Forces Salute, to Shades of Green, and to other deals and perks available to military families, I can’t recommend it enough!!

It’s available as a PDF–probably the most convenient format–here, and on Amazon.com here.

This book will be a great help to military families contemplating a Disney World visit in 2016!!

LINKS FOR MILITARY FAMILIES AT WALT DISNEY WORLD

• Military Families at Walt Disney World
• Deals and Discounts
  • Military Discounts and Deals
  • Other Walt Disney World Discounts and Deals
• Shades of Green
  • Shades of Green e-book
  • Review of Shades of Green
  • Splitting Your Stay Between Shades of Green and Another Resort
  • Overflow Rates at Shades of Green
  • Shades of Green website

Comments moderated by Steve Bell of Military Disney Tips.

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