Category — s. FAQ and Glossary

THE NEW FALL PRICE SEASON AT WALT DISNEY WORLD

For 2011, Walt Disney World has made significant changes to the ways it increases and lowers prices at its resort hotels.

These changes have been continued in Disney’s 2012 price seasons.

These include

• A new second value season with slightly higher prices than the first value season
• A new second regular season with slightly higher prices than the first regular season, and
• A totally new season—the “Fall” season

THE FALL SEASON AT WALT DISNEY WORLD

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REFILLABLE MUGS AT WALT DISNEY WORLD RESORT HOTELS

The To-Do Lists on this site have picking up refillable mugs, either as part of your Disney Dining Plan, or for cash, as one of their early steps.

A refillable mug entitles you to free refills of the drinks available at your resort’s beverage island—and sometimes from its pools as well—as well as at other Disney hotels, for the number of calendar days purchased.

Drinks typically available are soft drinks; other drinks usually found in soda fountains—lemonade, PowerAde, iced tea, etc; coffee, hot water and tea bags, and hot chocolate.  Other drinks may be available as well.

Drinks almost never available are milk and juices—you need to buy these anew each time you want some.

Even with milk and juices out, given the prices of buying the beverage island drinks over a trip of any length greater than 3 days, the refillable mugs are a good deal for almost all families. They are included free in the dining plans and if bought for cash, cost around $18, so you’ll break even after half a dozen or so refills.

MORE ON DISNEY WORLD REFILLABLE MUGS

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SCHEDULE OF WHICH DAYS TO VISIT WHICH PARKS

While working on a recent post about TouringPlans.com‘s updated daily calendar, I realized that while I had advice on which park to go to when here and here, and of course built in to the design of this site’s core itineraries, I hadn’t brought it together into one place.

So here we go! [Read more →]

THE WALT DISNEY WORLD PEAK SEASON

I recently posted on the 2012 Spring Break season at Walt Disney World.

Because this period is during Disney World’s “peak season,” and there’s a lot of confusion about what “peak” means, I thought I’d clarify the peak season and its implications for crowds and prices at Walt Disney World.

The key messages?

• While prices are quite high during the peak season…they get even higher! The peak season is not the peak of Disney World prices…
• While some periods of the peak season are quite crowded, some are not…and other times of the year, not in the peak season, are even more crowded! The peak season is not the peak of crowds, and some periods within it are relatively uncrowded.

THE PEAK SEASON AT WALT DISNEY WORLD

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HITTING THE WALL AT WALT DISNEY WORLD

Say you are following this site’s summer itinerary, and tomorrow is Wednesday.

You’ve had a wonderful time so far…but are starting to hit the wall.  Tomorrow is another early morning…and you don’t want to get up. 

It’s another scheduled sit-down dinner…and even though you are on the dining plan, and probably won’t be able to use the left-over sit-down credit, you just don’t want to be scheduled. 

You are thinking a sandwich and margarita by the pool, at exactly the time you choose, will do just fine.

Your family is showing signs of strain, too. 

Everything’s going great so far, but the whining is starting to grow, and the itinerary is beginning to be viewed as the enemy.

But you’ve spent all this money, and you can’t get any of it back.  What do you do?

HOW TO RECOVER FROM YOUR VACATION SO FAR

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OVERVIEW: DISNEY WORLD PARK CALENDARS

I’ve noted elsewhere–for example, here, here, and here–that the best way to find out Disney World operating hours, Extra Magic Hours, fireworks and Fantasmic times, and such, is to work from the individual official Walt Disney World park calendars.

These calendars can be found by clicking the following links:

• Magic Kingdom Calendar
• Hollywood Studios Calendar
• Animal Kingdom Calendar
• Epcot Calendar

However, these calendars aren’t too user friendly, so I thought I’d give some advice on how to use them and about some of their odder aspects.

HOW TO USE WALT DISNEY WORLD’S THEME PARK CALENDARS

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