Meet Family Mickey, mom and dad and their three kids ages 6, 4 and 2 on their first trip to Disney. They chose to stay inside Walt Disney World at the Moderate Resort Port Orleans Riverside. They purchased a package from their trusty travel agent mommymouseplans aka amandag@mei-travel.com. They are staying for 7 nights and have purchased a 7 day park hopper ticket with the basic dining plan.
Meet family Minnie, mom and dad and their three kids ages 6, 4 and 2 on their first trip to Disney. They chose to rent a 2 bedroom condo advertised as being 3 miles from Disney, rent a car, and plan to purchase a 7 day base ticket. They did no planning, made no dining reservations, figured they could wing it.
Day 1 Travel Day
Family Mickey
Pack their bags being careful to secure their yellow luggage tags to their checked luggage. They check their luggage at the airport and board their plane to Orlando. When they arrive they head downstairs to the Disney's Magical Express bus bypassing baggage claim and get their tickets scanned and walk to their Magical Express Resort line. Withing 10 minutes, friendly cast members with big white Mickey gloves escort them onto a comfortable air conditioned coach. within minutes they are headed to their resort and watching a movie about all of the exciting adventures that await them.
Family Minnie
Pack their bags and head off to the airport, lugging booster and car seats in addition to their luggage. They end up having to pay extra at the airport check in because of the extra car seats and pack and play that they have brought for the 2 year old. They board their plane and land in Orlando and head to the baggage claim where they wait 30 minutes for their luggage to arrive, then they rent a luggage cart and juggle the three kids and the luggage cart and start searching for the right car rental desk. After waiting in line for another 30 minutes, they get their rental car papers in order and go wait for the shuttle to take them to their rental car. 30 minutes later they get to their rental car after loading all of their baggage onto and off the shuttle they now load their luggage again into their rental car and start installing the car seat. Finally, they are heading out of the airport with a map to find their rented condo.
Family Mickey
Within 90 minutes of exiting the plane, they arrive at Port Orleans Riverside, mom heads to check in while the kids relax in comfy seats in front of Disney cartoons while coloring on their coloring pages. Mom gets her room assignment and is handed resort maps, park maps, park hours including extra magic hours and the Key to the World Cards which have their room keys, meal plan, park tickets and charging privileges all on one card. After checking in they head to the resorts counter service restaurant to grab some lunch and don't have to pay since it is pre-paid on their dining plan. After eating, they get to their room and Dad decides to go for a quick swim with the older two while the 2 year old naps in the pack and play that had been waiting in the room for them with clean Mickey sheets.
Family Minnie
Gets lost on the freeway after taking the wrong turn and starts heading to Tampa, after a 30 minutes lost from a detour, they finally make it to the condo office 3 hours after landing. They unload their luggage once again from the rental car and drop it in the condo and then head out to find a restaurant and a supermarket to shop for food for the week. The kids are thrilled to be in a Floridian supermarket rather than swimming in a pool and start nagging when are we going to Disney when are we going to Disney?
Just to recap money spent by Family Mickey at this point 0
Just to recap money spent by Family Minnie at this point $$ extra baggage check in, $ luggage cart at airport, $$$ rental car, $$lunch at a restaurant, $$$$ groceries for the week.
Fun had by Family Mickey at this point, watching a fun movie on motor coach, coloring and watching cartoons and swimming in pool.
Fun had by Family Minnie at this point, waiting in line and grocery shopping.
Family Mickey
After a swim and the toddlers nap, it is time to head to the park. They catch a bus to the Magic Kingdom and in 18 minutes are walking through the gate just in time to catch the 3pm Parade. They use a snack credit from their dining plan to grab a Popsicle to eat during the parade. After the parade, they start riding the rides. they make it to their character dinner just in time for their reservation at 6pm and use their table service credit from the dining plan for their dinner. They catch the Spectro Magic Parade after dinner on Main Street and then the fireworks show Wishes and then exit the park walking 5 minutes to catch their bus back to their resort. Within 20 minutes of exiting the Magic Kingdom, they are in their room and heading to bed, exhausted, but excited for the next days adventures.
Family Minnie
After unloading groceries, they deiced to pack up the kids and the car and head to the Magic Kingdom. It is only 3 miles away! After driving for 35 minutes, they reach the parking lot at the Magic Kingdom, park and wait for the tram, they they board the tram and then they wait for the monorail, then they wait to go purchase their tickets deciding not to spend the extra money on the hopper. Finally just as the Spectro Magic parade is just ending, they are entering the Magic Kingdom. They decide to pick a restaurant to try and walk up to get seating at the Castle for a character meal. They are asked for a reservation when they tell them they do not have one, they explain that they can check at guest services for any openings. Confused, they walk to guest services where after waiting in line, they are told that all restaurants in the Magic Kingdom are sold out because people usually make dining reservations 90 to 180 days in advance. They get frustrated and end up eating over priced hot dogs and pay $55 dollars for a counter service dinner. They catch the fireworks show and begin the long trek back to the condo. They wait in line for the monorail back to the transportation and ticket center. Then they wait in line for the tram back to their car. They walk to their car from the tram, load into the cars and wait in traffic to exit the parking lot. They drive the 35 minute ride back to the condo unloading exhausted kids and finally head to bed. Mom and dad actually fall asleep in the same room as the kids after being exhausted from such a busy day.
Money spent by Family Mickey 0. Didn't they have to pay for their gratuity from their dinner? No, after they had booked their package, their travel agent who had monitoring their reservations for any promotions found a free $500 gift card offer by Disney and being an Authorized Disney Vacation Planner was able to apply it to their reservation. At check in Family Mickey was given a free $500 gift card by Disney to use for expenses while on vacation.
Money Spent by Family Minnie $$$$ Money for parking the car, money for dinner, money for Popsicles after dinner during fireworks.
Hmmm which family vacation would you rahter be experiencing? Stay tuned for Day 2 coming soon.
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