Travel With The Magic: Planning Your Best Disney Family Vacation Ever!

Now that the children are back to school and your school year routine is in place, are you already beginning to think about plans for winter break, spring break or even vacation plans for next summer? As a busy parent or grandparent you know that time is a luxury.  Planning ahead makes life a lot less stressful and can even save you money! This month we are happy to introduce you to Kelly Russo, mompreneur and owner of Travel With The Magic. Kelly is one of the biggest Disney fans we've ever met, so much so that she specializes in planning Disney Vacations ONLY for her clients and is sharing her wisdom with our Saige Nicole's readers on how to plan the best Disney Vacation Adventure ever!



So are you thinking about planning a vacation to the most “Magical place on earth”? If so you have come to the right place! Planning a vacation to Disney can be expensive and over whelming, sometimes you just don’t know where to start. Hi I am Kelly from Travel with the Magic and I am Disney Destinations Planner. What does that mean? It means I love Disney, I go there all the time and I can help you plan your next vacation to Disney. I do not charge for my services yes you read that right there are no charges for my services.
So let’s talk about what we need to look at when planning a Disney vacation. Disney World in Florida is massive and has over 20 on site resorts, 4 theme parks, 2 water parks and don’t forget the shopping. You won’t be able to see it all on your vacation but these tips might help you see what is important to you.


Plan and book early! Will you being staying on site at a Disney resort? There are some great benefits. If your resort and room category are important then the earlier you book the better. Planning is important because Disney breaks up the year into seasons and if you go during the value season you can save some money right away because Regular, Peak and Holiday seasons all start off with higher room rates. Once you decide when to go and where you will be staying you need to think about tickets and dining reservations. If you plan on going to more than one park per day then you will need to add the park hopping option, if not then you just need the base ticket. You also have to think about the dining plan. Do you want it and if so which one would you want the quick service plan, the base dining plan, or the deluxe dining? Did you know that Disney now has different prices for the dining plan during certain times of the year? Well they do and you can read about that here. Then you need to look at park hours, extra magic hours, and when the parades and fireworks are. Add all of that together and there is a lot to do!



ADR or the Advanced Dining Reservation is important when going to Disney. Do you plan on dining at Chef Mickey’s or Cinderella’s Castle? If so you need to know when your dining opens up so it can be booked. The most popular restaurants book up EARLY and quick! Disney now allows on site guests to book dining 180 days in advance so planning where you want to eat important.

Disney offers discounts through out the year sometimes they are open to everyone and sometimes they are pin code offers that are sent to your home in the mail or via email. These offers can only be used by the person to whom it was sent. So if I get a free dining pin the mail and want to go with my family then great that helps us save money, but if we can’t go I cant give that pin to anyone else. There are discounts for AAA, Annual Passholders, and Chase Disney Visa card holders so there are usually several options when it comes to discounts. There are times of the year though that Disney will black out and there will be no discounts like Christmas, New Years, and Easter.



If you call Disney directly and book a room or package with them and then a discount comes out they don’t change that for you. You have to call and see if you can have it applied to your reservation. This alone should make you considered a Disney Vacation planner. We get notice of discounts and do our best to have them applied to your reservation and we keep checking as more discounts come out to make sure you get the best deal. Remember our services are free so you get someone to help you get the best deal and so much more! Like itinerary planning, dining assistance, event planning, tour planning, transfers, Air, and more.



Relax! Whether you are on vacation with your family, friends, or maybe a honeymoon you need to have fun. It is important to have a plan but it can’t rule you and what you do. If you are at the Magic Kingdom having fun and no one wants to leave to go eat dinner then don’t! Stay and have fun, there are other options. Go swimming at your resort, shop at Downtown Disney, or maybe try out the spa at the Grand Floridian Resort. You want to have fun and enjoy yourself; you will be making memories that will last a lifetime.

I could go on and on about Disney World and I have not even touched on Disneyland or the Disney Cruise Line, they both offer so many chances to make magical memories. If you are interested in a Disneyland or Disney Cruise Line vacation please contact us for a FREE quote!