I. Getting the Disney Dining

A. Disney Dining plan

a. I recommend you get one
b. Counter Service Plan

i. 2 Counter meals (like really nice fast food)
    1. Ribs, fish etc.
ii. 1 Snack
    1. Can be 5-7 Dollars
iii. I recommend you buying this if you have small kids who might not be interested in 90 minute sit down experiences
iv. 43 and 17

B. Standard Disney Dining

i. One sit-down meal
    1. A nice restaurant
ii. One counter meal
iii. One snack
iv. Costs 62 for adults, 21 for children under 10 per day

b. If you are going to eat at Disney this is worth it

i. You can eat two counter meals in one day
ii. Four snacks in one day

c. Saves you a little bit of money if you buy it

i. You don’t have to think about food
ii. More than enough
iii. Huge portions
iv. Might have a few snacks
   1. Though we usually have leftovers

d. Tips are not included

C. What is Free Disney Dining?

a. Free Dining

  i. The Dining plan was free
    1. In a normal trip you would only pay for hotel and park tickets
  ii. Last year if you stayed at a value resort you got the quick service
    1. With an option to upgrade to Standard for $20 a day
  iii. If you stayed at a moderate or luxury resort, you got the standard plan
    1. Essentially, all of our food
  iv. It is exciting to go to one of our restaurants and see a bill for $700 dollars and know it is free
  v. It is Disney’s best deal by a long shot

b. Limitations

  i. Cannot be packaged with other special deals
    1. Not with 25% off
    2. Normal rate for that time of year
    3. Normal cost for tickets for the number of days

  ii. They only offer it for certain weeks
    1. Recently it is only in the fall and early December
    2. Not Halloween, Thanksgiving, Labor Day etc.
    3. When they announce they will announce which weeks the deal is for
               a. You have to go during one of those weeks

 iii. It is only for certain resorts
    1. The one’s they need to fill in those weeks
    2. Though it is for most resorts
    3. There are sections and whole resorts that don’t count

  iv. It is very limited
    1. And is getting more limited all the time
    2. First come, first serve
    3. When they are out of free dining plans, you have to hope that someone cancels

II. Booking Everything

A. When

a. Plan on going during the fall and not during a holiday
    1. Pick at least 2 or 3 weeks that will work for everyone at least by the first of March
    2. We planned on going the first week of November
               i. Disney didn’t offer free dining that week
               ii. They did offer it the second week of November

B. Pick at least 3 hotels that you want to stay in at least by the first of March

   1. Our first choice was Art of Disney Animation
   2. We needed to switch to Coronado Springs
   3. You won’t know which resort is offering the deals

C. Check every day in March, April, and May for Free Disney Dining Plan

    a. Details

    i. Dining is usually April or May
    ii. They don’t tell you
    iii. You won’t know until they announce
    iv. Just type in free Disney dining 2016
         1. If they’ve announced, it should be all over the place
    v. Just 30 seconds a day
         1. I checked two or three times a day
         2. It was worth about $7000 for our family

b.  You can book your trip for your first choice week
     i. They will let you switch rooms, dates, or just apply the discount if you are on an eligible date and in an eligible time

c. When they announce call Disney and book your trip
   i. It will be an hour wait
   ii. Do not wait
         1. They will be gone in less than 24 hours
   iii. Know your possible dates
   iv. Know your possible resorts
   v. You can do it online
        1. If you catch it early enough

d. If you miss it, keep trying
   i. People book too many rooms or their trip gets canceled
   ii. So you still might have a chance

D. Fast Passes
   a. 60 days if staying on Disney
   b. Magic Bands

E. Extras
   a. Don’t do them
   b. Hotel, Food, Tickets

III. At Disney: Scheduling the most out of your days

  a. Four types of touring days
  b. All Day
     i. Best: You can do everything in a park in one day
        1. If you do them at the right time
        2. And aren’t there during peak time
    ii. Worst: Can be very tiring
        1. Only do this a few times unless it is a short trip (four or five days or fewer) or your family has a lot of stamina
        2. Do not overestimate how tiring Disney can be
            a. 7 miles plus of walking per day
    iii. Strategy
      1. Start in a land with attractions with longer lines
          a. Do the longest
      2. Move to second level lines through late morning
      3. Eat lunch at 11:30
      4. Mix in fastpasses from 12:30 to 3:30
          a. Three big attractions
          b. Then get more
    5. Do shows and low line level rides
c.  Go early, Leave in the Afternoon, come back in the evening
           i. Best

Listen to the podcast by clicking on the picture below!

Links:

Disneyworld.disney.go.com
Disneyfoodblog.com
Disney Junkies FB page
Other RKWC/CI Podcasts
RKWC/CI blog
Plexus to Feel Great Blog
What is TriPlex?
Keep Kids Close Coupons
Affirmation Cards
Age-Appropriate Chore Posters
Consequence Pies
Meaningful Composition Writing Program
Character Ink Store
Write On, Peter Pan (and coming soon—Mowgli!) books
The Plastic Wrap Ball

The post Podcast Notes for “Part II – Trip Tips to Planning the Perfect & Money Saving Disney World Vacation” appeared first on Character Ink.

Donna Reish, co-author and co-presenter of Raising Kids With Character parenting seminar and blog and fifty curriculum books (including February 2016 releases of five levels of Write On, Peter Pan books and March 2016 releases of five levels of Write On, Mowgli book) from Character Ink Press, brings you this Wondering Wednesday podcast episode in which her guest, son Joshua Reish, answers even more questions about planning an amazing (and affordable!) family vacation to Walt Disney World. In this episode, Joshua delves even more deeply into saving money while dining at Disney, including the peak times for the free dining plan as well as purchasing a dining plan (to still save meal money over buying each meal separately). His thorough explanation of the snacks, quick service meals (counter meals), and sit-down meals will help you put all of the Disney dining pieces together in order to enjoy the amazing food and service that Disney offers. Joshua also goes further into the fast passes and making the most of each day at WDW.

Download the podcast notes here.

Listen to previous podcasts here.

The post Podcast: Part II – Trip Tips to Planning the Perfect & Money Saving Disney World Vacation appeared first on Character Ink.

In a previous podcast episode called Simplified Menu Planning, I encouraged listeners to not overthink meal planning. (You may listen to that episode here.)

In this audio, I described how my original freezer cooking, in which I plugged all of my entrees into categories (based on meat types), led me to look at meal planning in a more simplified way. I made my master list of most of the entrees that I fix under each category, and then I can see what meats are on sale, scan my master entrée list, and choose meals to make.

I know there is a lot more to meal planning and preparing than simply choosing a category and “fixing” it. However, one of the things that people say over and over concerning the whole idea of meal planning includes “I can’t think of anything to make when it is time” or “I feel like I always make the same things over and over again.”

This idea of having all or most of your entrees listed under the meat that it is made of gives you a ready list at your finger tips. I found myself saying, “Oh, yeah, I forgot that everybody loves that taco soup. I’ve got taco meat in the freezer. Think I’ll pull it out and make that.”

One of the key concepts that Organizing Wizard teaches in her courses (and one that I have been trying to teach long before I heard of her great products in my workshops for moms) is that we often spend too much time thinking about what we want to do. We can spend a great deal of time on decisions and things that should really be decided quickly and decisively. This will free up our brains for the headier decisions—and make those things we do over and over again (prepare dinner, for example) happen more quickly.

When we learn to think quickly about those activities and tasks that are repeating in our lives, we make them smaller. That is, they do not remain so large and daunting. I have found this to be true over and over again as I have put systems in place, made quick decisions, etc., on things like Daily Tasks, menu planning, and more.

So, once again, I am going to give you those lists and encourage you to spend an hour or so making your own. You can even write them on large sticky notes (one sticky per meat) and place them on the inside of your kitchen cupboards and add to it as you think of more dishes that you make (or used to make).

Note:

Here are some other podcast episodes about kitchen efficiency that you might enjoy:

Podcast: Tips For Efficiency in The Kitchen

Podcast: Simplified Meal Planning

Podcast: Tips for Efficiency

Podcast: How to Implement Cycle Cooking for Freezer Entrees and Starters

Podcast: Ten Questions To Ask Yourself Before You Start Freezer Cooking

THINK IN TERMS OF MEATS/CYCLE COOKING AND MAKE MASTER LIST

1. What meats (and in what form of the meats) do you regularly use in your meals?

2. How can these be “grouped” (either for thinking purposes or for preparing bulk entrees for the freezer)?

3. Make a master list of things that you EVER make from various meats, print it, and tape it to the inside of a kitchen cabinet or on the fridge in a sheet protector. You want this handy!

Shredded Chicken

• Chicken enchiladas
• Chicken tetrazinni
• Chicken broccoli casserole
• Hot chicken salad
• BBQ shredded chicken
• Chicken taco meat
• Chicken alfredo (or starter for freezer)
• Cream of chicken soup (or starter for freezer)
• Chicken rice soup (or starter for freezer)
• Chicken gnocchi soup (or starter for freezer)
• Chicken noodle soup (or starter for freezer)
• White bean chicken chili (or starter for freezer)
• Chicken tortilla soup (or starter for freezer)

Crumbled Ground Beef or Turkey

• Enchiladas
• Cheeseburger pie
• Shepherd’s pie
• Lasagna
• Spaghetti pie
• Beef noodle stroganoff (or starter for freezer)
• Beef-broccoli Alfredo (or starter for freezer)
• Taco meat
• Goulash (or starter for freezer)
• Chili (or starter for freezer)
• Hamburger Stew (or starter for freezer)
• Vegetable soup (or starter for freezer)
• Homemade hamburger helper (or starter for freezer)
• Taco soup (or starter for freezer)
• Pasta e fagioli soup (or starter for freezer)
• Cheeseburger potato soup (or starter for freezer)
• Mexican pizzas (or starter for freezer)
• Layered Mexican dip (or starter for freezer)
• Beef nacho supreme (or starter for freezer)
• Beef taco soup (or starter for freezer)
• Maid rite sandwiches
• Ravioli
• Hamburger gravy
• Mexican pizza

Shredded Roast Beef (or Pork)

• Enchiladas
• Beef stew (or starter for freezer)
• Vegetable soup (or starter for freezer)
• Beefy potato rivel soup (or starter for freezer)
• BBQ beef
• Pot roast w/ veggies
• Beef carnitas/shredded meat taco (or starter for freezer)
• Shredded beef nachos (or starter for freezer)

Chicken Breasts or Thighs (Not Shredded)

• Chick filet knock off
• Parmesan chicken breasts/thighs/tenders
• Cheddar coated breasts
• Monterey chicken breasts
• Chicken cordon bleu
• Smothered chicken (or starter for freezer)
• Yogurt/parmesan chicken
• Garlic chicken bites (for Alfredo, chicken spaghetti, stir fries, subs, chicken alfredo pizza etc.)
• Monterey chicken bites (for fajitas, appetizers, chicken quesadillas, stir fries, subs, etc.)

Shaped Ground Meat/Steak

• Meat loaves
• Ham loaves
• Meatballs
• Salisbury steak
• Florida steak
• Smothered steak (or starter for freezer)
• Steak salad (or starter for freezer)
• Philly cheesesteak casserole (or starter for freezer)
• Steak breakfast burrito (or starter for freezer)
• Steak fajita
• Steak stir fry
• Dried beef gravy

Ham/Sausage/Bacon/Cheese/Pepperoni

• Hamarama (sandwiches)
• Cheesy potatoes with ham
• Broccoli cheese soup
• Cheesy potato sausage soup
• Soup beans with ham
• Ham steak
• BBQ ham steak
• Grilled ham and cheese sandwiches
• Grilled cheese sandwiches
• Cheddar soup
• Pizza (or starter for freezer)
• Pizza subs (or starter for freezer)
• Pizza casserole
• Pizza soup (or starter for freezer)
• Chicken pork creamy soup (or starter for freezer)
• Goulash (or starter for freezer)
• Sausage breakfast sandwiches (or starter for freezer)
• Sausage gravy and biscuits
• Pizza dip
• Sausage cups ((or starter for freezer)
• Pizza cups (or starter for freezer)
• Sausage biscuit balls
• Egg roll skillet (or starter for freezer)
• Kielbasa stir fry (or starter for freezer)
• Egg skillet (or starter for freezer)
• Omelets (or starter for freezer)
• Egg casserole (or starter for freezer)
• Pancakes and sausage
• Sausage sandwiches
• Loaded baked potatoes
• Breakfast pizzas

Seafood

• Tuna casserole
• Tuna balls
• Salmon patties
• Salmon loaves
• Baked salmon
• Baked cod
• Skillet white fish
• Shrimp scampi
• Shrimp Alfredo
• Clam chowder

The post Don’t Overthink Meal Planning appeared first on Character Ink.