The free dining plan offer is available when you buy a 5 day / 4 night Magic Your Way Package. Arrival dates that coincide with the Halloween festivities include October 2nd though the 6th AND October 23rd through November 1st.

If you are traveling on a shoestring budget then you will probably opt for the Value Resort package, which includes your hotel room, park tickets, and a Disney quick service dining plan. According to the website, the package price for 2 adults, 1 junior, and 1 child comes to $1,442…or $73 per person/per day.

Now if you prefer the additional accommodations of a Moderate Resort, then for $16 more dollars per person/per day you can upgrade to the Moderate Resort package. This package gets you the full Disney Dining Plan for a total price of $1,773.

Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party is held every fall at the Magic Kingdom park. Note that you do have to purchase an additional event ticket to attend the party. Ticket prices in October range from $57 per person for week night shows to $68 dollars for the weekend dates and Halloween night.

The party includes a special parade, fireworks display, and Halloween displays and effects within the Magic Kingdom. Disney characters will be out in full force dressed in their own Halloween costumes. Your children can also dress up and enjoy trick-or-treat around the streets of the park.

The event occurs approximately 3 times a week (mostly on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays) beginning on September 13th and running through November 1st. If you are booking a short stay then be sure to check the dates to make sure the event is running during your visit. Also, any of the dates have the potential to sellout, so buy your tickets online if you know you are going to be there!

You get to customize the photo album with family pictures taken at PhotoPass kiosks around the park. Here a Disney World photographer will take your picture in front of the most memorable stops on DW property. This can eliminate the need to carry an extra camera…which is especially handy at the water park.

To kick off the launch of the New Memories Vacation Package, Disney World is throwing in free dining plans for those who book for dates between August 28th and September 24th. Obviously these dates won’t work for families with school-age children, but it is a nice option for other families and couples.

According to the website, you can get a 6 day/5 night package at a moderate resort with the standard dining package for $2047 (family of 4). You can also select to stay at a value resort with the quick-service dining package, which drops the price to $1605.

So is the New Memories Vacation Package a good deal? Well normally you would pay around $80 for the photo book, so there is some value there. The bigger savings is with the dining plan promotion, saving you approximately $125 per day with 2 adults and 2 children. So in the end it pays to wait for a special deal to come along.

Deep inside the Disney World website there is a handy resource called the Vacation Package Guide. By entering a few simple parameters you can get an accurate quote for a custom made vacation package that suits your needs.

Just recently I used this tool to price a six day vacation for a family of four with children ages 2 and 5.  The results were were well suited to my needs and the price was surprisingly affordable.  Here is an overview…

Customized Package for July 10, 2011 to July 16, 2011
Resort Category: Disney Value Resort Hotel
Resort Hotel: Disney’s All-Star Music Resort
Room Type: Standard Room
Package Type: 6-Day Magic Your Way Package Plus Disney Dining Plan
Package Price Start at: $2,000 USD

This package averages out to be just under $100 per person/per day and includes hotel, food, and park tickets. So the only thing left to calculate is travel costs, rental car (if any), and souvenirs. I would project $1,000 for plane tickets and $400 for a rental car. Throw in some cheap souvenirs and gas money to put the whole trip at $4,000. That’s a pretty good price for a summer vacation in my opinion.

Now the cool thing about this Vacation Guide is you can customize the results to match your taste. For example, under the hotel price category the system offered this suggestion…

This resort recommended for its:
-Affordable comfort and convenience
-Celebration of the love of music and affordable family suites

It then provided an option to upgrade my accommodations without changing anything else in the package…

You might also like:
Resort Category: Disney Moderate Resort Hotel
Resort Hotel: Disney’s Port Orleans Resort – Riverside
Room Type: Standard Room
Packages Start From $2,340 USD

These types of suggestions were also provided for food and park tickets, making it simple to upgrade or downgrade features to meet your budget and preferences.

So the bottom line here is that you don’t need a scientific calculator to get a Disney World vacation quote. There are resources like this one available for free right on the DW website. This is the perfect way to get pricing for your trip while you are still planning your vacation. Oh, and I forgot to mention…no email or registration is required to use it!

Happy Planning!

The first thing you’ll notice is that the dates for the 2011 Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party have not been released yet. Now if you look back at the 2010 dates you’ll see that festivities were scheduled for most Tuesdays, Thursdays, Fridays, and Sundays from November 8th through December 19th. It is somewhat safe to assume the same daily schedule will be the same for 2011, but the best bet is to stay through a weekend between November 11th and December 18th, 2011.

By following this advice you will likely have at least two dates to choose from for attending the Christmas Party. Unfortunately though, you won’t know specific date options until July when the official schedule is released. Last year the schedule was posted on July 27th.

For budgeting purposes you also should factor in the additional cost of attending Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party. Advance tickets prices in 2010 were $53.95 for ages 10+ and $47.95 for ages 3 – 9. Same day ticket purchases cost an additional $6. Sellouts are typically not an issue for those buying in advance, but the December 19th party did sellout last year…so try not to wait until the last minute. To complicate things some more, the final five performances are usually blocked from advance ticket sales.

There is good news for those who are not ready to make their Christmas reservation this early in the year. If your schedule is flexible and you can afford to wait until mid-August then you can take advantage of the room rate discounts that are typically offered in late summer. The cheapest deals fall between the week after Thanksgiving through mid-December. Of course this is a time when school is still in session so not everyone will be able to take advantage of these dates.

So in short, beginning on January 1 you can book your room reservations, vacation packages, and park tickets. However, if you can wait until late summer you will have access to the Very Merry Christmas Party schedule and access to potential savings opportunities on select rooms and dates.

Save up to 40% at select Disney Resort Hotels
All room prices are discounted for most dates through October 2nd. Save 15% to 40% at select Disney Resort hotels and treat your family to a fun-filled getaway. The bigger discounts are offered on the Deluxe rooms, but there are still savings opportunities for Disney World Value and Moderate resort rooms. Book a trip for after August 15, 2010 and save even more.

The Summer Room and Ticket Offer
Also known as the “Kids Stay and Play Free” promotion. With this special offer your kids (ages 3 to 9) do not get charged for room nights or park admission. Adults must purchase a non-discounted 4-night/5-day room and ticket package at select Disney Value Resorts. Offer valid for most dates now through October 2, 2010. The average husband and wife will pay $530 each for a double-occupancy room. Perfect if you have two kids between 3 and 9 years old.

Late Summer Room and Ticket and Dining Offer
Want to save money and be able to budget all of your costs? This is the package for you. Get a free dining plan when you buy a 5-night/6-day Magic Your Way room and ticket package for stays from August 15th through October 2, 2010. With this deal a family of four would pay $77 per day at a Disney World Moderate Resort for a total cost of around $1800. Not too bad considering that includes accommodations, dining package, and park admission. If you can drive to Orlando than you could probably do the whole vacation (gas, souvenirs, etc) for less than $2500!

If you don’t need a luxury resort with all of the golf courses and bathrobes then you can save a ton of money by staying at the Best Disney World Value Resort.

Book a  4 Night/5 Day room and ticket package during most nights between May 2 through June 3, 2010 and your children stay for FREE (ages 3 to 9). Cost of the package is $499 per adult and must be booked by May 8, 2010.

**Number of rooms allocated for this offer is limited. Child must stay in same room with adult. Limit of four Guests per room. Tickets are for one theme park per day and must be used within 14 days of first use.

Call (407) 939-7905 and ask for booking code BF4 or book online.