You may choose to visit Walt Disney World to celebrate a special date in your life. It may be as simple as a birthday, anniversary or the day you had your wisdom teeth removed; or as complex as a large wedding and reception. Not a month goes by without Walt Disney World providing you with a reason to attend: from the Christmas holiday season to the Flower and Garden and Food and Wine Festivals. If there's not a reason to attend in any specific month, they'll invent one or offer you some kind of great deal like the free Disney Dining Plan. Should you be sucked in by these promotions? Absolutely; just understand what effect, if any, they will have on your vacation. As an example, the Food and Wine Festival is a lot of fun but it does attract more people to Epcot's World Showcase -- particularly on weekends, where there's a significant crowd boost from the locals. If you're truly not at all into the Food and Wine type activities, you may want to consider avoidin...

Here is tip for traveling to WDW or Disneyland with small children. If you plan to view any of the fireworks, bring an MP3 player to the fireworks, if the noise is too much for the younger ones they can listen to their Disney favorites without the loud sounds, especially at Epcot!

Today I took my niece to see the rerelease of Disney/Pixar's Monsters Inc. We saw the 2-D version, as I'm not a big fan of 3-D and also wanted to see it as I remembered it from the first time it came out. When it came out originally my own children were very little and lived it. And surprisingly it is one of the few Disney movies we do not own on video (yes I said video) or DVD. So I couldn't wait to share the experience of seeing this movie in a theater again with my niece ( her first time seeing it in a theater). It was just as good this time as the first. I loved the short before the movie, For the Birds. And there were a few scenes and funny little things in the movie I had forgotten that I really enjoyed seeing. I found myself laughing out loud several times. And my niece was me memorized by the movie. I hope you get a chance to see the movie during its rerelease. It is so worth it.

When booking rooms at a WDW resort, be aware that adjoining rooms and connecting rooms are not the same thing. Adjoining rooms are next to each other. Connecting rooms share an interior door. Don't rely on the reservation employee to explain the differences in terminology to you. For more insider tips when planning your next Disney vacation, contact your favorite Pixie...Me! robin@magicalmemoriestravel.com or 704-266-0560

One of my favorite things is to go to the movies. I love the whole experience; the popcorn, the dark theater, getting there early to get just the right spot. Even the details of the movies; the story, the sets and costumes, the music and the cinematography. So, also knowing that all things Disney are my favorites too, you can imagine that anytime I can couple a trip to the movies with the movie being a Disney film...I'm a happy girl! I have passed this love of movies (and Disney) down to my children. And have loved taking them to the movies since they were just toddlers. I am now sharing those two loves with my little niece. Just recently I took her for a movie day to see Wreck It Ralph. The movie was great! I loved the story, very sweet and it even had a co surprise ending. My niece thought it was great too. The animation was awesome and I as an adult loved the little touches of humor I could appreciate and the references and throw backs to 80's video games. If you ha...

When you do your homework, you will discover that Walt Disney World will actually charge different rates for their resort hotels based upon the time of year. That shouldn't be surprising to anyone but it often is. Disney knows that a lot of people will want to visit during Christmas Week. As a result, resort prices will be higher during this "high capacity" time. On the other hand, rates in January, which is typically a "low capacity" time at WDW are much lower. My advice is to become familiar with Walt Disney World's pricing seasons when planning a vacation there. The seasons will vary from year to year and, sometimes, from resort to resort. The following is an approximate breakdown from least (crowded and expensive) to most: Value Season: After New Year's Day until mid-February and August to September Regular Season: Mid-April to Mid-May, October through Thanksgiving Summer Season: Late May through early August Peak Season: Mid-February (P...

Visiting Walt Disney World during a holiday week can offer mixed blessings. The holiday itself may provide some special ceremony or attraction but, considering that the schools are out and nobody's at work, the place could be mega-crowded. In some cases, for instance Christmas, you can visit during the holiday season and take advantage of all the Disney preparations without falling victim to the crowds on the actual holiday. Visiting between Thanksgiving Week and Christmas Week will provide you with resorts and parks that are decorated for the holidays, holiday music everywhere, special attractions such as Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party, the Candlelight Processional and the Osborne Lights, with none of the crowds that will be there for the actual holiday. My advice is to visit in December (actually anything post-Thanksgiving week) but avoid Christmas Week. Or, if you want to go a bit earlier, here's a special treat for you -- visit over Halloween and hit the Mag...