Magic on a Budget

I have a friend who has a family that has kids about the same age as ours, who has told me about his trips to DisneyWORLD in Orlando. To protect his identity, I will call him Jason. (disclaimer: we were in band together in college called Joe Mozzerella)

I received from "Jason" an email response that topped any email that I have ever received. Pictures, audio, commentary, reviews, etc that I felt I needed to share with you. I am posting only an excerpt, you can imagine this email deserves a blog of its own. Enjoy!

Mainly I asked a few questions- I will post my question and his response:

What about paying for it all?

"The nice thing about staying at the resort is that they give you this card that works like a credit card that you can use EVERYWHERE and it charges stuff back to the room, even stuff from snack carts, like popcorn or soft drinks, so you never have to carry money, and you have no idea whatsoever what you are actually spending in a given day! Just have your wife check out of the hotel for you, and you NEVER HAVE TO KNOW just how expensive this trip really was! This helps my enjoyment level immensely. The only way this could be any better is if they would just stop putting prices on things altogether. You want a Mickey Premium Ice Cream Bar? Here you go! Don’t worry about the cost, we’ll just charge it to the room!"

Where to eat? What to eat?

One of our FAVORITES is O'Hana in the Polynesian ('A-#1' recommendation). All you can eat. No characters, but it is very very good, very cool, and the kids will like it. There is entertainment for them there (ukulele singer, "coconut races"). This actually keeps the kids AWAY FROM YOUR TABLE for awhile, so you can have a little time alone with the Mrs. If you schedule your meal at the right time, you can watch the fireworks in the Magic Kingdom from here, and the pipe the music into the restaurant. We ALWAYS try to do this on our last night. We all wear matching Hawaiian shirts just for the occasion. It's that special. ("O'hana means 'family'", you know!). Plus, they sell a $12 rum drink that comes in a pineapple shell that will knock you on your ass.

Liberty Tree, all you can eat, family style dinner in the Magic Kingdom , with Goofy, Minnie, Chip, and Dale all dressed in colonial-era costumes. No booze. But, Goofy in a cowboy hat, so it’s all good.

Cinderella's Royal Table. Magic Kingdom . Try to do this for lunch one day, rather than Dinner. It's not quite as expensive. Princesses are there. No booze. But, if you can sneak some in, this would certainly be the place to consume it.

Be sure to get your dinner reservations on the FIRST DAY that you can call them in. THIS IS VERY VERY IMPORTANT. I cannot stress this enough. I'M NOT KIDDING. I don’t know now if they are accepting Dinner ressies 90, 120, or 180 days out (this changes from time to time, and from restaurant to restaurant), but I think its 90. Be sure to call in at the first opportunity and have a game plan about meals. A lot of the restaurants are very neat, but require reservations (especially the character or princess ones). (1-407-WDW-DINE)
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"Jason"- you rule