Disney Mom at Home

Living Life with a Little Magic

How We Did Toy Story Land in ONLY 90 Minutes!

With so many amazing stories and pictures already circulating, I absolutely couldn’t wait to experience Toy Story Land! While my kids were also excited, I was clearly the most excited member of my family. I spent hours looking at other blogs and seeing what people wrote. One commonality among everything I read was you aren’t going to experience this without a long wait.

I was lucky enough to score a Slinky Dog Dash fastpass for our family at the 60 day mark. The most important thing you can do is to book your fast passes at 7 am when the fast passes open at your 60 day mark. Seriously, it could mean the difference of walking onto a ride or waiting for hours in line! When we got to Toy Story Land during extra magic hours, the wait was already 175 minutes for Slinky. That’s one I don’t think I could get my kids to wait in.

Another thing we did was utilize our extra magic hours. Sure, it was a pain to get up at 5:30 to be heading to the bus stop around 6:30 to get to the park by 7, but it was definitely worth it! In fact, we were even running a little late, so we didn’t get into the park until about 730!

Once in the park, we bee-lined it straight to Toy Story Land! I will admit it’s been a few years since we have been to Hollywood Studios, so I legit had to ask a few cast members where in the world I was going! Between them and my map on the app, we made it. We walked straight back to Alien Swirling Saucers. The wait said 20 minutes, but it was much closer to 10. The ride was awesome!!! My girls had a blast on this ride! It’s so much fun!

After the Saucers, we walked over to Toy Story Mania. Previously being the best ride in the park, we anticipated a long wait. We ended up waiting about 15 minutes! Totally worth it! So here we are, in the park for about 45 minutes and we had already done two rides! Our Slinky Dog Dash fast passes weren’t until 4:30, so we knew we would just be watching it in the morning.

Knowing Toy Story Land was about to get crowded with summer guests, we decided it was as good a time as ever to grab some breakfast! S’more French toast anyone?  Yes, I thought so too, so we grabbed some at Woody’s Lunch box. The menu here it total fun. Nothing plain and normal. Breakfast so early is not my favorite so I just had a banana split yogurt. It was vanilla yogurt with fresh strawberries and bananas in the middle and granola and chocolate chips for on top! Everything is fun at Woody’s!

When all was said and done, we were able to do all of Toy Story Land in an hour and a half!

My tips for having the best time while still making the most of your time:

  1. Stay on property and use your Extra Magic Hours (even if they are sooooo early!)
  2. Go to the back first!! Everyone was waiting in line to see Woody and Jessie or trying to get on Slinky. We hardly waited for Alien Swirling Saucers!
  3. Move quickly from attraction to attraction. Get the rides out of the way first
  4. Use a fast pass for one of the rides. That way you’re only waiting in 2 lines!
  5. When you’re done riding, stop and look around! Green Army men are everywhere and there’s a parade every so often! It’s a whole land of fun!
  6. Grab a bite to eat at Woody’s Lunch Box. While there’s not much shade, the food is fun and imaginative. Something you won’t find anywhere else in any of the parks!

Have you been to Toy Story Land? Do you have any must-do tips that made your vacation so much better? Please share!

Staying at Old Key West – My Honest Review

During our recent Disney cruise vacation, we had the pleasure of staying at Disney’s Old Key West for the third time. Our dear friend Cara was amazing and treated us with her DVC points to two nights in the Grand Villa!  This is the SECOND time Cara has asked us to join her in a grand villa – the first time was Bay Lake Tower.  Guys, these places are amazing!!!!! Seriously, it’s bigger than my house!

Our villa had a full-size kitchen, laundry room, dining area, living room, balcony, three bedrooms and four bathrooms! It was crazy huge! It would be a great place to spend an extended period of time at Disney World! For our short trip, we didn’t get to really enjoy it for long, but there were 10 of us that were able to stay together, so that was incredible!

Here are a few photos from the downstairs area of the room:

As for the resort itself, there are some things that are incredible and some things I didn’t love. A lot of people call Old Key West home, as it was Disney’s original vacation club resort, and they love it so much. I think a lot of that is the nostalgia is brings. Don’t get me wrong, it has a lot of cool things, but it’s not my favorite Disney resort, mostly because of the way we do Disney.

Reasons it is a great resort:

  1. First and foremost, ROOM SIZE. Every room on property is considered a villa, so even their smallest room has a lot of room in it. It is also offers the only studios to have two queen beds instead of one queen and a sleeper sofa. That makes sharing a room so much easier, particularly if you’re sharing with other adults!
  2. The boat to Disney Springs. It’s a quick 15 minute boat ride over to Disney Springs, where you can enjoy shopping and dining, along with other activities! It’s so much more convenient than waiting for a bus, or even driving if you have a car.
  3. Atmosphere. It is by far the most “Florida” you will feel at a resort. It really has that laid-back Key West ambiance to it! And the Gurgling Suitcase bar – the perfect place to end (or start?) every day!

Things I didn’t Love:

  1. The Size – this is a huge resort, so there are many bus stops. We were near the main building area so we waited there for a bus — for almost an hour — before realizing that all the buses were full before getting to us so they were skipping us. We had to walk to another stop in order to get on a bus!
  2. Lack of “Disney” – this is by far the most important to me. While you feel like you’re in Florida, you definitely feel like you’re in the keys, not in Disney! Even the rooms don’t feel “themed” and “Disney” since the theme is Florida! It loses just a little bit of magic for me!
  3. Dining options. The other deluxe resorts offer some of the best restaurants in all of Disney World. Olivia’s at OKW is definitely lacking. While the food is OK at best, the prices are still on par with other restaurants and it is nowhere near as good. Even staying there, I would just head to the quick service and save yourself the money!

All in all, Old Key West offers Florida nostalgia that you can’t find anywhere else on Disney property. The room size and easy access to Disney Springs make it a great choice for larger families. For our party of 10, it was great! It’s also one of the cheapest deluxe resorts, so you can usually get a really great deal!  Would I stay here again? Absolutely!! Would I stay there if I had the choice between this and a few other deluxe resorts, probably not!

Have you ever stayed at Old Key West?  What do you think?

3 Must-Do Things When Preparing for a Mortgage

Are you thinking about buying a house but don’t know where to start? We were there! I’ve talked about our journey and how we buckled down to pay off our debt and save for a down payment, but there are some very specific things we did to make sure we were really ready to take that next step.

Whether you are looking at conventional mortgages, First-time homebuyer lending, or self-employed loans, the way to get there is the same.

1. Know your credit score. We used Credit Karma religiously to see our credit score without having to pay for it. Your score updates every week and it shows you real-time how much you owe to which creditors. Many credit card companies, like Capital One, also have free credit monitoring that will give you your score and your report.

2. Scour your credit report and dispute all transactions that are incorrect. You would be shocked about how many are actually wrong and are sitting on your credit report, which is ultimately dropping your score. To dispute them, all you have to do is write a letter to the reporting agency with any documentation showing the debt was resolved. There’s also the possibility of the debt being reported twice if the original debtor sells the loan. These definitely need reported!

3. Save every penny. Seriously. The bigger your down payment, the easier it is for the bank to approve the loan. They also want to see the money in the account 30 days leading up to closing. We didn’t realize this and had planned to use our paychecks up until closing day to pay the down payment, since it was substantial (for us!) If we hadn’t been well advised by our realtor, we could have had quite a few headaches leading up to closing. Luckily, she told us up front and we had the money available for the bank to see and we were good to go.

Buying a home for a lot of people is hard. If you haven’t had pristine credit, it can be hard to get it back where it needs to be. If you’ve been working on it and it seems hopeless, don’t despair. There are programs available for those with less-than-perfect credit that can also help you out. VA loans, special mortgage programs and hard money loans are a few of the programs that can help you purchase the time.

Whatever way you go about it and whatever program you use, purchasing a home is a big step! Making it easier on yourself is the best thing you can do to have a wonderful experience!

5 Tips for Remaining Debt Free

This post is sponsored by Nationwide Debt Reduction Services. All words and opinions are my own.

I talk a lot about saving money and how hard we worked to get out of debt to buy our house, but man alive can I tell you how hard it is to STAY out of debt!

It’s no secret that we absolutely still had debt when we bought our house. And we STILL have debt now! In fact, after achieving our biggest goal, it’s really easy to slide back into that whole “I’ll just charge that new furniture that I absolutely need right this second” mentality.

And because I’m totally a spender, more often than not, we have done that. However, unlike before, we now don’t buy anything we can’t pay cash for… EVEN if that means using our credit cards to get the discount/points/perks. We just turn right around and pay it off in full.

Along this journey to becoming debt free, I have discovered some really easy things that seem like no-brainers but can really put you far behind, especially if you are living basically paycheck-to-paycheck.

  1. Pay your bills on time, especially your utilities. We get burned here every time, seriously. While we always make our car payments, credit card bills, and mortgage on time, it’s so easy to let your electric bill roll over to the next month, because it really does no harm and you pay only cents in interest. THIS. IS. BAD. Why? Because you ultimately end up with a huge bill that you probably haven’t budgeted for and then will be facing a shut off notice. Speaking from experience here guys!
  2. Build an emergency fund. Most finance people will tell you to have $1000, but seriously even if you just set $25 aside each pay, it adds up and helps out when you need it the most! Try to only use it for absolute emergencies. I also keep a credit card open for emergencies too, although not ideal, it’s somewhere to turn!
  3. Know what you’re capable of! If you are drowning in debt and trying desperately to get out, know when to throw in the towel and get some help! There are wonderful people out there like Nationwide Debt Reduction Services who are dedicated to helping you wade through your debt and get back on the right foot. They can help negotiate some of the large debt and find a settlement that works for you. In this age of technology, getting in touch with companies has never been easier. Find them on Facebook to check out if they can help you achieve your debt-free goals.
  4. Be OK with saying no. It’s OK to not be able to go to the hottest new restaurant or take the most lavish vacation. If you are keeping up with the Jones at every turn, you are headed straight for financial destruction.
  5. Change your mindset. This was a hard one for me. It’s like dieting. If this is just a temporary fix to your financial situation, you will ultimately end up right back where you started in no time. This needs to be a lifestyle change. Sure, once you are more on your feet, you can say “yes” to a few more luxuries, but without a solid budget and debt-free plans, all of that debt will creep right back up!

** Probably not good in all situations** When I pay off a credit card, I always get myself a little reward. I’m sure most financial planners would cringe at that statement, but I’m not talking about anything ridiculous, just maybe a new sweater I’ve been eyeing at the store, or maybe a nice pedicure. Then the following month, I roll what I would have paid on the payment I no longer have into another debt. The classic snowball method.

It seriously might be because I work in accounting, but I love budgeting. It’s what calms me when I am stressed. Numbers are black and white — they aren’t changing unless you make them change! And when you are able to pay off those credit cards or loans, it is so much fun!

What are your secrets to budgeting success?

The CHEAPEST Disney Souvenir – And How it Can Create Years of Memories

One thing is for sure, very little about a Disney Parks vacation can be considered cheap! I wrote a post a while ago talking about all of the things you can get at Disney for free, but really none of them would count to my kids as souvenirs they would choose to bring home.

This, however, totally feeds their soul and is one of the things they look forward to the most about our Disney vacations. And the best part is, it’s almost FREE! So, what is this magical gem, you ask?  PIN TRADING!

Now if you’ve ever looked at the price of a pin at the Emporium on Main Street you are thinking “ok lady, you’re nuts, these pins are $15 each!”  And you are totally right! They are crazy expensive, which is exactly why I would never buy them, unless they were really special!

So, how do we come home with an awesome pin set for free after each trip?  We trade!  Never heard of pin trading?  Let me fill you in on the basics.

*Each cast member wears a lanyard or pin board full of tradable pins.

*Green lanyard-wearing cast members can only trade with children

*They let you trade any pin on their lanyard or board for any pin on yours – no questions asked!

So the reason I say that this is the CHEAPEST souvenir instead of a FREE one is because there is the initial investment on the pins! Like I said before, I’m not shopping on main street to get those pins (and the ones I would buy I certainly wouldn’t be trading!)  There are two great ways to start pin trading:

  1. Purchase a pin starter pack from Disney. This includes your lanyard and a handful of pins to get started. It’s around $30, which is not a bad price and you are getting nice pins from the start. However, you only have a few pins to work with.
  2. Purchase a lot of pins on Amazon, eBay, or another site. This is what we did. I was VERY, VERY careful to only purchase from sellers with excellent feedback that don’t sell scrapper pins. Scrappers are cheap versions of real pins, but have noticeable differences making them fake. I bought around 50 for $30 and split them between the two girls and it came with two lanyards. Perfect.

When we originally got our pins, they were awesome and we were so excited to comb through them. There were a bunch of them that we ended up keeping for our pin boards, but most of them when on the lanyards for trading.

 

The best part about pin trading is you don’t need a park ticket to do it! Everywhere on Disney property cast members are wearing lanyards and trading. One of our best experiences was on the monorail! We were just riding and resort hopping and a handful of cast members who were earning their ears jumped on to go to the Magic Kingdom. They all had brand new pins! Lily was in heaven and we got quite a few really awesome, new pins, including the Lion King and Finding Dory!

Another awesome experience was sitting on Main Street waiting for the parade to begin and the guest services lady walked past and happened to have the Ariel high heel on her lanyard. Lily snatched that up so quick, the lady was cracking up!

Not only do we love doing this in the parks, we enjoy it just as much when we get home! It gives us something to talk about, where we got each pin, what we were doing, and how special and different each one of them is!

Our last trip, when we started trading, I was dead set against ever buying any pins, but now that they’ve become a permanent display in our home, this trip I did let the girls splurge and buy a special one at Castaway Cay and at the Character Warehouse! And our dear friend Cara bought them the anchor set on the cruise ship.

When we get home, we update our pin boards that are hanging in the girl’s room and pick out any pins we want to trade that were previously hanging. Those pins we add to our lanyards and we’re all set for our next adventure to Disney!

And if you get really into it, there are monthly subscription boxes where you can order mystery pins to be delivered to your house each month! Thankfully we’re not there yet, but you never know…

Are you into pin trading? Do you think it’s something your family would enjoy like ours?