Hi Brandie,
Thanks for joining us here at
planDisney! It's an honor to be trusted with a piece of your
Walt Disney World Resort vacation planning. Thank you.
I'm happy to share with you that Advance Dining Reservations are only connected to your
Walt Disney World Resort hotel room in that your booking window opens 60-days before your entire stay, rather than day-by-day. For you, that means that if your plans change and you decide not to stay close to the magic, you will not forfeit your Advance Dining Reservations.
Have you checked out the availability of
Walt Disney World Resort Value Resort hotels for your upcoming stay? We love these locations! They offer all of the convenience of Disney transportation to theme parks,
Disney Springs, and
Water Parks. They also have excellent swimming pools, offer
Movies Under the Stars, sell tasty food my whole family loves in the Dining areas, and just feel like I am, "In the Disney bubble," if you know what I mean. Whenever possible, I highly recommend staying in a Walt Disney World Resort hotel.
In fact, we have been known to streeeetch our Disney vacation budget in a few ways. Maybe some of these would work for your family:
1. Plan a swimming pool/ Resort hotel activity day to reduce the number of theme park days without sacrificing the fun. (This is a biggie both for our budget and for our bodies!)
2. Bring some basic groceries to help reduce the number of small meals and snacks we purchase in the theme parks. Think: Peanut Butter & Jelly or sliced apples. Our girls know that they can each pick 1
Disney Snack/Day. Other than that, it's backpack food for the win!
3. Create a Disney vacation budget and stick to it. Purchase Disney Gift Cards along the way so that you can limit your spending to what has been set aside.
4. Souvenirs do not have to be expensive! Pin trading is an excellent way to always feel like you are "Shopping" for something new without spending any additional money!
5. Bring a poncho from home! It's Florida. It's likely you will encounter some rain on your vacation. if you bring your own packable poncho, you will be comfortable and save money for goodies that are a little more fun than the giant sheet of plastic.
I hope that helps, Brandie! Come back and see us with any other questions that pop up as you plan your next Walt Disney World Vacation!
Wishing you many magical memories,
Sally