Royal Caribbean Cruise line has some great rates on cruises right now. They are offering 60% off the second guest and kids sail for less. This offer is good until December 3, 2019. Don’t miss out on these Royal Caribbean November Deals!
Bonus Deal: Wander Now Sale
**Book November 15-19, 2019 for Stateroom Credit
If you book within the next couple of days you will receive credit to your stateroom as well as the great rates. Stateroom credit can be used on dining, beverages, shore excursions, photographs and other activites. It cannot be used toward gratuities.
See chart below for the amount of credit you can receive! I love this extra Royal Caribbean November deal!
Stateroom Credit by booking November 15-19, 2019
5 Nights or Less:
6 Nights or Longer
Inside/Oceanview Cabin
$25
$50
Balcony Cabin
$75
$100
Suite
$75
$200
Ready to take advantage of these Royal Caribbean November Deals? Contact me today!
As I am typing this Guide to Character Meeting on Disney Cruise Line I am excitedly watching movie on Disney+ (the new streaming service). There were so many choices but I decided to go with one of my favorites, The Apple Dumpling Gang and I am LOVING it!
Now, on to the real reason for this post.
Character appearances are a fantastic part of a Disney cruise. Some people avoid the parks and take a cruise instead. They still get to see the Disney characters but stay away from the madness of the parks. There is no shortage of characters. While on board it feels like they are everywhere! Hopefully you will find this Guide to Character Meeting on Disney Cruise Line helpful!
Where do I go to meet the characters?
The Navigator (paper and app)
Do you wonder how you are going to find all the many characters on your Disney Cruise? Who to meet? When they will be there? Where to go? The Navigator is your complete guide to finding the characters. Each evening you can pick up the paper Navigator at Guest Services and plan for the next day. OR…
Even better, is to use the Navigator App. Download the app before leaving on your cruise. On the app you can search by character or by day to plan your day or even your whole week.
Excerpt from a Navigator showing Character appearances
Meet and greets all over the ship
You will find characters all over the ship. Most of the time the characters on our ship were centered around the Atrium on 3 floors. They would also meet and greet outside the Walt Disney Theater, the ticketed gatherings (more later), character breakfast, and of course, the Oceaneers Club.
Meeting Spiderman in the Oceaneers Club
At the parties, shows, dinner and some excursions
Your favorite Disney characters are also the stars of so many of the shows. It all starts with the Sail-a-Wave Party. Other shows with characters include the Pixar Pals Party (loved this one!), Frozen Deck Party, Pirate Deck Party, sometimes the Family Dance Parties, and the Goodbye party. Mickey, Minnie and Friends also show up at the Golden Mickeys. You also might book an excursion that gives an opportunity for you to spend some time with your favorite characters.
And, of course, you might see characters at dinner or just walking around the ship. At these times the characters do not stop for pictures or autographs. They welcome a high 5 or a wave as they pass by. You might even get really lucky with a quick hug.
When can we interact with the characters?
Meet and Greet
At the meet and greet times the characters will sign autographs, talk with you for a moment or two, and take a picture with you. There is a photographer that will take your picture. They are also happy to use your camera to snap a pic or two. This is your opportunity to bring your autograph books, pillowcases, photo mats, t-shirts or whatever else you might want the characters to sign as a keepsake.
MEET AND GREET DETAILS: The Meet and Greet sessions are scheduled for 15 minutes. A cast member will not allow anyone else to enter they line when it gets close to ending time. Some characters have nice backgrounds. The lines go pretty quickly even when they look long. Remember, the character will only be there for 15 minutes so you shouldn’t be waiting longer than that.
NOTE ABOUT USING YOUR OWN CAMERA: The lighting at the meet and greets is not very good. It can be kind of dark and often a lot of shadowing. I will note that the Disney pictures, while better than mine, were sometimes not spectacular.
Parties
You also get to have a lot of interaction during the parties. For example, during the Pixar Pals Party we could dance with the characters, take pictures and have a ton of fun with them. At the end of the cruise at the goodbye party the characters stood around for pictures and some fun.
A quick pic with Mrs. Incredible at the Pixar Pals party.
Gatherings
The gatherings are separate ticketed events. Prior to your cruise you can reserve a special time to meet the Princesses or Elsa and Anna. Reservations are free and are made based on your Castaway Club status. Platinum members can book 120 days before sailing, Gold members 105 days ahead, Silver members 90 days ahead and first time cruisers can book 75 days ahead. NOTE: If you are unable to get a reservation prior to departure check with Guest Service immediately after boarding to possibly get a time slot.
FROZEN Gathering: This is the only time you have to interact with Elsa and Anna.
PRINCESS Gathering: For us this was in the Atrium. It was nice to be able to see all of them at once. But, you will have a chance to see Princesses at other times. On our cruise we saw Cinderella, Belle, Ariel, and Tiana.
This extra special event delights children ages 3-12. During this whimsical tea time your prince and princesses enjoy stories, songs, and dancing with your Tea Party Hostess and Royal Pastry Chef. And, of course, devoted time with Disney Princesses.
In addition, your taste buds will be temped with tea and two delicious courses. Keepsake gifts will be given to remember this special teatime experience.
Cost: $220 for children and $69 for adults
Character Breakfast
This is also a special ticketed event. It is free but reservations must be made. What characters will be at the breakfast is constantly changing. It is an exciting surprise when you get there. We saw Mickey, Minnie, Chip and Dale. Make sure you tell your server if all of the characters have not visited your child.
Is every session with a character the same?
Throughout the cruise you will see multiple greeting times for some characters. There are a couple reasons. One reason is to give many people a chance to visit the characters. There is so much going on during the cruise that there needs to be multiple scheduled times to accommodate.
The other reason is that some characters, mainly Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse and Friends want to don more than one outfit to brighten up your day. They might show up in cruise wear one day, formal wear on Formal night, pirate garb, rain gear, or local outfits. One day on our Alaska cruise Mickey and Minnie wore Native Alaskan Parkas.
My biggest character meeting tip!
Use your Navigator app to plan out when you want to go and meet specific characters. On the app you can choose favorites and it will remind you at the time. If you do this at the beginning of your trip you can relax knowing you won’t miss out on any characters you really want to meet.
Thank you for reading this Guide to Character Meeting on Disney Cruise Line. I hope you found some helpful tips and tricks for cruise.
Is there a character that you just have to meet? One you would be heartbroken to miss? For me it was Joy! I love her!
Who’d have thought there would be a philosophy discussion on a vacation blog? What could philosophy possibly have to do with traveling? Well, let me enlighten you.
There are probably many philosophies people can have regarding going on vacation. The ones that I have considered throughout the years is between quantity and quality.
Quantity of Travel Philosophy
This philosophy of traveling is one that enables the traveler to go away as much as possible. People with this philosophy often travel on a budget in order to do so as much as possible. They stay in less expensive accommodations, eat mostly at inexpensive eateries, and don’t purchase many extra excursions, activities or events. Penny pinching on each vacation allows money to go more places more times.
Quality of Travel Philosophy
This philosophy is held by those who want grand, dream vacations. They will save and save for a vacation with all the bells and whistles. This type of traveler will not travel as often but when they do, they do it in style. First class accommodations are booked, excursions are planned, every activity they want to do is experienced.
The Alaska to Mickey Philosophy
In the past many, many years my philosophy has been plan budget vacations in order to travel every year (sometimes more). We have tent camped on many vacations, rarely eat at nice restaurants (packing food, cooking ourselves, and faster food options instead), stayed in timeshare resorts (although this certainly hasn’t been roughing it) instead of Disney Resorts, refrained from most extras (like cruise excursions, tours, and other activities). We bought and sold (in order to pay for the trip) an RV in order to tour the East Coast.
Camping in Wyoming
We have has so many wonderful family experiences with this philosophy. Our family has seen so many fantastic places without spending a ton. Only once in a while did we feel like we were missing out.
BUT…
One of the Ko Olina cove beaches
The last couple of days I have been going through the Disney College of Knowledge learning how to book magical vacations for families. Specifically, I have learned more about Adventures by Disney and Aulani. If you are not familiar with Adventures by Disney, these are spectacular tour vacations all over the world. They are geared toward connecting families together and then together experiencing the history, culture, and countryside of their tour destinations. Every last detail is taken care of as only Disney can. And then there is Aulani, Disney’s Resort in Ko Olina, Hawaii on the island of Oahu. This beautiful resort on this gorgeous island seems to just be calling to me.
Now, both of these vacation destinations would require saving for a while. But, after learning all the benefits, possibilities, and really cool things about each I am thinking saving up might be worth not traveling as much.
What do you think?
What is your travel philosophy? How does your family travel? Do you prefer dream vacations, many budget vacations or are you somewhere in between? Let me know in the comments!
Up until a few years ago I always went through Hotwire or Priceline for car rentals. But now, both of these companies work with Sixt, and Fox car rental companies. I have not personally have had any experience with these companies but I have read enough stories of other bad experiences to make me leary. I realize that probably most of the time these companies are great but I am not willing to try them out.
On to the subject of today’s post:
Now, we rent almost exclusively through Costco. I feel very comfortable with the reputation of the companies that sell through Costco. And, I just LOVE all things Costco!
Car rentals are booked through Costco Travel. Anyone is able to research prices. But, to book you have to log in and have a Costco membership. The thing I really like about booking rentals through Costco is that I don’t have to pay anything to make a reservation. Another Costco benefit is that a second driver is included–no extra fees,
Evidence of Saving on Car Rentals at Costco vs. Budget directly
The chart below is the cost (at the time of posting) to rent a car from May 12-18, 2019 at Orlando International Airport.
Since Budget seems to be the least expensive, I wanted to compare Costco prices with the prices on the Budget website.
At first it looks like going directly through Budget.com is a much cheaper option. So, I proceeded to the next step. On the next page I discovered that the price initially quoted does not include taxes and fees. That inexpensive $150 economy car that I could pay at the counter for suddenly becomes $221. If I want to take the gamble of paying ahead the $118 sure looks good. But again, clicking through to the next page the price jumps to $182.
$182? That looks familiar. The Costco price for an economy car that I pay at the counter for is $182. And, when I click on to the next page, it is still $182 including taxes and fees. So, with Costco I reserve at the same low pay now price as the Budget.com website and I don’t have to pay until I actually use the car. SCORE!
Okay, now for my super HOT TIP! We have used Costco quite a few times over the last couple of years. I have learned to book a reservation early (or as soon as I book airline tickets). Then I keep checking back on the Costco website to see if the prices have dropped. Most of the times we have made reservations sure enough, the prices dropped. Then I make a new reservation and cancel the more expensive one. For example, on our recent trip to California. We reserved a 12-passenger van for 11 days for $890. I kept checking back and eventually the price dropped to $750. Yippee!
So, what tips to you have to get good deals on car rentals? Share your secrets in the comments below!
Happy travels to you…until we meet again!
Other posts to save money you might be interested in:
Driving to and parking at Disneyland is crazy confusing. Disney World is so easy. Follow the signs to the park you want to go to, drive in to the large parking lot, and then follow the people to walk or take a tram to the front of the park. NOT SO at Disneyland!
Our confusion began driving down Interstate 5 still a couple of miles from Disneyland. I entered Disneyland as a destination in Google Maps and it asked me which parking area I wanted to go to. HUH?! Which do I choose? What’s the difference? Which is better?
Pictures are not the actual parking lot or garage. 🙂
Just about every day we alternated which place we parked. I am going to give you some tips from what we learned. We were staying in Fullerton so we would take Interstate 5 South to get to Disney. Since we drove south, those directions I give are first hand knowledge. My directions driving north come from studying the map without any actual driving experience.
There are two current parking areas; the Toy Story Parking Lot and the Mickey and Friends Parking Garage.
Toy Story Parking Lot
Traveling South from Interstate 5 you will take the Harbor Blvd Exit. Traveling North you probably would want the Katella Ave. Exit. You will enter the parking lot from Harbor Blvd. There will be signs showing where you turn left to enter the parking lot. Upon entering will be a booth to collect $25 for most vehicles ($40 for preferred parking) or you can pay ahead and show your voucher. All oversized vehicles must use the Toy Story Parking lot and there is an additional fee.
Once you park, head toward the shelter type structures where you will catch a bus. Most likely you will just be able to follow the crowd. Strollers will need to be folded up to take on the bus. All children must have a specific seat. They may not stand.
Our parking spot never seemed to be a long walk to get to the buses. We didn’t have to wait too long for a bus. One morning there was quite a line but it moved quickly. Once on the bus, settle back for the ride. On Sunday the bus ride seemed relatively short. The ride seemed to get longer and longer throughout the week. This was due to more traffic on the roadways that the buses have to travel to get to the drop off point. You will be dropped off fairly close to the bag check and entrances of the two parks. Disneyland will be on the right and California Adventure on the left.
Leaving the Park
When you leave to catch the bus back to your car there is decent signage after passing through the bag check area. Make sure your stroller is folded up while waiting in line for the bus otherwise you might have to wait for the next one.
Mickey and Friends Parking Garage
This is a HUGE parking structure that you drive into. They are in the process of constructing another one nearby.
Driving South on Interstate 5 you will take the Disneyland Drive Exit. If you are in the carpool lane you can remain in that lane and it will take you to the right spot. Driving north you would take the exit toward Ball Road and then turn onto Disneyland Dr.
You will enter the garage on the ground floor which opens up to many lanes of ticket boots ready for you to pay $25 ($40 for preferred parking) or you can pay ahead and show your voucher. Once through the booths you will follow arrows and cones up to the designated floor to park. There are cast members directing you to the correct spot just like the parking lots. After collecting everything you need for the day follow the signs toward the tram.
You will be directed toward escalators and elevators which will take you to the ground level. The first time we parked in the garage we were on the 6th floor. We rode a short escalator to the 5th floor and then a super cool, very long escalator all the way from the 5th floor to the ground.
To the Entrance by Tram
Continue following the flow of traffic back into the garage where you will go through the bag check (this is your only bag check station) and catch the tram. For us, on Monday there was only one tram running so we had to wait for about three to finally get on. On Thursday there were two trams running so we were quickly on our way to the park. Stroller must also be folded up to ride the tram.
After a 5-7 minute ride, the tram will drop you off at the end of Downtown Disney closest to the park entrances. Since you have already had bags check you can head directly to the entrance and be on your way to a Magical Day.
To the Entrance by Foot
Once on the ground you can walk to the park. Ask a cast member to point you in the correct direction. It is about a 10-15 minute walk to the end of Downtown Disney. There is a bag check to enter Downtown Disney. After bag check walk a little ways and turn left. You will walk all the way through Downtown Disney to get to the park entrances.
Leaving the park
When you leave the park to catch the tram there is clear signage directing you. Please be aware–the cast members attending the boarding of the tram are serious when they tell you to stay behind the yellow portion of the sidewalk. They want you completely behind. Even your toes on the yellow is too much and they will not allow the tram to leave until you step back. So, make their job easier and the wait less for everyone by remaining behind the yellow line!
Both parking options have limited number of parking spaces designated for those with disabilities. You must have appropriate placard or license plate. Standard fees apply. At the Toy Story Lot select buses have the capability of transporting most wheelchairs and ECV’s (some larger equipment cannot fit). At the Mickey and Friends Garage some trams possibly can accommodate otherwise there are wheelchair lift-equipped vans that can take you to the entrance.
Final Thoughts
Each day we alternated between the two parking methods trying to decide which we liked better. I preferred the garage while my husband preferred the parking lot.
The buses were easier for the stroller
The buses seemed slower because of all the traffic on the roads
The tram was more difficult for our stroller but once on felt faster
The amount of walking seemed about equal unless you have to park in the back of the garage. Each floor is huge and some parking spots are very far from the escalator.
I really liked the bag check before the tram. Then once we got off the tram we could head straight to the Magic rather than having one more distraction.
I think once the new garage opens up I would stick to the garage over the parking lot.
All in all, I don’t think that either way was faster. It really is about which method helps you get more into the spirit of Disney.
Happy travels to you…until we meet again!
This website uses cookies to improve your experience. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish.AcceptRejectRead More
Privacy & Cookies Policy
Privacy Overview
This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
