Adventures of a Disney Dad: A Walt Disney World Trip Planning Podcast

We just hit 100 episodes! To celebrate, we're sharing our favorite things at Walt Disney World! We start by ranking all four parks, and Chip and I don't agree. Then we share our top three hotels, plus the budget resorts we'd pick in each category. From there we get into the best ride queues, the resort smells we can't forget, our go-to Disney Springs stops, and the quick service meals we'd eat today if we could. We keep it honest, because a favorite isn't always the right pick for every family. My favorite resort is Riviera, but it's not where I usually stay with my kids, and I explain why. You'll also hear which queue we'd skip every time and the resort scents we can't stop thinking about. We wrap up with a Santa dinner at The Cake Bake Shop that costs a family of four over $900, plus our favorite character meals and the surprise character meets we love most. Chapters 01:15  Looking back at 100 episodes and our guests 02:07  How a paralyzed vocal cord almost stopped the show 04:35  Why these are our favorites, not your rankings 05:03  Ranking the four Walt Disney World parks 06:54  The Animal Kingdom coffee that almost made me miss my flight 09:01  Chip's top three favorite hotels 11:25  My top three favorite hotels 14:50  Our favorite hotels on a budget 16:50  How I pick budget resorts for clients 19:00  Top three ride queues and the worst queue at Disney World 22:36  Tower of Terror, Haunted Mansion, and Pirates queues 24:11  Honorable mentions: Tiana's and Tron 25:12  Our favorite Walt Disney World smells 29:33  Top three Disney Springs stops 34:51  Top three quick service meals 37:15  The most overrated snacks and meals 41:10  Hyped up things that are worth it 44:39  The $900 Santa dinner at The Cake Bake Shop 45:33  Favorite character meets and meals 49:20  Thank you for 100 episodes   👉 Need help planning your Walt Disney World, Universal Orlando, or Disney Cruise Line vacation? Matt is a travel agent with The Magic for Less Travel, and his services are 100% free to you. 📩 Get a free quote: https://www.adventuresofadisneydad.com/get-a-quote ⭐ Enjoy the podcast? Please take a minute to rate and review the show on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. It helps more Disney families find us. Have a question? Email us: [email protected] ☕ Want to support the podcast? If this episode helped you, consider buying us a coffee or dropping something in the tip jar. Every bit of support helps keep the show going. https://adventures-of-a-disney-dad.kit.com/products/matthew-brandabur 📬 Have a Disney planning question? Leave a comment, send an email, or drop it on social. We read them all and use them for future episodes.

Chip and I opened up the listener inbox for Episode 99 and answered 7 of your Walt Disney World planning questions. We cover long trips, overhyped dining, strollers, and more. Plus, we share news about our Episode 100 listener giveaway. In this episode, we cover: How to plan a long Walt Disney World vacation in the 8 to 14 day range, and why I raise my resort budget when we stay longer. Whether you should still buy Lightning Lane Multi Pass on a long Disney trip Why Disney World ticket prices drop per day on longer trips, and when a relaxed park day without Multi Pass makes sense. Why I cringe when people say you don't "need" Lightning Lane. Split stays with Universal and things to do in Orlando outside of Disney, from SeaWorld to an Orlando Magic game. The most overhyped Disney World restaurants right now, including The Cake Bake Shop, Topolino's Terrace for dinner, 'Ohana, and Regal Eagle Smokehouse. Summer House on the Lake cookies vs. Gideon's Bakehouse, plus Chip's worry about churro waffles and spring rolls. Whether Tusker House still lives up to the hype after we felt rushed through our last character breakfast. What we'd never buy again at Disney World Is Park Hopper worth it with little kids? Why it's now the first thing I suggest cutting from a Disney budget. Disney travel protection, and what it does and doesn't cover. How to plan Walt Disney World and Universal Orlando in one trip, and what one day at Epic Universe with Express Pass would have cost my family. What age kids stop using a stroller at Disney World, and what a double jogging stroller rental costs. Whether it's okay to split up as a family in the parks Should you surprise your kids with a Disney trip or tell them early? Chapters 01:51  How do you plan a longer Disney vacation? 03:54  Why the resort matters more on an 8 to 14 day trip 04:48  Should you still buy Lightning Lane on a long trip? 06:08  Relaxed park days and cheaper daily tickets 07:24  Rope drop, the time change, and the word "need" 08:10  Split stays and fun outside of Disney 09:27  What Disney World dining is overhyped right now? 11:31  Why I'm tired of The Cake Bake Shop 12:14  Summer House on the Lake cookies vs. Gideon's 12:56  Will churro waffles and spring rolls slip? 13:43  Is Tusker House rushing families? 14:39  Regal Eagle and the turkey leg baguette hack 15:49  What we'd never buy again at Disney 16:56  Why Park Hopper is the first thing I cut 18:01  My take on travel protection 20:16  Planning Disney and Universal in one trip 22:24  When do you retire the stroller? 24:46  Is it okay to split up in the parks? 28:11  Surprise the kids or tell them early?   👉 Need help planning your Walt Disney World, Universal Orlando, or Disney Cruise Line vacation? Matt is a travel agent with The Magic for Less Travel, and his services are 100% free to you. 📩 Get a free quote: https://www.adventuresofadisneydad.com/get-a-quote ⭐ Enjoy the podcast? Please take a minute to rate and review the show on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. It helps more Disney families find us. Have a question? Email us: [email protected] ☕ Want to support the podcast? If this episode helped you, consider buying us a coffee or dropping something in the tip jar. Every bit of support helps keep the show going. https://adventures-of-a-disney-dad.kit.com/products/matthew-brandabur 📬 Have a Disney planning question? Leave a comment, send an email, or drop it on social. We read them all and use them for future episodes.

Most Disney planning advice is a list of things you should do. This week Chip and I flipped it. We sat down and talked through the things we will not do at Walt Disney World anymore, no matter what. If you are planning your first trip and you keep hearing that everything at Disney is worth it, this one is going to save you money, time, and a whole lot of frustration.   Chapters 00:00  The Things We Will Not Do at Walt Disney World 00:36  Chip's Rule: No National Chains at Disney Springs 01:15  T-Rex and Rainforest Cafe Are a Hard No 05:11  Why We Will Not Stay Off Property for a Park Trip 07:01  How an Airbnb Wrecks Your Booking Windows 07:52  The Hidden Costs That Erase Your Savings 09:04  The One Time Chip Stays Off Property 10:44  No Lightning Lanes, No Trip 11:10  The 45 Minute Wait Rule and Where It Came From 12:27  What Lightning Lane Costs a Family of Four 13:15  What We Cut From the Budget Instead 14:13  Chip Is Done Driving to the TTC 15:26  We Will Not Ignore the Resort 17:09  Pools, Table Service, and What Value Resorts Lack 18:38  Matching Families to the Right Disney Resort 21:11  Never Leave Your Kids Out of the Planning 23:36  We Will Never Skip the Midday Break 24:49  Two Table Service Meals in One Day 26:03  The One Exception: A Full Princess Day 27:16  We Will Not Rope Drop Every Single Day   👉 Need help planning your Walt Disney World, Universal Orlando, or Disney Cruise Line vacation? Matt is a travel agent with The Magic for Less Travel, and his services are 100% free to you.   📩 Get a free quote: https://www.adventuresofadisneydad.com/get-a-quote   ⭐ Enjoy the podcast? Please take a minute to rate and review the show on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. It helps more Disney families find us.   Have a question? Email us: [email protected] ☕ Want to support the podcast? If this episode helped you, consider buying us a coffee or dropping something in the tip jar. Every bit of support helps keep the show going. https://adventures-of-a-disney-dad.kit.com/products/matthew-brandabur   📬 Have a Disney planning question? Leave a comment, send an email, or drop it on social. We read them all and use them for future episodes.

It is D23 week, and if you follow Disney at all, you already know the entire fan world is holding its breath waiting on the parks panel. Chip and I sat down the night before to put our predictions on the record, park by park, no hedging. If you are listening to this after the announcements dropped, go ahead and fact check us. Tell us where we nailed it and where we were completely nuts. We start with the big picture. My expectation is that D23 is mostly going to be a weekend of updates rather than shocking new reveals. Expect names, details, and maybe some rough timeframes for Tropical Americas, Villains Land, Piston Peak, and Monsters Inc land, but not a lot that we did not already know was coming. Chip goes a different direction. His biggest prediction is hotels, including a new moderate and a DVC resort, and he calls his shot on exactly where that DVC resort is going near Epcot. We also get into Lakeshore Lodge, the complaints that it looks like a Marriott, and why adding rooms that are not DVC would actually help bring costs down for every family. Two things I really got into. First, the Space Mountain rumors have been red hot for about a month now. Second, I go on a bit of a rant about the calls for a second Halloween party at Walt Disney World. We close it out with Disney Cruise Line, and there is a lot going on!   Chapters 01:53  What D23 Is and Why the Parks Panel Matters 04:43  Chip’s Big Prediction: New Hotel Announcements 05:02  Illuminations, the Epcot Nighttime Show Problem, and a Drone Show 07:04  Where Chip Thinks a New DVC Resort Is Going 07:45  Lakeshore Lodge, Island Tower, and Why More Rooms Would Help Families 09:16  The Tower of Terror Hotel Pipe Dream 11:11  A Rapunzel Ride in Germany and the Figment Refurb Question 12:20  Updates, Not Surprises: Tropical Americas, Villains Land, and Piston Peak 13:13  The Space Mountain Overhaul and the PeopleMover Problem 14:33  A Full Tomorrowland Refresh and Disney’s Recent Show Flops 16:25  Villains Land Details, Opening Windows, and the Fantasyland Rumor 18:23  Hollywood Studios and the Skyliner Expansion Debate 19:59  Does Walt Disney World Need a Second Halloween Party? 22:29  Why the Free Candy Criticism Misses the Point 23:20  Animal Kingdom, Bluey, and the Avatar Problem 25:26  Disneyland: Zootopia, Marvel Land, and the IP Debate 29:35  Disney Cruise Line: Ship Shuffling and a Galveston Port 31:15  The Treasure Discount That Saved My Client $6,000 32:34  Breaking News: A Wreck It Ralph Attraction in Tokyo 33:28  Disney Springs, Level 99, and Splitsville 35:19  Final Predictions and Closing   👉 Need help planning your Walt Disney World, Universal Orlando, or Disney Cruise Line vacation? Matt is a travel agent with The Magic for Less Travel, and his services are 100% free to you. 📩 Get a free quote: https://www.adventuresofadisneydad.com/get-a-quote ⭐ Enjoy the podcast? Please take a minute to rate and review the show on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. It helps more Disney families find us. Have a question? Email us: [email protected] ☕ Want to support the podcast? If this episode helped you, consider buying us a coffee or dropping something in the tip jar. Every bit of support helps keep the show going. https://adventures-of-a-disney-dad.kit.com/products/matthew-brandabur 📬 Have a Disney planning question? Leave a comment, send an email, or drop it on social. We read them all and use them for future episodes.

Your Walt Disney World questions have been piling up in my inbox, so this week I’m sitting down solo and working through the ones I get asked the most. I start with MagicBands and give you my honest take on whether you need one, including the free hotel key card option that does almost everything a MagicBand does. From there I get into how to choose which park you visit on which day, and why your dining reservations end up making that decision for you long before the day of the week ever matters. I break down all three Lightning Lane tiers side by side so you can tell Multipass, Single Pass, and Premier Pass apart. Then I answer the Memory Maker question I get from almost every first time visitor, and I close with the part nobody plans for, which is how to budget for a Disney World vacation where I give you the exact dollar figures I hand my own clients for strollers, airport transportation, Lightning Lane, and dining. Those four line items are where most Disney budgets quietly fall apart, and I tell you what to set aside for each one. Chapters 01:50  Do You Actually Need a MagicBand? 03:23  When MagicBands Are Worth the Money 03:45  How to Choose Which Disney World Park on Which Day 07:14  Lightning Lane Multipass Explained 12:35  What is Memory Maker and Is It Worth It? 13:57  How to Skip Memory Maker at Disney World and Still Get Photos 15:26  How to Budget for Walt Disney World   👉 Need help planning your Walt Disney World, Universal Orlando, or Disney Cruise Line vacation? Matt is a travel agent with The Magic for Less Travel, and his services are 100% free to you. 📩 Get a free quote: https://www.adventuresofadisneydad.com/get-a-quote ⭐ Enjoy the podcast? Please take a minute to rate and review the show on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. It helps more Disney families find us. Have a question? Email us: [email protected] ☕ Want to support the podcast? If this episode helped you, consider buying us a coffee or dropping something in the tip jar. Every bit of support helps keep the show going. https://adventures-of-a-disney-dad.kit.com/products/matthew-brandabur 📬 Have a Disney planning question? Leave a comment, send an email, or drop it on social. We read them all and use them for future episodes.