Remember layaway? It disappeared from most stores when the economy was chugging along at full steam ahead. But since that all came to a grinding halt, I noticed that layaway is making a comeback in some stores. I've seen it so far at a mattress store and a jewelry store. While they weren't advertising it, the option came up once the salespeople saw I might be interested in something.
The same option goes for some travel agencies (though not all). Did you know you could essentially lay away your vacation? The requirements are different at each agency. Where I work, you need to pay airfare in full and a deposit is required for each person traveling in the party. You then have until 35 days prior to your departure to finish paying for your vacation. So if you wanted to plan Disney for next April, you could book now and make payments each month until your final payment date. This is a great option for families who want to plan ahead for next year. And you don't have to worry about a good Disney promotion happening after you book. You can change your booking (at no charge) to take advantage of whatever promotion comes up. You just can't change airline tickets without paying hefty penalties.
So if you plan ahead you can save a lot of money because layaway doesn't charge interest!

When you're planning to take a Walt Disney World vacation book your trip early (if possible) so you'll have the best selection of resorts and lots of time to plan.
It's said that half the fun is in the planning and I agree, especially when it comes to Disney. If you're planning to include in your vacation one of the 4 Disney Dining Plans, it may take some time and research to decide what restaurants you want to make reservations for. And you can make those reservations 90 days from your departure date. If you go during free dining (this year it's Aug. 16 - Oct. 3 and you must be booked for the free dining program) it's especially important to plan ahead because the most popular restaurants book up fast. It's also good to have a time range for your table service meal times so you have the needed flexibility to get reservations where you want. When special deals are released for Disney, people act on them quickly. Last November when the buy 4 nights get 3 nights free promotion began, many people (including myself) took the opportunity for a great deal. For me, it allowed me to stay at a deluxe resort while paying about the same as I would for a week in a moderate resort. In addition to dining reservations, you may want to plan other activities while you're in Disney. Golf, parasailing and behind-the-scenes tours are also available. If you're planning a special event like a Grand Gathering (family reunion) or a wedding in Disney, you might want to start a year (or even two) ahead of time. It's also good to familiarize yourself with the parks and depending on what time of year you visit, plan for afternoon breaks for small children, especially in the summer with the hot Florida sun. In fall, winter and spring, the parks close earlier than the summer so you may want to plan other activities for the evenings.
Give yourself time and do your research before you go because you definitely need a game plan when you're vacationing in Disney.

Don't miss the opportunity to take advantage of Photopass when you're visiting Walt Disney World. There are a couple ways to take advantage. Disney's photopass photographers are in every park and can almost always be found in front of backdrops like Cinderella's Castle. You can have them take your picture and they will give you a photopass card with a bar code on and an access code on the back. You can then use that card to get photos taken by any photopass photographer (including the ones at character meet and greets) in any park during your stay. They will scan your card and add each photo. When you go home, you can go to the website provided on the card and entere the number on the back to access your photos. You only pay for the pictures you want printed and sent to you. So there's no cost to you unless you want to buy photos.
Another way to take advantage of photopass is to buy the photopass CD for $99 and have a private photo shoot with the photographer and your family. This service is available at the deluxe resorts. You'll get the CD with all the pictures and the rights to all of those pictures. We had 66 pictures on our CD. All were great photos taken inside and outside the Beach Club Resort. We also received as a part of the package of two 8X10 photos and three 5X7's that they printed for us there. We chose the photos we wanted. This is a great way to get some nice professional family photos taken in Disney for an affordable price.
But don't forget YOUR camera too. There's still a lot of things for you to take pictures of.

Disney's free dining offer begins August 16th and runs through October 1. If you're taking advantage of this time to visit, make sure you make advanced reservations for the restaurants for your table service meals. You can make those reservations 90 days from your arrival day by calling 407-WDW-DINE. You may also want to have a time range in mind so if the time you wanted isn't available, you can check a little earlier or later. You can also schedule your table service meal at lunch if you choose.
Also, let them know if you are celebrating a birthday, anniversary or anything else you may be celebrating.
We had this nice happy anniversary dessert brought to us after our dinner at the California Grill. Disney goes over and above this year when you are celebrating because their promotion for the year is "What Will You Celebrate?"
Some restaurants will require a credit card to hold the reservation and they have a cancelation policy that charges your credit card if you don't show or cancel within the time period required. This is currently done at some of the more popular restaurants so that people don't double book reservations and not show up for one.
I would always recommend trying the table service dining plan at least once. It's a lot of food but it's a great way to experience some really fine dining.

On my most recent Disney trip I stayed at the Beach Club for the first time. This resort is in the deluxe category and is located just outside of Epcot.
The resort has a New England style beach theme that gives it a tranquil feel.
The 576 guest rooms are weaved into what I felt was a maze once inside the resort. It probably took a few days just to memorize how many lefts and right to take to get back to the room. But in true Disney fashion, there were signs showing which rooms were down each hallway so one could never really get lost. We were on the first floor in room 1522. And I don't think it's a coincidence that our room number had our wedding anniversary date in it (5/22) since it was what we were celebrating. Disney does things like that. Most of the rooms at the Beach Club have been recently refurbished. They have flat screen HD TV's on the wall, new carpet and posturepedic pillow top mattresses that were so comfortable that I'm going out to buy one! And conveniently, they have a brochure in your room that lists the bedding and linen type if you want to purchase it.
I love how close this resort was to Epcot. Our room was on the side of the resort closest to that park and we had a 5 minute walk from our room. The main pool which is shared with the Beach Club's sister resort, The Yacht Club, has a sand bottom, lazy river and sand dunes in the children's pool area. This main pool kind of winds around and morphs into the different pool categories. To get into this pool area you must show your room key and get a wristband. Because of it's popularity, they don't want pool hoppers. Closer to our room was another "quiet" pool and a hot tub.
The food court at this resort was small, as are most deluxe resort food courts in Disney. It combines with a small gift shop. The gift shop was a little disappointing. I thought it should be bigger and have more Beach Club merchandise.
Overall, this resort has moved to the top of my favorites list. I love how close it is to the boardwalk area, Jellyrolls and the ESPN Club. That's a great area to spend an evening outside the parks.
I would definitely recommend requesting a room that's not on the first floor. I found it too noisy late at night. But that's a downside to staying on the first floor in any resort.

When you're choosing your return flight from Disney and you are using Magical Express - Disney's free transportation to and from the airport - keep in mind that Magical Express will pick you up at your resort approximately 3 hours before your departure time. It sounds rather early but the bus also picks up from more than one resort. It's usually picking up from 3 or 4 resorts.
Last week while in Disney we were picked up by Magical Express at 4:10 p.m. for a 7:15 p.m. flight. But the bus also picked up at the Yacht Club, Disney's Boardwalk Inn and the Caribbean Beach Resort. We arrived at the airport just before 5:30 p.m.
It's a great way to save on car rental if you're not planning to leave Disney property.
We always take one of the last flights out for the day so we can spend that last day enjoying some last-minute park time. That has its advantages and disadvantages.
It's nice to have a good part of your last day in the parks, but our flight was delayed for 2 hours because of thunderstorms here in PA. It made for a long day when we landed just before midnight!
Check back later this week for my review of Disney's Beach Club Resort!

Like many people, coffee is a very important start to my day. But the coffee I've found at the Disney resorts, leave a lot to be desired. I've tried adding extra sugar, cream, and even hot chocolate to make it taste better but it doesn't work.
Since going without morning coffee is not an option, I now take my own.
I believe all the Disney resorts have coffee makers in the rooms. They are your traditional coffee makers with a basket that holds a filter. I bring my own coffee and filters. I believe some of the coffee makers have the basket with the built in filters but I bring my own just in case.
And while on the subject of beverages in Disney, I would always recommend buying the refillable mugs offered at each resort. For about $12, you can fill them up at the food court as much as you choose during your stay. They can be filled with soda, iced tea, hot chocolate and there are usually some fruit punch or lemonade choices. The mugs also make a great souvenir.
As May begins the very warm season in Disney with temperatures this week well into the 90's, staying hydrated is a necessity.