Indulging yourself...where the cost is worth it!

[nduckles]

Wanyama Safari, which also requires a stay at AKL, so throw club level into the splurge. We did this once nearly 10 years ago, and we still talk about when the baby giraffe approached the truck and nearly licked DD. And about how fantabulous dinner at Jiko was.

We did this years ago as well and it was wonderful, but unfortunately my daughter never forgot the trauma of seeing a mother rabbit attacking a large bird that was threatening her babies.....then the bird grabbing a baby rabbit, killing it, and following our safari vehicle around with the rabbit dangling from it's beak. OMG it was awful. Just our luck to see THAT circle of life......

 

[Aurora0427]

For us the biggest indulgence is where we stay. We don't just go to the parks from open to close. We like to enjoy the resort, use the amenities, and we love the extra luxurious touches at the Grand Floridian. It's part of our vacation.

When our kids get older, we'd love to splurge on some of the really neat extras, like the cruises and tours.

 

[bochnikm]

Surprising someone with something from Disney Floral and Gifts, delivered right to your room. I used them on our Disneymoon and Anniversary.

 

[Spork24]

Illuminations fireworks cruise

Couldn't agree more!

 

[MrsDuck]

We splurge by staying on property and having a few nice TS meals. We are also looking at doing a tour soon.

We save by not buying any souvenirs unless we REALLY want them. Sometimes we split meals or I kid a kids meal.

 

[cornflkgrl]

Club level was a very nice splurge/indulgence in my opinion. The food was good and since we aren't big eaters in the summer, it was just enough of a breakfast in the a.m. and a snack in the evenings to keep us going. We enjoyed having a cold beer or glass of wine in the late afternoon as well while resting in between parks. Definitely will do it again.

 

[Dan Murphy]

I try to take a backstage tour every visit. So far I have 12 different ones, several multiple times.

 

[Lisaloo]

Cabana at the water park and definitely club level.

 

[heidijanesmith]

Illuminations cruise for DD's 16th. Wonderful experience and well worth it!

Getting a good view, we really love a good view at the EPCOT resorts and love to watch Illuminations higher fireworks from our balcony.

Specialty cake or cupcakes. We have had great experiences and my kids loved them.

Backstage Magic tour, worth every penny!

Diving at The Seas- my family are big scuba divers and this is a must do.

Club level- if we get a good discount, we love CL benefits.

 

[fbarker]

I have been told that dinner at V&A's is SO worth it, but we haven't done it... yet...

Make a dinner reservation at California Grill and time it so you are there during Wishes. Magical viewing Wishes from the top of the Contemporary, with your sweetie and a glass of red wine!

Illuminations cruise. We've always just bought seats in someone else's boat, but next time I am going to try for a boat and then sell the seats to cover the cost. I LOVE Illuminations Cruises, and we haven't been able to get any seats for the past 5 or so trips.

NOT sure they are still doing this, but last October (2014) we stayed for the special after-hours tasting event at Epcot. We went to the tequila tasting in the Mexico pavilion. This starts AFTER park closing, so staying in the park is special in itself. There were about 25 people in attendance, in the tequila cave in Mexico. The host of the event was very knowledgable, and we were educated in the ways of tequila! The event was $35 per person, and it included 1 shot of vodka (to cleanse your palate), either 3 or 4 different tequila tastings, and an amuse bouche to go with each tequila taste. They also stayed open for a bit after the tasting, so you could order drinks and bar snacks (for an additional charge, of course). I thought the price for this event was reasonable, considering it's Disney, and we had an AMAZING time at the event!

Afternoon tea at the Grand Floridian. It's just so darned elegant, and when else will you get to experience a high English tea (kind-of)? We found that if we had a substantial breakfast and planned tea for about 3:30pm, we didn't need dinner; a park snack held us through until the next morning.

Just a point of information you dont need to time your meal to watch Wishes from the Contemporary. If you have dinner that night you can use your receipt to return. I know its sometimes tough to get back but its so worth it. You also get some great monorail views and pics from the catwalk

 

[Keels]

I am toying with doing this again come January.

This October I have planned a private Illuminations dessert party in the UK pavilion. For about four hundred dollars we will have an event guide, a cheese, meat and fruit platter, unlimited mickey ice cream novelties, Mickey shaped sugar cookies, chocolate dipped strawberries, butterscotch marshmallow squares, cotton candy, lemonade, milk and water, babycakes donuts and a Cinderella themed birthday cake. Really looking forward to it. Disney's catered events arranged the whole thing.

Oooooh. I'd LOVE to hear more about this! How many people will be attending the party?

I'm trying to come up with something SUPER special for my group to celebrate after I finish Dopey in January. This wasn't something that Group Dining offered, but is something I would love!

 

[kathy884]

Have a Mickey Bar at one of the parks. The ears make this the greatest ice cream bar ever.

 

[quandrea]

Oooooh. I'd LOVE to hear more about this! How many people will be attending the party?

I'm trying to come up with something SUPER special for my group to celebrate after I finish Dopey in January. This wasn't something that Group Dining offered, but is something I would love!

There will be just five of us. You can still do it for about four hundred. The menu just won't be as large. Check out www.disneytravelbabble.com. she has a whole section about how to plan a dessert party. Mine is at UK pubside. I booked about six months ago through catered events.

 

[IvyWinter]

Surprising someone with something from Disney Floral and Gifts, delivered right to your room. I used them on our Disneymoon and Anniversary.

I'm going to do just that for my boyfriend. He's very, very skeptical about going to disney world. "i don't care, im just doing this for you" attitude. I figure i might as well give him a little pixie dust with a bottle of wine and chocolate delivered to the room. I think it'll be worth it.

 

[Keels]

There will be just five of us. You can still do it for about four hundred. The menu just won't be as large. Check out www.disneytravelbabble.com. she has a whole section about how to plan a dessert party. Mine is at UK pubside. I booked about six months ago through catered events.

Do you like your event coordinator that you planned with? I'd love to ask for a specific person when I call in the morning!

 

[k5thbeatle]

Is there an equivalent to the Illuminations Cruise for the fireworks at Magic Kingdom?

 

[quandrea]

Do you like your event coordinator that you planned with? I'd love to ask for a specific person when I call in the morning!

Yes. Her name is Janice. Did you find the catered events phone number. Good luck with planning. Pm me any questions. I'd love to hear about your plans.

 

[Dan Murphy]

Is there an equivalent to the Illuminations Cruise for the fireworks at Magic Kingdom?

Yes, Wishes Fireworks cruises. And there is the Pirates and Pals cruise. We've done both, the Wishes cruise is same as Illuminations cruise. Pirates and Pals is really unique, lots of fun.

http://www.wdwinfo.com/recreation/fireworks.htm#mkcruisebasic

http://www.kennythepirate.com/2013/01/29/pirates-and-pals-fireworks-voyage/

 

[loves to dive]

I'm going to do just that for my boyfriend. He's very, very skeptical about going to disney world. "i don't care, im just doing this for you" attitude. I figure i might as well give him a little pixie dust with a bottle of wine and chocolate delivered to the room. I think it'll be worth it.

My DS and DIL surprised me on mother's day with a box with a wand in it and a beautiful bracelet, which I wear every day now. It was a great surprise to walk in the room and see the balloons floating over the box, it made me cry.

I've read somewhere that you can get dinner catered at the TOT out on the porch just before you enter the lobby. Not sure if that is true and how much it would cost but boy wouldn't that be fun?

 

[IvyWinter]

My DS and DIL surprised me on mother's day with a box with a wand in it and a beautiful bracelet, which I wear every day now. It was a great surprise to walk in the room and see the balloons floating over the box, it made me cry.

I've read somewhere that you can get dinner catered at the TOT out on the porch just before you enter the lobby. Not sure if that is true and how much it would cost but boy wouldn't that be fun?

I just ordered this package: http://disneyworld.disneyfloralandgifts.com/product/minnieregale.do

Looking forward to enjoying it!

Oh man, TOT dinner would be fantastic! I've never heard of that though, i wonder if it's just a rumor