Cost Saving Tips for Your Next Disney Trip.

Cinderella's Castle. Photo by Daryl Mitchell

We have all heard the familiar interview after the Super Bowl.

“You just won the Super Bowl! What are you going to do next?”
“I’m going to Disney World!”

In that moment, a chorus of little voices all across the country shout, “I want to go to Disney World too!” And in that same moment, visions of burning money fill every parent’s mind with dread…

Disney can be expensive.  But if you plan ahead, you can reduce the cost of visiting the “Happiest Place on Earth”. Making the trip around Marathon Weekend is a great start to saving money at Disney. See the tips below for great ideas on how to make Disney World Marathon Weekend with NF Endurance fit within your budget.

MARATHON WEEKEND DEALS:

Let us register for you. Take a charity slot with NF Endurance and raise money to cure neurofibromatosis! We will give you an entry into the 5K, half marathon, full marathon, or Goofy Challenge. Fundraising minimums apply.

Stay at Port Orleans Riverside Resort with the team. NF Endurance has special group pricing for hotel rooms which sleep up to four.

Free Pasta Dinner. Join us for the free team pasta dinner at Planet Hollywood on Saturday afternoon of Marathon Weekend.

Special Fundraising Incentives. Fundraise with a friend to raise $2500 through two half, full or Goofy charity slots and we will pay for two nights in a shared room at Port Orleans Riverside resort! Or, raise $2500 with a family of four using four 5K charity slots and we will pay for a shared hotel room at Port Orleans Riverside resort for two nights.

Specially Priced Park Tickets. Participants have access to specially priced park tickets for themselves and their families after signing up. (Marathoners and Goofy Challengers:  Click here for details on free park admission.)

FOOD:

Port Orleans Riverside Resort. Photo by TF Duesing

Food prices vary by time of year. Food prices at Disney increase by an average of $4 for adults and $2 per child during the summer and holidays. Marathon Weekend is the first weekend prices go back down after the holiday season.

Pack your own food and snacks in your luggage. It takes some planning, but you can also ship a box of food to the resort if you are flying in on an airline that charges excessive bag fees. Disney will hold it for you at your resort free of charge. Breakfast bars, pop tarts, oatmeal, cereal, granola bars and peanut butter and jelly sandwiches can save a family of four (or someone who eats as much as a family of four) several hundred dollars over the course of a trip. Milk can be purchased at the General Store at the resort and every room contains a mini fridge. Also, there is no rule against bringing food items with you into the parks.

Bring a water bottle. Every park has water fountains where you can fill your bottle. Bring kool-aid single serving packs if your kids or kid at heart want something sugary.

Let them eat fruit! Every park has at least one fruit stand. Apples, pears, bananas, and oranges cost around $1 each.

Order the pasta bowl. The food court at Port Orleans Riverside Resort has a pasta bowl for $10.49. There is easily enough pasta for two adults.

TRANSPORTATION:

Disney Magical Express. Photo by MR Kathika

Fly Southwest Airlines. Southwest flies into Orlando and offers two free checked bags for every ticketed passenger. They are usually cheaper than other airlines, and when you consider bag fees they are almost always cheaper. They are also more family friendly than most other airlines.

Magical and free! If you are flying into Orlando (MCO) and are staying at the team resort, Disney provides free transportation to Port Orleans Riverside on the Disney Magical Express Buses.

Free if by land, free if by sea. All bus, monorail, and boat transportation on Disney property is free! This includes a free ferry from our resort to Downtown Disney and Planet Hollywood where we will have our team pasta dinner.

Questions? Email Trish Hardy (Enable Javascript to see the email address) or Tracy Draper (Enable Javascript to see the email address) for more info. You can also visit http://nfendurance.org/disney to sign up.

For even more ideas on how to save money, visit http://mousesavers.com where many of these cost saving ideas originated.

NFE Rock ‘n’ Rolls at Virginia Beach

The 2010 NF Endurance Team raised more than $18,000 for the Children’s Tumor Foundation on Labor Day weekend at the Rock ‘n’ Roll Virginia Beach Half Marathon. Top fund raisers include Danny Rashkind ($11,805) and Cullen’s Crew ($3,583).

You can still help by making a donation here or check out the fun in the slideshow below starting with one of our NF Heroes, Mia. Check out the new neon NF hats! Pictures can also be seen at Flickr.com/NFEndurance. If you have pictures from the weekend you would like us to include, please e-mail your favorite photos to (Enable Javascript to see the email address). You can also read more about the race details on our Twitter Race account: NFRaces.

A Dad. A Daughter. A Journey for a Cure.

The following post is written by NF Endurance Team member Darren Smith who rode on Aug. 28, 2010 in the Hotter’n Hell Hundred in Texas.

Well…we did it!

I say we because so many people were involved in supporting this effort in so many different ways — the generous  donations, the folks that helped me prepare, and the countless words of encouragement. If my Garmin is right, I rode more than 650 miles before leaving for Texas.  It all came together to ensure a strong finish on the bike and for the www.Riding4Perrie.com campaign.

The campaign raised more than $12,000 to directly fund research for the Children’s Tumor Foundation – research to give hope to Perrie and the more than 2 million others living with this very unforgiving disorder. I have to admit, I had total confidence in my friends and family in supporting this endeavor. I always knew we would hit the goal, but surpassing it was not expected; it was an overwhelming and incredible surprise! I felt like George Bailey in “It’s a Wonderful Life,” a man who when he needed support the most,  received it from everyone that was connected to him.

The ride, especially the last 20 miles, was not easy. It was like someone flipped a switch, and I was riding in 100 degree heat and a relentless head wind. The training in heat and learning how to take care of myself to keep cramps and dehydration away was so important to survive. It was an unnerving site to see many people drop out, get sick, or need IV’s. When you see people just stopping and sitting on the side of the road, or walking with their bike until the support folks picked them up — the magnitude of what you are involved in hits home.

The magnitude of why I was involved also hit home. I kept thinking of the very first time I read Perrie’s story…my very first thought after reading it was was….Darren…this is the part where you STEP UP!  This is where you step up as a father and as a human being. Here is your chance, your moment — seize it! So I just kept pedaling — pedaling against the heat, the wind, the uncertainty of what the next mile might bring.  I also thought of everyone who supported this effort, and how they too stepped up to meet this challenge and make a difference. They were people I have known my whole life, and people I have never met, but all showed generosity and genuine concern.

A very special thanks to the NF Endurance staff in making this happen and the team and families we had the pleasure to meet while in Texas. Thanks to you all for making me and my family feel welcome. It was a special feeling to be around folks affected directly or indirectly by NF and to know, sometimes without saying a word, that someone understands the place you are in. You are my heroes.

We have decided to leave the www.riding4Perrie.com site up, since some people still want to donate. Others have asked if they can make this their annual charity donation, and I say, of course! Perhaps I will do some sort of event down the road to continue the effort of raising funds for research.

I, along with my family, appreciate the support now and in the future.