Tipping Mouse Keeping at Walt Disney World

At the Walt Disney World Resort, you will find that they call the people who work there “cast members” as their official title. The lovely people who clean your room also have a unique name! Instead of “Housekeeping” they are referred to as “MouseKeeping”.

When you book a Deluxe Disney Resort or Villa, MouseKeeping comes to your room daily to refresh it. When you stay at a Value or Moderate Resort they come every other day.

I personally enjoy tipping Mouse keeping. I roll up to the bank before our trip and get a fresh wad of crisp $2 bills just for the fun of it. I love that the $2 bills add some magic unlike regular currency.

The easiest place to get pre-made MouseKeeping tip holders is ETSY. My favorite little boutique for such a need is called LoveToInkStudios. I recently just ordered a package of 8 for less than $6. They even shipped for free and you cant beat that!

How much to tip? That is up to you! For my family of 4, I tipped them $6 a night. Since we were staying at Animal Kingdom Lodge on our last trip, I made sure I had enough for all of the nights there. It’s not much, but is a token of my appreciation for coming back to a refreshed room and always a little pixie dust in how they may surprise you with a towel animal on your bed!

Generosity and kindness go so far. The cast members at all Disney Destinations are the magic. They are the ones creating these special moments for you and our family.

Airport Transfers with Gear Fusion

How are you going to get from your the airport to your resort hotel? It’s the most asked question for my clients that fly in to MCO in Orlando. And I always answer with two words : Gear Fusion.

I am going to go ahead and tell you that I am not a fan of the Mears Bus Transportation or Uber/Lyft from the airport. Once you run the numbers with the total amount of people you have in your travel party, plus your luggage, private transportation might actually be a cheaper option.

I started using Gear Fusion back at the very beginning of 2023. I found them on a Disney Facebook page. After doing some research I found that they were one of the cheaper private transfers around. I was traveling that trip with my sister and my young son. They offered a “PINK” ride, which consisted of a lady who drove us since we didn’t have any men in our party. This was specifically for women and children who wanted that extra element of safety. Rita picked us up from MCO in a spotless van and dropped us off at Port Orleans Riverside. I had never felt so comfortable around a stranger hauling us around Orlando.

Upon the ending of our trip, one of the owners of Gear Fusion, Markela picked us up in a full size Expedition. She loaded our luggage and whisked us off to the airport. I could not get over the amount of professionalism and kindness she showed us. From that moment on, I knew they were the only company I wanted to work with.

Fast track to 2025, their company has grown immensely. Todd and Markela, the husband and wife team, and owners are still chartering clients along with their growing list of drivers. On our last trip, we got picked up by Todd, the owner. He was waiting for us with an iPad that had our name on it, got our luggage off the carousel at baggage claim, wheeled it to the newest blacked out Expedition and promptly delivered us to the Animal Kingdom Lodge. Easiest thing I ever booked!

If you are looking for something that is safe, reliable, and gives you that little bit of extra, Gear Fusion is your answer for private transport.

You can find them on all social media platforms as well as www.GearFusion.com

When you are ready to book that Disney vacation, we are ready to help! Fill out the quote form on my website or email me directly at: Sarah@MagicalAdventuresTravel.com

How to get your blue collar husband to Disney, and LOVE it

Let’s go back to 2018. That was the year my son was turning 5 and I knew that was the perfect age to take him to Walt Disney World. I also have a bonus daughter that was 13 that year. So it was now or never. I knew that I had one shot to get him to LOVE it so it was time to devise a plan.

Being married to a Peterbilt driving, hunting, can build anything type of man, I knew the whole” in your face characters” would maybe not fare so well. So I was trying to ease him into all things Disney. I honestly had no idea what he was going to think. But he is happy to do anything that makes us happy!

When I was in college, I was a nanny for a family that graciously took me a long with them on their family trip and we stayed at The Cabin’s at Disney’s Fort Wilderness Resort. The cabin slept 6 comfortably and we rented a golf cart to get around the campground. I was in my very early 20’s at this time. Fast Forward to my early 30’s and I knew that’s where I wanted to take my family to stay on their first trip. It was like a vacation away from your vacation.

Fort Wilderness Cabins and Campground is one of the largest campgrounds in the world. It is a beautiful wooded paradise across Bay Lake. It provides a masterpiece that is both man made and God given. At 750 acres, its about 5 times the size of Magic Kingdom. It’s one of the few Disney resorts that lets your bring your pets as well! It is full of cabin loops, Rv/Camper loops, and tent camping loops. You can take a boat from the Fort that drops you off right in front of the Magic Kingdom. There is bus transportation to the other parks.

I did all of the planning behind the scenes. I got the vacation planned and the cabin booked. I booked the golf cart through Disney. I bought the decorations for the golf cart so we could distinguish ours from the others. I got some cute site decorations for our cabin! We were ready!

Upon arriving, my family was in heaven. The Fort was unlike anything they had ever seen. Disney is a world class destination no matter where you go and they did not miss when it comes to their campground. We unpacked our car (we drove 18 hours from Texas), stretched our legs and moved into our cabin for the week. The cabins have recently been moved out with new Disney Vacation Club Cabins that have moved in. I am excited for the updated cabins. They still sleep 6 comfortably, have full kitchens, a porch, a separate bedroom, one bathroom and that glamping charm that only Disney can provide.

We started that first evening off riding the golf cart around all of Fort Wilderness. Well that sealed the deal. They LOVED it! We saw wild turkeys, chipmunks, and deer that first night. Where else in Disney World can you see wild animals so close and so free?

The pool has an excellent water slide, hot tub and splash pad. As well as a quiet pool by the cabin loops. They also have two different general stores that have everything from sundries to Disney merch for sale.

We went to the parks on and off that week, but nothing compared to coming back to relax at our Fort Wilderness cabin. The quiet. The seclusion. No one banging from the floor above like a standard hotel room. We cooked out on the grill a couple of evenings and just relaxed in the woods.

Fort Wilderness also provides guided fishing tours, archery, Segway tours, horseback riding, The Hoop De Doo Dinner Show, carriage rides, canoeing,bike rentals, and so many more amenities.

Now, there are Fort Specific Facebook pages. One in particular we love is “The Original Fort Wilderness Scavenger Hunt” where people staying at the fort hide some awesome items and guest have to go find them! We did this on our last trip and it made it so much more fun!

8 trips later, my husband has been with me on 4 of those. ALL of them at Fort Wilderness as that is the only place he will stay. He told me he hates the aspect of the “double bed hotel room”.

We rented an RV one time, and I will always prefer the cabin! There are only 5 companies that you can rent an RV/Camper from that Disney works with and allows them to deliver on property. You can only rent a golf cart from Disney. If you have your OWN RV/Camper/Golf cart, you can bring it, along with your insurance cards! But driving from Texas, we did decide to rent one time. I just didn’t love the camper rental.

And that, my friends, is how I get him to keep going with me to Disney! A week at Fort Wilderness. I book him a fishing excursion, make sure he as 2 rest days, and meat to BBQ on the grill! The vibe is unmatched. Its such a breath of fresh are to ride around on your golf cart and go “looping” and seeing families just like yours cooking out, playing and just enjoying family time.

2 things you cant go to the parks without

You walk on average 20,000 steps a day at Walt Disney World. Your skin starts to feel friction coming from all directions and then you are chaffed. Talk about the point of no return… that is the worst feeling.

My thighs have a little more “thunder” in then than most, so once I learned about the Monistat Chaffing Relief Powder Gel, it was a game changer for me.

Disney also loves to put 1-ply toilet paper everywhere you go, and that is my biggest complaint!

I don’t care if it’s February or August. Chafing is going to happen. Of course, the hottest times of the year are the worst, but you can never be to prepared.

The husband likes the Gold Bond Friction Defense Stick. The ease of deodorant stick style application was a clear winner for him.

As always, whenever you are ready to plan that magical adventure, you can fill out the form on my website or email me directly at : Sarah@MagicalAdventuresTravel.com