I'm thrilled to be joining you again with some of my favorite affordable Disney vacation planning tips. This month I have a variety of ways to help you save time, money, and possibly your sanity while at Walt Disney World. Because you want to have an affordable trip, but you want to actually enjoy it too, right?

So grab your beverage of choice, sit back, relax, and check out the latest Monthly Magic!

The Cheater Book

I always say that planning an affordable Disney vacation starts with, well, the planning. And while there are a lot of ways to go about this whole planning thing, staying organized is key, because there are a seemingly endless number of details to keep track of when it comes to a trip to Walt Disney World.

Personally, I am a firm believer that having some sort of organizational system for everything will without a doubt save you money and time... and time is money, right? Of course, organization is in the eye of the beholder: for the technology geeks among us, there are all kinds of online tools and apps that can not only keep track of it all, but can do pretty much everything else short of actually putting you on the monorail.

But if you are not tech savvy, no worries, because sometimes old-fashioned works pretty darn good, too. One of our writers, Brenda, shared how to make her 'cheater book' and I gotta say, the organization nerd in me loves this! Plus, it's just darned cute, and a fun souvenir to bring back from your trip.

Number Crunching the Resorts

So now you have a Planning System of some sort. Next up: where are you going to stay?

Disney is currently running a promotion for up to 30% off the rack rates for rooms at the Deluxe resorts. But Deluxe isn't affordable, is it? Or is it? Well as it turns out, sometimes it actually is! This current promotion certainly helps. And our writer Kelly shared some other ways that can make staying in a Deluxe resort a possibility, even when on a budget.

It's often just a matter of tweaking parts of your trip: changing the number of days, giving up something else, or choosing a different time of year. I always tell people when they are trying to save money on a Disney vacation not to assume anything! Use that trusty calculator and run the numbers in a variety of ways, because the cheapest isn't always what you think it will be!

Split Stays

Which leads me to my next tip. Sometimes you can make staying in a Deluxe resort affordable by staying there for just one or two nights. Known as a split stay, it lets folks balance affordability with the desire to upgrade - basically, you stay at one resort for the beginning of your trip, and another for the end.

And yes, people do this quite often for many other reasons as well. It may be the only way you can go if you are planning last minute or during a busy time of year. Or perhaps you are adding a day or so to your trip. Or as I already pointed out, you may be staying Value for most of your trip, but want to splurge on Animal Kingdom Lodge for the final two nights as a 'treat.

Whatever the reason, lots of people do it, and Disney makes it SO easy to switch from one resort to the other. In fact, they pretty much do all the work for you. So if you can't make up your mind between two resorts, why not do them both? It's always more fun to have your cake and eat it, too.

A Touring Plan Right for You

My next tip is for saving time at the parks, because as we already established, time is money. And we want to make the most of our valuable vacation time!

Every Disney book, website, or blog has an opinion on the best way to tour all the parks, but I will tell you that our family creates a touring plan that is right for us. No disrespect to the billion opinions out there on how to effectively tour the Disney parks, but no one else knows our likes and dislikes, interests, touring style, and energy level the way that we do! It's great to have a guide, but ya gotta do what's best for you!

Disney Quiet Time

This last tip won't especially save you money or time, but it may save your sanity, which is just as valuable.

During each day of your trip, plan time to relax. It's important to take a few minutes to get off your feet, unwind, and maybe even catch 40 winks. Now if you want to go back to your hotel, that is always nice, but it's not always possible. Fortunately, there are tons of places in the parks where you can have a little downtime, and while I may regret this, ">I shared some of my favorite quiet places.

So take a peek to see where they are, jot them down in your 'cheater book' or note them on your Blackberry or iPhone, and then enjoy some peace and quiet on your next Disney vacation. Just do me a huge favor and don't tell anyone else, ok? It will be our little secret, among Disney friends.

Thanks so much for stopping by and see you next month!

Loving Walt Disney World but hating to spend a fortune on feeding her obsession, Nancy Bobby started her site, The Affordable Mouse, as a way to share information, ideas, tips, and suggestions about how to plan affordable Disney vacations. Her fondest wish is to move near the 'World'. But until then, she just pretends that she is there by telling random people she meets to "Have a magical day".

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