Downtown Disney

Lots of friends tell me that they haven't visited Downtown Disney because they don't have time for it while they're at Disney World.  Well, that's understandable, but I will tell you that my family LOVES Downtown Disney!  There are so many fun things to do there, and you don't have to have a ticket to get in!

Let's be honest here, my family loves going out to eat.  So we love all the great restaurants at Downtown Disney.  Our favorite quick service restaurant is Wolfgang Puck Express.  We ate there twice on our last vacation.  The food is unique and delicious!  I highly recommend it, especially if you're on the quick service dining plan.  I've also heard that Earl of Sandwich is good, but we've never tried it because we can't get enough of Wolfgang Puck!

There are also some great table service restaurants like Planet Hollywood, Wolfgang Puck Cafe, and Cap'n Jack's Restaurant. Those are on the table service dining plan.  But there is also Fulton's Crab House (mmm...crab legs...), Rainforest Cafe, and House of Blues, but these are not on the dining plan.  So try those out if you've got some extra cash laying around, or you just want the experience!

I have heard so much about DisneyQuest at Downtown Disney, but we've never made it there.  I think I'm going to make that a goal for our next trip.  DisneyQuest is an indoor, interactive theme park, with attractions like CyberSpace Mountain where you get to create your own coaster, Virtual Jungle Cruise where you can take a raft ride through dinosaur times, Buzz Lightyear's Astroblasters, a bumper car/asteroid shooting ride, and Pirates of the Caribbean-Battle for Buccaneer Gold where you get to steer your pirate ship, and shoot your cannons on your own pirating adventure!

And my personal favorite, the shopping!  You must visit World of Disney, the largest Disney character store on the planet!  You can find just about anything Disney-related you could possibly imagine in this store.  It is broken up into separate parts, but it is all part of one fantastic store! 

There's also my daughter's personal favorite, Goofy's Candy Company.  This is a really neat experience.  You can choose a treat like a cookie, or rice krispie treat and choose all sorts of toppings.  This year, we got a Mickey krispie treat dipped in milk chocolate, covered with sprinkles, and drizzled with dark chocolate.  But you can come up with your own combination!  You can also buy all sorts of other sweet goodies in here.

Then there's the Lego Imagination Center, where you'll definitely want to go if you have a Lego lover in your family!  I am amazed at the things you can see here built out of nothing but legos.  You can play with legos to your heart's content in this store.

There's the Disney's Pin Traders store, where you can find just about any pin you want, and trade if you want as well.  Disney Days of Christmas is also a fun store where you can get ready for a Disney Christmas!  And don't miss Once Upon a Toy where your kids can shop and play with tons of Disney toys!  If you like to shop, you'll love Downtown Disney!

There is so much to do at Downtown Disney, you really should take the time to stop by.  We don't spend a day there or anything, but sometimes we go to a park in the morning, and Downtown Disney in the evening.  It's a treat for the whole family!

Until next time...
Disney Diva

Disney Depression

It has been a while since my last post, and I can only attribute my slackness to 1. This has been the busiest summer "vacation" ever, and 2. I've been going through my post-Disney trip depression.  You see, when you are a Disney lover like I am, once that trip you've been planning all year is over, you feel a little lost.  What am I supposed to do with my time now?  I guess it's time to start planning another trip.  :)

Actually, we are planning another trip, and this time, it's a Bahamian cruise on the Disney Dream!  We go next year during Spring Break and I am super excited, because it is my first cruise ever!  And of course, because it is Disney, they do it well! 

First off, one of the cool features about the inside staterooms on this ship, is that they have "magical portholes" which offer a real-time view of the outside of the ship, with an added bonus:  Disney characters that appear throughout the day!  I can't wait to see this!

The Disney Dream also has a water coaster called the Aqua Duck!  This looks like so much fun!  The 765 foot tube takes you all around the ship and even out over the water, finally dropping you off at a lazy river.  We can't wait to try this out!

And here she is, the Disney Dream! 

We can't wait to go!  Guess I have something new to do with my free time, huh?

Until next time...
Disney Diva

We're Baaaaack!

So we returned just a few days ago from our most recent trip to Disney World, and I wanted to share a little about what I learned on this trip with you.

1.  WEAR TENNIS SHOES!  Before this trip, I would have argued this point with you.  Tennis shoes are hot.  They are gross if they get wet.  But this year, I decided to try it out, and I tell you, I will never wear flip-flops at Disney World again!  My feet and legs felt so much better after wearing tennis shoes.  If you are worried about getting wet, take a cheap pair of flip-flops in your bag.  The tennis shoes are so worth it!

2.  USE FASTPASS!  Well, this is a given.  But sometimes, you'll see that the wait is only like 30 minutes, and you know if you use your fastpass you won't be able to get another one for a couple of hours, so you decide to wait.  Disney does their best to estimate wait times, but they are not always accurate.  Sometimes I have waited in line up to 20 minutes longer than the posted wait time.  The FASTPASS is SO worth it!  Don't wait in line! 

3.  IF YOU'RE ON THE DINING PLAN, USE YOUR SNACK CREDITS!  We ended up with 19 snack credits left over on the last day of our trip.  That means when we were waiting in line over an hour for Splash Mountain (did I say how important it was to use FASTPASS?) we could have been enjoying a nice Mickey popsicle, or a cold drink.  Don't try to save them for later!  Use them!

4.  PLEASE RAIN ON MY PARADE.  No one wants rain on their Disney World vacation, but we did have a totally overcast, rainy day this year, and it wasn't that horrible.  The only bad thing was that we lost our Test Track FASTPASSES because they had to stop the ride due to rain.  Otherwise, though, the temperature was cool, the park was less crowded, and it turned out to be a fairly nice day.  It was definitely the most comfortable day of our vacation. 

We also checked out the Fantasia Gardens miniature golf course this time, for the first time, and really enjoyed it.  You do have to pay extra for it, but it was a fun afternoon activity after we were done with Hollywood Studios. 

The great thing about Disney World is that there's so much to do, every vacation is different.  I learn something new every year.  This year was no exception.  :)

Until next time...
Disney Diva

Free Dining!

As I've said before, the BEST time to go to Disney World is when they offer free dining.  Well, just a few weeks ago, Disney released their newest free dining dates: August 28 - September 24, 2011.  These are GREAT times to visit the parks, as most kids are back in school and the crowds are much lower.  Again, if you book a value resort, you will receive a quick service dining plan, and if you book at a moderate (or above) you will receive the regular dining plan (with table service meals).  We have done both dining plans and enjoy both equally.  You can also request to change your dining plan, and they will usually let you do that, for example, if you are staying at a value resort and really want the regular dining plan.

They are booking for this special offer until August 27.  But there is a catch.  This time around, they are offering free dining only with the "Memories Vacation Package," which includes a 20 page PhotoPass photo book.  (PhotoPass is a card you receive from Disney photographers who are all over the parks.  They scan your card and take your pictures so they are all saved on your card.)  So I'm guessing that the 20 page photo book is adding a little to the cost, BUT, I still think it is a good deal since all your meals are going to be free.

You can find out more here.

Until next time...
Disney Diva

FASTPASS

So you're really excited about your trip to Disney World and you want to squeeze in as much fun as possible, but what to do about the lines!?!?  Sometimes the wait for a popular ride can be an hour or more!  How will you fit it all in?  The answer is FASTPASS!

Each park offers FASTPASS for its most popular attractions.  A few examples are Expedition Everest and Kilimanjaro Safaris and Animal Kingdom, the three "mountains" at Magic Kingdom (Space Mountain, Splash Mountain, Big Thunder Mountain Railroad), Soarin' and Test Track at Epcot, and Toy Story Mania and Tower of Terror at Hollywood Studios. These attractions are most likely to have very long wait times.

CAUTION!  You can generally only have one FASTPASS at a time.  So you can't just plan to go in at 9 am and go around and get FASTPASSes for all your favorite rides and then ride all day long.  Choose your favorite ride first and head straight there as soon as you get to the park.  Get your FASTPASS and if you look at the bottom of your ticket, there will be a line that tells you when you can obtain your next FASTPASS.  It is usually after you are able to use the current one, but sometimes it will be a couple hours after you got it.  Only then can you head over to get another FASTPASS.

Another word of caution, some of the MOST popular attractions will run out of FASTPASSes quickly.  This includes the rides mentioned above, plus Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin (MK), Rock'n'Roller Coaster (HS), and Mission: Space (Epcot).  If any of these attractions are must sees for you, make sure you head over as early as possible for your FASTPASS.

For more information on FASTPASS, go to:
http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/guest-services/fast-pass/


Until next time...
Disney Diva

Don't worry, be happy! You're going to Disney World!

As I am getting ready to head to Disney World in just a few weeks, I know from experience that most people worry about what will happen to all this money they've spent on a fabulous vacation if the unexpected happens and you can't make it.  I am here to help!  Full payment for your vacation is due 45 days prior to your trip.  Before that time, you can change or cancel with no losses.  After the 44 day mark, you will pay a $200 cancellation fee if you have a vacation package.  Also, after the 44 day mark, there is a $50 charge to make changes to your reservation.

Some people like to buy vacation insurance in case something happens, but for me, personally, I'm just not sure it's worth it.  Disney's vacation insurance is expensive, and if I cancel, all I have to pay is $200 without it anyway, so for me, I'd rather just pay the $200 if the worst happens.  I know there's not a whole lot that's going to keep me away, so for me, that just seems like the better option.  There are some other options for vacation insurance you can check out at www.insuremytrip.com.  They do have some more affordable options there.

In other words, don't worry!  Be happy!  You're going to Disney World!


Until  next time...
Disney Diva 

Fun New Tool!

I am excited about a new tool I discovered today at www.planitdisney.com!  This website allows you to view a map of Walt Disney World (or Disneyland) and click on any part of the map to add it to your itinerary.  The plan tool is super easy.  You can just click on any event you added to your event queue and drag it onto your calendar!  There is even a blog and an app you can use to help you plan your vacation.  What a great planning tool!  I can't wait to start using it!  Head on over and check it out!

Until next time...
Disney Diva