Disney Week Itinerary

Click the title to view the plan I've come up with... let me know if something doesn't work for you. The reason for most of the days/evenings chosen for each park was to go when the crowd level was not as bad as other days. We'll also be coordinating around the Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party (MNSSHP) evening at the Magic Kingdom.

Saturday (arrival day) and Friday (10/10) are pretty much free days to do whatever... for us, the choice is Magic Kingdom - as much as we can possibly get. No reservations on either of those days since it's usually up in the air as to when we arrive and when we'll be leaving.

Kidcot fun stops at Epcot

More information at stitchkingdom.com/kidcot

I'm so excited about taking the kids to Epcot this time... there's so much to do! I found this very helpful website that lists where all the "kidcot" stations are and what each charm and passport stamp looks like - you can buy a passport (or not) or bring your own book, and collect stamps from each country... at the end of your adventure, you receive a free poster of all the characters. There are also masks to color, and the charms look like fun collectibles/souvenirs. From what I hear they'r about the size of an index card, so it'd be easy to buy a 4x6 photo book or journal and put them in there as a souvenir passport of your own.

Most of the country cast members are actual citizens of that country and are over in America temporarily, so they can tell you a lot about the culture and maybe even a few phrases in that language.

Not to mention the performing acts in the World Showcase. I'm looking forward to hearing the Beatles cover band, and I think the kids will lvoe the Chinese acrobats. We'll also be there during the Food & Wine Festival, which is featured at the World Showcase, so we may get to try some unique food and drink from the countries.

Then there's Future World - a whole other adventure, with the ever-popular Soarin' which is like taking a hang-gliding ride over California's landscapes, The Living Seas, featuring a Nemo ride and Turtle Talk with Crush, where he talks to audience members and answers questions - all animated. There's a cool Kodak "What If" photo station (in Imagination Pavilion) where you can morph your face into an animal then email your friends back home - lots of other fun things too.

188 days!

Disney Photos!

I ran across a super deal with the PhotoPass - for those who've used it before, you know that ordering the prints from Disney can be pricey, even with a discount! If you pre-order the CD, which is $100, the CD will include ALL your photopass photos, plus the backgrounds, signatures, etc. with no limit to the number of pictures. You can combine as many PhotoPass cards into one account as you acquire on the trip (so we could all put our pictures together). The CD comes with the copyright to print the photos anywhere you choose. I know Rachel and I spent close to $100 on our last round of photos, ordering online from Disney and we only got a handful of pictures. This way we could have access to all the pictures that have been taken and print out what we want for 9-cents a print instead $2-$3 or whatever it was (more depending on the size). Some people have gotten hundreds of photos along the trip.

Anyway, let me know if you're interested, so we can coordinate (after the trip) getting all the PhotoPass numbers into one account. Even if you're not interested in the CD, we found out last time that it's best to combine all the Photopass cards into one account online so we all have access to all the pictures. And if you order through Disney they offer a discount by the number of prints you order, so you'll end up with the best discount.

This is a link to some very detailed info on the photopass, in case you're not familiar:
PhotoPass Details

The PhotoPass photographers can do some fun things with the picture, like make a ghost appear beside you or put Tinkerbell in the palm of your hand. They're all over the parks in various places, plus at signature meals, like Cinderella's castle, charcater greeting places (ToonTown).

Also, Disney offers a digital MemoryBook, much like the ones you can order online (like our cousins one). It's $49.95, and you can upload any photos from your trip, and/or PhotoPass pictures if you get the CD. That price includes 20 pages that hold up to 80 photos, with Disney themed backgrounds. You can add your own captions. It's 8.75" x 11" You can add more pages for $1.49 each (not sure of that's per side or per page (2 sides). Either way, I thought this would be fun to do, using a bunch of our group pictures and highlights of the trip.

Park Maps & New Attractions

The best thing about Disney is that they perfect so many details, you just can't help but be consumed by the magic. No other place or people do things like they do.

Online (visit the Disney travel link), you can create customized maps for each park and select all YOUR favorites, and they send you large color maps of each park with your favorites highlighted. And it's free! Mine came in the mail on Saturday. It's so exciting to open your mailbox and see something from Disney. Two weeks before that, I received the planning DVD (also free). I remember the last time we went to Disney, we got luggage tags in the mail a few weeks before our arrival. It really added to the anticipation.

So if you need a little magic in your mailbox, check out the free dvd and maps. They also have kid-friendly maps (see link on the right). You don't get to choose your favorites on this one, but it's a fun colorful map that you can print out yourself and let the kids look at.

The travel channel usually has specials on various pieces of Disney. It looks like we'll get to try out a brand new ride this year (not being released until summer) called Toy Story Mania. I believe it's going to be in Hollywood Studios. It looks like you're one of the toys and you're playing arcade games with them, shooting at things and earning points (and wearing 3D glasses). There's also a Woody's Roundup show in Frontierland during the day that's sort of a parade/music/interactive show. (With all the new Toy Story promotions, I wonder if they're working on a third movie! Hmmmm.)

Other new(er) attractions include Turtle Talk with Crush in Epcot and The Seas with Nemo and friends. Turtle Talk is an animated but live interactive show with the audience. They seem to have worked this idea twice with the Laugh Floor Comedy Club in Tomorrowland. They refurbished the Haunted Mansion and added some new things. Also the Nemo Musical (in Animal Kingdom) is a huge hit. Sounds like the show's right up there in quality with Beauty and the Beast.

Epcot has some live shows worth checking out in the World Showcase: Chinese acrobats - these are professional kids who are trained in China; a group called "Bristish Invasion" which is a Beatles cover band (can't wait to hear them) and some other musical acts and entertainers. I've never been to Epcot, so I've been trying to find out all about it, and I'm really excited to take the kids there this time.

Who's next...?

33 weeks

Relaxing on the Lagoon beach at the Polynesian

This week I ran across some cool maps - one I've added a link to on the links menu (Preschooler maps). The other is a WDW resort map (birds-eye-view) of the parks and two lists of resorts in the areas of Epcot and Downtown Disney. The Polynesian is by the Magic Kingdom, along with the Grand Floridian, Contemporary, and Wilderness.

Plan to reserve your package soon... you only need to put down a deposit and the rest isn't due until 45 days prior to arrival (Aug 20). Note: mention that you're traveling with a Grand Gathering group; they'll try to keep us together when we make reservations at resorts, restaurants, etc. I'll find out when I book if there's a specific group name to mention. The guy I'm woking with through AAA is Dino Avdic dxavdic@mailaaa.com

What do you think about these restaurants?
- Coral Reef (restaurant in Epcot that has a huge aquarium; yes, that's a photo of Scuba Mickey in a tank at the Coral Reef)
- Luau at the Polynesian (great show!)
- Wolfgang Puck's (Back on the Dining Plan - yea!), Downtown Disney
- Akershus Banquet Hall (Norway, Epcot, Princess meal)
- Cinderella's Castle (of course!)
- Donald's Safari Breakfast (Animal Kingdom)

I need a roommate

Unfortunately, because money is tight, Beka and Danny won't be able to go to Disney this year. That leaves me needing a roommate. I loved staying at the Polynesian last time, but won't be able to afford a room on my own. Any takers? I have AAA membership if that helps sweeten the deal for making reservations. (P.S. I don't snore - lol) Rachel

34 weeks

This past week, I've worked on getting quotes from 2 travel agents who specialize in Disney vacations, a AAA agent and the Disney resort (phone and online). I've found that AAA can give me the best deal right now, offering a 10% discount on our hotel cost. They can book the entire package, including tickets and dining. They can make dining reservations for you. And they also provide you a discount card good at some of the Disney stores, plus they have a special "meet & greet" character session for members. If you don't have a AAA membership, it'll probably be worth getting one to save the money on the hotel. Once you go to the AAA website and type in your zip code, it'll take you to a local page where you can do a trip quote online (or call).

Here's some official info I found (Note: our dates are during "regular" season):
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AAA and CAA Resort Hotel Discounts
American Automobile Association (AAA) and Canadian Automobile Association (CAA) members qualify for "room only" discounts almost year-round, though there are a limited number of rooms available for each date. You can generally save about 10-20% at the Disney resort hotels, depending on the season.

In general, the discounts run as follows:

During Value Season you can get up to 15% off at the Disney Deluxe and Disney Vacation Club resorts, or 20% off at the Value and Moderate resorts and the Ft. Wilderness campsites.

During Regular Season you can usually get up to 10% off at the Disney Deluxe and Disney Vacation Club resorts, or 15% off at the Value and Moderate resorts and the Ft. Wilderness campsites.

During Peak Season and Summer Season you can usually get up to 10% off at the Disney Deluxe and Disney Vacation Club resorts, or 15% off at the Value and Moderate resorts.

Disney hopeful

I hope that John will get to go with you this fall.... We will have to see what money looks like but I hope to say that he will. I know we would have a great time together but I cant go! We will be going on a Disney cruise in December 09 to celebrate my graduation and we would love to have you all with us. And of course.... The Wizarding World of Harry Potter at the Islands of Adventure in 2010! Counting down already! You think you are bad for thinking about this fall? I am already planning 2010! That is bad! See you in July! Love you all. Amy and John

8 months

Time flies when you're planning a Disney trip! It may seem like a ways off, but consider this - most popular restaurants or events requiring a reservation at Disney allow you to call 180 days prior to arrival - that's the beginning of April for our trip. So in order to reserve some castle magic (for instance), we have about 2 months to discuss some of the options that require reservations.

I hope to take the compilation of planning ideas and comments that may flow through email and post them here every two weeks (at first), then probably weekly. I really enjoy getting "insider" details and tips from other travelers or websites and sharing them with everyone, so this will be a good place for me to share those tidbits of info and for you to get some motivation if you need a Disney fix.

After my first post, I will set this up so that everyone invited to view this blog can also post comments and ideas.

Most of us have been before at one time or another, so it's helpful to share your experience.

I hope this will make our journey toward the Magic a little more exciting as we countdown the days to our Magical Vacation.

PS: See the poll on the right? Let everyone know if you will be joining us.