Disney World Enthusiast Weekly Round Up May 22, 2016

Here’s the Disney World Enthusiast Weekly Round Up for May 22, 2016!

Latest Disney World Enthusiast Articles

Clear BagTip Of The Week

If you don’t mind people seeing what’s in your bag, use a clear tote or backpack similar to what is required at sporting events when you visit the parks. This simple idea will get you through security much more quickly.

Looking for more tips like this? Click here!

Epcot World Showcase Japan Pavilion PagodaDisney Did You Know

Each story of the pagoda in the Japan Pavilion at Epcot’s World Showcase represents one of the five elements in the Buddhist Universe. In order from the bottom to top they are earth, water, fire, wind and heaven.

Walt Disney 3Walt’s Words

“You may not realize it when it happens, but a kick in the teeth may be the best thing in the world for you.”

Creative Countdown 2Disney World Enthusiast Giveaway

From now through Friday, June 3, 2016 at midnight, please enter daily to win a Countdown To Disney. Just click here and follow the instructions to be entered into the giveaway. Be sure to take advantage of the bonus entries, and please tell your friends and family to enter as well!

Behind The Magic Podcast

Be sure to catch up this week’s episodes when Zeek, Rachel, Jerry, and I discuss Disney news, rumors, and so much more.

This week’s episodes include:

  • Monday ~ TRON Lightcycles Power Run Coaster
  • Tuesday ~ Goodbye Disney Infinity
  • Wednesday ~ Behind The Dark Side of Disney
  • Thursday ~ Behind Enchanted Tiki Room
  • Friday ~ Behind Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs

For more details about our podcast and to listen, please click here!

Featured Advertiser

BitbeltHave you heard of this incredible gadget – Bitbelt? If you aren’t familiar, this handy creation secures your MagicBand so that it doesn’t accidentally become lost. Anyone that carries a child, a backpack, or wears a jacket at Disney World knows how easily a MagicBand can become unclasped. That’s where this little beauty comes in! Simply place a Bitbelt on your MagicBand and save yourself the trouble of having to search for a lost band or take the time to get a replacement. Bitbelts come in a dozen different colors and in two sizes – adult and junior. They are only $4.99 each plus they offer discounted pricing when you purchase multiple Bitbelts in one order. And if you think Bitbelts are great for MagicBands, they are also available for your fitness trackers. Never lose a pricey Fitbit again! For more information about Bitbelt, please click here!

501 WaysFeatured Book

The difference between an average and an outstanding Walt Disney World trip is in the details. Kristi Fredericks helps make your dream vacation a reality with her numerous tips and tricks to save money, time, and sanity while at the happiest place on earth in her new book “501 Ways To Make The Most Of Your Walt Disney World Vacation”. For more information, to read an excerpt, or to purchase, please click here.

Considering A Disney World Vacation

Book Your Disney VacationJennifer Hardy, a Disney Vacation Planner with Destinations in Florida, is the official travel partner of Disney World Enthusiast. She can help you book your next Disney vacation whether it is to Disney World, Disneyland, or aboard the Disney Cruise Line. Currently Jennifer has some incredible deals for discounted travel to Disney World. For more information about Jennifer’s amazing and absolutely free services or to get a free no-obligation quote, please click here!

You’re Invited

Next Disney VacationJennifer Hardy, from Destinations in Florida, and I have teamed up to create a brand new Facebook Group called Next Disney Vacation! It is the perfect place to talk about your next Disney vacation, voice your opinions, ask your questions, get them answered, and share the magic. Whether it’s Disneyland Resort, Walt Disney World, or the Disney Cruise Line, Jennifer and I are ready to help. Everyday you’ll find posts, photos, trivia, tips, and more that we find all throughout the Disney Universe. If you’re counting the days until your next Disney vacation or just dreaming of one, we would love to have you join in the fun and conversation! Please click here to be a part of our group!

dwe logo small size white bkgdComing Up Next Week

Next week I’ll have some dining and planning information plus all of the latest Disney World news!

Have a wonderful week!

Behind The Magic Podcast Recap May 16 – May 20, 2016

Welcome to Season 5 of Behind The Magic Podcast!

This “snack credit” of podcasts is a unique 15-minute Disney podcast hosted by Zeek, Rachel, Jerry and myself. Every day Monday through Friday you can join us for entertaining Disney information, discussions, guests, games, and more. We’ll be surprising you each and every day with our funny stories and Disney insider knowledge. And of course, we’ll also keep you up-to-date on all of the latest Disney news and gossip.

Here’s a quick peek at what you can expect each day:

  • Monday ~ Mouse Whispers Mondays with all of the latest Disney gossip and rumors!
  • Tuesday ~ Topical Tuesdays with exciting Disney discussions!
  • Wednesday ~ With Us Wednesdays with celebrity guests from around the Disney Universe!
  • Thursday ~ Theme Park Thursdays with fun information, facts, and stories about the parks!
  • Friday ~ Feature Film Fridays with fun information, facts, and reviews of Disney films!

This Week’s Episodes

This week’s episodes include:

  • Monday ~ Mouse Whispers TRON Lightcycles Power Run Coaster
  • Tuesday ~ Goodbye Disney Infinity
  • Wednesday ~ Behind The Dark Side of Disney
  • Thursday ~ Behind Enchanted Tiki Room
  • Friday ~ Behind Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs

For more details about each episode and to listen, please click here!

We hope you enjoy our show!

Creative Countdown’s Countdown To Disney Giveaway

Savor the Suspense!

Recently I had the pleasure of reviewing Creative Countdown’s Countdown To Disney. If you aren’t familiar with this product, this fabulous countdown allows you to “Savor the Suspense” as you tear off a page each day getting just a little bit closer to that wonderful Disney magic!

Review

Creative CountdownCreative Countdown is the incredible company launched in 2012 by two entrepreneurial moms – Amy Gamber and Joanie Hickey. Their company gives people a fun and unique way to countdown to some of the most memorable moments of their lives such as a graduation, a wedding, the birth of a child, or a magical Walt Disney World vacation.

Through their website, Creative Countdown allows customers the ability to customize one of their many countdown designs with daily personalized messages. For my review, I was able to go on to the Creative Countdown site and customize one of the countdowns for my Summer 2016 Walt Disney World Family Vacation. I added messages to remind my family to book advanced dining reservations, to create our touring plans, to book Fastpass+ reservations, to customize our MagicBands, to check in online, and more. For a planner like myself, Creative Countdown is a dream come true!

When my personalized Countdown To Disney arrived, it was even better that I had hoped. The quality in both the printing and the binding is outstanding. My family and I will love having this daily reminder of how close we are getting to our magical Walt Disney World vacation!

Here’s all of the important information that you’ll need to get yourself a Creative Countdown:

  • Creative Countdowns are available for purchase on CreativeCountdown.com.
  • They offer a variety of styles of countdowns including standard tear-off, personalized tear off, personalized flip stand, and personalized email.
  • The standard tear-off 60 day Countdown To Disney is $9.95.
  • The personalized tear-off countdown starts at $19.95 for 30 pages and additional pages can be added for $0.25 each.
  • The personalized tear-off countdowns can hold up to 400 pages.
  • There are 31 different designs available including options for holidays, weddings, births, graduations, vacations, and more.
  • If you need help personalizing your countdown, they have hundreds of quick-fill entries available that you can use and edit.
  • Creative Countdowns are a wonderful gift idea for friends and family!

The Giveaway

Interested in getting a Creative Countdown of your own? Well, you’re in luck! From now through Friday, June 3, 2015 at midnight, please enter daily to win a Countdown To Disney. Just click the image below and follow the instructions to be entered into the giveaway. Be sure to take advantage of the bonus entries, and please feel free to share with your friends and family!

Click image to enter!

Can’t wait and need a Creative Countdown right away?
Please click this link to purchase one today!

“Frozen” Games Coming To Blizzard Beach This Summer

Frozen Games 2

Hey water park fans, exciting news! For a limited time, a brand new event known as the “Frozen” Games will be held each day this summer at Disney’s Blizzard Beach Water Park. Here’s everything you need to know about this fun happening courtesy of Disney:


For the first time in forever, Olaf’s wish to experience summer fun with his friends will come true when he and Kristoff, stars of the hit Disney animated film “Frozen,” host the inaugural “Frozen” Games this summer at Disney’s Blizzard Beach Water Park.

The “Winter Games Committee” has decided to take advantage of the magical snowstorm over Blizzard Beach and host daily activities this summer. The committee members have even invited Kristoff and Olaf to lead teams of guests in a fun day of “Frozen” activities.

From May 27 to August 21, 2016, guests of all ages visiting Blizzard Beach may choose to join Team Kristoff or Team Olaf to participate in a variety of winter-themed activities throughout each day, including:

  • Frozen Games 1Ice Pail Relays – teams will line up and pass pails of water quickly from one person to the next, trying to fill a container. The team that fills their container first is the winner.
  • Snowball Toss – pairs compete in a snow-themed water balloon toss from progressively greater distance. The pair that gets the farthest apart without breaking its water balloon is the winner.
  • Ski Pole Limbo – guests play limbo, using a ski pole as the limbo stick.
  • Slide Races – teams race down one of the signature water slides at Blizzard Beach, and much more!

Olaf and Kristoff will take part in the “Frozen” Games’ opening and closing ceremonies by appearing on the Observation Deck near the Summit Plummet attraction each day, accompanied by trumpet fanfare, banners and music. Additionally, one lucky guest will be chosen each morning to be the Ski Captain and thus the first guest to take the plunge down Summit Plummet, signaling the start of the “Frozen” Games.

From the observation deck, Olaf and Kristoff will give regular updates throughout the day on their teams’ progress and achievements, as well as announce the winning team of the “Frozen” Games.

The “Frozen” Games are an all-day event at Blizzard Beach, beginning shortly after the park opens. Guests can sign up at the park entrance, and all activities are included with regular park admission.


501 WaysHeading to Disney World soon?

If you are planning a vacation to Disney World, be sure to check out these valuable resources to help you save time and money:

Will you be on Team Olaf or Team Kristoff?
Please leave a comment; I would love to hear from you!

First Phase Of Town Center Opens At Disney Springs

Town Center

There are so many changes happening all around Walt Disney World right now, from Pandora – The World of Avatar and Rivers in Light in Disney’s Animal Kingdom to Star Wars Land and Toy Story Land in Disney’s Hollywood Studios, but the one place that has received the biggest transformation recently has to be the newly reimagined Disney Springs. Dozens of new shops and restaurants opened this weekend, and believe it or not even more are coming very soon. Here’s everything you need to know about the ever growing Disney Springs, courtesy of Disney:


Eager with anticipation, guests flocked to Disney Springs at Walt Disney World Resort this past weekend with the hopes of being among the first to experience its newest retail neighborhood – Town Center.

Town Center 5Opening in phases last Sunday and throughout the summer, Town Center will be home to some of the most recognizable names in retail such as Anthropologie, ZARA, LACOSTE and Lucky Brand, as well as some brands that are new to the Central Florida market, such as UNIQLO, Melissa Shoes and UNOde50. Within Town Center, Guests will find exceptional shopping and dining experiences along with breathtaking vistas overlooking The Spring, the heart and soul of the property.

Town Center features Spanish-revival style architecture, drawing from a rich history of explorers that landed in Florida centuries ago, and a promenade where guests can relax, refresh and reconnect with each other. Town Center, like the rest of Disney Springs, is brought to life with the same focus on storytelling and attention to detail that goes into Disney’s theme parks, resorts and cruise ships – resulting in a welcoming space that only Disney could create.

On Sunday, a total of 23 exciting new retail tenants opened their doors in Town Center, including kate spade new york, Tommy Bahama, Under Armour Brand House and Sephora. The following venues are now open:

  • Town CenterALEX AND ANI
  • American Threads
  • Edward Beiner
  • Everything But Water
  • francesca’s
  • Johnston & Murphy
  • kate spade new york
  • Kipling
  • L’Occitane en Provence
  • Lucky Brand
  • MAC Cosmetics
  • Melissa Shoes
  • Na Hoku
  • PANDORA
  • Sephora
  • Sperry
  • Tommy Bahama
  • UGG
  • Under Armour Brand House
  • UNOde50
  • Vera Bradley
  • Volcom
  • ZARA

In addition to these venues, seven new specialty-dining locations are now open at Disney Springs:

  • Amorette’s Patisserie
  • B. Wolf’s Sausage Co.
  • D-Luxe Burger
  • Morimoto Asia Street Food
  • Sprinkles
  • The Daily Poutine
  • YeSake

Town Center 4As guests enter Town Center around The Spring area, they will be warmly greeted at the Welcome Center, a new home for Guest Relations at Disney Springs that will offer a wealth of services including theme park and Cirque du Soleil ticket sales, Disney dining and resort reservations, information for guests with disabilities, foreign currency exchanges, and other general assistance items. Themed to early Florida settlements, the architecture around The Spring is based on timber frame structures that were once used in the citrus and ranching industries.

Access to Disney Springs is about to become even easier. Roadway improvements on Buena Vista Drive are nearly complete, with additional car lanes and dedicated bus lanes now operational. Also, now open, the Lime Garage offers Guests convenient parking access to Disney Springs Town Center and the Marketplace. This new garage, similar to the Orange Garage on the West Side, uses smart technology to identify open parking spaces.

Disney Springs 2MORE OPENINGS COMING SOON

More shops and restaurants will open soon at Disney Springs. By the end of this month, the following venues will open:

  • Aristocrepes
  • Lilly Pulitzer
  • TROPHY ROOM
  • STK Orlando

Other locations expected to open in Town Center at Disney Springs this summer include:

  • Anthropologie
  • Blaze Fast-Fire’d Pizza
  • Coca-Cola Store and Rooftop Beverage Bar
  • Columbia Sportswear
  • Free People
  • Frontera Cocina
  • Homecoming – Florida Kitchen and Shine Bar
  • Johnny Was
  • LACOSTE
  • Luxury of Time by Diamonds International
  • Oakley
  • Origins
  • Shore
  • Sugarboo & Co.
  • Superdry
  • TUMI
  • UNIQLO
  • Vince Camuto

JUST ANNOUNCED

Disney Springs 3The following new brands were announced Sunday as coming to Disney Springs and are expected to open locations in Town Center this summer:

  • Origins: A high-performance skincare retailer featuring products formulated with certified organic ingredients and 100 percent natural essential oils. The socially-conscious brand employs earth-friendly practices, including a Plant-A-Tree program.
  • Sugarboo & Co.: With products featuring creative and whimsical designs, this family-run business offers artful prints, home goods, paper products, accessories and more.
  • Superdry: Focusing on clothing with designs that fuse vintage Americana and Japanese-inspired graphics with a British style, Superdry offers a variety of products ranging from outerwear and knitwear to leather goods and leisurewear.
  • TUMI: A leading global brand of premium travel, business and lifestyle accessories.

Nearing completion on the largest expansion in its history, Disney Springs is emerging as an exciting new waterfront district for world-class shopping, unique dining, and high-quality entertainment. Inspired by Florida’s waterfront towns and natural beauty, Disney Springs has four distinct outdoor neighborhoods including The Landing, Marketplace, West Side and the new Town Center.

When completed, Disney Springs will have doubled the number of shops, restaurants and other venues for guests to explore, resulting in more than 150 establishments.


501 WaysHeading to Disney World soon?

If you are planning a vacation to Disney World, be sure to check out these valuable resources to help you save time and money:

What are you most looking forward to at Disney Springs?
Please leave a comment; I would love to hear from you!