Nov 6 2014

Disney World News – Celebrate Thanksgiving At Disney World

If you are fortunate enough to be in Disney World on Thanksgiving Day this year, you have several places to choose from for your special Thanksgiving meal. Here’s the scoop from Disney:

Walt Disney World Resort guests can indulge in a fresh take on an American tradition by enjoying their Thanksgiving feast November 27, 2014 with a bounty of Disney tastes. With more than 30 different dining choices at Disney theme parks and resorts, families and friends can come together for a variety of Thanksgiving lunch and dinner offerings.

Special holiday menus include roasted turkey breast with all the trimmings plus traditional Norwegian meatballs and pan-seared salmon at Akershus Royal Banquet Hall, poppy seed lavash, house-made naan, and apple-cranberry achar at Sanaa, roasted heirloom beets with candied walnuts and mulled apple cider at Artist Point, and other unique dishes to enjoy with the holiday classics.

At Epcot, guests can dine on Thanksgiving menus during lunch and dinner seatings at Akershus Royal Banquet Hall, Biergarten Restaurant, Coral Reef Restaurant, Le Cellier Steakhouse, and Rose & Crown Pub & Dining Room, as well as quick service at Sunshine Seasons.

Holiday menus also are offered at Be Our Guest Restaurant and Tony’s Town Square Restaurant in Magic Kingdom, Hollywood & Vine and The Hollywood Brown Derby in Disney’s Hollywood Studios, Tusker House Restaurant in Disney’s Animal Kingdom.

Within the Walt Disney World Resort hotels, special Thanksgiving dining options are available at:

Artist Point and Whispering Canyon Café at Disney’s Wilderness Lodge
California Grill and The Wave… of American Flavors at Disney’s Contemporary Resort
Cape May Café at Disney’s Beach Club Resort
Captain’s Grille and Yachtsman Steakhouse at Disney’s Yacht Club Resort
End Zone Food Court at Disney’s All-Star Sports Resort
Flying Fish Café at Disney’s BoardWalk
Mickey’s Backyard Thanksgiving Feast and Trail’s End Restaurant at Disney’s Fort Wilderness Resort & Campground
Grand Floridian Café, Narcoossee’s and Victoria & Albert’s at Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa
Jiko – The Cooking Place at Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge
Kona Café at Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort
Olivia’s Café at Disney’s Old Key West Resort
Sanaa at Disney’s Kidani Village Resort
Shutters at Old Port Royale at Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort
The Turf Club Bar and Grill at Disney’s Saratoga Springs Resort & Spa

Availability is limited and dining events are subject to change. For information and reservations, please call 407-WDW-DINE.

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

Nov 6 2014

Disney Discounts For The Week Of November 3, 2014

Please check out this week’s amazing Disney discounts!

Walt Disney World® Resort

Stay Play & Dine: Save up to 30% off your hotel accommodations for a 2015 Disney World vacation. Select dates from January 5 – March 28, 2015.
Free Dining Bounce Back Specials: During your Disney vacation, you can book your next Disney vacation at huge savings! The current bounce back special includes the Disney Dining Plan for free. Book your Disney package before you check out and then contact Jennifer Hardy at Destinations in Florida for details on transferring your reservation.
Active/Retired Military Rates: For US active and retired military, save money on tickets and resort accommodations through October 2015.
Florida Resident & Annual Passholder Rates: Florida Residents and Annual Passholders can take advantage of great rates on rooms at select Disney Resort Hotels up to 35% off.
RunDisney Group Rates: Are you a runner? Do you want to run a race with Mickey Mouse? Join our VIP runners at Destinations in Florida for some of the favorite races including Disney Marathon and Disney Princess Run. These exclusive rates are only with Destinations in Florida.

Click the banner below and fill out the quote form to take advantage of these great offers!

Disneyland® Resort

Save up to 25% Off Spring 2015 Vacations: Save up to 25% on Disneyland® Resort Hotel stays January 4 – February 12, 2015 and save up to 20% on stays February 13 -March 26, 2015.
Save up 20% on Premium Rooms Sunday-Thursday: If you always wanted to try a premium room at the Disneyland® Resort hotels, now is the time. Save up to 20% off the room rates, when you visit during the week days!
Active/Retired Military Rates: For US active and retired military, save money on tickets and resort accommodations through October 2015.
Book a Package for as Little as $89 Per Person/Per Day: Stay right down the road from the Disney Magic at a Good Neighbor Hotel from now through November 21 for as little as $89 per person/per day.
3rd, 4th or 5th Night Free at Disneyland Good Neighbor Hotels: Visit Anaheim during select nights through December 2014. Stay at a select Disney Good Neighbor Hotels and enjoy a 3rd night, 4th night or 5th night free. Contact Jennifer Hardy at Destinations in Florida for details.

Click the banner below and fill out the quote form to take advantage of these great offers!

Disney Cruise Line®

Canadian Residents Save up to 20% Off: From November 2014 – January 2015, Canadian Residents can save up to 20% off Disney Cruise prices on select cruises.
Special Rates for Florida Residents and US Military: Take advantage of special deals for Florida Residents and active/retired United States Military.

Click the banner below and fill out the quote form to take advantage of these great offers!

Nov 5 2014

Disney World News – Big Hero 6 Arrives At Hollywood Studios

Anyone else excited for this Friday’s release of the new Disney film, Big Hero 6? My boys and I have been watching the preview of this movie for months and can’t wait to see it. Disney is preparing for its release as well by readying a new Meet & Greet and creating lots of great Big Hero 6 merchandise. Here’s the scoop from Disney Parks Blog:

Big Hero 6 Meet & Greet

After Disney’s new animated feature Big Hero 6 hits theaters in November, the stars of the film are heading to Disney Parks to greet their fans. At Walt Disney World Resort, Disney’s Hollywood Studios guests can step inside The Magic of Disney Animation attraction to tour the lab from the San Fransokyo Institute of Technology, and then meet Hiro Hamada and his huggable buddy Baymax in Hiro’s garage workshop.

Big Hero 6 Merchandise

There are merchandise items that were developed specifically for Disney Parks. They include some apparel items and a six-pin, open edition pin set. In select merchandise locations in Disney’s Hollywood Studios at Walt Disney World Resort, guests will also find a limited release, graphic MagicBand. In order to purchase this retail MagicBand, guests must present one of the following for the MagicBand to be linked to at the time of purchase: valid theme park admission, Memory Maker card or an active MagicBand. A D-Tech on Demand case for the iPhone 5/5S will be released at both Disneyland and Walt Disney World Resorts. In the D-Tech on Demand boutique at the Marketplace Co-Op in Downtown Disney Marketplace, guests will soon find six new art designs with characters from the film. The cases shown above are for the iPhone 6, but they are also offered for iPhone 4/4S, iPhone 5/5S, iPhone 5C, Samsung Galaxy SIII and Samsung Galaxy S4 at the boutique. We will begin offering cases for iPhone 6+ and Samsung Galaxy S5 later in November at D-Tech on Demand. Finally, there will be a limited release Vinylmation mystery series coming to Disney Parks in early November.

Please look for my review of Big Hero 6 this Friday, November 7!

Nov 5 2014

Disney World News – Elsa’s Sorcerers Card To Be Released At Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party

For fans of either Frozen or the Sorcerers of the Magic Kingdom interactive game, here’s some exciting news for you. A brand new exclusive card is being released at this year’s Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party. Here’s the scoop from DisneyParksBlog.com:

Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party returns to Magic Kingdom Park on November 7, and this year’s event-exclusive Sorcerers of the Magic Kingdom card will be “Elsa’s Icy Shield” and will let players harness some of Queen Elsa’s special “Frozen” powers. In case you haven’t played Sorcerers of the Magic Kingdom yet, this interactive game allows you to join Merlin’s quest to defeat Disney Villains who are trying to take over Magic Kingdom Park. You use maps to find villain hideouts throughout the park, visit magic portals and use spell cards (like this one) to spoil a villain’s plan. Cards feature different Disney characters with unique powers. You can also use multiple cards to enhance your attack on the villains. The Sorcerers of the Magic Kingdom quest begins at the Firehouse on Main Street, U.S.A., where you can pick up complimentary key cards, spell cards and maps (additional cards can be purchased at select merchandise locations). The “Elsa’s Icy Shield” card will be distributed in addition to the regular Sorcerers of the Magic Kingdom card packs. Guests must present their party ticket and event wristband in order to get one.

Anyone else excited about this news? Please leave a comment!

Nov 4 2014

Disney World News – PhotoPass Photos Automatically Linked To MagicBands

A great new feature! If you’re wearing an active MagicBand on select Walt Disney World Resort attractions, your photos will be automatically associated to your My Disney Experience account. You don’t have to do anything. In fact, if you’ve worn your MagicBand on one of the participating attractions in the last 45 days, you should be able to find that photo in your account now. Don’t have a MagicBand? Don’t worry. They’re making it easier for you, too. Recently Disney turned on new touch points at Magic Kingdom on Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin, Space Mountain and Splash Mountain. So after you ride, simply find your photo on the preview wall and touch your park ticket or Memory Maker card to the touch point to associate your photo. Disney expects to have photo touch points installed at Epcot, Disney’s Hollywood Studios and Disney’s Animal Kingdom theme parks by mid-November. Beginning soon, guests wearing active MagicBands will have attraction videos automatically associated to their accounts as well. Videos are currently available for Seven Dwarfs Mine Train and The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror.

I just returned from Disney World a couple of weeks ago and when I logged into my My Disney Experience account today, I was pleasantly surprised to find all of my attraction photos right there for me to review and purchase. What a nice surprise!

What do you think of this new feature? Please leave a comment!