Disney News #4

Here we are again for another installment of Disney news from around the WWW.

1. Virgin Megastore in Downtown Disney will be closing this summer, along with the 5 other locations around the nation.

2. Disney Dining Experience is now to be known as Tables In Wonderland.

Pricing is as follows:
$100 for Florida residents
$75 for Annual Passholders
$50 Second membership on a account

3. Scheduled to debut in summer 2009, Stitch will be having a dance party on a newly constructed stage in Tommorowland.

4. Construction of the 2 new Disney Cruise Line ships has been initiated, after having a ceremony at the Meyer Werft location in Germany.

5. DisneyLand trains are running on BioDiesel.

6. High School Musical will return to the tv. Slated for 2010, High School Musical will appear on tv everywhere with new stars.

7. Look who/what was spotted at Walt Disney World…

disney_nextel_sprint

In case you can’t tell… It is a Sprint/Nextel operated promotion type bus. Disney has a deal with Sprint/Nextel. They must have decided that there was no better way to market the newest item in their line of phones… Blackberry 8350I Curve.

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Disney & My Family

My parents have been taking me to Disney World since I was just a toddler.  We stayed at the Grand Floridian majority of the time, and we were on the Gold Key Plan.  Eventually Disney stopped offering that plan.

 

My parents eventually bought into Disney Vacation Club.  We still vacationed on money for quite some time.  After they took me, wife, and daughter to Disney World, and we stayed in a DVC villa I saw what a savings this could be.

 

We toured some of the other Florida timeshare properties.  We were not happy.  We took one final journey into the DVC sales office.  After speaking with Kelly Jo we decided that we needed to think a bit more.  To our astonishment Kelly Jo didn’t pressure us one bit.  As a matter of fact she told us that she would give us some paperwork to look over, and if we were interested we could call, and do everything through the mail.

 

The other timeshare presentations were high pressured, and just as a note… the FREE food is absolutelly the worst.  (Hot Dogs, and soda are what we were given at the last timeshare presentation we went to prior to purchasing Disney Vacation Club (DVC).

 

We went home, and I did a lot of number crunching.  The wife, and I decided that this was definitelly an opportunity for us to take advantage of.  We initially purchased 150 points.  Later on we added 50 more.

 

Since we became DVC owners we have gone on more trips to Disney World.  We also used the points to go on Disney Cruise once, and also stayed at Vero Beach once.  All together we have hit the savings already.

 

We go to Old Key West majority of the time, and stay in a 1 bedroom villa.  On occassion we will stay at either the Boardwalk, or Saratoga Springs.  Granted we almost always vacation in Disney at Value times.

 

My daughter of 9 absolutelly loves going to Disney, as we don’t work on a schedule, or cram a lot into a day.  We have actually started a ritual of going to Disney during Easter.  My daughter loves the activities that the DVC resorts have, plus that is one of the only times that she has numerous days out of school.

 

The reason that the season means a lot is that Disney has structured the points values based on the time of year.  Major holidays are “Peak.”

 

By going as much as we do, we have found that purchasing an Annual Pass works best if you are going to vacation in Disney at least 2 times within the 364 days.  DVC members get a discount on their Annual passes.

 

We successfully get to see each of the parks during each trip.  Magic Kingdom, Animal Kingdom, Epcot, MGM Studios (Hollywood Studios).

 

Do your research if you are going to purchase a timeshare.  You may think that it looks good at first, but won’t really know until you have used it a few times.  You can see our unbiased reviews at either of our sites.

 

You can view more about Disney , Disney Cruising, and more at:

http://www.DisneyContestBlog.Com, or http://www.MyBlogs4U.Com.

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American Idol – Disney World w/ Photos

I am hoping for some video footage from Jeff at JeffLangeDVD.Com.

This is the full write up that I received…(One of the many Disney Newsletters I receive.)

Get Discovered at The American Idol Experience

Love entertaining live audiences? Think you’re destined for fame? Now aspiring singers can take a step closer to realizing their dreams as Disney’s Hollywood Studios Theme Park in Florida unveils one of its most anticipated attractions ever, The American Idol Experience. Like its television counterpart, The American Idol Experience is a real-live talent search that awards top vote recipients from the finale show with a Dream Ticket to audition for the actual show. There’s no guarantee Guests will appear on television, but who wouldn’t want to take a shot at superstardom?

Imagineers worked with the show’s set designer, Andy Walmsley, to recreate the original stage down to every last detail. Laura Offerdahl, Event Producer at Walt Disney World Resort, describes the reaction from those affiliated with the show. “The Freemantle Media and 19 Entertainment people were amazed by how much our set looks like the real thing. Former Idol stars David Cook and David Archuleta felt like they were having déjà vu when they stepped on stage. Everyone’s been blown away by the set and that’s exactly what we were looking for. We wanted that wow factor because it’s the first thing Guests see when entering the theater. It’s just like what’s on TV.”
read more

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Starting to Prepare for Vacation

constrctbarguys

Well, we recently made major changes to our upcoming vacation to Disney World.  Originally we were going to drive down with our camper, and stay in Fort Wilderness.  After we realized the cost we were going to incur we changed everything… Well, almost.

We are now driving down, and staying in a “Suite” just outside the main gates of Disney World.  Then we will be moving over to our timeshare in Disney.  Starting to prepare now is essential, as I have to make sure everything is ready.  Between getting the car luggage carrier out, and washed to making sure the car is running absolutelly perfect, there is a lot to do.  I know it seems a bit early, but it really isn’t, as work can get in the way, and I tend to forget to do things.  Some of the stuff is in my schedule to do by certain dates, so it may not be done yet.
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Disney & Nintendo DS

Quite some time ago I had read that Disney had been testing a new venture. They were going to setup a system that would use Nintendo DS units as virtual guides. They had designed software so that there was an interactive map, wait times, and more.

magicconnection

While I think Disney could come up with a new way to have their park maps put out, I don’t think that the DS way is the best. Between possible theft, and also possible breakage, there lies a lot of issues that could arise.

Has anyone heard anything further on this idea of Disney’s?

Disney could go one better, and find a way to make a system that would work on cell phones. Everyone has them, and then there is nothing anyone can blame, other than themselves. I have been to a few sites that have already put there own wait times, and such for the general public.

While Disney seems to be 100% into something now, they will gradually drop to 50% productivity. This will then cause Disney to scrap yet another good thing that they have, just like they did to VMK. (Disney’s Virtual Magic Kingdom) Basically they must realize that they aren’t making money like they were when they started the venture, so they phase it out. My Pal Mickey was another venture that Disney had, and now they are only selling what is left in inventory. The system is “Stated” as fully operational, but I am sure that some of that computer server has been delegated elsewhere, or will be in the future.

What would Walt really think of the parks as they have become today?

Would Walt have done any of these things?

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