Winter’s chill might be upon us, but Summer 2012 is not far away.  I am thinking warm thoughts about a Walt Disney World vacation in the summer; being immersed in a Disney vacation experience that leaves me feeling the magic of creating family memories.  Disney’s Typhoon Lagoon, pictured on the left, came to mind.   Did you know they have a shark reef there that you can swim in?  Disney’s imagination creates the perfect Disney vacation experience for you!  Even in the heat of summer, you can experience Disney vacation magic.

Disney vacation Water Park Fun and More options comes to mind as the perfect add on during the hot summer months.  Disney offers this option to their Magic Your Way Disney vacation package in Walt Disney World!  You get visits to both Typhoon Lagoon and Blizzard Beach water parks, but there are so many other Disney vacation Fun and More options to explore!

The Magic Your Way theme park tickets offer us the ability to create our own type of Disney vacation experience.  The ‘everything included’ idea was re-imagined by Disney, and over time has been perfected in many ways.   The Water Park Fun and More options are a big part of the re-imagined Disney vacation fun.  The Walt Disney World theme parks can get pretty hot in the summer, but there are options to help you cool down.

Add the Water Park Fun and More options to your Walt Disney World theme park ticket and you can experience two water parks, a golf course, an indoor interactive theme park, and even more!  You can take the hottest part of each Disney vacation summer day and spend it somewhere cool, and head back to a theme park at night, when the outside air is cooler.  Remember, the Walt Disney World theme parks stay open later in the summer months.

With the Disney vacation Water Park Fun and More options added to your Walt Disney World theme park ticket you can visit both Typhoon Lagoon and Blizzard beach water parks,  but the And More options offer so much more Fun!

Head to Downtown Disney where you can visit the interactive theme park Disney Quest; easily a full day of air conditioned fun creating virtual theme park rides.  Become a pirate and battle for buccaneer gold, or build your own roller coaster at the DisneyQuest CyberSpace Mountain attraction, where Bill Nye the Coaster Guy walks guests through the design process.   The roller coaster of your dreams (or nightmares!) can do flips, corkscrews and even wild maneuvers such as a loop that flies off the tracks.   You decide what you want it to do, and you get to experience the virtual ride!

Also included with the Water Park Fun and More options are two other options.  You can visit the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex, or golf nine holes at Disney’s Oak Trail Golf Course, located near teh Polynesian Resort.  This charming 9-hole walking course  is set in a very natural environment and is designed for families to enjoy fun and fitness together.   The course is ideal if you’re seeking a casual 9-hole stroll.

Plenty of fun to be found in Walt Disney World and the Water Park Fun and More options offer you a chance to experience Disney vacation fun beyond the theme parks.

The newest Walt Disney World value Resort is getting closer to welcoming their first guests.  The Disney Art of Animation Resort will be opening in May of 2012.  This resort will boast a state of the art food court, with some healthy Disney dining choices that I think families are going to enjoy.  Healthy and delicious seems to be where Disney dining options in Walt Disney World are headed.  This beautiful new Disney resort, even at a Value level, shows the length Disney will go to to make our vacation experience better.  So, what exactly will you find for Disney dining options at Art of Animation?

The food court will be called Landscape of Flavors, and your Disney dining choices will be flavorful and healthy.  The Disney dining quick service food court will be located next to the lobby in the new Disney Art of Animation Resort.  The concept is still being tweaked, but so far it sounds Disney dining delicious!!

The main concept at this Disney Dining food court is everything will be fresh, and made to order.  You will be presented with more choices to go with your meals, with things less packaged.  Healthy Disney dining choices will be readily available.   There will still be a Grab and Go area, popular at the other Value and Moderate Resorts, such as Every Pop Shop and Dining at Pop Century.

There will be a big emphasis on beverages; wonderfully healthy smoothies will be made to order, along with lemonade and pomegranate limeade!  That sounds so refreshing, doesn’t it?  Plenty of wine and beer will be stocked, with gluten free beer options available!  You will find organic teas and coffee that I have heard will even have flavors!   The Disney dining option of pairing a half bottle of wine with your meal will also be available at the Landscape of Flavors food court.

Here is a look at the five sections that will be available for your Disney dining meals, as described by Disney:

• The Soup-Salad-Sandwich Shop lets you create your own salad (with beef or chicken) and offers a caprese sandwich with fresh mozzarella and tomatoes on focaccia, or a Buffalo-style turkey sandwich with arugula and a blue cheese-Buffalo sauce-mayo spread. Both are served with delish house-made potato chips.
• The World Flavors Shop adds Indian-African flair to breakfast, too, with scrambled eggs, tandoor potatoes, Portuguese sausage, slab bacon and a mini-naan; or a veggie flatbread sandwich on naan with cauliflower, spinach and paneer. Lunch and dinner is a choice of tandoori chicken or shrimp, Mongolian beef with vegetables, mahi mahi, Portuguese sausage or roasted acorn squash served with sides and naan bread.
• The Pizza Shop features make-your-own pasta, cheese and pepperoni pizzas and meatballs on ciabatta bread. Room delivery is an option, too.
• The Burger Shop includes a breakfast burger with chicken breakfast sausage, cheese and scrambled eggs on a multi-grain bun, and a steak-and-eggs breakfast burger with a burger topped with fried eggs, cheese and bacon.   Besides the traditional burgers, lunch and dinner includes a surf and turf burger with crab cake and fried popcorn shrimp, and a pastrami cheeseburger topped with pepper jack cheese and a slice of fried green tomato.
• The “grab ‘n go” Market Shop offers drinks, yogurt, bagels, pastries, gourmet cupcakes, cookies and gelato.

This Disney dining trend of introducing healthy choices is not just happening because The Art of Animation is a new resort.  All across the board, Disney dining is making changes to  the food options available.  Even behind the scenes they are working with manufactureres of products, looking to find products that do not use partially hydrogneated oil.  More and more sugar free, low calorie and especially gluten free Disney dining choices are being made available to the guests.  You never have to be concerned when you travel to a Disney destination and have to monitor your diet; Disney dining is all about delicious with healthy choices!

Disney Cruise Line welcomes guests to sail 4-night or 5-night itineraries, from the Port of Miami, on the Disney Cruise Line Wonder, starting in December 0f 2012!    Certainly, this gives Disney Cruise Line some leeway with their Caribbean and Bahamas cruises.  Disney is offering a new Disney Cruise vacation option, with one of their original ships.  Yes, again, we see Disney taking something old and making it feel new. Ports of call could include Cozumel, Mexico; Grand Cayman; Key West and Nassau, Bahamas, and many of the itineraries will include a stop at Disney Cruise Line’s private island, Castaway Cay.  Sailing from Miami avoids the sometimes choppy sail along the Florida coast, heading back to Port Canaveral.  I like this idea.  There is more news, too.

         

Disney Cruise Line’s first two ships.  The Disney Cruise Line Magic and The Disney Cruise Line Wonder, two gorgeous and intimate ships, have had itineraries announced for 2013.  If you are looking for a nice smaller ship, one of these will fit the bill for you.  The most marvelous thing about these two ships is that they are easier to move around, and Disney is inclined to use them to mix it up a bit, providing different Disney Cruise itineraries.

Disney Cruise Line announced that they will be going back to Europe!  That in itself is exciting, but the big news is the added ports of call!!  Greece is one of them, and the other new ones are Venice, Italy and Ephesus, Turkey.  All of the Disney Cruise Line European cruises will depart from Barcelona, Spain.  Guests can experience  four, seven, or 12 night sailings.

Disney Cruise Line is also returning to Alaska in 2013, when the Disney Wonder returns there in May.  This, of course, means two repositioning cruises, which is a wonderful way to experience a long and relaxing Disney Cruise Line vacation.  Westbound will be May 6, and Eastbound will be December 9.  The Alaska cruise itinerary is an amazing experience! You will sail out of the Port of Vancouver, in Canada for 7 nights, visiting Tracy Arm, Skagway, Juneau and Ketchikan.

Lots of fun things on the horizon for Disney Cruise Line with all these itineraries.  Of course, the Disney Cruise Line Dream and Disney Cruise Line Fantasy will be sailing out of Port Canaveral with their Caribbean and Bahamian itineraries.  If you have thought about cruising, I highly reccomend Disney Cruise Line to you.  You will not be disappointed.

President Barack Obama is visiting Walt Disney World tomorrow, January 19, 2012!  The Obama Disney visit was planned after the president contacted Disney officials and requested that they set up for him to make a special announcement in front of Cinderella’s Castle, in Magic Kingdom!  The announcement is something that is supposed to impact the travel industry and tourism in the United States, in general.  The Obama Disney visit, in itself, is historic.  A sitting president has never visited Walt Disney World.

I am personally excited to hear what the news is from the President Obama Disney visit, aren’t you?  I imagine speaking in front of Cinderella’s Castle to be the perfect photo opportunity, when making a speech about tourism.  I hope it is worth the disruption it will make in everyone’s planned vacation!   I have checked into what can be expected for inconvenience from the Obama Disney visit, and I think resort guests should plan to be as far away from the Magic Kingdom area as possible!  In fact, no matter where you travel tomorrow in Walt Disney World, I would expect you will see delays, and even the impromptu road block.  It is a perfect time to make use of the OLP Transportation Wizard.

That being said, Disney has gone the extra mile with this, and plans are in place to make it run as smooth as can be.  My expectation is that the Obama Disney visit will be hectic, but Disney will pull it off just fine, and the guests will probably have some extra park perks to enjoy, while being a part of history.

There is no definite time announced, but it is expected that the President Obama Disney visit will last approximately two hours.  Can you imagine the security around this?  Here is what you can expect, if you happen to be one of the guests in Walt Disney World during the Obama Disney visit.

• President Barack Obama will be speaking in front of Cinderella’s Castle. President Obama’s remarks are not open to guests; only those specifically invited by the White House can attend.
• All Walt Disney World Transportation will operate as usual, however guests should allow for extra travel time, especially for dining and other reservations in the area of Magic Kingdom, as possible traffic congestion and delays are anticipated.
• Main Street, U.S.A., including all the shops, will be closed to guests from park opening through late afternoon.
• When park guests arrive, Disney cast members will be on hand to direct them toward “alternate routes” to enjoy areas of the park that will be open.
• Main Street, U.S.A. will open later in the day, on time for the “Celebrate A Dream Come True Parade” which will start at 3:30 p.m.
• Package pickup will operate as normal, with the Baby Care and First Aid being moved to the entrance of Space Mountain.
• Disney PhotoPass photographers that you normally see on Main Street, U.S.A. will be found in areas behind Cinderella’s Castle. The area in front of the castle will remain closed until later in the day.
• Disney has also adjusted some park hours for all the theme parks on Thursday and added a fireworks show at Disney’s Hollywood Studios.

I love the International Flower and Garden Festival!  It happens every year at Epcot in Walt Disney World.  This year the festival starts on March 7 and runs through May 20, 2012.  There are so many beautiful displays and fun activities.  This is an enjoyable festival, and you won’t want to miss it.

I love the topiary creations that you see everywhere at Epcot.  The whimsy and imagination it takes to create such beautiful and living pieces of art never ceases to amaze me.  If that isn’t enough, which it surely isn’t for Disney, you will find so many enjoyable activities and displays.  The goal Disney has is that everyone will enjoy their visit to the Flower and Garden Festival.  So, what is there to do at the festival?

There is plenty to do and plenty to see and Disney has not let us down this year.   The festival will include some experiences the children will love.  There will be unique play structures offering fun for the little ones—the Evos™ play systems for ages six and older and the Weevos™ play systems for ages two through five, experience the Sounds of Nature, presented by Nature Conservancy .  One of my favorites is the Bambi Butterfly Garden.  You can see so many different and beautiful butterflies, and you will have the chance to learn all about them.  Pictured on the right is a Butterfly Release station.  You can watch the butterflies as they come out of their cocoon and fly away.  It is fun for all ages!

Disney partnered with HGTV again; a partnership that started last year.  This is exciting if you are an HGTV fan.  You will have the chance to visit Walt Disney World and see your favorite HGTV stars!!  Check out this schedule of events!

• John Gidding, HGTV’s Curb Appeal: The Block—March 9 – 11
• Sabrina Soto, HGTV’s The High/Low Project—March 16 – 18
• Jason Cameron, DIY Network’s Desperate Landscapes and Man Caves—March 23 – 25
• Camille Styles, HGTV.com Entertainment contributor—March 30 – April 1
• Dan Faires, HGTV.com’s DanMade, Fan Favorite HGTV Design Star Season 5—April 6 – 8
• Brandon Johnson, host of HGTV’s My Yard Goes Disney—April 13 – 15
• Meg Caswell, HGTV’s Meg’s Great Rooms—April 20 – 22
• Monica Pedersen, HGTV Dream Home Tour 2012 and Designed to Sell—April 27 – 29
• Antonio Ballatore, HGTV’s The Antonio Treatment—May 4 – 6
• To be determined—May 11 – 13
• Genevieve Gorder, HGTV’s Dear Genevieve and HGTV Design Star—May 18 – 20

Disney always presents The Flower Power Concert Series at the Epcot Flower and Garden Festival.  You will not want to miss this, and  might want to plan your travel dates around the schedule; that way you can see your favorite band!

Some of the traditional bands are coming back, and Disney has some new bands this year!

Make your plans soon to visit Walt Disney World during the 19th Epcot International Flower and Garden Festival!  Disney still has some good discounts available for travel during those dates.  See you there!

Dietary situations are not a challenge at Walt Disney World.  In fact, if you want to eat healthy, and have specific needs or food allergies, your best vacation destination is a Disney vacation destination.  Your dietary needs will not mean your taste buds will go without; no, not at all!  Chef’s like Chef Ken from the Plaza Restaurant at Magic Kingdom, picture on the left, will be happy to sit and talk to you, like he did with us, about whatever dietary need you have.  They will remember you, too.  Chef Ken remembered us from a trip two years prior, and even remembered where we sat.  That is Disney dining at its best, right?  It is healthy for the body and the vacation feeling.

When I travel to Walt Disney World I anticipate the Disney dining experiences that await me.  I know that my palate will be treated well, with many different Disney dining options to choose from.  Disney dining is all about delicious, no matter what the dietary need or desire is.

Walt Disney World offers Disney dining plans, and those plans can save you money.  Disney offers a Disney dining plan for folks who like to eat on the run, the Quick Service Dining Plan.  You get counter service meals on this plan; I am talking Disney dining counter service meals, such as this healthy and delicious salmon dinner you can get at Columbia Harbor House at Magic Kingdom in Walt Disney World.  This is one of my favorite counter service restaurants!

Another really tasty counter service option, with healthy food choices, is the Backlot Express at Disney Hollywood Studios.  This is a fun restaurant to eat in; you feel like you are inside the back room of a movie studio.  You can order the delicious veggie sandwich pictured on the left, and ask for carrot sticks instead of french fries.  This is a tasty and healthy Disney dining option.

Enjoy a sit down meal, with healthy options and fireworks at Epcot, at La Hacienda de San Angel!  Make your dining arrangments for 7:30 pm, and chances are you will get to see Illuminations from your table, while enjoying a delicious healthy Mexican entree, such as Black Bean Soup.  Doesn’t it look yummy?

So much to eat in so little time!  Enjoy your Disney vacation!  Have fun and thanks to Disney dining; eat delicious and healthy!

When I go on a Disney vacation there are certain expectations I have.  I really love the traditions that Disney gives us, such as the Wishes Fireworks at Magic Kingdom.  I also want to experience something new; and I’ve yet to not find something new when I go on a Disney vacation.  With Disney it really is all about progress and evolving. Disney vacations really do set the bar pretty high when it comes to providing a fresh and new vacation experience to guests that return over the years, while providing the Disney vacation allure to new guests; who might experience a Disney vacation by chance. Disney really wants you to visit a Disney vacation destination.

They will go out of their way to make you feel you are their guest, and it is not just a vacation when it is Disney.  It is a vacation with the Disney difference.  This is what Disney does best; they make a good vacation experience better. They keep old Disney vacation experiences feeling new, while providing new Disney vacation experiences, too. Walt Disney was all about learning new things, and providing a fun, family oriented, vacation experience. He would love some of the Disney vacation ‘pluses’ that are happening now.

Plusing something was what Walt would expect when something was actually pretty good just as it was.  He’d say to Plus It!  Today Disney re-imagines the Disney vacation experience, but it is really the same thing.  Re-imagined, or plused, here are some Disney vacation traditions that have been renewed:

• I suppose the biggest tradition that is being re-imagined is the new Fantasyland being built in Magic Kingdom in Walt Disney World!  This will be a Disney vacation experience that is the ultimate old tradition re-imagined!
• You will hear two new songs as you stroll down Main Street U.S.A. in Disneyland.  Disney introduced Oh You Beautiful Doll and Maple Leaf Rag, new today, but tomorrow’s tradition.
• The Matterhorn at Disneyland theme park is a big tradition with families, and starting tomorrow your tradition will have brand new bobsleds.  Disney keeps it fresh.
• What used to be new is now tradition at Epcot’s Test Track.  Every Disney vacation includes a traditional visit to Test Track, and next fall an area will be re-imagined so you can create your own virtual car and test drive it.
• In 2011 Disney totally re-imagined Star Tours at Disneyland and Star Tours at Hollywood Studios.

Talk about new Disney vacation experiences, and the first thing that comes to mind is the new Disney Cruise Line ships!  The Disney Dream is sailing now, and in March 2012 the Disney Fantasy will be christened.  Disney Cruise Line has taken the ideas from the Disney Dream and actually made them better for the Disney Fantasy, such as the new show Wishes.

At Disneyland’s California Adventure Theme Park there is so much going on!  The new Cars Land Radiator Springs attraction is being built, and the new World of Color spectacular fireworks show debuted in 2011.  This theme park has been re-imagined in lots of ways since it opened.  Disney creating new Disney vacation traditions, re-imagining a fairly newly imagined theme park.  They are even adding a new statue of Mickey and Walt Disney at California Adventure, called Storytellers.  It will be located at the entrance to another brand new area being created; Buena Vista Street.  A new tradition being created for generations to come.

Let’s not leave Walt Disney World out of the newly imagined Disney vacation experiences.  There is a brand new resort being built in Walt Disney World; The Art of Animation.  Disney has taken the concept of a family suite and imagined their way right into some of the most famous Disney movies.  Now that I think about it, this is the ultimate in re-imagined, isn’t it?  Disney has taken the movies from our childhood, and re-imagined them into resort themes once again.

Keeping it traditionally fresh for me, my Disney vacation experience is always fun!

Disney made a special announcement last night, just before midnight!  There will be some celebrating at Walt Disney World and Disneyland with the release of the One More Disney Day celebration!   It is all about the Leap Year of 2012, and adds a surprise to the Disney fun and fantasy planned for 2012. So, what is the big surprise?

Disney has a discount for guests and on February 29, 2012, to celebrate the leap year of 2012, Disneyland Theme Park in California and Magic Kingdom Theme Park in Walt Disney World will stay open for 24 hours!!!

Imagine your fantasy of a full day, 24 hours, the Disney theme park never closes, and imagine it coming true!  Opening at 6:00 am on February 29, 2012 and closing at 6:00 am on March 1, 2012, both Fairytale castles at both Disneyland Park in California and Walt Disney World Resort in Florida will have  an unprecedented Disney day as both parks open for 24 hours  in a bi-coastal salute called “One More Disney Day.” Your theme park admission for that day will be good until 6:00 am on March 1, 2012 for these two parks!  During 2012′s bonus day of leap year, memory-making Disney guests on both coasts can fill their day and night with a marathon of Disney magic and fun.

That’s not all Disney is offering!  At the same time that they released this news, they released a nice little discount for Disney Guests to celebrate with.  Disney is all about celebrating and I love how they announced this for Leap Year, and I love that their is a ‘deal’ attached.  Disney wants you to come and visit, and this little deal is a nice one.

Planning to visit Walt Disney World, or Disneyland before March 10, 2012?  You can enjoy one more day and night of Disney magic FREE when they buy a 3-night, 3-day non-discounted Walt Disney Travel Co. room and ticket package at select Walt Disney World Resort or Disneyland Resort hotels.  This offer must be booked before January 31, 2012, and is available for arrivals from February 26 to March 10, 2012.  This offer is about the February 29 One More Disney Day offer!  Don’t miss it!

Disney is kicking the fun up a notch or two in 2012!  I think they are taking the idea of the Leap Year to heart, and taking a Disney fantasy sized leap into the year with magical fun for guests of all ages to enjoy!  Early in 2012 the fun new interactive game, Sorcerers of the Magic Kingdom will debut at Magic Kingdom in Walt Disney World,  a brand new value resort opens in Walt Disney World; The Art of Animation and Disney Cruise Line debuts a brand new ship, the Disney Fantasy!  Those are just three of the new Disney fantasy vacation experiences that await you this coming year.  Disney fantasy on Land and at Sea, isn’t that fun?  We are going to SEE so much Disney fun and Disney fantasy!

Right off the bat, starting January 16, 2012, a fantastic and exciting Disney fantasy car driving experience  will be available to experience in Walt Disney World.  Richard Petty Driving Experience at Walt Disney World Resort will feature what is known as the Exotics Course.  Only Disney can mix up exotic Disney fantasy in such a cool way!  Have you ever had the fantasy to drive a Ferrari, Lamborghini, Audi, and Porsche?  Now it can be a Disney fantasy that comes true in Walt Disney World!

Do you have a Disney fantasy to stay in a Royal themed room, or imagine staying in a room themed after Finding Nemo.  I love that movie, and I know the room will have all the whimsy that the movie does.  The Art of Animation Resort opens in phases, starting on May 31, 2012, and  will offer us the chance to stay in themed family suites this year, with regular rooms coming in the next phase.  To make your Disney fantasy of staying in a royal room come true, just look for your vacation Disney fantasy to come true at Walt Disney World’s Port Orleans Riverside Resort.  They have done lots of renovations, and among those are the new Royal Guest Rooms set to open for guests in the Spring of 2012.  This wonderful moderate resort will feature queen beds in almost all of their rooms starting in 2012.  I think everyone will welcome queen beds at the Disney moderate resorts; an adult’s Disney fantasy!

Disney Cruise Line’s newest ship, The Disney Fantasy, sails in March 2012.  She is the same in size at the Disney Dream, but Disney has taken the fantasy theme and added some wonderful touches to this new ship.  Be prepared to be pampered on the Disney Fantasy, and to experience the Disney difference.

Disney debuts a brand new show on their new ship; The Disney Fantasy show ‘Wishes’!  This is a beautiful, heartfelt story about three best friends who discover the secret to being a grown-up is staying connected to their inner child.  I’d call that a Disney fantasy, wouldn’t you?

A Disney fantasy water play area has been created near the entrance to the water coaster.  This wonderful water play area is called the Aqua Lab.

All the little princesses and pirates will be able to experience the Bibiddy Bobiddy Boutique on the Disney Fantasy!  Their Disney fantasy to be a Disney princess or pirate at sea can come true.

You will find the Muppets featured in the onboard interactive game, too .  Lots of Disney fantasy fun at sea!

This is just a taste of the new Disney fantasy experiences that await you when you visit a Disney vacation destination.  In 2013 the big deal is coming, the new and ever so Disney fantasy filled Fantasyland in the Magic Kingdom in Walt Disney World.  I am so excited about that, and I know that Disney is just wetting my appetite in 2012 for the best to come!

RFID turnstiles technology is being used now at the turnstiles at Epcot in Walt Disney World, and from what I have heard it is working great!  The lines move quicker, especially first thing in the morning when the park is opening.  This is welcomed by all guests, because let’s face it, we want in, and we want in quickly in the morning!   Another welcomed idea behind these RFID turnstiles is that Disney shows determination to make every part of the Walt Disney World Resort vacation experience as accessible as possible, equally, for everyone.  If you are using a stroller or in a wheelchair, you will be able to go right through with these new RFID turnstiles.

Here is how the concept works.

• You first get in line with your ticket.
• A Cast Member will place a sticker on your ticket with the new silver RFID technology chip.
• You pass the ticket in front of the new silver poles with Mickey shaped tops that are in place at the turnstiles.
• There are finger scanners, which are very efficient, and you place your finger in the scanner.
• There will be a bright swirly light that will appear, and that means your scan is complete and you can enter the park.

It sounds very easy to use and I can’t wait to check them out in person.  I am sure we will see more of this technology in the Disney Theme Parks.  Already in place are the RFID chips in the reusable mugs, and RFID chips are used on the buses now, to start the automatic announcements.  There is also a new interactive game being created for Magic Kingdom in Walt Disney World; Sorcerers of the Magic Kingdom, which uses RFID technology.

It’s all good, Disney, and we appreciate your efforts to make our Disney vacation experience more enjoyable.  If the RFID turnstiles will get me into the theme parks quicker, so I can get my first Fast Pass of the day, I am a happy guest!