Celebrating 40 Years of Walt Disney World

If you love everything Disney like I do, you’re going to love this link I found.

Jeff Kober on Mouse Planet is doing a 4-part series on “Celebrating Four Decades of Walt Disney World”, and while only part 1 is up right now…it’s really cool.

In this article, he goes through the history of Walt Disney world, each year, from when Walt Disney World first opened in 1971. You can read about all the things that were added, changed, or taken away.

Now, don’t get me wrong…there’s a LOT that I know about Disney and Walt Disney World, but even I really learned a lot from this article!

For example, did you know that Peter Pan’s Flight didn’t open until 2 days AFTER the park did? Or that in 1974, John Lennon signed the paperwork that officially broke up the Beatles while he was staying at the Polynesian Resort? Or how about in 1975, when the Lake Buena Vista Shopping Village opened, what stores were originally there?

Part one of this article goes from 1971 – 1981. I really can’t wait until the second part comes out.
I’m telling you, this article was really cool to read. If you’re into Walt Disney World, I really suggest you check it out.

Read “Celebrating Four Decades of Walt Disney World Now

Bookmark to:

• New Club at Mirage to Open Dec 22nd
• Walt Disney World will have Free Dining Select Dates through March 2012!
• Free Disney Dining Plan is Back!
• Magic Kingdom Basics
• Monsters Inc. Attraction Not Ready

For quite a few years now, Disney has offered free dining during select dates, usually from the middle of August through the middle of September.

They’re doing that this year as well, but now it looks like they’ll be extending it!

So if you’ve been thinking about going to Disney between October and next March…you might want to make sure it’s during days that you’ll be able to get free dining – if you plan on staying on Disney’s property that is.

According to Jim Hill Media, here are the dates that you can now get free dining:

• October 2nd – October 8th, 2011
• October 23rd – November 5th, 2011
• November 13th – November 19th, 2011
• November 27th – December 3rd, 2011
• December 11th – December 17th, 2011
• January 8th – January 14th, 2012
• January 22nd – February 4th, 2012
• February 12th – February 18th, 2012
• March 4th – March 10th, 2012
• March 25th – March 31st, 2012

As you can see, this is a lot of dates!

If you haven’t had free dining before, and aren’t sure what it is…it’s pretty simple.

If you’re staying on Disney property, and get at least 2-day park passes, you’ll get to eat for free. Now, it does matter where you stay as to exactly what you get.

If you’re staying at a value resort, you’ll get the Quick Service Dining Plan, and at all other resorts, you’ll get the regular Disney Dining Plan.

The Quick Service Dining Plan gives you 2 quick service meals and 1 snack per person, per night of your stay. You’ll also get a resort refillable drink mug per person. There is a long list of restaurants that you can use your dining credits at.

The regular Disney Dining Plan gives you 1 quick service meal, 1 snack, and 1 table service meal for each night of your stay.

If you’re staying at a value resort but would prefer the regular Disney Dining Plan, don’t worry. You can pay the difference and upgrade to the regular plan, it’s not a problem.

I can tell you from experience, that this is a lot of food! If you bring something from home to eat for breakfast, or even consider using some snack credits for bakery items as breakfast, you won’t want to buy any other food throughout the day! At least that’s how it has been for me on my trips using the free dining plan.

I’ve taken advantage of this, and if you want to get the chance to order whatever you’d like at some great restaurants, I suggest going during free dining.

Bookmark to:

• Disney Dining Plan
• Disney – Free Dining Plan Offer Confirmed!
• Free Disney Dining Plan is Back!
• Avoid the crowds at Disney World
• The Disney Dining Plan

I mentioned it last month, but I wanted to say it again in case someone missed it. You have until June 22nd to book a Walt Disney World trip with FREE Disney Dining. This means that if you stay on property and get at least a 1-day park pass (of course you can get passes for as many days as you’d like), you’ll get FREE meals for everyone in your party!

You really can’t ask for more than that. I’ve done this twice before, and it’s incredible. You will get to eat at some really great restaurants, and won’t have to worry about the price!

The package is a little bit different than in previous years, but it’s still great considering it’s FREE:

Each day, each person in the room gets 1 quick serve meal (which includes an entree, dessert, and drink), 1 table service meal (which includes an entree, dessert, and drink), as well as a snack credit which can be used on many items such as ice cream, fruit, drinks, etc.

Tips are no longer included, so you’ll still have to pay for that…but think about all the free food you will be getting each day!

It really is worth it, since you have to pay for a hotel room anytime you go anyway, so you would still have to pay to eat. I’d much rather just pay for tips than have to pay for my meals plus tips!

I’ll be going again in 2009 (hopefully they’ll have free dining again!) since I was just there in 2007, but I really recommend it to everyone.

Bookmark to:

• Free Disney Dining Plan is Back!
• Walt Disney World – Free Dining Again?
• Disney – Free Dining Plan Offer Confirmed!
• Disney Dining Plan
• The Disney Dining Plan

If you’re going to Universal Studios Orlando, and are considering staying on site, you might want to take a look at this deal. United Vacations has a deal where if you stay at one of the 3 on-site hotels (Loews Portofino Bay Hotel, Hard Rock Hotel, or the Loews Royal Pacific Resort) for at least 4 nights, you’ll get 2 FREE adult 2-park unlimited admission tickets! How great is that? You’ll also get a free Universal ExpressSM so you can skip the regular lines at most rides and attractions!

Not too bad, right?

To get this deal you have to book by December 12th, and can travel anytime by December 25th! So you have plenty of time. The Simpsons ride is opening soon, so if you’ve been waiting for that, it’s almost here!

Bookmark to:

• Southern California Citypass – A Great Way to get Discounts at Disneyland, Universal Studios, and More!
• New Rollercoaster for Universal Studios Orlando
• Walt Disney World will have Free Dining Select Dates through March 2012!
• Animal Kingdom Basics
• New Hotel Open in Las Vegas

Looking for the perfect vacation for the whole family? As I mentioned last week, Disney is offering FREE Dining if you travel between August 24th and September 20th. You have to stay on property, but since they have all types of hotels, you’re sure to find one that fits your budget. United has a great deal going on right now where you can book your trip to Disney, get the FREE dining package, and get a great price!

I can’t recommend Disney’s FREE dining offer enough. We’ve done it twice now, and really enjoy it. Hopefully they’ll offer it next year so we can do it again. We figure since we went last year, that we’d go somewhere else this year. But it makes your vacation so nice and easy not to have to worry about paying for your meals. You’ll also get some great meals when you have FREE dining, and since you won’t have to worry about the cost, you can order what you’d like, and get to try some really great foods!

Bookmark to:

• The Disney Dining Plan
• Disney Free Dining 2008
• Walt Disney World will have Free Dining Select Dates through March 2012!
• Disney Dining Plan
• Free Disney Dining Plan is Back!

It’s finally here!! If you’ve looked into going to Walt Disney World in August or September, most likely you’ve heard of the Free Dining Plan they have had the past few years. We took advantage of it in September 2005, and this past September as well.

It’s back! If you plan on going to Walt Disney World between August 24th and September 20th, and are staying on property, as long as each person has at least a 1-day park ticket, you will get FREE Disney Dining with your reservation!!!

Considering it usually costs $37.99 for an adult, and $9.99 per child, you are getting a great deal. What exactly do you get with the Disney Dining Plan?

Each day, each person gets: 1 quick serve meal (which includes an entree, dessert, and drink), 1 table service meal (which includes an entree, dessert, and drink), as well as a snack credit which can be used on many items such as ice cream, fruit, drinks, etc. Tips are no longer included…but think about all the free food you will be getting each day!

We have taken advantage of this deal twice, and both times it was incredible! We ate some really great meals, and it didn’t cost us anything. The best part was, we went in September after most kids had gone back to school, so it wasn’t even very crowded! We were able to walk onto most rides without having to wait in line. So between that and the great (FREE) food, it was an amazing trip. Actually, we’re hoping they do it next year so that we can go in September of 2009. It’s fun going every other year for us!

To book the Free Dining package, you can either do it at the Disney Web Site, AAA, or at your local travel agent. If you do go, have fun!

Bookmark to:

• Walt Disney World will have Free Dining Select Dates through March 2012!
• Walt Disney World – Free Dining Again?
• FREE Disney Dining – Great Deal
• Disney Free Dining 2008
• The Disney Dining Plan

Rumor has it that FREE Dining at Disney will be offered for late August -Mid September starting tomorrow, April 10th. I have taken advantage of this twice before, and can’t tell you how great of a deal it is.

Tomorrow I’ll be back with more details on exactly how you can book your trip…and get your meals for free! Since I did this last September (and was just at Disneyland last month), I won’t be booking this year…but I’m hoping they’ll do it again next year because then I will take them up on it!

I’ll have all the details for you tomorrow!

Bookmark to:

• FREE Disney Dining – Great Deal
• Free Disney Dining Plan is Back!
• Disney Free Dining 2008
• Walt Disney World – Free Dining Again?
• Walt Disney World will have Free Dining Select Dates through March 2012!

Since we were just talking about Universal Studios yesterday (even though that was Hollywood and this is Orlando) I thought this would be a perfect time to mention a new roller coaster that was just announced for Universal Studios Orlando! It’s called the Hollywood Rip, Ride, Rockit and looks really cool! It is going to have a lot of loops, twists, turns, and will even go out into CityWalk…so it goes outside the theme park!

It’s going to open next spring. This is one of many attractions that are currently being worked on in Universal Studios Orlando. I must admit, I’m really looking forward to going next year once all of these new rides and attractions open up.

Bookmark to:

• Universal Studios Hollywood
• Universal Studios Orlando – Free Park Tickets
• Southern California Citypass – A Great Way to get Discounts at Disneyland, Universal Studios, and More!
• Southern California City Pass
• Back from Southern California

Fort Lauderdale, Florida is a great place to visit. It’s got beaches, plenty of things to do, and is especially nice when you get to leave your snow filled town to visit it!

The greater Fort Lauderdale area has come up with a really great web site with a lot of really nice pictures showing you how pretty it is. They also have videos, web cam’s, and even a podcast.

When I was younger, I would visit the area every winter as my grandparents lived nearby. I haven’t been in a few years now, but Ft. Lauderdale has only gotten more beautiful!

One of my favorite memories in the area is when my family rented a boat, and went on all the little waterways in the area. You’d get to go by all these huge houses that had the waterways as their backyard! You will be surprised how many beautiful mansions there are. If you don’t want to rent a boat on your own, there are many boat tours you can go on.

If you love to shop, Sawgrass Mills isn’t that far away. They have both regular and outlet stores, as well as movie theaters and more. You can easily spend hours here enjoying yourself.

Whether you want to relax by the beach, or have plenty of things to keep you busy, Ft. Lauderdale is a great place to vacation!

Bookmark to:

• Today’s Destination: Virgin Gorda, BVI
• La Jolla, California
• Today’s Destination: Glen Canyon, Utah
• Howard Johnson Anaheim – Great Hotel
• Asheville, North Carolina

It might be hard to believe this – since Orlando already had plenty of theme parks, but we’re about to get one more! Busch Entertainment, who owns the SeaWorld theme parks is about to open one more. SeaWorld Aquatica. This is going to be a water park, and will be different than the other water parks in Orlando, Florida.

While the park is still being built, it is expected to open in March, although no specific date has been given. It looks like Aquatica is going to be a combination of Bush Entertainment’s existing parks in Orlando – SeaWorld Orlando, and Discovery Cove, plus more. There will be animals, as well as rides, and it will be a unique park.

The Aquatica website already has a really nice gallery of artwork, and it looks like you’ll be able to go on a waterslide that goes through a lagoon full of dolphins. There will be many waterslides, so if you enjoy them, you will be in for a treat. They will also have a wave pool. The landscapes look lush, and the artwork even shows a few waterfalls! It looks like a really nice lazy river will go throughout the park, and it looks like it will be a lot of fun.

If you’re interested, I really suggest going to their website so you can check it out yourself. The artwork makes it look like a really colorful and exciting place to visit.

Bookmark to:

• New Rollercoaster for Universal Studios Orlando
• Southern California City Pass
• Universal Studios Hollywood
• Back from Southern California
• Southern California Citypass – A Great Way to get Discounts at Disneyland, Universal Studios, and More!