Disney World PF Gathering and Tips for Disney Mania!

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A gathering for Disney enthusiasts is planned at Disney World during Memorial Day week (May 28 to June 5), inviting others to join for fun activities like measuring the drop rate at the Tower of Terror and pin trading. For those unable to attend, a return trip is already scheduled for Labor Day week (Sept. 3 to Sept. 11), with tips to find deals on the Disney website. The discussion includes a promise to share a shortlist of must-do attractions at Walt Disney World, encouraging contributions from others. Key tips for visiting include utilizing Disney's transportation, making reservations for dining, and understanding ticket expiration policies. The thread fosters community among Disney fans while providing practical advice for an enjoyable visit.
  • #2,611
Osborne Family Spectacle of Dancing Lights

OK, so http://www.laughingplace.com/Lotion-View-312.asp" is what we're missing for not going to Walt Disney World this holiday season! :cry: :cry:

I hope Cybersteve gets a few pictures (or even videos) of this.

It is truly spectacular. I hope it is even more spectacular next year!

Zz.
 
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  • #2,612
Zz, we're going down December 4 through 10. I couldn't find it in the link; do you know if the light show will be on then?
 
  • #2,613
selfAdjoint said:
Zz, we're going down December 4 through 10. I couldn't find it in the link; do you know if the light show will be on then?

You lucky devil you.

Yes, ALL of the Christmas decorations, events, parades, festivities, etc. will be up by then, including the Osborne Lights. You may also want to consider a no-to-miss event, the Mickey Very Merry Christmas Party. This is a hard-ticket event where you go in the Magic Kingdom on a special night and get to see the special holiday parade, Holiday Wishes fireworks, etc... They have one on Dec. 4, 5, and 7 during your stay there. You can find more info http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/wd...ckeysVeryMerryChristmasPartySpecialEventPage"

Zz.
 
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  • #2,614
ZapperZ said:
Y'know, I thought I write a rather good trip report of my "adventure" to Disney theme parks. I've had several people giving compliments at the report and the pictures that I uploaded.

However, in terms of charm, wit, cleverness, and cuteness, my report doesn't even come close when compared to the Tigger trip reports! This has got to be the most fun, and the most witty trip report I've ever come across. It's so adorable all the various adventures that Tigger got himself into!

You MUST read it! You must read http://forums.wdwmagic.com/showthread.php?t=95913"! And he's going again in a couple of weeks!

Zz.

The http://forums.wdwmagic.com/showthread.php?t=114040" is out! In the degree of cleverness and amazing adventure, nothing can beat this! Don't miss it!

Zz.
 
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  • #2,615
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  • #2,616
It's amazing how a "bad weather" in one place is good weather in another. :)

They must be expecting rather cold and chilly weather at Orlando today. Disney has canceled The Spirit of Aloha dinner show today at the Polynesian resort, and also closed Typhoon Lagoon, one of their water parks (the other water park, Blizzard Beach, is under renovation). The reason given is due to the unusually cold wather. Orlando is expecting, get this, a high of around 59 F (15 C) today.

That is shorts weather up here in Chicago at this time of the year!

:)

Zz.
 
  • #2,617
Pictures of http://www.laughingplace.com/Lotion-View-316.asp" around Disneyland. It certainly appears to be a very magical place to be during this time of the year.

Zz.
 
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  • #2,618
Disney's Toys for Tots

Disney's Toys for Tots campaign will go into full swing this weekend. If you are in the LA/Anaheim area, you could get a commemorative pin for bringing a toy for donation to the Disneyland Resort this Sunday.

http://disney.go.com/inside/mainattraction/061121/index.html

Zz.
 
  • #2,619
Happy Thanksgiving!

http://eventservices.disney.go.com/files/10980359.jpg

Zz.
 
  • #2,620
"National Thanksgiving Turkey, you have just been http://www.laughingplace.com/Latest.asp?I1=ID&I2=1533" by the President from having your head chopped off and become the thanksgiving dinner. What are you going to do next?"

"Why, I'm going to Disneyland, of course! Gobble, gobble!"

The National Thanksgiving Turkey will be the Grand Marshall at Disneyland's Thanksgiving parade, and live the rest of its natural life at the Happiest Place on Earth. What a deal!

Zz
 
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  • #2,621
Pictures and videos of the holiday parade at Disney-MGM Studios.

http://www.laughingplace.com/Lotion-View-319.asp

This particular parade may not be around that much longer. This is because this is the holiday variation of the http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-88514796030123509" , the regular parade at Disney-MGM Studios, and that parade is rumored to on the chopping block some time soon, to be replaced with a different parade.

Zz.
 
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  • #2,622
We're back, actually we have been for a couple of days but I've been dealing with some domestic crises.

Now, I have to report that I(we) completely failed in the mission set, not only did I not get pictures of the ex-Millionaire location at MGM but the pictures I did get of other Disney locations and events are rubbish. :redface:

Here's my excuses:
My wife decided we needed a new camera and so we left our existing one at home and purchased a pretty, red one at the airport. Not my choice but as she pointed out she always ends up carrying it and so she should have what she wated!
However she failed to find out how it workd properly and so what should have been pictures ended up being videos and vice-versa!

Unless you want to see a video of the ground with the soundtrack of my wife saying "This Bl***y things not working!" I can see no point in providing links.
I could cheat and provide old pictures but I'm sure you Disney experts would find me out!

My other reason for failing is that we as a group decided to use up all our existing Disney days and not buy anymore this year. This meant that our only visit to MGM was a hop to the Aerosmith ride and Terror Towers.

We filled our days up with visits to Typhoon Lagoon (until the weather got too cold) Pleasure Island, Busch Gardens (at last! although it was freezing cold) Seaworld and lots of afternoons where we sneaked into OKW.
We also got to see a lot of Orlando and Kissimmee that we've never seen before.

We'd all been under stress for different reasons throughout the year so the remainder of our time we just spent lounging by our pool and planning which restaurant to visit for dinner!

So once again, sorry to dissappoint you but we had a great time and are looking forward to next year when we hope to have at least one Grand Villa at OKW!
 
  • #2,623
Drat! I was so looking forward to your pictures. :(

In any case, I am glad you had a wonderful time. You didn't say if you got to see the new Osborne Spectacle of Dancing Lights. Please say you did, because it would be ashame if you missed it.

If you are planning on going next year, and you're going to be there in mid-late Sept., you might bump into us!

:)

Zz.
 
  • #2,624
I'm afraid we missed the Osborne Spectacle of Dancing Lights but at least that gives us an excuse to go next year.

Our plans for next year are to go last week in September and the first week in October but from previous visits I'm sure that our plans will change many times before then.

We found it much too cold this year. Although the daytime temperatures were in the mid 70's the nights were too cold for most of us.

Will you be staying at OKW next year?
 
  • #2,625
Cybersteve said:
I'm afraid we missed the Osborne Spectacle of Dancing Lights but at least that gives us an excuse to go next year.

Our plans for next year are to go last week in September and the first week in October but from previous visits I'm sure that our plans will change many times before then.

We found it much too cold this year. Although the daytime temperatures were in the mid 70's the nights were too cold for most of us.

Will you be staying at OKW next year?

We haven't decided yet. We will be staying at OKW for our May/June trip, but we are leaning towards going back to our "home" at Saratoga Springs for the Sept. trip. Still, if you're there at the same time as us and you're staying at OKW, you're almost in the same neighborhood! We could make an excuse to visit each other simply by doing pool hopping.

:)

Zz.
 
  • #2,626
Excellent idea!
We hope to "borrow" a ouple of younger children for our next visit, which will make the whole Disney experience more magical for us all.

The main drawback on the horizon is the bedroom arrangements at OKW.
It's sad to say that these days sharing a bedroom with kids other than you're own is not deemed suitable.
 
  • #2,627
Cybersteve: so you didn't get to see the Osborne lights. Did you get to do or see any of the other Christmas festivities there?

Zz.
 
  • #2,628
Not really, you're starting to make me feel a bit guilty now!
Our whole "Disney" experience this year was limited by many factors.
At the risk of boring the readers of this thread perhaps i should explain some of the reasons why?

5 days before we left I was involved in a potentially serious car accident where the van I was in flipped over on the motorway. I was completely unharmed but it was a lucky escape.
2 days before we left my sister-in-law and her husband were involved in a multi-car pile-up. They too were completely unharmed but apparently there were cars flying everywhere and 2 occupants of one of the cars were killed.
The upshot of this was that (apart from nearly cancelling the holiday) none of us felt confident enough to drive in the US. This would have meant all the driving would have been left to my nephew and as this wasn't fair we decided to cancel the hire car and use taxis.

This, as well as not being at OKW, limited the amount of freedom of movement we had. It also meant that when we got to MGM my sister-in-law didn't want to go anywhere near the stunt car show, which is near the ex-Millionaire show.

So all in all, as a contribution to a Disney Mania thread, I suppose this year has been a bit of a washout - nevertheless after the first few days it was a great holiday and has just made us more eager to return and perhaps will allow us to appreciate Disney more next year!
 
  • #2,629
OK, now it is *I* who feel guilty for pumping you for all of this info. I am so glad you and your family are not hurt by those accidents. They sounded nasty!

I was truly hoping for a trip report, but putting things in perspective, it is nowhere near as important and yours and your family well-being. I am happy to hear that you still had a good vacation. It is understandable that since you were staying off site and not having a rented vehicle, you couldn't get around much.

Hopefully, next time you come up here, there won't be so much drama preceeding the trip.

Now tell me that you made it to one of Finding Nemo - The Musical preview at Animal Kingdom!

:)

Zz.
 
  • #2,630
Now that we did see!
Apparently we were lucky because it's not on every day. My sister-in-law is the one who likes shows most (she used to be a singer) and she usually has to drag us in in return for looking after our belongings whilst we're on the rides.
This show however was thoroughly enjoyed by all of us, despite the fact that it was late in the day and we were all longing to get to Rainforest Cafe for our evening meal!
She said that there were still a few imperfections that needed ironing out but we didn't notice.
We also went on the Finding Nemo ride at Epcot which was enjoyable though really aimed at a younger audience.
 
  • #2,631
Ah, finally! I'm glad you got to see both Nemo-related attractions. Again, too bad you don't have pictures and/or videos. Many Disney fans are clamoring to see more these things, even when there are already videos and pictures of these attractions.

These will be the two things that are high on my agenda when we get there next. So far, I've heard nothing but very good reviews of the musical. I wouldn't be surprised of Disney goes ahead and turn it into a full-blown Broadway musical. The new Nemo ride is also something I am highly anticipating.

Glad to see that you got to be among the first to view these. Now, what about the Monsters Inc Laughing Floor at the old Timekeeper in Tomorrowland? If you also got to see the preview that, I'll die with envy!

:)

Zz.
 
  • #2,632
No I didn't see that nor any mention of it on the map or in the weekly guide.
Where abouts in Tomorrowland is it?
We spenyt most of our time there on Buzz Lightyear, my wife finally got the hang of it and once she beat my score she couldn't get enough!
The queues were very strange this year. We queued for about 30 minutes for our first go at Buzz but when we came out there ws no queue at all and we just walked straight back in.
I think the parks were generally fairly quiet and the longer queues were probably just around the main eating areas and times.

At Epcot we got Fastpasses for Soarin' with about a 2 hour wait yet 20 minutes later there was no standby queue.
When we did a Fastpass for Test Track the machine gave us a free immediate Fastpass for the Space Mission ride. We've never had those before.
 
  • #2,633
Cybersteve said:
No I didn't see that nor any mention of it on the map or in the weekly guide.
Where abouts in Tomorrowland is it?

Ah, then you should have read my blog before you left! :)

http://mydisneymania.blogspot.com/2006/11/monsters-inc-comedy-club.html

The previews are unannounced. If you happen to be around when they opened the doors, you get to go in and preview it.

We spenyt most of our time there on Buzz Lightyear, my wife finally got the hang of it and once she beat my score she couldn't get enough!
The queues were very strange this year. We queued for about 30 minutes for our first go at Buzz but when we came out there ws no queue at all and we just walked straight back in.
I think the parks were generally fairly quiet and the longer queues were probably just around the main eating areas and times.

At Epcot we got Fastpasses for Soarin' with about a 2 hour wait yet 20 minutes later there was no standby queue.
When we did a Fastpass for Test Track the machine gave us a free immediate Fastpass for the Space Mission ride. We've never had those before.

I've had that happened at Tower of Terror fast pass where I got an immediate pass for Rock 'N Roller Coaster.

Zz.
 
  • #2,634
It would have been hard for me to have read your blog before we left.
The date of your blog and the story in the Orlando Sentinel, is November 20th and we left on November 7th!:wink:

One point I would like to raise is the staff at the Disney parks.
It seemed to us this year that there was not quite as many cast members around as there usually is.
The restrooms started to get slightly untidy, particularly around meal times, although they were quickly brought back to standard.
Has Disney cutback on staff overall, or do they use this time of year to reduce the numbers?
I suppose your Thanksgiving holiday may have played a part.

I have to say that even with the apparently reduced staff Disney easily out-performed Busch Gardens. At BG the levels were so low that there was nobody to organise the queues for the major rides.
The visitors themselves were asking the size of groups in order to prevent some of the coasters having too many empty seats.
 
  • #2,635
Cybersteve said:
It would have been hard for me to have read your blog before we left.
The date of your blog and the story in the Orlando Sentinel, is November 20th and we left on November 7th!:wink:

Ooops! :smile:

One point I would like to raise is the staff at the Disney parks.
It seemed to us this year that there was not quite as many cast members around as there usually is.
The restrooms started to get slightly untidy, particularly around meal times, although they were quickly brought back to standard.
Has Disney cutback on staff overall, or do they use this time of year to reduce the numbers?
I suppose your Thanksgiving holiday may have played a part.

I have to say that even with the apparently reduced staff Disney easily out-performed Busch Gardens. At BG the levels were so low that there was nobody to organise the queues for the major rides.
The visitors themselves were asking the size of groups in order to prevent some of the coasters having too many empty seats.

Disney is usually stretched very thin during short, peak holidays. They still do not have the full number of manpower for the theme parks and continue to try and recruit employees, both at WDW and Disneyland. So during very busy stretches, you'll start noticing problems that you usually don't see on normal days. There is also a generally acceptable view that due to their need for employees, they had to lower the "quality" of the people they hire and not have them trained, especially on the Disney Traditions, as much as before.

Zz.
 
  • #2,636
BTW, Cybersteve, the DVD of Pirates of the Caribbean - Dead Man's Chest has just become the http://uk.news.yahoo.com/27112006/344/deep-film-breaks-disney-dvd-record.html" in the UK. Have you gotten your copy yet? :)

I didn't know they have released it there already. The DVD isn't scheduled to be released here in the States till Dec. 5th. I'm betting it'll have monster sales as well over here.

Zz.
 
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  • #2,637
I've ordered a copy from Amazon for my son for Christmas.
We've also bought him a "Pirates of the Caribbean" tee-shirt from one of the Disney stores (can't remember which one, I think we went in all of them!).
I suspect my wife will be first to watch the DVD - she has a thing for Johnny Depp - I think he reminds her of me!
 
  • #2,638
Cybersteve said:
I suspect my wife will be first to watch the DVD - she has a thing for Johnny Depp - I think he reminds her of me!

Oh, is that what SHE tells you?

<ZapperZ runs and hides>

:biggrin:

Zz.
 
  • #2,639
Disney has been releasing a stream of Holiday/Christmas pins. There have been many terrific-looking ones, but this one certainly has got to be one of the best. It's from Disneyland.

http://eventservices.disney.go.com/files/11310776.jpg

Zz.
 
  • #2,640
Wow I've been neglecting this thread, not good! I've heard that many people in the U.S. thought that the Pirates of the Caribbean - Dead Man's Chest was a stupid movie. Althought i have to see for myself first.
 

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