Tuesday, October 04, 2005

Affordable Walt Disney World Vacation

THE DISNEY NEWS
October 5, 2005
Copyright © 1999 - 2005 by John P. Gross. All rights reserved.
=================================================
To subscribe to Affordable Disney's blog, click the following
icon: Subscribe with Bloglines

Or copy and paste the following URL into your RSS Reader:
http://affordabledisney.blogspot.com/atom.xml

: My Yahoo! users can instantly add our blog
content to My Yahoo! Add My Yahoo!

: You can also subscribe to our blog at MSN!
Add to My MSN!

=================================================
Hi Everyone!

In this issue...

* Deals and specials - including a free night at Universal's
Portofino, Hard Rock or Royal Pacific hotels
* The latest news from around the "World" - including
another lead poisoning threat from Disney merchandise for
children
* Nuala writes about avoiding long lines for those with
health problems
* Suzan sends us this tip on how to create an autograph book
with photo thumbnails
* This week's money saving tip for Conventioneers at
SeaWorld
=================================================
We continuously update our information and you can find
these current specials in our Addenda:

WALT DISNEY WORLD:

A reminder...

* An exclusive deal for Affordable Disney members only at
Walt Disney World's Port Orleans French Quarter and
Wilderness Lodge November 27 thru December 18 (inclusive)!
Rates are too low to publish in our newsletter!

"Hi John, I just joined your affordable Disney group. My
wife and I have been planning a trip to Disney World in
December. When we saw the prices we were just awed."

Beth writes: "We still have good availability for all nights
at Wilderness Lodge... If you are already staying elsewhere
and just want to upgrade to this gorgeous deluxe resort for
a few nights, Disney will handle transferring your luggage
over so it's a really simple thing to do.

We also have space on all nights at a very picturesque
moderate resort, Port Orleans French Quarter as well -
although weekends are starting to fill."
--------------------------------
Stay 3, Get the 4th Night FREE at Universal's Orlando
Hotels! Enjoy Universal Express ride access: Stay on-site at
Portofino Bay Hotel, Hard Rock Hotel, Royal Pacific Resort
and BYPASS THE REGULAR LINES at both Universal Studios and
Universal's Islands of Adventure theme parks! Travel must be
completed by January 31, 2006. Holiday blackout dates apply.
--------------------------------
Hotel & Suites Special! Beth writes: "It's in a great
location, very well run, great rates (with a nice add-on
deal for a hot breakfast buffet - for only $12/day you can
add a delicious breakfast buffet for two adults. Price
includes tax and beverage. That's a savings of over $10/day.
Kids 12 and under always eat free), and an all-around good
place. I'd give it a very solid 3 to 3.5 stars."

Standards from $49. Kid's Suites from $69. Stay 3 nights or
more and save an EXTRA 15% off standard rates. An Official
Walt Disney World Good Neighbor Hotel. One of the closest
hotels in Kissimmee to Walt Disney World and all the other
Orlando and Kissimmee attractions - located just 3 short
miles to the Main Gate. Enjoy FREE shuttle service to all
four Walt Disney World Theme Parks.
--------------------------------
Walt Disney World Good neighbor Hotel Special from $84.95
per night for stays from 10/02/05 - 11/17/05 & 11/26/05 -
12/15/05.

One mile from WDW. Features condo-like facilities in a
setting inspired by New Orleans' French revival architecture
and landscaping. Resort amenities include a mini-market &
giftshop, pool bar, large heated outdoor pool, 5-story
soaring tropical atrium, kiddie pool, hot tub, tour desk,
internet café, outdoor grill area, playground, game room,
and guest laundry. This property offers one-bedroom and two-
bedroom suites. Pet-Friendly Suites and Poolside Suites are
available on request. Offer includes:

* FREE scheduled transportation to all four Walt Disney
World Theme Parks, Universal Orlando and SeaWorld
* FREE deluxe continental breakfast daily
* Poolside Bar offers FREE beer, wine and sodas daily 4-6 PM
* FREE wireless high speed internet access property-wide
=================================================
DISNEY CRUISE LINE

Disney cruise special for Florida residents from $499!
=================================================
LAS VEGAS

Hotel & Casino Special: Offer available select dates in
October, November and December, 2005. Reservations must be
booked by October 15, 2005. Room rates starting from Sun -
Thurs: $89/Night; Fri - Sat: $149/Night. Includes:

* Upgrade to a Tower Deluxe Room
* $10 Casino FREE PLAY
* Complimentary Welcome Cocktail
* 2 for 1 breakfast

Rates are per room per night based on single or double
occupancy, subject to availability. Triple and Quad rates
available upon request.
=================================================
Affordable Disney Members should log in at our password-
protected site (The Disney Reading Room) to access the
particulars about the above mentioned specials.

If you are not a member, you can join our Disney family here.
=================================================
NEWS FROM AROUND THE "WORLD"

WALT DISNEY WORLD

"Some transportation workers in Orange County, Fla., are on
strike Monday after accusing Disney of stealing their
profits, according to a Local 6 News report."
(Source: local6.com, 10/03/05)

"Frustrated by rising fuel costs, higher lease fees, and a
free airport bus service, taxi drivers demonstrated Monday
at Orlando International Airport and in downtown Orlando."
(Source: Orlando Sentinel, 10/04/05)
--------------------------------
"For many wine fanciers, wine is food. But during the six-
week Epcot International Food and Wine Festival, fine dining
becomes an integral part of Disney's wine extravaganza."
(Source: Orlando Business Journal, 09/30/05)
--------------------------------
"Disney's Wilderness Lodge in Lake Buena Vista, Fla., took
first place on a list of family-friendly resorts voted on by
readers of Travel + Leisure Family magazine." (Yes, our
members can book WL during our November - December special!)

#3 Disney's Grand Californian Hotel, CA
#4 Disney's Grand Floridian Resort & Spa, FL
#5 Disney's Animal Kingdom Lodge, FL
#10 Disney's Vero Beach Resort, FL
(Source: USA Today, 10/03/05)
--------------------------------
"Gatorland, one of the Orlando area's oldest tourist
attractions, recently celebrated its latest makeover and
announced plans for more renovations, including the addition
of a children's water park." (Source: Orlando Sentinel, 10/03/05)
--------------------------------
For those interested in working for Disney or other
companies in Florida...

"Florida's minimum wage will increase to $6.40 an hour in
2006, a 25 cent an hour increase to match inflation as
required by an initiative passed last year... For workers
whose tips are counted as part of their wage, the minimum
will go from the current $3.13 an hour to $3.38 an hour Jan.
1, plus the worker's tips." (Source: Orlando Sentinel, 09/30/05)
--------------------------------
Fines in Florida for those who run red lights have more than
doubled to $125. With court costs, fees reach up to $186.50,
depending on the county where you get your ticket. You'll
also receive 4 points on your driving record.
(Source: Orlando Sentinel, 10/01/05)
--------------------------------
"A suspicious smell emanating from a suitcase turned out to
be food but it was strong enough for a pair of alert bomb-
sniffing dogs to keep passengers from boarding the Disney
Wonder cruise ship Thursday, according to Local 6 News
partner Florida Today." (Source: Local 6 News, 09/29/05)
--------------------------------
Disney is celebrating the 50th birthday of Kermit the Frog
with:

* A 15-month world tour
* A commemorative stamp
* The release of the first season of The Muppet Show on DVD
and "It's Not Easy Being Green and Other Things to Consider" (Source: USAToday, 09/27/05)
--------------------------------
"[The Consumer Product Safety Commission] announced the
recall of 145,000 Disney Princess Bracelet Keyrings last
week. It also recalled 455,000 necklace and earring sets
because of lead poisoning threats to children." (Source: OCRegister, 09/29/05)
=================================================
Walt Disney World Monthly Calendar.
=================================================
DISNEYLAND CALIFORNIA

"Up to 30,000 gays and lesbians swarmed into Walt Disney
Co.'s local venues this weekend for the eighth annual Gay
Days, an unofficial event that includes three days of theme-
park trips, film screenings, talks and parties."
(Source: ocregister.com, 10/03/05)
--------------------------------
Disneyland Resort Calendar
=================================================
NOTE: Links to newspaper articles change quickly and without
notice. If you receive a "File Not Found" error message,
search the newspaper's archives for the story. Certain
newspapers require a free registration to view their
articles online. If web addresses are broken into more than
one line, copy and paste all lines.
=================================================
Nuala writes:

"In my party one of the grandmothers is an MS suffer and one
of the adults suffers with Parkinsons Disease. Both of these
individuals are mobile and do not need wheelchairs, however
standing in long lines for rides or shows will cause a
problem for us as their stamina is compromised as a result
of their conditions.

Can you suggest how we might avail of special passes to
cater for these members of our party? It would be
unfortunate if the disney trip we have strived towards would
be less that expected due to the situation with our two
medically compromised party. Any advise would be
appreciated."

See Guest Services at the park entrances for a Special Pass
that will allow up to 6 in your party to access some of the
rides through the back entrance.

Disney's FASTPASS allows you to insert your ticket at
certain attractions and receive a time to return when you
can enter the attraction with a minimum wait.

Consider E-ticket nights when you can stay in the Magic
Kingdom after closing and visit the most popular attractions
without waiting.
=================================================
DISNEY SECRETS NOW IN HARD COVER!

The Hard Cover/CD version of our "Secrets To An Affordable
Walt Disney World® Vacation" is now available with a Deluxe
Lifetime Membership!

These professionally printed works (weighing over 6 1/2 lbs)
come in two beautiful 3- ring binders with inside pockets.
You can easily add more pages to the binders in the future,
if you wish, and keep important documents in the inside
pockets where you can quickly access them.

Plus! Our book and all our reports are now available on CD!
You'll be able to access our book and reports on your
computer without paying for costly Internet access or trying
to figure out how to download!

Plus! We'll donate $25.00 of each new Deluxe Lifetime
Membership to the American Red Cross to help those suffering
from Hurricane Katrina in Louisiana, Mississippi and
Alabama.

You can subscribe to our Deluxe Lifetime Membership here.
=================================================
Suzan visited WDW in August. She sent us a tip and a trip
report. We'll publish the trip report as soon as space
allows:

Here's Suzan's tip:

"My son (age 5) took an autograph book to Disney World for
signatures from the characters. First, we went to a craft
store and bought a scrapbook along with scrapbooking extras
(stickers, etc.) He designed his book before we left. This
way we didn't have to buy one at Disney (much more
expensive) and it is personalized by him, for him. We had
put Disney stickers in it, so he tried to get the characters
to sign on the pages that had their stickers.

You know when you get your pictures back from being
developed and they sometimes have that single sheet with
thumbprints of all of your pictures? Well, my son cut all of
those out and we taped, into his autograph book, the picture
that corresponds with that character signing his book. Most
of these include my son posing with them. They are quite
small, but he really enjoyed doing this, and he likes
pointing the photos out to his friends and family. This way
we can keep all of the full size pictures in one album, yet
he still has references in his autograph book."

Thank you, Susan, for the great tip! Readers are invited
to share their tips with us. Send them to:
johngross@affordabledisney.com . Thanks!
=================================================
MONEY SAVING TIP

SeaWorld Orlando Special Offer for Convention Attendees:
7007 SeaWorld Drive
Orlando, FL 32821
Phone: 800-327-2424 Press 3, then press 1
Fax: 407-854-0969

Conventioneers can visit SeaWorld after 12:00 PM for $42.00
Adult/Child plus tax (Regular price $59.75 Adult; $48.00
Child) and/or get $6.00 off Luau Admission for up to six
people with this coupon.
Valid through: December 31, 2005
=================================================
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

Don't Leave Home Without It!

Universal offers special deals to Universal Entertainment
MasterCard cardholders. Apply now and receive a movie ticket
with your first purchase! For more details, click here.
--------------------------------
Affordable Disney Books

Disney and other new books 50-90% off the list price.
Hundreds of books under $1.00! Plus! Over 700 videos have
been marked down to $1.99!

Exclusively for Affordable Disney Readers!
Save $5.00 on an order of $35 or more!
Coupon code: bookcloseouts
Coupon password: bargainbooks
Expires: December 31, 2005
To check out the bargains, click here.
--------------------------------
Got Coupons?

With the Orlando Entertainment Book, you can save big on
travel, groceries, shopping, movie tickets, and more!
Receive a FREE $5.00 gift card from Target when you order
the 2006 version. Coupons in the 2006 book are valid through
11/01/06. Save at hotels and restaurants near Walt Disney
World, on car rental, airfare, admission to Universal
Orlando, SeaWorld Orlando and Busch Gardens Tampa!
For details, click here.
--------------------------------
Affordable Accommodations

Get the guaranteed lowest prices at the Downtown Disney
Resorts as well as at hotels, condos and vacation rentals
outside Disney property. Plus! Receive up to a $100.00 rebate! For hotels, click here.
--------------------------------
Affordable Car Rental

Just enter in your travel dates, select the kind of car you
want, and receive a list of car rental prices at over 12
companies starting with the cheapest price! Click here.

Cheryl writes: "I saved over $200.00 on my mini van rental!!!"
--------------------------------
Affordable Airfare

This service delivers as many as 230 flight options in a
single search - more options than any other travel site.
It's possible to save as much as 80%! To compare prices, click here.
--------------------------------
Affordable Luggage

Save up to 60% on Luggage, Backpacks, and more! Click here.
--------------------------------
Own a piece of the Magic Kingdom

Disney framed stock certificates are works of art. They
feature Walt Disney and the Disney characters. Unlike stock
brokers that require you to purchase several shares of
stock, OneShare sells one share of stock and mails you the
certificate. You can frame the stock certificate yourself or
OneShare will frame if for you at a nominal cost. Click here.
=============================================

See You Real Soon!

John

AffordableDisney.Com.
johngross@affordabledisney.com
=============================================
Disclaimer: We cannot guarantee the accuracy of information
contained in THE DISNEY NEWS. Always check to be sure. The
views and opinions expressed by others in THE DISNEY NEWS do
not necessarily reflect the views of AffordableDisney.Com.
=============================================