Affordable Walt Disney World Vacation
THE DISNEY NEWS
April 19, 2006
Copyright © 1999 - 2006 by John P. Gross. All rights reserved.
=================================================
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Hi Everyone!
In this blog...
* Deals and specials - including six new ways to win a FREE
vacation!
* The latest news from around the "World" - including
another death at Epcot's Mission: Space
* Wendy from Canada sent us a report on her recent vacation
at Walt Disney World
=================================================
We continuously update our information and you can find
these current specials in our Addenda:
WALT DISNEY WORLD
Six New Ways to win...
4-night trip for six to Walt Disney World!
5-night trip for four to Walt Disney World!
3-night trip for four to Disneyland!
2-night trip for four to Universal Studios Hollywood!
6-night trip for two to Walt Disney World!
Dream Honeymoon at the WDW Swan and Dolphin!
--------------------------------
These specials are still in effect:
* A new deal for late summer! Includes FREE dining plan! A
family of four (2 adults and 2 children 3-9) will save
almost $100.00 per day on meals! Over $150.00 if your kids
are older!
* Save up to $100.00 per night at the Disney World resorts
this spring!
* Deluxe resorts on Disney property as low as $149 per room,
per night in August and September, 2006!
--------------------------------
If you are not a member, you can join our Disney family here.
Members can use the following URLs to log in:
Lifetime Deluxe Member
Lifetime Basic Member
Deluxe Member
Basic Member
=================================================
NEWS FROM AROUND THE "WORLD"
WALT DISNEY WORLD
"Two of the stars of Disney/Pixar’s exciting new computer-
animated feature 'CARS' will race straight off the movie
screen and into the real world as actual life-sized models
of hotshot rookie racecar Lightning McQueen (voiced by Owen
Wilson) and Sally Carrera, a snazzy 2002 Porsche 911 (voiced
by Bonnie Hunt) will hit the road today for Disney/Pixar’s
'CARS Road Trip ‘06' presented by State Farm, it was
announced today by Brett Dicker, Executive Vice President of
Buena Vista Pictures Marketing." (Source: KHQA.com, 04/17/06)
--------------------------------
"If you’re looking for a more adventurous way to relieve
stress than yoga, try screaming 'namaste' as you plunge 80
feet on Walt Disney World’s new thrill ride, Expedition
Everest." (Source: BostonHerald.com, 04/16/06)
--------------------------------
Death at Mission: Space
"A 49-year-old woman from Germany died Wednesday after
riding Walt Disney World's Mission: Space, the second person
in less than a year to fall ill and die after going on the
signature thrill ride." (Source: Orlando Sentinel, 04/13/06)
"An autopsy on Friday determined that a woman who died at
Florida's Walt Disney World after riding Mission: SPACE had
bleeding in the brain, according to a medical examiner...
Bluemel suffered from severe and long-standing high blood
pressure, according to a statement from the medical
examiner's office." (Source: Reuters, 04/14/06)
"An intense thrill ride such as Mission: Space at Disney's
Epcot is safe for most people, but it could be very
dangerous for those with underlying health problems."
(Source: Orlando Sentinel, 04/14/06)
"Even before a second tourist died this week, Mission: Space
was emerging as Walt Disney World's most hazardous ride,
with more than twice as many reported illnesses and injuries
as any other Disney attraction." (Source: Orlando Sentinel, 04/14/06)
--------------------------------
Click here for a short film explaining the story of Oswald the Lucky Rabbit.
--------------------------------
Walt Disney World Monthly Calendar.
=================================================
DISNEYLAND CALIFORNIA
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.
=================================================
Wendy writes:
"Hi John,
I've been a Canadian member of your website for about 5
years and have been dealing with Beth all of that time. She
has become someone I correspond with regularly and we
religiously book every trip with her (as well as recommend
her to every friend and co-worker we know are looking to go
to Disney). We're from the Ottawa area in Canada and it's
darn cold here so many people make a trip south each winter.
Beth is absolutely the best travel agent around and a
wonderful person who definitely goes out of her way for her
clients - she makes everyone feel like a friend. We've had
the good fortune to meet up with Beth on one of our trips a
couple of years ago and I've been corresponding ever since.
I sent her this trip report about our Jan/Feb 2006 trip and
she felt it might be of interest to you. We spent two nights
with family, 3 nights in Sarasota specifically in St.
Armand's Circle and 5 nights in Disney at Port Orleans -
Riverside...
Hi Beth,
We had a fantastic trip both in Sarasota and in Disney
World. I thought I'd do up a little summary much like you do
for John's website.
After an uneventful flight, we picked up our vehicles at the
airport. We were able to get a Buick Rendezvous which was an
extremely large SUV and Liz and Dave had a Cadillac STS with
a huge sunroof and leather seating. To say we were impressed
with the deal you got us is an extreme understatement!
We stayed a couple of nights with Rob's Mom and Dad in
Palmetto and they showed us around their neck of the woods.
It was nice seeing their new place. We left on Friday for
St. Armand's Circle and the Holiday Inn on Lido Beach. We
went to the Sarasota Jungle Gardens at the suggestion of
Rob's Mom - it was okay but there wasn't a whole lot to see.
We checked into our hotel and it was great - I was really
impressed with it as a Holiday Inn. The room was about as
big as the ones at Riverside and the Gulf view was well
worth the extra $20/night. We just had to cross Ben Franklin
Drive each day and we were on Lido Beach. The kids and I had
a great time collecting shells and Marina found some sand
dollars so she was pretty excited.
We took Jean's suggestion and went to Mote Aquarium and ate
at the Salty Dog afterwards. Dave and Liz and the kids met
us there and everyone had a great time. We also ate at
Hemingway's and thoroughly enjoyed it. It was so nice to be
in walking distance of St. Armand's Circle - we walked
around each evening and went to Kilwin's for ice cream
(delicious!). We had a great time and left for Disney on
Monday feeling well rested.
When we arrived on Disney property Monday we went to check
in right away and lucky for us, they had the rooms we had
requested and they were ready for us. We were extremely
impressed with all the renovations that had been completed
since last December. They already had the new beds when we
visited in December 2004 but they had recently changed all
the carpets, tile, curtains, bath curtain, chair covers etc.
The lighting was new and resembled an Arts and Crafts style.
There were little curtains above the headboard for interest
and they now use the curtain divider that French Quarter has
always had - it was really great for getting ready for bed
when Madison was already asleep.
We had lunch at the food court using the dining plan which
provided so much food all week and for such an unbelievable
price that we will definitely use it again. We drove to
Animal Kingdom Lodge to check it out (only Rob had been
there before) prior to returning the rental cars. Animal
Kingdom Lodge was beautiful - I would stay there for part of
a vacation for sure. Maybe half Animal Kingdom Lodge, half
Wilderness Lodge.
We returned the cars to Dolphin without any problems and
went to wait for the boat for MGM. We had a great time at
MGM and stayed late, taking advantage of the extra magic
hours. Most of our party checked out the new Motor show and
were really impressed by it. We had a reservation at Prime
Time Cafe for an early supper. It was our first time there
and we loved it! We had Aunt Liz as our server but she
became cousin Liz since Marina and Madison's real Aunt Liz
was with us. She was so much fun - she put my brother-in-
law Dave in the corner for being bad and unruly and the kids
laughed and laughed. We got home around 10:30 that night
(Rob and Maddie left early) so we put in a full day.
Tuesday we relaxed for a bit in the morning and actually did
a bit of laundry and enjoyed some Mickey waffles prior to
heading out for Epcot. Three of us went on Mission Space as
soon as we arrived while Liz and Rob went to get fast passes
for everyone for Soarin.' Soarin' was absolutely amazing!
Everyone loved it - unfortunately Madison was about an inch
too short and couldn't ride but there's always next year.
We toured Future World and part of the World Showcase before
our 4pm reservations at Le Cellier (another first for us).
We were served by Jennifer from Langley, B.C. She was loads
of fun and we had lots to talk about once she found out we
were from Canada. She was telling us how much she misses Tim
Horton's (a Canadian coffee house that has locations
everywhere in Canada).
Rob had the filet and I had the herb crusted prime rib. We
had the two salad choices for appetizers plus we ordered the
cheese soup and the barley soup for the girls as they also
got an appetizer from the adult's menu. Rob and I shared the
dessert trio which included the raspberry sorbet, the
chocolate whiskey cake and the maple crème brulee. This meal
was one of the best, if not the best I have ever had even
off Disney property.
I told Jennifer that the prime rib exceeded those I had
enjoyed at the Keg (a Canadian steak house that is known for
it's great steaks). The other great thing was that our meal
came to $160 and made us realize how fantastic the meal plan
is. Liz and Dave's bill was well over $200. We will
definitely make plans to eat here again - it's our new
favorite. We left Epcot in the early evening and everyone
but Madison and I went to Downtown Disney to try Disney
Quest and to shop.
Wednesday we headed to Animal Kingdom and immediately
attempted to ride Expedition Everest. Unfortunately for us
they were filming on that attraction during the day and no
one was allowed anywhere near it. We later heard that if we
had stayed for the extra magic hours that night that it was
open and we could've experienced it - oh well, next year!
We had a great day at Animal Kingdom. The kids had their
faces painted which is a tradition for us at Animal Kingdom
just before riding Kilimanjaro's Safari. We had lunch at
Flame Tree BBQ (a first for us as we normally eat at Tusker
House) and it was quite good. The outdoor seating area was
nice.
We left for the Grand Floridian and Cinderella's dinner for
a little after 5. We had a great time there as always. I
brought Madison's Cinderella dress and crown so she was
excited to dress up. The lucky thing for us was that Belle
was the guest that night and the girls were able to get her
autograph and picture for the first time. Our server was
Michael and we had him last December - he enjoyed knowing
that we remembered him. We went back to the resort after
supper and some went to the Bar to enjoy the antics of the
piano player Bob Jackson.
Thursday we went to Blizzard Beach for early opening at 9am.
It was a warm day but the water was not quite as warm as we
would've hoped, nonetheless we enjoyed the slides and the
lazy river. We had lunch there before we left for the hotel
to change.
We went to Magic Kingdom for the afternoon and we were able
to do all the rides in Adventureland prior to eating at
Crystal Palace. We enjoyed the buffet and the characters of
course (we go there every year). After supper we went to
Tomorrowland and were lucky enough that Buzz Lightyear's
Space Ranger Spin opened up from refurbishment a week early
so we could ride it. We also went on Stitch before we went
to enjoy the SpectroMagic parade. We went to the hotel after
the parade and enjoyed an early night.
Friday was a bit of a disappointment as far as the weather
goes but we all had ponchos so we went with the flow
(literally!). It poured on and off all day. We headed out
for Magic Kingdom for the day. We have never seen Magic
Kingdom so dead. We were able to go on all the rides, shows
etc. in one day which we have never done.
We had lunch at a new place (Columbia Harbour House which
was near the Haunted Mansion) and we really enjoyed our meal
there. We had one little glitch when we went to ride Goofy's
Barnstormer - it was closed because there had been some
lightning and thunder but it opened up just before we left
and Madison was finally able to ride it. We also saw Jasmine
in the Character Tent which excited the girls since they
didn't have her autograph.
After a very soggy day and sock purchases for everyone, we
headed to Chef Mickey's for our last Disney Meal. The meal
was great and the entertainment was fun. We decided that our
server must usually work at the California Grill as he
looked like he was out of his element with all the kids and
characters running around. He was nice but extremely
reserved which is very unusual for Chef Mickey's.
Chef Mickey's is usually our favorite buffet but believe it
or not for both food and experience, it ranked 3rd with
everyone on this trip. Grand Floridian was 1st by far but
Crystal Palace had some new dishes that we hadn't tried
before (lemon/cinnamon basmati rice) and some great
vegetable dishes that were not on the other buffets. We will
still go to Chef Mickey's but I'm not sure we'd keep it as
our last hoorah since it was a bit of a let down this time.
We rode the monorail to Polynesian to have a look around
after supper. What a gorgeous hotel and beautiful pool area!
It would be lovely to stay there. We rode the monorail all
the way to Epcot and the kids and Liz were able to ride up
front with the driver in the TTC/Epcot leg which was a nice
end to the trip. We took the bus back to our hotel and began
the long job of packing up. That evening we purchased
souvenirs at the hotel store and used up our remaining snack
coupons for crispy snacks and cookies (Rob and I had 13
left!).
The next morning we brought our luggage to the lobby and
checked out right at the hotel. This was fantastic - I hope
they continue to offer this. After breakfast in the food
court, we boarded the Magical Express bus for the airport.
We were the first stop (we went to French Quarter, Key West
and Sarasota Springs prior to leaving Disney) and it was a
comfortable bus ride. They played a small movie explaining
Disney's express transportation service that lasted almost
until we arrived at the airport so it made the ride seem
smaller.
We had a good plane ride home and even better, we didn't
have to dig the car out as Syracuse didn't get any snow
while we were gone.
We had a great time and as always, we really appreciated all
your help. Talk to you soon."
=================================================
Pixar/Disney Collectible
Pixar stock certificates are becoming valuable as a
collector's item due to Disney's recent acquisition of the
company. The certificates are very colorful and are
decorated with pictures of Woody and Buzz Lightyear from
"Toy Story." Now comes with Free Shipping till 04/15/06. Use
code: freeship. Pixar disappears April 23. Get yourcollectible stock certificate here!
=================================================
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! 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!
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! Donna and I
bought a beautiful 5-piece set of Samsonite luggage for our
daughter for Christmas for $144! 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.
=============================================
April 19, 2006
Copyright © 1999 - 2006 by John P. Gross. All rights reserved.
=================================================
To subscribe to Affordable Disney's blog, click the following
icon:
Or copy and paste the following URL into your RSS Reader:
http://affordabledisney.blogspot.com/atom.xml
: My Yahoo! users can instantly add our blogcontent to My Yahoo! Add My Yahoo!
: You can also subscribe to our blog at MSN! Add to My MSN!
=================================================
Hi Everyone!
In this blog...
* Deals and specials - including six new ways to win a FREE
vacation!
* The latest news from around the "World" - including
another death at Epcot's Mission: Space
* Wendy from Canada sent us a report on her recent vacation
at Walt Disney World
=================================================
We continuously update our information and you can find
these current specials in our Addenda:
WALT DISNEY WORLD
Six New Ways to win...
4-night trip for six to Walt Disney World!
5-night trip for four to Walt Disney World!
3-night trip for four to Disneyland!
2-night trip for four to Universal Studios Hollywood!
6-night trip for two to Walt Disney World!
Dream Honeymoon at the WDW Swan and Dolphin!
--------------------------------
These specials are still in effect:
* A new deal for late summer! Includes FREE dining plan! A
family of four (2 adults and 2 children 3-9) will save
almost $100.00 per day on meals! Over $150.00 if your kids
are older!
* Save up to $100.00 per night at the Disney World resorts
this spring!
* Deluxe resorts on Disney property as low as $149 per room,
per night in August and September, 2006!
--------------------------------
If you are not a member, you can join our Disney family here.
Members can use the following URLs to log in:
Lifetime Deluxe Member
Lifetime Basic Member
Deluxe Member
Basic Member
=================================================
NEWS FROM AROUND THE "WORLD"
WALT DISNEY WORLD
"Two of the stars of Disney/Pixar’s exciting new computer-
animated feature 'CARS' will race straight off the movie
screen and into the real world as actual life-sized models
of hotshot rookie racecar Lightning McQueen (voiced by Owen
Wilson) and Sally Carrera, a snazzy 2002 Porsche 911 (voiced
by Bonnie Hunt) will hit the road today for Disney/Pixar’s
'CARS Road Trip ‘06' presented by State Farm, it was
announced today by Brett Dicker, Executive Vice President of
Buena Vista Pictures Marketing." (Source: KHQA.com, 04/17/06)
--------------------------------
"If you’re looking for a more adventurous way to relieve
stress than yoga, try screaming 'namaste' as you plunge 80
feet on Walt Disney World’s new thrill ride, Expedition
Everest." (Source: BostonHerald.com, 04/16/06)
--------------------------------
Death at Mission: Space
"A 49-year-old woman from Germany died Wednesday after
riding Walt Disney World's Mission: Space, the second person
in less than a year to fall ill and die after going on the
signature thrill ride." (Source: Orlando Sentinel, 04/13/06)
"An autopsy on Friday determined that a woman who died at
Florida's Walt Disney World after riding Mission: SPACE had
bleeding in the brain, according to a medical examiner...
Bluemel suffered from severe and long-standing high blood
pressure, according to a statement from the medical
examiner's office." (Source: Reuters, 04/14/06)
"An intense thrill ride such as Mission: Space at Disney's
Epcot is safe for most people, but it could be very
dangerous for those with underlying health problems."
(Source: Orlando Sentinel, 04/14/06)
"Even before a second tourist died this week, Mission: Space
was emerging as Walt Disney World's most hazardous ride,
with more than twice as many reported illnesses and injuries
as any other Disney attraction." (Source: Orlando Sentinel, 04/14/06)
--------------------------------
Click here for a short film explaining the story of Oswald the Lucky Rabbit.
--------------------------------
Walt Disney World Monthly Calendar.
=================================================
DISNEYLAND CALIFORNIA
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.
=================================================
Wendy writes:
"Hi John,
I've been a Canadian member of your website for about 5
years and have been dealing with Beth all of that time. She
has become someone I correspond with regularly and we
religiously book every trip with her (as well as recommend
her to every friend and co-worker we know are looking to go
to Disney). We're from the Ottawa area in Canada and it's
darn cold here so many people make a trip south each winter.
Beth is absolutely the best travel agent around and a
wonderful person who definitely goes out of her way for her
clients - she makes everyone feel like a friend. We've had
the good fortune to meet up with Beth on one of our trips a
couple of years ago and I've been corresponding ever since.
I sent her this trip report about our Jan/Feb 2006 trip and
she felt it might be of interest to you. We spent two nights
with family, 3 nights in Sarasota specifically in St.
Armand's Circle and 5 nights in Disney at Port Orleans -
Riverside...
Hi Beth,
We had a fantastic trip both in Sarasota and in Disney
World. I thought I'd do up a little summary much like you do
for John's website.
After an uneventful flight, we picked up our vehicles at the
airport. We were able to get a Buick Rendezvous which was an
extremely large SUV and Liz and Dave had a Cadillac STS with
a huge sunroof and leather seating. To say we were impressed
with the deal you got us is an extreme understatement!
We stayed a couple of nights with Rob's Mom and Dad in
Palmetto and they showed us around their neck of the woods.
It was nice seeing their new place. We left on Friday for
St. Armand's Circle and the Holiday Inn on Lido Beach. We
went to the Sarasota Jungle Gardens at the suggestion of
Rob's Mom - it was okay but there wasn't a whole lot to see.
We checked into our hotel and it was great - I was really
impressed with it as a Holiday Inn. The room was about as
big as the ones at Riverside and the Gulf view was well
worth the extra $20/night. We just had to cross Ben Franklin
Drive each day and we were on Lido Beach. The kids and I had
a great time collecting shells and Marina found some sand
dollars so she was pretty excited.
We took Jean's suggestion and went to Mote Aquarium and ate
at the Salty Dog afterwards. Dave and Liz and the kids met
us there and everyone had a great time. We also ate at
Hemingway's and thoroughly enjoyed it. It was so nice to be
in walking distance of St. Armand's Circle - we walked
around each evening and went to Kilwin's for ice cream
(delicious!). We had a great time and left for Disney on
Monday feeling well rested.
When we arrived on Disney property Monday we went to check
in right away and lucky for us, they had the rooms we had
requested and they were ready for us. We were extremely
impressed with all the renovations that had been completed
since last December. They already had the new beds when we
visited in December 2004 but they had recently changed all
the carpets, tile, curtains, bath curtain, chair covers etc.
The lighting was new and resembled an Arts and Crafts style.
There were little curtains above the headboard for interest
and they now use the curtain divider that French Quarter has
always had - it was really great for getting ready for bed
when Madison was already asleep.
We had lunch at the food court using the dining plan which
provided so much food all week and for such an unbelievable
price that we will definitely use it again. We drove to
Animal Kingdom Lodge to check it out (only Rob had been
there before) prior to returning the rental cars. Animal
Kingdom Lodge was beautiful - I would stay there for part of
a vacation for sure. Maybe half Animal Kingdom Lodge, half
Wilderness Lodge.
We returned the cars to Dolphin without any problems and
went to wait for the boat for MGM. We had a great time at
MGM and stayed late, taking advantage of the extra magic
hours. Most of our party checked out the new Motor show and
were really impressed by it. We had a reservation at Prime
Time Cafe for an early supper. It was our first time there
and we loved it! We had Aunt Liz as our server but she
became cousin Liz since Marina and Madison's real Aunt Liz
was with us. She was so much fun - she put my brother-in-
law Dave in the corner for being bad and unruly and the kids
laughed and laughed. We got home around 10:30 that night
(Rob and Maddie left early) so we put in a full day.
Tuesday we relaxed for a bit in the morning and actually did
a bit of laundry and enjoyed some Mickey waffles prior to
heading out for Epcot. Three of us went on Mission Space as
soon as we arrived while Liz and Rob went to get fast passes
for everyone for Soarin.' Soarin' was absolutely amazing!
Everyone loved it - unfortunately Madison was about an inch
too short and couldn't ride but there's always next year.
We toured Future World and part of the World Showcase before
our 4pm reservations at Le Cellier (another first for us).
We were served by Jennifer from Langley, B.C. She was loads
of fun and we had lots to talk about once she found out we
were from Canada. She was telling us how much she misses Tim
Horton's (a Canadian coffee house that has locations
everywhere in Canada).
Rob had the filet and I had the herb crusted prime rib. We
had the two salad choices for appetizers plus we ordered the
cheese soup and the barley soup for the girls as they also
got an appetizer from the adult's menu. Rob and I shared the
dessert trio which included the raspberry sorbet, the
chocolate whiskey cake and the maple crème brulee. This meal
was one of the best, if not the best I have ever had even
off Disney property.
I told Jennifer that the prime rib exceeded those I had
enjoyed at the Keg (a Canadian steak house that is known for
it's great steaks). The other great thing was that our meal
came to $160 and made us realize how fantastic the meal plan
is. Liz and Dave's bill was well over $200. We will
definitely make plans to eat here again - it's our new
favorite. We left Epcot in the early evening and everyone
but Madison and I went to Downtown Disney to try Disney
Quest and to shop.
Wednesday we headed to Animal Kingdom and immediately
attempted to ride Expedition Everest. Unfortunately for us
they were filming on that attraction during the day and no
one was allowed anywhere near it. We later heard that if we
had stayed for the extra magic hours that night that it was
open and we could've experienced it - oh well, next year!
We had a great day at Animal Kingdom. The kids had their
faces painted which is a tradition for us at Animal Kingdom
just before riding Kilimanjaro's Safari. We had lunch at
Flame Tree BBQ (a first for us as we normally eat at Tusker
House) and it was quite good. The outdoor seating area was
nice.
We left for the Grand Floridian and Cinderella's dinner for
a little after 5. We had a great time there as always. I
brought Madison's Cinderella dress and crown so she was
excited to dress up. The lucky thing for us was that Belle
was the guest that night and the girls were able to get her
autograph and picture for the first time. Our server was
Michael and we had him last December - he enjoyed knowing
that we remembered him. We went back to the resort after
supper and some went to the Bar to enjoy the antics of the
piano player Bob Jackson.
Thursday we went to Blizzard Beach for early opening at 9am.
It was a warm day but the water was not quite as warm as we
would've hoped, nonetheless we enjoyed the slides and the
lazy river. We had lunch there before we left for the hotel
to change.
We went to Magic Kingdom for the afternoon and we were able
to do all the rides in Adventureland prior to eating at
Crystal Palace. We enjoyed the buffet and the characters of
course (we go there every year). After supper we went to
Tomorrowland and were lucky enough that Buzz Lightyear's
Space Ranger Spin opened up from refurbishment a week early
so we could ride it. We also went on Stitch before we went
to enjoy the SpectroMagic parade. We went to the hotel after
the parade and enjoyed an early night.
Friday was a bit of a disappointment as far as the weather
goes but we all had ponchos so we went with the flow
(literally!). It poured on and off all day. We headed out
for Magic Kingdom for the day. We have never seen Magic
Kingdom so dead. We were able to go on all the rides, shows
etc. in one day which we have never done.
We had lunch at a new place (Columbia Harbour House which
was near the Haunted Mansion) and we really enjoyed our meal
there. We had one little glitch when we went to ride Goofy's
Barnstormer - it was closed because there had been some
lightning and thunder but it opened up just before we left
and Madison was finally able to ride it. We also saw Jasmine
in the Character Tent which excited the girls since they
didn't have her autograph.
After a very soggy day and sock purchases for everyone, we
headed to Chef Mickey's for our last Disney Meal. The meal
was great and the entertainment was fun. We decided that our
server must usually work at the California Grill as he
looked like he was out of his element with all the kids and
characters running around. He was nice but extremely
reserved which is very unusual for Chef Mickey's.
Chef Mickey's is usually our favorite buffet but believe it
or not for both food and experience, it ranked 3rd with
everyone on this trip. Grand Floridian was 1st by far but
Crystal Palace had some new dishes that we hadn't tried
before (lemon/cinnamon basmati rice) and some great
vegetable dishes that were not on the other buffets. We will
still go to Chef Mickey's but I'm not sure we'd keep it as
our last hoorah since it was a bit of a let down this time.
We rode the monorail to Polynesian to have a look around
after supper. What a gorgeous hotel and beautiful pool area!
It would be lovely to stay there. We rode the monorail all
the way to Epcot and the kids and Liz were able to ride up
front with the driver in the TTC/Epcot leg which was a nice
end to the trip. We took the bus back to our hotel and began
the long job of packing up. That evening we purchased
souvenirs at the hotel store and used up our remaining snack
coupons for crispy snacks and cookies (Rob and I had 13
left!).
The next morning we brought our luggage to the lobby and
checked out right at the hotel. This was fantastic - I hope
they continue to offer this. After breakfast in the food
court, we boarded the Magical Express bus for the airport.
We were the first stop (we went to French Quarter, Key West
and Sarasota Springs prior to leaving Disney) and it was a
comfortable bus ride. They played a small movie explaining
Disney's express transportation service that lasted almost
until we arrived at the airport so it made the ride seem
smaller.
We had a good plane ride home and even better, we didn't
have to dig the car out as Syracuse didn't get any snow
while we were gone.
We had a great time and as always, we really appreciated all
your help. Talk to you soon."
=================================================
Pixar/Disney Collectible
Pixar stock certificates are becoming valuable as a
collector's item due to Disney's recent acquisition of the
company. The certificates are very colorful and are
decorated with pictures of Woody and Buzz Lightyear from
"Toy Story." Now comes with Free Shipping till 04/15/06. Use
code: freeship. Pixar disappears April 23. Get yourcollectible stock certificate here!
=================================================
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=============================================
See You Real Soon!
John
AffordableDisney.Com.
johngross@affordabledisney.com
=============================================
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posted by AffordableDisney.Com at 8:36 PM
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