Tuesday, June 20, 2006

Affordable Walt Disney World Vacation

THE DISNEY NEWS
June 21, 2006
Copyright © 1999 - 2006 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 blog...

* Deals and specials - including WDW resort discounts for late summer!
* The latest news from around the "World" - including Disney's release of Mickey Mouse Pirate Ears!
* Keri comments on Rosemary's letter last week detailing her experience at the Judges Tent in the Magic Kingdom
* Beth, our travel agent, writes about the availability of wheelchairs at the resorts
* A new way to have nonperishable grocery items shipped to WDW
=================================================
We continuously update our information and you can find
these current specials in our Addenda:

ROOM DISCOUNTS FOR LATE SUMMER

Value resorts - $25 off per night!
Moderates - $50 off per night!
Deluxe - $75 off per night!
Cabins/Villas - $75 off per night!

--------------------------------

Special Gas Offers!

Receive a $10.00 gas card or a $25.00 room credit when you stay at these hotels now through September!

--------------------------------

8 Golf Packages!

Enjoy unlimited golf! Kids play FREE! Deluxe accommodations! FREE breakfast buffet! Spa! Too much to list here!

--------------------------------

MORE CURRENT SPECIALS

* Kids go to SeaWorld FREE when you book this vacation
package!

* FREE Dining at Disney's Magical Beginnings program to draw
pre-school aged children during the off season. Extended to
June 25!

* FREE Dining Plan with this Disney package! Save over
$150.00 per day! Extended to June 25!

* Receive a 5th Day FREE when you purchase a Walt Disney
World 4-Day Magic Your Way Base or Hopper ticket with 14 day
Expiration!

* More than 10 ways to win a FREE vacation to Walt
Disney World!

* Deals for the military, teachers, government workers,
nurses, Florida residents!

* Buy one, get one free tickets to Universal Studios and
Islands of Adventure!

* All you can eat at Universal Studios or Islands of
Adventure for less than $20!

* Save up to $40.00 per ticket to Disneyland California!

* Special discounted rates for vacation packages at
Disneyland Paris!

* Las Vegas Hotels & Casinos from $79 per night!

* Cruises to Europe and the Caribbean from $599 per person -
even during the holidays!

--------------------------------

OTHER VACATION SPECIALS

Girlfriend's Getaway

This summer is the time let it go and relax, and there is no better place to be than Jamaica with friends. Bask in the luxury of one of 32 ocean/garden view 5,6, and 7 bedroom villas which provide the ultimate Caribbean escape. Be pampered by villa staff which consists of cook, housekeeper and butler, well trained and experienced in the art of good service which will guarantee a memorable experience.

Offers 400 acres of well manicured grounds, warm and welcoming staff, 2 miles of private white sand beach, 7 bars, including a swim-up pool bar, 6 restaurants conveniently placed for your dining, 13 tennis courts, 4 squash courts, croquet lawn, new 18 hole miniature putting green, table tennis, cycling, spa, Equestrian Centre, fully equipped gymnasium and exclusive Dolphin Lagoon just to peak your interest.

Take the girl's night out, the girl's day out, the girls shopping spree to a whole new level and a whole new place. There are a enough activities to make the moment just right for you and your girlfriends to do everything or absolutely nothing at all. At treat at the spa is definitely recommended or maybe a tour to one of our Island's beautiful attractions.

Beth writes: "This is an exquisite destination for couples, families, or - as the promotion suggests - a group of good friends that need to get away."
--------------------------------

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

"Now all those Mickey Mice can dangle hoop earrings from their big, round ears.

In a tie-in with the upcoming Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest movie, the Walt Disney Co. is releasing a pair of its iconic ears fashioned for a Mickey Mouse pirate and a Mickey Mouse pirate princess. Both sport a hoop dangling from the left ear." (Source: Orlando Sentinel, 06/20/06)
--------------------------------
Disney's new Ad campaign highlights the magic:

"In one 60-second TV spot, a little boy's fishing trip becomes a pirate adventure. Three kids jumping on a bed take flight like Peter Pan. And a little girl -- adorable, naturally -- opens a door to become a princess, ready to board her carriage. 'Where once upon a time happens once upon a day,' an announcer says. 'Come live your dreams . . . at the Disney parks.'" (Source: Orlando Sentinel, 06/19/06)
--------------------------------
Walt Disney World Monthly Calendar.
=================================================
OUTSIDE WALT DISNEY WORLD

"Wet 'n Wild customers [can] access the power of their credit cards through a water park-friendly wristband... the new Ron Jon Surf Park plans to adopt the Smart Band technology when it opens in early 2007." Disney uses a waterproof bracelet at its water parks. Visitors at SeaWorld's Discovery Cove can charge purchases to photo ID cards. (Source: Orlando Sentinel, 06/20/06)
--------------------------------
"A 4-year-old girl was injured Monday as she was getting off a roller coaster at Universal Studios." (Source: Orlando Sentinel, 06/20/06)
--------------------------------
"Dr. Seuss will reign again at Universal's Islands of Adventure Thursday as the park finally opens its long-delayed children's elevated train ride and celebrates with a Seuss festival. The High in the Sky Seuss Trolley Train Ride will carry small children and their families, 15 feet up, throughout the park's Seuss Landing area, going around other attractions, along the lake and through a restaurant."
(Source: Orlando Sentinel, 06/19/06)
=================================================
DISNEYLAND CALIFORNIA

"Purist fans of Disneyland's Pirates of the Caribbean ride are wishing they could force company officials to walk the plank for doing the unthinkable. The classic attraction, which turns 40 next year, is getting an overhaul timed to coincide with the movie premiere of 'Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest,' the second in a trilogy of films starring Johnny Depp. When the popular ride reopens June 26, it will look a lot more like the movie series that it inspired, complete with swashbuckler Jack Sparrow and his nemesis Capt. Barbossa." (Source: Orlando Sentinel, 06/19/06)
--------------------------------
Disneyland Resort Calendar
=================================================
HONG KONG DISNEYLAND

"Hong Kong Disneyland is counting on the peak summer season and more aggressive marketing in Chinese cities to help make up for the theme park's lagging attendance, the managing director said Thursday." (Source: Yahoo! Finance, 06/15/06)
=================================================
TOKYO DISNEYLAND

"What better way to study 1950s American-style buses than in America. That was the motto of three visitors to the Greyhound Bus Museum last week. They came from Tokyo, Japan, with the goal of observing buses of the 1950s era. They plan to design one for Tokyo Disneyland which will be used to shuttle visitors from one park location to another.
(Source: The Daily Tribune, 06/12/06)
=================================================
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.
=================================================
In last week's issue Rosemary wrote:

"My daughters and husband were over at Ariel's Grotto so I was the lineholder. There are no signs posted as to the expected wait times or that your group must stay together. If you have never waited in this line, there are a series of turns in the line that bring you to a new 'room' so you never really see an end. Well, all of a sudden I found myself ushered into the room with the princesses! And my children are not with me!" Rosemary complained to the castmembers and eventually her family got to meet the princesses.

Rosemary's comments evoked a heated response from Keri:

"I was dismayed that you published Rosemary's comments regarding splitting up & then the cast member taking care of her because she complained. I have been to Disney 4 times in 3.5 years with my 4 year old daughter and NEVER held the line for her while she & my husband did something else. It INFURIATES me (and most other parents I've spoken to re: the situation) at how inconsiderate that is - especially with 7 and 12 year olds!!! They are perfectly capable of standing in line like everyone else. While it is commendable that the cast member accommodated her 'complaint,' I am appalled at her audacity that she complained at all!! Standing in line for the characters is no different than standing in line for the rides, and I am amazed at the amount of disrespect shown at the parks overall. Families like that make the lines longer and frustrate everyone else when they let their kids essentially cut in line - not to mention it sets a bad example for their children.

I usually enjoy reading your articles, but this time, I have to say, I was VERY disappointed. By publishing this without some sort of disclaimer, it almost condones the behavior of line jumping. For anyone who has experienced 'line jumpers' more than once (which I have - and have been treated VERY poorly by them and cast members when something has been said) it's hard to appreciate what the cast member did for them."

We always publish a disclaimer at the end of our newsletter:

"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."

To be fair, Rosemary didn't see any signs warning her to keep her group together.

The manager handled the situation appropriately:

"The manager arrived explaining they were working on signs to advise families to stay together and advising of wait times and told me the lady shouldn't have told me to leave and that I could go back and see the Princesses still."

The castmember who originally asked Rosemary to leave could have defused the whole situation by allowing her to wait on the side for her children to arrive.

On the other hand, I understand Keri's feelings. Donna and I have stood and waited many times for what seemed like forever to see an attraction when a group of friends and family would run up at the last minute to join the person waiting in line. It is really aggravating when you're hot and tired and you feel that those who jumped in front of you might get a better seat!

So let's remember the golden rule: STAY TOGETHER AS A GROUP!

Oh... and by the way...

I do publish comments at times that are controversial to encourage readers to respond! So if you read something that you disagree with, send your comments to johngross@affordabledisney.com and I'll publish them in the newsletter.

Thank you, Rosemary and Keri, for writing.
=================================================
Beth, our travel agent, visited WDW in April and she looked into the availability of wheelchairs at the resorts:

"I stopped in at the concierge desk at AKL this evening to ask about the wheelchair issue. What I was told is that there is no 'official' program in place for the hotels to have wheelchairs available onsite; however, people seem to manage to get the park wheelchairs out and then they abandon them at their hotels when they leave. This gentleman says if they get their hands on one they hang on to it. They will then allow a hotel guest to use it during their length of stay, and if it's a standard (manual) chair they usually don't even get a credit card for deposit. They just do that for the electric chairs. In other words, they don't have ANY chairs that belong to the hotel, but they often have chairs from the parks that get left at the hotel and those are the ones they allow guests to use. Eventually, those chairs end up back at a park so the hotel can't say in advance if they'll have one on hand or not. Hope that clarifies!"
=================================================
SHIPPING GROCERIES TO WDW

Amazon.com now ships nonperishable grocery items. Free shipping is available!
=================================================
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! 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.
=============================================