Wednesday, September 06, 2006

Affordable Walt Disney World Vacation

THE DISNEY NEWS
September 06, 2006
Copyright © 1999 - 2006 by John P. Gross. All rights reserved.
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Hi Everyone!

In this blog...

* Deals and specials - New Disneyland Paris resort discounts

* The latest news from around the "World" - Disney's new fingerprint scanning program is now in effect

* Beth, our travel agent, stayed at WDW's Coronado Springs last weekend and passed along some comments

* This week's money saving tip - a coupon for SeaWorld's Makahiki Luau!
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We continuously update our information and you can find
these current specials in our Addenda:

SPECIAL FOR AFFORDABLE DISNEY MEMBERS FROM OUR TRAVEL AGENT BETH!

Here are the Disney deals that Beth, our travel agent, got exclusively for our members in November and December.

NOVEMBER AND DECEMBER

Discounted Standard View Rooms at Disney's Port Orleans Riverside Resort!

Dates:

November 2, 2006 - November 14, 2006. Last day to book: September 30, 2006.

Dates: December 8, 2006 - December 20, 2006. DISCOUNT RATE JUST REDUCED EVEN MORE! Last day to book: November 1, 2006.

Plus no additional fee for having more than two adults in a room. (Disney charges $15 + tax per night for each "extra" adult!) Riverside rooms have two double beds and accommodate up to 4 plus an infant in a crib. (Trundle bed rooms that can sleep a 5th person under age 10 can be requested.)

DECEMBER

Discounted Standard View Garden Wing Rooms at Disney's Contemporary Resort! Dates: December 8, 2006 - December 20, 2006. Plus no additional fee for having more than two adults in a room. (Disney charges $25 + tax per night for each "extra" adult!) Contemporary rooms have two queen beds and a daybed and sleep up to 5. (We can request, but not guarantee, a refurbished room or a room that sleeps 3 with a King bed.)

This special is a phenomenal deal for anyone who already has tickets (or buys them from our ticket agent) or who has no desire to have the dining plan. We are also checking on special group-rate tickets.

These rooms go fast! Members should log in and book today before they're all gone! If you are not a member, but would like to take advantage of these deals, as well as all our Disney discounts and specials, see: http://www.affordabledisney.com .

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SWEEPS

We now list 31 Sweepstakes to win a Walt Disney World/Florida vacation!

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WALT DISNEY WORLD RESORT DISCOUNTS!

* Value resorts - up to $20 off!
* Moderate resorts - up to $45 off!
* Deluxe/Home Away from Home resorts - $75 off!

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MORE CURRENT SPECIALS

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

* 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!

* 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!

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DISNEY CRUISE LINE

The latest Magical Disney Cruise Rates have been posted.
Book early and save!

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DISNEYLAND PARIS

Visit Disneyland Paris during this Halloween Special and save on Disney resort accommodations!

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OTHER VACATION SPECIALS

$199.00 British Virgin Islands Adventure Package!

Stay 5 nights at this luxurious Resort and Villas for only $199 per room per night! Includes:

* breakfast
* free two tank certified dive
* island drinks and snacks aboard the diving boat

Not certified and would like to learn? Then you may choose to have a two tank "Discover Scuba Diving" course.

If diving is not the adventure you are seeking, choose a free day sail aboard a yacht, including transfers, island lunch and drinks. A value of $350, yours free with your 5 night minimum stay! Valid until December 20, 2006.

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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
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NEWS FROM AROUND THE "WORLD"

WALT DISNEY WORLD

New at Epcot

"Ellen, Faye and others are on missions to help the cartoon character Kim Possible and her friends save the world. At the same time, they're helping Walt Disney Imagineering's research and development department explore possibilities for using the latest generation of interactive, hand-held technologies in theme-park environments." (Source: Orlando Sentinel, 09/06/06)
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Walt Disney World Golf - The Times-Tribune reviews Disney's golf courses.
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"Disney World is also debuting a new attraction in early 2007 - the Laugh Floor Comedy Club at Magic Kingdom, which will allow guests to laugh, joke, sing songs and match wits with the animated characters from Disney-Pixar's Monsters, Inc. (Source: USA Today, 09/05/06)
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Housekeeping & Full-time Lifeguards at WDW to receive a $1000 Hiring Bonus

"To be eligible for the $1000 bonus, the housekeeper/houseperson or full-time lifeguard must start employment at the Walt Disney World® Resort between June 18, 2006 and September 30, 2006. $500 of bonus will be paid after 30 days of employment in a Walt Disney World® housekeeper/ houseperson or full-time lifeguard role. The remaining $500 of bonus will be paid if a Cast Member has been continually employed in the same role after 60 days."
See Disney's official site for more information.
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"Walt Disney World... is beginning to scan visitor fingerprint information... The new machines scan one fingertip for its fingerprint information... the system purges [the information it gathers] 30 days after the ticket expires or is fully utilized. Visitors who object to the readers can provide photo identification instead - although the option is not advertised at the park entrance... other theme parks - such as Sea World and Busch Gardens - have begun to use similar technology. (Source: Yahoo! NEWS, 08/30/06)
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This Day in Disney History
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Walt Disney World Monthly Calendar.
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OUTSIDE WALT DISNEY WORLD

"Universal's Halloween Horror Nights, one of the world's largest and most elaborate scare-fests, lasts only 19 nights. But it's nearly a 12-month production that can take about 80 percent of the annual workload of Universal's entertainment art and design team... The after-hours, ticketed fest, which runs Sept. 29 through Oct. 31, is one of Universal's biggest cash machines and the resort's biggest signature event. Standard tickets cost $59.95, though there are Florida and other discounts. This time around Horror Nights will be reserved for only Universal Studios with Islands of Adventure remaining open as a theme park. (Source: Orlando Sentinel, 09/01/06)
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DISNEYLAND CALIFORNIA

Disneyland Resort Calendar
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BRANSON, MISSOURI

Les Brown Jr.'s Band of Renown will star at the Titanic Museum Attraction Friday, September 22 from 7 PM to 11 PM. Includes a 90-minute tour of the Titanic. Cost: $40.00 per person. For more information, click here or call 417/334-9500 or 1-800-381-7670.
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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.
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Beth, our travel agent, stayed at WDW's Coronado Springs last weekend and passed along these comments:

"I had lunch with my Disney sales rep Thursday afternoon and questioned her on the status of the "missing" restaurants on the 2007 dining plan. As I suspected, it's the same problem they ran into when the plan first started... Each restaurant needs to sign a contract in order to be included. Although everyone has indicated their intent to do so, the Disney legal folks won't allow them to be included in the 2007 dining brochure until the paperwork is done. So yes, all those yummy places that you love in Epcot AND the restaurants at Coronado Springs will apparently be coming back for next year. They are just working through the technicalities.

I'm typing this from my room at Coronado Springs Resort. I completely forgot that we'd be running into the Joyner Family reunion, and maybe it's a good thing that I'm here to witness it because I'd have had a hard time imagining it otherwise. The line to check in this evening (about 6PM) was around the lobby and out the door! Fortunately, we checked in much earlier and had less than a 5-minute wait. We had dinner (using the free dining plan) about 5:30 at the Pepper Market and the place was less than half full.

I did come up with a new tip, though... The gift shop sells several varieties of donuts. A box costs $3.79 for 6 or 12 (depending on how fancy you go). A quart of milk costs under $3, so for about $7 you can have breakfast in your room for two mornings while you're getting dressed - and trust me, if you're on the dining plan, a small donut and some milk or coffee is all you'll need for breakfast!

Here are a few more tips:

* Be careful at the Pepper Market at Coronado Springs... Not ALL of the pastries and desserts are considered part of the dining plan, and the sign that says as much isn't very obvious.

* Yes, children still get a separate dessert even if their counter service kids meal comes with a cookie.

* If your child chooses the Chocolate "Moose" for dessert at Le Cellier in Canada, be sure to ask your server if Patrick and his moose hat are still available for teaching moose calls.

* On our final morning my husband didn't feel well and, while he accompanied us to Chef Mickey's, he didn't eat. He just had OJ and water. Our server didn't charge for him and just deducted two table service credits. This left us with one table service credit and three snack credits. I'd planned to stop on our way out of the hotel and use the snack credits for bottled water for the trip home anyway, but asked if I could also use the table service one for a bottle as well. They said yes - but then actually rang up all four bottles under the one table service credit AND gave me a voucher that would have been good for two more snack credits OR a special poster OR - our choice - a collector pin and lanyard. I have no idea what all they'd have let me get with that table service credit, but it worked out well for us. (And yes, we did go back and get three more waters with the snack credits.) (No - I'm not nuts. We were on the free dining plan promotion, so getting water for a table service credit was still a good deal.)

* When we got out of the Disney-MGM Studios car show we were really hungry and wanted to use counter service credits for lunch. The Flatbread Grill gets high marks, but it was right there and was SWAMPED! So we went over to Starring Rolls which was nearly deserted. They don't have a big menu, but the food was really yummy - and if you're a vegetarian the grilled veggie Pita is great! They allowed us to get a piece of fresh fruit rather than chips, and there were a number of yummy dessert options. The child's meal was an 'uncrustable,' chips, a cookie, and a small milk."
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MONEY SAVING TIP

SeaWorld's Makahiki Luau
Seafire Inn
Waterfront

It’s a celebration filled with ancient customs, music, dance and the delectable cuisine of the Pacific Islands. Park admission is not required.

Save $6 on Luau admission for up to 6 people with this
coupon.
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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.
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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.
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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.

Get FREE shipping on the new 2007 book for a limited time!
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Affordable Disney Movies and CD's

Save 40-70% on your favorite Disney Movie or CD! Cheap shipping, too! Click here.
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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.
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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!!!"
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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.
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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.
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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.
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See You Real Soon!

John

AffordableDisney.Com.
johngross@affordabledisney.com
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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.
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