Wednesday, December 02, 2009

Affordable Walt Disney World Vacation

THE DISNEY NEWS
Updates From Affordable Walt Disney World Vacation
December 2, 2009
Copyright © 1999 - 2010 by John P. Gross. All rights reserved.
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Hi Everyone!

NOTE: If you want to visit Walt Disney World when there is no deal for the general public, you will need to follow the discount strategies that are revealed in our online book, "Secrets To An Affordable Walt Disney World® Vacation," to make your vacation affordable.

Now on with the show...

In this blog...

Deals and specials - BIG discounts on Walt Disney World rooms, Mickey's Christmas Party discount, Walt Disney World Luxury Resort holiday sale, and an American Express/Orlando hotel promotion

News from around the "World":

* This day in Disney history
* German tourist makes false bomb threat at Disney
* Walt Disney World Monthly Calendar
* Universal CityWalk Calendar - December 2009
* Eustis train attraction offers Polar Express rides
* Don't miss: SeaWorld's holiday shows
* Disneyland Resort Calendar
* This week at Disneyland Paris
* What's new at Disneyland Tokyo
* This week in Las Vegas
* Branson Calendar of Events
* Beth, our travel agent, writes about Disney Yacht & Beach Clubs
* Delicious Holiday Designs on Display at Disney World Resort
* FREE Christmas gift
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NEW THIS WEEK

WALT DISNEY WORLD

Save up to 45% on rooms!

Florida residents can get discounted tickets to Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party on these dates!

Imagine! This Walt Disney World Luxury Resort is offering rooms starting at $122.50 per night through Dec. 24! Santa's in the house as well!

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AMERICAN EXPRESS/ORLANDO HOTEL PROMOTION

Reserve a qualifying night and enjoy 50% off the second night when you pay for your stay with an  American Express® Business Card at this popular Orlando hotel chain.
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Below are just some of the deals drawn from over 70 pages of current specials posted at our password-protected members-only site:

* FREE Disney Cruise with purchase of this package
* FREE nights and FREE tickets at Walt Disney World
* FREE night at a Walt Disney World luxury resort
* Two Nights FREE at Disneyland California
* Kids sail FREE on Disney cruise line
* Save 30% at Disneyland Paris and all kids go FREE
* Kids eat FREE membership card
* Get a FREE ticket to the Walt Disney World theme parks in 2009
* Room discounts and FREE tickets for the military
* Buy a day, get a FREE day at Universal Hollywood
* Give a Day, Get a Disney Day promotion
* BIG Downtown Disney Resort Hotel discount
* Florida Resident Discounts Galore! Too many to list here!
* Universal Orlando Resorts half off strategy
* Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party
* Disneyland ticket deal for locals
* Luxury cruise discount exclusively for police and firefighters
* New parties for Walt Disney World Resort guests
* CityPass discount for Affordable Disney members
* Disney Cruise Line discounts for Floridians and the military
* Non-Disney theme park/cruise vacation packages
* New source for discounted Disney Villas
* SeaWorld San Diego ticket deal
* Disney World discounts for annual passholders
* Universal hotel discounts
* Disneyland California hotel special
* Universal Orlando discounted vacation packages
* SeaWorld Discovery Cove discounts
* Orlando Theme Park Package
* Downtown Disney Resort Hotel discount
* Universal Blue Man Group discount
* Disneyland Annual Passes on a monthly payment plan
* Universal Hollywood All You Can Eat Pass
* Save 50% at these deluxe Walt Disney World resorts
* 2011 Disney cruises now booking
* Nickelodeon Family Cruise
* Disney cruise early booking discounts
* Vegas Resort & Casino discounts
* Super Branson Promotion

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
Basic Member
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NEWS FROM AROUND THE "WORLD"

WALT DISNEY WORLD

This Day in Disney History

German tourist makes false bomb threat at Disney

Walt Disney World Monthly Calendar.
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OUTSIDE WALT DISNEY WORLD

CityWalk Calendar And Venue Entertainment - December 2009

All aboard for the North Pole -- Eustis train attraction offers Polar Express rides

Don't miss: SeaWorld's holiday shows
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DISNEYLAND CALIFORNIA

Disneyland Resort Calendar
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DISNEYLAND PARIS

This week at Disneyland Paris
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DISNEYLAND TOKYO

What's new at Tokyo Disneyland
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DISNEYLAND HONG KONG

WORD
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BRANSON, MO

Branson Calendar of Events
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LAS VEGAS

This Week in Las Vegas
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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 addres
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Beth, our travel agent, writes:

"I’ve just returned from five glorious days at Disney World for a travel agent conference, so over the next few weeks I’ll be sharing some of my observations, thoughts, and comments with you. Don’t hesitate to drop me a note if you have any questions.

Yacht Club vs. Beach Club

How I ended up with two nights at each is something I won’t go into, but I wanted to mention how very easy it was to change mid-stay. We simply packed up the last morning at the Yacht Club, called the baggage guys to come and get ‘em, and THEY took them over to the Beach Club for us. Our schedule prohibited us from checking into the Beach Club until late (around 9:30 that evening), but it wasn’t a problem. We just called for the luggage when we got to the room and it was there in about ten minutes. So to those who have contemplated splitting your stay between two resorts for one reason or another, I say go for it.

Now, I’ve stayed at the Yacht Club before, but I’d only seen the rooms at the Beach Club in the past. In my head, I’d really always thought of them as pretty much the same. Our Yacht Club room, though, was one with a king bed and NO day bed. It had a lovely view of the lake, though, and was in great shape. My ONLY negative comments related to the bedding: the pillows were seriously firm (and housekeeping couldn’t offer anything softer), and the sheets were very rough and stiff. Otherwise, though, the room, the staff, the dining, the location - all wonderful. Our Beach Club room also had a view of the lake, albeit a sideways one, but accessing the room nearly required a GPS. What a maze of hallways! Once there, we found we again had a king bed room, but this time with the sleeper sofa so the room was larger. It also had a wet bar in addition to the little frig. The two small closets instead of one large one forced us to store our luggage at the side of the room instead of hidden away, and the room clearly was in need of refurbishment (cracked sink, some peeling wallpaper, etc.). Happily, though, the pillows were softer and the sheets felt great.

Bottom line: These are both great resorts and the location is fantastic. Walking to the parks is really faster than taking the boats, but it’s nice to have an option. The themed pool that the two share is, hands down, the best pool of them all. Both resorts will kill you with kindness; the service is really over the top. I’d take the Yacht Club over the Beach Club in the future, but if the Yacht Club isn’t available, I wouldn’t’ hesitate to go with the Beach Club. They’re both solid choices, and since you can walk to two parks AND there are rooms that sleep five, they work well for families."
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Delicious Holiday Designs on Display at Walt Disney World Resort

Pastry chefs throughout Walt Disney World Resort make things a little sweeter with deliciously decorative displays and sugar shacks made of yummy ingredients during the winter holidays. These candy-decked dwellings adorn the lobbies at various Walt Disney World resort hotels. On the menu this holiday season at Walt Disney World Resort:

Disney’s Contemporary Resort

New this year on the hotel’s fourth floor is a holiday tree inspired by the art of Disney Legend Mary Blair (whose work can be seen in the mural on the fourth-floor concourse wall). A team of 25 bakers created the 17-foot-high tree (6 feet wide) with gingerbread shingles.

Ingredient fun facts:

136 lbs. of honey
101 lbs. of flour
50 eggs

75 lbs. of icing
5 lbs. of spices
5 pounds of sugar syrup

Disney’s Beach Club Resort

This holiday season marks the 10th anniversary of the "Holiday Carousel," a fully detailed, life-sized carousel in the resort’s lobby that is created from a recipe that uses gingerbread, chocolate and sugar paste, and tons of enthusiasm, energy and talent. Guests who wish to take home a treat of their own can buy small gingerbread houses from the Beach Club Marketplace. Once a day, a guest is selected to have a photo with pastry chef Stefan Riemer and to receive a specially created gingerbread shingle.

Carousel fun fact: 10 "hidden Mickeys," one for each year, can be found on the carousel.

Ingredient fun facts:

36 lbs. of honey
96 lbs. of bread flour
100 pints of eggs
10 lbs. of spices
10 quarts of simple syrup

100 lbs. of icing
50 lbs. of dark chocolate
10 quarts of egg whites
100 lbs. of confectioner sugar

Disney’s Yacht Club Resort

The lobby of Disney’s Yacht Club Resort becomes home to a delectable scene in motion: A miniature New England-style train races through a sugary rock mountain surrounded by a candy-coated model village in this don’t-miss edible display. For children,daily demonstrations of decorating gingerbread houses and gingerbread men are part of the fun.

Disney’s BoardWalk

The lobby of Disney’s BoardWalk features a "Holiday Gazebo" made of gingerbread and chocolate, with "hidden Mickeys" for guests to find. Offered at BoardWalk Bakery are miniature gingerbread houses, stollen bread and a limited-edition pin featuring Stitch and the gingerbread display.

Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa

In the lobby of Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa is a gingerbread house large enough that it doubles as a real bake shop. Featuring gingerbread using a classic Austrian recipe, the bake shop offers freshly baked items such as cookies and gingerbread ornaments. Other homemade items for sale include stollen bread, chocolate-peppermint bark, lollipops and special Grand Floridian logo boxes filled with truffles. Demonstrations of how to decorate a gingerbread house take place in front of the gingerbread house daily except Sundays.

Gingerbread house fun fact: Chefs spend 400 hours baking the gingerbread and 160 hours decorating the house.

Structure Composition:
16 feet high
17 feet wide
1,000 board feet of trim
60 sheets of plywood
40 window panes
80 square feet of retail space
100 square feet of display
10,000 pieces of gingerbread used

Gingerbread Ingredients:
1,050 lbs. honey
600 lbs. powdered sugar
35 lbs. spices
800 lbs. flour
140 pints egg whites
180 lbs. apricot glaze

American Adventure at Epcot

Santa’s Bake Shop at Liberty Inn at the American Adventure pavilion enchants guests of all ages. Guests peer inside a life-sized gingerbread house at goodies galore. The giant structure, made entirely of gingerbread, cookies and icing, features more than 800 pounds of sugar and more than 1,000 eggs. Inside the bake shop, Christmas cookies and hot and cold beverages may be purchased. (Source: Press Release, 11/30/09)
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FREE CHRISTMAS GIFT

Thanks to Restaurant.com, you can give to a different person each day until Christmas a $10 gift certificate! Click here to learn more.
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ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

By the same author:

"100 Prayers of Purity for the Mission of Our Lady of America."
The Virgin Mary, Our Lady of America, encourages us to seek Her as our model of purity. The prayers in this book petition God the Father, Jesus, the Holy Spirit, the Blessed Virgin Mary, and the great Saints for the grace we need to lead pure and holy lives. Click here to read the book for FREE.

"Achieving Weight Loss through the Prayers of the Divine Office of the Virgin Mary." True peace with food can only come from establishing a close relationship with God. Click here to read the book for FREE.

"Rosary Meditations: A Bouquet of Roses for Our Lady." Shows the beginner and the highly experienced how to meditate while praying the rosary. Click here to read the book for FREE.

Be sure to check out Father Ron Camarda's "Tear in the Desert." It's one of the most spiritual books I have ever read!

"To me, today at age 61, all prayer by the humble or highly placed has one thing in common: supplication for strength and inspiration to carry on the best impulses which should bind us together for a better world. Without such inspiration we would rapidly deteriorate and finally perish." Walt Disney (Source: startedbyamouse.com)
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Affordable Disney Books

Disney and other new books 50-90% off the list price. 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.
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Affordable Accommodations

Enjoy Special Rates at select hotels, condos and vacation rentals near Disney. Plus! Receive up to a $100.00 rebate! For hotels, 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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