Affordable Walt Disney World Vacation

THE DISNEY NEWS
Updates From Affordable Walt Disney World Vacation
February 24, 2010
Copyright © 1999 - 2010 by John P. Gross. All rights reserved.
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Hi Everyone!

Thinking about joining our Affordable Disney family? We'll donate 10% of every new membership fee to the Missionaries of the Poor in Haiti. Click here for more details.

REMEMBER: 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 - Walt Disney World vacation package with Dining, Car Rental deal, Restaurant certificate sale ($2!), Harry Potter vacation package (Finally!), last minute offer at Disneyland Paris, and San Diego attraction discount card

News from around the "World":

* This day in Disney history
* ESPN The Weekend Returns to Walt Disney World
* Fun Facts Bloom at 17th Epcot Intl Flower & Garden Festival
* Dateline Disney - March-April 2010
* Tourism: Theme parks report half-dozen injuries in 4th quarter
* Find Nature in Florida, Not Just Theme Parks
* Walt Disney World Monthly Calendar
* SeaWorld, Busch Gardens reveal Viva La Musica lineups
* More on Gatorland trek: It’s not easy being mean
* Tourism industry seeks again to reinstate parental waivers
* ‘Captain EO’ Returns to Disneyland Park
* Disneyland Resort Calendar
* This week at Disneyland Paris
* What's new at Disneyland Tokyo
* Hospital & Hong Kong Disneyland celebrate ‘Chinese Birthdays’
* This week in Las Vegas
* Branson Calendar of Events
* Beth writes about dining at Epcot's German Biergarten
* Roland writes about Allegiant Air moving flights to OIA
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NEW THIS WEEK

WALT DISNEY WORLD

# Walt Disney World vacation package with FREE Disney Quick-Service Dining Plan! Save $127 per adult!

# Get one day FREE at this Car Rental Company!

# Save BIG at restaurants near Disney: This resource offers money saving dining certificates to restaurants in Orlando, near Walt Disney World, in Anaheim, near Disneyland California, and all across the US. Get $25 certificates this week for $2! Offer ends February 28, 2010!

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HARRY POTTER EXCLUSIVE VACATION PACKAGE

4 Nights from only $285 per adult! Package includes room, tickets, CityWalk access, early admission to experience Harry Potter, and breakfast at the Three Broomsticks!

Yes, that means that Harry Potter will be in full operation by May 28!

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LAST MINUTE OFFER AT DISNEYLAND PARIS

Save up to 30% on this package that includes room, tickets, breakfast and all kids under 12 stay and play FREE!

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VISIT MULTIPLE ATTRACTIONS IN SAN DIEGO FOR ONE LOW PRICE

Save up to 55% with this card at over 50 attractions like SeaWorld, San Diego Zoo, Science Center and LEGOLAND.

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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:

* Save up to $750.00 on this Walt Disney World vacation 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
* Disneyland Paris Kids stay and play FREE
* Kids eat FREE membership card
* Kids fly FREE to Disneyland California
* Room discounts and FREE tickets for the military
* Buy a day, get a FREE day at Universal Hollywood
* Save 50% at these deluxe Walt Disney World resorts
* 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
* 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
* Universal Blue Man Group discount
* Disneyland Annual Passes on a monthly payment plan
* Universal Hollywood All You Can Eat Pass
* 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

Coming soon to Walt Disney World - Monthly Payment Annual Passes:
"Sources at Walt Disney World tell MousePlanet that the monthly payment plan first offered to Disneyland Annual Passholders in late 2008 will be extended to Walt Disney World Passholders later this year. The official announcement is expected sometime next week, when Disney is also expected to debut a new Annual Passport that will be valid at both the Florida and California Resorts."

ESPN The Weekend Presented by Dick’s Sporting Goods Returns to Walt Disney World Resort Feb. 25-28

Fun Facts Bloom Across 305 Acres of 17th Annual Epcot International Flower & Garden Festival

Dateline Disney - March-April 2010:

- Atlanta Braves are back for spring training
- Epcot flowerfest opens March 3
- Victoria & Albert’s takes dining elegance to a new room
- Mediterranean and European Disney cruise itineraries

Tourism: Theme parks report half-dozen injuries in 4th quarter - Inside story: The new Holiday Inn Downtown Disney opened its doors Feb. 12!

Find Nature in Florida, Not Just Theme Parks - highlights Disney's little known Wilderness Preserve in Kissimmee

Walt Disney World Monthly Calendar.
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OUTSIDE WALT DISNEY WORLD

SeaWorld, Busch Gardens reveal Viva La Musica lineups

More on Gatorland trek: It’s not easy being mean

Tourism industry seeks again to reinstate parental waivers

Hotel fees that must die -- and how to kill them
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DISNEYLAND CALIFORNIA

‘Captain EO’ Returns to Disneyland Park

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

Yan Chai Hospital and Hong Kong Disneyland Resort celebrate ‘Chinese Birthdays’ with more than 100 senior citizens and Disney friend Tigger
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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.
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Beth, our travel agent, writes about dining at Biergarten in Epcot’s Germany pavilion:

"YUM!

When traveling with children and a vegetarian, sometimes finding a good place to eat can be a challenge. You do, after all, want to make everyone happy. But we were looking for a good place to do lunch for Valentine’s Day, and making the reservations about a week in advance. Not a lot to choose from! We settled on the Biergarten in Epcot’s Germany pavilion. It turned out to be a great choice. We showed up 20 minutes before our priority seating time and were given a pager. We headed next door to check out the shops and the pager went off exactly on time.

I’m not really sure why we had to wait because there were many empty tables, but I suspect it could have something to do with the fact that this is a buffet and they don’t want it to get overly crowded around the food. If so, the system works well because we never had to wait behind more than one or two people. We were seated with a nice family of four at a long table, and our server quickly came by to take drink orders. Soft drinks, beer, and wine are included in the price.

The salad bar area is a little small, but everything was tasty and there was plenty for the vegetarian in the group. Next stop was the bread basket which included short 'soft pretzel' sticks to die for. Then came potato and leek soup which was so good that I had to ask for the recipe. Even the kids liked it! Entrees included a variety of schnitzel and wurst and plenty of sauerkraut as you’d expect, but also salmon, chicken, and assorted other options. The sides included roasted potatoes, a few types of spatzle, hot potato salad - and even mac n’ cheese for the kids. The dessert selection was ample and heavenly. In short, all members of our group had no problem eating to capacity and then some, and loving every mouthful.

The entertainment was a small group of musicians in lederhosen playing traditional German instruments. The kids were fascinated by the alpine horns. We were all too busy eating to get up at the invitation to polka around the dance floor, though. (We couldn’t move by that time anyway.)

This is also one of the most reasonably priced dining options (aside from counter locations) that you can find in Epcot. Lunch runs until 3PM and is only $20 for adults and $10 for kids. A few more entrée options come out for dinner and the price increases to $33 for adults and $14 for kids, so come for a late lunch for a real bargain. Just be sure to check over your bill carefully before paying… The child with us was charged as an adult and we were ALL charged a premium, apparently an upcharge for the Valentine’s Day holiday which was never mentioned during the booking or check-in process, so the $75 lunch ended up costing us $111. Ouch! That’s what I get for letting someone else sign for me while I’m in the bathroom."
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Roland writes about the article posted in issue #515 about Allegiant Air moving two of its flights from Orlando-Sanford International Airport to OIA:

"Hey John, I live in Maryville TN and we use Knoxville TYS airport. When Allegiant Air announced in 2006 that they were moving into TYS we immediately booked a Disney trip for the week of our sons 2007 spring break. We were a bit hesitant when we saw that Allegiant flies to Sanford SFB instead of MCO which would mean we'd need to rent a car. The drive from SFB to Disney takes about an hour no matter which way we go so we have to take that into account.

Allegiant Air has great partner rates with Alamo so our air and car price was a lot cheaper than any other flight direct to MCO and using Magical Express. Their flight goes direct from TYS to SFB and takes about an hour and 20 minutes. So for Allegiant Air to go directly to MCO will be FANTASTIC since I won't have to drive or bother with getting a rental. However, since we've been getting rentals we have become used to having ready transportation and not having to wait on the buses in the heat.

Last year AirTran came back to Knoxville and since they go to MCO I suspect that has helped to encourage Allegiant Air to start going to MCO, at least for our routes. It has also helped to keep Allegiant Air prices down and has caused other airlines to keep their prices a bit lower. Only Allegiant Air and AirTran have direct flights to Orlando from Knoxville so I doubt we'll ever see a good deal from the big boys. Now if we could just get Southwest into TYS..."

Thanks for the feedback, Roland. You're right. Sanford is not far from Disney. That's where we get off the autotrain. Having a car sure gives you more freedom. We'll keep our eye on Southwest!
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ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

A World on Its Knees: Click here for a FREE book of prayers for the people of Haiti and those who are caring for them.

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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Secrets to an Affordable WDW Vacation: "Save up to 40% on your Walt Disney World vacation. Save on Disney hotels, dining, tickets, cruises, honeymoons and souvenirs!" Click here for details.
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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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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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