As mentioned in the previous post, the 2010 Disney Planning DVD has been released. The four theme parks are featured in the below videos, in addition to a short segment on what Disney has to offer beyond the parks.
One of the biggest misconceptions about Walt Disney World is that it's for kids, and it's a hurdle I consider often. Not widely known is that Walt Disney started to think about building his own theme park as a result of going to carnivals, zoos, and parks with his children. Walt saw that his daughters had fun, but he didn't find sitting on benches all that fun himself.
Walt Disney created the theme parks as places where adults and kids can both have fun. While Disney's marketing typically targets children, Disney World has a great deal to offer adults, as fun as watching kids have fun may be.
Disney's 2010 vacation planning DVD was released recently. As much as I hate Disney's nauseating, cringe-worthy marketing and narration, seeing what Disney World has to offer is better than reading about it. Below is a clip that goes over much of what Walt Disney World offers specific to adults.
A summary of most of the major 2009 additions and changes to Walt Disney World.
This will probably be my last post on the Disney Dream, but I wanted to add it as it provides a quick but interesting overview of the major features of the ship.
Pricing for the Disney Dream's 2011 sailings have been released up to November 2011. The Disney Dream will be the only Disney ship doing 3- and 4-night sailings while we're there. For those who may be interested, pricing examples are below. The September 4 quote is based on the assumption that we will have the vacation in late August, as September 4 would coincide with our theoretical last day of the Walt Disney World portion of the trip.
Unless our financial situation changes drastically, the Rikers will not be cruising, but I highly recommend the cruise to anyone able to afford it. If you can afford it, book it -- I'll bet one of the twins (your choice) that you'll love it, and it's a great way to wind down after the Walt Disney World vacation.
If anyone is interested in a Disney cruise, please let me know so I can let others in the group know and get you more information. Some may understandably want to hold off until they can gauge how much interest there is.
Prices are for 4-night sailings, and include a $25 shipboard credit. As I've said before, the difference in price from a 3-night cruise is negligible, and you'll curse yourself for not booking a 4-night instead. Prices will only go up as people make bookings, so my advice would be to book sooner rather than later.
September 4, 2011 - Disney Dream (Bahamas) - Inside Stateroom
Disney Cruise Line's next ship, Disney Dream, has been revealed. Surprisingly, its maiden voyage will take place in January 2011.
The 128,000-ton, 4,000-passenger cruise liner "will be similar in theme and ambience to the existing vessels, with a design evocative of classic 1930's ocean liners, and featuring multiple places where families can spend time together and apart (adult-only facilities, expansive kids' areas)." (Melissa Paloti, CruiseCritic.com)
CruiseCritic.com does a great job of summarizing the most interesting features:
The AquaDuck (yes, as in Donald) will be the industry's first "watercoaster." The combination roller coaster-water slide is a see-through acrylic tube -- the length of 2-1/2 football fields -- that winds around the top deck from funnel to funnel, up and down, at one point cantilevering off the port side 150 feet above the ocean!
This industry first is so simple -- and so fantastic -- we have to wonder why it wasn't thought of sooner. Inside cabins will now have a window to the outside world via virtual portholes. High-definition cameras placed outside the ship feed actual footage of the seascape to the flat-screen "portholes" inside.
The innovative rotational dining concept will stay in place on the new ship, but newly designed restaurants are on the horizon. In addition to the main dining room, Animator's Palate, diners can choose Royal Palace, inspired by Disney's princess films (with hand-painted portraits of "Cinderella," "Sleeping Beauty"), or the conservatory-like Enchanted Garden, a whimsical casual restaurant that takes the place of Parrot Cay from earlier ships. Enchanted Garden will magically transform from day into night, with light-fixture flowers that actually bloom and paintings that become illuminated with nighttime scenes (you'll also find a grand chocolate buffet here nightly). Breakfast and lunch will be buffet-style, while dinner is full-service. Palo, Disney Cruise Line's adults-only restaurant, will return.
The Oceaneer Club for 3- to 10-year-olds has been totally revamped. "Toy Story" comes to life in Andy's Room; kids will experience being "toy sized" in this space with its gigantic features, from larger-than-life characters to an oversized, remote-control racecar). There will also be a play area called Monsters Academy, visited regularly by Mike, the lovable green guy from "Monsters Inc." The Explorer Pod, a "Finding Nemo" themed submarine, encompasses 16 interactive computer stations for gaming.
Disney Magic will introduce living characters to the cruise line, a technology that is already available at Disney theme parks. At the Magic Theater in the Oceaneer Club, Crush -- an animated sea turtle from "Finding Nemo" -- will interact with kids via a 103-inch plasma screen. The mischievous animated alien, Stitch, might also make appearances. Kids will be able to use a microphone to speak to the characters, which will answer questions, crack jokes and play with silly props from their digital environments.
Disney Dream will feature an area called The District on Deck 4, aft, a playground for grownups with bars and clubs: Pink, an upscale Champagne bar featuring back-lit glass bubbles; Metro Pub, with wood-and-leather seating nooks and multiple screens for catching sporting events; the District Lounge, where you'll find live piano music; Evolution, the ship's contemporary, colorful nightclub and secondary show lounge for comedy, cabaret and other adult diversions; and Skyline, a chic "sky bar" with faux windows (seven 65-inch LCD screens) showcasing changing cityscapes from London to Tokyo. A different locale will be depicted each day, transitioning from day to night in real time (signature daily cocktails will be offered, themed to each day's city). The space will also feature a digital fireplace.
Senses Spa & Salon is an oceanview facility measuring 16,000+ square feet, spanning two decks in the forward section of the ship. [Spa villas will] each feature an indoor spa treatment suite connected to a private outdoor verandah (there, you'll find a hot tub, shower and double lounger).
Visit these sites for more information and pictures:
http://disneycruise.disney.go.com/ships-activities/ships/dream/
http://www.cruisecritic.com/reviews/review.cfm?ShipID=548
Although it looks highly doubtful that we'll be cruising during the 2011 vacation, I thought I'd post some news regarding Disney's private island, Castaway Cay, and the next Disney Cruise Line ship, the Dream.
Disney Cruise Line Creating More Magic at Castaway Cay is an article outlining just-announced additions to the island, which are quite extensive. Rather than me quoting the article, the 3-minute video below highlights the majority of the changes.
All this waiting, and I bet we'll still be surprised at how fast the time went when 2011 rolls around. If we decide to visit Disney World in late August (during free dining), we're down to 2 years remaining.
It's hard to predict what Disney is going to be offering for 2011, as 2009 has turned out to be a rather unique year for Disney World due to the economy. This year, they've extended their "free dining" promotion into December, but I'm not expecting that to become the norm. If they do happen to offer it, going at that time of the year would be extremely tempting, even if it were to mean a shorter trip. But we'll cross that bridge when and if we come to it.
Weather for the week is forecasted to be in the 24-32 degrees Celcius (75-90 F) range, which is on par with previous years. Something that I was surprised to see is Disney already has Halloween decorations up, but it's apparently only a small part of the Magic Kingdom. Another thing I didn't know is that Mickey's Not-So-Scary Halloween Party starts to run at the beginning of September. It may not be for everyone, but it is widely considered to be the best of Disney World's seasonal parties, although it is an separately-ticketed event.
The blog has been redesigned. Although it's a completely different template, the overall layout is pretty much the same as it was. Two new features on the sidebar are a summary of the current vacation plan, and a blog search.
After writing my previous post on Disney's Pop Century, I started to look at the possibility of perhaps staying at a moderate resort. Moderates have several nice advantages over value resorts, such as a more elaborate pool, a hot tub, slightly larger rooms, tiny refrigerators in each room, and at least one table-service restaurant.
The cost to upgrade from a value to a moderate resort is quite significant however -- almost twice the price -- and I ultimately don't think that the trade-off is worth it (in either cost or a shorter vacation). Now that I've dashed hopes, I'll tell you why I think we're still better off staying at a value resort.
We're still more than 2 years out from the vacation, but I had the itch to publish something worthwhile on the blog. Although the plans are of course still very much fluid, one element that seems unlikely to change is my resort recommendation for our stay.
Pop Century is one of Disney's newest resorts, and the largest on-site “value” resort. To get the negatives out of the way, Disney has resorts that are nicer, have better transportation options, and bigger rooms. And I'm not a huge fan of the colour-clashing décor, although I'm sure the kids will love it.
Now the good: Pop Century is inexpensive, has great family theming, has several very large pools (one with a pool-side bar), and is the newest and most spacious value resort. The resort features “giant icons that salute many of the 20th-century popular culture crazes,” such as a jukebox, yoyo, Mr. Potato Head, and Disney characters like Lady & The Tramp and Mowgli from The Jungle Book. It took me a while to warm up to the idea of staying at a value resort, but I really think everyone will enjoy POP Century.
More pictures and information can be found at Disney's Pop Century page.
