Disney Daddy presents "Tip Tuesday"

In a new feature I hope to provide every week, I'll give a tip for visiting Walt Disney World. Some of these are tips I've heard, others are tips I've learned from my own visits to WDW. So without further ado, here's this week's Tuesday Tip:

Take full advantage of PhotoPass

Now anyone who's been to Walt Disney World probably has seen the PhotoPass photographers all over the parks. What you may not realize is that after your trip, you can go online and order your photos - all on one CD. Now for the tip: while you're at the park, get as many PhotoPass pictures as you can (in both portrait and landscape) - then when you go online to view your photos, be sure to add as many enhancements as you can. When you save a photo with an enhancement (graphic, border, etc.), it saves a copy of your photo, so your original is not changed.

Once you have enhanced all the photos you want, you can order the CD of EVERYTHING. This is the real deal of PhotoPass. The CD runs about $150 or so. Now that may seem like a lot, but it isn't all that much when you think about how much you spend ordering individual prints. Oh, and it doesn't matter how many photos you have. Only have 50 images? Have more than 250? The price is the same. So if that's the case, go for it while you're in the parks -- make that PhotoPass CD that much more of a value.

I've personally done this twice and the CD was worth every penny. Oh, worried about copyright problems when you take a digital image to a printer or photo store? No worries, Disney even gives you a copyright release.

So take advantage of the PhotoPass CD - you'll be glad you did.

Be sure to check back for the next Tip Tuesday!

Depp-ending on Depp

If you're a Johnny Depp fan, get ready to see more of him on a Disney big screen - a whole lot more of him.

According to the Hollywood Reporter, Depp will star in Pirates of the Caribbean 4 (Jack is back!), Alice in Wonderland (as the Mad Hatter), and The Lone Ranger (as Tonto).

We can only guess what the topic of the fourth Pirates movie will be, but it's a safe guess the fountain of youth will come into play (see the end of the third movie). I just hope the script is much stronger than the third film.

Other interesting news to report: Cars 2 will come out a year earlier (2011) and Oprah will voice a character in the upcoming Princess and the Frog. While I hope Oprah will bring some additional attention (and revenue) to the movie, I hope she doesn't oveshadow the entire thing.

Also, National Treasure 3 is in development. I guess we'll find out about that other page in the Book of Secrets.

What wasn't talked about much was Tron 2. I can't wait to see this one. Like many Disney fans, I saw the bootleg trailer. Even though the video was awful - the trailer looked incredible. I really wish Disney would make that available.

Oh, and despite what the article may say (in jest), Depp is not the mascot for Disney. That role still lies with the head cheese. Mickey is king.

Kungaloosh! no more

Today I mark a sad note in Walt Disney World history.

The Adventurer's Club (as with the rest of Pleasure Island) has officially closed for good - to be replaced with some kind of retail center. You can follow all the news about this change over at the Orlando Attractions Magazine Blog.

While I never personally had the opportunity to visit the Adventurer's Club, I am sad to see it go. When I first heard that Pleasure Island was going away, I thought "good riddance," I am not a bar and club type of person and I never thought that kind of drunken behavior belonged at Disney.

I guess that's what I get for going on stereotypes. While I may not be able to speak for the other clubs at PI, I've learned that The Adventurer's Club is nothing like what I thought. Since that announcement, I heard so many story and seen video from the Adventurer's Club, that I really wanted to go. Now that the opportunity is lost, I regret not finding time to spend a few minutes to appreciate this place and its loyal followers.

To all those who loved The Adventurer's Club: May you remember the adventurers fondly, may you sing the club song, may you remember the Colonel, may you always play along.

Kungaloosh!!!

New "Cars" short cartoons to air on Disney channels in late October, November

CNBC is reporting that Disney will launch a new series of cartoon shorts based on the successful "Cars" movie starting October 27 on the Disney Channel, Toon Disney and ABC Family. According to the CNBC Web site, the three shorts will mostly feature Mater.

Either way, this is pretty cool. Right now, there appear to be only three shorts in the works, let's hope there's more to come!

What's the Sitch?

About a month ago, Disney announced a new adventure at Epcot -- the Kim Possible World Showcase Adventure. This sounds pretty cool. For anyone who may have visited a MagiQuest location - I think it's something similar.

Basically, you will get what Disney is calling a "Kimmunicator" (nice play on words) which will help guests on mission to stop all of Kim's bad guys. Most countries in World Showcase are taking part in this adventure. You get clues on your Kimmunicator in order to solve the mysteries.

Short of a whole new attraction in World Showcase (something this side of Epcot still really needs), this sounds like a lot of fun. My three kids are eager to try this out. I have to admit, my wife and I are too. We really enjoy Kim Possible and the wittyness of the show.

Here's the really thoughtful bit on Disney's part: guests who don't want to play probably won't see too much of it. Based on the news release from Disney, it sounds like much of this is discreet interaction with the Kimmunicator (which led me to the MagiQuest analogy).

The Kim Possible World Showcase Adventure is due to start sometime later this year (it had better be before December!!!), so I'll try to have a review after our next visit.

Tink and friends meet and greet coming in Oct.

Disney today announced the new Tink and her friends meet and greet starting in late October.

See the Orlando Attractions Magazine Blog for more info and great pictures.

My daugther went nuts when she saw this today. She can't wait to meet Tink!

Welcome to Disney Daddy

I'm a father of three kids and we all love Walt Disney World. I will attempt in this blog to jot some of my thoughts about Walt Disney World, both the good and the not so good.

First, a little about myself. As I said, I'm a father of three and REALLY BIG Disney fan. I've only been to Walt Disney World twice (not including a trip back in the late 70's/early 80's), but on our first trip last summer I caught the bug. I mean I REALLY caught the bug. Nine months later, we were back for Spring Break. Next up is a trip around the holidays.

Since that first trip, I've been on several WDW related forums, mostly Inside The Magic, DisneyWorldTrivia.com and Sorcerer Radio. I also have begun collecting WDW park music from various sites (all legally, for anyone who may have wondered).

Anyway, enough about me. Time for some thoughts.

If there ever was a place to start, it's with the 2009 Celebrations announcement made by Disney this week. While, in my opinion, it's not the same as the current Year of a Million Dreams, this new campaign is a pretty good idea. Who wouldn't want to go to WDW on their birthday for free!

Yes there are some restrictions (there are too many lawyers involved for there not to be restrictions) but it's a pretty good deal.

But wait, there's more.


Disney also announced the new DVC tower at the Contemporary Resort. This is a killer for me as I'm dying to get into DVC. The problem is I don't have $25,000 in spare change lying around to get into it properly (with enough points to really take advantage of all DVC offers). The artist rendering's look really cool, don't they? This particular site is the one I've been waiting for because it's the first DVC on the monorail.

Who knows, maybe someday I will win the lottery. If you can dream it... you know the rest.

Anyway, I want to welcome to you to my random thoughts and impressions.

Also, I want to thank the following podcasts for their inspiration and help in keeping the Disney magic alive.