New Fantasyland to open Fall 2012

Today Disney released some additional details about the ongoing construction for the new Fantasyland. The biggest relevation was a new indoor roller coaster based on the Seven Dwarfs Mine from Snow White.

The largest expansion in Magic Kingdom history will nearly double the size of Fantasyland and deliver a new home for Ariel, new ways to interact with favorite Disney princesses, an exciting new family coaster, a double dose of Dumbo and more.

Disney says the new area is scheduled to open in phases beginning in late 2012.

Among the highlights planned:
Under the Sea ~ Journey of the Little Mermaid, a major, all-new attraction during which guests will travel with Ariel and her friends through their exciting adventures above and below the waves – all against a musical backdrop of songs from the classic film.

The castle of the Beast, standing majestically upon a hill just across an old stone bridge from Ariel’s new home. The Be Our Guest Restaurant will feature a lavish dining experience in the elegant ballroom, gallery, and mysterious “West Wing” of the castle. With seating for 550, this magnificent facility will offer “great food fast” service by day and full table service dining in the evening. Nearby in Belle's Village, guests will find the rousing Gaston’s Tavern and Bonjour! Village Gifts.

Just outside the village is Belle’s cottage and Enchanted Tales with Belle. The adventure begins in Maurice’s workshop, where a magical mirror is the doorway to a captivating new kind of storytelling experience: Guests are transported to the Beast’s library to meet Belle and Lumiere, and share in a lively, interactive, re-telling of the “tale as old as time.”

Disney then said that in the second phase some new attractions will open including The Seven Dwarfs Mine Train, which will take guests on a rollicking, musical ride into the mine “where a million diamonds shine.” The coaster will feature a first-of-its kind ride system with a train of ride vehicles that swing back and forth, responding to every twist and turn of the track. The journey will be accompanied by music from the classic Disney film and animated figures of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.

In Princess Fairytale Hall, Aurora, Cinderella and other Disney princesses, such as Tiana and Rapunzel, will greet guests in their new home, an elegant royal court on the site where Snow White’s Scary Adventures stands today.

The sound of the calliope will lead guests to the brand new Storybook Circus and not one but two circling carousels of airborne pachyderms on Dumbo the Flying Elephant. Before taking to the skies on this Fantasyland favorite, guests can experience an array of fun-filled family games and interactive wonders for kids of all ages inside the Big Top.

Disney announced the Barnstormer will get a bright new look as well, featuring Goofy as "The Great Goofini." It’s a twisting, turning roller coaster “flight” high above the circus fun.

The construction is quite visable from current areas of Fantasyland. I'm sure we will be hearing more about these new attractions in the months to come. Personally, I can't wait for 2012!

Tip Tuesday: Saying thanks

Welcome to another Tip Tuesday!

How often do you think about telling someone they did a good job? How often do you think about sending a complaint when you receive poor service? If you're like most people, you're more likely to think about contacting a company to complain about poor service as opposed to contacting a company to share a moment of outstanding service.

I've been sharing my thoughts about Walt Disney World on this blog for more than three years now, and in countless posts, I keep talking about the fantastic work of the cast members at Disney. These are the people who truly make the magic happen each and every day from custodial and maintenance workers to Mousekeeping staff to food service crews to Imagineers to Guest Services. These people deserve, no, have earned a pat on the back from time to time.

Who can give them that bit of thanks? We do.

There are two ways to recognize a cast member for outstanding service. The first way is to stop at guest services (in a park) or the concierge (at a resort) and ask for a Great Guest Fanatic Card. These are cards that guests can fill out and give to Guest Services/Concierge to let Disney know that a cast member is doing a really great job. It doesn't take but a minute or two to let a cast member (and their manager) know that their hard work was appreciated.

The second way to recognize a cast member for outstanding service is to send an email or letter to Guest Relations. Email can be sent to wdw.guest.communications@disneyworld.com. Letters can be mailed to:


Walt Disney World Guest Communications
P.O. Box 10040
Lake Buena Vista, FL 32830-0040
In either case, be sure to include as much information as you can, including the cast members name (if you have it). In the case of a "friend of a character", include the character's name, date, time and location. It's a good idea to make a note of good service when it happens. Jot some basic information down before you forget it. Most of us have cell phones with some sort of note-taking feature.

Disney really does take the time to read every comment, good or bad. I've sent several emails to Disney giving praise for various cast members who truly were outstanding. In every instance, I received a thank you email from a Disney representative.

Take a moment to say thanks to a Cast Member for giving outstanding service. It's another way you can help make some magic for someone who is working hard to make magic for you.

Tip Tuesday: Boardwalk at night

Welcome to another Tip Tuesday!

Recently, I've been talking about all the fantastic things to do at the different Disney parks at night. However, there's also lots happening at Walt Disney World outside the parks as well. Best of all, some of it is free!

Along the boardwalk outside the Boardwalk Resort at night, street performers come out several times during the evening to give impromptu performances. While we were at the Boardwalk in December 2010, one cast member was performing several magic tricks, working with cards or doing memory tricks. Another was doing some small acrobatic acts. Of course each performer will pull various audience members to help with the magic acts or acrobatic stunts.

There doesn't appear to be any set time for when performances take place. Cast members just show up, set up shop and start interacting with guests as the pass by. Within a few minutes a small crowd gathers and soon gets much larger. Most of the time, they set up on the boardwalk near the entrance to the Boardwalk resort itself. I happened to catch both performers a few times. They will do their show, which is around 15 minutes, and then pack up. About 15-30 minutes later, they set up again in a new location along the boardwalk. This happens during the evening hours between sunset and the start of Illuminations.

Watch for yourself on Blip.tv. (I tried to embed the video, but it keeps coming as an "unplayable" error. Very odd.)

I happened to meet the magician as he was setting up and we had a few moments to talk about the mechanics of some simple hand magic. The cast member was very helpful and as other people started to watch, he moved right into his performance.

Beyond the boardwalk performers, the Boardwalk offers a great deal of nightlife options including Jellyrolls, which is a dueling piano bar (there usually is a cover charge and this is a 21 and older only bar) and the Atlantic Dance Hall, where you can dance the night away.

Then there's the ESPN Club, where you can sit back and watch a game (or two, or three) on multiple big screen TV's. The ESPN Club doesn't take reservations, so if you want to dine there, be ready to stand in line for a while.

The boardwalk also has a game center where you can try your hand a some traditional boardwalk games of chance to possibly win prizes. These are your typical midway games including basketball shooting, softball toss, water gun horse races and more. The games can get expensive (at least $5 to play), but it's a fun way to experience the boardwalk atmosphere.

Of course the boardwalk is lit up in lights all year round and is beautiful to see and walk around. It's a beautiful sight from the Yacht and Beach Club across Crescent Lake and makes a pretty evening picture.

Make time to visit the boardwalk during your next trip to Walt Disney World, it's a great way to get away from the parks for a bit and enjoy some different parks of Disney!

Tip Tuesday: More tips on tipping

Welcome to another Tip Tuesday!

There are so many things to prepare in advance when planning a trip to Walt Disney World. From tickets, to accommodations to dining, there is a great deal of planning involved. Over the past two and a half years, I've talked at length about how planning in advance can make a WDW trip so much more enjoyable.

This week, I want to share some more tips about, well, tipping.

Now in a previous post, I talked about how much to tip for the various services at Walt Disney World, from Mousekeeping to restaurant servers to valet parking attendants. But how do you tip? What's the easiest way to take care of tips?

Let's take a look at some of the best ways you can take the stress out of tipping.

First, let's talk about Mousekeeping.

In my opinion, Mousekeeping is the unsung hero of many Walt Disney World resorts. These people make sure your room is clean and neat, and you rarely ever see them in action. The service they provide usually is top-notch and just great. So I feel it's very appropriate to express some gratitude to the Mousekeeping attendants.

I've found the best way to take care of Mousekeeping tips is to prepare them in advance. I've done this two ways and both work pretty well. First off, you will always be dealing with cash, so you need to have cash on hand. This may sound like a no-brainer, but in this put-it-on-the-plastic society, sometimes you can forget that you need some good old-fashioned money sometimes.

The best way to prepare Mousekeeping tips in advance is to think about how many nights you will be staying in your resort. If, for instance, you are staying five nights, then you need five tips. I pre-print an envelope dated for the morning AFTER that night (remember, you're leaving the tip the following morning). So if I was staying January 24-29, I would have five envelopes labeled January 25, 26, 27, 28, 29 and 30 with a big "Thank You!!" on the front of each. In each envelope, I place the cash tip for that day. As we leave the room each morning, I simply set out the envelope for that morning.

The other method is very similar, I used pre-printed index cards instead of envelopes. Either way, the point is to have those tips pre-prepared so you don't have to worry about how much to leave and if you have enough cash on hand.

Either way, try to have some fun in how you leave the tip, especially if you have kids with stuffed friends in the room. We've had Mickey and Minnie holding the tip envelope before or Pluto carrying it in his mouth like a newspaper. It's these little details that help make Mousekeeping's day a little more magical.

Next, let's head to the restaurant!

Again, I've used two methods for preparing tips at table-service restaurants. If you're planning to pay cash, you may want to check the menu for your particular restaurant in advance and get a general idea how much you're going to spend and can prepare an appropriate tip ahead of time. You can find menus and prices at allears.net and wdwinfo.com. There are some iPhone apps related to Disney Dining as well which can be helpful.

If you're paying with plastic (as most people do), then the tip is no sweat. Disney includes suggested tipping amounts (18 and 20-percent) with your check. Just add the tip to the amount you want to put on the card and you're done. It's just that easy.

Now for the valet parking attendants. Here, you just need to have some cash in hand. Like the restaurants, you should have a good idea in advance how many times you will be using valet parking and can get those tips ready ahead of time.

So there you go... some additional tips on tipping. I hope your 2011 has started off with success and are ready for a great year!!

Tip Tuesday: Vinymlation Trading

Welcome to another Tip Tuesday!

I've just returned from a quick holiday trip to Walt Disney World and found a few new tips to share for you.

This week, I wanted to point out a new feature available at many stores all across the World. Vinylmation trading. I've talked at length about pin trading with cast members in previous posts. Well, Vinylmation trading is a similar option, though not as widespread. According to the Disney Parks Blog, Vinylmation trading really got started at the D23 Expo in 2009.

Here's how it works: There are two ways to trade Vinylmations, and which method you want to use depends on what available and how much you like mystery trading. In the photo above are both trading methods. Of course, you first must have a Vinylmation to trade.

I'll start with the large black box. See all those numbers (1-24)? Each number represents a door behind which is a Vinylmation. You can decide to trade your Vinylmation for one behind a numbered door. This is the more daring option because you have no idea what you're trading for. The "Mystery Box 24," as Disney calls it, is a little harder to find. Not all stores have a mytery box. Now if you don't happen to see a Mystery Box 24, or aren't interested in mystery trading, there's always...

The clear trading box! This trading option is pretty self-explanatory. If you see a Vinylmation you want to trade for, go for it! These boxes contain three Vinylmations that are ready for trading. This kind of trading box can be found all over the place, including at the resorts, so you can trade just about anywhere. With both options (clear or mystery box), the cast member is the only one who can open either box, so please don't try any self-trading.

Also there are a few guidelines to keep in mind with Vinylmation trading:

• Guests only can trade official Vinylmations - no knock-offs.
• No custom Vinylmations may be traded -- only standard editions.
• Guests can only trade like-size items (most trading is among the 3-inch size).
• Boxes and cards (that came with the Vinylmation) aren't necessary when trading.
• Only one trade per person, per location, per day.

We tried out Vinylmation trading during our last trip and it was a lot of fun. My younger son managed to trade for a Toy Story Vinylmation he was looking for.

Just one caution about Vinylmations: They're just as addictive as pins. Once you get started, you'll going to get hooked. But hey, what life without a bit of fun! Happy trading!

Tip Tuesday: The Disney Tree

Welcome to another Tip Tuesday!

Well the holidays are just about here, so I thought I'd take a break from the parks this week and share a tip to help you let your inner Disney geek out during the holidays.

If you're like me, you have just a few (dozen, hundred) Disney related ornaments. I really can't count how many Mickey Mouse ornaments I have nor how many icon ornaments as well. This year, the DisneyMommy and I decided to put most of our Disney ornaments onto a single all-Disney tree. You can see the result above and I think it was a fantastic idea.

By putting most of our Disney ornaments onto a single tree (we have more than one Christmas tree in the house), we were able to really showcase our prized ornaments and turn the tree into a focal point. In years past the Disney ornaments would be scattered among trees throughout the house and guests didn't really get the chance to really enjoy our Disney collection. Now, they can.

Now if you don't have a gazillion Disney ornaments, you can always use a smaller tree and turn it into a table centerpiece or other decoration. The point is to let your Disney geek out let it shine!

That's going to do it for this week's Tip Tuesday. One note, there may not be a Tip Tuesday next week as I will be at WDW for a quick holiday trip. Also, keep an eye on my Ustream page (http://www.ustream.tv/channel/disneydaddy) because I just might pop up a live stream here and there.

If I don't manage to get a post out next week, let me now wish you and your family a very Merry Christmas, a Happy Hanukkah and a Happy Kwanzaa!!!

Tip Tuesday: "Freezing" in Florida

Welcome to another Tip Tuesday!

Hopefully it's nice and warm where you are. It's not here along the East Coast. It's down right freezing this week - even at Walt Disney World where some orange groves north of Orlando are worried about overnight temperatures threatening to dip below 32-degrees.

So this week, I wanted to talk about a few additional notes when it comes to cold weather at Walt Disney World. Shortly after the 2010 half-marathon, I posted a tip about cold weather at WDW.

In that tip, I talked about some of the attractions to avoid when Jack Frost decides to visit WDW.

This week, I want to talk about a few ways you can be prepared to deal with the cold weather, especially for those evening activities like Wishes!, Illuminations, Fantasmic! or the Main Street Electrical Parade.

First and foremost, don't get caught unprepared. Even if the forecast isn't calling for especially cold weather, you may want to bring a heavy sweater, a hat and gloves just in case. During the winter months, the forecast can change quickly. Also keep in mind that it can get windy at WDW and when the temperatures plummet, wind chill can become a significant factor, especially with exposed fingers and facial area.

Speaking of cold hands -- I can't stress enough the importance of bringing gloves. Your hands get cold quick. Now you photographers out there will immediately notice a big problem. It's hard to manipulate a camera with gloves on. So what do you do?

I happened to find a pair of gloves with pull-over mittens. The fingertip portion of the gloves was cut off to allow fingers to do things unencumbered. The pullover mitten part helped keep the fingers warm when not working. These are pretty neat gloves and I highly recommend them for photographers/videographers.

One place some people forget to think about are your feet. Cold feet mean a cold person. If the weather's going to chill out, you may want to have some proper socks to help keep your feet warm. Just keep in mind you will still be doing a lot of walking, so avoid socks that can rub blisters. A great idea to to put on a pair of moisture-wiking socks and then a warmer pair of socks over the wiking socks. During last year's half marathon (where it was so cold it was snowing for a while), I actually wore two pairs of wiking socks. My feet never really got all that cold.

Finally, if it's really, really cold outside, try to limit your exposure. Hop into a store or attraction to warm up. I know that seems obvious, but some people try to tough it out and end up with problems.

Fortunately it doesn't get really cold all that often at Walt Disney World, but if it happens, you want to be sure you're prepared. Enjoy the weather!

Tip Tuesday: Wet seats

Welcome to another Tip Tuesday!

As I sit here listening to the rain pour on the Mid-Atlantic, I was reminded about a recent tip my wife (referred to here as the DisneyMommy) reminded me about as we plan an upcoming trip.

It involves dealing with wet seats on attractions. Believe it or not, it does sometimes rain at Walt Disney World (shocking, I know), but it's true. And sometimes it can rain a lot and for many hours. Unless there's lightning in the area, many of the attractions will keep running, even those exposed to the elements, like Dumbo. Personally, I recommend heading to the parks when it rains. Most times, the lines are shorter as some guests just don't want to get wet. It's just water, you can hack it.

Rain, however, does mean some wet seats. Sitting on a wet seat isn't fun and there's not much you can do to dry off afterward. That's why my wife wisely suggests bringing along a hand towel in a large (gallon size) Ziploc bag to wipe off seats before you sit down. A microfiber towel is even better if you can get one.

This is a pretty simple tip and one that you can do every day. Even if the towel is pretty soaked by the end of the day, just hang it up in the bathroom and it will be fairly dry by morning. If all else fails, most resorts have laundry facilities so you can pop the towel in the drier (or just use a hand drier in the parks).

This is just another example of how a bit of preparation can help make even a wet day in the parks enjoyable!

Tip Tuesday: Thanksgiving at WDW

Welcome to another Tip Tuesday and Happy Thanksgiving!

Since Turkey Day is only a few days away, I thought this would be an appropriate time to write about some tips I picked up during my trip to WDW last Thanksgiving.

Spending any holiday at the parks is a special experience, and Thanksgiving is no different. In fact, a Thanksgiving trip to Walt Disney World really means celebrating two holidays at once. On one hand, you can experience a unique and different Thanksgiving dinner at most of the restaurants across Walt Disney World. On the other hand, most of the Christmas/Holiday decorations are up and many of the holiday events are underway (or will start just after Thanksgiving).

So I have two main tips: one deals with dining while the other deals with the crowds (oh yes, there are crowds).

First the crowds. Thanksgiving is in the top 5 for most crowded times at Walt Disney World. That being said, you can still enjoy the parks with a bit of planning. I've said this time and time again, and Thanksgiving is a perfect reason for it: Get there early! Determine which park you want to visit and get there at least 30 minutes before rope drop. You'll see relatively low crowds for about the first 90 minutes to two hours. After that, the crowd levels ramp up dramatically, so be sure to get in those attractions you most want to experience and grab a FastPass (while they're still available) for something you want to do later in the day.

Ok, enough about crowds. Now for the food!

Each year, most of the restaurants at Walt Disney World offer a special Thanksgiving menu only on Thanksgiving Day. Most of these special menus include some of the classic Thanksgiving dishes (turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing, etc.), though sometimes with a little twist. Thanksgiving is a perfect time to go to a restaurant that you and/or your family might not normally dine at.

For instance, if your family is not all that fond of seafood, you might not normally try to dine at the Coral Reef Restaurant. At Thanksgiving, however, the Coral Reef offers a special Thanksgiving turkey dinner. This would be a perfect opportunity to dine at Coral Reef and experience the aquarium atmosphere.

It's important to remember that Thanksgiving is a peak time of year, so if you are planning on Thanksgiving dinner/lunch at a WDW restaurant, you'll need to make that ADR (advanced dining reservation) as early as possible -- 180 days out from your trip. This is another reason an Authorized Disney Vacation Planner really comes in handy. They can make those ADRs for you so you don't have to keep track of when the booking window opens. One more note - since you're dining during the holiday season, don't be surprised to see a holiday surcharge, especially at buffet restaurants. This isn't just for Thanksgiving, it's for pretty much any busy holiday period.

Also, keep in mind that since restaurants are offering a Thanksgiving-based menu, the normal menu will be limited.

One Thanksgiving (or post Thanksgiving) tradition that isn't at Walt Disney World is Black Friday. You might find a few stores open early at Downtown Disney, but for the most part, the Friday after Thanksgiving is a regular day (at least that was the case last year). Before trekking to the World of Disney at Downtown Disney at 4 a.m. thinking you're going to get some great bargains, I highly suggest calling ahead or checking with the concierge at your resort.

Thanksgiving is a wonderful time to visit Walt Disney World and experience two holidays at once -- that is once you get there! Whether you fly or drive, Thanksgiving travel is a mess, so be careful and patient!

Tip Tuesday: Epcot at night

Welcome to another Tip Tuesday!

A few weeks ago, I talked about the Magic Kingdom and how the park changes when the sun goes down. This week, I wanted to continue this series with the next Disney park (and my personal favorite) Epcot!

There are quite a few attractions and experiences at Epcot that are quite different at night. First up is Spaceship Earth. I'm not talking about the attraction itself, but the exterior lighting at night. I absolutely love looking at Spaceship Earth at night. There's something magical and amazing about seeing it lit up with all the colors at night. On one trip about a year ago, we happened to stay at the Dolphin and had a room where we could see Spaceship Earth from our window. Each night, I would just stare in wonder at the sight of Spaceship Earth in the distance.

Put simply, when I think of Epcot at night, Spaceship Earth immediately comes to mind.

Next up is Test Track. For most of this attraction, there's no difference between day and night because it's indoors. The major change comes when you shoot out the doors and go around the high speed loop. It's exciting during the day. At night it's plain exhilarating!! I know the speed hasn't changed, but it feels like you're going faster a night. I guess that's because some of the normal visual references you can see during the day aren't there. Trust me -- take a spin on Test Track at night -- you'll love it!

Next door is Mission Space. Like Spaceship Earth, the exterior to Mission Space is very different at night and, I think, is far better. This is another example of how the Imagineers paid such careful attention to detail to help heighten the since of space travel with the nighttime lighting.

On the other side of Future World is the Imagination Pavilion. While it's neat to see the reverse waterfall during the day, it's really beautiful at night with the lighting from underneath.

I guess this is a good time to talk about another "attraction" of sorts that's very different at night -- the monorail. The Epcot line runs about four miles and for a large part of the ride, it's fairly dark, which can be nice, especially after a long day in the parks. At either end, though, you get a fantastic view of Epcot at night or the TTC and resorts. Take a ride on the monorail at night - you'll get a beautiful view of some of the best nighttime scenes.

OK, time to get to the real deal -- World Showcase!

Most of the World Showcase pavilions have special lighting at night, which is enhanced during the ultimate nighttime experience -- Illuminations: Reflections of Earth. I'm not going to get into Illuminations in detail for this week's tip. I'll probably talk more about Illuminations in a future post. Suffice it to say that no trip to Epcot at night would be complete without seeing Illuminations. It's that good.

Back to World Showcase. I feel the charm factor in each pavilion goes up significantly at night. The pavilions become little scenes themselves with lighting effects creating different moods and drawing guests into certain areas. I really like the Japan and the United Kingdom pavilions at night, though the Norway and China pavilions are equally beautiful.

Over at the American Adventure pavilion is the America Gardens Theatre. Often times there are special concerts that are included with your park admission. Disney's pretty good about getting some well-known talent to play at the America Gardens Theatre. And then there's the Candlelight Processional. I've discussed this fantastic holiday event in some previous posts.

The best part about World Showcase at night is just strolling along the World Showcase promenade listening to the Illuminations preshow music and enjoying the sights around you. It's my favorite time to walk around World Showcase.

Like so many other parks, Epcot is like a fine wine. It's best experienced slowly. Take your time and enjoy the sights and sounds of Epcot at night. It's a fantastic time to be at the park.