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| Hi Everyone! Lean back, prop up your feet, and take a Disney break!
Deals and Updates as of January 27, 2005 We continuously update our information and you can find the latest additions in our Addenda: WALT DISNEY WORLD:
DISNEYLAND, CALIFORNIA
LAS VEGAS:
Log in today for more details. Not a member? Join our Disney family here.
News From Around The "World" "The Wonders of Life pavilion (Body Wars, Cranium Command and Making of Me) will reopen from Feb 13 to Feb 26. The Land pavilion is currently closed and will remain closed until April 1." (Source: screamscape.com, 01/17/05) "Irish hospitality and a bit of blarney will be coming to Downtown Disney at Walt Disney World Resort in the form of an authentic Irish pub and restaurant. Scheduled to open in summer 2005, the pub (yet to be named) will feature the very best of Irish food, flair, heritage and entertainment... The Irish pub will occupy the building that formerly housed The Jazz Company. Pleasure Island club admission will not be required for entrance to the pub." (Source: Walt Disney World, 01/25/05) Disney is now offering 9- and 10-night Magic Your Way packages. Packages include tickets valid up to 10 days. Closed for rehab: Cinderella's Royal Table: 01/28/05-01/30/05 Sandcastle Club Children’s Activity Center will close January 1 - March 31, 2005 so Disney can refurbish the Atlantic Wear & Wardrobe Emporium retail location at Disney’s Beach Club Resort. In the meantime, guest can use the Harbor Club at Disney’s BoardWalk Resort or any of Disney's Children's Activity Centers. Call 407-WDW-DINE. (Source: Promotional email from WDW Resort, 01/25/05) -------------------------------- DISNEYLAND CALIFORNIA "Word's just out of WDI that at least three more Pixar-related projects are currently in the pipeline for Anaheim. With two of them slated to be built in Disneyland's Big Thunder Ranch area, while the third attraction will go out in the Timon parking lot next to DCA." Expected opening: 2007/2008. There's speculation, too, that the Carousel of Progress will be converted into a flying saucer ride for Pixar's little green men. (Source: Jim Hill Media, 01/19/05) For the rest of the story, click here. Closed for rehab: Disneyland Park:
Disney's California Adventure: Grizzly River Run January 31 - February 10 (Source: Promotional email from Disneyland Resort, 01/25/05) 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. -------------------------------- JOIN AFFORDABLE DISNEY'S BLOG! We publish important time-sensitive notices right away to our blog, so you don't have to wait until the newsletter arrives! To subscribe to Affordable Disney's blog, click the following icon:
Or copy and paste the following URL into your RSS Reader: http://affordabledisney.blogspot.com/atom.xml | Resources
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Last week Angela asked about finding coupons in specific areas of Florida like Madeira Beach and Clearwater. Beth, our travel agent, writes: "John, re: the person that wrote you the comment below, you might also suggest that they look for the Entertainment book that applies to that area... The books continue to drop in price as long as the company has them (until the next edition comes out), so if you use it just one time it's a savings in most cases." There is one available for each of these areas in Florida:
For a limited time, get $10.00 off! For details, click here.
4-Day Park Hopper Pass Special Purchase Get them for $10.00 less than Disney charges at their site! It comes with all the bells and whistles of a normal 4-Day Park Hopper, but it expires 14 days from its first use. However, for people who plan on going just 4 days, it's a great deal. This pass is only available for advance order purchasing. 4-Day Park Hopper Plus Pass Our ticket agent writes: "I have acquired the new Disney 4-Day Park Hopper Plus Pass. It is not sold at the gate or AAA. You get 1 "plus" day for the Water Parks or Pleasure Island. It has no expiration date." You must purchase this pass in advance. So order early! Our agent also has great prices on tickets to other popular attractions in Florida. "I thought I knew all the tips for saving money at WDW, even being a member of the Magic Kingdom Club for over 15 years, but just learning about [your ticket agent] saved our family over $300!!! Thanks." Janet Handy, Bel Air, MD NOTE: Disney's new ticket prices kicked in January 2, 2005, but you still have a chance to purchase tickets at 2004 prices! Our ticket agent writes: "We will have plenty of 4 and 5 day hopper Plus passes and 5 day regular hoppers at the old system and price. Disney will be honoring them... I should have them for a couple of weeks after January 2nd until we sell out." Details on how to purchase these special passes will be provided with your Disney access codes as soon as you join our Disney family.
Scott, one of our members who signed up for the Affordable Disney holiday trip at Animal Kingdom Lodge, sent this letter to Beth, our travel agent: "Dear Beth, Where to begin?!?! Vacations are supposed to be FUN!!! However, I can say for myself that most of my vacations (particularly where we were going some place new) were much more stressful than vacations should be! Where to stay, where to go or where not to go, park tickets or passes ;-), where to eat, how to save money, booking character breakfasts 3 months ahead of time, taxi or bus?, transportation to and from the airport... The list is endless. I am a real estate developer. I have an MBA and a Law degree. Research, planning, project management, negotiating and crisis management are part of my daily environment. When beginning to think about a vacation, I don't want to have to do research, planning, project management, negotiating and crisis management. Vacations are supposed to be FUN!!!! Thank God I found you!!! From our first email encounter, your insight, understanding, contacts, thoughtfulness, research, planning etc. made our Disney vacation decisions so simple! At your suggestion, we stayed at the Animal Kingdom Lodge 5 days, 4 nights the first week of December 2004. We covered three different parks plus downtown Disney, enjoyed the best accommodations available (at a really great price), saved a lot of money, and had a vacation that was practically stress-free. And I have two children, a 19 month old and a 3 year old! Now that’s saying something! From figuring out whether it made sense to pre pay for lunch/dinner vouchers, to advising us about making reservations for character breakfast 90 days in advance, to making sure we had a crib in our room, to arranging transportation to and from the airport (you even made sure he even had car seats for my kids!), to being prepared for the one day the temperature dropped below 70 degrees, to renting strollers at the parks and everything in between, you were AWESOME. It is the sum total of all of the little things that makes a trip memorable and enjoyable. You helped make this vacation one to remember! We arrived at the airport in Orlando with a car service waiting. As we talked to our driver during the ride to Animal Kingdom Lodge, he discovered that I was into real estate and elected (at no additional cost) to take us on a tour of Celebration. (Celebration is a small city [developed by Disney] and a residential master planning marvel and a must see in the real estate development world.) I was thrilled. A few minutes later we arrived at the AKL with our two exhausted toddlers! We walk into our room and over to the balcony and what do we see? Three giraffes, three ankole steer, an ostrich, two vultures, and several other wild animals right below our balcony!!!!! My girls were overjoyed and cheered with delight! I thought to myself, "It’s going to be a great vacation!" I must admit that there were a few times when I felt stressed as I stood at the entry to the character breakfasts and listened to the greeter explain to ten different mommies and daddies (and their screaming kids) why they couldn't get in to the Princess Character Breakfast because they didn't make reservations THREE MONTHS in advance! I felt stressed for THEM and quietly thanked you (Beth) as I thought how incredibly disappointed my daughters would have been if we couldn't get in because Daddy didn't plan in advance. Whew! I also felt a pang of stress hit me when I heard several other families complain about their accommodations, being far away from the action and overpaying on top of it... again I quietly thanked you (Beth) for your insight! What a difference your help made! We couldn't have selected better accommodations!... In my line of business, legal disclaimers are a regular thing. I think Disney needs one as follows: WARNING: Planning a trip to our Disney hotels and theme parks may be extremely stressful and disappointing unless you FIRST contact Beth, [AffordableDisney's travel agent]! Again Beth, I don't know how to thank you for all of your help. We will certainly be planning another trip to Disney next year. I will contact you in the spring to begin planning our second annual Disney trip! And I will start spreading the word about your wonderful services! I might even start a Beth fan club!" Now you know why we recommend Beth to our members! Affordable Disney has group space blocked on the 3-night Disney Wonder cruise sailing DECEMBER 8, 2005. Regardless of the cabin category booked, participants will get $50.00 off the normal cabin price and a Passporter Guide to the Disney Cruise Line. Space is limited. Beth's services are available to all our members at no extra charge. Book today! Log in today for details. Not a member? Join our Disney family here.
Disney's Visa® Credit Card from Bank One®
Disney's Visa Card -- a way to take your family on the vacation they've been wishing for sooner and even more affordably than you ever thought possible! For more details, click here.
Beth, our travel agent, writes: "John, I thought you'd find this note from USAirways interesting. It went out to all their frequent flyers who have provided email addresses: 'As a thank you for continuing to support US Airways, we are pleased to offer you a special bonus for tickets purchased between now and January 30, 2005. Members will earn 40,000 bonus miles for roundtrip travel in Envoy Class to Europe; 10,000 bonus miles for roundtrip travel in any class of service to the Caribbean or Latin America; and double miles on everything else for roundtrip travel between now and December 31, 2005.' If you are not already a member of Dividend Miles, enroll here." Beth continues: "I agree that they are looking somewhat more stable now since the government has rushed - again - to their rescue, but I still don't see this airline living the long and happy life that they seem to want to suggest. I hope I'm wrong because I think having them flying is good for the industry as a whole, but I would still be very hesitant to purchase tickets with them for flights in the distant future. Should be OK to buy for spring and summer, though - and if you have any intention of buying those tickets this month then it makes sense to register and get the bonus miles (in case they are still flying when you're gotten enough miles for a free ticket!) And while we're on the subject of airlines, Beth writes: "I have been bombarded recently with questions about what airlines are "safe" to book with respect to them going out of business. I don't have any crystal ball that will give me a definitive answer about that, nor does anyone else, so this is just a best guess, but a friend of mine that flies for FedEx and his pilot buddies recently went skiing and they seem to agree with my opinion that: * Delta is in very bad shape. That doesn't mean they are going to fold tomorrow, but they are probably the next in line to go. They narrowly avoided a strike several months ago when the pilots agreed to a big pay cut, and there is talk of trying a new fee structure this month and easing some penalties and rules that may make Delta a little more competitive with other carriers - but all this is probably only going to drag the death out a little longer. We are still booking Delta here, and we still feel that it's reasonably safe for another 4 or maybe 6 months. You probably don't want to be booking Delta flights for your Thanksgiving or Christmas trips just yet, though. See what happens. * United... They're OK right now, but they codeshare with USAirways. I can't imagine that if they suddenly lose a big chunk of their routes because USAirways folds that they won't then start having big problems. I personally think that this time next year we're going to be wondering about United, but It *should* be OK for awhile. * I haven't heard any rumors about Northwest or Continental. They have close ties to each other (codeshare), so unless one of them starts looking iffy then they should be OK to book for now. No rumors about American West, AirTran, ATA, Alaska, Spirit, or any of the others in that "middle of the road" category right now, either. * Southwest is as solid as an airline can get at this point. We all agree you can book it without hesitation as of right now. JetBlue is also solid for now as far as we can tell... Every once in awhile a new little low-cost carrier pops up somewhere, lives for awhile, then dies. It's very hard to last for more than 12-24 months these days (if that). If you are tempted to purchase tickets on one of these new little start ups and you're flying really soon that's probably OK, but if you're going to fly several months from now then check to be sure that the people behind the company have VERY deep pockets!"
Are You Suffering Withdrawal From WDW? You know ... that empty feeling you get when you arrive back home from your vacation at WDW and realize it may be a while before you experience that Disney magic again? We have had that feeling ourselves many times. Yet, we always seem to feel better when we read about the experiences of others who share their trip reports with us. It's almost like being there again. We invite you, our readers, to send us some feedback about your experiences during your latest vacation at WDW. Reports on Disney weddings, honeymoons, cruises, and resort vacations on and off Disney property are all welcome. Send your email to: johngross@affordabledisney.com . Thanks!
Money Saving Tips At Par Offers for Canadians! Valid now through March 31, 2005. Rates are dollar for dollar USD to CDN. Proof of Canadian residency required. Bob's Balloon Rides: Orlando 407/466-6380. Champagne Balloon Flights in Central Florida attractions area for Canada Citizens at .85 exchange rate! Proof of residence required ($165 x .85% = $140 per person) Reservations required. Boggy Creek Airboat Rides East: Kissimmee 407/344-9550. Tour of the Central Florida Everglades every 30 minutes from 9:00 AM - 5:30 PM seven days a week. Adults $18.95 Children 3-12 $14.95. Canadian Guests receive a Canadian "at Par" Rate. Pirate's Dinner Adventure: Orlando 407/248-0590. Canadian Residents receive a price of $39.50 + tax for adults and $25.00 for children 3-11. Canadian Residents receive an additional 10% off at the door. 2005 Gate Admission $49.95 + tax for Adults; $29.95 + tax for Children 3-11.
YOU CAN AFFORD DISNEY WORLD! If you THINK a Disney vacation costs too much ... WE AGREE! That's why we created the ULTIMATE Disney savings site. Save up to 40% on your total trip. Learn about discounts on tickets, food, Disney merchandise, hotels ON Disney property, travel, parking, and MUCH more. Too much to list here. See it all at here. "We just got back from a great trip ... and thanks to you and your great advice, [we] saved money and time! ... In total we saved about $3,000.00 for our group of 6. We are going back within a year to use our passes again, and think our per person cost will be in the $150-200 range, flights and all." Michael Barrett, Wisconsin Rapids, WI
All for the price of a fast food
Well, that's it for now. THE DISNEY NEWS is a free service provided by
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See You Real Soon! John http://www.affordabledisney.com
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. Walt Disney World, Universal Studios, Islands of Adventure, SeaWorld, Busch Gardens and other companies mentioned on our site and in our newsletter are registered trademarks of their respective companies. The use of these trademarks is for editorial reasons only. No endorsement by the Walt Disney Company or any other company is implied. | ||||||
