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Hi Everyone! Lean back, prop up your feet, and take a Disney break!
Deals and Updates as of March 02, 2005 We continuously update our information and you can find these current specials in our Addenda:
WALT DISNEY WORLD
DISNEYLAND, CALIFORNIA Buy a 1-day ticket to this theme park and come back the rest of 2005 FREE! OTHER VACATION SPECIALS
Winter Family Getaway Offer in Puerto Rico! For only $399 per room/per night,
double occupancy. Valid January 1, 2005 through April 15, 2005. Offer
includes:
Superior Accommodation Package is also available. $189.00 per room/per night. Features superior accommodation with upgrade to deluxe. Beth writes: "It seems that this year everyone is getting a really late start on the spring break plans. This is a really nice offer - and one of the few I've seen lately for late bookings!" Log in today for more details. Not a member? Join our Disney family here.
News From Around The "World" "As the long-anticipated and newest Star Wars film (Episode III: Revenge of the Sith) debuts in theaters nationwide May 19, the Walt Disney World Resort will raise the curtain on its month-long celebration of the most famous saga in movie history during the annual Star Wars Weekends at the Disney-MGM Studios Theme Park... The Star Wars Weekends will launch into orbit May 20, and will be held four consecutive weekends (Friday, Saturday and Sunday) through June 12, with the Star Tours attraction serving as the centerpiece of the celebration." DISNEYLAND
Closed for rehab:
(Source: Disneyland® Resort and Walt Disney World® Resort, 03/01/05) "Gatorland's famous alligator-mouth entrance is undergoing a little dental work as part of a $1 million renovation at the park, the most extensive in about a decade. The 55-year-old attraction and wildlife preserve near Kissimmee is getting a new facade and landscaping, and the 42-year-old toothy entryway is being touched up and reinforced to help it welcome tourists for decades to come." (Source: Orlando Sentinel, 03/01/05) For the rest of the story, click here. "The word is out that -- by June of this year -- the Walt Disney Company may be forced to remove any & all references to "MGM" at its WDW studio theme park." (Source: jimhillmedia.com, 02/24/05) For the rest of the story, click here. "Alamo Rent A Car has launched the "Alamo.com Family Vacation Sweepstakes," promoting its best rate guarantee for reservations made online at Alamo.com. Consumers can enter to win one of 300 trips to Walt Disney World(R) Resort or Disneyland(R) Resort online at Alamo.com, and also earn four additional entries with each qualified rental with Alamo from February 7 through April 30, 2005... Each of the 300 packages is for four people, and includes airfare, Disney theme park passes, an Alamo rental car and hotel accommodations at a Walt Disney World Resort hotel or Disneyland Resort hotel for five days and four nights. Trips will be given away at the rate of 100 per month, giving customers who may not win the first month, the chance to win again the following month. Those who have already entered are automatically entered in to the next month's drawing. Plus, everyone can improve their chances of winning by continuing to earn additional entries with each qualified rental. For more details about Alamo.com's best rate guarantee, or the Alamo.com Family Vacation Sweepstakes, log on to http://www.alamo.com/." (Source: Alamo, 02/23/05) -------------------------------- It is being reported that Buena Vista Home Entertainment will release Disney's "Song of the South" on DVD Fall, 2006! DISNEYLAND PARIS "On April 9th 2005, Disneyland Resort Paris launches Space Mountain: Mission 2. This new mission sends exploronauts to the farthest reaches of space, to go where no one has gone before and discover the mysteries at the edge of the universe. On April 16th, the Best DJ in the World, Tiesto, will celebrate the launch in a spectacular way, with a live concert right at the heart of Disneyland Park. During this unique musical event, Tiesto will perform a unique re-mix of the Space Mountain: Mission 2 soundtrack, as well as a host of his own well-known tunes... For more information about Tiesto's Space Mountain 2 concert or to make a reservation, Tiesto and Disney fans from all over Europe should visit www.tiestoatdisney.com." (Source: Tiesto, 02/22/05) New Magic Your Way Ticket Options: You may now purchase 8- and 9-Day Magic Your Way tickets. Prices do not include 6.5% tax:
8-Day: Adult $202; Child $162 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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Rebecca writes: "John, we have two kids -- ages 7 and 9 -- and we're debating on Disney or Universal Studios (which the latter appears to be more up their alley with the Nickelodeon stuff). Universal is currently running an online-only Bonus Pass. Purchase a two-day pass and you get into three parks for five days unlimitedly. I cannot, however, find any restrictions. We are planning a trip probably for summer 2005 (June-ish). I cannot find real pricing for Disney to compare it to the Universal special. Also, we can't decide if we'd prefer to stay at an on-site hotel and save the rental car fee (which combined with a cheaper hotel rate probably becomes a wash). Suggestions?" Universal has the better deal: 5-day hopper: $99.95 + tax for all guests. I can find no restrictions. Disney 5-day hopper: $228 + tax per adult; $190 + tax per child 3-9. Stay on property. We'll announce the summer special for rooms as soon as Disney lets us know.
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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.
Here is the conclusion of Amber's trip report: "Then, we were off to Fantasyland's [Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh], where we opted to wait in line for 10 minutes, rather than do the fastpass. This ride was a bit scarier than I expected. We tried to tone it down for our 2 year old and that seemed to work. Then, my 2 year old begged to ride the Mad Tea Party. She was fine with it, if we didn't make the cup go around in circles. Then, we went to Mickey's Toontown. My 2 year old got a little scared on Goofy's barnstormer, but refused to be left behind. She loved Minnie's house! We went back to Fantasyland where my 2 year old insisted on riding Dumbo, which had the longest line of the day at 15 minutes. I got FassPass tickets to Peter Pan while the grandparents waited in line. Both kids loved this ride. Next was Snow White's adventures with a 5 minute wait. We again played it down so my 2 year old actually enjoyed it. Next, PhilharMagic was starting so we cruised on into the theater. (No fastpass since there weren't any crowds.) Both kids absolutely loved the movie! They kept trying to grab everything that came at them. My son kept saying (again), "That's real water! That's real wind!" Afterwards, we used our Fastpass to get on to Peter Pan. Both kids really enjoyed this ride. They loved "flying." My daughter is a huge Tinkerbell fan so this ride was for her. We ate at Pinocchio Village Haus. I was surprised how good the burgers and fries were. Of course, Small World was closed so we went on to the Haunted Mansion, where we walked right into the pre-show. (Again, no Fastpass available.) My 2 year old did just fine with this ride. Everyone enjoyed it. Next we walked into the Bear Jamboree right as it started. Both kids absolutely loved the show! My son never sat down he liked it so much. Afterwards we found a perfect spot for the parade. While we waited the next 20 minutes, I went and got Fastpasses for Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. They were for 5 minutes after the parade was over. Perfect! I can't say enough good things about the parade. The kids loved it! Tigger even came over and patted both the kids on the head. Next, we rode the Big Thunder Mountain RR. My son loved it. Next, we rode the train. My 2 year old fell asleep right beforehand so my mom rode the train for an hour while my daughter slept. In the meantime the rest of us had a 5-10 minute wait at Splash Mountain since they weren't offering the fastpass. This was a much longer ride than I expected. We all really enjoyed it. We were in the front of the boat and still didn't get too wet. We rode the Big Thunder Mountain Railroad again using our Rider Switch Pass. We all met back up and the kids had ice cream. We then went to Pirates of the Caribbean. Very good ride. My daughter got a bit scared when the pirates shot at us, but she's told everyone about almost getting shot by the pirates so she must have enjoyed it after the fact. Next we got to the Tiki Birds right before the show started. Very good show, but very short. We skipped the Jungle Cruise to catch the last showing of Cinderella's Celebration at the Castle. That was a very good decision. The kids both loved it! This show and the Parade were really the only times we got to see Disney's main characters. We couldn't find many of them when we were in Toontown. We decided to head back over to Tomorrowland one more time before we left. We went on the Astro Orbiter, which my 2 year old didn't like. Big brother was "driving" so we got too high for her. Afterwards, we all walked right on to Buzz again. Then, my daughter and I rode the Transit Authority and Buzz again. As we were leaving, we caught most of the fireworks. However, since my daughter thought they were too loud, we headed back to the hotel. We spent the remainder of our days playing at Liki Tiki Lagoon at the hotel. It was free and great for kids ages 9 and under. They had 5 slides, 3 basketball goals in the water, interactive water fountains, octopus swings in the kiddie pool, an erupting water volcano, and a water mushroom. The kids loved it. Our big complaint was that the elevator in our building didn't work for a day. We had a nice 2 bedroom, 2 bathroom unit. The master bedroom and bathroom were gorgeous. We had TV's in the living room and both bedrooms. Since it's a condo, we didn't have maid service, but we did have a washer and dryer in the room. That's about it." Thanks, Amber, for the great trip report!
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.
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 Tip Here's a great deal on the 2005 Edition of the Orlando Entertainment Book, which can save you thousands on travel, groceries, shopping, movie tickets, and more! For a limited time, all 2005 Entertainment books are 50% OFF their retail price or just $12.50 a book! Now you can buy two books for the price of one and save even more! You could buy one for Florida and one for your local area! Offers in the 2005 books are valid through November 1, 2005. For details, click here.
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. |
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