THE DISNEY NEWS Updates From Affordable WDW Vacation January 27, 2005 - Issue #252 Copyright © 1999 - 2005 by John P. Gross. All rights reserved. ================================================= H O W TO U N S U B S C R I B E If you would like us to remove you from our subscription list, send an email to: remove-956607225@ezinedirector.net ================================================= Hi Everyone! Lean back, prop up your feet, and take a Disney break! ================================================= We continuously update our information and you can find the latest additions in our Addenda: WALT DISNEY WORLD: * All Affordable Disney members who book a NEW Disney cruise or cruise vacation the week of January 30 will get a copy of the Passporter Guide to the Disney Cruise Line and up to a $100.00 stateroom credit to be used as they see fit. * This group can book a 2-bedroom villa at Disney's Vero Beach at $159 per night. Valid select nights March - May, 2005. * This group can book a 2-bedroom villa at Disney's Hilton Head at $159 per night. Valid select nights March - May, 2005. * Enjoy a Vacation Villa at this luxury Orlando hotel from 03/15/05 to 12/18/05. One- and two-bedroom villas include full kitchen, living/dining area, master bath with whirlpool tub and private balcony. The special includes tickets to WDW parks. 3-night package starts at $426. Pay with your Visa and save 15% - 3 night package from $363! * Unadvertised discount for the military at this popular attraction! * Members of this group enjoy food and admission discounts at SeaWorld, and admission at Discovery Cove and Wet 'n Wild. * Florida Residents get a great discount on admission at this water park through the end of August, 2005! Limit of 6 passes per ID. DISNEYLAND, CALIFORNIA * Save $70.00 on a 5-Day Park Hopper Ticket! * Save $60.00 on a 4-Day Park Hopper Ticket! * Save $50.00 on a 3-Day Park Hopper Ticket! LAS VEGAS: * Break away from your winter blues at this luxury Vegas Resort. Beth writes: "One of my very favorite resorts - and at very nice prices!" $99 Rates: February 1, 2, 3, 17, 20, 21, & 24 $109 Rates: March 2, 3, 9, 10, 23, 24, 27, & 28 $139 Rate: February 11 All rates include a $20 food and beverage credit per room, per stay! * This hotel & casino is offering select nights in January - April, 2005 from $79.99! Hurry! Offer expires February 6, 2005. Included with your stay: 2 for 1 Breakfast 2 for 1 Drinks $10 Credit at Starbucks Log in today. Not a member? Join our Disney family at: http://www.affordabledisney.com/ ================================================= DON'T LEAVE HOME WITHOUT IT! Disney offers special deals to Disney's Visa cardholders. Plus, you'll get 25 Disney Dream Reward Dollars FREE after your first purchase! For more details, see: http://www.ncsreporting.com/LinkTrack/Redirect.asp?LinkID= B1D10862 (If the address is broken into more than one line, copy and paste all lines.) ================================================= 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) ================================================= 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. If web addresses are broken into more than one line, copy and paste all lines. Certain newspapers require a free registration to view their articles online. ================================================= WANT YOUR NEWS FASTER? 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 join Affordable Disney's Blog at Bloglines, see: http://www.bloglines.com/sub/http://affordabledisney.blogspo t.com/atom.xml (If the address is broken into more than one line, copy and paste all lines.) Or copy and paste the following URL into your RSS Reader: http://affordabledisney.blogspot.com/atom.xml ================================================= 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 at: http://www.affordabledisney.com/ ================================================= 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: http://www.affordabledisney.com ================================================= To subscribe, send an email to: subscribe-956607225@ezinedirector.net ============================================= To read current and past issues of THE DISNEY NEWS, see: http://www.affordabledisney.com/archive.html ============================================= To read excerpts from our book online, go to: http://www.affordabledisney.com/excerpts.html ============================================= Well, that's it for now. THE DISNEY NEWS is a free service provided by AffordableDisney.Com. Please forward our newsletter to your friends and family. To subscribe, send an email to: subscribe-956607225@ezinedirector.net See You Real Soon! John AffordableDisney.Com johngross@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. =============================================