Dear Disney - Please Don't

Dear Disney Imagineers,

While listening to The Unofficial Guide’s Disney Dish with Jim Hill (http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/unofficial-guides-disney-dish/id452620851), I heard a most disturbing rumor. Over the course of this fascinating and amusing conversation between Disney fan favorites Len Testa and Jim Hill, it was mentioned that you have a really bad idea in mind for The Country Bear Jamboree.  Please, please abandon this horrific concept.

Sincerely,

Teri

What is this atrocious idea, you ask?  Believe me; it was so bad that I double-checked the date, just to make sure it wasn’t an April Fools' prank.  According to Jim Hill, Disney is considering revamping The Country Bear Jamboree into – wait for it – A-Bear-ican Idol. 

Now, I know that not everyone holds The Country Bear Jamboree in the same high esteem that I do.  Walt Disney World executives obviously don’t, if the lack of upkeep that attraction receives is any indication. But A-Bear-ican Idol?  Really? 

Here’s the basic concept: the bears perform country hits, and the audience votes on the winner.  Let’s set aside my well-established love for this classic attraction. Let’s even leave off mention of the much-derided Country Bear Vacation Hoedown. Instead, let’s discuss the wisdom (or lack thereof) of this particular makeover.

1. American Idol – We already have one WDW attraction based on this non-Disney property.  Do we really need another?

2. American Idol – Surely this phenomenon is waning. What’s the point of hitching your wagon to a fading star?

3. I get that Disney is all about the interactive experience right now – interactive queues, voting options, choose your ending (missing Horizons as I type that, by the way) – but the term “overkill” is starting to seem appropriate.

What do you think?  Do you actually like this idea?  Do you want to see a change – any change – to CBJ? Or do you think Disney should just give this classic attraction a refurbishment and invest time and resources into completely new rides and attractions?  Speak your piece over at https://www.facebook.com/disneygene!

Disney 3Ds (Different Dining Discounts)

Let’s preface this post by saying that I’m not here to engage in the Great Dining Plan Debate. You all have your opinions on that already. Instead, I’m going to show you some different discount options that we utilized on our recent WDW trip, so that you can see if they’d be beneficial tactics for you.

First was www.restaurant.com.  I bought a $50.00 gift certificate to Downtown Disney’s House of Blues for $4.00.  HoB wasn’t necessarily on my radar for dining, but $46.00 is $46.00.  Our meal for seven people (including alcohol and an 18% gratuity) after the discount was $123.38. That’s $17.63 per person, with two in our party consuming alcoholic beverages.  Not too shabby. That said, restaurant availability on www.restaurant.com does fluctuate, but it can’t hurt to check.

Next was Tables in Wonderland.   This is available only to Florida residents and annual passholders. The cost was $75.00, but boy was it worth it!  Here was a breakdown on our dining for the trip:

First Night: Seven people at ‘Ohana. All adult meals plus two alcoholic beverages before the discount was $248.68 (not including tax.)  Our TiW discount was $49.74.

Second Night: Four people at Flying Fish Café. Adult meals plus a bottle of wine before tax, tip, and discount was $141.00. Our TiW discount was $28.20.*

Third Night:  Eight people at Sanaa. Eight meals (including some appetizers, desserts, and drinks) came to a pre-tax total of $192.55. TiW discount was $38.43.

Fourth Night: Eight people at La Hacienda de San Angel. Again, with plenty of appetizers, drinks, and desserts, the pre-tax and discount total was $179.35. TiW discount was $35.87. 

Fifth Night: Three people at Bistro de Paris (with some appetizers, wine and desserts – do you see a pattern yet?) had a subtotal of $142.00.  Our TiW discount was $28.40.

*Bonus savings: We got free valet parking at the Boardwalk on Tuesday by showing our TiW card and Flying Fish receipt. 

Quick summary: Tables in Wonderland Card was $75.00.  Total savings on this trip was $180.64.  To break it down further, we saved an average of $6.58 per person, per meal. That means that a family of four with similar eating habits would save about $157.92 over the course of six nights.  And best of all, our Tables in Wonderland card will still be good when we go back next November!

I should add that in addition to the dining discounts and the free valet parking, there are some special events that are only available to Tables in Wonderland members.  For more information, please call (407) 566-5858.  

P.S.  For those keeping track, our average sit-down meal cost per person (including alcohol, appetizers, etc.) came to $28.22. This includes eating at higher end/two table credit restaurants like Flying Fish and Bistro de Paris.  Add that to an average counter-service lunch of $15.00 and you get $43.22.  The cost of the Disney Dining Plan per day is a minimum of $51.54.  I’m just saying. ;)

Different Dining Discounts

As word gets out about the changes coming to the Disney Dining Plan in 2012 (in a nutshell, the Basic Plan will be adding a refillable mug and the Counter Service Plan will be dropping one snack credit per day), I thought I’d take a look at some alternate forms of Disney dining savings – aka “The Teri Way”.

1. Restaurant.com - Having a hard time getting reservations at the Disney restaurants due to the popularity of the Disney Dining Plan?  http://www.restaurant.com/ can help. They offer gift certificates to many restaurants in the Walt Disney World area. Their basic tagline is “Get $25 Restaurant Gift Certificates for only $10”, but here’s the kicker: they often have sales. I recently got a $50 gift certificate to use at the Downtown Disney House of Blues for $4!  Of course, restrictions apply.  For example, I have to have a minimum purchase of $100 to use that.  The restrictions vary from restaurant to restaurant, but you may find them worth investigating. Some of the Disney area restaurants available through this program are:

Giraffe Cafe (at the Royal Plaza Hotel) 

Todd English's bluezoo

Kimonos

Il Mulino

Shula’s Steak House

Garden Grove

Original Outback (at the Buena Vista Palace)

House of Blues

2. Tables in Wonderland – This one is a little trickier, because it’s only available to Annual Pass holders and Florida residents. Cost is $75 for AP holders or $100 for non-AP Florida residents. This will get you 20% off your check (and that of up to nine guests) at most WDW restaurants, including alcohol!  For a list of participating restaurants, click here: http://allears.net/din/dde.htm#list .

3. Have I mentioned sharing lately?  I mean, odds are good you won’t want to take leftovers back to your resort room and Disney portions tend to run large, so you may want to consider splitting an appetizer and entrée with someone else in your party.  And if you’re still hungry, it’s the perfect excuse for dessert!

4. The Suitcase – Fill a suitcase with convenient breakfast items (cereal bars, Pop-Tarts, fresh fruit) and chow on these in your room or en route to the parks. This saves money, calories (probably), and time.  After all, would you rather be waiting in line for pancakes or Space Mountain?  Then when you leave, that now-empty suitcase is ready to haul home all of your souvenirs.

Other people have their own preferred savings plans, like eating sit-down meals at lunch instead of dinner, eating off-site, or eating nothing but counter-service meals. Pick your own personal favorite. I just don’t want you to feel like the Disney Dining Plan is the only option available to you.  Bon appétit! 

Book Review 04/06/11

Have I mentioned that I am addicted to Walt Disney World guidebooks?  Okay, good.  I didn’t want to catch anyone by surprise if I suddenly show up on an episode of TLC’s Hoarding: Buried Alive. 

In all fairness though, I don’t buy all of them.  I can’t imagine purchasing Walt Disney World for Dummies, for example.  And it didn’t take me long in my guidebook purchasing obsession to discover that companies that specialize in travel but not Disney (Fodor’s and Frommer’s, for example) aren’t going to be as in-depth or replete with Disney knowledge as, say, The Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World or PassPorter: Walt Disney World. Those I buy every year, whether I’m planning a trip to Walt Disney World or not.  But even amongst the classics, I have my favorites, and the latest addition of one of those finally arrived in the mail last week.

The Complete Walt Disney World 2011 by Julie and Mike Neal is a great read for Walt Disney World fans and visitors from start to finish. Loaded with beautiful photos, timeless tips and great maps, it is a helpful tool.  But my favorite features in this guidebook are the extra jewels of information provided on the parks and attractions.  For example, did you know that the “Howdy folks” guy at Big Thunder Mountain Railroad is also the voice of Benjamin Franklin at Epcot’s American Adventure?  Or the swamp wallaby (found at Disney’s Animal Kingdom) can drink salt water and is known as “the stinker”? (Hey, that’s my daughter’s nickname!) Or that you can find a Hidden Mickey under the tail of a clownfish in the Toy Story Mania! queue?  I just adore these kinds of details.  Would you like to learn more?  Buy the book!

Of course, not all of the 2011 guidebooks that I’m eagerly anticipating have made it off the presses.  Case in point: if Bill Burke’s latest addition of Mousejunkies doesn’t get released soon, I may start stalking him on Facebook…

What Walt Disney World guidebooks do you tend to revisit like old friends?  Please let me know over at http://www.facebook.com/disneygene! 

Lou Mongello is a Genius

I know, I know; you knew that already.

But seriously, I was getting caught up on some relatively recent podcasts and listened to Lou Mongello’s News Chat for March 9, 2011. A bit of background: Lou is the author of the Walt Disney World Trivia Books (Volumes I and II), as well as the Audio Guides to Walt Disney World, and is the host and producer of WDW Radio, the award-winning online show about Walt Disney World.  In this particular episode, he discusses some possible uses for the old Virgin Megastore building at Downtown Disney.  

For those who may not be aware, The 49,000 square foot Virgin Megastore was located at Downtown Disney's West Side and was billed as “a state-of-the-art music, video, interactive media and book showplace featuring the hottest tunes, the best movies and more.” You were invited to “(t)ake a look at great flicks in one of the 20 video/laser preview stations. Groove to your favorite artists or discover new bands in a gallery of over 300 CD listening stations.”

However, on March 2, 2009 Virgin Megastore CEO Simon Wright announced that they would be closing all Virgin Megastores in the U.S., including the one at Downtown Disney West Side. The store was closed on May 12, 2009.

Since Virgin vacated the building, it has served as a temporary home for a couple of rather diverse tenants.  Off the top of my head, I can recall the Princess Diana Exhibit and Ridemakerz. 

“Diana – The People’s Princess” found a home there from July 7, 2009 – November 30, 2009.  It showcased the life and story of Princess Diana, one of the most iconic and inspirational figures in recent history, including a sampling of the royal dresses Diana chose to auction for charity and hundreds of authentic artifacts relating to her life.

Ridemakerz is a supercharged interactive experience that lets kids of all ages dream up, build, and customize their very own radio controlled car or truck. It opened March 25, 2010 and seems quite popular, but is only slated to remain open at this location through April 30, 2011.

So for Disney speculators far and wide, this begs the question: What’s next for this super-sized structure?  The best suggestion I’ve heard by far was on Lou’s podcast.  I am so ashamed that I didn’t come up with it myself:

How about a Walt Disney World Museum?  For Disney geeks like me, this would be beyond fabulous.  And it would be so easy for Disney; they have all sorts of stuff in storage from old attractions.  They could have separate sections for proposed attractions and resorts that never saw daylight, extinct attractions, the history behind the purchase of the property and construction of each of the parks, and even a blue sky area to showcase upcoming enhancements to Walt Disney World. And I am absolutely salivating at the thought of purchasing merchandise tied to these concepts.

What do you think?  Would you take time out of your Walt Disney World vacation to visit a museum? Would you be willing to pay a separate entrance fee for this opportunity?  And would you be next to me in line at the check-out counter with armloads of vintage merchandise and a worn-out credit card?  Let me know over at http://www.facebook.com/disneygene!  

Training the Newbies

As we plan for our upcoming Walt Disney World trip with some family members who are not WDW veterans, I’ve decided to start emailing occasional trip tips to them to help them prepare.  And since I’m in a sharing frame of mind, well, here you go!

It’s 6:45 A.M.  You are sound asleep in your Disney resort room until you are jerked awake by the sound of a phone.  You grope for it blindly and bring the receiver to your ear.  Before you can mutter a groggy “Hello?” the following blasts into your ear:

http://www.talkdisney.com/forums/attachments/disney-gadgets-gizmos/3296d1197598115-disney-resort-wake-up-phone-call-resort-wake-up-call.wav

Your first thought is probably one of the following:

A. “It should be illegal to be that cheerful this early.”

B. “Does this thing have a snooze button?”

Or

C. “I am going to kill Aunt Teri for making me get up at 6:45 on my vacation.”

Yes, it sucks to get up that early.  But trust me; the first several hours of each day are the most important of your Disney vacation. You are going to thank me when you get to walk right on Toy Story Midway Mania or Space Mountain when the schmucks who don’t roll into the parks until 11:00 are stuck in line for two hours for the same attractions.

Since you’ve bothered to haul your bottom out of bed that early, it’s important to make sure you don’t waste precious time dawdling.  I’m mean really, what sounds like more fun: getting yelled at by your mom to brush your teeth and comb your hair, or riding Expedition Everest?  Remember, you only have to get yourself ready in the morning.  Your mom is trying to get all of you organized and out the door, so help her out, okay?

Also, there are ways you can help speed up your Disney mornings before you even leave home.  How?  Pack smart.  If you put each day’s outfit (including underwear and socks) into separate Ziploc bags, you can just pull out a bag and have an entire outfit ready, instead of digging through your suitcase to find a pair of clean socks (and do you really want to risk grabbing a less than clean pair of underwear?).  This may sound like I’m going a little overboard in the organization department, but anything that gets you zipping down Splash Mountain sooner is worth the effort!

P.S. My thanks to www.talkdisney.com for posting the link for the Mickey wake-up call!

"Without 'U' There'd Be No 'US'"

Have I mentioned lately how much I love my sister-in-law?

Okay, I really love all of my in-laws.  It’s true that when you marry someone you marry their whole family, and I totally lucked out.  (And I’m not just saying that to suck up, because they rarely read my blog.)  So I guess I should say that other than not being huge Disney fans, they are really fabulous people.

But right now, I’m feeling a special fondness for my wonderful sister-in-law, Mackenzie.  Why?  Well, as I’ve mentioned previously, my New Year’s Resolution this year was to try to have a “fly-by-the-seat-of-my-pants” Disney vacation.  Instead of booking my ADRs six months out, planning my daily park itineraries step-by-step,  and researching optimal places to stop along the way down for gas and restroom breaks, I was going to (gulp) wing it. I’m having nightmares already.

But then Mackenzie called.  She has decided to take a Walt Disney World vacation, and is coordinating it with our trip in December.

Now, Mackenzie and her family never go to Walt Disney World.  I think they’ve been there exactly once, and that was so long ago that her son Ethan was too young to remember it.  So the way I see it, if I’m responsible for not only planning the vacation of myself, my husband and my daughter (all of whom have visited Walt Disney World, well let’s just say, more than once) but also for helping to plan what could well be a once-in-a-lifetime trip for several loved ones, then it’s my responsibility to scrap my resolution and plan this trip down to the last detail, right?  Right?  

And a planning experience it will be.  We’re all driving (1061 miles, have I mentioned that before?), we’ll be visiting Walt Disney World and Universal, and we'll be staying in multiple hotels.  In addition to that, it’ll be for a group of seven: an 11-year-old, two 16-year-olds, a nineteen-year-old, and three 30-somethings (and the potential of a 28-year-old, but that's still up in the air).  Oh, and that’s also two vegans, two very basic, non-adventuresome eaters, and three foodies.  We also run the gamut from early risers to night-owls, from type-A personalities (I wonder who that could be?) to laid-back, relaxed, calm individuals.  This is going to be a new experience for me, and one I would have never had if I hadn’t received that call from Mackenzie.  So, thanks Kenz; I owe you one!