Disney Trip Planning Is An Education

It's been over 10 months since I began planning my 50th birthday trip to Walt Disney World in 2010. I started in July and we went on the trip in September. It was 2 months of intense and extensive planning.

Luckily there are more resources to help plan a visit to Disney World than there are for any other vacation destination. These resources include guide books, Disney specific travel agents. websites, and podcasts.

The most valuable book I found was the "Unofficial Guide To Walt Disney World." But it was just one of the many resources I used for help coordinate my days at Disney. The reason you need a plan for visiting Disney World is to maximum the quality of your experience.

You see the expense involved in taking a Disney World vacation is high. With such a high price point, to be considered a worth the price, a visit to see Mickey & his friends needs to be a vacation experience unlike any other. One that makes the financial investment worth it. The word for this is  is "value."

Now the management and operators of Walt Disney World do their best to set things up to make your experience a true value. Cast Members are given the mission to make a daily effort to make the guest experience as exceptional as possible.  But there's only so much they can do in a general way to help the guest have a good time. It's up to the individual to make their own personal effort and plan to do what maximizes their fun and accomplish what they want to do while in "The World."

I did this for my trip last summer. I made a spreadsheet of the attractions and shows I wanted to see as well as things I wanted to do in each park. I used the website, Touring Plans.com, to prioritize which attractions to go to first to keep my waiting time and walking distance to a minimum. I also noted and organized the restaurants and snack places I wanted go to as well.

Now the fact that I have an obsessive compulsive personality and "have" to be overly organized helped me in planning my 50th birthday Disney trip. But also having all the resources available gave me an education on just exactly how to plan and organize a trip. This made the 5 days we were in Orlando the memorable experience that I wanted it to be.

Now I've written all of that to write about this. This past week my wife, Paula, and I went to Chattanooga, Tennessee for a 4 day vacation. This was the first part of Paula's 50th birthday trip. (yes, her birthday trip gets to be a 2-parter. I mean she gave me a trip to Disney World for my 50th birthday. She deserves any type of trip she wants this year.)

For a few years now she has been saying that she wanted to go to Chattanooga to visit the aquarium and see Rock City. She did some research on the tourist attractions and things to do in the city. She discovered that there was enough to do there to keep us busy for 4 or 5 days.

Once we agreed that the last week in May was the when we would take our vacation we began to plan what we were going to do. We found one website that listed all the trip planning resources for Chattanooga:www.chattanoogafun.com.  This was convenient but it was just one website. Although we did get some planning guides from AAA the resources for information about Chattanooga were not as readily available those for Walt Disney World. I had to really search for information.

I realized that I had been a bit spoiled because of the saturation of trip planning help available for Disney World compared to other destinations. Luckily the Disney trip planning I've done in the past has honed my skills for looking for information on the Internet and taught how to plan a vacation.

I gathered as much information about the Chattanooga area as I could. I then composed a couple of spread sheets with information about the tourist attractions and places to eat. I set up a daily calendar listing what we wanted to do each day. I prioritized the attractions and historic sites into "must see" and "just interested" rankings. I also scouted the locations, prices, and menus of the area restaurants. All of these were things I learned to do while planning for my two Walt Disney World trips.

So thanks to my love, passion, and obsession for Disney World I've gained a general education in trip planning. I'm no travel agent or money saving travel genius by any means. However the plans and information I gathered for my 2004 & 2010 Disney vacations helped me know what to do to make the 5 days of our Chattanooga vacation enjoyable ones.

Thanks Disney World.

My Disney Dentist

Most people who are Disney World fanatics tie the start of their passion to their first trip to Walt Disney World or Disneyland Park when they were young. This isn't true in my case.

I didn't really become interested in going to Disney World until I was in my late 30's. How my interest in Disney began is a long and involved story that I won't go into in this post. Let's just say that in 1997, when I began thinking about taking my first trip to "The Happiest Place On Earth"; it came out of wanting to surprise and impress someone important to me at the time.

My interest in Disney was sidetrack by a more intense desire to buy my first PC. For 6 months I put aside my plans to save for a Disney trip to finance the purchase of my first home computer. After I had my new portal to the Internet set up in my living room, I planned on getting back to my Disney planning. But before I could do that a series of drastic changes in my life brought me to Kentucky. Once I was here my reason for wanting to go to Disney World was no longer important or relevant.

Just let me pause to say that even though I wasn't determined to go to Disney World above everything else it was still on my radar. I kept it in the back of my mind. Disney World had caught my attention and a degree of fascination about going to "see the mouse" stayed with me even though it wasn't a top priority.

In 2001 with Paula's encouragement I decided to go to a dentist and get my teeth fixed. Nearly 1/3 of them were missing including my two front teeth. In addition the teeth that I still had were loaded with cavities. Getting my teeth fixed or replace was going to be a major long term proposition.

Because I was new to the area and did not have a dentist of my own, Paula sent me to hers. His name was Dr. Timothy Whitaker. Over the next 8 months he would give me back my smile. While his professional work would make a drastic improvement in the quality of my life, his personal interests would have a life changing effect on me as well.

At that very first appointment while sitting in the waiting room I decided to read a magazine. The only one I was even vaguely interested in was a copy of Disney Magazine. It was a quarterly publication that featured articles about Disney World. An example of one of the Disney Magazine covers is at the top of this post.

I paged through the magazine and skimmed some of the articles. They focused on the most recently released Disney movies or spotlighted a popular Disney World resort, restaurant, or attraction. I read some of the letters to the editor. They were written by Disney fans who shared their magical experiences they had in the Florida parks or with something Disney at home. Reading these things sparked something deep inside of me that I had forgotten about. It reignited my Disney flame.

Soon I learned that the reason the copies of Disney Magazine were in the waiting room was because Dr. Whitaker was a big Disney fan. Almost as soon as I sat down in the examination chair we started talking about Walt Disney World and for the last 10 years we haven't stopped.

Although I'd had a peripheral on going interest in Disney ever since August 1997 I can pinpoint the start of my current period interest (you could very easily call it a "period of obsession") in my life to the day I picked up that copy of Disney Magazine and met my new dentist.

Over the last decade everytime I go to see Dr. Whitaker, usually about 3 or 4 times a year, we share something about Disney. It could be a conversation about the latest Disney World news, plans for an up coming trip to Orlando, a book, magazine article, a referal to a newly discovered Disney website, or podcast. Whether my interest in Disney was "hot" or "cold" (there was a time around 2007/2008 that I was upset with Disney World for it's wedding policy but I'll save that for a different post) my dentist and I always connected through our common bond. 

So there you have it some of the backstory about how I came to be as crazy about Disney as I am. Since that day in 2001 in the dentist's office I have visited Disney World twice and spend countless hours studying and learning about it's history, magic and more. Whenever I come across something I think Dr. Whitaker would be interested I make a note of it or put it aside to make sure the next time I go to get my teeth cleaned I'll be able to share it with my Disney Dentist.

September Temptations

My Favorite View From The Fifties Building

One of the things about being a fan of Walt Disney World is that very soon after a vacation there you begin to think about going back. This can happen at any time after you leave South Florida; perhaps as early as when you're driving away. 

It's been 8 months since my last trip to Disney and I've been thinking about going back ever since.

I've written about our plans for our next Disney vacation; an anniversary cruise on "The Dream". But I'd also love to go back to the parks as well. 

In a perfect world I'd vacation in WDW every year. But of course the cost to go makes that almost impossible. Unless you want to put yourself into debt and charge the trip on a credit card (making the cost of your trip even more because you pay interest); you have to plan and save to pay for the vacation up front.

The main reason we went last September was because of special hotel discounts and free dining plan that was offered by Disney on dates that included my birthday.   

Yesterday I heard the news that Disney is offering the dining plan free between August 24 and September 24. Again, those dates include my birthday. I couldn't help myself. My heart started beating a little bit faster and the Disney fanatic in me immediately asked, Is it possible I could find myself looking out over the bowling pin pool at the Pop Century resort on my 51st birthday like I did on my 50th (see picture above)? "Could this discount be enough to get the wife to agree to go to Walt Disney World again this year?"

Sadly the answer is "no." The only way she would go again this year is if the entire trip was free and included airfare. She wouldn't pass that up. This is why I enter every Disney vacation giveaway sweepstakes that I see or hear about. But like they say on commercials aimed at kids on Saturday mornings: "Millions enter, few win." But I digress.

Take my reaction to the news of the free dining offer at Walt Disney World and multiply it by millions of Disney fans all over the country and throughout the world. This discount is going to result in thousands of families deciding to come to Disney World because it "saves them money". This is the motive behind the promotion and it will work.  

Like I said, I could never convince my wife to spend our vacation money on going to Disney World again this year. But that doesn't mean I wouldn't be willing to, at least, plead my case with her if there the cost  was the same or less than going somewhere else. The late summer "free dining" promotion pushes the cost in that direction...but not anywhere near enough.

So thanks for the momentary rush of excitement, Disney Travel Company. You got me thinking about coming back to "Mickey's house" much sooner than realistically possible. But you've also got me doubting the "across the board" validity of one of Walt's most infamous quotes: "If you can dream it, you can do it." Well, in some cases that's not true; especially when you did it last year.

Disney's April Showers



The Disney Dream

 Here in south central Kentucky the term "April Showers" was extremely appropriate. Our area received over 10 inches of rain. Precipitation and severe weather were part of almost every day of the month.

It seems that in April, the same can be said for news, rumors and announcements in the "Land of Disney." A saturation of announcements and rumors had produced a garden of possibilities and promises for the Disney fan. There were so many things going on it would take a record long post to mention them all. I will, however, touch on some of them. Especially the one that directly effects me.

If you want all the details on all that went on with Disney during April, I would suggest checking out "WDW Radio.com" , "Inside The Magic.net" and "allears.net" for the scoop on all the rumors and look to the official Disney blog at "disneyparks.disney.go.com/blog" for a review on the news.

Some of the news that doesn't interest me very much is the premiere of the Star Tours 2 attraction later in the month during the first of the annual Star Wars Weekends. I'm not a Star Wars fan so this isn't all that interesting to me. Don't get me wrong I'm excited that there will be a new attraction at Disney World to ride next time I visit. There's also been rumors of an expansion of the Hollywood Studios Park to create an entire Star Wars section of the park.

Speaking of adding to a Disney Park, there's been a report in a South American newspaper that Disney has begun working with the Brazilian government to prepare to add a Brazil pavilion in Epcot. This is just the most recent in a long line of rumored World Showcase additions over the last couple of decades. So far none of those rumors have turned out to be true. Disney fans will have to wait this one out as well.

In April came the announcement that the construction phase of the Aulani DVC resort in Hawaii has been completed. The theming and the interior decorating can now begin in preparation for its opening in the fall of this year.

Also in the world of the DVC is a rumor that there is going to be a new DVC section at the Grand Floridian resort. This is based on permit requests, plans and other documents filed and submitted by Disney with local governments. There has been no public announcement.
Since I am not, nor will I ever be, a DVC member these stories have no direct effect on me.

A change at Disney's Port Orleans: French Quarter resort, which could possibly have an effect on my future visits to Disney world, has been announced. Some of rooms at this popular moderate resort will be changed to "Royal Guest Rooms".

This means that some of the rooms will be part of Princess Tiana's Guest House. They will be decorated for specific guests the main character from the "Princess and the Frog"  has invited to stay there. Along with the announcement came the information that these rooms will cost extra. 

After staying in the Pop Century value resort last September I don't know if i would ever pay the extra to stay at a moderate again. And I doubt very much that I'd pay extra just to stay in a themed room. But you never know. If we do decide to stay at a moderate on our next trip Port Orleans: French Quarter will be my choice. So depending on what the new "storybook" rooms have as a theme and how much extra they are I may consider staying in one.

I think that this is a good idea for families with children who are making a "once in a lifetime" trip to Disney. The kids will love staying in these types of themed rooms and it will created a lasting memory for them.

The other resort announcement made in April was the themeing of several suites on the 14th floor of the deluxe Contemporary resort hotel into "health and wellness" rooms. This means nothing to me because I will never pay the price for staying at a deluxe resort. In addition when I'm on vacation I want to focus on fun and not anything else.

Finally, the one announcement that has the greatest effect on my future Disney vacation plans. In the first week of April the Disney Cruise Line announced their 2012 Itineraries. These include excursions for all 4 of their ships that will be sailing by then: The Magic, The Wonder, The Dream and the, yet to be launched, Fantasy.

Paula and I have been discussing a Disney Cruise to celebrate our 10th wedding anniversary at the end of 2012. The announcement of cruise dates, destinations and choice of ships was something I'd been waiting to see for about a month.

As I have stated in a previous post the December 2012 voyage of the Disney Dream is the cruise that will fit into our plans. I have already started to save in anticipation of our decision to book our reservations for this trip in the near future.

So there you have a brief recap of some of the news, rumors, and announcements in the "World of Disney" officially released in the month of April. It truly was a "shower" of information and changes.

As Disney is a company always in a state of progress and development I'm sure there will be more news during this month. Other than the opening of Star Tours 2 in Walt Disney World and the start of Star Wars weekends the most anticipated event coming in May is the opening of the movie: Pirates Of the Caribbean 4: On Stranger Tides. That happens on May 20. This film promises to continue the successful momentum of this very popular Disney franchise.

With the summer tourist season on the horizon I'm sure there will be more happenings and announcements and, as always, more rumors bursting onto the scene before Memorial Day.
If any of them have an effect or prove exciting to me I promise I'll post about it when it happens.