New 2012 Disney Vacation Possibility

On June 12, 2010 my wife, Paula, changed the way I would celebrate my 50th birthday by proposing our going to Walt Disney World to celebrate. The trip was one of the best weeks of the year.

This past Saturday, just a little over a year since her "game changing" suggestion, she surprised me again. Here's how it all came about.

First of all, because of things I've heard discussed on several of the Disney podcasts lately I've been thinking a lot about how I would like to one day take a solo trip to Walt Disney World. I've paid attention to the podcasters' suggestions on websites to to go and bid for a relatively inexpensive hotel room in the Lake Buena Vista area. Also the topic of conversation on some podcasts revolved around how to enjoy yourself when on your own in "The World".

These got me thinking even more about a solo trip. I understood that given last year's trip and our plans to go on a Disney Cruise in December 2012  I really had no right to even mention it for a few years. I reasoned that not until my 55th birthday (September 2015) would I stand a chance of getting Paula "buy in" to the idea. So that's what I'd come to accept over the past couple of weeks.

Now here's what Paula was thinking. The last full week of May we went on vacation in Chattanooga, Tennessee. We spent 5 days walking, exploring and, enjoying the many tourist attractions. It was fun but rather exhausting. 

That same week a few of Paula's family members (her brother, his wife, her cousin and her cousin's daughter) went on vacation to Seacrest beach in the panhandle of Florida. Several times during our time in Chattanooga Paula mentioned how she wished she'd gone to the beach with them.

On the drive both to and from vacation when we talked about future trips to Florida my wife asked "can we have a beach day?" A couple of days after we were back home She told me that next year when the family goes to the beach in Florida she wants to go with them.
Now back to this past Saturday. While Paula was working in the kitchen our conversation turned to plans to go to the beach in Florida next year. She told me that after Chattanooga she's finished with vacations "where we kill ourselves". She said how she wants to go to the beach and do nothing but relax. Then she added that she knew that I would probably go nuts if all there was to do on vacation was just sit on the beach.

She followed that point with a suggestion that caused me to think that my wife is psychic. While we were at the beach in Florida if I wanted to I could go off to Disney World for a couple of days. That's right she didn't just "buy into" a solo trip to Disney for me she introduced the idea. (cue the "Twilight Zone" music). I kissed my wife and told her she never stops amazing me. Later I put a post on Facebook stating that she makes my dreams come true before I even tell her about them.

I tried my best not to go off the deep end and start obsessively planning my trip like I did the last time my wife suggested a Disney vacation. I did find go out exactly where in Florida the family spends their vacation; Seacrest Beach. I used Google Maps to calculate the travel time and distance. It's a 6 hour drive to Orlando. After I finished finding that bit of information I decided that I needed to just take a breath and step back.

I have plenty of time, almost a year, to research and gather information, decide on the specifics and make my plans. But as it stands now if we go to the beach in Florida on vacation next May I will get the opportunity to make my solo trip to Disney World a lot sooner than I ever dreamed.

Thanks Paula, You are the Love Of My Life.

Goodbye Wally Boag



Wally Boag With Miss Piggy on The Muppet Show

 They shared a stage at Disneyland five days a week for nearly three decades and died within a day of each other. Betty Taylor who played Slufoot Sue and Wally Boag who played a traveling salesman and Pecos Bill in Disneyland's long running Golden Horseshoe Revue show passed away last weekend.

 Ms. Taylor died this past Saturday at the age of 91. Mr. Boag passed away the day before at the age of 90.

I never heard of Wally Boag until a few years ago when I was watching video from an old "Disneyland" TV show that featured the Golden Horseshoe Revue show.

Boag's performance as the traveling salesman with his rapid fire one liners and making of balloon animals inspired me from the first time I saw it. I aspire to one day be as quick witted and smooth as he was. I really felt bad would never have the chance to see his act in person. He performed from 1955 through 1982 when he retired. The Golden Horseshoe Revue was replaced by a new show in 1986.

Although it's been nearly 30 years since he retired, the talent of Wally Boag is a recent discovery for me. When I read Steve Martin's book about his days of stand up comedy a few years ago I found out that he was greatly influenced by Wally Boag.

Although I was always interested in him I never really looked for anything else about Wally Boag after I found out he retired. Since I hadn't ever heard anything about him in any of the newsletters or podcasts I subscribe to I just assumed he was no longer around.

With the announcement of his death I find out after the fact that he was still around but out of the public spotlight. So now I'll have to do some research to see if I can find any post retirement interviews with him. The result of the searches I've done over the last few days has been the discovery of an episod of The Muppet Show with Boag as the guest star. He performs a lot of his "Golden Horseshoe" act on the show.

Even if I can't find anything more than what I already have seen that will be enough. As a matter of fact even though Mr. Boag's act contained a "suitcase full" of punchlines the one that will always resonate with me and preserve his memory in Disney section of my heart will be:

"When they operated on father; the opened mother's male"

RIP Wally Boag, You'll be missed.

Cruise Concerns & Commitment

Now that our longest vacation of the year is over it's time to start thinking about our making decision about our December 2012 anniversary cruise on the Disney Dream. Even though it's a year and a half away in order to take advantage of the cheapest (very relative term) rates we have to make a deposit soon.

I'm not yet 2 months into my 20 month systematic savings plan but I'm only a couple of weeks away from having enough to make that deposit.

However in the last few weeks I've seen and heard some things that have caused some concerns about whether a Disney Cruise is right for us.

First of all I'm not too happy about the "threat" of increased rates for staterooms as the dates to the cruise gets closer. I mean availability and or lack of it is a natural occurrence in travel; even Disney travel. But the "penalty" of having to pay more because I book one of the last cabins available is bogus.

If I call Disney reservations today and ask about room availability and rates at a Walt Disney World hotel for  the week after Labor Day in September, they'll tell me if which rooms area open and what the price would be. Then if I call back two months from now. There may be fewer rooms but the price will be the same. I mean, unless there was a discount special that was running when I first called (like the "free dinning" offer that's going on right now).  The cast member won't tell me, "I'm sorry sir there's only 100 rooms left for those dates and the rates are now $25 more per night". The room rack rates stay the same.

That's not so for the Disney Cruise Line. The faster the ship fills up the higher the prices go. Who does Disney think they are? The airlines? The pressure of having to make such a decision so early or it'll cost you leaves a bad taste in my mouth and isn't the best beginning to our DCL experience.

Next, are some concerns that came up as I watched the segments of ABC's America's Funniest Videos season finale a couple of weeks ago.

Some of the "lead in" portions of the show were taped on the Disney Dream. In one segment Tom Burgeron was standing on a walk way over looking the family pool area of the ship. It seemed like the place was "wall to wall" people. It was crowded. If I wanted to deal with that type of crowd I would go to Walt Disney World and spend a day at one of their water parks or a resort pool during the summer. Better yet, I would stay here in my home town area and go to a public pool or water park on a 100 degree day. Either would cost me a fraction of a Disney Cruise.

I'm a big fan of and subscriber to the website, "touring plans.com". It is the Internet companion to the Unofficial Guide to Disney World book. One of its best features and most useful planning tools is the crowd calendar. It shows a 365 day calendar and ranks the projected  size of the theme park crowds (based on extensive date research) on a scale of 1-10. The higher the number the larger the crowd. The site suggests that if the crowd calendar shows anything over a "6" you avoid that park that day. 

I would like to know what crowd calendar rating a full Disney Cruise ship would get taking into consideration the availability of common areas, activities and on-board "attractions". I may have to ask Len Testa, co-author of "the unofficial guide" and "touring plans" website contributor, that question. He's frequently a co-host on the WDW radio podcast. I may  have to call in on one of their upcoming monthly live show to ask him.

I don't want to have to deal with large crowds on a cruise ship and not be able to get away. Again, I can go to Disney World during Christmas, Easter, or Spring break when the crowds are a their peak if I want to do that.

The next concern is this. Are there places to go on a Disney Cruise to get away from the kids ? I  know there's an "adults only" quiet pool  But what if you don't want to go swimming? My wife and I are not "party" people. We don't drink or dance. Is there anything for adults to do other than go to the clubs?

I love children and most of the time enjoy being around them. My wife likes kids too but her bar of tolerance limit is quite lower than mine. Don't get me wrong she loves kids but only to a certain degree. Now I realize that anything that has do with Disney involves families. Being around kids is inherent with going to a Disney resort. But there needs to be places that we would enjoy going and things we would enjoy doing where there will be no children. I need to know that there is before I commit to a Disney Cruise.

Until recently  another concern had to do with my wife's susceptibility to motion sickness. But on our recent vacation to Chattanooga she discovered that some anti-nausea pills helped her rather effectively. Since this "entry level" of medication helped her on land she could always turn to stronger meds (such as the patch or shots) to go on the ocean. So that's no longer an issue.

Speaking of our trip to Chattanooga, there's another issue that came up as a result to the things we did there. The beauty we saw at Rock City and Ruby Falls got me to thinking. Perhaps I might enjoy going to see some of this country's natural wonders more than I would a Disney Cruise. I'm thinking specifically of the two places my wife wants to go: Nigeria Falls and the Grand Canyon.

The amazement and awe of the pair of relatively small waterfalls we saw on Lookout Mountain has me more anxious to go see Niagara Falls. A vacation there next spring or summer would I think would be amazing. But I would have to choose that trip over the Disney Cruise.

Since that is now a possibility, finding out how my ability to change my mind and get our cruise deposit back will be a factor in how soon I actually commit to that December 2012 voyage.

Well, I've gone on long enough about my concerns and reservations about committing to a Disney Cruise. Now you know what I'm up against. I have some time to address them and get some answers to my questions. I will consult my resources by writing to my travel consultant, Stephanie from Mouse World Travel and contacting some of the hosts of the many podcasts I listen to. Their input, just as it has in the past, is sure to help me. If you have any input for me please feel free to write me at the email address listed in my profile.

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.