I am one of those people who have been plagued with motion sickness since childhood. And unfortunately it became worse as an adult! Now a ride in an elevator of a high-rise that makes
too many stops is a problem. But I am happy to say that over the last 18 months I’ve been taking ginger root capsules for my motion sickness with great success. I can now ride on a bus, don’t feel queasy on the plane, and took my first cruise this year, all with the help of my new friend ginger root!
But in a few weeks I will be heading to Disney and I’m thinking I may try the ginger root to go on rides that previously made me sick! I’ve never been able to ride the Tea Cups in Fantasyland because of the spinning motion. Heck, I even get motion sick from the merry-go-round!
One ride I loved but it made me very ill, is Expedition Everest. I’ve rode it twice trying to find the perfect seat on the train that would have the least amount of motion but still felt ill. But now I’m thinking of trying to go back on Expedition Everest while taking ginger root! If it works, there’s no limit to what I can ride! And if it doesn’t, I’ll stick to my favorites…Splash Mountain, Toy Story Mania and Soarin’.
Flying the Costly Skies
For most people, traveling to Walt Disney World means booking a flight to get there. And the price of that flight can really impact your total trip cost which is why everyone wants to find the best prices. And with the rising cost of baggage fees, those costs have to be factored in also.
While you can book most flights 345 days prior to departure, Southwest Airlines and Air Tran can only be booked about 6 – 8 months out. For my trips to Disney I usually wait till Southwest and Air Tran have their prices out before booking since Southwest has no baggage fees and Air Tran are lower than most. And admit it, we all look at the flight prices even after we book our flights to see if they went down.
I prefer Southwest Airlines since they have no baggage fees or change fees. I recently made a flight change to my Southwest flight itinerary and it was very easy. But I have no real airline loyalty. The best priced flights for my trip is where I book!
The downside to Southwest is you don’t have assigned seats. You either have to add the Early Bird Check In to your flight at $10 per person each way or go online exactly 24 hours before your flight and hope you get boarding section A. The Early Bird Check In guarantees you boarding section A. If you get boarding section B or C you may not get seats together.
And even flying other airlines, if you book your flights online and don’t (or can’t) book a seat, you may not be on that flight. Last month as I boarded a flight to Houston, 2 women were called at the gate and told the flight was full and they would have to take another flight. When the women questioned it, the airline representative asked if they booked the flight online, which they did. She then told them they didn’t book seats which meant they didn’t have a seat on that flight. The airlines will oversell flights, which is why I always recommend booking with a travel agent 
Transforming Disney For The Christmas Season
Gone are the days you wake up in Disney the day after Thanksgiving to a completely holiday decorated resort and parks that magically happened while you slept. But many remember a time when it did.
My neighbor described the awesome experience she had staying at the Wilderness Lodge and waking up that Friday after Thanksgiving to a completely decorated resort complete with a Christmas tree in the lobby. But that was a long time ago.
Now decorating for Christmas in Disney happens earlier and takes several days. And that’s not surprising considering it takes 150 tractor trailers to bring the decorations from the warehouse to the parks and resorts.
More than 11 miles of garland, 300,000 yards of ribbon and over 7 million light adorn more than 1300 Christmas trees on Disney property!
And while we wind down our summer each year in August, Disney is beginning to string 10 miles of rope lights in Disney Studios in preparation for The Osborne Family Spectacle of Dancing Lights.
And don’t miss the life size gingerbread house at the Grand Floridian resort which is constructed completely by the Disney pastry team using 1,050 pounds of honey, 140 pints of egg whites, 600 lbs of powdered sugar, 700 lbs of chocolate, 800 lbs of flour and 35 lbs of spices! And if you just have to have one to take home, they sell smaller versions of the gingerbread house too!
So if you’ve always wanted to see Walt Disney World decorated for Christmas, plan a trip so that you arrive after November 10th. That way you can see all the decorations and experience the special events held during the holidays too.
My Hurricane Trip To Disney
With all eyes on approaching hurricane Irene, I thought I would share the story of my Disney vacation altered by a hurricane.
It was August 2004 and we were scheduled for an early flight out of Philadelphia one Sunday morning. We knew hurricane Charley had just hit Florida and was moving up the coast but when we got up early for our flight, it was only drizzling and we figured we had dodged the bullet.
When we arrived at the airport I was a little surprised at the length of the check in line but quickly brushed it off telling myself maybe some flights were rerouted due to weather. We weren’t in line long before an airline representative came along the line asking if anyone was traveling to Orlando. We told her we were and she said our flight had been cancelled. “So when can we expect to catch another flight?” I asked.
“Tuesday or Wednesday at the earliest,” she said. We later learned the hurricane damaged part of the US Airways terminal at the Orlando airport.
My husband Mike and I stood there staring at each other in disbelief as our daughters were on the verge of tears. When reality set in my first thought was that I didn’t buy trip insurance and we would lose our vacation if we didn’t get there. My second thought was that I hadn’t even had a cup of coffee yet and here we stood in the middle of the airport trying to figure out a solution.
One thing my husband and I have in common is that we think exactly alike. I looked at him and asked if he knew the directions to drive to Disney. He said it was 2 roads, I-95 and I-4.
We got in the car, made a quick stop at Wawa for coffee and on-the-go breakfast and we headed to Walt Disney World. We stopped in Virginia to buy a cooler, ice and drinks plus pillows for the girls. I called the Wilderness Lodge to let them know what happened and that we’d be arriving late that night. They assured me that they would hold our room.
Exactly 18 hours later we all cheered as we drove under the Walt Disney World arch at 11:30pm.
The Disney magic then set in and we were upgraded to a water view room that overlooked Seven Seas Lagoon. And from then on our vacation was perfect. And on our last day there we were waiting in a long line for Splash Mountain when a Disney cast member approached us and asked how our vacation was going. We told him it was our last day and that Splash Mountain was our favorite ride. He then removed the rope between us and him and said “follow me.”
We followed him to the front of the line where we were put right on the ride in front of everyone else. We never knew why we were chosen to have that front of the line treatment, but looking back we think they may have been testing Magical Moments for the Year of a Million Dreams promotion.
Does Disney Have An Off-season?
I get asked this question a lot by people looking to plan their Walt Disney World Vacation during a less crowded time of year. And yes, Disney does have a slow season. But there are events throughout the year that attract lots of people.
Free dining which has been offered in September for the last 6 years or so continues to draw crowds. After that comes the Epcot Food and Wine Festival and Halloween, both very popular times to visit Disney. Fall is a good time to visit Disney if you want to avoid summer crowds and heat. Try to avoid Thanksgiving week and Christmas week if at all possible because those will be the most crowded.
Early December can be a nice time to visit as the parks are all decorated and the Christmas week crowds have not yet arrived. January and February are probably the least crowded times to visit but you have to remember that Florida gets cold fronts too so it might not be shorts and T-shirt weather. The two best low crowd and good weather months I’ve visited Disney have been November and March.
Candlelight Processional Dinner Packages
If you visit Walt Disney World during the Christmas season, the Candlelight Processional in Epcot is one of those not-to-be-missed events.
Held in the American Gardens Theater, this combination of choirs from schools around the country, Disney’s own choir, a 50 piece orchestra and a different celebrity guest each night tell the story of Christmas.
This is a free event to park guests however, it’s popular and there is limited seating.
Four years ago, my daughter Kelly sang with her school choir in the Candlelight Processional.
We lined up about an hour and a half before the show start time and barely made it in to the last few seats in the back row of the theater.
This year, my daughter Kristen will be performing with the Exeter Township Senior High School, in the Candlelight Processional.
To avoid another close call of missing seats for the performance, I decided to book a Candlelight Processional Dinner Package. With the dinner package you get guaranteed seating for the Candlelight Processional. The packages went on sale July 26th. Unaware of how popular this option has become, I didn’t call until 2 days later. Well, I almost missed out on the dinner package. Not only was the restaurant we wanted not available, but there was only one restaurant and one time slot still available! I quickly made the reservation while the Disney Cast Member told me how busy they were with these package reservations the first day, July 26.
So if your planning to see one of the performances and want to book the dinner package, don’t wait to call Disney Dining at 407-WDW-DINE. The reservation needs to be held with a credit card but they will not charge your card unless you no-show without canceling. The dinner packages range in price and start from about $38.99 and up for lunch and $54.99 and up for dinner. Your dinner package includes one appetizer, one entree, one dessert and a non-alcoholic beverage. when you arrive at the restaurant you will receive your badge for priority seating at the Candlelight Processional and Illuminations Fireworks.
The Great Refillable Mug Debate
It came as no surprise to me to hear that Disney is now testing a refillable mug that limits it’s use. But this topic has – and likely always will- be hotly debated on Disney fan sites everywhere.
For those who may not know…Disney offers refillable mugs at all Disney-owned resorts. You pay one price (about $14) for each mug which you can refill at your resort food court during your vacation. You can then take the souvenir mug home. The problem occurred when people brought back those mugs and used them on future vacations. Every year I see people at the food courts using old mugs. I just assumed Disney didn’t mind. But apparently they do.
By having an RFID chip embedded in the mug, it will not only limit refills to length of stay but it will also keep guests from repeatedly refilling the mug and emptying it into another container by limiting the time between refills. The new system is currently being tested at the All Star Sports resort.
Mousesteps.com reported that not only where guests bringing back old mugs to refill but they were bringing personal containers to refill at the beverage centers.
So what do you think? Should Disney have just allowed free refills or was that not fair to those who purchased refillable mugs every visit?
Let The Planning Begin!
Did you know that if you stayed in Walt Disney World for a month you still would not see everything it has to offer? And that’s why planning is so important. The more you know ahead of time, the more you can see and experience during your visit.
You can now book your 2012 Walt Disney World vacation package so even if you aren’t going till summer 2012, you can book your trip and begin planning.
Worried that a promotion will come out after you book? Not a problem. Your vacation package can be changed to include that promotion as long as it is available for the dates you are traveling and you meet the minimum nights stay required for the promotion.
Dining can sometimes be the most time-consuming task when you’re planning a Disney vacation. With so many restaurants and character meals to choose from you should definitely make advance reservations for dining. Currently, you can begin making your dining reservations 180 days prior to your departure day. I recommend that especially for popular character meals such as dining with the Princesses.
If you are going during Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party or Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party, you can purchase tickets to those special events in advance also. The amount of tickets sold are limited as the parks close to the public for these special evening events.
If your trip includes family members of various generations, you can plan how to best accommodate everyone traveling.
And if this is your first visit to Walt Disney World, you’ll need to learn how to use Disney’s Fast-Pass system which will definitely get you into more attractions than if you didn’t use it.
Advance reservations can also be made for Disney tours such as the very popular Keys to the Kingdom tour in the Magic Kingdom and the Segway tour in Epcot.
For more information about planning a Walt Disney World vacation, contact Sharon Spohn, Travel Consultant and Disney Vacation Planning Expert at Liberty Travel, Coventry Mall, Pottstown. 610-327-8400 or spohns@libertytravel.com.
Fantasmic News
Mickey Mouse Faces Off With Disney Villains In Fantasmic
Walt Disney World’s Fantasmic show in Hollywood Studios has been expanded to nightly shows from July 3 through September 30th.
The 26-minute show featuring Mickey Mouse facing off with all the Disney villains, had been performing 2 nights a week.
This must-see show has 2 show times nightly and is very popular so you’ll want to line up early. If you don’t like waiting, you can book a Fantasmic Dinner Package in one of three restaurants in Disney’s Hollywood Studios and get a guaranteed seat for the show with no waiting. Those packages must be booked in advance and secured with a credit card.
It’s not too late to book your summer trip to Walt Disney World and get the dining plan free! For more information contact Disney vacation planning expert Sharon Spohn at Liberty Travel at spohns@libertytravel.com or 610-327-8400.
New Royal Guest Rooms
Royal Guest Room at Port Orleans Riverside Resort
Want to feel like Royalty when you stay in Walt Disney World without breaking the Royal Budget?
You can now book the new Royal Guest rooms at Disney’s Port Orleans Riverside resort. The 512 new rooms have queen beds and look more like something you would see at one of Disney’s deluxe resorts. The rooms have custom drapes and linens, fiber optic special effects, custom head boards and in-room art.
You can now make reservations for these themed rooms for stays beginning in Spring 2012.
The story behind the room is that Princess Tiana (Princess and the Frog) has invited some of her friends to stay at Walt Disney World.
Disney’s Port Orleans Riverside and it’s sister resort Port Orleans French Quarter are moderate resorts that sit on the banks of the Sassagoula River. These are my favorite moderate resorts because of location and theming. Port Orleans Riverside reminds me of the old South and the French Quarter is themed just like it’s name. These are the only two resorts that offer the horse-drawn carriage rides which are wonderful and priced affordable!
I also like that you can walk between the two resorts along the river and from both resorts you can take a boat to Downtown Disney. I also like the location of these resorts and their proximity to all the parks.
If you would like more information about Disney’s new Royal Guest rooms or a Disney vacation package you can reach me at 610-327-8400 or via e-mail at spohns@libertytravel.com.
