Monthly Archives: May 2012

The great wait….

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So we’ve researched, planned, booked and now what? ….We…..wait…….

My planning posts have been about us Disney fans who plan and book our trips to Walt Disney World months and often years in advance. It’s great, I love it that way, the build up is totally part of the vacation process for me.

At first it’s all about the researching and making decisions on when to go and where to stay. Once the vacation is booked we research dining and the parks, awaiting the release of the park hours and our ADR window. At the same time as booking our ADR’s we set up our draft daily itinerary and book behind the scene tours. There’s a flurry of activity and it finally sinks in that we are returning to the World.

And then….comes ‘the great wait’….

I’ve spoken to others who have experienced the same. There is a period in our WDW countdown when all we can do is wait it out. Once all the plans have been made around the 180 day mark, and maybe you’ve tweaked a few of your ADR’s, there’s nothing else to do until you get to a month or so before your departure date.

Sure you keep reading the daily Disney news, re-checking park hours, special events and restaurant menus but there is a time where you cannot actually do anything other than wait.

News might come out about special events but they will be over before your trip, news might come out about merchandise being released in the parks but you can’t get too excited as it might be gone before you get there. News about future changes to attractions might be released but often the dates are so vague you don’t know if you need to take the changes into account until a few weeks or even days before your trip.

Now I’m not saying that this wait is necessarily a bad thing…it just seems to be a natural stage of the WDW planning process, something that many of us have experienced….a time when we have to be patient ;)

But don’t worry, the great wait will end. And then the real countdown begins. Then we’ll be able to start thinking about printing off that final itinerary, preparing our vacation clothing, buying our toiletries and magazines for the plane….and soon enough it will be our time to travel to the magic :)

So what about you? Have you experienced ‘the great wait’ whilst waiting for your Disney vacation to arrive???

 

 

Thank Disney it’s Friday – May 25!

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Well hello Friday!! It’s the end of the working week and the sun is finally shining…what better way to celebrate than spending some time daydreaming about our favourite place :)

So let’s imagine we’re visiting Walt Disney World during one of those lovely crazy hot Florida summers…..

Where is your favourite place on WDW property to cool off from the sun and heat….and why????

:) :) :)

Oh….THAT Phineas and Ferb!

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So in last week’s post I admitted to not really knowing a lot about Phineas and Ferb, and how I thought I had better change that before my next trip to Walt Disney World.

It was great to get so many comments from Phineas and Ferb fans…and yes, it’s clear that adults are the biggest fans out there!!

I watched a few episodes and I enjoyed how colourful and fast paced the stories are. There were a couple of times when I thought ‘huh, why did Agent P do that?’ but then I reminded myself that this is all about imagination…it’s okay to forget logic for fifteen minutes!!

And just like it was planned to link into my blog post, on May 16 the official Disney Parks Blog posted an update regarding the Phineas and Ferb experience coming to Epcot’s World Showcase this June. I am looking forward to seeing how this new game is introduced to World Showcase and whether a newcomer to the Phineas and Ferb storylines will be able to enjoy the experience as much as the ‘serious’ fan!

I feel that I should also add that because of this little ‘adventure’ for my blog I have also discovered another new cartoon character in the last week….and yes, I know it’s been around since 2010 but bear with me!!! Whilst checking the programme listings for the Disney XD channel the title of a cartoon caught my eye….Kick Buttowski…. With such a clever and cool name I knew I had to check this programme out…and now I am hooked!

I love the rockin’ theme tune and the fact that Kick keeps throwing the horns (non-rock fans may want to ask a teenager for reference)! Now…if this guy was appearing in the parks I would be super excited……anyone know of any hidden merch?!

And this is why I’m so passionate about Disney. We all get interested and hooked on different things. Why does one thing click with one person and not another? It might be a song, a character, a reference to something in your ‘non-Disney’ life which you can relate to…who knows? But with Disney in our lives we can discover new and simple things everyday…and yes, it also helps us to not take life too seriously ;)

 

 

Thank Disney it’s Friday – May 18!

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Well hello Friday!!! This week has been filled with lots of information coming out about the Star Wars Weekends kicking off at Disney’s Hollywood Studios this weekend….one day soon I’ll stop daydreaming and actually attend this event :)

So with all the creative thinking that surrounds Star Wars Weekends this week’s Friday question is going to ask YOU to be creative and dig deep into your imagination….

If you could design and open a shop in Downtown Disney….what would be your theme….what would you sell…and why????

I look forward to reading your answers, and who knows, maybe an Imagineer or two might think our daydreams could become a reality!!!

 

:) :) :)

Just who are Phibeas and Fern?!

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Okay…so I know that it’s really Phineas and Ferb….but who are they???

I spend so much of my time (yes, probably TOO much of my time) reading Disney related news and trying to retain as much knowledge as I can for my next trip to the World. I know which attractions have changed since my last visit, what time fireworks and parades will occur (and not just at 3 o’clock), which snacks are now on sale in the parks and all kinds of other useful information!

But just sometimes there will be changes made in the parks that leave you a little puzzled about your next visit….and this is where Phineas and Ferb come in!

Being a big kid myself means that I have a pretty good grasp on what’s cool (is it even okay to say ‘cool’ anymore?) and what’s not….I also now have an 18 month old nephew who I can rely on to educate me on the cartoons all the kids are watching. For example the other day he introduced me to Jake and the Neverland Pirates…well, he sat on my lap whilst I watched my first ever episode…Jake is one pretty cool pirate :)

During 2011 I had read about Phineas and Ferb ‘meet and greets’ being introduced to the Disney parks, nothing unusual there…we’re all used to seeing new characters being brought into WDW for the younger generations. But along with the abundance of Phineas and Ferb merchandise on sale in the parks, earlier this year Disney announced that Kim Possible would be leaving her World Showcase Adventure in Epcot  and Agent P would be taking her place.

The official Disney Parks Blog posted the following:

“Coming this summer, ‘Disney Phineas & Ferb: Agent P’s World Showcase Adventure’ is based on the wily secret-agent alter-ego of Perry the Platypus – faithful pet to the title characters from Disney’s animated series ‘Phineas & Ferb’. Although just a simple pet to Phineas and Ferb, Perry turns into Agent P in each episode to help stop the misguided plans of his nemesis, Dr. Doofenshmirtz.”

So this is the point where I ask not only who are Phineas and Ferb, but should I know who Agent P is too?!

And so, in the interest of daydreamingdisney.com…and perhaps my sanity as a Disney expert….during the next seven days I will be watching several episodes of Phineas and Ferb.

Will I love it and want to buy all the merch I can find at WDW? Will I hate it and run screaming from the Phineas and Ferb characters in Disney’s Hollywood Studios? Watch this space and you’ll find out next week….. ;)

My review – Mousemeets 2012

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How do you get a room full of people to daydream about Disney? Get them to attend Mousemeets of course!

So most of you know that I spent the weekend of May 5 and 6 in Birmingham attending the Mousemeets 2012 event. My review of the weekend has now been published on wdwradio.com and you can read it here .

:)   :)   :)

Thank Disney it’s Friday – May 11!

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Hello Friday!! It’s felt like a busy week and I don’t think I’ve really stopped since coming back from Mousemeets 2012 last weekend!!

So I fancy a bit of relaxed daydreaming today….here’s your Friday question….

If you could be sitting on a bench anywhere in WDW right now…..just watching and listening to the sights and sounds of the parks…where would you be sitting and why????

 

:) :) :)

Thank Disney it’s Friday – May 4!

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Well hello Friday…and happy Star Wars day to everyone…aaahhh, some goodies never get old!!!!

I’ve been thinking a lot this week about the themeing in WDW parks and how sometimes the queue for an attraction can be as interesting or exciting as the ride itself. Sometimes the sounds, smells and details of the queuing area can really build up the anticipation of an attraction.

And so…this week’s Friday question is this…..

If you could be in any queue in any of the WDW parks right now which would you choose and why???

 

 

:) :) :)

I’ve got the Key!

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What does a Disney fan do when they’ve exhausted all attractions, shows and eateries in every park but still craves something new? Well if they’re anything like me…obsessed with Disney history, the Disney Company and the behind the scenes organisation of the parks…they’ll book up one of the Walt Disney World tours!

During my last visit to the World I FINALLY got to attend the Keys To The Kingdom tour in Magic Kingdom. I’d spoken to friends and family who raved about it…I’d read reviews that were ‘so, so’ about it. Knowing that I have a craving for knowledge of what goes on behind the magic I knew that I had to experience it for myself in order to have my own opinion of the experience.

Now I’m not going to go into the finer details of the tour as I don’t want to spoil it for any of my readers that have yet to take part but I will say that personally I thought this tour was AMAZING!!!

I understand from reading reviews that your tour guide can make or break the tour. Our guide was knowledgeable, with a fun but dry sense of humour and even strict in some places. By the way, their costumes are awesome! We had a great time with our guide and he even let us know that he used to be a ‘friend’ of Goofy’s!

We booked the first tour of the day which meant that we got into Magic Kingdom before the park opened…cue photos on an empty Main Street! As an extra bonus we were waiting outside City Hall for the tour to start when the performers turned up for the park opening ceremony and one of the male dancers stopped to make a fuss about my “awesome” hair!

You are given a ‘guest’ badge to wear on the tour and boy did I feel special walking around MK all morning showing off my ‘guest’ pass ;) Other guests look at the group; you can see them wondering who you are and why you are part of a group with a guide…it makes you feel like a VIP.

There were so many highlights of the tour for me. We got to ride Haunted Mansion, but jumped the queue by using a cast member entrance! We got to go backstage; seeing the back of Splash Mountain, some of the parade vehicles being worked on and we might have even seen one or two characters on their break!

And then…the moment I had been waiting for all my Disney fan life….we went into a shop on Main Street, passed through a ‘cast member only’ doorway, descended some steps…and entered the Utilidors…..

Yes, I know they are only corridors, there’s nothing magical about them….or is there? You see to me there is….I like stripping back the pixie dust and seeing what makes Walt Disney World operate. Down in those corridors it felt like any other workplace, in any other part of the world. There were notice boards with motivational messages, staff rooms, training rooms, lockers and tired looking staff. To me it’s important that we don’t forget the effort and energy these people put into making our special place so magical….and that’s why seeing the Utilidors was so important for me.

Were there any negatives of the tour for me? At a push I would say the lunch at Columbia Harbour House…the food was just okay…but then again, it was nice to eat somewhere I hadn’t been before.

And if that wasn’t enough magic for one morning something else happened that will always make me smile when I think about this tour. When you arrive at MK for the tour you report to a cast member in City Hall who is responsible for signing you in, giving you your badge and taking your lunch order. That same cast member is also around at lunch time to show you to your tables. Well, a few days later we were walking around Epcot and I saw that same cast member walking by talking to a couple of people in smart dress. The cast member interrupted his conversation with these important looking people and went out of his way to say hello to us and asked if we were enjoying our vacation. I felt so humbled that he had remembered us from the tour a few days before and that little gesture made me feel like a valued guest.

So would I recommend the Keys To The Kingdom tour? Yes…if you want a small glimpse of what goes on behind the magic…but don’t expect to learn every secret of Walt Disney World…. because some things do have to be left to your imagination ;)