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Archive | January 29, 2012 | PassPorter Blogs

What is the Disney Vacation Club or DVC?

Filed under Disney Vacation Club, Fresh Picked Posts by Cheryl Pendry on January 29, 2012 at 6:34 am {no comments}

 DVC, three letters that mean so much to those who are members of the Disney Vacation Club, but for those aren’t, what’s it all about?

 

The first Disney Vacation Club resort, Disney's Old Key West

In a nutshell, the DVC is Disney’s user-friendly version of timeshare. Forget any horror stories you’ve heard about hard sells, this is very different. If you want to walk away without buying, you can. We did, when we first explored the idea on our honeymoon all the way back in 1999. It just wasn’t right for us then, and Disney were completely happy with our decision. Three years later, we became members and we’ve never looked back.

Another difference with many other timeshares is that you don’t just buy a two-week vacation for a certain time of the year. Disney, as with so many other things they’ve done over the years, re-wrote the rules when they entered the timeshare market. Instead, you buy points, which you can use throughout the year at a whole range of resorts. As you’d expect, certain times of the year, usually the more popular time, cost more points, while less popular times are much more cost effective times to visit.

Our beautiful home resort, Disney's Beach Club Villas

When you buy in, you get a “home resort”, and you can book stays at this 11 months out, while stays at all other Disney Vacation Club resorts (and there are many now!) can be booked at seven months out. We’re members at both the Disney’s Beach Club Villas and Disney’s Saratoga Springs Resort and Spa, which means we can book any stays we want at either resort 11 months beforehand. If we want to swap to another resort, then seven months before our stay, we can do that, provided there’s availability – and much of the time in our experience – there is.

You can even pick the size of room you want, from a studio that’s like a basic hotel room, but with a kitchenette, to one-, two- and three-bedroom villas. All come with some amazing extras, like a full kitchen (very handy if you want to eat in), a Jacuzzi bath (my favourite!) and a washer/dryer. Of course, the bigger the room, the more points it takes.

The first west coast Disney Vacation Club resort, the Villas at Disney's Grand Californian at Disneyland

You’re not even restrained to just staying at Walt Disney World, although there are seven (with number eight, at the Grand Floridian due to come online in 2013), there are also four other locations. The first is only a couple of hours’ drive from Disney World, at Vero Beach on the eastern coast of Florida, with the second further up the coast in Hilton Head, South Carolina. On the other side of the States is a resort at the Grand Californian hotel at Disneyland, while the fourth can be found on O’ahu in Hawaii.

Want more choice? You’ve got it – add in all the Disney theme parks around the world (we’ve used our points before at Disneyland Paris), the Disney Cruise Line (two cruises to date paid for using our points, including Alaska), Adventures by Disney, the guided tours organised by the company throughout the world. There are even non-Disney options, perish the thought! There’s the Concierge Collection, with some of the world’s finest resorts, and we’ve been able to stay at some of those in London, San Diego and San Francisco, and you can even swap out your points with other companies to widen your choices.

Intrigued and want to learn more about the Disney Vacation Club? The first thing to know is that it’s not cheap to buy in, although you’ll save over the years you’re a member. We’ve more than recouped the initial costs 10 years on from our initial purchase. Full details of the latest pricing and promotions can be found on DVCNews.com Remember it may be a lot of money, but it will cover many years of happy vacation memories!

For everything – and more – that you could ever want to know about the Disney Vacation Club, there’s even a PassPorter book about it, PassPorter’s Disney Vacation Club Guide for Members and Members-To-Be, packed with information. 

Making Advance Dining Reservations on Short Notice

Filed under Dining Out at Disney by Heather Macdonald on January 28, 2012 at 12:18 am {no comments}

You are the type of planner who gets up in the dark 180 days before their vacation to make Disney World Advance Dining reservations. You’ve never had a problem getting a reservation at Le Cellier or Cinderella’s Royal Table. I used to be like that. These days I’ve taken to planning short trips on short notice. Recently I’ve booked a couple of trips with less than a week to plan. What would you do about dining on a short notice trip? Would you eat all counter service meals? That is certainly an option. You can look into the Quick Service Dining Plan if it fits the way you want to eat. It gives you two counter service meals per day and includes a snack and a refillable mug.  The QSDP is $34.99 per adult per night! Wow! That sounds like a lot of money to eat cheeseburgers doesn’t it?

My favorite CS burger has gone the way of Mr. Toad

Typically counter service is not the way I eat, although I do love a good cheeseburger. I actually like to sit down for at least two, if not three meals a day. How on earth can I make reservations for two meals a day just a week before my trip? I know a secret and I’m going to share it with you. It’s not a back door into the reservation system. It’s a list of restaurants, many of which are some of my favorites, that almost never fill to capacity in advance. The easiest way to get to this list is to go to the Walt Disney World website dining reservation portal. Run a search to see what dining establishments have openings for dinner TOMORROW! Don’t worry! You don’t actually have to do the leg work, I did it for you! Would you believe that 57 different restaurants have availability for dinner tomorrow? Yup that’s right! There are only 17 restaurants that take reservations that didn’t have openings and some of those are closed for refurbishment.  This is not going to be the case all the time, what do you do when it’s spring break time and you don’t have dinner reservations in advance?

Here’s my secret list of restaurants that almost always have last minute reservations. Almost all of the Signature restaurants have seatings available on short notice. These restaurants are more expensive and less child friendly so they tend not to fill up as quickly. The exceptions are Cinderella’s Royal Table, California Grill, and Le Cellier. My favorites for short notice Signature meals are Artist Point in the Wilderness Lodge and Jiko in the Animal Kingdom Lodge.

Get a Taste of Africa on short notice!

They both have outstanding cuisine that represents the food from the region the hotel represents. Artist Point features Pacific Northwest cuisine and Jiko is African and has the best wine list on property! I just love South African wines and Jiko has the largest collection found outside of South Africa. We’ve also been able to walk up to Flying Fish and get seated. If you don’t have children with you, most of the Signature Restaurants also have bars that serve the full menu. Flying Fish is one of those and Narcoossee’s is another.

My other secret is that there is a set of resort restaurants that almost always have availability.

A cozy Key West retreat

The first that comes to mind is The Turf Club at Saratoga Springs. The chef is innovative and the menu changes frequently as he tries different combinations and presentations. The back patio overlooking the golf course is so relaxing. It’s my hidden gem and it is never busy. The other two that are on my short list are Olivia’s at Old Key West and The Grand Floridian Cafe at the Grand Floridian. Olivia’s is a little bit out of the way to the casual traveler, but they serve a great breakfast and you can take the boat over from Downtown Disney. Or even walk the trail from Saratoga Springs. As for the Grand Floridian Cafe. The Grand is home to so many restaurants that the casual GFC is overlooked in favor of character dining at 1900 Park Fair or Signature Dining at one of the three Signature restaurants on property. Why would anyone bother going to the GFC when they have all those other options? Two reasons: they waited until the last minute to make reservations and second the GFC serves a hamburger that has butter poached LOBSTER on it.  Talk about surf and turf! Yum!

Wait. What? You want to eat in the parks and you’re only a few days away from your trip or worse, you’re already in The World. It is actually possible. I’ll tell you all about those restaurants in the next installment!

Patience is a Virtue (Unless You’re Planning a Disney Vacation!)

Filed under Grown-Up Disney by aliceinwdw on January 25, 2012 at 6:45 pm {no comments}

Let me start by clarifying: I don’t mean that patience is needed to do the (fun!) stuff; i.e. the planning, etc., I mean that you, well, I, will need patience for the waiting to plan!

You Totally Do This, Don’t You?

So, I can honestly say that I love starting to thinking about our next trip practically as soon as I set foot in the door after returning home from our latest vacation! Ok, so I may not exactly be knocking the luggage out of DH’s hands while tearing down the hallway to go and grab my Disney Vacation Club (“DVC”) points chart — because I already have them memorized. *eyeroll* Ok, not really! — but, I have more than likely already had a conversation, or four, with him about where we should stay next time. Huh. Yeah, I guess it’s not really screaming “World’s Most Patient Person” is it? But I can’t help it! I want to go back before I’ve even left (that makes sense)!

Where else can we stay?

Ok, so being that we are also DVC members, we have been pretty spoiled by our ability to stay at quite a few of the resorts at Walt Disney World (“WDW”), including:

Saratoga Springs Resort & Spa:

Saratoga Springs Villas * photo taken by GTCindy

Animal Kingdom Lodge (“AKL”), both Jambo House (main building) and Kidani Village (DVC villas):

AKL - Kidani Village - Savannah * photo taken by chezp

Bay Lake Tower (“BLT”) at Disney’s Contemporary Resort:

Bay Lake Tower - Bay Lake * photo taken by chezp

And even BoardWalk Villas:

BoardWalk Villas - BoardWalk/Crescent Lake * photo taken by mestitch

Like I said, totally spoiled! I know this, but we’ve been able to do so much with our membership, like stay at all of these resorts, because we’ve learned a few tricks! For example, with these couple of stays under our belts (or is that all those zebra domes?), we have realized that we can make the most of our trips if we do split-stays; i.e. if we change rooms/resorts at some point during our trip. (Although, on one occasion, we did this four times in two weeks! *Please do not attempt this on your next vacation; it is not recommended!* :-P ) However, as crazy as that trip was, it did, to say the least, allow us to experience a lot more “resort” than if we had chosen to do a more “traditional” reservation.

There’s only one hitch to this brilliant (if I say so myself!) idea: When staying on DVC points, I cannot book at another resort, except my home resort, until seven months out from my anticipated arrival date. Whhhhy? (Well, I know why, but I’m going for dramatic effect here!)

So, not only do I have to try and decide where we’re going to (hopefully) stay next time, but I have to wait to see if any of my choices are even viable options! This is where my issue (and subsequent topic for this week) lies, I need patience! Unfortunately, I don’t really have much of it. LOL! I mean, I know I’m a grown-up (well, by “definition,” as we’ve previously discussed! ;-) ) and, as such, I’m supposed to know that “good things come to those that wait,” right? Well, do the “preachers” of this zen-like thinking ever go to Disney World? I’m thinking no, because, there are just too many of us over on the PassPorter message boards who have either have a vacation ticker, some sort of countdown, create posts for their double, and then single, digit dances and/or actually have all of the above! So, I know your out there and that’s why I had to discuss the waiting; I knew you’d understand!

However, and I don’t mean to only direct my conversation to the DVC members, but, there is super, ginormous news that will make it seem like whatever-such-holiday-you-celebrate-that-requires-torturous-waiting-for-presents to any do-it-yourself planners out there: We can finally book our own vacations online! *Cue the chorus of angels singing!* OMGosh I’m so excited about this news (thanks for the reminder, Cheryl!) and yet so bummed, all at the same time, because I can’t “do” anything with it beyond August at this point (which is 7 months out from now).

Oh the humanity! (Yeah and if you think I’m bad now, you should see me when it’s time to book my dining reservations online! Ha ha ha, oh but you will!)

Anyway, the news of the online reservation system made me think about my planning that’s on hold, which then made me think about the prior resorts we’ve stayed at, and thus the sharing of my rambling thoughts — since that’s all I can do for the time being! Well, that and wonder: What’s worse? The waiting to book or the waiting for the actual trip?! I can’t really say for sure; however, being that I’m currently at the waiting-to-book stage, I’m totally voting for that! :-)

So, I guess I should get going; that DVC website isn’t going to “test” itself! And, while I’m at it — *channels my inner rock star* — I am going to attempt to try and find myself “a little patience…yeeeeah…just a little patience…ooooooo oooo yeeeah…” (Just be thankful you can’t actually hear me!)

So, until next time!

Disney Cruise Line’s New Spring and Summer 2013 Schedule

Filed under Cruise Travel, Fresh Picked Posts by Dave Marx on January 25, 2012 at 1:22 pm {one comment}

Disney Cruise Line has announced the spring and summer 2013 itineraries for the Disney Magic and Disney Wonder (all 2013 itineraries for the Disney Dream and Disney Fantasy have been known for some time). Some of the news was expected, some less so.

 

The Disney Dream in the shipyard in 2010, soon after her “float-out.” New ships have opened new horizons for Disney Cruise Line.

 

What was expected?

A new U.S. port of embarkation, Miami, Florida, has been added to DCL’s lineup. News of this dribbled out earlier in January, after DCL scheduled a press conference in Miami. Following the Costa Concordia tragedy, Disney and every other cruise line adopted a low media profile. So, the press event was canceled, and a week later, a simple press release was issued instead.

The addition of Miami makes sense for a variety of reasons. Cruises from Miami reach a large, new market – South Floridians have an enormous list of locally-based cruises to choose from, sailing from both Miami and Fort Lauderdale, so they have to be well-motivated to drive north to Port Canaveral for a Disney cruise. If you can’t get the cruisers to the cruise ship, bring the cruise ship to the cruisers! While there’s a risk DCL will have trouble establishing itself in this very competitive market, I expect that “The Disney Difference,” which includes Disney’s private island, Castaway Cay, will make Disney’s offerings sufficiently distinctive. Meantime, DCL’s decision to offer 4- and 5-night cruises seems logical. Short cruises (which is what Disney is offering) are a viable addition to a traditional South Florida winter vacation, and South Florida vacationers tend to not be Orlando vacationers. Also, a shorter cruise is a cheaper cruise, which makes it more appealing as a “sampler.”

Mexican Riviera itineraries from the West Coast have been abandoned for the time being. The drug wars in Mexico continue, making the market for Mexican Riviera cruises soft, at best.

Alaskan itineraries will continue during the summer of ’13. Alaska’s scenery and port activities are fabulous, Alaska is safe, and Alaska is All-American. That’s a 3-point jump shot!

Galveston, Texas continues to be a port of embarkation. The Texas economy is booming, the nearby population is large, and Texans have been itching for some sort of Disney Parks and Resorts presence in their state. And if vacationers don’t have to pay airfare, a cruise becomes affordable to a much larger segment of the population.

Jennifer and Alexander Marx at the Mediterranean Port of Villefranche

PassPorter Author Jennifer Marx and author-in-training, Alexander Marx enjoy the warm, Mediterranean sunshine in the French Riviera port, Villefranche. The Disney Magic will return to Villefranche in 2013..

What was unexpected?

The Disney Magic will return to the Mediterranean, with 4-, 7-, and two 12-night itineraries. New ports of call: Venice, Italy; Dubrovnik, Croatia; Athens, Greece; Mykonos, Greece; and Ephesus, Turkey. Yeah, other people believed the scuttlebutt that’s been circulating for a while. I didn’t buy it, so now I’m surprised. Considering the uncertainty in the European economy, I thought a relatively expensive Disney cruise would be a hard sell to potential European customers. Disney, apparently, is less concerned.

Disney will not offer more cruises from New York City. For now, the Disney Magic’s 2012 itineraries are a one-time thing. Considering the size of the region’s population, the relatively low interest in overseas travel here in the States, economic conditions in Europe that might make sales to Europeans a challenge, and the same “no airfare” considerations found in Miami and Galveston… I thought Disney would return to the Northeast in 2013.

The Alaskan itineraries will all depart from Vancouver, Canada. During Disney’s first (2011) Alaska season, cruisers were unhappy with the cost of airfare to Vancouver (YVR), and a fair number flew into Seattle-Tacoma (SEA), made their way north to Vancouver by car, bus, or train, and still saved some money. DCL’s move to the port of Seattle for the 2012 season made sense on two fronts, as docking fees and other costs to the cruise line are also typically lower in Seattle, and lower airfares make the vacation affordable to a wider market. Why back to Vancouver in ’13? Perhaps Disney got an improved price from Vancouver? And the brief, late afternoon/early evening visit to Victoria, BC on the Seattle-based itineraries brings problems of its own (all non-U.S. flag vessels must stop in at least one foreign port during an itinerary that begins and ends in a U.S. port).

Victoria, British Columbia at Dusk

The glittering lights of the British Columbia Provincial Parliament building help make Victoria, BC's Inner Harbor an enchanting sight.

Some interesting tidbits:

These new itineraries go on sale for Platinum and Gold Castaway Club members today, January 25 (and bookings can only be made by phone with either DCL or a travel agent). Sales to the general public begin the next day, January 26, with online bookings available at the web site as well. This is the smallest early-booking window since DCL started offering that perk to its frequent cruisers.

The Disney Magic’s Mediterranean season includes two 4-night “sampler” itineraries. The cruises will depart Barcelona and visit Villefranche (Monte Carlo, Nice, and Cannes) and Palma, Mallorca, with one day at sea. Mercifully, when the Magic visits Venice, it’ll be an extended, overnight stop. There’s so much to see, and so little time on a typical, 7- to 8-hour port visit! If only we could have the same, extended visits for Florence, Rome, and Athens!

The Disney Wonder’s “regular” Miami-based itineraries are 4-night Bahamas trips visiting Castaway Cay, and 5-night Western Caribbean cruises, half visiting Castaway Cay and Cozumel, and half visiting Grand Cayman and Cozumel. Some cruisers were hoping for longer ventures into the Southern Caribbean. Shorter cruises are easier to sell.

Lovers of 14-night repositioning cruises should be in seventh heaven. The Magic will be heading to Europe from Galveston, and the Wonder will pass through the Panama Canal at least twice – Eastbound in early December 2012, then back for the 2013 Alaska season. What we don’t know is where the Magic will be headed after Europe, or whither the Wonder after Alaska – but in any case, there will probably be two more 14-night or longer repositionings before the end of 2014.

Altogether, Disney Cruise Line has wasted no time in exploiting the benefits of its expanded fleet. The new Disney Dream and Disney Fantasy are there to keep DCL’s traditional, Port Canaveral-based Bahamas and Caribbean itineraries humming along, while the smaller Disney Magic and Disney Wonder are freed to roam the globe in search of new markets and new destinations.

Disney Scrapbooking: There is No Wrong Way

Filed under Disney Scrapbooking and Memorymaking by GoofyMom on January 25, 2012 at 10:05 am {one comment}

(photos by Bill Myers; kit is Remember the Magic by Keystone Scraps)

This is my very first blog post for  the PassPorter Disney Scrapbooking and Memory Making blog. I’ll give you a little background about me to start with.  I’m Donna and I’ve been a PassPorter Message Board Guide for almost 8 years. I live in Winnipeg, Canada, have been married for 26 years and we have 2 grown children and a son-in-law. My first Disney trips were to Disneyland and it’s got a very special spot in my heart. I believe that is where my love for Disney began. We took the kids to Disneyland in 1999, and then started taking them to Walt Disney World. I started paper scrapping a couple of our early trips to Disney, but I just didn’t get very far. It’s not that I didn’t like doing it, but I found it quite time consuming and I ended up putting everything away in the spare bedroom and not bringing it out again.

I started digital scrapping almost 2 years ago. I have always been a crafty, creative person – if I’m not creating something, I’m not happy. I have tried almost every craft you can think of from quilting to cross stitching to knitting. It’s not that I didn’t like them, but I didn’t find them to be the right creative release for me. Digi scrapping is the answer for me and I feel like I have finally released my inner artist. Although digi scrapping is my main focus, paper scrappers shouldn’t feel left out of this blog. I’m going to try my best to keep this relevant for you too. Scrapping is scrapping, right?

So I’ll start by assuming that you don’t know anything about scrapping. If you already scrap, this first post will be a recap of the basics. The main rule is “there is no wrong way to scrap.” If you like it, then you did it right. I know that a lot of people, myself included, have or had some hesitation about scrapping because of being nervous about doing it wrong. So there. You have no excuse, you can do it, there is no wrong way.

I won’t lie to you, it’s an expensive hobby, whether you are paper scrapping, digi scrapping or doing the combination of both which is known as hybrid scrapping. However, think about this: it is preserving your memories.  How can you put a price on your memories? Actually, digi scrapping doesn’t have to be expensive if you can discipline yourself to only using freebies that are readily found in the scrapping community on the internet. (If you can, you’re a better person than me!) Many designers, myself included, make freebies. I recommend checking scrapbooking message boards. Designers and their creative team members hang out on the message boards and  there are links to blogs everywhere. The blogs are where you find the freebies!

So let’s get started! Do you have a Disney vacation that needs to be scrapped? If you are reading this, I’ll bet that you do! First of all, obviously you need photos. They can be digital photos or photographs taken with film, doesn’t matter. If you use photographs from film, and you want to digi scrap, you need to have a scanner available. One of my biggest concerns about paper scrapping was cutting the photos. Easy solution – have duplicates made! That’s why you get the negatives back when you get your photos developed, right?

Paper scrappers need archival quality supplies. Don’t cheap out! It is absolutely necessary if you want to preserve your memories forever. Have you ever looked at your Grandma’s scrapbook? The one with the yellowed newspaper articles and the black and white photos with those glued down black photo corners. Did you notice how brittle and yellowed everything is?  It looks like it’s going to fall apart if you turn the page. That’s because she didn’t have archival products to work with. So. Archival supplies. Necessary. I know you know where to buy them – craft stores are everywhere and they all have papers, cutters, stickers, rubber stamps, glue, etc etc etc. The internet is another great place to buy your supplies.

Digi scrappers need a software program such as Adobe’s Photoshop, Paint Shop Pro from Corel, or Gimp. Photoshop is expensive (!) and there’s a pretty steep learning curve, although if you stick with it you can master it. There’s a lot of tutorials and support online to help you along, and you can even ask me and I might be able to help you. But Photoshop is overkill for the average scrapper. You can buy a less expensive version called Photoshop Elements for around $100 and you can sometimes find it on sale for less at places like Costco or Sam’s Club. There is also an education discount available so if you are a student or teacher, check for that. It is more than enough for the average digi scrapper. I started with a program from Serif that cost me $29 called Digital Scrapbook Artist 2 (now called Craft Artist), then went to Photoshop Elements (PSE), but now that I’ve decided to totally commit to digi scrapping, I have upgraded to Photoshop (CS5). You can go to Adobe’s website and try them out for free for 30 days. I’ll admit this – I know nothing about Paint Shop Pro (PSP). I do know that it’s about comparable in price to PSE.  Another software program some of my friends use is called Story Book Creator Plus (SBC+) from Creative Memories which is similarly priced to PSP and PSE, but again, that is not one I’m familiar with myself. As with Adobe products, you can download trial versions to see if it’s the software for you. And good news for somebody who is not sure whether digi scrapping is for them – there’s Gimp. It’s a free, yes free! It is a program available online. Again, I have no experience with it, but according to friends of mine who use it, it is also quite adequate for the average scrapper.

Digi scrappers also need kits. Kits are digital embellishments and papers. Kits usually sell for around $5 each, although some are more and some are less. But remember — you can also find kits that are freeeeeeee!  Just find some digi-scrapper blogs and start reading. You may have to go to a few, but you will find free kits without too much effort. I’ll tell you where to look next time I post.

Ok. Photos. Photo editing program and digi kits or archival quality supplies.  You’re ready to go. But what do you do? Where do you start? A really good place to start is by looking online for ideas. There are so many galleries on the internet that you will easily find some examples. In fact, you can look at my galleries if you like.  I have quite a few, but here’s the link for my Disney gallery:  This Dixie Pixie’s Gallery.

In fact, I want to talk about that website for a minute. MouseScrappers is the only scrapbooking website that is exclusively dedicated to scrapping Disney vacations and it’s just as friendly a community as PassPorter is. I get nothing for referring people to it except bragging rights, but if you do check it out, like what you see and decide to sign up, tell them This Dixie Pixie referred you. You will find very talented scrappers there, happy to answer questions regarding both paper and digi, although digi is more prominent. You’ll find lots and lots of fantastic inspiration there, so check it out if you want some ideas about scrapping your Disney vacations.

Well, that’s enough for my first post. I have to leave something to get you coming back for more, right? So what do you think? Are you ready to scrap your Disney memories? Great! Check out some of the suggestions that I made and give it a shot. Remember, there’s no such thing as the wrong way to scrapbook. And don’t forget to come back here in a few days for my next post!

 

Beginning a Healthy Journey

Filed under Fresh Picked Posts, Getting in Shape for Travel by rescuesk on January 24, 2012 at 9:19 pm {3 comments}

What not to eat!

“A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.”

Truer words were never spoken! That simple statement applies to all facets of life, including the journey to better health. And that journey needs to include good food choices, exercise and a healthy lifestyle.

If you are already in preparation for a Disney vacation, then its the perfect time to start your healthy journey. And even if there is no vacation in your immediate future, its never to early to plan!

Good vacation health planning begins at home with the right choices and changes in lifestyle. Now don’t worry, I’m not going to suggest you eat nothing but bean sprouts and cucumber slices to prepare for your vacation. Nothing of the sort! But you can make several simple changes that will help you get ready!

Disney trips involve a great deal of walking. So one of the simplest ways to start is simply to walk! You don’t need to start with a marathon, just take the steps instead of the escalator. Park your car in a far corner and walk to the mall. While you’re in the mall, take a few laps around the perimeter (they even have a name for this…its called “mall walking”!). Do something active at home. Do you know what counts as active? Vacuuming. Dusting the high places. Raking leaves. Cleaning the gutters. Anything that gets you up and moving begins your exercise journey.

You will be assaulted by a wonderful array of food options at Disney, especially if you are on a cruise. Now is the time to begin to get ready for those options.  Switch your regular soda for diet, or better yet, for water. Don’t like diet soda? Squeeze a lemon in it. Don’t like plain water? Try those Crystal Light packets, only 5 calories each! Instead of a donut for breakfast, try a bowl of oatmeal or a piece of fruit. I am a big fan of breakfast smoothies. A little 2% milk, ice cubes, fruit, maybe a packet of Carnation Instant breakfast, whirled in the smoothie maker…yum!! If good habits are already instilled, the choices at Disney become so much easier!

One more thing to start with…portion control. Do you know what a portion size is? I only recently learned, and its a culture shock! We tend to “supersize” everything, and our portions are no exception. Did you know that the meat serving on your plate should be the size of a deck of cards? A serving of cheese is about the size of a pair of dice? And a single serving of pasta should be about the same size as a scoop of ice cream? Take a look at your plate. If you are loading up on high calorie foods, it might be time to rethink your choices.

A healthy lifestyle at home will make it easier to continue a healthy lifestyle on vacation. In our next segment, we’ll talk about beginning a walking regiment and how that will help you get ready for your vacation!

 

Understanding Disney promotions and discounts

Filed under The Disney Queue by Caldercup on January 24, 2012 at 5:19 pm {3 comments}

Hey, we all know that going on vacation isn’t cheap, especially at such a wonderful place as Walt Disney World. But there ARE ways to save, if you keep your eyes open.

How do you save on a Disney World vacation?

How do you save on a Disney World vacation?

 

Sure, you can pack your lunches, you can stay at a cheap motel, you can resist the urge to buy souvenirs, and you can say no to all the vacation “extras.”

But, for some of us, working that hard to save money can feel a little too pinch-pennyish. It’s a vacation after all — you’re supposed to ENJOY IT!

And there’s no need to break the bank. All it takes is a little research, signing up, and watching your email.

***

First off, I highly recommend becoming a Mousesavers.com newsletter subscriber. It’s free!

The newsletter will arrive in your mailbox every 15th of the month, and it’s chock full of great info on promotions, deals, new additions to The World, and other excellent and timely news. It even has a special subscriber-only link to discounts on WDW tickets (and it’s through one of the well-respected, highly recommended ticket brokers that are authorized to sell Disney tickets.)

***

The next thing you need to do is go to Disney World’s website. If you haven’t already, create a Disney account with an email address you check frequently. In fact, sign up for anything Disney promotes – sweepstakes, Family.com, ESPN, etc. The more times you can get yourself into their database, the better. And make sure that you give them permission to contact you (you don’t have to give them permission to sell your data to third-party groups, just allow contacts from Disney itself.)

Your next move is to order the Disney Vacation Planning DVD (look for a link at the top of the Disney World website that says “FREE Vacation Planing DVD”).

Many people swear that, as soon as they start planning a Disney Vacation through the Disney World website, they begin getting promotion codes emailed to them. So… play around with possible dates, resorts, tickets, etc. Just don’t book anything or pay for anything. Save the reservation and walk away. You heard me… just walk away. Within a few days to a few weeks, people report seeing promotional discounts begin to arrive in their email, for the exact dates that they entered into the reservation system! Coincidence? I think NOT!

And, if you don’t mind having another credit card, it’s worth getting the Disney Rewards Visa… (sign up HERE),  if only to get occasional discount promotions available exclusively to cardholders. These often come out a week or two prior to an offer being opened to the general public, so the advanced notice is well worth the time it takes to sign up for the credit card. You don’t have to use the credit card for anything other than paying the initial deposit on reservations booked with the cardholder promotion. And, if you pay off your balance right away, you won’t even have to pay interest.

***

Then check your email account frequently.

Often, promotional emails will come from “Disney Destinations,” so make sure that you allow that address to contact you. And don’t forget to check your junk mail folder — because they are usually mass mailings to a large database of addresses, many spam filters will remove them from your inbox automatically. (If you do find a promotional email in your junk folder, don’t forget to tell your email program that it is NOT junk!)

***

What does a promotional email look like? Let me show you a few examples.

A Personal Identification Number (or “PIN” code) promotion:

A "PIN code" Promotion Example

A "PIN code" Promotion Example

 

These are offers sent specifically to YOU. They are not “general public” offers, and they are not transferrable. When booking, you are required to give the PIN code that is listed at the bottom of the email or card sent to you through “snail mail.” (Note the PIN code — blurred out in my example – indicated with the red arrow. These usually appear at the very bottom of the email/card.)

Sometimes these will be sent to your email or home address, but will list other people’s names (often it’s people you’ve traveled with before.) Though these offers are not transferrable, you can ask the Cast Member at Central Reservations if you can use it since it was sent to you. If they say ‘no,’ ask if you could speak to a supervisor. I’ve been able to get the PIN offer even though it had someone else’s name on it. I just had to prove to them that it was sent to my email or my postal address.

And, even if you haven’t gotten a PIN code (or think you haven’t), it’s worth asking a Central Reservation Office (CRO) Cast Member to check your account. Many people — me included — have discovered that they DID have a PIN code attached to their account and were able to save money on their vacation.

 

A Promotion Available to the General Public:

Disney will offer promotions to everyone, and these are commonly referred to as “General Public” discounts. They can be emailed, snail mailed, appear in newspaper ads, or are posted on websites like Mousesavers.com. They will often have a three- or four-digit code (like AXT, or RFGT) that you to give when booking.

Here’s a General Public mailing I received from Disney Destinations late last year:

A "General Public" promotion example

A "General Public" promotion example

Note that there is no identification number code in this mailing. Anyone can mention it at booking and see if the offer is available for their resort and travel dates.

 

A Disney Visa Cardholder Promotion:

I’m a Disney Visa Cardholder, so I get these emailed to me fairly frequently.  I can also go on the cardholder website and see what promotions are currently offered.

A Disney Visa Cardholder promotion example

A Disney Visa Cardholder promotion example

Note that the Disney Visa logo is prominently displayed on this type of promotion.

I’ve called out the requirement that “deposit must be made at the time of booking using your Disney Rewards Visa Card.” You don’t have to pay for the whole vacation with the Disney Visa, but you do have to pay the deposit with the Disney Visa.

 

A “bounceback” Offer:

You have to be an on-property guest staying in a participating Disney World resort to get “bounceback” offers. Essentially, these are promotions that give you a discount for booking your next vacation before you check out of the resort for this vacation. You have to pay the deposit at the time of booking, but it locks in the savings right then and there. (I’ll discuss this kind of promotion in more detail in an upcoming post about Fall Free Dining vs. other Free Dining promotions.) If you don’t see a brochure in your Disney resort room, just stop at the front desk and inquire about any “bounceback” promotions. They’re not always available, but it’s worth asking about.

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When do Disney promotions come out?

Basically, they come out when Disney would like to bolster the number of bookings. In times when crowds are expected to be low, they send out an offer. When they want to entice someone who hasn’t been to the parks in a few years, they send out an offer. When the wind is blowing from the east, they send out an offer. Honestly, no one really knows when the offers go out, why, and why they choose the group that receives the offer. It’s anybody’s guess….

Just get your name on their lists, and hope for the best.

***

Oh… and if you’ve already booked a reservation and THEN receive a promotion? Call right away and see if you can snag the promotion! (Or if you have a trusted and dependable Travel Agent, let them keep an eye out for promotions. A great TA is worth their weight in gold if they can save you money *and* hassle!)

***

Just know that promotions are limited — as in, they only have so many promotions for so many rooms for so many days at any given resort. Once other guests have snagged all the available promotions for your resort/your dates, then all the promotions are taken. Gone!

And just because you already have a reservation it does not guarantee that you’ll get a promotion. It’s totally first-come, first served.

(I once gave this analogy to explain it: say you’re in the grocery store with a cart-full of meat. Suddenly, you hear an announcement that all meat is 50% off for the next two customers. You race to the nearest cashier, but are beaten into line by two other people with carts full of meat. They use the discount, and you’re left paying full price. Yes, you had the meat, but you didn’t make it to the cashier in time to get the discount. Make sense now?)

So… now all you have to go do is sign up for accounts on Disney, and watch your email inbox like a hawk!

Good luck!!

It’s the CAREGIVER’s Vacation Too!!

Filed under Disney With Hidden Needs, Fresh Picked Posts by Pamela Dorr on January 23, 2012 at 6:30 pm {3 comments}

Every day I deal with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, Social Phobia, Generalized Anxiety, Major Depression, and Hereditary Spastic Paraparesis. However, I personally only “suffer” from a mild case of depression. So why do I deal with all those other things? Simple, I am a mom, girlfriend, and caregiver to two wonderful people that are diagnosed with these mental and physical problems. Disney trips are a chance for all of us to forget about the diagnoses for a little while, to an extent.

I am the trip planner. I make sure that my boyfriend gets face time with his favorite characters in an environment where he is more comfortable. This means that I reserve a dinner or breakfast seating at one of those restaurants that has character dining with Stitch or Chip and Dale. (Although, I did surprise myself this last time with a breakfast at 1900 Park Faire where Tigger was in attendance. I really didn’t know he would be there.) If we have to wait in line, he feels rushed and anxious because everyone is “watching” him while he visits with 626 or the ‘munks. Although, one of my favorite photos from his first Disney trip is that first meeting with Chip and Dale outside Innoventions in Epcot. He was able to forget his anxiety and depression for a few moments and be a kid.

I also make sure that my daughter gets time with Goofy and that she is able to enjoy her favorite rides. I push her wheelchair and get her to Splash Mountain or to Goofy’s Barnstormer (when it was there). I worry about how much walking she does because I don’t want her to spend the nights in pain because she over did the walking. She doesn’t always like it when I tell her she needs to use the wheelchair at Disney, but she always thanks me at the end of the day.

However, I have to remember that it is MY vacation too. I get so caught up and trying to make sure that the two of them have all the accommodations they need to enjoy the trip that I forget to make sure we do something I want to do as well.

In 2007, my daughter and I made our first trip to Walt Disney World. Since it was her first visit, I tried to make sure she got to do everything she wanted to do. She didn’t have a wheelchair at that time, so she walked from 7:00 or 8:00 AM to whenever Evening Extra Magic Hours were over.I spent the trip concerned about her legs and making sure that she found some relief with her ibuprofen and  hot baths at night. I wanted to explore World Showcase, but because her legs were hurting so much by the time we went to Epcot, we only visited Mexico before returning to Future World.

In 2009, my boyfriend joined us for another trip to Walt Disney World. Once again, I wanted to explore World Showcase. This time, my daughter had a wheelchair, but my boyfriend wasn’t comfortable with crowds in World Showcase the day we were at Epcot due to his social phobia. Once again, the thing I most wanted to do was put to the back burner. I saw it as a reason for another trip to Walt Disney World.

In 2011, I FINALLY realized that I was spending so much time making sure that they enjoyed their vacation, that I had moments where I didn’t enjoy it very much. I found that I would feel a little resentment that we didn’t get to do what I wanted to do while at Disney. So this last time I “put my foot down” that I was going to explore World Showcase. If they didn’t want to explore it with me, then I would meet them either at the resort or at our dinner reservation.

It was “quick” exploration. I didn’t go inside to all the pavilions. However, I did make sure to enjoy something in each country. Admittedly, a few of those enjoyments were of the adult beverage variety, but other enjoyments were things like the attention to detail in the buildings. In Germany, I indulged myself in a chocolate and caramel dipped pretzel stick. (YUM!!!!) In the outpost I enjoyed watching the artisan carve animals from wood. Exploring the World is one of my favorite memories from this last trip. Both of my loved ones joined me in my exploration. They each found something they liked and enjoyed. I even heard them both say that we needed to spend more time in World Showcase next time we go.

What I had finally realized is that these are my vacations too. While I still need to worry about their hidden needs and make sure that they are able to enjoy themselves despite these needs, I also need to enjoy myself and relax. As my daughter gets older, she is also becoming more independent. I can see that on our next trip, she will probably want to go off and explore on her own for a while.

As caregivers to family or friends with Hidden and Special Needs, we often forget to take some time for ourselves. This is a common caregiver lament. Every article I have ever read about HOW to be a good caregiver tells us to take some time for ourselves. However, we rarely do this. Many caregivers have the same line of thinking that I do: “If I don’t take care of it, then who will?” We often put our needs aside to focus on the needs of those we love. (This is a common parental lament as well.) Vacations are meant for everyone to relax a bit. They are a chance to do something other than worry about someone’s special needs. Vacations are meant to give us a respite from our every day lives. As caregivers, we need to recognize that it is not just our loved ones’ vacations. It is OUR vacation too.

So next time you are planning a trip to Disney, or anywhere else, make sure to plan in something YOU want to do. If the others don’t want to do it, that’s fine; enjoy your alone time. If they do want to join you, then it is a happier memory because they took part in something you wanted to experience. So what am I planning for our next Disney trip? Well, we are discussing a Disney cruise and I see some spa time in my future.

Online Booking for Disney Vacation Club Members

Filed under Disney Vacation Club, Fresh Picked Posts by Cheryl Pendry on January 22, 2012 at 12:23 pm {5 comments}

It’s all change on the Disney Vacation Club (DVC) Member website, as it finally introduces online booking.

Let’s be honest, it’s something that’s long overdue, as having to call Member Services to make your booking was feeling distinctly 20th century, especially as it’s an international call for us. Thank goodness the DVC make it a free call, otherwise we’d have clocked up some serious expense over the years!

It’s also been very frustrating, ringing up to make your booking, as you have to keep asking what’s available, perhaps trying different resorts, or different room sizes. Sometimes I know I’ve had to try three or four combinations before finding something that’s available. I’ve often thought that’s a job I’d rather do myself. Now I finally get the chance…

So what’s the verdict on online booking?

Short version – it’s very user friendly, and well worth the wait.

Given that before when Disney have introduced things online, it hasn’t necessarily gone 100% to plan (I’m thinking issues with upgrades to online dining reservations here), I was wondering what the result would be. Would the Disney Vacation Club have everything in place, or would there be any glitches? Well, I didn’t actually book anything, as until I’ve got our flights booked for our next trip, I’m not going to worry about accommodation, but up until that point seemed simple enough.

The first page tells you that you’ll basically get the same availability through the website as if you phone Member Services. The only exception is within 10 days of arrival. If you can’t find what you want for a stay that’s just around the corner, you might be better going back to a phone call after all.

From there, you enter your check-in and check-out dates, how many adults, and children are in your party, which resort you want to stay at, and the room size. Then it’s on to the next page.

Your resort offer

This is where you find out what’s available for your stay. Not only will it tell you if the resort you were after is available, but the system will also find any other resort that’s available for the same dates, and room size, and that’s exceptionally useful. It certainly went above, and beyond what I was expecting. I thought you’d only get availability at the resort you’d entered, and that would be it.

There’s information on this page about the resort, just in case you’re not familiar with it, along with useful details about how many people the room sleeps, and what facilities you get. It’s a good aide memoire. The vacation points are clearly displayed, giving you an idea of how much you’ll be spending for your stay.

If the nights you’re looking aren’t available, then this is also your opportunity to see what is available, and if you want, to waitlist for the other nights of your stay.

Contracts and points

Here’s the point where, if like us, you’ve got more than one Disney Vacation Club contract, you can pick which contract you want to use to pay for your vacation. It’s also the point where, if you don’t have any points left in your contract for the year you’re taking the vacation, like us, then you can borrow points from the next year.

To do that, all I had to do was click the button to borrow vacation points, then another window popped up, asking which contract I wanted to borrow the points from. Of course, it’s a final transaction, and you’re warned about that, but at that stage, you can also undo it, if you need to.

Provide guest info

Once you’ve worked out where the points are coming from to pay for your stay, you then need to enter the name, address, and phone number for each guest. If you’ve got a non-member staying on your reservation, you need to say that, and you need to note that the name and address you give must match the ID you present when you check in. There’s also a handy tool for clicking if everyone in the group has the same last name, which I thought was a very useful addition. You can even add more guests, if you realise you forgot someone at the first stage.

Review offer

Here, you get a confirmation of what you’ve signed up to so far, including the resort, type of accommodation, your dates, and who’s in your travel party. If everything’s in order, then you confirm, and that your booking made.

Receive confirmation

The final page shows you how your vacation points were used, and again, in a nice touch, if you’re not happy with how this was done, you can choose to undo things at this point. There’s a “cancel without penalty” option, which you just click on.

If you’re happy with everything, then you get all your travel plan details at the Vacation Center. At this stage, you then have links that let you either:

  • Add one of Disney’s Dining Plans
  • Add travel insurance
  • Buy theme park tickets
  • Make a reservation for Disney’s Magical Express
  • Add celebrations

And it really is as simple as that! I was pleasantly surprised by how easy everything was. If you haven’t already had the chance to try out online booking on the Disney Vacation Club Members website, I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised as well.

New Year’s Resolutions and Dining at Walt Disney World

Filed under Dining Out at Disney by Heather Macdonald on January 21, 2012 at 11:11 pm {4 comments}

You have taken the plunge a few weeks ago and made a New Year’s resolution to be healthier. Maybe you’ve started a diet or a new work out plan. The one thing you don’t want to do is derail yourself while on vacation, but you also don’t want to deprive yourself of the things you love on vacation. I’ve got some tips for how to look at your dining options to stay on track with your path to a new you!

My first tip is to plan in advance. If it’s a new work out plan, make sure you set aside time to keep up with at least some of your activities. It might mean getting up a little early or taking a break in the middle of the day to hit the gym. If you started a new diet it means really taking charge of where, when and what you are going to eat. That sounds like some pretty serious planning doesn’t it? Don’t worry it won’t be so bad!

The first thing to do is look at menus for restaurants in which you might be interested. Comprehensive menus for Walt Disney World can be found at http://allears.net/din/dining.htm. The AllEars web site also has menus for Disneyland, if you are heading to the West Coast. Once you have the menus available to you, you can decide what items are going to fit into your diet plan. Most chefs at the Table Service restaurants are more than happy to take allergy and dietary needs into consideration, just let them know ahead of time when you make your reservation, or call the restaurant directly a day or two before your reservation. The problem you might run into is at those pesky Counter Service Restaurants. Many of the menus are not at all diet friendly. I’m thinking specifically of one of my favorites: Casey’s Corner. There are several options at each park that do provide some options, so I’m going to tell you about my favorites!

In the Magic Kingdom, near the Haunted Mansion in Liberty Square, you will find Columbia Harbor House.

While there are certainly temptations at CHH it’s not too difficult to make good decisions. They have two diet friendly sandwiches and two salads on offer. The Lighthouse Sandwich is hummus and broccoli slaw with tomatoes. It’s my favorite Counter Service meal at the Magic Kingdom. Another good option is the Broccoli Peppercorn Salad, with grilled chicken. Just ask for the dressing on the side. Try and stay away from the locations that are heavy on burgers and fried food and you’ll do just fine at the Magic Kingdom.

Moving over to Epcot there are many more options available to you. Some have incredibly healthy options and others do not. Here is where planning becomes incredibly important.  Don’t plan to go to Lotus Blossom, the Chinese CS restaurant or Yorkshire County Fish Shop. You won’t find any good options at either of those locations. Do plan to eat at Sunshine Seasons in the Land Pavilion, Tangerine Cafe in Morocco, or Katsura Grill in Japan. You will still have decisions to make once you chose the right dining location. My favorite of the bunch is Sunshine Seasons over at the Land. Ride Living with the Land before eating to get an idea of all the interesting things to eat that are grown right at Epcot. Then when you get to lunch choose the Beet and Goat Cheese Salad from the soup and salad pod or the Oak Grilled Vegetable Flatbread Sandwich from the sandwich pod. See that wasn’t so hard, was it?

Over at Hollywood Studios, there are many more pitfalls to be had. While most of the Counter Service offerings have at least one healthy choice, I’m always tempted by the other options. That being said, Studio Catering Company and Starring Rolls offer the best options. The problem with Starring Rolls is that you will also discover cases of cupcakes and baked goods. Over at the Catering Company there are several healthier options: a Chicken Caesar Wrap, a Grilled Vegetable Sandwich, and a Greek Salad. In case you’ve never noticed it Studio Catering Company is over near the entrance to the Back-lot Tour.

Finally, we come to Animal Kingdom. It sounds of course like this should be the easiest place to find a healthy meal. I have found just the opposite. Each restaurant offers at least one healthy option, but there is no escaping the opportunity to chose differently. At Flame Tree BBQ you can order a Smoked Turkey Sandwich, but you might want to hold the mayo. Pizzafari offers a Chicken Caesar Salad and an Antipasto Salad. Restaurantosaurus has a Grilled Vegetable Sandwich with Sweet Potato Fries that is very tasty. Over at Tamu Tamu Refreshments you can order a Turkey Sandwich. Last but not least, is the Mandarin Chicken Salad at Yak and Yeti Counter Service. On Animal Kingdom day I like to hop on the bus to Kidani Village and have a sit down lunch at Sanaa, where I can be sure not to fall off the wagon.

Good luck with your New Year’s Resolutions everyone and Happy Eating!

 

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