Disney World

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How to Convince Your Man to Visit Walt Disney World

Published January 16, 2014 by Disneyways.com

It is well-known that Walt Disney World is loved by men all around the world for about a zillion different reasons. But what about your man? Does he need a little convincing? Back in January 2014 I had the extreme pleasure of accompanying 4 burly guys as part of a hard hat tour at the amazing new Four Seasons Resort Orlando at Walt Disney World while it was still under construction. During that time I got the inside scoop on why this beautiful resort may be just the thing to help you convince your man to come to Orlando and maybe give the parks a try while he’s here!

First though, let’s talk about you. You are going to love that The Four Seasons in Orlando is on Disney Property. Disney sold the Four Seasons the land it is sitting on in the Walt Disney World Resort area. Thus, the Four Seasons now technically owns the property but it is still right where Disney guests (you!) want to be.

Imagine sleeping here:

Park view room with fireworks view

Standing here:

oversized fully furnished balcony

And looking right out outside and seeing these:

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You aren’t quite as close as this, but the Four Seasons is just 5 miles from the Magic Kingdom. You will see fireworks as well as Spaceship Earth and more major landmarks at the park, right from your balcony of the park view rooms! Shout out to Scott from TakingTheFloridaPlunge.com for taking a video of our actual view from the hard hat tour.

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Pictured here with my burly guy friends: Left to right is Scott from TakingTheFloridaPlunge.com, Me, Jason from ChipandCo.com, Shawn from OrlandoInsiderBlog.com and Alan, Director of Marketing for the Four Seasons Orlando Resort at Walt Disney World (Photo taken by beautiful Dana who does PR for the resort)

Men know that talk is cheap and the proof is in the pudding! A great way to begin is by mentioning to your man that the Four Seasons was included on Destinology.com – Luxury Hotels’s list of Top Ten New Hotels for 2014! He will have the opportunity to stay in the ultimate of luxury surroundings at the new Four Seasons within the gates of Walt Disney World Resort. Tell him you will be trend setters because the Seasons has also been recognized for encompassing some of the most important travel trends of 2014 by Travel and Leisure!

Is he a numbers guy? When construction is finished, Four Seasons Resort Orlando at Walt Disney World will have 444-rooms and 68 suites. Amenities will also include a rooftop restaurant with views of the Magic Kingdom, a 14,000-square-foot spa with 18 treatment rooms to enjoy, 3 pools, a lazy river, and meeting-and-event space. The Four Seasons will be the one and only free-standing 5 Star Luxury Hotel In Orlando that is not attached to a convention center. The other luxury resorts in Orlando share their amenities with people attending conventions. The Four Seasons in Orlando will be an exclusive paradise for their hotel guests only. The exclusivity factor is heightened by the fact that the Four Seasons in Orlando will have over 900 employees.  That means 2 staff members for every 1 guest, including burly men like him! Aren’t those great numbers? This ratio will ensure that he will be treated with impeccable service and better access to the amazing amenities that a guy like him can enjoy! Bonus: you are going to love all of this too. The most important number of course? The price! At a starting room rack rate of $545 a night, it is hard to beat for a 5 star luxury hotel.  If you have the budget, there is the option of reserving the Four Seasons Royal Suite. At over 3,000 square feet, it is fit for a king and will run about $12,000 a night. The entire floor could be rented for a mere $45,000 a night. Worth every cent to a man who likes his space!

You can feel good about promising him private time with you, and this can be a major factor in convincing him. Why? Because Four Seasons is one of the only hotels in Orlando to offer an adult only pool and a FREE kids club. Watch his eyes light up when you tell him about the king sized beds and the ingenious design of the rooms that allow you to be separated from the kids if you want to. The Four Seasons boasts family friendly amenities too. Explorer Island includes an 8,000 square foot pool, lazy river, a see-through water slide, and a splash zone that shoots water 30 feet in the air in musical synchronization. He will love the Mansion, a family hangout spot with outdoor table tennis, pool tables, bocce ball, a fireplace and an observation deck.

Does he love sports? The Four Seasons will have him covered with golf and tennis facilities to the tune of an 18 hole golf course and 3 Hard Tru tennis courts. He can play a round of golf on the Tom Fazio course or a tennis lesson with the Four Seasons tennis pro, while the kids are having a blast in the free kids club. Rock climbing wall, beach volleyball, and basketball court? Check, check and check. Your sports lover will be packing his bags in no time.

Is the way to your man’s heart through his stomach? The Four Seasons will have incredible dining options. Everything from fine dining to pool-side food service can be enjoyed. The 17th floor at the Four Seasons will be the home to Capa, a spanish steak house, complete with nightly Magic Kingdom fireworks views. (How is that for making you both happy?) The lobby will be the home to Ravello, an Italian restaurant, on 2 levels and with an open kitchen. There will also be a quick-service dining option on the main floor of the hotel. Four Seasons will even have a character breakfast with Goofy and friends that you can enjoy as a family.

Maybe he’s in to luxury transportation or not driving at all while he’s on vacation? Be sure to tell him about the luxury motor coaches that will transport guests to and from the Disney parks on a schedule, free of charge. This will include twice hourly service to from the Ticket and Transportation Center (Magic Kingdom) and hourly service will be available directly to t Animal Kingdom Park, Hollywood Studios and Epcot.

I hope these tips for convincing your man to joyfully head to Disney World with you will be helpful! The Four Seasons Resort Orlando will have all the ingredients needed to create memorable vacations, not just for your man, but for your entire family. Throw in some magical visits to Walt Disney World Resort, and how can you go wrong? Click HERE to book your stay.

Revealed! Festival of Fantasy Parade Floats Backstage and More

Published January 15, 2014 by Disneyways.com

Spoiler alert! The nice folks at DisneyLifestylers, DisneyParksBlog, and InsideTheMagic.net have posted backstage photos of some of the magical floats that will debut this spring in the brand new Festival of Fantasy Parade. As a refresher: the new Magic Kingdom parade titled Disney Festival of Fantasy Parade, will feature new parade floats, costumes and theme music. We are expecting floats that will include themes such as “Tangled” “The Little Mermaid,” “Sleeping Beauty,” “Dumbo,” “Pinocchio,” “Peter Pan,” “Brave,” and a Princess unit. 

Over the past year The Disney Parks Blog has released concept art and photos of the floats that we know for sure are coming, so let’s start with those:

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Check out the backstage photos that the DisneyLifestylers posted HERE.

InsideMagic.net has a couple of additional ones that you can check out HERE.

Despite no official date being announced by Disney, The Disney Parks Podcast team is betting on March 16th 2014 as the first day of the parade. In fact, we have built a meetup around it! We would love to have you join us, and you can get the details HERE. This is subject to change – so be sure to check our facebook page and website for all the latest on the meetup.

If you like this post, be sure to check out SOLVING THE MYSTERY SURROUNDING THE RAPUNZEL TOWER IN NEW FANTASYLAND… and A FIRST LOOK AT THE DISNEY COLLECTION BY VERA BRADLEY “WHERE’S MICKEY?” DESIGN

World Secrets: How to Get a Last Minute Dinner Reservation at Be Our Guest

Published January 9, 2014 by Disneyways.com

Does anyone else find it a little ironic that a restaurant that is literally named, “Be Our Guest” can be so hard to get in to?

Anyone who has ever called 6 months in advance just to find out they are completely booked knows what I am talking about here. But guess what? Last night I got a seemingly impossible dinner reservation at Be Our Guest and you can do it too. In fact, you can use these tips for any popular Walt Disney World restaurant.

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Now please don’t hold it against me that I have had a little practice with this process. If you called Disney Dining at 407-WDW-Dine at any time between 2008 and 2011 or so – I might have been the one that answered the phone and got you in at your favorite Disney restaurants. However…I wasn’t a miracle worker then and I am certainly not one now. Anyone has a chance to get into the most popular Disney restaurants at the last minute by utilizing these simple tips I am about to share with you today.

I’m going to start by stating the obvious. You best bet is to plan way in advance. There are lots of articles out there with tips on how to go about doing this. However, this particular blog post is for those of you out there who for whatever reason didn’t have the luxury of planning so far ahead.

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So here is step one: try getting in 2 days before and even 1 day before you want to dine. First go on-line to WaltDisneyWorld.com and if that doesn’t work, make the phone call to Disney dining reservations at 407-WDW-Dine. In training we were always told that table inventory was exactly the same on-line and over the phone, however, for whatever reason, the system CAN show different times of availability. I have seen it happen with my own eyes. So go ahead and try both methods. You can book dining as late as 3 hours in advance but either 2 or 1 day before you are wanting to dine is your best bet. Why? Because guests will cancel either 2 or 1 day before their reservation so that they don’t get hit with the $10 per person penalty depending on the policy of the respective restaurant. That is when you can hit the jackpot, swoop in, and score your dream dining reservation.

Even if you aren’t able to accomplish your booking with step one, there is still a glimmer of hope in step two. Don’t go out of your way, but if you are close to a restaurant that you would really love to try, ALWAYS walk up to the hostess stand and ask politely if they are taking walk-ins. You just never know. This works best if you are in a smaller party of 1 to 4 people. When we dined at Be Our Guest for our late dinner, we were told they had been taking walk-ins all evening. Please be nice and be understanding if they are completely booked. They can’t give you what is not there…but it never hurts to ask…especially if you are very nice about it.

It’s OK to keep asking too. Don’t be annoying and keep bugging them every hour – BUT do try again later if you are close by and notice there aren’t a lot of guests waiting around with pagers. I have experience with working at a hostess stand at Disney as well — and I can tell you there were many days where one hour we could not take walk-ins and then an hour or two later on that same day – we were able to. It all depends on how busy the parks are and how many people just didn’t show up for their dining reservations.

Finally, if all else fails, remember you are still at Disney World! All the restaurants are special in their own ways. Check the internet for those hidden gems that often have availability at the last minute, simply because they don’t get as much “hype.”

Just a few examples:

I have found a real treasure in Biergarten! The food is terrific and they’ve got a German polka band! Restaurant Marrakesh has belly dancers! Don’t forget about the Lava Lounge in Downtown Disney. It shares a kitchen with the Rainforest Cafe – and you never need a reservation because they only take walk-ins. Many Disney resort lounges and bars serve appetizers and even full meals. You can walk right up and order fast.

Best wishes in your last minute search and “Be Our Guest” to use these tips and score some great dining! If you enjoyed this post be sure to check out our next WORLD SECRET: HOW TO GET A PRINCESS MAKEOVER WHEN THE BIBBIDI BOBBIDI BOUTIQUE IS FULLY BOOKED! 

There are even more World Secrets to be found HERE. Have a magical day!

UCF Football Team to Appear in Special Mini-Parade at Magic Kingdom

Published January 8, 2014 by Disneyways.com

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In honor of the University of Central Florida football team’s historic 52-42 win over Baylor at the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl, members of the team will appear in a special mini-parade at Magic Kingdom Park. The event is planned for Sunday, January 12, at 2 p.m., stepping off from Frontierland and heading toward Main Street, U.S.A.

Due to this event, several Entertainment offerings have been updated as follows:

  •  Move It! Shake It! Celebrate It! Street Party: 11:00 a.m., 12:30 p.m., 4:20 p.m.
  •  Main Street Trolley Show: 9:15 a.m., 10:10 a.m., 12:10 p.m., 1:05 p.m.
  •  Dream Along With Mickey: 2:20 p.m. show cancelled
  •  Frontierland Hoedown: 11:30 a.m., 12:30 p.m., 1:30 p.m., 2:30 p.m., 3:25 p.m., 4:15 p.m.

Free Printable: Do You Wanna Build a Snowman?

Published December 10, 2013 by Disneyways.com

It almost always feels like summer here in Orlando. But, do you want to build a Snowman? Here is a printable Olaf that you can keep with you, even when it’s warm out!

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Anna, me, and Elsa at Epcot. I am totally obsessed…

CLICK THE PHOTO BELOW TO ENLARGE AND PRINT!

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Disney Inspired Jewelry at a NEW Discount for Christmas

Published December 7, 2013 by Disneyways.com

I got a note from Julie this week and have posted it for you over on this page! Be sure to check it out if you are looking for something special this Christmas for that Disney lover in your life! Have a magical weekend!

Julie

MagicBands – Disney News and More!

Published November 23, 2013 by Disneyways.com

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Don’t miss the latest episode of the Disney Parks Podcast! Exciting Disney news and so much more!

Just click the photo above to be taken to the show!

Have a magical day!

 

 

On This Day in Disney History: November 21st

Published November 21, 2013 by Disneyways.com

Nov21

 

1929:
The following snippet appears in this day’s issue of The Film Daily
(a daily Hollywood publication):
Walt Disney, with his “Mickey Mouse” and “Silly Symphonies” series, is paving the way for
a bigger and better year. Grauman’s Chinese, Carthay Circle, Fox Palace, and Criterion
theaters have signed for the product. The Disney boys are making rapid headway with
their creations, adding new sound effects with each cartoon.

1942:
Mouseketeer Ronnie Steiner is born in Canada.
He joined the Mickey Mouse Club in the first season as a dancer.

1955:
The Mickey Mouse Club airs on ABC-TV. Today is Fun With Music Day. Musical numbers include Roy Williams dressed as the “boy at the dike” singing Roy at the Dike and Jimmie Dodd dressed as Tom Sawyer (along with a handful of the Mouseketeers) singing Painting Aunt Polly’s Fence.

2001:
Disney World unveils its holiday lights and decorations with The Osborne Family Spectacle of Lights at Disney-MGM Studios.
(Arkansas businessman Jennings Osborne received worldwide attention when he first created the luminous light show for his daughter more than a decade ago.) The glowing bulbs light Residential Street, Washington Square and New York Street in merry holiday displays that include 170 flying angels, two 30-foot-tall carousels, illuminated trees, and 50 lighted Mickey Mouse figures.

New Information on the Construction in Morocco at Epcot

Published November 20, 2013 by Disneyways.com

spice road table

We got some new information on Spice Road Table, the exciting new waterfront restaurant coming to the Moroccan World Showcase Pavilion in Epcot! I wrote a story for Chip & Company with all the details! You can check it out HERE.  I can’t wait to see the new restaurant, how do you feel about it?  

An Interview with Belle in Episode 79 of the Podcast!

Published November 20, 2013 by Disneyways.com

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It’s hard for me to believe I am even writing this, but yes, it’s true! We were very fortunate that the awesome Julie Nathanson, current speaking and singing voice of Disney’s Princess Belle agreed to come on the Disney Parks Podcast as our very special guest. Julie is warm, sassy, funny, and she has so many wonderful qualities that you would probably expect from Princess Belle herself. There is so much feminist controversy over the Disney Princesses and my very favorite part of the interview was hearing Julie put into words how she feels about Belle, and why Belle’s character is a wonderful example for young girls. Julie has such a beautiful way of expressing herself that I admire so very much.

More great moments during the interview include:

  • The story of how Julie got a part on a soap opera, which one it was, and what character she played
  • What it has been like to be the voice of Belle, and how she got the job
  • Julie sharing how she feels about filling the shoes of the amazing Paige O’Hara (the original voice of Belle)
  • There is so much MORE to Julie besides playing Belle and it’s awesome to learn how versatile she has been in her career. Some of her other roles may surprise you!
  • I couldn’t sweet talk Julie into singing for us on the air but you can click HERE to hear a sample of her singing as Belle on iTunes
  • The always exciting rapid fire questions!

Here are some ways to tune in:

You can catch Julie’s episode by visiting DisneyParksPodcast.com directly from your computer. Look for the small grey circle with the sideways white triangle inside. Click on that circle and make sure your speakers are on. The show will begin immediately.

Please head over to iTunes and subscribe! This will give you access to each episode as soon as it is released.