It’s here……the force is strong with this one. Beginning this weekend and going throughout the weekends in June, Star Wars will be back at Hollywood Studios. I will be there, but unfortunately will not be partaking in the activities. From past experience, if you are a fan of anything Star Wars, check it out, it is a must see event!!!
Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party tickets are now on sale.
My wife and I attended our first MNSSHP last year and it was amazing. We had read some reviews and decided that October was a great time of the year to go to Disney World. We carefully decided what type of costumes we were going to wear. Now before all you Dads,boyfriends, and men say “I am not wearing a costume.” You will not be alone if you do. I saw many Dads, boyfriends, and men wearing their best Mickey, Goofy, or Woody outfits.
This is the perfect time for you to be a child again. I went dressed as an old Mouseketeer, while my wife went as a pirate. We had candy bags and we trick or treated right along with the youngest of children. It was so much fun.
Held on select evenings at the Magic Kingdom, you will need to purchase an additional ticket to attend.
Performances of Mickey’s Boo-To-You Parade and Happy HalloWishes Fireworks, as well as your favorite Disney characters in costume, themed-decor, and so much more.
It’s practically like getting an extra day within the Magic Kingdom, I say this, because they allow you to enter at 4pm for the party, which doesn’t start until 7pm. All of the rides were still open and the lines were not that bad, if you don’t mind wearing your costume on Space Mountain.
If you are heading to Disney or Magic Kingdom in October, make plans to attend Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party, you will have a great time.
Parties will take place:
September 11,14,18,21,25,28, & 30
October 4,5,8,11,12,14,16,18,21,23,25,26,28,30, & 31
November 2
*Book now as tickets will go quickly!!
Heading to Star Wars Weekends at Hollywood Studios? If you are a fan of Darth Vader looking for that afternoon snack, be sure to hunt down a Darth Vader Cupcake.
The Darth Vader cupcakes will be sold at the Starring Rolls Bakery, ABC Commissary, Backlot Express, Studio Catering Company, and Pizza Planet at Hollywood Studios during Star Wars weekends.
Luke I am a cupcake……
When I first saw that my wife had created personalized maps of parks at Disney World, I thought, “I have been here 42 times, why do I need a map?” I guess I just wasn’t sure what to expect.
When I pulled them out of the very neat envelope, I was blown away by the quality of these maps. I should not have been completely surprised, after all, they are from Disney.
All you have to do is create a profile on DisneyWorld.com, you then go through and create your very own customized maps for your vacation. Mark out your favorite spots and rides, then Disney will send you a map of each park, personalized for you and your family.
According to the website, these maps take about three weeks to print and send out, however, my wife says that it was closer to a month turn around time.
I feel that the detail that goes into these maps is incredible, they are nothing like what you pick up in the parks. The best part is that Disney will send these maps to you completely free of charge. They do stipulate however, that you may only request customized maps once every six months.
Some ideas that I have come up with for my newly acquired maps, are that they are suitable for framing as a keepsake.
You could also use them to surprise your children or family with a trip to Disney World or Disneyland.
If you are a Disney enthusiast, order these colorful, detail maps, and keep an eye on the mailbox, you won’t be disappointed!!
Where can you get awesome food, great drinks, and lineup of artists and supergroups of the past? Head on down to Disney World and go to Epcot during the International Food & Wine Festival.
Eat To The Beat concert series gets into full swing starting September 28th, 2012. This is one of my favorite times of the year to attend the festivities at Epcot. The artists typically appear at the America Gardens Theater three times per evening during the festival.
The concerts are every night during Food and Wine, as opposed to the weekends-only schedule of the Epcot International Flower and Garden Festival, which is currently running at the theme park. The concerts are included in your paid admission to Epcot.
The schedule, subject to change, is as follows:
Sept. 28-30 Night Ranger
Oct 1-3 Sugar Ray
Oct 4-7 Starship Featuring Mickey Thomas
Oct 8-10 Boyz II Men
Oct 11-12 Smash Mouth
Oct 13-14 Javier Colon (Last years The Voice winner)
Oct 15-17 Air Supply
Oct 18-19 Gin Blossoms
Oct 20-21 Survivor
Oct 22-23 Hanson
Oct 24-25 Pointer Sisters
Oct 26-28 Sister Hazel
Oct 29-31 Billy Ocean
Nov 1-2 38 Special
Nov 3-4 Howard Jones LIVE
Nov 5-6 Blues Traveler
Nov 7-8 Dennis DeYoung
Nov 9-11 Big Bad Voodoo Daddy
If you are a fan of classic, muscle, or exotic cars, then the place to be is Downtown Disney for Car Masters Weekend. Confirmed to be returning on June 2 and June 3 this summer. This event was launched last year.
Car Masters Weekend celebrates the Cars movies with meet and greets with Lightning McQueen, Tow Mater, and Finn McMissile.
Events for this year include:
If you are a car enthusiast, or if your children are fans of the movie Cars, this is sure to be a fun time to be had by all!!!
Ka-Chow!!!!
This weekend I had the opportunity to take part in the 500 Festival Mini Marathon 5K here in Indianapolis. As part of this experience, I had to pick up my packet and bib number. It was there, that I discovered Run Disney. I spoke with a representative for nearly an hour about all of the different races that could be running not only at Walt Disney World, but Disneyland as well.
These races are ran starting in January and going until November throughout the various parks. What a better idea, than to plan a quick getaway or family vacation around the running of a fantastic race.
This is definitely something that I want to work towards. The medals that you receive are absolutely stunning. I am sure that running throughout the parks, is something that would create a memory for a lifetime, or until you get the urge to participate again.
If you are interested in participating in runDisney, you can go to http://www.runDisney.com for more details.
Disneyland Half Marathon Weekend – August 31st-September 2,2012
The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror- 10-miler Weekend (WDW) Sept 28-29 2012
Disney Wine & Dine Half Marathon Weekend- (WDW) November 9-10, 2012
Walt Disney World Marathon Weekend – January 10-13, 2013
Tinkerbell Half Marathon Weekend – (Disneyland) January 18-20,2013
Disney’s Princess Half Marathon Weekend (WDW) February 22-24,2013
A couple of months ago, I wrote a blog regarding the new FastPass system, that WDW parks was about to roll out. It appears that Disney began testing this a couple of days ago, with a select number of guests in the Magic Kingdom.
Each FastPass attraction is now equipped with a new RFID sensor to read an encoded card that is issued to the each guest using the system.
The readers are stylishly decorated with a Mickey head. If you blinked, the days of paper tickets and the manual process of reading the ticket by a cast member are gone. The new reader can check if your card is valid in an instant.
During the testing, cast members are stationed around the attractions with iPads, allowing them to display or edit a guests FastPass itinerary in the event of the guest not having email access.
Like everything, it will take a minute to get used to the change.
I feel like this is a great next step for Walt Disney World parks, however, I have always maintained that it is sometimes difficult to maintain a solid game plan when in the parks. If you are a guest staying on property now and asked to plan your attractions, the spontaneity is somewhat taken out of the equation.
How do you feel about the next generation of FastPass? Would love to hear your opinions?
