Welcome Home

It has been a long time since I posted anything. And that is very bad of me. I need to start posting more and more so that I can have my blog be very useful for people.

I have been planning a trip for November to head down to the world. I have also been looking to book a few trips for people also for November and also a couple of people in the summer. Needless to say it has been a lot of fun.

I am a little sad to be missing the marathon this year. I have always had a lot of fun running in the Disney races. And this year is the anniversary of the half marathon and the medal is really cool looking! It makes me want to run it just to get it!

Well I will be back now and writing more and more blogs.

What should we do while waiting in lines

I am sure that you are seeing this picture wondering why this picture is associated with the blog. Well it is simple but there is a little story that I need to tell so that you will understand.

June 2007. We had missed out on getting fastpasses to ride Soarin. this is one of my favorite rides and I didn't want to miss it. So we went in the stand by line and just decided to tough it out. And when I say tough it out, the wait time for standby was 120 minutes. You read that correctly. Over 2 hours to wait. The interactive line games had just been put in, but it was a long wait until we even got to those. So my niece decided that she was going to play a little game. We were going to see how many people would give her a high five as they walked by in the fastpass line. Lots of people ignored her but there were a ton that played along. And my whole party made a fun game out of it. We all counted and cheered as people would do it. The picture is of the girl that was the 100th person to do it. We made a big deal out of it and asked the girl to take her picture with us. It was a very memorable moment of our trip. And every time we see this picture we always talk about it. It was a ton of fun.

Sorry for the long story but it really helped the time go by very quickly. So I will now talk about the things that you can do to help the time go quickly while waiting in line. First I would like to say if at all possible get the fastpass. That will really maximize your touring. But if you get caught in line here a few things that you can do.

• Buy the portable Disney 20 questions - this helped me through a lot of lines.
• Bring the Hidden Mickey's guide book and hunt for hidden Mickeys
• Lou Mongello's Walt Disney World Trivia book.
• Look around the queue line- imagineers like to entertain all the time and they are always adding little things to see. And make sure while waiting for Jungle Cruise you listen to the radio announcements.
• Go through pictures on your camera.
• When I tour the park by myself I like to listen to my iPod (I would only do that if I was alone)

Disney has also tried to help the lines by adding more interactive queues. And they have succeeded. The one for the Pooh ride is a lot of fun. I bet you that most kids would have more fun playing in the queue than they would riding the ride. Space Mountain and the Haunted Mansion are the newest additions to this field.

These are just a few ways. But I would also use this time to just sit back and talk to your family or the people you are traveling with. I have had more fun just talking to the people that I am with. Its a great way to create those memories that Walt Disney World creates for us.

Fun when not in the parks

Sometimes when you are at the parks all day you need some time to just unwind. Time to take a break from running around and just relax.

I would say the most popular option is to use the swimming pools. And let me tell you the Walt Disney Resorts have some of the best pools in the industry. And I am not just talking about the moderate or deluxe resorts. The value pools are a lot of fun even if they don't have water slides. A lot of fun can be had there. And for you adults that like to partake at least one pool at your resort will be near an outdoor bar. And there is something nice about sitting out by the pool having a drink while that is very relaxing.

One thing that I love to do with people is go into the gift shop and try on all of the hats. I have taken so many pictures of just different people that I am traveling with trying on the hats. It is always good for a laugh.

I have always had a lot of fun touring other resorts. I will take one of the busses to a resort I have never been too and just walk around. Look at the arcade, pool, store, and everything that the the resort has to offer.

A very big time waster is heading to Downtown Disney. I have spent hours walking around the Marketplace and the Westside. I could spend an hour just in the art of Disney store looking at all of the things that I wish I could afford. And if you make it there you will be able to head over to the Ghiradelli chocolate store and get some ice cream with Ghiradelli chocolate. And that is definitely not to be missed.

There are lots of paths and trails that you can always go and explore on. Or try renting a boat or a watermouse and cruise around Bay lake. That is a little more expensive but it is a good way to spend the afternoon.

The Dining Plan

It has been a long time since I have posted anything. Looking back I can see that it has almost been a month. That is ridiculous. I need to get better about posting something almost every day. So I will post again today.

I have been working on getting together some trips for people and so I decided that I would actually do a break down of the costs and see if it was really worth it to get the Disney dining plan. I hate to say this but it is really all going to depend on what you like to do on your vacation. If you like to eat then it is probably something that you will want to do. So here is the break down of what you get.

Quick Service

• 2 quick service meals (meal, dessert, and drink)
• 2 snacks
• 1 refillable mug per person
  

Dining Plus

• 1 quick service meal (meal, dessert, and drink)
• 1 sit down dinner
• 1 snack

Premium Dining Package

• 3 meals (mix and match quick service and sit down)
• 2 snacks
• 1 mug per person

So there are the plans and what you get. Looking at everything you get I figured out that if you were to order the most expensive thing for every option at all of your meals it would save you $6.97 a day for Quick Service and $6.59 a day for the dining plus. What you eat should definitely be taken into effect when you are looking at this package.

The premium package could be a really good deal if you like all of the food and only if you utilize two sit down meals a day. If you did two quick service and a sit down it would not be worth the money. But if you do the sit down meals on the premium package you will get the appetizers. And that adds to the value!

I have done the dining plan once. And it was when it first started. What I remember was it was a ton of food. I mean almost too much! But if you like to eat on your vacation that is definitely the way to do it.

Don't forget that you can use two table service meals to get one special dining. Special dining would be character meals, Hoopy Doo Revue, and Ohana. I have done that a few times and they were well worth it.

I hope that this post helps you looking at the meal plan. If you have any questions feel free to contact me and I can talk you through it.

Hooray for Hollywood. Hooray Hooray Hooray for Hollywood.

Take a stroll into Disney's Hollywood Studios and walk all the way until you see the giant sorcerer's hat. And behind that hat sits one amazing ride. That ride is.............The Great Movie Ride.

The first thing that you will notice about the ride is that it is inside of Grauman's Chinese theatre. So out front you will be able to walk around and see all of the celebrity feet and handprints. It is really cool to walk around and see some of the people that have left their mark. There are some big names that your kids will notice and then there are many that they will not. My favorites are the Muppets and R2-D2 and C3-Po.

When you first walk into the theatre you are greeted with movie memorabilia from many different Disney Films. The carousel horse that Julie Andrews rode in Mary Poppins is in there a long with a few costumes. In the peak season you might get the opportunity to walk through the whole lobby. In the off season you will just be able to walk right in and go into the theatre.

Here is where you will see a real treat. In the theatre there are winding rows for you to walk to get into the vehicles area. But you are treated with trailers for many different movies. Don't be surprised if you hear some people singing along with the trailers. There are are trailers for Raiders of the Lost Ark, Mary Poppins, Fantasia, Singing in the Rain, Casablanca, and Alien to name a few.

From there you walk through double doors into the backstage area. It is the picture at the top of the blog. You get into your vehicle and then the journey begins. You will travel through memorable scenes from many different films and all types of different genres. The animatronics are something to be seen. Especially when you make it to Munchinland and you see a certain wicked witch.

There is a live tour guide taking you through all of these movies and driving the ride vehicles. So there is a little bit of interaction with them and a few other hidden surprises.

Most of the scenes that you will go through are not that scary but you do go through the ship that was used in Alien and there are a few Aliens in there that will pop out at you. They have tamed it down from what it used to do. But it could cause some anxious children or adults. It is certainly no Dinosaur.

The culmination of this fun ride is movie montage at the end. That is by far my favorite part of this ride. Sitting there and watching all of the clips that they have put together. Ranging from Charlie Chaplin to Finding Nemo and everything in between. With a great score. It is not to be missed.

This has always been one of my favorite rides at Hollywood Studios. I will go on it every time that I go there. And while there are some people that will say that this ride is getting dated and that the movies don't have as much relevance as they once did, I will totally disagree. This ride is timeless. While some of the people might not know all of the films, they are all important to the history of movies. Would I be mad if they updated a few of the scenes with newer movies? I would not. But there are some that you have to leave in there because they are not represented in today's movies. The movie musical had been gone for some time, now it is starting to make a comeback. But none will ever have the charm as Singing in the Rain or Mary Poppins.

So give it a chance and ride the Great Movie Ride. I don't think that you will disappointed.

Running around the world

So I have run two races at Walt Disney World. I ran the half marathon in 2010 and then the full marathon in 2011. Both of the races were very cool and very challenging. But something that I was very excited to do.

The Half Marathon course is not as scenic as the Full but it was still a very rewarding experience. It starts in the Epcot Parking lot and you run to the Magic Kingdom. You enter in from backstage and then you run down mainstreet. There was nothing like running down Mainstreet USA. To look ahead of you and see the castle was a very cool experience. It then took you around through tomorrow land and up to Frontierland and then back behind Splash Mountain. And then the run back to Epcot. That was the worst part. Having to run down the high way twice. It just seemed like there was not much to look at. But you finished running through Epcot and then back down to the finish line. It was a fun course and one I will do again.

The Full is certainly much better in terms of things to look at. But that is because it is so much longer. It starts in Epcot just like the half. And it goes through part of Epcot. You run through Future world and then into the Mexico. You exit out backstage through Japan. From there you are on your way to the Magic Kingdom. It is a long run down the highway to the Magic Kingdom. Then you run the magic kingdom and out the back and on your way to the Animal Kingdom. The run through the animal Kingdom was my favorite. I really like that park and there is so much to look at it. It was way cool. From there you run to Hollywood studios. This is also a really cool run. You run through the backlot tour. And then from there you are almost done. You take the back route to Epcot. We ran by the boardwalk, Swan, and Yacht and beach club. And then back into Epcot in the United kingdom. And then all the way through the world showcase and then through future world and then out to the finish line.

That was a very basic run down of the race courses. I could have talked about it for days. One of the things that makes these races so much for run to in, is all of the stuff going on during the race. They have costumed characters all of the race course that people were stopping and getting their pictures taken. There were even a few people that ran and stopped to ride Expedition Everest. But just when you think you are tired of running you see something that will keep you going. I don't think that I would want to run a race in any other place because there can't be as much to watch.

I would recommend that people looking for a race choose to run a Disney race. It is for runners and non-runners a like. And totally worth it.

Touring the Galaxy

So in 2 days they are going to opening up the new Star Tours. My friends are actually riding it today. I am waiting to hear back from them. But on some of the things that I have already heard is that it is awesome. They have added 3-D effects to this ride and I am very excited for that.

They have also added random elements to the ride. It can go to different destinations. They say that you would have to ride it 6 hours straight before you saw all of the random elements. And that is so very cool to me. It has always been one of my favorite rides. I know that it was built in the 90s but it was still one of those rides that I will go on over and over again. Just walking through the Ewok village is really cool. If you listen closely you will hear the Ewoks talking in the trees. and AT-AT is such an awesome picture opportunity.

And a few years ago they built a Jedi Academy stage. This is a really fun place to go and watch the kids battle Darth Vador in light saber battles. If you want to get your kid on stage to do this activity make sure that you get there early. The shows are multiple times in a day.

It just so happens to coincide with Star Wars weekends. Star Wars weekends have always been a really cool time to go to Hollywood Studios. It is crowded but a lot of fun for the Star Wars fans. This year the Star Wars celebs are not as big names but there are still some cool people. Ray Parks is going to be there. He played Darth Maul and does some really cool stuff at his question and answer times. I think that he is going to be there two weekends.

They also offer a lot of exclusive Star Wars weekend merchandise. You could spend an hour walking through the merchandise area and just looking at everything. They have these things called Big Figs that you have to check out. One of my favorite is Mickey Mouse dressed up like Luke Skywalker with Yoda on his back. It is really awesome. Or Goofy as Darth Vador with his red Mickey Boxers on. Very funny. They also had the Muppets dressed as Star Wars characters as well.

So if you get a chance go and check out Star Tours or Star Wars weekends. I know if I was down there I would totally go.

"The force will be with you. Always."