I’m always trying to find unusual things to photograph and this fun picture presented itself while I was visiting the Disney Store in Times Square, New York:
I wonder how many litres are in that Corona Light?
I wanted a shot that would show both Times Square and represent the reason for my visit which was, of course, the Disney Store. So this shot of a huge Mickey Mouse seemingly climbing the side of a building like King Kong was ideal.
Fortunately, I’m the only one who shot him!
You’ve dreamed of it for years. You’ve planned it out for months. You’ve been packing for days. Now it is time. Your trip to a Disney Theme Park is about to begin!
Will it live up to your expectations? (Photo from Disney PhotoPass CD)
Disney is probably one of the most talked about, and hyped, vacation destinations of all time. We all know someone who has been. We have all seen advertisements for the latest promotions. In one way or another, we have all built up a bias as to what we expect.
Is this true of you?
If so, perhaps you were influenced by the Internet. It is filled with Trip Reports. This is when a person visits one of the Disney Theme Parks and then takes the time to tell the world how it all went. They list what they liked. And they list what they didn’t like.
One Trip Report that was posted on the MSN homepage did just that. But what stood out to me was one assessment about a certain attraction. It is called Soarin’, and is found in EPCOT at Walt Disney World. This ride simulates hang gliding over California. They said, basically, that it was a disappointment because their children thought that they would be really flying. When it turned out to be only a simulation, they called it lame.
And therein lies the problem with basing our perception of a Disney Park on what other people experienced: their experience was tainted by expectation. Would we fail to enjoy Soarin’ too because it is a simulation, and not the real thing? Possibly. And yet Soarin’ remains one of EPCOT’s most popular rides. So who is right? It is impossible to say.
What we can say is that we are more likely to enjoy our visit to The Happiest Place on Earth if we just go and take it for what it is, and not what someone else expected it to be. A Disney Park offers something for everyone. Yes, you may not enjoy Soarin’, but you will definitely enjoy some other ride. Overall, you will have things that you liked, and things that you didn’t like. Just like everyone else.
Does this mean that we shouldn’t read Trip Reports? Of course not! These can sometimes be informative, and provide a basic guideline for planning our trip. But should they be used to make a final decision about a ride, attraction, or Park? By no means.
I had just one expectation when I planned to visit Walt Disney World back in 2005. I expected to have fun. And I did! Some things weren’t what I thought they’d be. Other things were. Did this make or ruin my trip? No!
The point: Don’t expect your expectations to turn out the way you expected! But of course, that’s just my opinion.
Wow, that’s a mouthful! Anyway, I picked these up during my last Disney Store Roadtrip:
“What do you want to do?” “I dunno, what do you want to do?”
Well, let’s not start that again! Instead, did you know that these four vultures from Disney’s The Jungle Book were loosely patterned after a certain musical foursome from Liverpool, England? Yes, some similarities can be seen to the Beatles, but stopping just short of a copyright infringement!
These are from the Jungle Book Vinylmation series, but the vultures were the only one of the set I wanted. So I determined that if I shook the box, the vultures would be too light to rattle, and that they would also be lighter than a full figure Vinylmation. Turns out I was right and the one blind box I bought did indeed contain my favorites!
Sorry Disney, I deeked you out this time around!
Food is not usually a big part of our Disney vacations. Oh, we eat! But we don’t exploit the Disney Dining Plan or indulge in expensive sit-down restaurants. Counter-service and smaller venues suit our by-the-seat-of-our-pants style of fun.
So places like Earl of Sandwich are perfect for us because we can just pop in whenever we get hungry and pick something up quick and relatively inexpensively. Something like this for instance:
Roast Turkey Melt with Pasta Salad side and… beer!
OK, hand me almost anything with a pasta side and I’ll eat it. Add a beer and I’m a repeat customer! On the other hand, my wife has Celiac Disease, so she pretty much has to eat whatever gluten-free options are on the menu. But that’s a different story!
I completely enjoyed the Earl of Sandwich in Downtown Disney in California, but wasn’t as impressed with the one in the Florida DTD. Has anyone else eaten at both? Do you agree with me, or is my taste a bit off?
I can’t imagine using these cute little Princess erasers! Rubbing a part of their head off just to correct a mistake just seems… wrong somehow.
The only problem with displaying these little cuties is that their hands and heads fall off. Other than that…
I can’t remember where I got these, and had actually forgotten I even had them until I was looking through my picture files for my Disneyana collection. Something like this is inexpensive to buy yet fun to own!
NOTICE: There are no spelling mistakes in this post to avoid Princess eraser damage.
Spoiler Alert: If you haven’t enjoyed Splash Mountain and The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror yet, don’t read this article! Everyone else, enjoy!
I think we can all agree that the first time we experienced a Disney show, Ride, or Attraction, was the best time! Not knowing what to expect only heightened the fun and made us gasp and giggle at all the right places. We can never get closer to the feelings that the Imagineers wanted to invoke in us than during our first exposure.
I’d like to share with you two such experiences from my Walt Disney World visits.
We’re in the third row
Example One: The first year my wife and I visited The Magic Kingdom together; one of the first Attractions we wanted to ride was Splash Mountain. I knew quite a bit about the original movie that it was based on, but knew almost nothing about the Ride itself. But I knew the main thing to watch out for – the Drop! But when would it come?
As you probably know, the Imagineers fake you out several times during the Ride with smaller drops. But during our first ride we braced for The Big One each and every time! This added an extra level of suspense to the Ride that is now gone as we ride as experienced Guests. Or is it?
We now enjoy living vicariously through the screams of the many First-timers we ride with. We know what’s coming up, but they don’t!
Example Two: I’m almost embarrassed about this next one! The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror is an obvious Screamer of an Attraction. You know going in that you are going to drop many times. But again, as a Newbie, I didn’t know quite when the drop would begin, or how bad it would be. So as I was all caught up in the preamble of the show, we entered the Elevator Shaft. I’m expecting to drop now! Instead, the Ride Vehicle stops, and doors open in front of me (I was sitting in the front row my first time). I now have a nice view of the Hollywood Backlot. I see Herbie the Love Bug, and being a Disney Movie Geek, I turn to my wife to let her know he’s there. My words exactly: “Hey dear, look! It’s Herbie the Lo-aaaaaaaaaaaHHHH!” The Ride chose that moment to plunge me into oblivion. I was not expecting the very thing I came on the Ride for! Those Imagineers faked me out again.
Well, they can’t fool me twice, but they can fool other Newbies. So now I enjoy the ride almost as much my umpteenth time as I watch and see others sucked in by the Imagineers!
Spoiler Alert: We all miss our first time experiences. As the years go by, maybe they begin to fade just a little bit. But we can overcome nature’s spoiler alerts (from our memories) by not ruining the experience for others. Let others have those same magical memories by containing your impulse to yell out “Here it comes!” right before a big drop, or “Oh, watch this part!” during a Movie or Disney Show.
That way, we will all have many cherished first-time experiences at Disney Parks.
This post won’t be complete until you share your funny or amazing first-time experience at a Disney Park! Please take a moment or two to share it in the comments section.
102 Ways To Save Money at Walt Disney World
by Lou Mongello
Lou Mongello is an internationally-recognized expert and historian about the Walt Disney World Resort. A former attorney and IT director, he is the author of the Walt Disney World Trivia Books (Volumes I and II), as well as the Audio Guides to Walt Disney World, in which Lou takes you on a virtual tour of the Disney parks and resorts, enjoying their details, history, stories and overlooked experiences, all with the ambient sounds of the parks surrounding you.
Podcasting since early 2005, Lou is also the Host and Producer of WDW Radio, and the WDW Radio LIVE NewsCast, a LIVE weekly online video broadcast and chat covering Walt Disney World news and rumors. And he does a lot of other Disney-related stuff too!
The Overview
I’m always looking to save money when at Walt Disney World and have found some interesting and novel ways to do it over the years. But I always thought it was impossible for anyone to know all of the ways… until now! Lou Mongello certainly has done his research for this book.
From the basic pre-trip planning to detailed suggestions and links, this book will give you the A – Z of planning a successful WDW vacation. Tickets, packages, dining, packing, and shopping, are just some of the highlights.
The Review
For me, a seasoned Walt Disney World visitor, I was most impressed with the sheer amount of links. Whether to one of Lou’s podcasts or an official website, there is plenty of in-depth research material available outside of the actual pages of the book. This was especially beneficial when discussing some of Disney’s new programs, or existing but hard to understand programs, like the Disney Dining Plan. It always seemed like Greek to me, but with the links, I was finally able to understand exactly what I would need to do to fully benefit from such programs.
One of my favorite tips involved travel. Lou explains how sites such as Hotwire.com and Priceline.com work, how to use them to the best advantage, but also what pitfalls to watch out for. For instance, tickets bought on these sites cannot be changed if your plans do, and “you will NOT earn frequent flyer miles for flights booked on these sites.” This kind of information is throughout the book and very valuable if you’re like me and don’t have a lot of experience with such services!
Also, did you know that you don’t have to order the full combination meal at counter-service restaurants? You can just order the burger, for example, and save money by not paying for the fries and drink. Thanks Lou!
Conclusion
As I said, I’m not new to the whole Walt Disney World vacation thing, but this book still had many tips that will definitely make my next vacation more magical. I challenge anyone to read this book without coming away with a dozen or more tips that they plan to use, and honestly, I’m sure you’ll find many more than that!
Reviewing Disney Memories in 2009
I highly recommend this book, both for the initial read, and for the hours of extra viewing via links and podcast episodes. I’ll be keeping a copy on my mobile device for future reference!
This review of 102 Ways to Save Money at Walt Disney World by Lou Mongello is part of a Magical Blogorail sponsored campaign.
Disney expert and podcasting pioneer, Lou Mongello, shares 102 ways you can have the most magical Disney vacation without breaking the bank in this comprehensive, detailed, 197-page guide. 102 Ways to Save Money For and At Walt Disney World guide is a MUST HAVE for any family planning toward a Disney vacation.
If you would like a copy of Lou Mongello’s 102 Ways to Save Money at Walt Disney World please enter to win our giveaway below. Please click here if the entry widget is not shown below.
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Front and Back Covers
The thing I enjoy most about collecting is that you just never know where or when the next big find is going to come from. I’ve been looking for a guide to this World’s Fair for years because it hosted many Pavilions designed and built by Walt Disney’s Imagineering company.
But before we get to the individual Pavilions, how about a couple of maps to get your bearings?
Approaches to the Fair
Plan of the Fair 
Enlarge to find Disney Pavilions
For this second map, I’ve circled in red the numbers indicating each Pavilion’s location and labeled each with the name of the sponsor and/or attraction. So definitely enlarge this one to get an idea of where each Pavilion was in relation to the others.
The four Disney Pavilions were:
Unfortunately, this attraction was not pictured in the book, but only explained. Perhaps this was intentional to increase the impact on the audience to the animatronic Lincoln.
I’ll be reading this book over the next little while and will share tidbits that I find about Disney and the wonderful Pavilions that he and his team created.
No, I didn’t get today’s chocolate from a recent airplane trip, but just at my local WalMart. Disney’s follow-up to the Cars franchise hasn’t quite hit the heights hoped for, but it did spawn a sequel (that actually looks better than the original) and these tasty little chocolate eggs:
Zaini strikes again!
Zaini has a multitude of character chocolate eggs on the market, many of them tied into one Disney franchise or another. Even though I wasn’t too impressed with Planes, and haven’t added it to my Blu-Ray collection yet, I was curious to see what the toys would look like.
And I wanted chocolate.
13 toy planes available in all
These toys always come in two or three pieces for you to assemble and with a pad of stickers. Believe me when I tell you that it isn’t easy to affix tiny stickers to a tiny plastic toy!
I bought four eggs which usually cost about a buck and a half.
I was just musing about how popular any post involving chocolate becomes on this site. I’m considering changing the name of my site from Disney Nouns to Disney Chocolate. What do you think?
I can swim. I don’t like swimming. So I don’t usually hang around the pools while on my Disney vacations. However, I do enjoy the theming and so usually end up taking dozens of pictures for my ever-growing photographic collection. But don’t worry, I don’t take pics of people in the pools! That would just be creepy.
I wondered what I could contribute to this topic when it first came up, but then remembered a special moment my wife and I had while visiting the gift shop at The Grand Floridian Resort and Spa. This is what I saw out of the side window near the rear of the store:
Just tipping to just finishing up…
This splash pad, themed after Alice in Wonderland (hence the big hat), was pretty cool (pun intended). It took quite some time to fill up, but when it did:
Slash down!
It was a cooler day so not many kids braved the deluge and chose to watch the big splash from a safe distance. But I think it’s clear that if someone did stand underneath the hat when it tipped, they’d get very wet!
This fun spot opened in September of 2012. The splash area features several waterfalls, two slides, and a central play area for the kids. Some of the special water effects take place on a timer, while others are operated by kids pulling on pull-cords and turning valves. In traditional Disney style, the design of the playground is highly detailed with images of Alice, the Mad Hatter, White Rabbit and friends. There are various tea cups and tea kettles spraying water, and the Mad Hatter’s hat turns over periodically to dump its contents onto the unsuspecting children playing below. Thanks to DisZine for this little synopsis.
So if jumping into a pool isn’t your thing, why not try a good old fashion soaking courtesy of the Mad Hatters 10/6 size hat!
Thank you for joining me today. Your next stop on the Magical Blogorail Loop is The Disney Mamas.
And here is the map of our Magical Blogorail should you have missed a stop along the way and want to reboard:
1st Stop ~ DISTherapy: Nanea Volcano Pool at the Polynesian
2nd Stop ~ Heidi’s Head: Port Orleans Riverside
3rd Stop ~ In the Mouse House: Stormalong Bay
4th Stop ~ Disney Nouns (You are Here!)
Final Stop ~ The Disney Mamas: Disney Cruise Ship Pools
Disleelandia 