Deadlines For Disney

Most people look at how far in advance we're planning this trip and they figure that it's pretty early to be making arrangements.  At this point we have more than 600 day till we should be walking into the front gates.  Planning a Disney trip this far in advance isn't really that unthinkable.  Not only is it fun to plan, not only is there lots to think about, but Disney actually starts its reservation dates fairly far in advance.  You also have to be careful if you have specific plans as certain meals and hotels can sell out long before you arrive.

There are a few important dates one must keep in mind when booking your Disney vacation.  The first is actually starting to creep up on us right now.  500 days before you want to stay at Disney World, you can reserve your resort room.  At this point you can put down a deposit and be sure you'll stay in the resort you want.  I'm not sure, but I think you can change your mind and switch resorts, however there are no guarantees that you'll get the other room.

After the 500th day, you get a bit of breathing room.  The next important day is 180 days before your trip starts.  This is probably the most important day for making your plans and reservations, particularly for popular restaurants and special added attractions.  At the 180th day you can make all of your restaurant reservations and extra attraction reservations.  If you're staying outside of the park grounds then you'll have to call 180 days before each of the days you want to book something.  However if you're staying at an official resort you can make all of your reservations on the same day for up to 10 days into your trip.

I've read stories that many restaurants will fill up within minutes of the phone lines opening for reservations.  So by day 180 you want to have an idea about some of the extra attractions and popular restaurants you might want to visit.  Disney also announces many of the expected closures and extra park hours at the 180 day mark.

After day 180 we really only have to worry about getting there.  Since we're driving from Canada the whole way, we have to plan our route and book hotels accordingly.  Then we just have to leave and make it to Florida on time.

Character Breakfasts

I'm told that if you want to visit a particular character, and you don't want to have to wait in line at the character meet and greets, the best solution is a character meal.  While those who like to focus on food when they eat might find characters running around and interrupting your meal annoying, I love the idea of a meal and an interactive show.  While character meals are available for just about every meal (breakfast, lunch or dinner) breakfast is the most popular.

After reading some websites on the subject, I'm convinced that making a reservation is essential.  I've also read that some of the character breakfasts book up very quickly, particularly ones that feature popular characters.  Since the theme of this trip is celebrating our anniversary, our favourite meal at home is breakfast, and both of our favourite character is Goofy, we figured that our anniversary breakfast should be a character breakfast.

The good thing about the character meals is that it is well documented which characters will appear at which meals.  As I said above, there is also a great deal of information about how and when you should book these meals.  After a little searching, I've discovered that Goofy makes several appearances at several character breakfasts, that's one busy dog.  He does participate at the biggest and most popular of all of the breakfasts at Chef Mickey's, but I think we may try one of the alternatives instead.

The other discovery that we don't want to miss at these character breakfasts is the Mickey Mouse waffle.  It appears that this waffle has become very popular over the years.  It also looks like it's always available at all character breakfasts; at least I hope it is.

As an added note, if anyone knows if they serve Goofy waffles or any other Goofy themed foods, please let us know.

Getting My Haircut

Did you know that you can get a haircut at Disney world?  Strangest of all, the barbershop isn't located in one of the resorts, but instead it's in the Magic Kingdom itself.  There are two salon type places in the Magic Kingdom, the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique and the Harmony Barber Shop.

The Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique is centred on the idea of little girls getting all dolled up to look like little princesses.  I'm not sure if there's an age limit, and if there isn't, I would love to see Allison give it a try.

The Harmony Barber Shop is an old time barbershop in the heart of Main Street USA.  I was worried that this was also just a kid thing as well when I noticed that the bulk of their advertising was devoted to baby’s first haircut.  But I checked out their pricing and they offer shaves, so I'm assuming adults are welcome.  I plan on skipping any haircuts leading up to our trip so I can get a trim at the Harmony Barber Shop.  I've even considered seeing if they can shave mouse ears into my head as well.

They say that the haircuts also include a pixie dusting at the end as well.  I hope that it isn't just for kids, and I hope I can share the dusting with Allison if she can't get into the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique.

How do I Feel About Un-Costumed Characters - In Particular Princesses

Whenever I see characters in Disney Parks I love getting my picture taken with them, and I even been known to hug a character or two.  But I have a bit of an issue with certain characters.  It has nothing to do with what kind of character they are in their respective films.  My problem is how to act around those characters that aren't in a full costume, and in particular the princess characters.

As a young boy with a love of Goofy, I had focus on who I wanted to meet, and little interest in characters outside of Mickey, Donald, or Goofy.  But as I've grown up, my range of character appreciation has grown.  Now when I visit the parks I want to see all of the characters.  But my age has changed me a little.

This is the only thing that I feel self conscious about as a male adult in the Disney World.  While I want to feel free hugging and posing with all of the characters in the parks, I'm not sure how I feel about the impression I make if I run up to Tinker Bell with a great amount of glee in my eyes and ask for a photo, or maybe even asking Snow White for a hug.

I've thought about ways to try and deal with this, mostly by playing the role of Prince Charming when I’m around these characters. But that could get old quickly, and it may not work with all of the characters.

What Shows are Worth Seeing?

I like to put Disney attractions into two categories, rides and shows. Sometimes these lines can be blurred, since many of the rides are filled with narrative, and many shows are interactive. For me, a Disney show is when you find yourself sitting in a theatre type environment where you don't move at all, and the focus of the attraction is set on a stage. A show is more about the performance or movie, than it is with interaction or movement.

For me the shows at Disney World are the part that least interests me. That's not to say that all of the shows are bad, in fact there are a few shows that really interest me. The Indian Jones stunt spectacular, TheMuppet's3D show, and Captain EO are shows that I consider not to be missed, just to name a few. There are however a few shows I'm not too sure about:

Dream Along With Mickey - This is one of those big musical shows full of costumed characters.  I hate using the words "overly optimistic" as a negative in Disney shows, but it might be a little too much for me.

Voices of Liberty - This is an a capella group of singers that perform in the US pavilion at Epcot.  I'm OK with singing, but only for a certain length of time, and it depends on their song selection.

The American Idol® Experience - I really can't see myself wanting to visit this show.  The singers are actual guests, and frankly it sounds like it could be a disaster of a show, unless you are the parents of the contestants.

Beauty and the Beast-Live on Stage - I actually don't mind musicals, but I worry that this one might be a little lame.  I can imagine that they may take the edge off of the movie plot and just keep the mushy stuff.

Disney Junior - Live on Stage! - I don't watch Disney Junior so I'm not really sure what to expect.  The puppets look neat.

Fantasmic! - Night Show - I'll probably go to this show if time permits.  Since it's a dedicated night show it might be hard to schedule in.  The draw for me is the hopes of big explosions.

Voyage of The Little Mermaid - I won't say that I don't like the little mermaid, but it's not one of my favorite Disney movies.

Festival of the Lion King - I've already seen the Broadway Lion King show, so how is this different? Is it better, new plot, I don't really want to see something I've seen before.

Finding Nemo - The Musical - I like puppets, but I'm not sure what I think of this show.

These shows are the ones I'm a little iffy about; please convince me if there's something here I should not miss.

Rides That Come and Go

One of the main concepts behind all of the Disney parks is the concept of constant change.  This has been a driving force at Imagineering since the parks first opened.  This means that you can't really visit a Disney park without some kind of construction going on.  Sometimes they're building a new attraction, other times they're updating an old one.  For the person planning a trip so far in advance (almost 2 years) this can be both exciting and unnerving.

The excitement comes from the fact that there will be many new rides and attractions opening between now and our visit date.  Because of the monstrous budget Disney has to spend on these attractions (compared to most theme parks), you can be sure that whatever they're building will be awesome.  The latest updates to Fantasyland including the new Snow White and the Seven Dwarves mine car ride seem particularly interesting.

The part of all of this constant updating that's unnerving is the unpredictability of knowing what might be open.  Not all updates are additions; some are drastic changes and even eliminations.  The drastic changes can be a little sad because you may have a fond memory of a particular ride that has changed.  For me this comes across most with the change of Mr. toads wild ride into the Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh.  I've always loved Mr. toads wild ride, and I'll miss it, that's not to say that I automatically dislike the new Winnie the Pooh ride.

Sometimes an idea at Disney becomes unpopular or unprofitable and they simply eliminate it entirely.  A good recent example of this is the concept of Pleasure Island.  Pleasure Island used to be a section in the downtown Disney entertainment complex.  It was a section of this complex dedicated to adults and nightclubs.  It included some pretty interesting clubs including the Adventurer's Club and a fun comedy club.  A few years back Disney abandoned the whole concept of Pleasure Island, and promptly closed most of the clubs, now it appears to be just a hole in downtown Disney complex.

While we have a pretty good idea about what new attractions should be open for our visit, we have no idea what might close down, either permanently or temporarily, when we're there.  It's almost guaranteed that some sort of update will be going on, but you never know what.

Carrying as Little as Possible

One of the new trends that Disney seems to be promoting is the idea of carrying as little as possible. Presently your hotel card can act as a credit/debit card, and anything you buy in the park can be sent to your resort front desk for pick up. But they're not stopping there; right now they're testing a new system that changes your hotel card into a wristband. Magic Plus will be a wristband that may eliminate having to carry anything hotel or theme park related at all. The only thing I don't think it covers is the Fast Pass ride vouchers.

Assuming that the magic plus system is up and running, what else is important to carry with you on your Disney adventures?

Camera - Our choice of camera is going to be the Fuji XP. It's the perfect vacation camera because it's small, waterproof, and pretty tough. You can take it anywhere in any park without having to worry about keeping it dry.

Water - The big question we have is if it is necessary to carry bottles of water with us throughout the parks.  I'm told that you can find water fountains all over the parks, but are there enough to keep us hydrated, particularly while waiting in line for the rides.

Snacks - While we plan on buying one of the meal plans that includes a snack, I think we may also pick up a few granola bars to carry around as well.  That way we can pick our treats based on how much fun they might be to eat rather than how hungry we might be.

Bags - Whether or not we carry a bag while walking through the parks depends on our decision to carry water with us.  If we decide to bring water bottles with us through the parks then we'll probably bring bags to the parks as well.  If we only pick up water along the way, then the bars and camera can easily fit in our pockets.