Is Star Wars Land A Reality?

One of the question marks I have about new attractions to Disney World is the possibility of Star Wars Land.  Since George Lucas sold the franchise to Disney, rumours have been flying around about the possibility of Star Wars Land.  Presently there are two Star Wars themed parts to the park, one is an attraction and one an event.

The attraction is fairly old-fashioned in concept in comparison with most modern theme park rides.  It is a motion simulator, called Star Tours, which takes you on an adventure through the Star Wars universe.  One interesting thing about this ride is that it was one of the first simulator rides of its kind, but there's a new feature to this ride.  Recently they've updated the ride to allow each experience on the ride to be different.  So each time you ride the Star Tours experience, you travel to different parts of the Star Wars universe.

The event, which takes place annually at Disney Hollywood studios, is the Star Wars Weekend.  Once a year Star Wars fans, as well as Star Wars celebrities, meet for a weekend dedicated to all things Star Wars.  There are special shows, exhibits, and meet and greets throughout the park.  It has become one of the staple events at Disney World and attracts many fans from all over the world.

At this point I've heard two different stories about what kind of expansion might be coming that involve Star Wars.  Some say that they're going to take out several attractions at Disney Hollywood Studios, and build a land from scratch dedicated to Star Wars.  Others have said that they may refurbish Tomorrow Land at the Magic Kingdom.  At this point I'm sure designs are in the works, and I can only hope that it'll be up and running by the time we go.  Allison has already made up an expression for what might happen if so, she calls herself a “Star Wars widow".

Where We Stand in The New Year

With our great life's change, the date of our Epic Disney Vacation has been delayed for a few years. Don't get me wrong, this trip is still going to happen, the change is not a financial problem, nor have Allison and I grown apart.  We've moved the date for great news, and we're not having kids either.  It's simply one of life's changes that make it geographically difficult to get to Florida for our anniversary.

The biggest change that comes with this rescheduling is the chance for a date (time of year) change as well.  The initial plan was to visit Disney World for our 10th wedding anniversary, so our date was fairly locked.  Now that we're not going to make that date for sure, we're more open to the idea of moving the time of year we're thinking of going.  September seems like a good month to go, and we could tie it into Allison's birthday.  We'll have to do a little more research on this topic now that the time of year is open.

Finally with this extension comes the realization that some of the new attractions that would not have been open yet, will be ready to visit.  The new Fantasy Land will be running at full steam, and in three years shouldn't be as busy.  Avatar Land should be finished by then as well, something I was a little disappointed that I thought I might miss.  Disney Springs should also be up and running by then, and that could influence our hotel choice, depending on what they open there.

Now I just have to figure out what to do with this blog.

Another Change Of Plans

So we thought that we would be heading to Disney in the summer of 2015, well that plan has changed.  Due to life getting in the way, our plans have been put off for about 2.5 years.  It has most to do with the fact that we wont be living in North America at that time, and the commute isn't possible.  I'm not sure what's going to happen to this blog for the next little while, but I don't think I'll be posting weekly.  I'm certainly not finished with this blog since I want to wrap it up with our visit.  I'm going to think about it and wait till the new year to make any final decisions.

Chris

Disney Vacation Club Point Buying, is It a Sham?

As you would expect, there's been a change of plans with our hotel yet again. Since the price of the hotel is the biggest expense of a Disney trip, you can imagine that a lot of thought has to go into it.  This change however is less about which resort we want to stay at and more to do with how we want to stay at it.  I read an interesting article about buying points to use in Disney Vacation Club (DVC) properties.  In other words, for a lot less money, we can stay at a DVC room in the same resort.

I should mention that this isn't as simple as it sounds.  There are a few differences between a regular room at Disney and a DVC room.  The difficult part of this deal is setting up the room.  To do this we have to arrange the purchase of DVC points from a DVC member.  Fortunately there are travel agents who specialize in this and can arrange it for us, but it involves going through third parties.  The other disadvantage I can see is that you will get fewer visits from housekeeping (or as they call it “mousekeeping”).  Frankly we're not dirty people, and I think we'll be fine with just one or two visits throughout our stay.

The advantages of using the Disney villas are pretty good.  The rooms are a little bigger, and include a small kitchenette in the studio suits as well.  The rooms are located within the Disney resorts and seem to include all of the perks that come with staying in a regular room.  Finally, the price is much lower than the standard rooms, we stand to save about 100 bucks a night.

I imagine that most people don't go with this plan because of the inconvenience that comes with setting things up through a third party.  I'm just hoping that there isn't some detail that we've missed that's going to mess up our plans.  It's a bit of a risk, but if it works out we'll save a few bucks.

Travel Agents

I've been reading several websites that claim booking directly through the Disney website is the most expensive way to go.  It's a strange world we live in when buying something straight from the source is in fact the most expensive way to go.  The reasoning behind this, from what I can tell, is that Disney is setting the basic price and if they sold it at the cheapest price, no one else would want to sell their tickets.  So that means that Allison and I are going to have to search for a travel agent.

One of the options that seems to come up now and then is that of discount tickets for sale through third parties.  I've been warned by many websites that they are many of these third parities that sell tickets that are not legitimate.  In other words they either sell fake, or used tickets, instead of real discount tickets.  I'm having a really hard time figuring out which dealers are legitimate and which are not.  It would really help if Disney produced an official list somewhere that I could reference.

The other option is to find us a travel agent.  We actually already have a travel agent that we know and really like, the problem is that she's not really a Disney expert.  It's not to say that she doesn't know anything about Disney, it just seems like there are other agents that specialize almost exclusively on Disney.  I've decided that I'm going to send out a few e-mails this week and ask what kind of deals we can get.  Hopefully I'll soon be able to announce that we have a travel agent that can get us a great price, book all the restaurants we want, and make sure our tickets are all in order.

Blisters, and Other Injuries

One thing I've been thinking about a lot and researching a bit for this trip, but still haven't mentioned on this blog is health.  In particular what kind of preparations can I do to make sure my body doesn't give out while walking around the parks?  I've read several articles and even spoken to a physiotherapist about some of the common health problems people run into while taking on an epic trip of this nature.  Two issues in particular seem to come up again and again, foot damage (blisters and such) and general unhealthiness.

The foot damage comes from not having good footwear, and not having the proper medical supplies for blisters and sore feet.  Shoe wise I think I'm going to make sure I have a new, but broken in pair of sneakers for the trip.  I'm also going to bring comfortable sandals as well.  For the blisters I've read about several products that seem to work, such as Dr. Scholl's Moleskin Plus Padding and Blister Defence Anti-Friction Stick, but I've also had luck with duct tape too.

As for the physical fit part, I think the key is to prepare in advance.  So starting now, I'm going to start an exercise routine to get into shape.  I don't want to change my diet too much because I know that when I get to the park any kind of healthy eating will be lost.  It's not that Disney doesn't offer healthy food; I just know that I'll be tempted with those awesome Disney treats.  I'm also going to start stretching more, as I've been told for an epic trip with lots of walking that pulled muscles can be the most common type of injury you can get, and simply stretching can make a huge difference.

A Few Restaurants We Want To Try

Cape May Café - The one and only reason we're going to the cape may cafe is to experience a character breakfast.  I've read that this is the least busy character breakfast featuring Goofy.

Spirit of Aloha and Hoop-dee-doo Revue - Every single tour book says that the two shows you can't miss are the Hoop-dee-doo musical review and the Spirit of Aloha shows.  Both are said to have cheesy, yet fun, shows, and both are said to have some fine chow.

Biergarten - Over the last 10 years I've discovered that German food is one of my favourite cuisines.  Most people don't realize how tasty German food is, and I'm hoping that the Biergarten will give me some tasty nibbles.

House of Blues Gospel Brunch - Many of the big restaurants at Downtown Disney get a lot of slack for being disappointing.  The Earl of Sandwich and Raglan Road are two places that do fairly well, but I've been reading that a gospel brunch at the House of Blues is a must see event.

Flame Tree - I can't tell you how many times I've read that the best BBQ in Disney is found at the Flame Tree restaurant.  Since Allison is a BBQ fanatic, we pretty much can't avoid eating here.  I've also heard that Animal Kingdom doesn't have too many other tasty food options, so we may have to eat there more than once.

Boma - I can't say I've ever really experienced that much African food.  I've sampled a few things, but Boma looks like a great opportunity to sample even more.  I also think that they have a buffet, which will give me plenty of opportunity to sample new things that I may not have had the nerve to order.