This Month in WDW - April 2014

Hello all and WELCOME to Spring Break in WDW!!

The last week of March was a busy one in Disney World, with the Magic Kingdom hitting the 80,000 mark and starting the capacity reaching talks!  The price increases have not scared anyone away.  Spring Break season is in full swim and with a late Easter will remain in effect until the end of this month!  If you have a trip planned, don't be scared, but be a careful planner and get up and out early!  Being at the parks when the open is key to a great trip during busy times!!

The busiest week will be the weeks that sandwich Easter, which falls on April 20th.    If you still want to get a last minute getaway trip in you can and you can get it for a great deal!!  The spring promotion expires 3/31!!  So don't miss out!  Spring Promotion

Park Hours for April 2014

Refurbishment Schedule: (last updated 3/26/2014)

Magic Kingdom® Park
Pinocchio's Village Haus Swiss Family Treehouse Big Thunder Mountain Pirates of the Caribbean Tomorrowland Transit Authority - Peoplemover Astro Orbiter	Feb. 17 - Apr. 4, 2014 Mar. 17 - 28, 2014 Apr. 7 - 9, 2014 Apr. 28 - May 1, 2014 May 3 - Jun. 30, 2014 May 3 - Aug. 20, 2014
Epcot®
None
Disney's Hollywood Studios®
None
Disney's Animal Kingdom® Theme Park
Festival of the Lion King	Jan. 6, 2014 - TBD

Disney's Typhoon Lagoon Water Park
None
Disney's Blizzard Beach Water Park
None

Disney's Animal Kingdom Lodge - Jambo House
Roof Refurbishment	Mar. 1 - May 3, 2014
Disney's Polynesian Resort
General Construction The east portion of the beach (near the Transportation and Ticket Center) and Sunset Point are being refurbished and are unavailable. Guests may see or hear work in progress.	Dec. 2013 - Mar. 2015
The Never Land Club Children's Activity Centers at four other locations are available: Disney's Wilderness Lodge, Disney's Animal Kingdom Lodge, Disney's Beach Club Resort and the Walt Disney World Dolphin Hotel.	Now - Early May/Jul. 2014
Capt. Cook's Capt. Cook's will be relocated to a temporary location in the Great Ceremonial House with modified operating hours and menu items.	Early April - July 2014
Great Ceremonial House - Lobby The atrium is being reimagined to highlight the cultural elements of Polynesia and provide more expansive views. At certain times of day, there may be some noise and alternative paths of travel may be needed throughout the Great Ceremonial House. To enhance the check-in experience, Guests are encouraged to participate in Online Check-In.	Mar. - Dec. 2014
The Villas at Disney's Wilderness Lodge
General ConstructionJackhammering may be heard	Mar. 26 - 27, 2014

Downtown Disney® Area
Team Mickey Athletic Club	Jan. 27 - Jun. 13, 2014
Parking Lots E, F, G  Location Closing	Mar. 18, 2014
Pollo Campero Location Closing	Mar. 20, 2014

ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex
PlayStation Pavillion Location Closing	Mar. 11, 2014

Golf Courses/Miniature Golf
None

Special Events:

Flower and Garden Festival at Epcot runs through May 18th!

Special Egg hunt in the parks!

Happy travels and have a Disney day!!

~Teresa

Star Wars Weekends Character Dining Experiences

Hello Disney and Star Wars fans!!

The title of this post says it all and yes it is true.....you can have breakfast or dinner with Star Wars characters!!  How you ask and when???

Starting on May the 4th - for non Star Wars fans that is considered Star Wars day...get it "May the 4th be with you" - and running through June 15th - the end of Star Wars Weekends.  You can dine with either the Disney characters dressed up in their Star Wars gear OR Darth Vader and other dark side characters for breakfast.

This is a limited time event that I am praying becomes a regular event!  There are so few meals that feature more boyish or better yet not so princess heavy characters.

So about the meals.  First both take place in Hollywood Studios, park admission is required and characters are subject to change.

Jedi Mickey's Star Wars Dine at Hollywood and Vine (Dinner)

• Location: Hollywood & Vine
• This can be booked as just dinner OR a Fantasmic Dinner Package.  
• Times: 4:15PM - park close between 8 & 9PM
• It is a TWO credit meal on the Disney Dining Plan
• Pricing: $54.99 per adult ($59.99 if used as part of the Fantasmic Package) and $32.99 per child ($36.99 if part of a Fantasmic Package)
• Characters featured: Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Goofy, Chip & Dale in their Star Wars alter ego attire - Jedi Mickey, Leia Minnie, Stormtrooper Donald, Darth Goofy, Ewok Chip& Dale
• Your meal includes a digital photo of the party with Ewok Chip & Dale on a commemorative PhotoPass card.

  Star Wars Dine-In Galactic Breakfast

• Location: SciFi Diner
• Times: 8am-12pm
• It is a TWO credit meal on the Disney Dining Plan
• Pricing: $47.99 for an adult, $29.99 for a child
• Characters: Darth Vader, Boba Fett, Jawa, Stormtroopers, and Greedo
• Bonus of the meal - a Darth Vader meet and greet after you check in!
• SciFi diner is known for their Drive in movie theater theme and playing classic scifi movies while guests dine.  This meal will feature Star Wars movie scenes!
• Your meal also includes a digital photo of the party on a commemorative PhotoPass card.

How to book: Well if you booked your trip with me - just message, text or call me and tell me what you want and I will take care of it.  If not you will need to call 407-WDW-DINE and make reservations.  It is not available (at least it was not today 3/26) for online booking.

Important Note:  You can meet these characters during the actual Star Wars weekends throughout the parks.  However, these meals are offered during the week as well as Star Wars Weekends AND start before Star Wars Weekends begin May 16th.  So it opens up the Star Wars fun for more guests that may have otherwise missed it!  And while you can meet some of these characters throughout the park during Star Wars Weekends the lines can be long and HOT, so this offers guests another more convenient way to meet some favorite characters!

This just adds to some of the changes coming to Star Wars Weekends this year - it started with adding a fifth weekend, followed by the announcement that Hyperspace Hoopla had been discontinued, but was being replaced with Symphony in the Stars Firework show!  I am sure we will start to hear of more changes too, so far they have been for the better - minus the loss of Hoopla for some.  Mark Hammill - Luke Skywalker is the only celebrity to be announced so far.  He will be there for Weekend Four.

Star Wars Weekends begins May 16th and runs Friday, Saturday and Sunday through June 15th.  Star Wars Weekends is included with your park admission to Hollywood Studios.

May the Force Be With You!!

Tasty Tuesday - Garden Grille

It's lunch time here in PA and that got me ready to post another edition of Tasty Tuesday!!  One of my favorite parks is Epcot, awwww who am I kidding, I am a Disney fan through and through and I love them all, but I do have a special place in my heart for Epcot.  Maybe because so many think it is easily skipped and no good for kids.  That is a whole other post though....

Epcot has one major thing going for it though that can not be denied...GOOD restaurants and A LOT of them!!  The World Showcase is full of tasty treasures!!  Today though I am focusing on The Garden Grille.  Located in the Land Pavilion in Epcot's Future World section.

Garden Grille is located on the main level of the Land Pavilion.  The Land houses one of Epcot's most popular rides - Soarin'!  So expect a lot of traffic in and out of the building.  There are no strollers allowed in the Land pavilion, so be prepared to park and and come in.

The Garden Grille is a unique dining experience.  It is currently only open for dinner.  The restaurant is a character dining experience and it rotates!  Ever so slightly, but it does move!  Very cool for most people, but for someone like me, I notice the slight movement and actually got motion sickness!!  Please understand, that I am highly sensitive to the weirdest situations and 99% of people probably will not even notice that the restaurant is rotating!  Seating is limited in this restaurant, so advance dining reservations are highly suggested.

Details:

• Location: The Land Pavilion main level in Epcot's Future World
• Meals Served: Dinner
• Style: Family Style all you can eat
• Price: $$
• Dining Plan: 1 credit
• Characters Featured: Chip and Dale host - Mickey and Pluto, characters subject to change

ADR Need: High

• Disney allows you to make reservations 180 days before your vacation.  If this restaurant at normal eating hours is important to you, you may need to plan that far out!  It's not always the case, but this really depends on when you go.  If you have your trip planned and book far out then I would definitely recommend booking far out.  

Would I recommend it?

• Yes.  The food is good, the atmosphere is fun and the service is great as well.  We have not been since my daughter was a baby, but I would go back if I didn't get motion sickness.  This is not to say that I had to run for it, I just felt slightly off after eating there, the way some might get if the go to an IMAX movie.  But, it really is a fun experience and a great restaurant!!

The Menus (courtesy of All Ears):

• Dinner

Happy Dining!!!

Magical Monday

Good morning everyone!!

Wow - what a week last week!!  Fun times with the giveaway!!  Thank  you to all our great sponsors that donated items to be given away!!  I hope you all enjoyed it as much as I did!  In fact I am already planning another, just have to decide when to do it - 1500 likes, 2000?  I am definitely thinking this summer though, so keep a look out!!

Last week was also a busy week with quoting trips and even better BOOKING trips!!  So fun!  I love helping you all plan your vacations!  It is truly a dream job!  I think if I am counting right I booked SIX vacations this past week!  And the summer promotion just came out!!

Check out this promotion!

Speaking of promotions, the spring promotion, which runs through June 15th expires next Monday - March 31!  Don't miss out if you are hoping to go this spring.  Click here to learn more!  If you miss that deal, no worries, the Memory Maker package is available through April 20th with dates from 4/27-6/15 and then again 8/15-9/27!  That's right FALL dates, so be sure to get a pricing quote.  Remember, we can always adjust your package to the best offer, so if a new one comes out that is better I will get it switched over for you!  Easy as pie!  Minus the sometimes 3 hour holds, but it's ok, I get to listen to Disney music!!


This week the gift card giveaway is still live!  Be sure to enter here!!  It runs until Friday at 12 noon! This is directly from me as a thank you to all of you out there!!

My family is currently in the planning process of booking a trip for May and I have to tell you, I am learning a lot about this whole My Magic+ and Fastpass+ business.  As someone that is not an over planner, it can be a bit overwhelming trying to decide today where I want to be and at what time in 2 months, but I guess that is how it is.  The good news....apparently it is easy to change on the fly, I hope so!!

Let's see....Luke Skywalker will be appearing at weekend 4 of Star Wars weekends this year!!  Of course the one year we don't go weekend 4!  Figures....but you can go!  Star Wars Weekends encompasses all three deals, so if this is an event you want to check out, Email Me for a price quote!  You do not have to be a Star Wars fan to enjoy this event.  I have never watched one of the movies from start to finish and I LOVE it!!  So much fun!

Flower and Garden Festival at Epcot is still going strong until May 18th!  Again you can book and see this with the promotion out there right now!  So pretty in Epcot with the floating flowers and all the beauty and they've added a touch of food and wine to it now!  A really fun event!!

I think that about covers it for now!!

Have a Magical Monday everyone!!  :-)

Giveaway Day 5 - $25 Disney Gift Card

Hi everyone!!

I hope you all have enjoyed our week of giveaways!  Just to drag it out a bit, today's giveaway will last until NEXT Friday!!  So lots of time to share and enter!  For each share you will get an extra entry!  Another bonus entry is for anyone that booked a trip with me between the dates of 3/17 and 3/28!  

Disney gift cards can be used on your Disney vacation or to even pay for it.  They are also good at the Disney Store!!  I was trying to be more creative in my giveaway, but decided this was probably the best gift I could give!  

I want to thank all of you and I look forward to doing another week of giveaways....maybe when we hit 1500 likes?!  I already have some great things in mind and awesome Disney crafters to ask, so be sure to share Be Our Guest Vacations with your friends and family!!

It truly is a wonderful job for me!  One where I never get bored and wake up everyday anxious to check my email and see what new fun awaits me!  

So good luck and have fun!  Share, share, share!!  Thank you!!  

Giveaway Day 4 - Minnie Key Fob

Hi everybody!!

So day 4 is here and our friends at Chesapeake Ribbons have donated TWO key fobs with matching hair bows to be donated to our giveaway!!  Enter to win between now and midnight tomorrow!!  I have the exact key fob on my keys and have had it for a couple years now and it still looks fantastic, no fraying or anything!  Margie makes great bows as well and will do custom orders!  My daughter is actually pictured on her website with one of the headbands!  We own several hair bows as well.  :-)  Good luck!!

Giveaway - Day 3 - Stroller Rental!!

Good morning everyone!!!

Today's giveaway....a FREE one week stroller rental from our friends at Kingdom Strollers!  We have used them and referred them several times.  Never have we had a bad experience!!  Matt at Kingdom Strollers is fantastic!!  And we thank them for their generous donation of a free rental!!

If you haven't already be sure to enter to win the giveaway to win a Disney Mug!  That giveaway is live until tonight at midnight!!  Best of luck!!