Introducing - The Disney Dream!!!

There was no live announcement - well, I am sure there was, but it appears that I wasn't invited...! So no live-blogging from me - even if I would have had time to fit it in today!

So the new Disney Dream cruise ship and itineraries have been unveiled. I'll be trying to add a bit more detail in the next couple of days.

In the meantime, check out the new Disney Dream page at DisneyCruise.com...

End of post

Another deadline - October 29th - more live-blogging to come --- ooooooohhh....

Note for your diaries.

At 4.15 PM on October 29th Disney Cruise Line will be making a "big announcement" about their latest cruise ship the "Disney Dream". We suspect that we will finally find out where it will be sailing when comes into service in 2011.

My aim is to "live-blog" - YAY! - during the press release. I am sure you are all very excited...

Handy article re Disney Dining

I ran across this article today - it offers some handy, practical tips for getting more out of the Disney Dining plan...

http://hotels.about.com/od/disneyworld/a/dining_tips.htm


End of post

Reminder: OCTOBER 27th -- dunnh, dunnh, dduuuuuunnnnnhhh

An important deadline to remind you about:

OCTOBER 27th 2009
Disney World Dining reservations are swapping back to being able to book 180 days in advance (rather than only 90 as has been the case for the last number of months). See my earlier blog post for details.
The day this will happen is October 27th 2009.

So, if you are already within the 90-day window to your travel - book your reservations before the 27th to avoid congested phone lines!

And if you will be within the 180 day window shortly (for travel right up to 24th April 2010) then,
a.call on the 27th if YOU REALLY WANT TO BOOK a particular meal, or
b. wait a few days to avoid waiting too long on hold while all the people in option "a" do their thang...

More about the "Give a Day - Get a Disney Day" initiative

Check out these two videos to learn more about this new initiative (mentioned on a previous post).



Launch highlights


I wonder if any of our clients would like to get involved? Please comment below if you might be interested...

Much more can be found at DisneyParks.ca website - by following this link

The New "Free Night" Promotion - download the flyer...

Now that the Free Night promotion has been officially announced, you can read up on the full details on this flyer.

And yes, March Break is included!

Click here (or on the picture) for the flyer...

End of post

Where are you?! Where are all my Disney Cruisers?

The deadline to start booking Disney Cruise Line's exciting new itineraries for 2011 came and went (it was September 28th) and I had ..... zero interest!!!

What happened people?!

Not interested in Alaska? Mediterranean? Panama Canal?



End of post

Give a Day of Volunteering in 2010, Get a Day of Disney Theme Park Fun - Free

Disney Parks Hopes to Inspire 1 Million Volunteers Beginning Jan. 1

TORONTO, Sept. 29 /CNW/ - Disney Parks today announced a new program that celebrates the spirit of volunteerism with a simple proposition: "Give a Day, Get a Disney Day."

Disney hopes to inspire families to volunteer in their communities during 2010 through this first-of-its-kind program. One million people who volunteer with a participating organization will receive a free one-day admission ticket to a Walt Disney World Resort or Disneyland Resort theme park.

While the "Give a Day, Get a Disney Day" program kicks off Jan. 1, right now guests can learn more about the program and how to get their free one-day admission to a Walt Disney World Resort in Florida, or a Disneyland Resort in California theme park by visiting www.DisneyParks.ca (for Canada) or www.DisneyParks.com (for the United States and Puerto Rico).

In the past year, guests have been celebrating all sorts of special moments in their lives at Disney parks - from birthdays and anniversaries to reunions and graduations - as part of the "What Will You Celebrate?" campaign.

"In 2010, we want to recognize and add one more reason for celebration: the contributions people make to their communities every day," said Jay Rasulo, chairman of Walt Disney Parks and Resorts. "We want to inspire 1 million volunteers - people who will invest time and energy to make their own communities and neighbourhoods a better place."

The campaign officially launched today, with events across North America to celebrate the program. Disney Parks is working with HandsOn Network, the volunteer arm of Points of Light Institute. Volunteer Canada, an international partner of HandsOn Network, will bring the campaign to Canada.

By working through its network of volunteer centres and 161,000 nonprofit agencies, Volunteer Canada is delivering the infrastructure needed to enable people to sign up for an eligible volunteer project through www.DisneyParks.ca.

"Volunteers play a crucial role in keeping the Canadian social fabric together," said Ruth MacKenzie, president of Volunteer Canada. "We are so pleased to be working with HandsOn Network to inspire individuals and families to volunteer and to celebrate the work they do for the betterment of their communities."

Bob Iger, president and CEO of The Walt Disney Company, said, " 'Give a Day, Get a Disney Day' fits perfectly with our long history of supporting and participating in volunteer efforts. It's a great way to honour guests who are making a positive contribution to their communities."

Starting Jan. 1, 2010, guests can go to www.DisneyParks.ca (for Canada) or www.DisneyParks.com (for the United States and Puerto Rico) to search for volunteer opportunities available in their area. Many of the opportunities will be for projects that entire families can participate in together.

To raise awareness for grass-roots community volunteerism and the 'Give a Day, Get a Disney Day' program, Disney VoluntEARS joined local volunteers in cities across the United States and Canada today. Work projects involving 1,000 volunteers were coordinated by HandsOn Network in Atlanta, Chicago, Los Angeles and Miami, and by Volunteer Canada in Toronto, Montreal, Halifax and Vancouver.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

Give a Day, Get a Disney Day details:
Must pre-register and sign up for eligible volunteer opportunity at www.disneyparks.ca. Ticket quantities for this program are limited. Must be at least age 6 to participate. Other terms and conditions apply. For details, see www.disneyparks.ca (in Canada) or www.disneyparks.com(in the United States and Puerto Rico). -------------------------------------------------------------------------

New Walt Disney World Promotion - still not officially announced, but it IS real..........

You probably will not yet have seen much (any?) fanfare about another special promotion that Disney have not yet quite officially announced just yet...

Well, whether you heard about it or not, there IS a new promotion, giving free nights on selected packages on quite a wide range of dates (Nov 1st-Dec 24th and Jan 3rd through March 27th - yes, even March Break).

Briefly, the details are:

• You can buy a 4-night/4 day vacation package at a Moderate, Deluxe or Deluxe villa resort, and get a 7-night/7-day package for the same price. (You can stay longer, but the maximum number of free nights is still 3.)
• For the Value resorts you need to get a 5-night/5 day vacation package to get the 7-night/7-day package. (Here again, you can choose to stay longer, but the maximum number of free nights is still 2.)

This new promotion works out well for some (particularly for those booking for the New Year). It is no advantage for others, particularly those already taking advantage of the Free Dining Promotion, though this does depend on the resort, and the party size. I have checked all of my current clients to make sure and have changed those over that saved money. You should have received an email from me, by now, one way or another, whether I could get you something better, or not!

While this is not necessarily the most spectacular promotion Disney have put on, it works out particularly well for:

• couples or smaller families
• people looking for deluxe properties
• those looking for exactly one week of vacation.

I encourage you to call (613-594-5633 x103) or email me "alex AT lttk.ca"

Another Westjet seat sale plus JetBlue from Syracuse

Westjet just announced another seat sale.
50% off flights to Orlando. From lots of Canadian gateways. Sale rates from now through the end of January, so far.

Book by September 24, 2009 (11:59 p.m. MT) for travel until January 31, 2010. Blackout dates between December 18, 2009 and January 4, 2010.

JetBlue (direct flights to Orlando from Syracuse) now have their schedules out through the end of April. A good choice, often at a better price than the Ottawa options, though the Westjet seat sale rates have been so good lately, there has not been much of a compelling reason to drive to Syracuse... still, it's a good option to consider...


End of post

Disney Specials and Info - a nice mixed bag for you...

There are lots of things still ongoing... and quite a bit of new info for you...

• Walt Disney World Specials
• A reminder about passes
• New Online Check-in
• Pirates and Pals Fireworks Cruises
• Tuesday 27th October
• Disneyland
• Disney Cruise specials
• Extra options for cruise and stay
  

it may be worth your while to read on a bit - there's good stuff "after the jump".

Walt Disney World specials

• Last 5 days left on "Free dining" promotion - must book by 26th September.
  
• If you miss the free dining, there is also a room-only offer - for travel til October 3rd... - while not as good as free dining, it's still better than nothing.
  
• There is also another Fall room-only offer - travel most dates Oct 4th-Nov 24th and Nov 29th- Dec 24th - booking dates Jul 27th-Sep 26th - with a decent reduction...
  

A reminder about passes:
You can add the Park Hopper to a Magic Your Way Base ticket for a  flat rate of $45 US, no matter how long the stay. (In my opinion worth it for almost everyone, particularly if you are on the dining plan.)
Water Park Fun and more option is $50 also flat rate - and again, you get better value, the longer your stay...
FYI regular admission to a water park is $45 per adult and $39 per child and 1-day into Disney Quest is $41 adt, $35 chd - so if you are going to go to even one water park you should take this option. That way you can go multiple other times for free.

NEW: Online check-in available from 10-days prior to arrival. I wasn't sure about this, what it was and what the advantage would be and now I know a bit more about it...  This can actually save a bit of time at check-in, as instead of lining up, your welcome package will be ready for you already.

I can do it for you, or you can do is at www.mydisneyreservation.com/guest

Pirates and Pals Fireworks Cruise - now available for anyone, not just "Grand Gatherings".
Departing from Cntemporary resort. Pirate grub and grog. Sail with Captain Hook, and Mr Smee - Disney trivia quizzes, songs and sea-shanties, firework viewing, stories and prizes. Then a "very special guest" upon arrival at the dock.  - the cost is $54US per adult 31 per child

Tuesday October 27th - big day for meal and event pre-registration. Disney will be going back to 180 prior to arrival. In my opinion this is much fairer for those that have booked well in advance. Thing is, this will be one busy day, the computer system will inevitably crash, so you will need to be patient!

Disneyland, California
$400 saving - 4-day package - booking Aug 12th-Dec19th for travel Aug 23 - Dec 20
only 4-night stays offered

3rd night free at participating Disney Restort Good Neighbour hotels

Disney Cruise Line
Kids Sail Free - see previous posts

• Med
• Caribbean
  

Extra Disney World options for 2010 cruise and stay.
Can purchase pre or post-stays (post stays are new) for any duration (this is also new), at nearly all of the on-site hotels (which is sort of new).
You can only add the Park Hopper tickets (1-5 day duration) which is odd, and if you want to upgrade to include the Water Park Fun and More ticket, you will have to do this at check-in.
You cannot add the dining plan, either, (except for the "standard" 7 night land-sea packages).

So, for most people, I am not seeing this as a major advantage - you are still going to have more flexibility by breaking the booking into two parts, I suspect... (cruise with Disney Cruise Line, stay with Walt Disney Travel Co.

Adventures by Disney -
I still haven't had a moment to post all that I learned from my last webinar, but I have tons of stuff to tell you that I hope will get you interested in taking one of these fantastic family vacations...

New cruise ship the "Disney Dream" 2011 itineraries - to be announced October 29th?? Maybe??

Rumour? Possibly.

Don't forget about booking the new 2011 Disney Cruise Itineraries - starting 28th September

I was just speaking with one of the Disney Cruise Line booking agents about the new Alaska itineraries. While these go on sale to the general public next Monday, "Gold and Platinum" castaway club members (people that have cruised with Disney more than 5 times and 10 times, respectively) were able to start booking today. The interest was steady and sustained all day - at some points 140 phone lines were in the queue (which is pretty busy)! As well as the new Alaskan itineraries, the repositioning cruises were also doing brisk business. Still, as of close of business, there is still availability on everything. I would hope so! So if you are interested in snagging a new Alaskan Disney cruise for 2011, then mark Monday on your calendar (or contact me this week to get in the line up for you!)

End of post

Disney Unveils New Attractions, and Announces Expansion Plans

I am going to be uncharacteristically lazy today, and post a complete press release from Disney without my own comments - I am too far behind with all the necessary, boring paperwork (invoices etc.) that I just have to do... I also have another couple of posts of my own which are almost ready, and I'd rather work on them than re-invent this particular wheel. Anyhoo, some of this stuff looks pretty exciting!

So, over to you Jay Rasulo...

Walt Disney Parks and Resorts chairman Jay Rasulo detailed plans for future lands, attractions and adventures at the first D23 Expo in Anaheim, California, including the confirmation of a new Star Tours attraction and the largest expansion in the history of the Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World. Rasulo announced that a new 3-D version of the popular “Star Tours” attraction will debut at the Disneyland Resort and Disney’s Hollywood Studios in 2011. Based on the iconic Star Wars films, the attraction will include immersive new elements that will take guests to many familiar places in the Star Wars galaxy.

For Walt Disney World in Florida, Rasulo outlined expansion plans of the Magic Kingdom, vastly increasing the size of Fantasyland by 2013. Guests will soon be able to visit their favourite Disney Princess in her castle, cottage, or chateau to share a dance with Cinderella; celebrate Sleeping Beauty’s birthday with the Good Fairies; or join Belle in an enchanting story performance in the Beast’s castle library; dine in one of three enchanted rooms inside the Beast’s castle; fly with Dumbo high above new circus grounds, twice the size of the existing attraction with a new interactive, three-ring circus tent; journey under the sea with Ariel, The Little Mermaid, in her very own attraction -- also opening at Disney’s California Adventure in Anaheim in 2011; and meet Tinker Bell and her friends in the magical world of Pixie Hollow. Rasulo also provided updates on the multi-year expansion of Disney’s California Adventure, including the new “World of Color” attraction slated to open next spring and the addition of the five-hectare Cars Land scheduled to open in 2012 where guests will literally step into the town of Radiator Springs and its 2.4 hectares of hand-carved rockwork.

Rasulo noted the progress of several other recently announced projects, including the three new lands coming to Hong Kong Disneyland by 2014; the Disney Dream, the new ship being built by Disney Cruise Line; the many diverse itineraries being offered by Adventures by Disney that take guests on 19 unique, once-in-a-lifetime guided vacation experiences; and Disney’s first family destination resort on the island of Oahu in Hawaii.

(Source: TravelPress.com http://www.travelpress.com/PHP/news.php?sid=9014)

Disney Cruise announcment - live blog part 5

That's it!

But nothing about the new ship the "Disney Dream".... hmm.... must go searching...


I may be back...

Disney Cruise announcment - live blog part 4

A New Offering!

Castaway Club (previous cruisers on the Disney Cruise Line) will now have silver, gold and platinum levels, with enhanced benefits, based on number of sailings with Disney

• Silver - 1-4 sailings
• Gold - 5-9 sailings
• Platinum - 10 or more sailings

Benefits include

• Exclusive cruise terminal check-in
• Early booking for onboard experiences
• Special onboard activities and...
• the big one (maybe)...
• while these 2011 itineraries become available to the general public on September 28th 2009 (mark your diaries), GOLD and PLATINUM Castaway Club members can book from 21st September. That could be huge - especially for that Panama Canal Cruise...

Disney Cruise announcment - live blog part 3

The Disney Magic - what is it up to?

From Port Canaveral -

• 7 night Eastern and Western Caribbean itineraries in January to May, and 
• September to December.

And back by popular demand, it will reposition to

• the Mediterranean in the summer, for a season of 
• 10 and 11 night itineraries out of Barcelona, Spain.

Hightlights:

10-night cruise departs on:
June 8, Jun 29th, Jul 20th, Aug 10, Aug 31st 2011

• Wed - Bacelona, Spain 
• Thu - at sea
• Fri - Valetta, Malta
• Sat - Tunis, Tunisia
• Sun - Naples, Italy
• Mon - Citavecchia (Rome), Italy
• Tue - La Spezia (Florence/Pisa), Italy
• Wed - Ajaccio, Corsica
• Thu - Villefranche (Monte Carlo, Nice, Cannes), France
• Fri - at sea
• Sat - Barcelona, Spain
  

11-night cruise offers 5 sailing dates between May and Aug 2011, offering all the same ports as the 10 night cruise, with an additional day at sea.

There are two 14-night trans-Atlantic repositioning cruises
Port Canaveral to Barcelona (May 14th, 2011)

• 8 days at sea, 
• ports of call: Castaway Cay, Madiera (Portugal), Cadiz (Spain), Gibraltar (UK)
  

Barcelona to Port Canaveral (Sept 10, 2011)

• 8 days at sea, 
• ports of call: Gibraltar, Madeira, St. Maarten, Tortola, Castaway Cay
  

Disney Cruise announcment - live blog part 2

Disney Wonder continued

7 night Mexican Riviera

• 23rd Jan 2011 - April 2011 & September 25 - 18th December 2011
• Sun - Los Angeles
• Mon - at sea
• Tue - at sea
• Wed - Puerto Vallarta
• Thu - Mazatlan
• Fri - Cabo San Lucas
• Sat - at sea
• Sun - Los Angeles

To reposition:

15 night Panama Canal Crossing

• departing Jan 6th
• Port Canavarel, 
• Castaway Key, 
• Aruba, 
• Panama Canal, 
• Costa Rica,
• Manzanillo, 
• Puerto Vallarta, 
• Cabo San Lucas, 
• Port of Los Angeles.

This cruise includes 7 nights at sea.

As this will essentially be the last time (for who knows how long) that a Disney Crusie ship will transit the Panama Canal, I feel certain that there will be massive advanced interest in this cruise. Last time, this cruise sold out in TWO HOURS, so if you've always wanted to do this trip, then you are going to have to get prepared!

Disney Cruise announcment - live blog part 1

What's new for the Disney Wonder?

NEW! 7-night cruises from Vancouver to Alaska
Mexican Riviera and Panama Canal again

Alaska first...

• May 3rd - August 30th, 2011
• Tue - depart Vancouver
• Wed - at sea
• Thu - Tracy Arm Fjord
• Fri - Skagway
• Sat - Juneau
• Sun - Ketchikan
• Mon - at sea
• Tue - Vancouver

Tracy Arm Fjord - located in Tongass National Forest, glacial blue waters, breathtaking scenery including the iconic twin Sawyer Glaciers.



Skagway - still retains the feel of the gold rush - many shopkeepers wear period costumes...

Juneau - in the inside passage, is the only US state capital accessible only by ship or air, there are no roads in or out... there is plenty to see and do both in the city itself, or with visits to nearby Glacier Gardens of Mendenhall Glacier.

Ketchikan - the Disney Wonder docks right in the hear of the town. It is known as the salmon capital of the world, and is home to the Totem Heritage Center.

Who will want to cruise?

• Families, 
• multi-generation groups, 
• couples, 
• repeaters, 
• first timers to Alaska, 
• first time cruisers, and 
• "Disney Fans". 

(I challenge you to find anyone that ISN'T included in that list!)
There are also two repositioning cruises when the ship gets itself to and from Alaska... these are also sure to be popular, due to their unusual ports of call...

6 night 27th April 2011
day at sea, San Francisco (2 nights), day at sea, Victoria B.C., Vancouver.

5 night 20th Sept 2011
Vancouver, Victoria, 2 days at sea, Ensenada, Los Angeles

Disney Cruise announces 2011 itineraries

Well I blew it... due to a family mishap I was not able to be glued to my laptop at 12 noon today to hear Disney Cruise's big announcement live in order to be totally up-to-the-minute. Please, dear reader, forgive me!

The webinar/webcast was pre-recorded and so I am going to live-blog my viewing of the webinar - which is probably just as lame as it sounds...

Disney Cruise - now kids can cruise for free in the Caribbean too!

A few days ago, I posted about the kids cruise free in the Med. To complement this special, Disney Cruises are offering "kids cruise free" for their 3-night and 4-night cruises from Port Canaveral too. There is a much wider choice of dates for this special.

• most 3-night cruises January 7th - April 15th 2010
• most 4-night cruises January 10th - April 11th 2010
  

Obviously, the child fares on these shorter cruises are not usually particularly high, so you are not saving as much as with the Meditteranean promotion, but still - who wouldn't take several hundred dollars of savings when offered!

Kids must share the same stateroom as 2 paying adults, and the taxes and port charges must still be paid for the "free" kids! Offer applies to new bookings only. The number of staterooms allocated for this offer is limited. Other special offers, discounts or onboard credits do not apply. See Disney Cruise Line brochure for applicable Terms and Conditions.

Disney Cruise Line - BIG announcement - THIS FRIDAY!

This Friday - Sept 11th - at noon EST, Disney Cruises will be making an exciting announcement about all their new 2011 itineraries for the Disney Magic, the Disney Wonder AND the BRAND NEW Disney Dream cruise ships!

The announcement will be made via webcast, and I plan to attend. I will be "live-blogging" - whoo-hoo!! - so all your Disney Cruise Line nerds fans set your alarm clocks and join me on Friday!



End of post

Another Westjet Seat Sale - includes Orlando...

For those Canadians that like to fly with friendly Westjet, they just announced another 48 hour seat sale for the fall - price are pretty decent too...

UPDATE (1st Sept)
This seat sale is now over, though there are still quite a number of "seat-sale" fares still in the system, so it's still worth checking...

UPDATE (9th Sept)
Another seat sale - including Orlando - just announced. Prices from $145 (plus tax) each way from Ottawa!



There is no more to read in this post...

I just activated RSS on my Disney News blog...

Breaking News! Now, if you

1. are excited enough about Disney travel to want to know the instant that I upload a new post
2. can't be bothered to look-up my blog address whenever the mood strikes you to find out if/when Disney if offering anything noteworthy, or
3. you just don't have much of a life (ha ha!!)...

now you can follow my blog in a couple of different ways!

It's all a bit new for me, and I'm not sure if I have done it right - some older articles seem to be being "broadcast" rather than the latest ones, so we'll have to see how what happens over the next few days and blog posts...

• Via RSS (Really Simple Syndication) requiring an "RSS reader" or a plug-in for your browser, 
• or by "following" with Google Friend Connect (shh... don't tell anyone, but I don't know what this is, yet...)

Social Networking. Huh?
Well, I haven't started Tweeting yet, and I am way behind the curve on Facebook (I don't even have a profile)...
However, I am LinkedIn for those who would like to establish (or reestablish) contact and/or recommend me - yes please!! - and a glance at this blog will show that I have been a blogger since November 2007, with at least 3 known readers... !

I'll be back with some more stuff shortly - I still owe you that "Adventures by Disney 2010" info - it's awesome...

Kids Sail Free in the Mediterranean

I have been meaning to post this offer for nearly a week, so I hope I am not too late for you!

Disney Cruise Lines are offering free sailings for your kids on an (admittedly somewhat narrow) range of sail dates at the very beginning of the Mediterranean cruise season for 2101. The cruises on the Disney Magic are 10 or 11 nights, and take in amazing, interesting ports of call in Italy, Spain, France, Tunisia, Malta and Corsica...

If you don't mind pulling your kids out of school for a couple of weeks (and on these cruises they will certainly have ample opportunities to learn Geography and History first-hand) you take an amazing family cruise, for WAY less than otherwise might be the case. (I booked a family of 4 in an inside cabin for $5800 USD for 11 nights - before airfare, but including all other taxes and fees). Compare that with a 7-night cruise in the Caribbean, for the same family and cabin type which could easily be $4600 or more...

Accommodations can range from standard "inside cabins" right up to the deluxe balcony staterooms (but not suites). Kids up to 17 years of age sail for free, as long as they are travelling with 2 paying adults. The dates to consider are between April 24th, 2010 and May 26th, 2010. While there is no actual last "booking date" to take advantage of this offer, space is limited, so if you are interested you should book as early as you can, as prices continue to increase (as per most cruise bookings) the later you book...

See below for more details (source, DisneyTravelAgents.ca)

You can travel through time and enjoy the ageless charm of the sun-kissed Mediterranean with this special offer from Disney Cruise Line!
Offer Details:

• Kids 17 and under sail free* on most
  10- and 11-night Mediterranean cruises when traveling with two full-fare
  Guests in the same stateroom.
• Government Taxes and Fees not included.
• Offer applies to stateroom Categories 4 -12.

Travel Window:

• Sail dates April 24 – May 26, 2010.

During these voyages, you will visit captivating locales such as Barcelona, Rome and the French Riviera.
Onboard, you’ll discover something magical for every member of the crew with separate areas for kids, teens, adults and families.
*Offer applies to new bookings only. The number of staterooms allocated for this offer is limited. Other offers, discounts or onboard credits do not apply. See Disney Cruise Line brochure for details and applicable Terms and Conditions.