Fun Disney Sites

There are a LOT of websites out there that cover every aspect of Walt Disney World - the good, the bad, and the ugly.  Personally, I don't waste my time with going to haters-of-all-things-Disney sites because they just make me mad.  I mean, everyone can have a bad experience anyplace in the world and every company has "secret" things that they do that they would prefer the public not know about.  That's fine - but it seems to me that there are people that go out of their way to FIND things wrong with "the World".  I will not support them or promote them on this blog.

Now, having said that, today while watching the latest episode of "Travel with Rick" (which he took us on Epcot's Mission Space - the Green version) he introduced us to another Disney blog called "The Disney Driven Life".  Okay, first, I know I have mentioned "Travel with Rick" here several times and what I find fun about him is that he video tapes all of the Disney rides, attractions and whatnot and shares it with us.  This is a great tool if you are a first-time visitor and have kids that might find an attraction or two scary and you want to check it out before you go.  It's a very informative site, and not to be missed.

But now..."The Disney Driven Life" is geared towards us Neurotic Disney Fans - and you know who you are.  We think, dream and obsess about all-things Disney and cannot wait for any and all trips where we can just be immersed in the magic.  Per the website, this is their description of a Disney Driven Life:  "If your lifestyle revolves around incorporating the Disney brand into all aspects of your life, then you are leading a Disney Driven Life.  This includes activities like watching Disney movies, listening to Disney music and podcasts, discussing Disney topics with family and friends on a regular basis, participating in Disney communities online and enjoying every minute of it.  But the paramount event in the life of a Disney Driven person is planning and anticipating a Disney vacation."

I LOVE THAT!!!~

So if you fit in to that category, go on over and check out "The Disney Driven Life" and get that acceptance and know that you are not alone!  I know it made me feel better!

Need a Disney Fix!

So we decided that we were definitely going to do one day in Disney when we are down in Florida in November.  Normally, I would be against such a thing because really, it's very expensive to just go for one day; Disney makes it worth your while to spend more days with them by discounting ticket prices by how many days you stay.  Meaning, the longer you are there, the lower the cost per day.  But I am personally willing to bite the bullet on this to get in my Disney fix!

The plan is for us to go the Monday after Thanksgiving because the crowds should be quite low - the folks who went for the holiday weekend will have all left either Sunday night or by Monday morning.  

We're going to Magic Kingdom because we are taking my son's girlfriend with us who has never been to Disney and really, the Magic Kingdom really is what Disney is all about!  So to save money on the whole thing we decided to sacrifice eating at the big-name restaurants.  I'm kind of bummed about that because I would LOVE to go to the Crystal Palace for lunch and then take the monorail over to the Polynesian and do O'Hana for dinner and watch the fireworks from there.  But, that is just not going to happen.

By skipping the restaurants, we are not only saving money, but time.  On a recent visit, a friend of mine spent 90 minutes waiting for her seating at the Crystal Palace!  She had made her advanced dining reservations (ADR's) and yet still had that long of a wait.  Add that to the time it took to actually EAt and she lost probably close to three hours of ride time on that one meal.  We certainly don't want to do that when we only have one day to play.

The plan will be to drive to the Disney complex early that Monday morning - we'll be coming from about an hour away - and arrange to be in the parking lot at least 30 minutes before the park opening because, remember, Magic Kingdom's parking is the furthest away.  We will have to park and then take a tram to either grab the ferry or monorail over to the park entrance.   After going through security and waiting for the ropes to drop, we'll be on our way.  


The only thing that I don't like about this plan is that well...I don't have to actually PLAN anything!  Part of the fun of going on a Disney vacation is doing all of the planning:  figuring out which park to do first, deciding on restaurants, etc.  With only one day there's really not much to do.  There are plenty of wonderful counter service restaurants to choose from and really, no matter where we are in the park when we get hungry, there's something near by.


So now the countdown begins...