Posted on Thursday, 26th August 2010 by WebmasterLeah

Post by Teresa Echols

Well, we made it home from our Disney family vacation tired, happy and with money in the bank. I guess I should start at the beginning and tell you how this trip came to be. Way back in January, Pete announced that he was giving me a challenge to plan and take a family Disney vacation for a typical family of four. It was decided that $2500 was the average amount and I was given the task to start the planning.  Want to know how it went? Keep reading…

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Tags: pop century, Walt Disney World vacation
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Posted on Thursday, 26th August 2010 by Kathy Werling

I make no secret of the fact that I love Epcot at Walt Disney World!  My favorite Disney ride is Journey into Imagination.  I recently read a rumor that Kodak was no longer going to be a corporate sponsor of  this pavilion.

I decided to go over and check it out for myself.

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Tags: disney world, Epcot, Imageworks- The Kodak What if Labs, Journey into Imagination, Kodak
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Posted on Monday, 23rd August 2010 by Nancy Johnson

I am excited to see a Tower be built in Fantasyland.  Am I a geek?  Don’t answer that.  Seriously, though… Disney recently released the concept art for this amazing new character meet & greet location for Disney’s newest heroine, Rapunzel and her love interest, Flynn Ryder – bringing with it the first true architectural change to Disneyland’s Fantasyland since its 1983 makeover.    The tower will be a new addition and will tie the former outdoor queue area of Pinocchio’s Daring Journey into the small cottage, currently serving as Gepetto’s Candy Shoppe. 

Honestly, I think I’m excited, because the design brings such an architecturally compatible entry to the existing space.  It’s going to be extremely interesting to see, especially if they can truly pull off the concept drawing’s vision of the hair extending from the Tower to the Cottage.  That will be an amazing challenge – to have it still look like hair and yet be durable to weather from the scortching sun to winter rains.  Don’t even mention keeping the leaves from those trees on the right (in front of  the Village Haus Restaurant) out of it. 

Also, the commitment to building this tower shows Disney’s faith that they have a winner on their hands.  It’s not like having Tiana in the perfect meet & greet space – New Orleans Square - and then moving her over to the Fantasy Faire with the other princesses.   They are showing a true target goal of having the character fixed in this location.  Bold move.

If they pull it off – I think it will be a tremendous addition to Fantasyland!

Concept Art courtesy of Disneyland Media Relations.

Tags: Disneyland, Fantasyland, Geppetto's Sweet Shoppe, Rapunzel, Tangled
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Posted on Monday, 23rd August 2010 by Lisa Marrott / WaltD4Me on the DISBoards

I’m not much of a cook, so a little over a year ago, I noticed that Boston Market had come out with a line of frozen dinners. I was impressed. For a frozen dinner, they were really good. Of course that meant they were more expensive, but I thought they were worth it. Then I saw in the weekly ads that they were on sale. Almost half off! I stocked up thinking it would be quite awhile before I’d see such a good deal again. I was wrong. They seemed to be going on sale every other week. So even though I probably would have bought them again at regular price, why would I when I knew another sale would be coming? Then one day after heating up the Swedish Meatball dinner, I noticed the noodles were different. The thick, seriously like homemade,  noodles were now thin, flavorless and kind of chewy. I was disappointed, but the meatballs were still really good, just maybe just a tiny bit smaller? Then I noticed less chicken in the Southwest Chicken dinner and the mashed potatoes in the Meatloaf dinner had a gritty texture I never noticed before. Could they be instant? To be honest, I don’t know why I was surprised. Yes, I still buy Boston Market dinners. I miss the good noodles and non-gritty mash potatoes, but overall they are still really good frozen dinners. I pass them by at regular price though. I know another sale will come along.

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Tags: Bob Iger, deals, Discounts, Disney free dining offer, free dining, free gift cards
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Posted on Sunday, 22nd August 2010 by Pete Werner

In recent years, it has become the ‘it’ place to be among the Disney set – that elusive, hard-to-get reservation that, for an increasing number of people, has become the make-or-break experience of their vacation.  No, it’s not a private audience with Walt’s frozen corpse beneath Cinderella Castle, although the way some people behave, you would think so – it’s a meal at Le Cellier, the steakhouse located within the Canada pavilion at Epcot’s World Showcase.

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Tags: Canada pavilion, Epcot, Le Cellier
Posted in Dining, Disney World | Comments (10)

Posted on Saturday, 21st August 2010 by Dave Parfitt

Central Florida based Give Kids The World (GKTW) was recently featured on NBC’s Today Show.  In the segment, President of GKTW Pamela Landwirth talks about the great work done by the organization to bring children with life-threatening illnesses to Orlando.  The full video is included below.  You may never look at “yes” the same way again.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Tags: Give Kids the World, Jenna Bush Hager, Pamela Landwirth, Today Show
Posted in Disney World, Disneyland, News | Comments (2)

Posted on Friday, 20th August 2010 by Dave Parfitt

Universal Orlando released a “teaser video” previewing their upcoming Halloween Horror Nights event “Twenty Years of Fear”.  In the video, Jim Timon, Senior Vice President of Entertainment for Universal Orlando, talks about how they take everything they’ve learned about frightening people the past 20 years, and evolve it to make it more intense to scare people for the next 20 years.  You can watch the short video after the break.

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Tags: halloween, Halloween Horror Nights, Jim Timon, Universal Orlando
Posted in Universal, Universal Orlando | Comments (1)