DOING DISNEY ebook!

Think I'll just put this one up here. 

This is the book I wrote about our family's travels to Walt Disney World in Florida.

It's not supposed to be a comprehensive, tell-all travel guide.  I describe it as a template for a week (give or take a couple days) long visit to that Florida resort.  It discusses the resorts we like the most, the restaurants we like the most, the way we structure our days in the parks, how and why we rent a car, why we recommend Disney's Magical Express for getting to one's on-property hotel, a little bit (actually a very little bit) about the surrounding area, and how and why we decide which options to put on our theme park tickets.  I talk about our experience with Disney Vacation Club, the Disney Dining Plans, and a little about the California resort.  I talk about FastPasses (which are almost obsolete now, I guess) and about the extras at the resort that we've never experienced.  Finally, I provide a bit of a bibliography for books about Disney that I've found either useful, entertaining, or both.

Christmas is coming, so consider purchasing a copy.  It's only $2.99 for 101 pages of reading enjoyment.  I try to write it in an entertaining style, like I do my fiction.  So maybe even if you don't find it useful, you might find my anecdotes entertaining.  Or not.  Sample at will, if you'd like, to get an idea about my style of writing.

Here's the link: DOING DISNEY:  HOW TO SPEND A WEEK AT DISNEY'S FLORIDA RESORT  One caveat: It's only for Kindle and the Kindle app! Hope that will work for you! Thanks for looking at it.

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Disney Guidebook coming out...

Yes, I've written a Disney guidebook, which will be released as soon as I finalize the cover.  It will be an e-book, available on Amazon for Kindle, and later hopefully for Nook and through the iBookstore and other outlets.  I'm also hoping to publish a paper version of it, but I think the e-book will be the best way to experience it.

What qualifies me to write a guidebook, you might ask?  Well, we've visited Walt Disney World seven times since our kids were born, each time for 7 or 8 days.  And each time we learned something.  We got our patterns down.  We found places that we return to for dining.  We stayed at resort properties that we really liked, and at least one that we weren't crazy about. 

We visit the resort like a lot of other people in our boat.  We aren't all annual pass holders.  We don't all live close enough to go every week or month, like some folks who write Disney books do.  We get down there every year or every couple of years, spend a week there, and try to make the most of our stay.  When we run into people going to Disney for the first or second time, we seem to usually have some good ideas for them, information that they are happy to have. 

Our experiences are not the be-all-end-all of Disney experiences.  They're OUR experiences.  I thought it would be interesting to put together a "guidebook" from that perspective, not trying to give every last bit of information about every little thing on Disney property.  I didn't do a ton of outside research to write this book.  I mostly relied on my family's experiences and how we've done things over the course of our seven visits.   I talk about how we structure our park visits, how we buy our tickets, how we get the most out of our money when visiting Walt Disney World.  Take all of our advice, some of it, or just a little, but I think if you have young kids and are going to visit Disney every couple of years for a week at a time, you'll find something useful in the book.

Disney's MyMagic+ has come along and perhaps will change a bunch of stuff about how we have to structure our vacations, but for the most part, our observations stand on their own. 

I'll have the cover here and on my Scott Dyson page and on my Scott Dyson Facebook page, and pricing information before it is released.  I hope some of you will download a sample and take a look!  Thanks for reading!

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My Magic Plus...

This new program that Disney Florida is rolling out was a mystery to me.  But after reading FutureProbe's article on the subject, now I'm worried.

Go ahead and read the article, titled The Pixie Dust Detoxification Effect. 

Is this going to enhance or ruin the Disney vacation experience?  Sounds like the latter...

*****

Disney Files Magazine

The DVC-published Disney Files came yesterday, and in addition to neat features by Disney historian Jim Korkis and others, it contains a nice overview of the new Fantasyland at the Magic Kingdom.

As I don't have it in front of me, I can't say too much about it.  But the photos and artwork look pretty interesting.  The "Be Our Guest" restaurant looks pretty interesting, and Maurice's cottage looks to be a fun little place to visit.

We all know what sorts of things are going to be there.  It seems to me that it will make Fantasyland out to be a really fun and much more ride-intensive area to visit. 

*****

Compare and Contrast

It's been interesting, having gone to three distinct amusement/theme parks in the span of about 2 weeks, to note the differing approaches these parks take to satisfying their guests.  At the end of May, we went to Michigan's Adventure, an amusement park with classic thrill rides.  In early June, we went to both Walt Disney World and Universal Studios Orlando, two sets of parks that depend on theming to entertain the customers. 

Michigan's Adventure has moderate thrill rides and almost no theming.  Their marquee ride, Shivering Timbers, is a huge wooden rollercoaster that sort of fits in with the way the park sort of just appears in the middle of the forest.  They have another ride, a whitewater raft experience called Grand Rapids, which of course is the name of a city in Michigan (President Gerald Ford was from there).  Their one and only indoor, sit-down restaurant is called Coaster's.  It's sort of themed like a 50's diner.

Then you go to Disney, and you get story and theming around every corner.  I don't have to talk too much about it on this blog; anyone reading probably knows as much or more about what Disney has to offer than I do.  There are thrills to be found here:  Space Mountain, Big Thunder Mountain, Splash Mountain, Mission: Space, Rock'n'Roller Coaster, Twilight Zone Tower of Terror - all are moderate (at least) thrill rides.  But all depend on theming to make them more than just a rollercoaster with inversions, than a drop-ride, than a log flume, than a dark coaster - to make them memorable and repeatable. 

Going over to Universal Studios, we find a few more thrill rides like Hollywood Rip-Rocket, Revenge of the Mummy, and even The Simpsons Ride.  Again, their rides depend on theming to make them memorable.  Each delivers a fairly unique experience.  Their theming uses a certain edginess, a certain hip-ness, that you don't find at Disney, and that a place like Michigan's Adventure doesn't even try to use. The jokes are different - often aimed at adults and older teens.  There's a blog post in there, somewhere, comparing the "feel" of the Universal Studios Resort parks and the Disney parks.  But I don't know if I'm ready to write it. 

I for one don't connect to either Michigan's Adventure, or Universal Studios in the same way I do to Disney.  I did feel that connection over at Islands of Adventure, but that was a year and a half ago, and I think much of it was due to the current-ness of the Harry Potter movies and the timeless feel of Dr. Seuss and some of the other properties they used there. 

Our next trip will likely feature more visits to Universal and maybe even none to a Disney park.  If it happens that way, it will be because of Disney's all-or-nothing pricing policy, where it doesn't make sense to buy a two or three day ticket instead of a 6 or 7 day pass.  Orlando and central Florida have more to offer than Disney, but we have discovered very little of it.  So I'll see if those parks seem to foster more of a connection in the future. 

*****

The Poly is still my favorite...

We just concluded a stay at Disney's Polynesian Resort. And it recemented its status as my favorite Disney resort. Now admittedly, we haven't stayed at too many different resorts. But we've walked around a few, and the look of the Polynesian, the amenities, the monorail, the restaurants, the pool...well, I haven't seen anything else that makes me want to stay there more than I want to stay at the Polynesian.

 Since we're DVC members, we probably won't stay there again for a while. We did so this time because we had a whole bunch of points that were going to expire on June 1, so we banked them forward and blew them on an exchange so we could stay at a hotel instead of at a DVC Villa resort (usually Animal Kingdom Lodge for us).

We got a nice room, close to the main building. We took advantage of the pool on two days, spending the morning in the water. We ate at 'Ohana and at Kona Cafe, and also at Capt. Cook's for quick breakfasts on several days. We used the monorail to get to Magic Kingdom and to return from Epcot on our last night there.

All in all, it was a good stay. Beds were comfy, accommodations were roomy, and the Poly was everything we remembered it to be. I almost hope it never becomes a DVC resort, because maybe in a couple years we'll do the same thing and stay there again. It just might be worth the extra points to do so...

*****

Disney Parks: Magic Kingdom

I was going to do an entry on the dining we did at Universal, but thought I'd put that off another day or two till I could sort of reconstruct our dining choices there. I remember (mostly) what I had, but I don't remember what my wife had, and I was getting confused on the appetizers and desserts, so I need to consult with her.

So I thought instead I'd recap the parks. Our first full day was spent at the Magic Kingdom. We were able to do quite a few rides, though it seemed as crowded as ever there. In Tomorrowland, we did the Carousel of Progress, Buzz Lightyear, Space Mountain, the Monsters Inc Laugh Floor, and the TTA PeopleMover. There was a short wait for the PeopleMover, something I'd never seen before. Lines were long at Buzz and Space Mountain, but we used our Fastpasses on those rides and were able to get on relatively quickly. The Carousel of Progress seemed to have some technical difficulties. They kept interrupting the show to announce that people should remain in their seats, but at least in our theater, no one was getting up. Then we didn't move when we were supposed to, sitting in the same scene for a couple of times. Finally it moved, but right in the middle of a presentation. Just when we were getting irritated and half ready to get up and walk out the exit doors, it started working correctly again, and we got out.

In Frontierland, we did Big Thunder Mountain Railroad via our third and last FastPass. In Adventureland, we did Pirates of the Caribbean. The line was long for that one also. In Liberty Square, we did the Haunted Mansion and, for our first time, we saw the Hall of Presidents show. My kids are at an age where they can appreciate this one now, though I think at our last visit they wouldn't have enjoyed it much. I really liked it. We did no Fantasyland rides this trip. Lines were long at all of them and we didn't feel like waiting.

The Magic Kingdom has plenty to do, and we enjoyed our day there. We capped it by eating, as I mentioned in a previous post, at the California Grill and watching the fireworks from the best table in the house. Weather was perfect all day, and it was a fine finish to a fine day!

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Disney Parks: Holiday Decorations

The parks were festive, decked out in Christmas splendor. It's our first trip to WDW at the Christmas holiday season, so I didn't know what to expect. I wasn't overwhelmed, but I wasn't disappointed. I guess that's another way of saying that most of it was about what I expected, but a few things stood out as "really something special"!




I apologize for the quality of my photos; I took them with my iPhone, and while it's not bad, it's not great, either. Plus, the hand behind it isn't so great. But I think they show that the decorations were not excessive at the Magic Kingdom. Nice, but not overdone, or spectacular, really. Same with the trees. All the parks had them, and they're nice, but they're what I'd expect - not much more.



Now here is something that really IS spectacular. The lighting of Cinderella's Castle is just breathtaking. It rotates through 4 or 5 background colors, and those white icicle-type lighting just make you go, "Wow!" My picture doesn't really do it justice; it is much more beautiful in person.



And something else that is spectacular, and exceeded all my expectations, was the Osborne Family Spectacle of Dancing Lights. Again, the pictures I took don't really do it justice; it's much more spectacular in person. The colors and the movement of the lights just mesmerized me and my family for quite a while. I was insisting to my wife that we make sure we see this, because I suspected it would be cool, but it was so much cooler than I thought it would be. Everyone should see this spectacle, it's that impressive, in my opinion. (Maybe I'm easily impressed, but...)

The decorations were nice all over, but those two things really stood out, head and shoulders above anything else I saw at the theme parks at Disney or Universal last week.

*****

Parks - "Hard-Ticketed" Events

We're going to be at Disney next month, and though it's not running at all on any of the nights we're in town, Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party is a so-called "hard ticket" event that will be available before and after our vist.

I've always wondered how these events are. I've heard good and less-than-great things about Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party...more good than bad, actually. I've heard it's a treat to see the park lit up in spectacular fashion, to get the treats from cast members in costume, to see some neat mini-shows and such going on, and of course, to be able to get on rides quickly and without lines. What I've heard bad about it is that it's not great for families with smaller kids, since it doesn't really "start" till 7 pm, and if your kids are going to be crashing by 9, you're not getting much for your money. We've been there two or three times when MNSSHP was running, and never saw fit to buy the tickets for it.

I've heard that MVMCP is not as good. I've heard that the park looks good, and the fireworks are first rate, but it isn't as much fun for the kids as the Halloween events. Still, with my kids getting a little older now, I was thinking of doing it, as much for the access to rides as for seeing the park decorated and lit specially.

I do think, however, that these sorts of ticketed special events are good for the business. With three parks that DON'T require a special ticket to go to, closing one park early to all but the ticket holders has to be profitable. And having a special event that makes the guest feel really plugged in, really special, can be a lot of fun, I'd guess. I really think that, if I were Disney, I would be looking at doing more of them throughout the year.

I've mentioned it before, but I think DHS would be a natural place to have one, some sort of "movie premiere" night where you could really feel that you were going to a red carpet Hollywood event. I'm sure you could think of a really cool thing to do at Animal Kingdom, too...the old Beastly Kingdom thing would be a cool overlay to part of the park for a special hard ticketed event a few times a year.

Anyone have any thoughts on this? Do you like "hard ticketed" events? Do you hate the concept? Would it just be greedy of Disney to do more of this? Or would it enhance the experiences of those guests purchasing the tickets?

*****

Theme Parks - Kinetic Energy

When you are wandering around a Disney theme park, perhaps you notice that things are moving. Or perhaps you don't notice. But it makes an impression, if only subconsciously.

I don't have a great deal of theme park experience. I've been to both Disneyland Resort and Walt Disney World Resort, and I've gone to Six Flags Great America, plus the St. Louis version of Six Flags and a couple of smaller parks. But when I think about it, the major difference I see is the quality of motion around the guests at the parks. Yes, at Six Flags, there is plenty of motion with coasters flying around, but they just look intimidating and scary.

At Disney parks, the motion is of a different quality. In Tomorrowland, you have the PeopleMover going past above you, and the Astro Orbiter, also happening above your head. At Splash Mountain you see the logs coming out of the mountain and down the flume before spashing into the water. Even Dumbo and the Magic Carpets of Aladdin provide kinetic energy in their corners of the park. Near the main entrance the Disney Railroad provides the motion.

The motion at the Magic Kingdom is exciting, inviting (perhaps), interesting, but not intimidating or frightening in the least.

Epcot's Dancing Waters Fountain provides kinetic energy in the Communicore, as does the monorail itself as it loops through the park. Test Track, of course, has the motion of its vehicles as they race past its entrance, and the pools of the Imagination! pavilion have their own brand of kinetic attraction with the illusion of water flowing uphill. Even The Seas With Nemo and Friends have motion with those silly animatronic pelicans in front of its entrance.

The other two parks don't have as much kinetic energy available for guests' diversion and for subliminal atmosphere, at least not that I can think of. It's been almost two years since I've been to Disney, so some stuff is a bit hazy in my mind. (I'll be rectifying that next month with my family.)

If any readers come up with any other examples of how Disney uses kinetic energy to set atmosphere and keep things interesting for the guests without hitting them over the head with the motion, please feel free to mention them in the comments section.

Thanks for reading.

******

My Very Own "Best Of..." List

You know, I want to write. And I want to write something Disney related. That's the purpose of this blog, I guess - to give me a place to ramble and meander on about whatever strikes my fancy, Disney-wise.

Trouble is, I often can't think of anything to write about. I'm not a big critic of Disney as a whole, of their films, of their parks, or of any one park in particular. I'm not an expert on any one aspect of Disney. I don't have a large storehouse of Disney photos. I don't have an angle, like some blogs do, where they are discussing some particular minutae (albeit interesting miutae) about the parks or the films or whatever.

So today, I was sitting here over lunch, thinking about a subject to write on, looking at the topics covered by other Disney blogs. I noticed that on Reimagineering, there was an entry (after a LONG break with no posts) criticizing TOY STORY MIDWAY MANIA, the popular ride at Disney's Hollywood Studios and at Disney's California Adventure. I thought about that - I don't have much bad to say about that ride. In fact, it might just make my top 10 rides at Disney World.

And there it was: Today's post! My personal Top Ten list of rides at WDW. Just like what's-er-name on the Disney resort TV station! So here goes:

10. Rock'n'Roller Coaster, DHS

9. Tower Of Terror, DHS

8. Toy Story Mania, DHS

7. Space Mountain, Magic Kingdom

6. Kilamanjaro Safaris, DAK

5. Splash Mountain, Magic Kingdom

4. Pirates of the Caribbean, Magic Kingdom

3. Haunted Mansion, Magic Kingdom

2. Soarin', Epcot

1. Expedition Everest

It was actually pretty hard to sort these out, because sometimes I might prefer Haunted Mansion or Pirates to the thrills of Expedition Everest. Soarin', Haunted Mansion, Pirates, Kilamanjaro Safaris, Toy Story Midway Mania, and Splash Mountain are all things we enjoy as a family. The others are thrill rides that my wife won't go on, so I and my two boys have to enjoy them by ourselves.

Expedition Everest is a great ride, in my opinion, with a great queue that makes waiting quite bearable. Also, it's new, so it has that going for it. That doesn't diminish the classics, but it does say a lot for EE that it makes the top of my personal list.

Maybe later I'll try to do a "dining" list.

*****

First Disney visit, circa 1975/1976, photos

Before I had a family, I had only been to a Disney theme park one time, and that was during my sophomore year in high school when I visited with our high school band. Of course, at that time, the only park in Florida was the Magic Kingdom, and my memories were pretty sketchy. I remembered riding on the overhead tram. I remembered doing Space Mountain. I recalled the WEDWay Peoplemover. I had some memories of 20000 Leagues Under the Sea, but not of riding on it.

Yesterday, I came across these photos from that trip. I quickly (and badly, as you can see) scanned them, and though the quality is pretty poor, I think they're sort of cool, looking back in time like this.










Here's why I guess we didn't go on 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea: It was closed, and drained. They must have been doing maintenance.



Tomorrowland, with the WEDWay PeopleMover sign, and an America the Beautiful sign evident.








The last two were shots from the old Aerial Tram (what was it called?) that terminated in Tomorrowland, I think. I'm really not sure. As I've said before, I remember more about what the girls from the high school band from the New England area looked like than I do about the Disney experience, much to my disappointment today. But there they are, imperfect shots that they are. They're all I have of that vacation.

"Why Western River Went South" by Jim Hill Media

A while back I linked to one part of a series on Jim Hill Media, titled "Why Western River Went South". I was looking for links to the proposed theme park development in St. Louis that Disney considered, then dropped, before putting all the corporate eggs into the Florida basket.

The discussion in that segment that interested me in that post was mostly about how they would have built a cold weather, indoor amusement park along St. Louis' riverfront. But today I went back and reread it, and realized that there was an incredible story that I had just touched upon by reading that post. It was the story of an attraction called Western River Expedition, the brainchild of Imagineering Legend Marc Davis, that never got built.

Today I read the entire article (I had a long period of inactivity at work) and found it to be very interesting. It's in ten parts, and there is quite a lot of detail in the story.

I'm linking to the "search" page on the Jim Hill Media site where you can see all nine parts, and go from one to the other. The parts are not listed in order, so remember which one you just read before you go back to look for your next target.

Give it a read if you have a bit of time and haven't read this already.

"Why Western River Went South", Jim Hill Media



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Disneyland vs. Magic Kingdom

I touched on the comparison in a blog post entitled Compare and Contrast a few weeks ago, but thought it might make some sense to elaborate on the differences. Magic Kingdom is much bigger.

Other than that, Disneyland beats Florida's flagship park hands down, I believe. Oh, Florida has things to recommend it. The Carousel of Progress is really fun. I don't know why really, but both of my kids love it. And I appreciate it and what it represents for Disney, and I value the connection to Walt himself. We also really enjoy the Tomorrowland Transit Authority, with its slow paced tour of Tomorrowland.

I have to give the edge to California, however, on Fantasylands. I am amazed that they fit as much as they do into such a small space. Storybookland, Alice in Wonderland, Mr Toad, the Casey train ride, and Pinocchio's Daring Journey are all only found in Disneyland. Florida does have Winnie the Pooh, (which is in the California park but not in Fantasyland, and which I've not ridden there) and Mickey's Philharmagic (a major plus for Florida), but otherwise, there isn't much comparison - Disneyland wins the battle.

I don't much care where things are placed. I have read "complaints" (mild, but still offered as negative criticism) that the placement of Splash Mountain and Big Thunder Mountain Railroad so close together in Frontierland at the MK is not ideal, but to me, who experienced the Magic Kingdom much more than, and prior to, Disneyland, the separate nature of the rides in California feels odd. I will say, however, that the Monsters Inc. Laugh Floor seems really out of place in Tomorrowland, and that I don't like the Stitch attraction at all, but that's got more to do with theming than with location.

Pirates of the Caribbean is, hands down, better in California than in Florida. The Castle is better in Florida, so much more imposing. It's the first one I saw, so it remains the gold standard for me. The train ride around the park is better in California, if only because of those dioramas between Tomorrowland and the Main Street Station. There's no Matterhorn in Florida, so even though I think the rollercoaster itself doesn't hold a candle to something like, oh, say, Expedition Everest, we're not including Animal Kingdom for the sake of this comparison. Advantage California again.

The ride on Space Mountain in California is better, though that may change after this refurbishment that is going on in Florida. Disneyland has Indiana Jones with its theming and exciting ride, Florida has nothing really like it in the Magic Kingdom. Florida has the Country Bear Jamboree, which is fun, but, well, sort of old. California has the Nemo Subs, which might not be as good as the old 20K Leagues, but is still better than the nothing offered in its place in Florida. And the Aladdin Flying Carpets are nothing to get too excited about in Florida. A time filler that loads and unloads quicker than Dumbo (which both parks have).

Florida has Tony's, the Crystal Palace, the Princess thing in the Castle, and a handful of good counter service options for dining. California has the Blue Bayou, which has a very cool atmosphere, and a couple other table service offerings. I like the food choices at Tony's better, but have to admit that there isn't a huge advantage to the Magic Kingdom. In fact, I think Disneyland might have more offerings for table service, but I'm not sure. When in California we've generally eaten outside the parks.

Toontown in California is much, much better than its counterpart in Florida. Enough said.

The smaller size makes Disneyland feel very crowded, whether it is or isn't. (I think that both times I've been there, it actually WAS quite crowded.) This isn't as big of a negative as one might otherwise think.

Advantage overall: Disneyland. In fact, I don't think it's even close.