Disney News

Aulani, a Disney Resort & Spa in Ko Olina, Hawaii announced Thursday an expansion of their offerings to their guests.

The expansion will add on to their current Waikolohe Valley pool area. Guests will enjoy an additional pool, toddler pool and interactive water play area. During this pool area growth, many of the current Waikolohe Valley amenities will remain open—including Waikolohe Pool, the lazy river, slides, whirlpool spas, Rainbow Reef and Menehune Bridge.  However, the Wailana Pool (the quiet pool) and Wailana Bar will close for an extended period and the Makai Preserve will close permanently this fall.

Because of the popularity of the Starlit Hui show, an evening show with a blend of traditional Hawaiian and modern entertainment, it will move to a larger venue. The show will go on an approximately one month hiatus while it relocates.

Also planned is two new quick service dining locations for the resort.

Construction for all of these projects is scheduled to begin September 2012 and finish mid-2013. We will bring you more information as additional details of the expansion become available.

We’re sorry, this special has expired.

For a limited time, guests visiting Aulani, A Disney Resort and Spa, Ko Olina, Hawaii for a five-night stay will get two of those nights free! With inclusive entertainment, kid’s activities and kid’s club, and amazing water features, there will be something to satisfy everyone’s interests!

Booking Window

Book now – Nov. 10, 2012

Travel Window

Sep. 10 – Dec. 22, 2012

This is an excellent opportunity to experience what the beautiful Hawaiian island of O’hau has to offer. Contact your Magic Maker® for more details.

Important Details

5 Nights for the Price of 3 Nights promotion for guests who stay five consecutive nights all between September 10, 2012, and December 22, 2012. Book from July 26, 2012, through November 10, 2012. The number of rooms allocated for this offer is limited. A three-night minimum length of stay is required. Excludes Resort fees and taxes. Not valid in combination with any other discounts or offers. Offer excludes suites and 3-Bedroom Grand Villas. Additional per adult charges may apply if more than 2 adults per room. Offer applied once per reservation. Check for offers for other lengths of stay. Advance reservations required. Subject to restrictions and change without notice. Limit 2 rooms per reservation.

Lately, gear heads who visit Walt Disney World® Resort in Florida may be feeling left out with all of the excitement surrounding the opening of Cars Land at Disneyland® Resort in California.

The good news is that there are several attractions at Walt Disney World® Resort that are sure to excite and entertain the gear head in your family! Lights, Motors, Action!® Extreme Stunt Show®  at Disney’s Hollywood Studios™ and Richard Petty Driving Experience at Walt Disney World® Speedway are both certain to get that motor oil in the veins boiling.

In Lights, Motors, Action!® Extreme Stunt Show®  at Disney’s Hollywood Studios™ you will find yourself on the set of an extreme stunt show as cars and motorcycles perform high-octane stunts before your eyes! From technical spins and jumps to daring maneuvers, watch on as stuntmen perform with amazing precision!

If just watching others drive fast is not enough for you, then the Richard Petty Driving Experience at Walt Disney World® Speedway may be what you are looking for! Strap in to your own NASCAR stock car and hit the banks of Walt Disney World® Speedway or ride shotgun with a professional driving instructor. Driving a stock car isn’t your thing? That’s okay! You can also choose from Richard Petty Driving Experience’s line-up of exotic cars to slip behind the wheel of the car of you dreams.

In addition to these two fast and furious attractions, many of us anxiously await the reopening of Epcot® favorite Test Track® Attraction as Imagineers work diligently to complete the re-imagined attraction, slated to re-open this fall.

The newly re-imagined Test Track® Attraction presented by Chevrolet will be changing from its current testing grounds concept to the new “Chevrolet Design Center at Epcot®” where you can dive into the excitement of an automotive design center!

Within the new Test Track® Attraction presented by Chevrolet, riders will be in charge of designing their own custom ride vehicles before hitting the track to test out their design! The new Test Track® Attraction ride vehicles will be re-skinned cars that are now called SimCar’s. Riders will take their SimCar out to prove their design in the Test Track® Attraction course! Designs will be tested for capability, efficiency, responsiveness and power.

Following the ride, guests will be redirected into a newly renovated showroom featuring current Chevrolet products.   Additionally, guests will have the opportunity to make a TV commercial featuring the car the designed or race their car on a virtual track.

And don’t forget; while the ride is down for refurbishment, you can catch the Test Track All Stars performing at the ride entrance!

From pirates to princesses, thrill seekers to GEAR HEADS, there truly is something for everyone at Walt Disney World® Resort! Contact your Magic Maker® today to plan your next trip to Walt Disney World® Resort, or another Disney Destination.

Disney’s Hollywood Studios® will shine bright again this holiday season! A Walt Disney World® Holiday tradition since 1995, The Osborne Family Spectacle of Dancing Lights will take place Nov. 9, 2012 – Jan. 4, 2013.

The Osborne Family Spectacle of Dancing Lights is a holiday display featuring millions of glittering lights all synchronized to seasonal music. The display was started by Jennings Osborne at his home in Arkansas. The once modest display grew a little more and more over the years until Osborne’s display was just too much for his modest Arkansas neighborhood. In 1995, the Walt Disney World® Resort became the new permanent home for this exceptional exhibition of holiday cheer. Totally blanketing the Streets of America inside Disney’s Hollywood Studios®, the display puts on a “show” approximately every 10 minutes as the lights dance to the music.

Every year, Disney’s Hollywood Studios® planners “plus” the display by adding new lights, audio, decorations and effects. In just a few months, we will get to see what is new with this year’s Osborne Family Spectacle of Dancing Lights!

The margarita is the most common tequila-based cocktail in the United States. And since today is National Tequila Day, it seems like the perfect opportunity to mention La Cava del Tequila!

Opened in 2009, La Cava del Tequila is located inside the Mexico Pavilion of the Epcot® World Showcase. Sitting off to the right-hand side inside the “pyramid” of the Mexico Pavilion, it is often overlooked by those headed to ride the Gran Fiesta Tour Starring the Three Caballeros attraction or eat at the San Angel Inn.

La Cava del Tequila offers over 95 varieties of Mexico’s National Drink. With room to only seat 30 people, the lounge offers a quiet, intimate setting for sampling premium tequilas and margaritas. An official “tequila ambassador” from Tequila, Mexico is also on hand to educate guests on the history and making of tequila. La Cava del Tequila features food from a small tapas menu to their guests.

The drink menu is quite extensive and contains about a dozen different margarita flavors, many you have likely never seen anywhere else. Some of the flavors include Avocado, Blood Orange, Jalapeño, Cucumber, and Frozen Coffee. Additional drink options include wine, beer, and a non-alcoholic smoothie.

La Cava del Tequila is open daily from noon til park closing. While it isn’t the only place to get a margarita in Epcot’s® World Showcase, it quite possibly is the best! Be sure to stop by on your next visit to the park.