Disney News

Disney Cruise Line® has just unveiled the lineup of entertainment for our newest cruise ship, the Disney Dream™.

Experience some of the most elaborate original musicals presented at sea, over-the-top deck parties and, bursting above it all, the largest fireworks spectacular aboard a cruise ship.

Headlining the musical repertoire is “Disney’s Believe,” an original stage spectacular that combines a heartfelt story with a captivating musical score. Other productions include fan favorite “The Golden Mickeys: A Timeless Tribute,” featuring new musical numbers, and “Villains Tonight!” a fun-filled musical comedy starring Disney’s most famous evil-doers.

In addition to our nightly stage shows, we are re-imagining our popular “Pirates IN the Caribbean” evening with the creation of three distinct deck events:

• The evening starts with “Mickey’s Pirates in the Caribbean,” an interactive show featuring Disney characters.
• Later, Captain Jack Sparrow unleashes “Club Pirate,” a high-tech, open-air dance party.
• Of course, we’re still the only cruise line with fireworks at sea. We’ll take this distinctive Disney offering a step further with “Buccaneer Blast!” A new pyrotechnic spectacular featuring more fireworks than ever before synchronized to a dramatic musical score.

The Disney Dream™ is available to book for 2011 and select dates in 2012.  Click here to request a quote.

The Tomorrowland Terrace private dessert party, the prime location for watching the Magic Kingdom® fireworks, has been extended until Dec. 29. What better way to relax with an abundance of sweets while the sky fills with spectacular fireworks after a fun day of playing in the parks!

The party happens most nights.  Head over to the lower level of the terrace (across from Tomorrowland Noodle Station) an hour ahead of scheduled fireworks for plenty of time for the sweet buffet and beverages (no alcohol).

Contact your Magic Maker™ for reservations or at any resort front desk, concierge, Guest Relations or restaurant table-service location. If you don’t have reservations, you can walk up and try for a coveted spot, but it’s first come, first served. A Magic Kingdom® park ticket is required. Disney Dining Plan credits cannot be used.

Don’t have a reservation yet for this year?  Contact your Magic Maker® or request a quote for more information on three specials available right now.

Don’t have tickets for Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party at the Magic Kingdom® Park this Halloween weekend?  You can still trick-or-treat this weekend at the Walt Disney World® Resort! On both Oct. 30 and Oct. 31, your costumed kids can trick-or-treat throughout the Downtown Disney® Area. There are at least 20 shops and restaurants throughout West Side, Pleasure Island and the Marketplace that will offer goodies from 5-9 p.m. There’s also a kid’s DJ dance party at the Waterside Stage, a magician, stilt walkers, storytelling and a few other happy haunts.

From Magic Maker® Amanda Thompson

You have visited the Walt Disney World® Resort in the summer and love it!  And then you see the pictures and hear all about the special events going on in the fall and winter. How it is so much fun to dress up for Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party and trick or treat at the Magic Kingdom® Park. You see the pictures of the Christmas decorations and Very Merry Christmas Parade and all the extra magic that’s enjoyed at Walt Disney World® Resort around the holidays… but the kids are in school. It’s the great question, “Do I take the kids out of school for a Walt Disney World® Vacation?”

I have recently had to deal with this myself. The answer for that question for me was “YES”. I have two children in school, in sixth and ninth grades.  For our September trip, the kids were absent for five days. Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party is important to me, but I did not want the kids’ grades to suffer. What did I do? Both kids had to be approved with the school principal to be out on Educational Leave. They did not get counted absent, and even received grades for what they had learned. It may be called something different in your area, but chances are you can get something like this approved for your child as well.

The educational experiences at Walt Disney World® Resort are endless! If you have never heard of such a thing, go to your child’s principal and plead your case. Epcot® is enough to fill any child’s mind with knowledge. Spaceship Earth teaches all about communication and how it has evolved from the beginning of time and how it will progress in the future. Living with the Land is a boat ride that shows crops being grown above ground. Is this the way of the future? It’s amazing! You can even sample these crops as many of the restaurants in Epcot® actually get their produce from there. Don’t forget the World Showcase!  Where else can you visit so many different countries in one day? Shop in there authentic department stores, learn all about the culture and talk to people from that country. Sample all kinds of different foods from Japanese to German. A learning experience like no other!  At Disney’s Hollywood Studios™ the kids learn all about how movies are made, how stunts are done, and may even get picked to help! Take the kids to Africa on an authentic safari with real animals at Disney’s Animal Kingdom® Theme Park.

Those are just a few of so many educational things to do. You can even add your own. Give the kids an allowance to spend, let them learn to budget their own money, and there is your math class! Give them the maps of the parks and let them try to get you to the next ride, for a geography lesson!  When they return to school they can tell the teachers and principals how much they learned. One of my children was required to do a one page report and the other was required to keep a portfolio of our trip, much like a scrapbook. I collected extra maps while there, and he used them in his portfolio to show where we had been and what all we had done. It also makes an awesome souvenir of your trip.

The Walt Disney World® Resort is a perfect combination of fun and education. Even I still learn new things each time I go. For me, I feel the lifelong memories of such a trip and life experiences we have while there is worth the time away from school. As long as the teachers and principals are understanding and allow me to do this, I will.. and, of course, if the kids’ grades stay up. What better motivation for good grades on that next report card than a trip to the most Magical Place on Earth!

Tell us what you think.  Have you taken your kids out of school for a vacation?  How did it work for you?