Disney News

FamilyFun Magazine has announced the results of their recent survey asking mothers about best vacation spots for families in America. The survey polled 2,000 mothers with children ranging in ages 3-12.

Congratulations to these Disney Destinations honored in this year’s awards:

Top 10 Favorite Family Destinations

• Magic Kingdom® Park

Top 10 Amusement Parks

• Magic Kingdom® Park
• Disneyland® Park
• Disney California Adventure® Park
• Epcot®
• Disney’s Animal Kingdom® Theme Park
• Disney’s Typhoon Lagoon Water Park

Top 10 Family Resorts

• Walt Disney World® Resort

As we mentioned in our article last week, families are relying more and more on vacations to provide the “family time” needed to balance out their busy lives. Allow our Magic Makers® to help you experience the “Disney Difference” on your next family vacation!

A complete list of results can be seen in the April 2013 issue of FamilyFun Magazine.

At the mere mention of the word ‘cruise’ most of us can smell the sun tan lotion, feel the ocean mist and visualize the swimwear diet. Cruises have long had the tropical stigma associated with them, conjuring images of palm trees, pristine beaches and exotic shopping locales; yet there is another side to cruising that is also worth experiencing.

Apart from the tropical destinations that many cruise to, there are a wide variety of destinations and itineraries that cater to the adventure seeker in all of us, even if we aren’t interested in hitting the beach.

Exciting, often overlooked, cruises include Disney Cruise Line’s® Alaskan itineraries. From Alaska’s breathtaking glaciers and waterfalls to their exotic wildlife like bald eagles and bears to sea otters and whales, an Alaskan cruise aboard Disney Cruise Line® immerses you in the adventure of a lifetime.

Set sail for 7 or 9 nights aboard Disney Wonder® as you experience adventure in ports including Juneau, Skagway and Ketchikan. Along the way you’ll find adventure while taking in the unbelievable service and world-class amenities of Disney Cruise Line®.

This year, Disney Cruise Line® has added new tours in Juneau that will give you one of the best looks at the Inside Passage’s marine and coastal wildlife. With the new Wilderness Safari & Beach Exploration tour you may catch a glimpse of whales, sea lions and brown bears, to name a few. In addition, you’ll have the opportunity to explore Admiralty Island as you take in the beauty of the area.

In Juneau you’ll also have the opportunity to ‘go coastal’ with the Private Whales, Fishing and Wildlife Adventure where you can experience whale watching and fishing with your own captain and private vessel.

Another favorite of Disney Cruise Line® guests is the White Pass Scenic Railway Featuring Exclusive Youth Activity in Skagway. On your vintage rail car ride through the Pass summit, you can take in the scenery together as a family as you head north, then when returning south you can unwind and relax while your kids hang out in the youth car themselves under the supervision of Disney Cruise Line® youth counselors and local staff.

While cruise vacations will always be a fantastic way to experience tropical destinations, don’t overlook the awesome opportunities to set sail for adventure aboard Disney Cruise Line®.

Contact your Magic Maker® today to discuss itineraries and options for Disney Cruise Line’s® Alaskan itinerary, as well as other adventurous, tropical or exotic cruise destinations!

Nearly a year after announcing that they would add a Starbucks® location to each of their domestic parks, Disney Parks has released plans for their next location on Main Street, U.S.A.® inside Disneyland® Park.

This fall, Starbucks® will debut inside the Market House. Closing in April for a refurbishment, the Market House will be expanded into the neighboring space currently occupied by Disneyana. The new location will still carry the theme of a turn-of-the-century general store, but will serve Starbucks® products and a selection of pastries.  While the Market House will no longer serve their current Disney branded coffee or offer free refills like they do now, there’s no need to say “farewell!” Guests will still be able to purchase it in select retail locations to make at home.

The current offerings of Disneyana will be combined with the Disney Gallery inside the Bank of Main Street building. At this time, no exact dates have been announced for the closing or reopening. The new Market House location will be the second Starbucks® inside the parks of the Disneyland® Resort – the first opened as the Fiddler, Fifer and Practical Café last June inside Disney California Adventure® Park.

runDisney has announced that the 2014 Walt Disney World® Marathon Weekend will be bigger and better than ever!

The weekend will expand to five days – Jan. 8-12, 2014. A new 10K race will join the existing Family Fun Run 5K, the Disney Half Marathon, and the Disney Marathon. In past years,  runners could participate in the Goofy’s Race and a Half Challenge by completing the Walt Disney World® Half Marathon on Saturday and the Walt Disney World® Marathon on Sunday. Now, runners can add on the 5K race on Thursday and the new 10K race on Friday to accept The Dopey Challenge – a total of 48.6 miles run in four timed events in successive days! Those successfully completing the challenge will receive 6 medals!

Other events throughout the weekend include runDisney Kids Races, the Mickey Mile, and Disney’s Health and Fitness Expo at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex. Special ticketed events will include Character Breakfasts, Pasta in the Park parties at Epcot®, and a Cool Down Party at Downtown Disney®.

Registration for all Walt Disney World® Marathon Weekend events opens at noon on April 9th. Contact your Magic Maker® today to discuss accommodation options for the weekend!

To celebrate Easter, Disney Parks has planned some special “Limited Time Magic” events that everybunny is going to find really egg-citing!

Walt Disney World® Resort

• Spring Fling – From Mar. 25-31, take part in an array of seasonal experiences around the Walt Disney World® Resort. Mr. and Mrs. Easter Bunny will be greeting guests and posing for photos inside Town Square at Magic Kingdom® Park. And just before the daily performances of the Celebrate a Dream Come True Parade, Mr. and Mrs. Easter Bunny will be the stars of a special springtime processional with some fellow Disney rabbits along the parade route. Over at Epcot®, Mr. and Mrs. Bunny will be hosting some fun activities in the United Kingdom pavilion like relay races and Easter egg hunts. A second Easter Egg hunt will be held in Future World East. Valid theme park admission is required.
• Spring Trolley Show on Main Street, U.S.A.® – It has been a long winter for us all, and the citizens of Main Street, U.S.A.® inside Magic Kingdom® Park are beyond excited that spring is in the air. Join them daily through May 12, 2013 as they celebrate with a Spring Trolley Show. Arriving on a horse-drawn trolley decorated for the season, their performance of a few new songs will be as bright as their colorful pastel outfits! Please refer to your Times Guide for show information.

Disneyland® Resort

• Spring Fling – From Mar. 25-31, the Easter Bunny will be greeting guests in Town Square at Disneyland® Park. Main Street U.S.A.® will be hoppin’ when the Easter Bunny, the Dapper Dans, and some Disney Friends perform the Bunny Hop! At Disney California Adventure® Park, Russel and Dug have hidden oversized Easter eggs throughout the Redwood Creek Challenge Trail. Complete the Wilderness Explorer Egg Hunt and receive a Spring Egg-tivity Badge! Valid theme park admission is required.
  
• Oz The Great and Powerful Sneak Peek – Catch a special sneak peek of Walt Disney Studios newest movie, Oz The Great and Powerful, which opened in theaters Mar. 8. The extended preview will be shown in 3D with a few special 4D effects thrown in the mix! The preview will be held daily thru Mar. 31 in the Muppet*Vision 3D Theater at Disney California Adventure® Park.

And the Year of the Ear continues with miniature MousekeEars! These adorable, mini versions of popular ear designs are only available while supplies last! Also, you can purchase an Oswald The Lucky Rabbit ear hat, available at MouseGear in Epcot® and Oswald’s Service Station in Disney California Adventure® Park while supplies last!

Keep checking back as Off to Neverland Travel® will continue to bring you details on future ”Limited Time Magic” events as they become available!

By: Kyle Froman, Off to Neverland Travel®

Sitting in the corner of our sectional couch is one small pillow that reads ‘Never Grow Up’.

This small pillow’s journey started at Walt Disney World® Resort, in Magic Kingdom® Park to be exact. On our most recent visit to Walt Disney World® Resort we passed this small pillow countless times in just as many souvenir stores scattered around the parks and resorts. Every time we saw it we would smile, then go on our way. Finally, on one of our last evenings at Magic Kingdom® Park we succumbed to this small pillow’s beck and call and brought him home with us (after paying of course)!

The lure of the phrase embroidered on this small pillow is found in the feeling that overcomes you as you walk through Magic Kingdom® Park, or really any area of Walt Disney World® Resort’s property.

To me, it is a journey back to a time and place when I was a child and this world of fantasy was fully reality. The smell of the popcorn, bakery and ice cream parlor on Main Street U.S.A.® Area put me in the shoes of an young boy who was experiencing it all for the first time. The sights and the sounds send the memories flooding through my mind, as fresh as the day they happened. Watching my boys’ take it all in is like looking at it all through the eyes of my young self. It is truly magical.

It is as if I never grew up.

What makes it all truly magical is that you don’t have to have childhood memories of Walt Disney World® Resort to embrace this feeling. I have watched adults experiencing Magic Kingdom® Park for the first time become overwhelmed as they, too, are transported back to their childhood. Experiencing the attractions and reveling in the ambiance  it is as if their youth is restored… if only for a few days while they are there.

It is as if they never grew up.

Let’s face it, we all experience ‘life’ on a daily basis. We have bills to pay and bosses to please. We have families to chauffeur and yards/homes to upkeep. We have to be adults, it is part of life. But every time my eyes catch our small pillow in our living room I am immediately transported to the middle of Main Street U.S.A.® Area and I can almost smell the bakery and taste the popcorn.

Sometimes you just feel ‘old’. After all, growing old is required…but growing up is optional. To me, that’s the beauty of a trip to Walt Disney World® Resort, I never have to grow up. It doesn’t matter if you’ve been there 100 times, or if you are hoping to go for the first time, you will feel like a kid again. It certainly isn’t a fountain of youth, but it is a journey back to being a child…when fantasy was reality and the world is at your fingertips.

I invite you, too, to experience your childhood again by contacting your Magic Maker® today to plan your next trip to Walt Disney World® Resort. It will be as if you never grew up.

There’s no doubt that life is hectic! Balancing work, your responsibilities at home, and your family’s schedule loaded with activities is no easy feat. To take a look at how our hectic lives take a toll on quality family time, Disney Parks recently commissioned Kelton – a research firm – to conduct a blind survey.

More than 1,000 parents of children age 5-17 were asked their thoughts on quality time when at home verses when on vacation. Here is a look at some of the results:

• We’re Busy – Time is precious, scare, and fleeting! Out of 52 weeks in a year, the survey showed parents typically only have about 15 “free” weekends a year with no plans. 13% polled said they have no free weekends. But this is a problem parents are fully aware of – 96% said they would give up at least one thing to spend just one extra hour with their children every week.
• Go On Vacation – Vacation is a key way for your family to bond. The survey showed that when families vacation together, the time spent with each other is more likely to be “quality time” and that the whole family is more excited, relaxed, and even more affectionate. And family time together over meals nearly doubles when on vacation – going from an average of 10 meals per week at home to 19 meals on vacation!
• The Future of Family Travel – It appears that those who have already taken family vacations now realize the importance of this family time. Of those past vacationers, 82% said they will take the same amount of, if not more, vacations over the next five years. 94% of parents surveyed acknowledged the importance of family vacations taken on a regular schedule. Responses showed popular types of family vacations were theme parks, beaches, cruises and camping. The top destinations were Florida, California, and Hawaii.

As travel professionals, our Magic Makers® have experienced first-hand the value vacation time can bring to a family. Don’t let any more time slip away – contact us now to start creating memories to last a lifetime!

A new art exhibit representing over 400 years of African-American achievement and contribution has opened inside the American Adventure pavilion at Epcot®.

The exhibit, titled “Re-Discovering America: Family Treasures from the Kinsey Collection,” displays over 40 pieces of rare art, documents, books and artifacts of African-American history. The pieces come from the private collection of philanthropists Bernard and Shirley Kinsey whose collection has been on display all over the U.S., including the Smithsonian National Museum of American History. Paying homage to African-Americans who helped build and transform a nation, the entire exhibit carriers a theme of hope, belief, courage, imagination, and heritage.

We always wanted to extend the reach of the Collection to a larger, more international and diverse audience. So we are delighted to be collaborating with Disney to share the stories of our remarkable ancestors.” – Bernard Kinsey

“Re-Discovering America: Family Treasures from the Kinsey Collection” is included in Epcot® admission. Enjoy this special preview of the exhibit.