Category — p. News and Changes

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MAGIC KINGDOM!

This morning the Magic Kingdom celebrated its 40th birthday.

The celebration was low-key (for reasons Jim Hill speculates about here) but well attended.

The castle forecourt was packed by 9.10a, and by then the stores were sold out of 40th anniversary swag.

Around 9.40 or so, the Main Street Philharmonic began entertaining those in the area of the castle with a medley of songs beginning with Zippity Doo Dah, and later the Dapper Dans joined.

By this point, the special parade was nearing the castle, and the audio shifted to the soundtrack for the special parade.

A parade of characters and songs from prior anniversaries ended at the forecourt, and the characters all assembled there.

Brief, low key speeches, fireworks, an explosion of streamers, and a community sing-along of “When You Wish Upon a Star” were the highlights.

The image on the right includes one of the streamers, and also the special 40th anniversary souvenir park map and button that were available this morning.

For more details on the day, see this.

I can’t hear “When You Wish Upon a Star” anymore without crying, as I am now older than my parents were than they first brought me.

Getting frail and in their 80s, my parents have probably made their last trip to Walt Disney World.

Happy Birthday, Magic Kingdom, and thanks, Mom and Dad.

AVATAR LAND AT THE ANIMAL KINGDOM?

News rocketed out that Disney has licensed Avatar and will be adding Avatar-themed material to the Animal Kingdom theme park.

The most details are at Mouseplanet.com.

Jim Hill has the best background and inside material here.

You’ll find skepticism anywhere you look–Mike Thomas’s Orlando Sentinel commentary captures much of it. (The word “sad” in the online title does not show up in the Kindle title…curious…)

See also R. A. Pedersen’s blog post at TouringPlans.com, Josh’s fun take at EasyWDW.com, and the official Disney stuff in Tom Smith’s entry on the Disney Parks Blog.

BEST WEEKS FOR FIRST-TIME VISITORS TO GO TO WALT DISNEY WORLD IN 2013 RELEASED!

Yesterday I published my first draft of the recommended weeks of 2013.  You can find it here.

The week rankings are based on the current drafts of the 2013 Disney World Crowd Calendar and projections for 2013 Walt Disney World price seasons, as well as other factors.

When actual 2013 price seasons are released  and more 2012-2013 school year calendars are published (typically in the summer), I’ll update these week rankings.

In 2013, Easter (3/31) is early, and both Columbus Day (10/14) and Thanksgiving (11/28) are as late as they can be. This means fewer good March and October weeks, and more good April and November weeks.

The 2013 week rankings are designed for first time visitors who do not know whether or not they will return.

For visitors on a return trip, less concerned about ride closures, the January and early February weeks would be ranked much higher–with the Marathon and Martin Luther King Day weeks being the worst of these.

WHEN CAN YOU BOOK A 2013 VISIT TO WALT DISNEY WORLD?

Disney won’t let you book a 2013 trip unless it’s within 500 days of the date you book. See this. As I write this, rooms are bookable in all of January 2013 but no later.

Here’s a table of when arrival dates are 500 days before:

Arrival Date    500 Days Before

• 3/1/2013        10/18/2011
• 5/1/2013        12/18/2011
• 7/1/2013          2/17/2012
• 9/1/2013           4/19/2012
• 11/1/2013         6/19/2012
• 1/1/2014           8/19/2012

(See this for 2011 weeks ranked in order, and for 2012 weeks, see this.)

MORE ON WHEN TO GO TO WALT DISNEY WORLD

• For when to go to Walt Disney World, see this
• For the next best dates, see this
• For the best and worst times to visit, see this
  • For 2011 weeks to visit, ranked in order, see this
  • For the 2011 Week Picker, see this
  • For 2012 weeks to visit, ranked in order, see this
  • For the 2012 Week Picker, see this
  • For 2013 weeks to visit, ranked in order, see this
• For forecasting crowds at Walt Disney World, see this
  • For the 2011 Crowd Calendar, click here
  • For the 2012 Crowd Calendar, click here
  • For the 2013 Crowd Calendar, click here
• For seasonal pricing at Walt Disney World, see this
  • For 2011 price seasons, see this
  • For 2012 price seasons, see this
  • For 2013 price seasons, click here
• For weather at Walt Disney World, see this

I’ve been getting a lot of questions and comments about the potential impact of Hurricane Katia on Walt Disney World.

As I update this Tuesday morning 9/6, long range forecasts for Katia don’t predict an impact on Florida.  They show Katia curving away from the US coast and remaining out to sea.

But that may change.

Weather.com has an overview of Katia here, and the Orlando Sentinel has one here.

Other good links from the Orlando Sentinel:

• For its weather page, click here
• For its hurricane page, click here
• For its cone of uncertainty for tropical storms and hurricanes, click here.

For more on hurricanes at Walt Disney World, see this, and for some basic precautions see the lower part of my tornado page here.

DISNEY MILITARY DISCOUNT 2012

The military discount for Disney World in 2012 is up and detailed on Disney’s special offers page.

The Disney Military Discount for 2012 is in effect an extension and doubling of Disney’s military discount for 2011.

Eligible personnel may buy and activate a total of twelve 4-day tickets for $138 each over the period from the beginning of the 2011 program to the end of the 2012 program.

The 2012 program ends September 30, 2012.  There’s a different program that begins October 1 2012 and extends into September 2013.  Click here for more on the FY13 military salute.

ONE MILITARY DISCOUNT PROGRAM FOR 2011 AND 2012

There is in effect just one military discount program that covers the period ending September 30 2012.

So families that already bought some military discount Disney World tickets in 2011 can now buy more, up to a total of 12 including those already bought; families that have not yet bought any can buy, activate and use up to twelve between now and September 30, 2012.

However, only 6 tickets can be activated or used in any 7 day period.

The price is a savings of ~$100 per ticket compared to Disney’s normal 4-day ticket prices.

Those eligible to purchase these Disney Military Salute tickets include active and (career) retired members of the US Military, including the National Guard, Reservists, and the Coast Guard, and their spouses.

My friend Steve of MilitaryDisneyTips.com notes that permanently disabled veterans with military ID with a DAVPRM status are also eligible for this offer.

Valid military ID is required at the parks themselves to activate the tickets.

For more, see this page.

DISNEY MILITARY ROOM RATE DISCOUNTS

Disney World is also offering discounted room rates to service families.  See this page for more.

ANSWERS TO COMMON QUESTIONS

Steve’s MilitaryDisneyTips.com is a great resource for military families.  He answers frequently asked questions about these programs on this page.

LINKS FOR MILITARY FAMILIES AT WALT DISNEY WORLD

• Military Families at Walt Disney World
• Deals and Discounts
  • Military Discounts and Deals
  • Other Walt Disney World Discounts and Deals
• Shades of Green
  • Review of Shades of Green
  • Splitting Your Stay Between Shades of Green and Another Resort
  • Overflow Rates at Shades of Green
  • Shades of Green website
• Other Resources for Military Families
  • DisneyMilitarySales.com
  • Disneyworld.com/military
  • MilitaryDisneyTips.com

AJ of the Disney Food Blog is reporting here on changes to the dates of Disney World’s free dining offer.

Those who have already booked free dining are fine, even if their dates aren’t covered any more; new bookings MUST follow the new dates.

I’ve got both the old dates and the new dates here–the old dates are slashed through, like this.

Analysis shows that with one exception  the Disney World free dining arrival dates now begin a day earlier (on Saturdays rather than Sundays) and in all cases end two days earlier, on Thursdays rather than Saturdays.

The effect is to add 9  Saturday arrival dates and subtract 20 Friday and different Saturday arrival dates, for a net reduction of 11 arrival dates.

Shifting the end of each arrival date period from Saturdays to the Thursdays two days before will make it harder for many families to take advantage of these deals during some popular weeks.

(Note: Not all of the black-out dates are popular weeks–for example, the October, early December, and early February blacked-out dates should all have low crowds.)

Again, according to AJ, if you’ve already booked, you are fine–the changed dates apply only to new bookings.

For more on the free dining offer, including both the new and old dates, click here.