Category — p. News and Changes

THE LATEST ON WALT DISNEY WORLD’S NEXTGEN PROJECT

In Disney’s February 2011 investor conference, Parks and Resorts head Tom Staggs gave a little more detail about the initiatives that have become known as Disney’s NextGen Project.

(See this for prior thoughts on NextGen.)

He described what he called “a version of FASTPASS for the entire vacation.”

It would include being able to handle from home before even leaving for Walt Disney World reserving times to see attractions, setting times for character interactions, and reserving seats and times for theater-style shows.

Moreover, hotel keys would be in your hands before you left as well.

The upshot of all this would be less time spent waiting in line, less uncertainty about whether or not you’ll be able to see an attraction, less fuss checking in to hotels, and an overall better and more personalized experience.

Staggs noted that it will be some time before these features become available, and did not hint as to when that time would be…

Stagg’s presentation was largely consistent with this site’s previous speculation about Disney’s NextGen Project, without confirming any specific thoughts other than those noted above.

This site recommends that first time family visitors stay in Disney’s Polynesian Resort  if they can afford it, or at Disney’s Pop Century Resort if they are on a tight budget.

Dale emailed me recently. 

He had heard that Pop Century’s main pool, the Hippy Dippy Pool, would be closed for rehab from mid-February to mid-March.

He wondered if I thought he should cancel and book another value resorts.

I said no–Pop has three large pools, and will still have two open during the refurb. (See the image.)

These pools may be more crowded than usual, but not enough to require changing reservations.

If a family wants to change reservations anyway, I rank the other three value resorts in this order:

1. All-Star Movies
2. All-Star Sports
3. All-Star Music

MORE ON WHERE TO STAY AT DISNEY WORLD

• For where to stay, see this
  • For your next best choices, in order, see this
  • For picking your resort based on appeal to kids, see this
  • For picking your resort based on convenience, see this
  • For where not to stay, see this

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• For what you get in each resort price category, see this
  • For Walt Disney World resort price seasons, see this
  • For resort reviews, see this
  • For the value resorts, see this
  • For the moderate resorts, see this
  • For the deluxe resorts, see this
  • For suites at the deluxe resorts, see this
  • For the Disney Vacation Club (“DVC”) Resorts, see this

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• For a (geeky) overview of comparative room size, see this

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• Large families should look at this, and also at
  • Large Families Looking for Value Pricing at Walt Disney World
  • Large Families Looking for Deluxe Accommodations at Disney World
  • Beds and Sleeping Spaces at the Walt Disney World Resorts
  • Renting Disney Vacation Club Points
  • Suites at Walt Disney World

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• Military/DOD families should look at this

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• Tightwads should look at this

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• Families seeking the most comfortable place to stay should see this

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AND THE WINNER IS…

Thanks to everyone who entered the contest for submitting the best idea for a topic for this site to cover!

You submitted tons of great ideas, many of which will eventually find their way onto the site.

(All the entries are in the comment section of this page.)

But one submission addresses a problem that almost everyone has, and suggested a way to simplify solving it.

That submission is Ted’s suggestion to create a Resort Picker.

Ted wins the prize, a free night at a moderate resort, provided by my travel agent friends at Destinations in Florida!

THE WINNING IDEA: A RESORT PICKER [Read more →]

I’ll be deciding on the winner on 2/12, and announcing the winner on 2/13…so get cracking and don’t miss out on your chance to win a free night in a moderate resort!

For how to enter the contest, see the details on this page.

ACT FAST TO CATCH AN EXPIRING WALT DISNEY WORLD PROMOTION

One of Disney World’s 2011 discount programs, with room rates up to 30% off, and covering travel dates through April 16,needs to be booked by February 13th.

You can find more details about this Disney World promotion on Disney’s website here.

Other 2011 Disney deals and discounts are available for much of 2011 through October 1.  Details can be found  here.

DISNEY WORLD DISCOUNTS GOING AWAY?

Interestingly, Disney’s Q1 earnings call–held on February 8–suggested a continued rebound in the Disney World parks.

Evidence includes growth in attendance and spending, hotel occupancy in Q1 up to 85% and Q2 hotel bookings almost 3 percentage points higher than last year–and the Disney Dream being already 89% booked!

This suggests to me that Disney will continue to scale down its recession-related discount programs, so grab what’s offered while you can!

I’ve updated my Walt Disney World Crowd Calendar to reflect recently-released August Disney World operating hours.

You can find it here.

On a related note, the folks at TouringPlans.com have always noted that a good touring plan (they offer hundreds) can help tame even the busiest of days.

Those using one of this site’s itineraries are set–but everybody else should check out TouringPlans.com!

A post from their blog illustrates the value of a touring plan really well—click here to read the post.