Category — p. News and Changes

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Reporting by the Orlando Sentinel (find it here) indicates that Universal Orlando will announce the opening date for The Wizarding World of Harry Potter on March 25th.

At the same time, Universal will announce more details about the new ride, Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey.

UPDATE ON DEALS AND DISCOUNTS AT WALT DISNEY WORLD

Hey–for the latest on Disney World deals, promotions, and discounts, see this page.

Some updates:

• Disney’s “Give a Day, Get a Disney Day” program is full, and is not accepting new registrants
• The other deals, promotions and discounts Walt Disney World has running (see this) are still listed as needing to be reserved by March 27.

LINKS TO DISNEY WORLD DEALS AND DISCOUNTS

[Read more →]

THE WIZARDING WORLD OF HARRY POTTER: MARCH UPDATE

A new Universal Orlando brochure for travel agents includes some key new details on height requirements for the rides at the Wizarding World of Harry Potter, and some new language describing the rides. 

As a result, I have updated all the materials in this site’s instructions for visiting the Wizarding World of Harry Potter, and also put the key material below.

[Read more →]

Because of changes to Walt Disney’s World’s summer Fantasmic schedule, the old seven-night Easter/Summer itinerary no longer works for summer dates.

Because it still works fine for Easter, it has been renamed the Seven Night Easter Itinerary. (Click here to see it.) 

A new seven-night summer itinerary has been published.  You can find it here.

Any problems or concerns?  Use the comment form below to contact me, or email me at davidhobartyfv@gmail.com.

MILITARY DISCOUNTS AT WALT DISNEY WORLD

Update: the 2019 Armed Forces salute is out! See this.

Military families are eligible, of course, for all Walt Disney World deals and specials available to the general public.

In addition, Walt Disney World often makes special deals available to members of and retirees from the U.S. military, and from related DoD organizations.

The most valuable of these is the Armed Forces Salute.

In addition, Shades of Green, an Armed Forces Recreation Center located near Walt Disney World’s Polynesian resort and nestled among Walt Disney World’s renowned Palm and Magnolia golf course, offers wonderfully low rates for the quality of its rooms.

Shades of Green discounts its already low rates from time to time.

And of course Disney’s general public deals and specials apply to military families as well.

This site recommends Shades of Green for first-time visitors only under a couple of special circumstances.  See this for more on first time family visits and Shades of Green.

Steve Bell is the Military Moderator on this site. And Steve’s Military Disney Tips has for years been the go-to site for military families looking to make the most out of their Disney World vacations.

But like every other website (especially mine), finding exactly what you need to know, in the right order, sometimes isn’t as easy as you’d like it to be.

So the great news is that Steve has just published a Disney World guidebook for military families.

With entire chapters devoted to the 2016 Armed Forces Salute, to Shades of Green, and to other deals and perks available to military families, I can’t recommend it enough!!

It’s available as a PDF–probably the most convenient format–here, and on Amazon.com here.

This book will be a great help to military families contemplating a Disney World visit in 2016!!

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
  • Shades of Green e-book
  • 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

Comments moderated by Steve Bell of Military Disney Tips.

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NEW WALT DISNEY WORLD PROMOTION FOR SPRING AND SUMMER DATES

Walt Disney World has a new resort discount out for most nights from May 2 through August 14.

• Under this deal, select value resort rooms are available for a discount of 15% off list, moderates for 20% off, deluxes for 25% off, and Disney Vacation Club rooms for 30% off.
• This deal can be booked through August 14, and replaces a number of deals that had to be reserved by March 27.
• See this for the official Disney offer.

Disney is also offering its free dining promotion for the period of August 15-October 2.  See this for more on this offer. 

LINKS FOR WHEN TO GO

• 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 2010 weeks to visit, ranked in order, see this
  • For the 2010 Week Picker App, see this
  • For 2011 weeks to visit, ranked in order, see this
• For forecasting crowds at Walt Disney World, see this
• For seasonal pricing at Walt Disney World, see this
  • For 2010 price seasons, see this
  • For projected 2011 price seasons, see this
• For weather at Walt Disney World, see this

WHAT TO BUDGET LINKS

For the basic December trip recommended by this site,

• See this for what to budget during the basic December trip
• See this if you are on particularly tight budget, for (difficult) ideas to reduce the December trip budget by more than $1,000

If you can’t go the week this site recommends, see Estimating Budgets for Different Trips

For help getting to much lower budget numbers,

• See this for a summary of current Walt Disney World deals and discounts
• See this for basic Disney World budgeting concepts: Planning Your Walt Disney World Budget
• To design a trip around a specific budget target–e.g., what can you do for $2,500–see this
• For reducing your lodging costs,
  • See The Tightwad’s Guide to Where to Stay at Walt Disney World
  • See this for a summary of current Walt Disney World deals and discounts
• For reducing your dining costs,
  • For ideas on cutting your dining costs compared to what this site recommends, see this
  • For a period during which dining is sometimes free, see The Tightwad’s Guide to When to Go to Walt Disney World

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