Category Archives: Events

Star Wars Weekends TV – Now Arriving at Disney’s Hollywood Studios

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Star Wars Weekends returns to the Walt Disney World Resort during May and June 2012, as Disney’s Hollywood Studios. The annual special event, included in regular theme park admission, will be held every Friday, Saturday and Sunday from May 18-June 10, 2012.

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Using Disney Calendars to Plan Your Park Visits

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When it comes time to plan your days in the parks, an effective tool can be the calendars found on Disney’s website.  About a month before we are set to leave, I start browsing the calendars to plan which day we’ll visit each park.

At the top menu, click “Parks”.  From the drop down menu, choose which park you’d like.  Then, on the left side of the page, you’ll see “Calendar”.  This will take you to the park’s calendar.  You have to follow this procedure for each park.  On the top right hand side of the calendar, you’ll see a drop down menu.  From here, you can choose the dates you are going to be at Disney.  By clicking on each day individually, you’ll find:

1.  Extra Magic Hours - We are a “late” EMH family.  On the day(s) that Magic Kingdom is open until midnight, we take our time getting there in the morning.  We do a little touring, and go back to the resort mid afternoon for a swim and rest.  Then, we head back to the park for dinner and hopefully the Main Street Electrical Parade and/or Wishes.  Since the Magic Kingdom typically has late EMH more than once a week, I choose a day from our stay with late hours as one of our Magic Kingdom days.

2.  Parades and Shows -Let’s say you are viewing the calendar for the Magic Kingdom, and you see that June 3 is a day you want to hit Magic Kingdom.  By clicking where it says “Park Hours”, you’ll be taken to a list of times that includes Dream along with Mickey, Celebrate a Dream Come True Parade, Wishes, and Main Street Electrical Parade.  By seeing these major happenings during the day, you can plan your park tour as well.  If you know the Dream along with Mickey is showing last at 7:40, perhaps after seeing it you grab a seat for the Main Street Electrical Parade which starts at 9:00 pm.  Grab a late snack, a seat for the parade, and you’re set.  Thanks to using the calendar before your trip, you knew to prepare for this.

On the calendar for Disney’s Hollywood Studios, you’ll see times for Pixar’s Pals Countdown to Fun Parade and Fantasmic. Another great resource on these pages is what attractions are being refurbished and when.  Animal Kingdom’s calendar will show times for Festival of the Lion King, Mickey’s Jammin’ Jungle Parade, amongst other activities.

 

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3.  EPCOT World Showcase Performances~~On the EPCOT calendar, you will find times for almost ANYTHING in World Showcase.  The EPCOT calendar is very detailed.  Not only does it show times for Illuminations and Turtle Talk with Crush, but the Mariachi band, World Showcase Players, and Spirit of America Fife and Drum Corps schedules, too.

It’s always a good idea to check the calendars a week or so before you leave.  That way, you can make any last minute adjustments to your park plans.

Quick Tip – Another Planning tool you can use is Touring Plans Crowd Calendar. Touring Plans lists all the dates along with Crowd Predictions to help you plan your Disney World Vacation.

Do you use the Disney calendars to plan your visit?  Do you plan your days around Extra Magic Hours, parades, or night shows?

Magically Yours,

Carrie

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MNSSHP What in the world is this?

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For those of you who don’t know all of the abbreviations of the WDW community it stands for Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party! It’s a must do at least once in your many travels to WDW. We try to plan our trip to Disney World in the fall around the Eat to the Beat concerts and MNSSHP so we can enjoy both.

So what is this party all about ?
It’s all about FUN! It’s a Halloween party for all ages.It’s the only time grown ups can dress up as their favorite character *in a tasteful manner of course* and not feel silly walking  skipping through the MK *Magic Kingdom* collecting candy and singing along with the Boo To You parade. There are many reasons to make this one of your Must Do’s on your WDW Bucket List!

The fireworks are the BEST of the year.Even according to the CM’s the only thing better is fireworks on New Year’s Eve (and that’s even debatable). The fireworks display is called Happy HalloWishes.This is where the Grim Grinning Ghosts come out to socialize.It will have you heading to the closest shop to purchase the special event music CD.*I know because we bought it and have listened to it for almost 6 years now all year long*

You get to Trick or Treat in the happiest place on earth and you children will be the envy of all of their school friends.There are special locations set up for you to trick or treat along with your children.They do not discriminate based on age…they encourage everyone to take a bag when entering the park so that nobody has to argue over candy.

Boo To You Parade is full of floats,music and characters all dressed in their Halloween best.There are floats that come down the parade route from different attractions in the park.You never know who you may see sitting on top of the ghostly Pirate ship that comes sailing past.Our favorite section is the Haunted Mansion portion of the parade.It has changed some over the years but it still is tops.

The Villain Dance Mix and Mingle is a cool show to watch.This one has changed some too.They made Dr. Facilier the center of the show and we were not that impressed with his portion of the show.We love Maleficent and her evil ways.Either way it is a cool way to get your picture taken after the show with your favorite Villain.

Dance Parties!! Who doesn’t like to shake their tail feathers with Donald Duck ?? They have in the past had 2 locations.One in Tomorrowland and the other over at Ariel’s Grotto.These are always a fun thing to do with the little ones who have lots of pinned up energy or who have consumed too much sugar through the night.There are characters who come out to dance with the crowds and make dancing fun!

This is a special ticketed event that requires an additional admission into the the MK during certain nights starting September 11th until November 2nd. If you plan on going to the party on Halloween night you will want to purchase the tickets as soon as you have your travel dates. This is one night that sells out a few months before the party.
The MK closes at 7pm on the nights of MNSSHP to the public but you can enter the park with your special event ticket starting at 4pm.Be sure to get your wristband so that you are not escorted out of the park. We have witnessed this on several occasions in the past.It’s never fun being escorted through the parks by CM’s *Cast Members* doing the walk of shame because you tried sneaking into the party without the proper ticket/wristband.
Also all rides,attractions and restaurants are not open during the Halloween party.This is a little disappointing to some
people but we have always enjoyed the transformation from the typical day in the MK to the fun of the Halloween festivities. Don’t forget you charge your cameras,grab your autograph books and your children for one of the best Halloween parties around!
I hope to see you there this year!

Dulcie writes here and has a blog over at Have Mouse Ears and Loves To Travel.She is also a travel agent who enjoys bringing the magic to others.Feel free to email her at Dulcie@PixieVacations.com or stop by her Facebook page Pixie Vacations *Dulcie* for your free” quote.And you never know what kind of  *Pixie Dust* may be sprinkled on your next family vacation!

 

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Blues Traveler, Smash Mouth and More Set for ‘Eat to the Beat’ Concert Series This Fall at Epcot

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We are excited to announce this year’s lineup for the “Eat to the Beat” Concert Series at the 17th annual Epcot International Food and Wine Festival (talent/dates subject to change):

  • 9/28-9/30: Night Ranger
  • 10/1-10/3: Sugar Ray
  • 10/4- 10/7: STARSHIP starring Mickey Thomas
  • 10/8-10/10: Boyz II Men
  • 10/11-10/12: Smash Mouth
  • 10/13-10/14: Javier Colon, winner of “The Voice”
  • 10/15-10/17: Air Supply
  • 10/18-10/19: Gin Blossoms
  • 10/20-10/21: Survivor
  • 10/22-10/23: Hanson
  • 10/24-10/25: The Pointer Sisters
  • 10/26-10/28: Sister Hazel
  • 10/29-10/31: Billy Ocean
  • 11/1-11/2: 38 Special
  • 11/3-11/4: Howard Jones LIVE
  • 11/5-11/6: Blues Traveler
  • 11/7-11/8: Dennis DeYoung, original member of the group STYX
  • 11/9-11/11: Big Bad Voodoo Daddy

The Epcot International Food and Wine Festival will run from September 28 – November 11, 2012. Continue to check back at the Disney Parks Blog and Disneyworld.com/foodandwine for more details on this year’s festival.

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2012 Eat to the Beat Concert Series Schedule

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The concerts for the 2012 Food and Wine Festival have just been released.

We love going to the Food and Wine Festival and it’s not only for the different booths of delicious samples of food,desserts or drinks but for the free concerts!

The concerts are held at the America Gardens Theatre starting September 28th running until November 11th. They are held nightly at 5:15,6:30 and 7:45 but times and preformers are subject to change. The concerts are free but you still need admission into Epcot to enjoy these shows. 

If it’s someone you really want to see you should be there lining up about 30 to 45 minutes before they start letting people in to be seated.Last year we had to go to the final show of STARSHIP because both of the earlier shows were packed.And a lot of people that live locally usually do come out to the Food and Wine Festival to enjoy the concerts and food.

Here is the list of who is scheduled to appear:

9/28-9/30: Night Ranger
10/1-10/3: Sugar Ray
10/4- 10/7: STARSHIP starring Mickey Thomas
10/8-10/10: Boyz II Men
10/11-10/12: Smash Mouth
10/13-10/14: Javier Colon, winner of “The Voice”
10/15-10/17: Air Supply
10/18-10/19: Gin Blossoms
10/20-10/21: Survivor
10/22-10/23: Hanson
10/24-10/25: The Pointer Sisters
10/26-10/28: Sister Hazel
10/29-10/31: Billy Ocean
11/1-11/2: 38 Special
11/3-11/4: Howard Jones LIVE
11/5-11/6: Blues Traveler
11/7-11/8: Dennis DeYoung, original member of the group STYX
11/9-11/11: Big Bad Voodoo Daddy

Have a wonderful time enjoying the food,wine and music at the Eat to the Beat Concert Series
and maybe I’ll see you there!

Dulcie writes here and has a blog over at Have Mouse Ears and Loves To Travel.She is also a travel agent who enjoys bringing the magic to others.Feel free to email her at Dulcie@PixieVacations.com or stop by her Facebook page Pixie Vacations *Dulcie* for your free” quote.And you never know what kind of  *Pixie Dust* may be sprinkled on your next family vacation!

 

 


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