Disney has released Walt Disney World park hours for December 2012.

Visit the Park Hours page on Mouse Unlimited’s site to download a handy calendar in PDF format.

When Guests purchase a 5-night or longer stay at Aulani, A Disney Resort & Spa, from Aug. 29 – Nov. 3, 2012, kids (ages 3-9) eat free when ordering from the kid’s menu for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

They also receive a free length-of-stay pass for the Rainbow Reef! In addition, Guests of any age can take advantage of 25% off fares on Hawaiian Airlines when flying from JFK, SFO, LAX, OAK or SJC.

Contact Mouse Unlimited to book by July 14, 2012.

Last Chance!

Now through May 18, 2012, buy a non-discounted Magic Your Way Base Package for 5 nights and 6 days at select Disney Moderate, Disney Deluxe or Disney Deluxe Villa Resorts at the Walt Disney World Resort for stays most nights Aug 25 – Sept 29 and get the Disney Dining Plan FREE!

Or, buy a non-discounted Magic Your Way Base Package for 5 nights and 6 days at select Disney Value Resorts for stays most nights Aug 25 – Sept 29 and get a FREE Quick-Service Dining Plan.

This offer is also now valid at Disney’s Art of Animation Resort.

Effective today, the cancellation fee period will change for cruises 10 days or more and cruises less than 10 days where the embark and debark is a non-US port.  The 50% cancellation fee period will now be calculated at 55 days prior to vacation commencement versus 44 days.

In 2012, this new policy will impact the 14-night Hawaiian cruise and 14-night Panama Canal Repositioning cruise. In 2013, it will impact the Mediterranean, Alaskan and Repositioning cruises.

For reservations made prior to May 15, 2012, the cancellation fees assessed will be based on the cancellation fees listed on the original confirmation unless the sailing date or vacation package is modified.

To read the full Cruise Contract, visit the Terms and Conditions page on Mouse Unlimited’s website.

Guests at Disney’s Hollywood Studios at Walt Disney World can now check out the scale model of the new Fantasyland.

So far, it’s only been seen in photos, or by people attending a few special events. But now, it’s being installed at One Man’s Dream – the walk-thru attraction at the Studios which showcases Walt’s life, the history of the Disney company, and “blue sky” attractions.

Mouse Unlimited will be sure to add One Man’s Dream to it’s clients touring plans!

We’d like to share a few of our most recent Client testimonials. We sincerely appreciate the feedback we receive from our clients, and are proud to share their praises with everyone.

I just wanted to send you a note to thank you for making our trip so easy and so enjoyable.  After experiencing a trip where we planned everything three years ago, the trip you planned for us is no comparison.  You will be highly recommend to all my friends and family that plan on going to Disney.  Thanks again for making everything so smooth…it was such an awesome trip and experience.
- Hailey

Thank you for all your help! We will definately recommend you guys to anyone we know that wants to go to Disney. We are looking forward to our next trip to Disney in the next 1-1/2 to 2 years and will definitely use your services again.
- Sarah

Thank you so much for helping us with our trip.  I’ve told so many people how much help you were.  Even a few people in lines at rides.  :-)  We had an amazing time!  I can’t wait to go back.
- Julianne

We had an absolutely fabulous time!!!! A lot of it was because of you and Mouse Unlimited, and all of your help. Arranging all of our ADR’s was so, so helpful that I can’t thank you enough, and not just for that, but for everything you did to make our trip such a success!!! The small cards that you sent us were also extremely helpful. I put them in my bag and carried them with me every day, and actually used them. I loved having them with me each day for our reservations, reminders and to check on your recommendations.  It was a fabulous trip thanks in good measure to you. We will definitely contact you the next time we go. I wouldn’t travel to Disney again without using Mouse Unlimited.
- Mary Lynn 

Something we never believed would happen – Duffy the Disney Bear has become so popular that Disney has started rationing merchandise.

Effective immediately, the limit is five of each item with the same product number – including bears and accessories.  This means that if someone wishes to buy more than five bears, they’ll need to be of different sizes.

At Tokyo Disneyland, they’ve limited it to three per purchase. Apparently, Duffy is even more popular over there!

Disney will be offering a customizable Star Wars merchandise experience soon.

While opening concurrently with Star Wars Weekends, the Droid Factory will become a permanent fixture inside Tatooine Traders, the gift shop at the exit of Star Tours.

At the Droid Factory, guests will be ale to build their own R-Series Astromech Droid figures.  The small figures can be created from 71 parts in several color options.  Novelty Disney hats can be added as well.

The developer of this product, Cody Hampton, said, “We began discussing the Droid Factory in 2009. We know that personalization is an important aspect of the popular build-your-own light saber experience. We felt the same thing could be done with action figures but on a much larger scale.”

The price will be $11.95 for one, or a 2-pack for $18.95.

We’re a bit tardy in posting this, since we’re already in Walt Disney World, but we thought we’d explain our absence and poor Tweeting skills.

We’re in Orlando for a business conference unrelated to Disney or Mouse Unlimited. However, it just so happens that the conference center is about 5 minutes off WDW property.  Thus, our first three nights have us sleeping at Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort. On Wednesday, we’ll migrate over to Disney’s Port Orleans Riverside Resort – where we will finish the trip and celebrate our anniversary.

We flew down on Sunday, and after checking in, we headed to the Dolphin to get our rental car and head to Universal Studios Orlando and Islands of Adventure.  We’re in the process of becoming certified Universal Travel Agents, which required us to visit the parks. More on that experience later.

Sunday night we took advantage of Extra Magic Hours at the Magic Kingdom until about midnight.  We ran into Tom’s brother and his wife at Peter Pan and rode that together.

Our Twitter followers will notice that our Tweets are pretty lame, and far between.  We haven’t had much breathing time since we arrived, and the rest of the time Tom’s phone has been dead or close to dead (Motorola Droids don’t hold their charge well, apparently).

We’ll be in conference sessions all day Tuesday, but may visit a park Tuesday night. Wednesday is more conference fun, with hotel changes and rental car returns strewn about. That night we’ll hit a park.

Then on Thursday and Friday, it’s ALL Disney for us.  We were selected to participate in the new X-Pass trial (advanced Fastpass Reservation system). We’ll report on that after the trip too.

Meanwhile, we ask our clients to bear with us, as internet service is spotty at the hotel (but hey, it’s finally FREE at WDW, if you can live with the wifi), and we have NO connectivity at the conference.

We’ll provide a full report when we return. Meanwhile, follow our minimal tweets through Wednesday, and then more the rest of the week.

See ya real soon!

Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party and Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party tickets are now on sale!  Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party takes place on select dates in September and October, while the Christmas Party rounds out the year in November and December.  Both parties feature themed entertainment, characters, and special parades and fireworks.  These parties take place in the Magic Kingdom and the park is closed to all guests starting at 7 pm except to those with tickets.

Save time and money by purchasing your tickets in advance.  Many dates have an advance purchase discount, saving you up to $7 per ticket.  We recommend the e-ticket delivery option, which allows you to print your party tickets and home and skip the will call line at the park.  Parties can sell out, so be sure to purchase in advance, especially if you’d like to attend during a popular time like Halloween or early October around Epcot’s 30th birthday.

See dates and advance purchase price below.  Prices do not include tax.  Shipping is additional should you choose to receive a ticket in the mail.

Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party

September 11,14,18,21,25,28  – $55.95/adult, $50.95/child 3-9
Day of purchase price $62.95/adult, $57.95/child 3-9

September 30 – $58.95/adult, $53.95/child 3-9
October 4,8,11,14,16,18,21,23,25,28,30 – $58.95/adult, $53.95/child 3-9
November 2 – $58.95/adult, $53.95/child 3-9
Day of purchase price $64.95/adult, $59.95/child 3-9

October 5,12,26,31 – $64.95/adult, $59.95/child 3-9

Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party

November 9,12,15,25,27,29 – $58.95/adult, $53.95/child 3-9
December 2,4,6,9,11,13,16,18 – $58.95/adult, $53.95/child 3-9
Day of purchase price $64.95/adult, $59.95/child 3-9

November 16,30 – $64.95/adult, $59.95/child 3-9
December 7,14,20,21 – $64.95/adult, $59.95/child 3-9

Please contact us if you’re interested in purchasing party tickets for your trip to Walt Disney World this fall or winter!

Attention Mouse Unlimited clients, friends and followers:

We recently launched our new “Unofficial Disney Info Site and Fan Forum” called Mouse Info Guide.

The “Info” part of the site is a work-in-progress…and there’s a LOT of progress to do. Once complete, we hope for it to be a very simple, but highly informative site regarding the Disney destinations – especially Walt Disney World.

The forum already has a few new members, but we’re looking for many more to join our happy, friendly and MAGICAL community.  There are a number of Disney fan forums out there, and some are fairly decent (we’re members of a couple, in fact).  However, we often hear grumblings that new forum members feel unwelcome because they ask “stupid” questions – and are ridiculed for not using the “search feature”.

Other forums lean a bit too far to the Pixie Dust side, where nothing even remotely negative is allowed – especially if it’s regarding Disney.  Threads and posts are deleted, and people are banned like it’s nothing.

This will NOT happen at Mouse Info Guide.  We want every single new member – no matter what their level of Disney expertise is – to feel welcome from Day 1.  We designed the site specifically for people who actually want to learn about Disney, its offerings, and how to best plan a vacation.

So feel free to join, and ask the “stupidest” question you can think of – and our Administrators, Moderators and other members will be happy to answer it.  And we put the word “stupidest” in quotes, because there really is no such thing as a stupid question.  Well, on some forums you’d think so, but not with us.

We look forward to seeing you around the community!

We have updated our website to reflect Disney’s newest refurbishment schedule.

Visit our Refurbishment page to see what will be closed during your vacation. Disney is always updating rides and shows, improving resort amenities and providing general maintenance to things around their 47 square miles of property.

There’s never a time to visit Walt Disney World when something isn’t closed. To lessen the disappointment, it’s best to know way ahead of time. Mouse Unlimited stays up to date on what will be closed, and when.

For example, the biggest bummer for Epcot fans is that Test Track is closed and won’t re-open until this fall. However, when it re-opens, it’s going to be brand new, and extremely interactive We’re very excited.

Magic Kingdom guests will find Big Thunder Mountain Railroad to be closed through the end of May. They’ve been giving it a much needed “spring cleaning” and massive overhaul since early January.  It’s going to be as good as new (or better) when it re-opens.

If you ever have a question regarding possible ride refurbishments and how they may affect your vacation, please don’t hesitate to send us an e-mail!

November theme park hours have been released for Walt Disney World. Visit our website to download convenient calendars in PDF format so you can start planning your next Disney vacation.

Be sure to contact Mouse Unlimited with ANY questions you might have.

Today, Disney released a new discount offer for Room Only stays this summer.

Guests who stay in a Disney Resort hotel most nights from June 15 to August 14 can save up to 25%, depending on the Resort. This is a Room Only offer, but tickets and a dining plan may be added to make it a package. However, package Terms and Conditions then apply (requiring full payment at 45 days).

Guests opting for a Value Resort can save up to 15% – except for Art of Animation, which will not be discounted. Moderate Resorts will offer savings of up to 20% and some Deluxe Resorts and Deluxe Villa Resorts will see 25% discounts. Although, a few Resorts will also have as little as 5% discounted rates.

If you’re already booked with Mouse Unlimited, we’ve already reviewed all existing reservations and updated reservations if savings were in order.

If you’d like to book a new Walt Disney World vacation during these dates, submit a Quote Request and we’ll start planning your magical vacation right away!

As part of Disney’s 2012 Earmarked Conference we had the opportunity to tour the new Art of Animation resort, which is under construction and will begin its phased opening in May.

As you approach the main building, you’ll see lots of colors and some Disney animation decorating the exterior walls of the lobby. As soon as you step inside, the check-in area is a colorful feast for the eyes. One side of the lobby is decorated with large character sketches, which get progessively more colorful as you progress down the wall.

The check-in desks are located on the left hand side of the lobby. The new pod style desks and wall deocrations create a sweeping, stunning rainbow of color. There is also a good sized area for children to hang out while waiting for Mom and Dad to get their Keys to the World.

A welcome feature to Art of Animation will be the ability to complete Resort Airline Check-In inside or outside. Even a few minutes inside air conditioning on a hot day will be well appreciated!

As you exit the check-in area, the large arcarde is to the right, the bus stop is out the door to the left, and Ink & Paint, the gift shop is immeidately in front of you. While still in a state of construction, the bright merchandise displays shaped like paint pots are already taking shape along the walls.

Finally, Landscape of Flavors, the food court, is taking shape. Disney has already released a menu sample for this new dining location, and it should be an exiting addition for resort guests. Not content to just appeal your taste buds, Disney has also themed four areas of the seating to each of the movies represented at the resort – Finding Nemo, Cars, Lion King and Little Mermaid.

As you exit the main building, you come to the courtyard of the Finding Nemo section. This water play area is beautiful and looks to be a wonderful, immersive world for adults and children alike. The feature pool is the largest non-water park pool on Walt Disney World property. It is also the only value resort to feature a zero entry. In addition to the Finding Nemo feature pool, there will also be a “quiet pool” at Cars and Little Mermaid, with Lion King featuring a great play area.

We only briefly walked through part of Finding Nemo’s courtyard, but Cars and Lion King buildings are also visible. We were struck by how engaging the exterior theming is. Everywhere we looked there was something interesting to see.

We were also able to tour a partially completed Finding Nemo Family Suite. Guests will be happy to use the new door locks, which do not require you to insert your Key to the World. Your card only needs to touch the pad and will unlock.

When you walk in, you will first come to a table and chairs on your left, and a bathroom with tub on your right. As you contiue into the room, you’ll find the kitchenette with mini fridge, microwave and sink, plus a sofa and dressers with flat screen tv. The sofa folds out into a double sized bed, and the table magically converts into a double bed with one easy motion.

The master bedroom features a queen sized bed, bathroom with shower, dresser and flat screen tv. There is also a rod for hanging clothes and a large safe.

Finding Nemo, Cars and Lion King sections are unique for a value resort because they have interior corridors. There are exterior stairwells, and all buildings have elevators on the interior. Little Mermaid’s corridors will be of the traditional value design, with your door opening to an exterior walkway.

Finding Nemo Family Suites will be open for guests on May 31. The rest of the resort will be opening well ahead of the original schedule. Cars Family Suites will now open on June 18, and Lion King Family Suites will follow on August 10. The Little Mermaid standard rooms will open on September 15, a full three and a half months ahead of schedule.

We were very impressed by what we saw, and pictures of the resort released so far do not do justice to what you experience in person. You will truly feel immersed in the magic of Disney animation while are the resort. You can let your imagination run wild as you explore each themed area, putting yourself in the world of these classic Disney and Pixar movies.

If you’re considering Art of Animation for your next vacation, please request a quote from Mouse Unlimited on our quote page.

…and all through the house — OK, I’ve already lost interest.

Anyway, this is Post #1 of our March 2012 EarMarked Conference Trip Report. It’s almost midnight on Tuesday, March 20, 2012 and when I hit “POST” I’m also going to hit the sack. We’re up at 6:00am tomorrow, for an 8:00am flight from Indianapolis to Orlando (which, oddly, have the same daytime temperatures right now).

For those of you just joining us, Kayla and I (Tom) have been honored with a complimentary trip to the 2012 Disney EarMarked Conference. It’s a gathering of all the Disney travel agents where we learn about new products, new marketing tactics, and gather information that will help us to better serve you – our clients.

This year is extra special, because after our 2 nights at Coronado Springs, they’re taking us on a 3-night cruise aboard the Disney Fantasy!  We’ll set sail on Friday (March 23), with a stop at Castaway Cay on Saturday, a day at sea on Sunday, and disembarkation on Monday.

During our trip, we’ll be touring the Disney Reservation Center, where the magic literally starts. We’ll also get to tour some of the Resort Hotel construction sites.  Once onboard, we’ll take a ship tour and also a stateroom tour.

We promise to take lots of photos (when they’ll let us) and also some video with our new camera. If I can figure out all this new fangled technology, we’ll have some clips up on our YouTube channel when we get home next Wednesday.

Meanwhile, check back here for (hopefully) nightly updates (except while we’re on the cruise, because we ain’t paying no buck a minute to browse the interwebz). I’ll also be tweeting while on land, or near American soil, so follow us there if you want.

Otherwise, we’ll catch everyone next week!

Tom (and Kayla)

Monday was a big day for the Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World. Phase 1 of the new Storybook Circus area of Fantasyland had its “soft” opening.

Read more at our new Disney Fan Forum and News Site, Mouse Info Guide.

“Disney Phineas and Ferb: Agent P’s World Showcase Adventure” is coming to Epcot this summer, replacing “Disney Kim Possible World Showcase Adventure”. This has been speculated for some time, but has just been confirmed on the official Disney Parks Blog.

Read more on our News & Information Forum, Mouse Info Guide.

Robert Sherman, 86, songwriter and Disney Legend, passed away Monday, March 5 in London, where he had lived since 2002. Sherman, and his brother Richard – best known as “The Sherman Brothers” – are famous for writing so many of the songs that we have come to know and love.

The brothers wrote such songs as “It’s a Small World,” “Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious,” and “Feed the Birds,” among scores of others.

Robert and Richard were honored with two Oscars for their work on Mary Poppins – one for best score and one for best song (“Chim Chim Cher-ee”). As staff composers at Disney, other films that they worked on were “The Parent Trap,” “The Jungle Book,” “Bedknobs and Broomsticks,” and the Winnie the Pooh series.

Sherman’s son Jeff posted the news of his father’s death on his Facebook page last night, saying:

Hello to family and friends,

Love,
Jeff 

We know that Robert is up in the skies, playing “Feed the Birds” on the piano while he and Walt sing it in perfect harmony.

Due to construction for the new Disney Vacation Club property at the Grand Floridian Resort & Spa at Walt Disney World, the monorail system will be running on restricted hours during March.

Beginning today, March 2, the Magic Kingdom Resort and Express loops will be closed from 11:30am until 6:00pm. They have not indicated when this will end, but they hope for it to return to normal during March.

Guests at Monorail Resorts will need to use boats and buses to get to the Magic Kingdom, and will need to use the buses to get to all other destinations on property, including Epcot.

You read that right….Free Dining is back at Walt Disney World!

Disney just pushed back the deadline for booking the Spring Room offer, which means they’re trying to fill rooms through June.  And now, they’re offering Free Dining from August 25 through September 29, meaning room occupancy must be pretty full through July and August.

It’s only a month, but it will help those traveling after school starts back up, which is one of the slower times of the year.

Right now, the discount is only available to Disney Visa cardholders, but it will be available to the general public on Monday.

Some of the terms and conditions include:

• Value Resorts get the Quick Service Plan for free
• Moderates, Deluxes, and Villas get the Basic Dining Plan for free
• Guests can upgrade to the next level plan by paying the difference
• A minimum 3-night stay is required, with minimum 2-day base tickets
• Guests must book by May 18, with the usual $200 deposit

When you request your quote from Mouse Unlimited, be sure to let us know you’re interested in the Free Dining offer (assuming your trip starts between August 25 and September 29).

Disney has extended the booking deadline for the Spring Room Offer. You can now book a stay at the qualifying hotels until March 31. Originally, the booking deadline was today.

Some of the Resort hotels have changed discount categories, so be sure to check out Discounts page to see which Resort comes with which percentage discount.

There are a few additional Resorts and room types that come with a whopping 5% discount, but we have not listed those. As always, Mouse Unlimited will ensure you benefit from any room discount available, so don’t worry. If you have 5% coming to you, you’ll get it!

Beginning with all new bookings beginning today, Mouse Unlimited will be offering a $50 Onboard Credit to guests booking select 2012 cruises.

If you book a cruise that meets the following requirements, you will receive a $50 Onboard Credit to use for just about anything during your cruise.

• 6-, 7- and 8-Night Caribbean cruises sailings September 29 – December 29, 2012
• 7-Night Alaskan cruises sailing May 14 – June 25, 2012
• 7-Night Mexican Riviera cruises sailing September 16 – December 2, 2012
• 5Night Canada and New England Coast cruises sailing June 10 – September 12, 2012

Mention this offer in the COMMENTS section of your Quote Request so we can be sure to apply it when you book!

Beginning this year, Disney has changed the way it prints and mails Walt Disney World vacation documents.  The types of documents you’ll receive from Disney vary based on the vacation type you book and the options you’ve selected.

Packages, which are a room plus tickets or a room plus tickets and dining plan, receive a booklet and souvenir luggage tags.  The booklet includes a list of your package options and features, a sample PhotoPass card, and vouchers for your magical extras (coupons for items like recreation and spa).  If you select the use of Magical Express, you also receive instructions for using the service, vouchers to be scanned at the airport, and yellow luggage tags.

Previously, Magical Express and package documents were printed and mailed separately.  New this year, Magical Express documents for all packages are printed in the package booklet, and no longer in a separate booklet.  How does this impact you, particularly when booking with a travel agent?

When booking a package, you’ll no longer have two booklets to keep track of. All important information is contained in one booklet.  Your Magical Express vouchers, which are scanned before boarding a bus at the airport, are now printed in your package booklet.  Yellow Magical Express luggage tags, which allow your bags to be magically transported directly from the airport to your hotel, are also printed and mailed with this combined booklet.

If you have booked a room only reservation including Magical Express usage, you will receive the “old” Magical Express booklet with vouchers and yellow luggage tags.  Vacation documents are not printed for room only bookings, so your Magical Express booklet is the only document you’ll receive from Disney.

This new printing system has been in place for approximately two months now, and we believe it is a positive change.  Disney ships vacation documents to travel agents, and we then forward the documents directly to you.  We are now receiving package documents with Magical Express approximately 3-4 weeks before check-in.  This is an improvement on previous package document delivery times, and matches the amount of time it used to take just Magical Express documents to reach us.

Package documents without Magical Express are still arriving around 2 weeks before check-in.  It appears Disney may be using two sources to print and mail package documents, which would explain the lag time between the two types of documents.

Here is a break down of approximate times you may expect your travel documents to arrive from us.  Exact arrival and delivery times will vary:

Package with Magical Express – 3 to 4 weeks
Package without Magical Express – 2 to 3 weeks
Room only with Magical Express – 2 to 4 weeks
Room only without Magical Express – no documents

Disney Cruise Line recently released new itineraries for the Wonder and Magic in 2013. For the first time, Disney Cruise Line will sail from Miami, Florida, beginning with 6- and 7-night Caribbean cruises over the holidays in December 2012. Until May 13, the Wonder will sail on 4-night Bahamian cruises and 5-night Western Caribbean cruises. Upon concluding these itineraries, the Wonder will sail a 14-night repositioning cruise through the Panama Canal, embark on a 7-night cruise up the Pacific Coast, and resume popular 7-night Alaska itineraries departing from Vancouver, Canada.

The Disney Magic will continue to sail the Western Caribbean from Galveston, Texas in early 2013 and then return to Europe in the summer of 2013. Take advantage of shorter cruise lengths of 4- and 7-nights in the Mediterranean, as well as new ports of call. Select 12-night itineraries visit the Greek Isles and Turkey, or Croatia’s Dalmatian Coast.

In 2013, Disney Cruise Line’s newest ship, the Fantasy, will continue to sail 7-night Eastern and Western Caribbean itineraries. The Disney Dream will also continue sailing 3-night, 4-night, and 5-night cruises to the Bahamas.

If your family would like to experience a quality vacation with great entertainment and exciting ports of call, but don’t want to wait until 2013, there is still time to book and plan fun filled cruises for 2012.

We have the tentative monorail schedule for next week’s “One More Disney Day” event, beginning on Wednesday, February 29, 2012.  Hours are subject to change.

Express Monorail
* Wednesday: 5am to 1:30am
* Thursday: 8:30am to 10pm

Resort Monorail
* Wednesday: 5am to 12am
* Thursday: 12am to 10pm

Epcot Monorail
* Wednesday: 8am to 10pm
* Thursday: 8am to 10pm

The Walt Disney World reservation system will undergoing an upgrade this Thursday. This means there will be outages affecting the ability to make certain reservations.

The system is expected to go down from 5:00 am on Thursday, February 23, 2012, and is expected to be completed later that day. Normal service SHOULD resume at that time.

Disney is advising guests that:

• You should make any dining reservations for Thursday, February 23 before 10:00 pm on Wednesday, February 22, 2012.
• Collect any February 23 dinner show reservation tickets (such as Spirit of Aloha) from the hotel front desk before 10:00 pm on Wednesday, February 22.

Also, Mouse Unlimited would like to remind its clients that we will be unable to book, modify or apply payments to any Walt Disney World or Disneyland room-only or package vacation during this outage. Final payments due on February 23 must be paid no later than 10:00 pm EST on February 22.

Guests will notice the addition of several new items to the kids’ menus at four of the Magic Kingdom table service restaurants.

For quite some time, the kids’ menus have included standard fare such as chicken fingers, mac-n-cheese, and burgers. Likely due to guest complaints, Disney is finally adding some “mature” items to the list of choices for guests between the ages of 3 and 9.

Liberty Tree Tavern will begin offering a flatbread pizza covered in barbecued chicken and pineapple, served with a side of crisp veggies and apples. And for those children who’d rather enjoy something similar to the adults in this eatery, they can get a small portion of oven roasted turkey, served with mashed potatoes, veggies and fruit.

Cinderella has always welcomed kids into her home, but she’s always served fairly boring stuff to them at Cinderella’s Royal Table. She now offers a chicken drummy with sides of rice and broccolini; grilled beef skewers with mashed potatoes and corn; or chicken pot pie with a biscuit crust. These are some pretty impressive entrees for kids!

Tony’s Town Square, on Main Street, now serves a steak “spiedini” with roasted sweet potato fries and fresh fruit. A spiedini is an Italian word for cubes of meat on a skewer.  Another option would be grilled cheese on multigrain bread, cut into slices for dipping in a tomato sauce. Now that’s clever.

Finally, The Plaza Restaurant gives kids the choice of grilled chicken slices and cous cous, with a fruit skewer. While definitely a more adult meal, we’re not sure this one will go over really well.

Obviously, Disney is not only trying to offer more variety for young guests, but also some healthier alternatives. Some of the good ‘ol items will still be offered, but now there’s a variety.

There’s a lot of chatter in the fan community regarding a new program called “xPass”.

According to sources, the XPass program will offer Walt Disney World guests the opportunity to pre-plan and book an entire vacation’s worth of rides on the most popular attractions.  Guests will also be able to guarantee an excellent reserved viewing spot for theme park parades and/or nighttime extravaganzas like Illuminations or Fantasmic.

There’s no timeline for when or if they’ll roll out this program. And there’s nothing official coming from Disney on this program. All we do know is that it will require a hefty payment for this privilege, and will need to be done online before taking your trip.

If nothing else, this might explain why Disney is going to start enforcing the FastPass return time, since the management of FastPass and other reservations will be very important.

This fall, guests will see a new habitat toward the end of the Kilimanjaro Safari ride at Disney’s Animal Kingdom.

The attraction, which carries guests in safari jeeps around a 100 acre savannah, currently features 34 species of animals. Along the trip, guests follow a story line of poachers capturing “Little Red”, an elephant. This spring, Disney will be removing this scene and storyline from the ride.

In place of this scene, a new savannah will be created, which will have a watering hole for zebras, which are hard to see on the safari because of their location.

Work is slated to begin in March, and be completed this fall. The attraction will not close during this time.