I am so excited that I am finally going to be writing about Walt Disney World! I am a Disney fanatic. I thought today I would let you know a little bit of my Disney history so that you can see my “qualifications” for writing this column.

My first visit to Walt Disney World was in 1972, I was 8 years old and we flew down from Massachusetts to spend a week at the Magic Kingdom. We spent one day in each land and left no stone unturned. We returned a few more times in the 70′s. In 1980 we moved to Florida, less than 2 hours from Walt Disney World! We would visit the Magic Kingdom and later EPCOT Center whenever relatives and friends came to visit from up north. In 1983 I auditioned to be in the “Kids of the Kingdom”. This was before Disney had the sub-categories dancers who could sing and singers who could dance. I am a singer who could dance but back then you had to pass a grueling dance audition before they ever heard you sing. I made it to round 2 of the dance auditions and that was it. Two of my friends from college did get hired and one performed at Disney for several years. The 80′s were filled with Disney trips for Grad Night, Magic Kingdom in heels and a dress is not my favorite way to go. Night of Joy events several years in a row and weekend trips with friends were also part of that long ago decade.

I got married in 1991 to a wonderful man who, other than an annual trip to Night of Joy with his buddies, didn’t grasp the love of all things Disney. This of course translates to my dream of a Disney honeymoon did not come true. We did visit Disney together before we had children and then when we had 1 child and then 2. My husband’s 1st big Disney breakthrough was in the fall of 1997. Disney ran a ticket promotion for Florida residents 97 days for $97! The ticket was good any and all of the days from mid-September thru mid December. We went for 4 days as a family in September and then 3 days just the 2 of us in the beginning of December. Once he was surrounded by the magic that is Disney at Christmas, he was sold!

We have been seasonal passholders on and off ever since. We have logged over 100 stays on Disney property, not to mention the times we stayed off property. Our children have been giving out of town friends and relative tours of all 4 Florida parks for years. We have celebrated birthdays and anniversaries with Disney. We have travelled with groups as small as 2 and as large as 13. We have stayed in Value Resorts, Moderate Resorts and Deluxe Resorts. Between the 4 of us we have ridden every ride currently on Walt Disney World property except for 2. We have attended Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party, Epcot’s Food and Wine Festival, Epcot’s Flower and Garden Festival, and many other special events.

Our favorite thing to do at Disney is show first timers around. There is nothing like the wonder on the face of an adult or child when the magic kicks in. My hope with this column is to help those of you who have visited Disney World to remember the magic and those who have never been to want to be a part of the magic. If you have specific Walt Disney World park, hotel, dining or vacation planning questions please feel free to leave me a comment and ask. I’m here to spread the magic the best I can.

One of the first things you need to know as you plan your Walt Disney World vacation is when you are going to travel. Disney bases the prices for the  resort rooms on their property around 5 seasons. Room prices can vary greatly between the seasons. These prices are the base prices that the rooms are available for. Often times, especially in the slower seasons, Disney offers codes that give discounts on the base prices. For this post I will be using the base prices as Disney published them for 2009.

Disney’s 5 seasons are:

• Value Season-the least expensive and least crowded weeks of the year
• Regular Season-a little more expensive and a little more crowded
• Summer Season-a little more expensive, more crowded and hot temperatures
• Peak Season-a little more expensive, more crowded
• Holiday Season-the most expensive and most crowded

The dates for these seasons can vary slightly by resort.

• Value Season is January 1-February 12 (except for MLK weekend), August 9-October 1, and my favorite time to visit November 29-December 17.
• Regular Season is April 19-May 21 and October 2-November 24.
• Summer Season is May 22-July 2 and July 6-August 8.
• Peak Season now only encompasses the spring break season of February 16-April 13.
• Holiday Season prices vary based on the popularity of the holiday. Holiday Season is January 16-18, February 13-15, April 4-18, July 3-5, November 25-28 and the busiest time of the year December 18-31.

The Disney resorts are categorized into 4 groups the value, moderate, deluxe and Disney Vacation Club. Next week we will get into the specifics of the resort categories but to give you a hint of how the prices can vary throughout the seasons here is the high and low for each resort type.

• Value Resorts- $82-$145
• Moderate Resorts- $149-$219
• Deluxe Resorts- $240-$649
• Disney’s Vacation Club $269-$1190 (this includes multi-bedroom villas)

So, before you start planning your Disney vacation check which season you will be visiting in so that you can be prepared for both the cost and the crowds.

Now that you understand the Disney “seasons” and resort categories it is time to make that all-important decision…do you stay on Disney property or off. There are several questions you need to ask yourself before making this important decision.

1. Will you have a car while visiting Disney World?
2. Will you be visiting other non-Disney attractions while visiting central Florida?
3. How many people, adults and children, will be traveling in your party?
4. How much time do you plan on spending in your room?
5. What is your per night budget?

Let’s review the answers to the questions.

1. Will you have a car while visiting Disney World?

a) If you will not have a car I suggest you stay on property. If you fly into Orlando International Airport you can use Disney’s Magical Express Service. They will pick you up at the airport and bring you and your luggage to your Disney resort. You must sign up for this service at least 10 days prior to your arrival date.  Also, guests staying on property do not pay the daily $12 parking fee.

b) If you will have a car, don’t mind driving to and from the park each day and paying the parking fee, you can stay off property.

2. Will you be visiting other non-Disney attractions while visiting central Florida?

a) If you will be visiting other non-Disney attractions you will want a car. The estimated taxi fare from Walt Disney World to Universal Studios (14 miles away) is over $32.00!

b) Your other option would be to rent a car for 1-2 days of your vacation. The problem with renting for only part of your vacation is picking up and returning the car plus a short term rental of a small car can easily cost almost $100.

c) If you aren’t planning on visiting other attractions just stay on property and use Disney transportation, it’s free.

3. How many people, adults and children, will be traveling in your party?

a) Most hotel and resort rooms sleep 4 people, some sleep 5-6 in a family suite. How many rooms will you need? Sometimes 2 connecting rooms still costs less than a large suite or DVC property that sleeps 8 or more people.

b) Some people rent vacation homes so that their kids can be in a separate room or accommodate a larger party.

4. How much time do you plan on spending in your room?

a) Are you using the room to sleep, shower and dress? Then you can stay off property or on property in a value resort.

b) Are you all about using the resort amenities? Laying by the pool, going to the spa, renting a pontoon boat? You can stay off or on property but pay close attention to the amenities the particular property offers.

5. What is your per night budget? For this one we re going to assume you are a family of 4, 2 adults and 2 children between the ages of 3-17. You want at least a 3-star hotel from May 4-7, 2009.

a) Orbitz has several 3-star hotels on 192 in Kissimmee (close to Disney) ranging from $48-$100 per night. Most of these properties do not have a restaurant on site and you will need to add $12 per day for parking at the Disney parks.

b) You could stay at a Disney value resort for $68 per night, have a food court on site and free parking.

Other perks of staying on Disney property include discounts on room and ticket packages, ability to purchase the Disney Dining Plan, the very detailed Disney theming, Disney’s top-notch service and the feeling that you are staying in the middle of the magic.

I hope this post has given you some things to think about as you plan your magical Disney vacation. If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to leave me a comment on this post.

A one-day ticket for Disney‘s water parks, Blizzard Beach and Typhoon Lagoon, has increased by $5. The adult ticket has gone to $45 (up from $40) and the child ticket (ages 3-9) is now $39 (up from $34). This price increase brings it into line with that of Aquatica (SeaWorld Orlando‘s waterpark) and Wet n Wild, which are both $44.95 for adults and $38.95 for children.

For today’s Walt Disney World Wednesday post I am leaving our trip planning behind. Thanks to Walt Disney World’s “What Will You Celebrate?” and “Free Admission on Your Birthday” promotions, I was able to spend Monday (5/25/09) at Walt Disney World. With the “Free Admission on Your Birthday” promotion you get a 1 day 1 park pass good on your birthday. It took me a week to decide which park to go to because it has been 16 months since I had been to any park. I finally decided to spend my birthday at Epcot. My son Jordan came with me because he received a Florida Residents Seasonal Pass for his birthday so his ticket was already paid for.

We arrive in line at the will call window at 8:45am. While waiting in line, I took off my prescription sunglasses so that I could apply sunscreen to my face and I accidentally dropped-and broke-my sunglasses, hopefully the day will get better.  It was 9:15am by the time I had my turn at the window. I turned in my registration paper (if you are going to take advantage of the “Free Admission on Your Birthday” promotion go to http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/ and pre-register). I got my ticket and my birthday badge and entered the park.

Since there is still a week left in the annual Flower and Garden Festival we were greeted with beautiful topiaries of the princesses and their princes. I love this picture of Cinderella’s pumpkin coach rising out of the pumpkin patch.

We headed to Test Track first, since there was a 20 minute wait for regular riders we chose to go as single riders. We walked right in, skipped the pre-show movie and were on the ride in less than 3 minutes. As soon as the ride finished we went back in the single rider line and rode again. We enjoy riding Test track with strangers, especially if we get to ride with people who have never ridden before. It makes the ride even more fun! Next we walked over to get our fastpasses for Soarin’. We then went to The Living Seas with Nemo and Friends. the line wasn’t that long so we rode the ride, spent some time watching the manatees and fish and then went in the theatre to see Turtle Talk with Crush.

Next it was off to Innoventions. There have been a lot of new attractions added to Innoventions since our last visit. We did Storm Struck, about severe weather safety, that was very interesting especially for those of us that live in hurricane plagued Florida. We also did The Great Piggy Bank Adventure-sponsored by T. Rowe Price. This is a great interactive exhibit on finances, saving and investing. We had a lot of fun working to save and make money for our ultimate family vacation. Here is Jordan with our piggy bank. In Innoventions I got to ride a Segway for the first time, that was way cool! We also went to the SlapStick Studios show sponsored by Velcro. That was a funny audience participation game show about all of the uses for hook and loop fasteners.

After eating lunch at the Electric Umbrella and riding Soarin’, it was time to head to World Showcase. In France we had a tweet-up! We were able to connect with Lou Mongello from WDWradio.com. I have talked to Lou on line and it was great to meet him in person. After meeting with Lou we took a turn at the new Kim Possible World Showcase Adventure. This was a lot of fun. Back in Innoventions we had registered for our “Kimmunicator”. We picked it up when we arrived in the World Showcase. It is a cool Verizon phone with amazing graphics and sound. You receive clues to help Kim and Ron solve a case in the country they send you to. here is a video of part of our mission in France.

We had a lot of fun on the adventure. Each mission takes about 35 minutes to complete and depending on how busy it is in the park you can do 1-2 missions before being told where to turn in your Kimmunicator. Our second mission was in China and most of it took place in the large store at the back. That was a good thing because, the only rain we saw all day came then and it was torrential!

We visited Mexico to ride the Gran Fiesta Boat Tour and Norway to ride Maelstrom before heading back to Future World. In Future World we rode Journey into Imagination with Figment, took another ride on Test track via the single rider line, and then ended our day by riding Spaceship Earth. We had a great day, met a new friend and basked in the magic that is Walt Disney World.

If you want more information on Epcot or any of the attractions I mentioned in this post, please leave me a comment, I love to answer your questions.

Since my website was down all day yesterday; I didn’t get to write my usual Walt Disney World Wednesday post. I did want to share something Disney with you this week so I am going to share with you what I usually do every Thursday on my Our Journey blog that is Disney related. First a teaser…I am getting ready for some cool Disney stuff-I can’t wait to tell you-but I can’t say anything quite yet. you will just have to keep checking back to find out what is coming up.

Every Thursday Heidi at Reviews by Heidi hosts a Disney themed photo meme called Destination Disney. Each week she posts a different topic and we post photos and/or a story about that part of our previous Walt Disney World vacations. It is a lot of fun and gives me another reason to dig through my Disney photos.

This week’s topic is Animal Kingdom-Dinoland USA

Dinoland USA is a fun kitschy area of Animal Kingdom. There is The Boneyard-an amazing play area for kids. The Boneyard is a great place to let the kids run and play for a while-especially if they have spent a lot of time waiting in lines. Next is the Dinosaur ride. This ride is not for the faint of heart. It is a thrill ride and the ride itself is very jerky. I don’t recommend this for young children or people with back and neck issues.

The 1500 seat Theatre in the Wild orginally was home to Tarzan Rocks an awesome rock concert show based on the Disney’s Tarzan movie. The first picture is of Tarzan and Jane and the second is of the full stage and the extreme skating monkeys. The Theatre in the Wild is now home to Finding Nemo-The Musical. This is currently my favorite show on Disney property. I love the acting, scenery, puppetry and music. We own the soundtrack and listen to it all the time. None of my pictures for this show have come out well but trust me, this is a beautiful show and is not to be missed.

As you head into Chester and Hester’s Dino-rama, you go back to a 50′s style midway complete with games of chance, 2 rides and you may even get to have your picture taken with your hosts Chester and Hester. Triceratop Spin is a Dumbo-esgue ride. One of my all time favorite rides is also found in Dino-rama, Primeval Whirl. It is a wild mouse coaster with a twist. Each car also spins like a tilt-a-whirl car! It is so much fun! Here you have myself, my husband, my son Jordan and my father-in-law heading off on our Primeval Whirl adventure.

Dinoland USA is a lot of fun and has plenty of rides and shows to keep you entertained.

In talking with some of my readers I realized that a lot of you have never been to Walt Disney World or you haven’t been there in 20+ years. Some of you have asked “Why should I bring my family?”, “What is there to do other than ride the Dumbo ride?”. I have read statements like, “My kids are too big for Disney,” and the worst “We’ve been there and done that.”

Let me start by saying I have been to Walt Disney World hundreds of times since my first visit in 1972 and there is a lot I have never done. You are never too old for Disney, I’m hoping my teenage sons will guest post on this subject someday soon. You can be too young in my opinion. My son’s first Disney trip was at 4 months old and it was 6 hours at Epcot-it was perfect. I hate it when I see families schlepping a newborn through the parks, mom is stressed, the baby is screaming and no one is enjoying the magic.

Today I thought I would give you Walt Disney World by the numbers. Disney World is always changing and evolving. These numbers were up to date to the best of my knowledge on the day this post was written.
Disney World is… 47 square miles of vacation paradise that includes:

• 4 Theme Parks-Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Disney’s Hollywood Studios and Disney’s Animal Kingdom
• 2 Water Parks-Typhoon Lagoon and Blizzard Beach
• 29 Resorts in 4 categories Value, Moderate, Deluxe and Disney Vacation Club
• 3 Separate Shopping Areas-Downtown Disney West Side, Downtown Disney Marketplace, Disney’s Board Walk
• 70+ Table service and buffet restaurants!
• 3 Dinner Shows-Hoop-de-doo Musical Revue, Mickey’s Backyard BBQ and Polynesian’s Spirit of Aloha
• 2 Mini-Golf Courses-Fantasia Gardens and Winter-Summerland
• 4-18 hole Golf Courses
• 1-9 hole walking golf course
• 1 Sports Complex-ESPN’s Wide World of Sports
• 1 Movie Theatre-AMC 24 Theatres
• 1 Cirque du Soleil-La Nouba
• 1 5-story indoor, interactive theme park-Disney Quest
• Fishing Excursions
• Parasailing
• Boating
• NASCAR style driving experiences
• …and the list goes on and on

I have never met anyone that has done it all, though it would be fun to try! Next week I will be trying some new things at Walt Disney World including staying in a resort I have dreamed about staying in and eating at 3 restaurants that I have never tried before. I can’t wait to tell you all about it!

This week’s Walt Disney World Wednesday post is a little different.  I wanted to take a minute to let you know that this weekend I will be at Walt Disney World! I will be there learning more about the resort and all that it has to offer. Seven other mom bloggers and I are participating in the first Disney’s Florida Mom Blogger Mixer. We will have 2 days of resort tours, fine dining and educational opportunities.

My camera and Vado HD batteries are charged, I’ve added texting to my cell phone so I can Tweet from the resort, I have a notebook that fits in my backpack and a few pens. I also have my sunscreen and comfy shoes. I am determined to have fun but learn everything I can so that I can come back and share with you everything Disney has to offer families.

I am so excited to be a part of a great group of mom bloggers, all of whom love Disney. It will be great to meet in person ladies whom I have tweeted with on Twitter. I will be tweeting all weekend long using the hashtag #magicalmoms. If you don’t already follow me on Twitter, now is a great time to do so, I’m @MomMaven.

Today The Pirate’s League at the Magic Kingdom opens its doors to the public. On Saturday the Florida Magical Moms got a sneak peek into this cool new service. The Pirate’s League is located in Adventureland next to Pirates of the Caribbean. There you can be transformed from a landlubber into a true buccaneer.

When you enter The Pirate’s League you first get your pirate name. This is an involved process that includes a ship’s wheel, a treasure chest, 2 dice, your birth month and a code book.

Shari aka @Shash is turning the wheel to get her pirate name

Next you choose the package and look that you want. There are 3 “makeover” packages available The First Mate Package for boys and men $49.95, The Empress Package for girls and women $49.95 both include facial effect, earring, eye patch, sword & sheath, temporary tattoo, pirate coin necklace, map case treasure folder with photo and a personalized pirate oath. The third package is The Captain’s Package for $124.95 which includes the choice of a costume.

The details that Disney Imagineers put into the building are amazing. As we walked through the rooms there were constant oohs and ahhs over the intricacies of the decorations.

The Disney Cast Members at The Pirate’s League are amazing! Everyone we came in contact with were truly convincing pirates. The Magical Moms were all wearing princess tiaras as we entered The Pirate’s League. We were warned that the pirates may try to plunder our jewels and that they did.

When you pick up your pirate portrait, you’ also receive a Secret Pirate Cypher and a unique pirate coin necklace that are your keys to more pirate adventures throughout Adventureland – you can find clues and discover treasure, and even meet Captain Jack Sparrow himself!

The Pirates League is now open in the Magic kingdom for guests ages 3 and up. To make your reservations call (407) WDW-CREW.

After years of waiting and speculating, today Walt Disney World Announced that it’s newest resort Disney’s Art of Animation Resort will be located adjacent to Pop Century.

The resort will be themed around 4 very popular Disney and Disney-Pixar Films.

• Finding Nemo
• Cars
• The Lion King
• The Little Mermaid

Disney’s Art of Animation Resort will cater to families with 1120 family suites and 864 regular rooms. The resort is expected to open at the end of 2012, I’ll keep you posted as new information is released.

Please answer this poll question and feel free to leave your more detailed thoughts in the comments.