When you enter the water park on your right is the Surf Shop where you can buy a swimsuit, towel, sunscreen or anything else you may have forgotten to pack for your day at the park. Just past the Surf Shop is the Beach-n-Brick Grill, the only eatery in the water park which boasts that, “no menu item is priced higher than $10 (not including tax)”. On your left are the bathroom/changing facilities and lockers. When we were there they were using a very inefficient system for the lockers, which I truly hope was just because it was a media event and for that day the lockers were free. Lockers are available in 3 sizes small ($5) large ($7) and family ($12).

DUPLO Splash Safari

Once you pass the buildings there is a small beach with cabanas and beach chairs to your right, daily cabana rental prices range from $79-$199 based on season and include a mini-fridge stocked with 10 bottles of water, upgraded lounge chairs and two souvenir towels. Next is the cutest part of the park, DUPLO Safari Splash. This little play area is created just for your toddlers and includes a slide and some interactive DUPLO animals with water spouts.

Build-a-Raft River

To your left is the entrance to the attraction I was most excited about checking out, Build-a-Raft River. Unfortunately, the image I had in my mind since I heard the announcement last October, was way cooler than what this ride actually was. This attraction is a short (1000 foot) lazy river ride in regular old inner tubes with LEGO building platforms attached to the tubes. (You don’t really build a raft as the name implies). We waited in the relatively short line about 15 minutes. As we approached the loading area I read a sign that said you had to sit in the tube with your bottom in the middle and your legs hanging over the side. I have a bad back and this is a very uncomfortable position for me. I understand the whole “you must stay in your tube” rule but this seemed a bit much to me, but I complied. The tube even has an arrow on it telling you which part of the circle was the front so I sat in the tube as instructed and the handles were jabbing into the back of my legs. I was not comfortable at all. As I approached the lifeguard who launched you from the entry into the river I said, “This isn’t comfortable with the handles jabbing my thighs.” and his answer was, “Well, you are a bit large.” I whipped my head around so I could read his name tag but he succeeded in shoving me down the river before I could read his name. I am not a petite woman, I am a size 20, but I was no where near the largest person on the river! As I floated down the river I watched people of all ages building with their LEGO bricks only to hear 3 different lifeguards yell at them because you aren’t allowed to build anything taller than your head-remember, you must be seated in the uncomfortable butt in the middle of the raft with your legs hanging over the side position so for most kids that means you can’t build anything taller than 2-3 blocks tall, what fun is that? Next came the dismount. I am dreading this because of the position I am sitting in and I was hoping Aaron would be there to help me. Unfortunately about 8 kids had cut in line between us in the entry area and he was so far behind me I had to get out of the tube on my own, before I floated past the only exit and had to make another lap. In the end I just leaned backwards and flipped the tube to get out and got hit in the head by the LEGO building platform on one of the sides of the tube. My only souvenir of the day is the lump on my head!

Splash Out

In between the DUPLO area and the river is a bridge that takes you to the other four attractions. The LEGO wave pool has gentle waves and is fun for the whole family. The two thrill rides Splash Out and Twin Towers had very long, slow moving lines and we opted not to try them. I saved the best for last and that is The Joker Soaker. This water playground is truly the most fun in the park. It is full of ladders, levers, pumps and slides and your kids will want to spend a lot of time exploring all that it has to offer.

Joker Soaker

LEGOLAND and its water park are geared for 2-10 year old kids but what they need to remember is that young children don’t explore their parks alone. Parents and grandparents come in all shapes and sizes and if you want us to spend our hard earned money in your parks, you need to fit us all. LEGOLAND water park is the smallest water park in the central Florida area and the most expensive. You cannot buy just a ticket to the water park. It is a $12 add on to the $75 LEGOLAND ticket. So, that makes your water park ticket $87 while the other central Florida water parks range from $40-$60 for a one day ticket. Will you do the theme park and water park in one day? You can, but remember, you’ll be schlepping your water park stuff through the theme park and vice versa. Lockers are only available at The Beginning in LEGOLAND and in the water park which is located at the back of the theme park so even if you choose to pay for a locker it isn’t very convenient.

LEGO Imagination Station

Should you add the LEGOLAND Water Park to your vacation plans this summer? That is a question only you can answer. IF your kids fit the demographic age and IF you have a rental car because the park is located about an hour from Orlando and Tampa and IF your kids are LEGO junkies then MAYBE it is worth the trip. If you really just want to see some awesome, huge LEGO creations and check out a great LEGO store, then I say, save your money and visit Downtown Disney. The LEGO sea serpent and other sculptures are amazing, the store is a lot of fun and admission is free!

Disclosure: We were invited to the media preview as guests of LEGOLAND all opinions are 100% my own.

Postscript, since I didn’t get the name of the “model citizen” who said I was a “bit large” I didn’t complain in park. I did reach out to them on Twitter and this is the response I received.  Really? What are your thoughts?

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“We’re giving families who want to visit the theme park extra incentive to plan early with this incredible pre-opening offer,” Director of Marketing and Sales Kim Isemann comments.

LEGOLAND Florida’s Standard Annual Pass is being offered at a discounted rate of $99.00 + tax. The purchase of an Annual Pass during this promotional offer will allow pass holders entrance to LEGOLAND Florida the first three months the theme park is open in 2011, and will also include unlimited admission the entire 2012 year.

LEGOLAND Florida will be unlike any other theme park in Florida offering more than 50 rides, shows and attractions within ten lands. The ten different lands of LEGOLAND Florida are The Beginning, Fun Town, Miniland USA, Castle Hill, Land of Adventure, XTreme, LEGO City, Imagination Zone, Pirate Cove and DUPLO® Village. Activities abound in each of the ten lands where kids can get their own driver’s license or become the captain of a ship, take charge on a LEGO-themed dragon coaster or even become part of the action in a pirate live-action water stunt show

The limited-time pre-opening discount on all ticket and pass products for LEGOLAND Florida will be available for a limited time and may be purchased online now at www.LEGOLAND.com.

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Isemann brings considerable expertise in theme park and attractions marketing and will lead the estimated 20-person marketing team as Director of Sales & Marketing for LEGOLAND Florida.  Isemann joins the team of Model Citizens (LEGOLAND Park’s affectionate term for employees) from her role as General Manager of the Daytona 500 Experience Attraction at the Daytona International Speedway.   Prior to the Speedway, Isemann was with SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment in escalating roles over a 12-year period, culminating in her position as the Florida Parks Director of Promotions.  Isemann is a graduate of the University of Central Florida and will soon be relocating to Polk County.

“I’m thrilled to be a part of Merlin Entertainments Group on this exciting new venture,” Isemann said.  “LEGOLAND has such a tradition of quality entertainment, and I know this will be a successful Park when we open next year.”

Joining Isemann as the Manager of Sales is Andrus, a 13-year sales veteran from SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment where he was most recently the Senior Manager of National Sales.  Andrus’ knowledge and contacts in the sales arena will prove invaluable to the first new theme park to be built in Central Florida in more than 10 years.  Andrus graduated from Kent State University with a degree in Communications.

Wallace will be heading the communications efforts for the new park as Public Relations Representative.  With more than 10 years of theme park experience, Wallace comes to LEGOLAND Florida directly from the promotions team at SeaWorld & Busch Gardens.  Previously, she was a member of the SeaWorld Orlando media relations team that opened Aquatica, SeaWorld’s Waterpark and several headlining shows.  Wallace graduated from the University of Central Florida with a degree in Advertising and Public Relations.

LEGOLAND Florida will offer more than 50 rides, shows and attractions, including thousands of spectacular LEGO^® models. The Florida development will be Merlin Entertainments’ second LEGOLAND Park in North America and will play an important role in the group’s continued growth in the U.S.  Providing a full-day, year round theme park experience geared towards families with children between the ages of 2 and 12, LEGOLAND Florida will mirror the successful concept of the four existing LEGOLAND Parks in Denmark, Germany, U.K. and California.  However, as with the other four, it will also have its own unique “twist” reflecting its stunning location and adding a Florida flavor.

The MERLIN ENTERTAINMENTS GROUP is the leading name in location based, family entertainment, which has seen the most successful and dynamic growth of any company in the sector over the last five years.   Europe’s number one, and the world’s second largest visitor attraction operator, Merlin has 62 attractions and 6 hotels in 12 countries, across 3 continents.   The company aims to deliver memorable and rewarding experiences to its 38.5 million visitors worldwide, through its iconic global and local brands, and the commitment and passion of its managers and more than 14,000 employees.   Merlin Entertainments operates the following attractions – SEA LIFE – the world’s No 1 aquarium brand, Madame Tussauds, LEGOLAND, The Merlin Entertainments London Eye, Dungeons, Gardaland, LEGOLAND Discovery Centres, Alton Towers Resort, Warwick Castle, THORPE PARK, Chessington World of Adventures, Heide Park, Underwater Adventures, and Earth Explorer.

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First, I need you to answer some questions about your family’s travel habits.

1. How many full vacation days will you be spending at the Walt Disney World Resort (don’t include travel days-unless you will be arriving early in the morning or leaving late at night)
2. Is this your first visit to Walt Disney World, have you visited before but still consider yourself a newbie, or are you a veteran Disney guest?
3. Which parks are you planning on visiting on this trip?
4. Do you plan on visiting either of the Disney Water Parks or Disney Quest?
5. Do you like to jump from park to park or do you prefer to stay in one park all day?

Now that you have that information let’s move forward.**All prices quoted here are valid for non-Florida residents and is updated with the August 2009 price increase. Florida residents prices vary and are lower than non-resident prices. For current pricing go to DisneyWorld.com**

The Magic Your Way base ticket is a one day one park pass. You add how many park days you want to purchase to that to create your base ticket. Disney does reward you for longer visits. Per day ticket prices decrease dramatically when you purchase tickets for 4 or more days. To simplify things I am only quoting prices here for adult tickets, which is everyone ages 10+ (children under 3 get in free).

Magic Your Way Base Ticket Price (including tax)

These tickets expire 14 days from 1st use.

1 Day   $84.10

2 Day  $166.14 ($83.07/day)

3 Day  $233.24 ($77.74/day)

4 Day  $239.63 ($59.91/day)

5 Day $242.82 ($48.56/day)

6 Day  $246.02 ($41.01/day)

7 Day $249.21 ($35.60/day)

8 Day $252.41 ($31.55/day)

9 Day $255.60 ($28.40/day)

10 Day $258.80 ($25.88/day)

If this is your first trip to Disney World, you don’t plan to visit more than 1 park per day and you don’t plan on visiting the water parks or Disney Quest then this ticket is for you.

Now to the add-ons. If you want the flexibility to visit more than one park on any given day, you need to add the parkhopper option. This is a great value for multi-day tickets because it is a flat fee of $52+tax whether you have a 2 day ticket or a 10 day ticket.

The other add-on is the water parks and more option. This gives you “options”, which equal days you can spend at Typhoon Lagoon, Blizzard Beach, Disney Quest, Disney’s Wide World of Sports or golfing one round at Disney’s Oak Trail 9-hole golf course. The number of options is based on the number of days that your base ticket is for. A 1 or 2 day base ticket gets 2 options and 3-10 day gets the same number of options as you have days on your base ticket. This is a very inexpensive way to extend your vacation. You could get a 4 day base ticket with waterpark options for $239.63 + $52+tax and for less than $300 you can have 8 days of activities in the waterparks, theme parks and Disney Quest.

The final add-on is the non-expiring add-on. This eliminates the 14 days from first use rule and allows the ticket to be good forever, by the person whose biometric scan is attached to it.  The price on this varies between $18.00-$209.00 depending on the number of days on your base ticket. You would really have to do some serious math to prove this option worth it for most people.

It is very difficult to find any deeply discounted tickets to Walt Disney World. Do not buy used tickets with days left over on them. You can often find them on eBay, Craigslist or other sites but many, many people have gotten to the park with a useless ticket in hand. There are a few reasons for this, first-there is no way to know how many days are left on a Walt Disney World ticket without taking it to a ticket window, so you can never be sure if there are days left. Second, Disney has been using the biomtric finger scan to tag a ticket to a specific person since 1996. It is not worth the savings of buying a partially used tcket to find out that you cannot use it.

I hope I was able to simplify the Magic Your Way ticket choices for you. If you have a question about ticketing that I didn’t address please feel free to leave it in the comments or e-mail me at Cindy at themommaven dot com. I love comments and am more than happy to help you plan your Disney vacation.

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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.

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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.

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Tonight Lou is hosting a LIVE broadcast of WDW Radio, here is all the info on that cool event.

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Today’s giveaway is for 2 of Lou’s WDW Radio products first a copy of the third issue of Celebrations Magazine. This issue is sold out and no longer available to the general public-I wish I had one for myself-but this is for you. Check out the Celebrations Magazine website here.

The second item in this giveaway is a Disney Trivia Page-a-Day calendar.

How do you enter to win these 2 awesome Disney prizes?

Mandatory Entry:

Visit WDWradio.com and check out all that Lou has to offer. Since today is the Disney Hollywood Studios 20th anniversary, check out the DHS trivia section of the website and find out how many attractions there were on opening day 5/1/89. Leave your answer in the comments.

Bonus entries: Leave a separate comment for each one you complete.

• subscribe to my blog’s RSS feed
• fave this blog on MomFaves (click on the button in the right side bar)
• follow Lou @loumongello and I @MomMaven on Twitter

This giveaway is open to US Residents only. A winner will be chosen Friday, May 8th 8:00pm. Good luck!

The post Day 1 of 10 Days of Celebrating Moms-Giveaway for The Disney Mom appeared first on The Mom Maven.

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.

The post Should You Stay On or Off Disney Property? appeared first on The Mom Maven.

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.

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