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Yamaha’s Sweepstakes Gives Away a $10,000 Prize Including a Disney Vacation and More

By
Chip
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Yamaha's Sweepstakes Gives Away a $10,000 Prize Including a Disney Vacation and More

Enter Yamaha’s Celebrate Your Music with Yamaha Sweepstakes for your chance to win a Yamaha digital piano plus a trip for four to Disneyland, a prize worth $10,000.

Eligibility:

USA, 18+

Start Date:

November 15, 2010

End Date:

December 14, 2010 at 11:59 p.m. PT

Entry Frequency:

5 x daily per person.

Sweepstakes Prizes:

Grand Prize: A Yamaha Custom Modus digital piano and a Disneyland vacation for 4. The trip includes 3-day Disneyland Resort Park Hopper tickets for the Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, California, hotel, airfare, and ground transportation. (ARV: $10,000)
Click the picture above to enter.
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Yamaha's Sweepstakes Gives Away a $10,000 Prize Including a Disney Vacation and More

Disney World Quick Tips – Get The Most Out Of Fast Pass

By
Chip and Co Past Writers and Friends
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Disney World Quick Tips – Get The Most Out Of Fast Pass

Fast Pass is an excellent tool for maximizing your touring, especially on the most popular attractions. If you just use it occasionally to meet your needs it is very helpful but there are some ways to enhance  its use, all within Disney’s rules. Let’s look at some ways to get the most out of Fast Pass:

  1. Pick your most important attraction early and go there first. Grab a fast pass and if you are early enough and the standby line isn’t uncomfortably long ride it that way and save your fast pass for later. After you ride the first time, take in some other attractions and come back for your second ride when your Fast Pass window opens.
  2. This is important – as soon as your Fast Pass window opens grab another Pass for a different attraction (or if you really love the attraction you are heading for grab another for that one) before you ride. That way your Fast Pass wait time partially passes while you are enjoying the attraction. It is a mistaken belief that you can’t have more than one fast pass at a time, as soon as the window opens for the Fast Pass you have you can get another. The time that you are eligible for another Fast Pass is printed at the bottom of your pass. Disney confirms this in their printed policies.
  3. You can save some time by having a member of your party take all of your admission media to the Fast Pass machine while the rest of you wait in the Stand By line for your first ride. This is perfectly within Disney guidelines.
  4. One More – I have it from a very reliable source, me, because I’ve done this myself and have asked several Cast Members including Attraction Supervisors about it. It is currently Disney policy to allow Fast Passes to be used after their use window has expired as long as it is the same day. This means you can gather some passes early in the day as your eligibility windows open for use in the later stages of your touring day. There are a couple of caveats though. If the Fast Pass line is over crowded (kind of rare) the Cast Members can refuse your Fast Pass but you can always come back a little later after the line clears. Also, if a Cast Member refuses to let you use a Fast Pass with a closed window and the line appears normal just politely ask to speak to another Cast Member to confirm, they might just not be familiar with the policy.

There is a place you can view Disney’s official Fast Pass information right here. You can see that it confirms some of what is mentioned above but in a bit less detail. I hope this helps you get to enjoy some of your favorite attractions more than once a day! As always, enjoy your visit to Walt Disney World!!

Ken

One of my best Disney Treasures: My 1928 Mickey Mouse Jacket

By
Chip and Co Past Writers and Friends
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One of my best Disney Treasures: My 1928 Mickey Mouse Jacket

In the year 2000, my wife to be Cindy and I went down to Florida with my parents so that Cindy could meet my Grandparents. While we were down there, we arranged to spend two days on July 3rd and 4th and go over to Walt Disney World. We had a great time, and Disney magic was evident in full force for those two days. You see, despite it being the 4th of July holiday, the parks weren’t that crowded, and it was also Cindy’s first visit to Disney.

On August 11th, Cindy and I were married; we have now celebrated ten years of marriage. That first Christmas was a very special one for many reasons; first of all, we found out that we were going to have our daughter, Sophie, so that was cause to celebrate. Secondly, it was our first Christmas, and it was very special just because it was our first. Lastly, Cindy gave me my greatest Disney treasure – my suede Mickey Mouse jacket.

As you can see, this jacket is truly special. The funny thing is that we saw this jacket for sale at the Disney Store at Tyson’s Corner Mall the weekend after Thanksgiving, and I remember looking at them, and then getting side tracked to somewhere else. Little did I know that Cindy had bought the jacket when I walked away, and disguised it somehow so that I wouldn’t know about it – and I was the one that carried the bags to the car that day! To this day, it is my favorite jacket, and with fall weather hitting us and giving colder temperatures, it is a great time to wear the jacket.

I have only seen one other person wearing that jacket – someone was wearing the same jacket at the Magic Kingdom the next month, when Cindy and I went to Disney World for a long weekend and ate our way through Disney. It has kind of surprised me that I haven’t seen anyone else with this jacket, but that just makes this Disney Treasure even more of a treasure for me!

Do you have a special item like my jacket? Let me know in the comment section below.

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One of my best Disney Treasures: My 1928 Mickey Mouse Jacket

Making Disney Magic with Turkey Leftovers

By
Chip
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Making Disney Magic with Turkey Leftovers

If you celebrate Thanksgiving like we do, then there are plenty of leftovers. Well, Walt Disney World executive chef Lenny DeGeorge has a favorite leftover dish and he’s sharing. Here’s how to make a holiday turkey Panini.

Read more at the Disney Parks Blog: http://bit.ly/hBY808

Making Disney Magic with Turkey Leftovers

2010 Osborne Festival of Lights

By
Chip
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2010 Osborne Festival of Lights

I wanted to share with you some of this years Osborne Festival of Lights videos. These videos come to us from Jeff Lange.

First up here is the new digital effect in the windows shows snow falling at the Osborne Lights!

Next is the Osborne Lights 2010 Phineas and Ferb extended version (with song afterwards).

Finally The Parade of the Wooden Soldiers.

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2010 Osborne Festival of Lights

Disney’s Prep & Landing Returns with New Holiday Specials

By
Chip
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Disney’s Prep & Landing Returns with New Holiday Specials

“Prep &Landing” returns this season with an all new 7-Minute animated short, “Operation: Secret Santa,” airing on ABC in December, while the half-hour animated special, “Prep & Landing: Naughty vs. Nice,” debuts in 2011. “Prep & Landing” became an instant favorite with viewers and emerged as TV’s number 1 holiday special in the 2009 season. It was also the highest kids rating (kids 2-11/ 7.5/23), for any primetime telecast on broadcast TV in 2009. The special went on to win four Emmy Awards.

“Operation: Secret Santa” was written and directed by Stevie Wermers-Skelton & Kevin Deters, produced by Dorothy McKim, and executive produced by John Lasseter. This “Prep & Landing” “stocking stuffer” short film follows the comic adventures of Santa’s stealthiest elves, Lanny and Wayne. With Christmas only a few short days away, Mrs. Claus, voiced by Betty White, and Magee, voiced by Sarah Chalke, enlist Wayne voiced by Dave Foley, and Lanny voiced by Derek Richardson on a secret mission to retrieve a mysterious item hidden deep within the office of Santa Claus! Can the intrepid duo acquire the target in time, or will they be discovered by the Big Guy voiced by Morgan Sheppard and doomed to placement on the Naughty List?

The yuletide adventures of Christmas elves Lanny and Wayne continue in a half-hour, holiday special for 2011 in “Prep & Landing: Naughty vs. Nice.” With the Big 2-5 fast approaching, Wayne and Lanny must race to recover classified North Pole technology which has fallen into the hands of a computer-hacking Naughty Kid! Desperate to prevent Christmas from descending into chaos, Wayne seeks out the foremost Naughty Kid expert to aid in the mission: a bombastic member of the Coal Bucket Brigade who also happens to be his estranged brother, Noel.

Commenting on the announcement, Lasseter said, “We had so much fun making the first ‘Prep & Landing’ special, and the response from the audience and our colleagues in the industry was so terrific, that we wanted to bring these great characters back for more holiday fun. Kevin and Stevie have done an amazing job writing and directing these films, and everyone at Walt Disney Animation Studios has pitched in to make them truly extraordinary entertainment. Wayne, Lanny and the rest of our animated cast are funnier than ever in ‘Operation: Secret Santa’ and Prep & Landing: Naughty vs. Nice;’ we know they will become holiday favorites.”

New Disney World Resort Discounts are Out!

By
Chip and Co Past Writers and Friends
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New Disney World Resort Discounts are Out!

The latest Walt Disney World  resort discounts are out for travel from January 2, 2011 through April 16, 2011.  Both general public and annual passholder discounts were released yesterday. They are as follows:

 Room-only offer for the general public:

 Save 20% at Disney Value Resorts and Animal Kingdom Lodge if booked by 12/31/10. You can still save 15%  if you book between 1/1/11-2/13/11.

 Save 25% at Disney Moderate Resorts and Polynesian Resort if booked by 12/31/10.  Book between 1/1/11-2/13/11 and save 20%.

 Save 35% at the remaining Disney Deluxe Resorts if booked by 12/31/10,.  If you book between 1/1/11-2/13/11, you’ll save 30%.

 Save 35% at Disney Deluxe Villa Resorts if booked by 12/31/10.  You’ll save 30% if you book between 1/1/11-2/13/11.

 Annual Passholders Discounts:

  Save 32% at Disney Value Resorts, Animal Kingdom Lodge and Polynesian Resort.

 Save 35% at Disney Moderate Resorts.

 Save 42% at the remaining Disney Deluxe Resorts.

 Save 42% at Disney Deluxe Villa Resorts.

 Keep in mind that there are some black-out dates for travel during this period. From what I’ve seen, the annual pass discount has fewer black out dates.  Check with your travel agent for more information. These rates will go fast, so book as soon as possible.  Since free dining is running during the same time, make sure you ask to have both a free dining package and a room discount run see which is a better deal for you and your party.  Depending on how you vacation, how many people are in your party, and where you plan on staying, it can make a big difference.

 This information comes courtesy of  Pixie Vacations, a Disney-certified travel agency which does not charge for its services.

Chris writes here and at Everything Walt Disney World. She’s also a member of the Mouse Chat Podcast team.

Take the Muppets Home for the Holidays

By
Chip
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Take the Muppets Home for the Holidays

Happy Holidays!

THE MUPPETS have the perfect holiday gifts for everyone on your list this year… yes, that’s right, THE MUPPETS!   And who better at shopping than the one and only Miss Piggy?    This year, Piggy and the rest of the gang will be doing all of their shopping online at Amazon.com/muppets.

Amazon.com/Muppets (www.amazon.com/muppets) just launched this past month has something special for everyone on your list this holiday season (and for every price point!):

Collector’s DVD sets: in both 3-and-5 pack sets – these DVD sets come in a special, limited edition collector’s tin perfect for stocking stuffers!

Take the Muppets Home for the Holidays

The Muppets Monopoly Collector’s Edition is the traditional Monopoly game which includes 6 collectable tokens, 22 popular locations & a 60-second speed play option

For Muppet fans everywhere, the site features a number of collectibles from Tonner & Steiff.

Take the Muppets Home for the Holidays

The Muppet Pook-A-Looz are the perfect gift for the next generation of Muppet fans!

Check out www.amazon.com/muppets to see a number of other great gift ideas – everything from toys, to books, to fashions and much, much more.

Additionally, the Muppets invite you to visit the Muppet Whatnot Workshop exclusively at FAO Schwarz & www.FAO.com to create your very own Muppet Whatnot.    Whatnots are the extras of the Muppet world – the background characters, creatures, monsters and other assorted weirdoes who add extra mayhem and madness to every Muppet production.    Whatnots make the perfect gift for that person on your list who just has everything. Whatnots can be made into your neighbor, friend, teacher, cousin or even a monster!    Celebrities including Brooke Shields, Bobby Flay and Kristin Chenoweth are huge fans of these guys!  Each Whatnot and Whatnot Monster retail for $99.99.

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Take the Muppets Home for the Holidays

The “Holiday Wishes: Celebrate the Spirit of the Season”

By
Chip
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The “Holiday Wishes: Celebrate the Spirit of the Season”

The “Holiday Wishes: Celebrate the Spirit of the Season” fireworks, the boldest and brightest pyrotechnics show at Magic Kingdom, takes place at 8:30 p.m. on Dec. 31. The grand finale “Fantasy in the Sky” fireworks begin at 11:50 p.m. On Dec. 31, the park is open from 8 a.m. to 2 a.m.

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The “Holiday Wishes: Celebrate the Spirit of the Season”

Making Spirits Bright: The Osborne Family Spectacle of Dancing Lights

By
Chip
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Making Spirits Bright: The Osborne Family Spectacle of Dancing Lights

The Osborne Family Spectacle of Dancing Lights – Disney’s Hollywood Studios. Millions of glittering bulbs are used for the Osborne Family Spectacle of Dancing Lights at the Disney’s Hollywood Studios.

What began as a father’s Christmas gift to his daughter has grown into a holiday tradition for many Walt Disney World guests with a dazzling display of millions of colorful lights and animated displays.

The Osborne Family Spectacle of Dancing Lights will be presented at the Disney’s Hollywood Studios is one of four theme parks at Walt Disney World Resort in Lake Buena Vista, Fla.

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DisneyStore.com: 20% off your entire order – Ornaments for $4, Luggage for $12 and more!

By
Chip
-

DisneyStore.com: 20% off your entire order - Ornaments for $4, Luggage for $12 and more!

Take an extra 20% off Sitewide at Disney Store with Promo Code: THANKSDisneyStore.com: 20% off your entire order - Ornaments for $4, Luggage for $12 and more!

The Disney Store is offering 20% off your entire purchase (no minimum) plus you can also get free shipping when you spend $75 or more (including Disney Parks merchandise)! Just use the code THANKS at checkout.

DisneyStore.com: 20% off your entire order - Ornaments for $4, Luggage for $12 and more!

They have over 40 ornaments that are just $4 a piece after the code. They are all popular character ornaments that would look great on your tree. Just look for the $5 specials on the main page to find them!

You can also get character luggage sets that include a suitcase, pillow and a blanket for $12 a piece (regularly $30!) after the code (just look for the $15 specials).

Be sure to check out all the specials and let me know if you find anything amazing!

Some additional Holiday Savings:

Thanks to Kristin at Couponing to Disney for the NEWS!

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Catherine Zeta-Jones & Michael Douglas Drop by Walt Disney World

By
Chip
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Catherine Zeta-Jones & Michael Douglas Drop by Walt Disney World

Catherine Zeta-Jones and Michael Douglas pose with their children, Dylan (left), age 10, and Carys (right), age 7, on Nov. 24, 2010, along with Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse in front of the Epcot theme park Christmas tree in Lake Buena Vista, Fla. The couple celebrated their 10th wedding anniversary on Nov. 18. Epcot is one of four theme parks at the Walt Disney World Resort.

Kent Phillips/Disney, photographer

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Catherine Zeta-Jones & Michael Douglas Drop by Walt Disney World
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