TouringPlans.com Blog » Len Testa

New Magic Kingdom Touring Plan For Parents With Younger And Older Children

Len Testa — Thu, 26 Aug 2010 01:55:54 +0000

One of the most common touring plan requests we get is for a one-day Magic Kingdom plan that includes attractions for both older and younger children, such as Space Mountain and Dumbo. It’s a difficult scheduling problem for one day, because crowds in both Fantasyland and Tomorrowland increase rapidly in the morning. There are limits to how quickly you can obtain FASTPASSes for the headliner attractions, too, and certain low-capacity attractions such as the Magic Carpets of Aladdin, don’t offer FASTPASS at all. We also assumed that families would be using the “child swap” option, so all the adults could ride without having to wait in line twice. This complicated things more, but since we love a challenge, we decided to give it a shot.

We chose the two dozen most popular Magic Kingdom attractions with all age groups for our touring plan – everything from Jungle Cruise and Goofy’s Barnstormer, to It’s a Small World and Splash Mountain. Then we ran a couple of different crowd scenarios through our touring plan software, and came up with four different plans to test. We put out a request for folks willing to help test them over the busy Memorial Day weekend. Among the crazy people who volunteered were J.L. Knopp from fabulous Disney Driven Life blog (and occasional TouringPlans.com blogger), and Bernie Edwards, longtime friend of the Unofficial Guide and an actual rocket scientist.

Bernie, J.L. and family slogged through touring plan after touring plan, day after day. We tweaked the most promising, and they re-tested the new versions. The overall best plan is now available on TouringPlans.com.

Here’s our new Magic Kingdom One-Day Touring Plan for Parents with Younger and Older Children. Comments and suggestions are welcome. Thanks again to J.L. and Bernie for all of the help!

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2011 Unofficial Guide Is Available Now

Len Testa — Sat, 21 Aug 2010 02:33:40 +0000

We’ve just received our copies of the new 2011 Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World and the 2011 Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World With Kids. That means that major retailers such as Amazon.com and Barnes and Noble should have them available online any day now, and bookstores should have them in a week or so.

We’re extending a discount of 35% on an annual website subscriptions to those who purchase the book. That discount will be available through the end of 2011. We continue to support the 2010 edition (and its discount) through the end of 2010, too.

2011 Unofficial Guide Is Available Now is a post from the TouringPlans.com Blog. Signup for a premium subscription today! Or get news via Email, Twitter, & Facebook

The Discounts Are Coming! The Discounts Are Coming!

Len Testa — Fri, 13 Aug 2010 20:19:12 +0000

With Disney reporting advance hotel bookings down 9% earlier this week, it’s not surprising we hear a new round of discounts will hit the streets this Monday, August 16.

Word is that there will be three discounts. And before we get to those, let’s remember that this is all speculation and innuendo, told by people of questionable moral character. It’s entirely possible we’re completely wrong.

First discount is an extension of free dining, through September 2011. This comes with a considerable number of blackout dates, including Spring Break, Easter and most of Summer 2011.

Second discount is some kind of gift card offer, with a 5- or 6-night minimum stay. We hear sales of park merchandise are slow, and this is designed to address that. No idea how long this offer will last.

Third offer is a room-only discount, something like 20 or 25% off value resorts (and either AKL or WL – not sure which), 30% off moderates (and one of the MK deluxe resorts), and 40% off the remaining deluxes. We hear there are fewer blackout dates on this one. Not sure of how long this offer will last, but it’s possible it’s good only through March 2011.

Good luck to those of you who’ve booked and may qualify for a discount.

The Discounts Are Coming! The Discounts Are Coming! is a post from the TouringPlans.com Blog. Signup for a premium subscription today! Or get news via Email, Twitter, & Facebook

Disney Theme Park Attraction Reviews Updated

Len Testa — Mon, 09 Aug 2010 10:00:14 +0000

We’ve updated our detailed attraction profiles for the Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Disney’s Hollywood Studios and Animal Kingdom to include the most recent reader ratings and comments on each ride, and updated descriptions of each attraction. We’ve also added new attraction profiles for Epcot’s Sum of All Thrills, Captain EO, the Studios’ High School Musical Pep Rally and more. These are the same detailed attraction profiles which will be available in the 2011 Unofficial Guide, out later this month.

In addition, we’ve expanded many of the parks’ lands sections to include the commentary from our Color Companion book.

Disney Theme Park Attraction Reviews Updated is a post from the TouringPlans.com Blog. Signup for a premium subscription today! Or get news via Email, Twitter, & Facebook

Friendly Reminder: Disney May Increase Ticket Prices In Early August

Len Testa — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 17:45:06 +0000

Disney frequently announces admission price hikes in the first week of August. We’re not sure of the exact date, but we think it’s likely Disney will raise their ticket prices relatively soon.

If you’re definitely visiting Walt Disney World later this year, buying admission now might allow you to save 3-10% off the cost of tickets. For some multi-day trips, that’s enough to pay for a nice meal. Use our Ticket Calculator to find the best bargains, before prices go up.

Friendly Reminder: Disney May Increase Ticket Prices In Early August is a post from the TouringPlans.com Blog. Signup for a premium subscription today! Or get news via Email, Twitter, & Facebook

Disney Free Dining Extended Thru Dec 21, 2010 – With Exceptions

Len Testa — Tue, 06 Jul 2010 12:47:57 +0000

Requirements:

5-night stay at a Disney Value or Moderate Resort
Value Resort guests receive the Quick Service Dining Plan
Moderate Resort guests receive the standard dining plan
6-day Magic Your Way Base Ticket is required

Booking and Travel Window:

Booking Window: May 3 – Aug. 14, 2010
Travel Window: Valid for stays most nights Aug. 15 – Oct. 7, 2010, Oct. 22 – Oct. 28, 2010, Nov. 12 – Nov. 18, 2010, Nov. 27 – Dec. 2, 2010 and Dec. 10 – Dec. 21, 2010

Disney Free Dining Extended Thru Dec 21, 2010 – With Exceptions is a post from the TouringPlans.com Blog. Signup for a premium subscription today! Or get news via Email, Twitter, & Facebook

Cinderella’s Golden Carrousel Name Change: “Prince Charming’s Regal Carrousel”

Len Testa — Sat, 29 May 2010 15:34:03 +0000

Cinderella’s Golden Carrousel will change its name to Prince Charming’s Regal Carrousel on June 1. We’ve updated the Carrousel’s review, touring plans and cheat sheets to reflect this name change. No word from Disney on whether the theme or structure of the carousel will be affected. We think the name change is in response to all of the new princess- and fairy-themed attractions going in to Fantasyland; there’s not a whole lot in that land specifically targeted to boys.

Today’s changes to the website also include minor updates to all park cheat sheets to reflect our new crowd calendar scale. The new calendar is a hit with our readers – give it a look if you’ve not yet done so.

Cinderella’s Golden Carrousel Name Change: “Prince Charming’s Regal Carrousel” is a post from the TouringPlans.com Blog. Signup for a premium subscription today! Or get news via Email, Twitter, & Facebook

Preview: Best Deals On Rental Cars in Orlando For Rest of 2010

Len Testa — Fri, 07 May 2010 03:08:09 +0000

We’re updating the Unofficial Guide’s Orlando rental car coverage to see which rental companies have the best deals for the remainder of 2010, including Christmas and Thanksgiving. The full article should be done in about two weeks, but here’s a quick preview of the best discounts we’ve found. We compared on-site and off-site rental companies using discount codes found on Mousesavers.com, for economy, mid-size and minivan vehicles, for one week Saturday-to-Saturday stays each month for the rest of 2010, including Thanksgiving and Christmas.

The fastest way to the cheapest rates appears to be this:

1. Start with Thrifty’s airport location (airport code MCO) with corporate discount number 004C005932. Typical savings are around $40 per week versus other companies, but we’ve seen as much as $250 per week during holidays. Thrifty has the cheapest rates for Thanksgiving and Christmas 2010 as of now.

2. Next, check Dollar at the Orlando airport (MCO), using MouseSavers discount code KISSE.

3. If getting the absolute rock-bottom price is critical, check Budget’s DoubleTree location at the Downtown Disney Resort Area with discount code W810011. Budget offers free local transportation to and from this location and you can occasionally save $10 to $30 on a weekly rental here versus the airport.

If you’re aware of any other deals or discount codes, especially for summer and holidays, let us know. Thanks!

Preview: Best Deals On Rental Cars in Orlando For Rest of 2010 is a post from the TouringPlans.com Blog. Signup for a premium subscription today! Or get news via Email, Twitter, & Facebook

TouringPlans.com In Costco Connection’s May Edition

Len Testa — Tue, 04 May 2010 15:27:41 +0000

May’s edition of Costco’s Connection magazine features an article on insider tips for visiting Disney’s theme parks. Both TouringPlans.com’s touring plans and the Unofficial Guide book series are discussed in detail. TouringPlans.com In Costco Connection’s May Edition is a post from the TouringPlans.com Blog. Signup for a premium subscription today! Or get news via [...]

TouringPlans.com In Costco Connection’s May Edition is a post from the TouringPlans.com Blog. Signup for a premium subscription today! Or get news via Email, Twitter, & Facebook

Scurrilous Rumor Department – Next Disney World Discount

Len Testa — Thu, 22 Apr 2010 13:08:15 +0000

Cheapskates that we are, we completely missed out on the bidding to get that next-generation Apple iPhone prototype lost in a bar earlier this month. While consoling ourselves with a pint of Ben & Jerry’s AmeriCone Dream and flipping through some reader email, we found a couple of tips regarding Disney’s next discount. As usual, the standard disclaimers apply: for all we know these are completely false; given the amount of allergy medication we’ve taken lately, it’s entirely possible we were reading the phone book instead of email and hallucinated the whole episode.

The next discount to be announced should include the Disney Dining Plan. We’ve heard it will appear for Disney Visa cardholders around April 29, and the general public May 2. Travel dates should begin around August 15 (the day after the current discounts end). No word on the end travel date, but we expect it to be very late September or very early October, as it has been in the past.

We’re hearing conflicting details about the dining offer itself. Two sources says the offer will be scaled back (one says “drastically”) from last year. We interpret this to mean that everyone using this offer will get the Quick Service plan by default – including guests staying at deluxe resorts – and can use that discount towards purchasing the standard dining plan. However, one other source thinks the free dining offer will be the same as last year’s (Quick Service at value resorts, standard plan at moderates and deluxes). If we hear more we’ll let you know.

Scurrilous Rumor Department – Next Disney World Discount is a post from the TouringPlans.com Blog. Signup for a premium subscription today! Or get news via Email, Twitter, & Facebook