As you probably heard, Merida from Disney/Pixar’s movie Brave was recently inducted as an official Disney Princess. This “event” got me thinking about Disney’s Princesses as a whole and how I feel about them.

Most of my life I was a typical, self-centered, middle class American. I have never been prone to idol worship: sure I had Michael Jordan posters on my wall as a teen, but despite the advertising I never really wanted to be like Mike, just play basketball like him (yeah, that didn’t work either).  Even as an adult, I never really thought about celebrity role models or their effects. Then I had kids.

Having kids changes a lot, but mostly what it changed for me was that I suddenly had to try to guide another human and prepare them to make future important life choices. That’s pretty heavy. While I still believe parents play the most crucial role in a child’s development, it would feel foolish for me to think that popular culture does not have any influence.

As the Disney fans that we are, my 4 year old daughter is heavily invested in the Disney Princesses. We have seen all of their movies, met them all at the parks, and have a bedroom dedicated to them (my daughter’s…not mine…really). She has even become interested in the mediocre Sofia the First Disney Junior television series.

Now what got me started on this diatribe was my thoughts on Disney Princesses as a whole and their message to the public, specifically young girls. What I found is that most Disney Princess movies have a few messages that I’m not thrilled with. Let’s go one by one:

Snow White: Hiding from her murderous stepmother (okay, that was probably a good idea) and waiting for her prince to come. This in not generally a bad message as “prince” can be metaphorical.

Cinderella: In a bad spot with her step-family (not looking good for stepmothers so far), so she wishes super hard and her dream of marrying a rich guy comes true. I’m not liking this message.

Aurora: Put to sleep by Maleficent until her true love (and the boy she was betrothed to as a baby), the rich guy can come kiss her. Not the worst, but not the best thing for a young girl to hope for.

Ariel: Seeks the counsel of an undersea witch because she gets mad at her father. Doesn’t ever have to regret it because everything works out fine in the end…not loving this one either.

Belle: Definitely one of the better messages as Belle is well read and loyal to her father (by the way, Disney is much more forgiving of fathers than mothers to this point). She sacrifices herself to free her dad and eventually even develops a soft spot for the Beast. I like how Belle is strong and smart and how she sees right through Gaston’s crap.

Jasmine: A strong woman, but also has some spoiled brat in her. It’s not really her movie, so she doesn’t really grow or change the entire time.

Pocahontas: Not my favorite movie, but a good message. Pocahontas is strong, smart, and willing to stand up for her beliefs.

Mulan: Another one who sacrifices herself for her father. She also never is a part of or marries royalty, so I’m not sure how she’s a princess at all, but that’s beside the point. I think the character of Mulan is not a bad role model for girls, but the movie spending 90% of its runtime putting down women and their role in society is not so good.

Rapunzel: This is a strange one because Rapunzel never really grows during the film. She is kind, sweet, and naïve in the beginning as well as the end. Everyone seems to love her in the movie, but the character development arc belongs solely to Eugene “Flynn Rider.”

Merida: The new girl has a few things going for her. She defies her mother (look a mom storyline that isn’t bad), but unlike Ariel she learns something from her mistake. Merida also doesn’t need a man, which I see as a good change of pace.

This gets me back to the one I skipped: my favorite, Tiana. In The Princess and the Frog Tiana is a smart, very hard working woman who is trying to claw her way out of poverty and make something of herself. Already this is different for Disney as she is not born into royalty, nor does she simply wish for it (well, she kind of does, but feels ridiculous about it). The way she wants to make herself better is by outsmarting and outworking everyone else.

Tiana is thrown into some crazy circumstances and, despite not wanting to be tied down, falls in love with a prince (although even the prince is penniless at the time). My favorite thing is that the happy ending involves Tiana and Naveen buying their restaurant with Tiana’s cans of change (and some gator staredowns) and building it by hand. There is no fairy that poofs it into existence and no king that gifts it to his daughter-in-law, just elbow grease.

As a parent I am trying to make sure my kids know that willpower, determination, and hard work are how you get what you want. And that is why Tiana is my favorite princess.

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The funny thing about this episode is that we didn’t plan it.  I’d called Jim to record the Tokyo Disneyland show and we were just catching up on what we saw in WDW on our latest trips.  Luckily, I possess a Nixonian habit of recording everything Jim and I discuss.  You know, for posterity (read: “Grand Jury indictment.”  As David Lee Roth once said, “You know you’ve made it when you can spell ‘subpoena’ without a dictionary.” ).

We ended up talking for almost an hour about Limited Time Magic and Disney’s Next Gen project.  Hope you enjoy the show.

Here’s the link to listen in iTunes. Here’s the direct MP3 file.

Please rate us on iTunes and let us know what you’d like to hear next.

New Disney Dish Podcast w/ Jim Hill: Limited Time Magic and Disney’s Next Gen Project is a post from the TouringPlans.com Blog. Signup for a premium subscription today! Or get news via Email, Twitter, & Facebook.

You’re going to Disneyland!! And unlike the latest Super Bowl MVP, you probably have more than one evening to plan. So what should you do to get ready? Disneyland isn’t really a show-up-with-no-plan kind of a place. You certainly can do that, and I know people who have, but trust me, it’s better to have some idea of what you’re getting into. Let’s adopt the Boy Scout motto! Be prepared! Prepared is good!

1. Get Your Unofficial Guide – The absolute first thing you need to do is to get a copy of the Unofficial Guide! There’s a reason the series has sold millions of books. It is the perfect planning guide for Disneyland. It’s not a sugar coated view of Disney. It will help you appreciate the highs, and avoid the lows. Do you want to know which rides are going to scare the pants off your kids? The Unofficial Guide will tell you. Do you want to know the best restaurants? The best hotels? Or, more importantly maybe, the worst hotels? Again – the Unofficial Guide. And get it quick! Have you seen them recently? They’re behemoths! Not a quick read! A great read, maybe even an essential one for planning, but not a quick one.

2. Exercise – My husband may or may not have just busted his gut laughing when he saw that I was recommending exercise, but it’s (sadly) true. The amount of walking you do at a Disney park is not for the faint of heart. You can easily walk more than 10 miles in one day. Yep. 10 miles. If exercise is a dirty word to you, that number may scare you a little. It does me! But it doesn’t have to. We’re not talking about running a half marathon here. We’re talking about walking. Walking a lot! But walking. You don’t have to go into serious training. A few weeks of some evening walks with the family will help immensely! Oh yeah, and wear comfortable, worn-in shoes! There’s nothing worse at Disney than realizing your shoes are burning blisters into your feet.

3. Order the Vacation Planning DVD – This one is mostly for fun if you’re a frequent visitor, but if you’re a newbie, the DVD can give you a good overview of Disneyland and what it has to offer. Your kids will probably love it by the way!

4. Watch Disney Movies – If you’re not a Disney movie fan, become one. Especially if you have kids! Some Disney movies are great for a frame of reference. Cars Land is awesome whether you’ve seen the movie or not, but there really are some details that you will miss if you haven’t ever seen it. Finding Nemo is a cute ride, but it’s so much cuter if you know what it’s based on! The Pirates of the Caribbean ride has added some elements from the excellent movie franchise that you’ll immediately recognize if you’ve seen the movies. Haunted Mansion is an awesome ride, but if you see the movie…Wait. Scratch that. Do not, under any circumstances, watch that movie.

5. Prepare the Kids for Scary – There’s some scary stuff at Disneyland for little ones, but a lot of it is the fear of the unknown. Find something that helps with that. One video that was a favorite in our house when the kids were young was the Kirsten Dunst, Steve Guttenberg classic – Tower of Terror! What? You missed that one? Well, go find it! It’s actually not as bad as you may expect, which I fully realize is faint praise. It helped our daughter overcome her fear at the very name of the ride. Once she realized it was all pretend and fun, she tried the ride. And loved it!

6. Study the Maps – Did you know the Disneyland website has maps? Really cool, interactive maps. There’s an overview map of the entire resort, a map of the Disneyland hotels, Disneyland Park, California Adventure, Downtown Disney, Parking, Guest Services, and Good Neighbor Hotels! It’s awesome! You can play with each map and see specific locations on each one. You can print PDFs of each map too. They are super handy planning tools.

7. Download Apps – In a previous blog post I discussed apps that would help you on your vacation. Download them! They really can help you out, and you don’t want to mess with it when you’re already there. As Disney keeps rolling out My Magic + apps are going to become essential parts of touring!

8. Get a Good Packing List – I had another blog post about helpful things to pack, and there are lots of good packing lists out there. Find one, or two or three, you like and get ready! I like to put out an empty suitcase and fill it over time. Whenever I put something in that won’t need to come out again before the trip, I mark it off the list. It saves me from forgetting things in the last minute scramble that inevitably comes.

9. Try to Time Zone Adjust – Of course, this only applies if you actually live in a different time zone, but if you do, you need to know this! Since we moved to the East Coast almost two years ago, trips to Disneyland wreak havoc on my sleep. I am wide awake at 5:30 every morning and as much as I want to stay awake at night, I’m exhausted by 8:30. That just doesn’t work well for all of the nighttime entertainment Disneyland offers! So ,I recommend taking the week before you leave and trying to adjust as much as you can. Go to bed an hour early every night. Sleep in an hour later if you can. If you can’t adjust at all, make sure you give yourself some time to rest every afternoon once you arrive. Naps should help you stay up a little later, and hopefully sleep a little longer in the morning.

10. Make a Must Do List – Finally, after all of your planning and researching, you’ve probably got a good idea of some things you don’t want to miss! Make a list. Sit down with your family, get their input, and make a list. Once you get to Disneyland, it’s easy to get caught up in getting from point A to point B as quickly as possible or getting from shortest line to shortest line. It’s easy to miss things you really want to see! So sit down with your family and let everyone name a few things that are important to them. Check your list every morning and night and make sure you’re making time for these things!

What are some things you do to get ready for your Disney vacations?

10 Ways to Get Ready for Your Disneyland Vacation is a post from the TouringPlans.com Blog. Signup for a premium subscription today! Or get news via Email, Twitter, & Facebook.

Good news! We’ll be changing our architecture late on April 12 to greatly increase current speeds and future scalability. We expect to be able to provide faster load times all around as a result of this massive change.

To do this, the website, blog, and Lines mobile app will be offline from 11:00 PM Eastern on Friday, April 12, to 6:00 AM Eastern on Saturday, April 13.

Thanks everyone for your understanding as we continue to improve TouringPlans!

Server Upgrade April 12 is a post from the TouringPlans.com Blog. Signup for a premium subscription today! Or get news via Email, Twitter, & Facebook.

Are you at Walt Disney World during this busy Spring Break week?

From now until April 6, guests over at Disney’s Hollywood Studios will be able to enjoy the Spring Break in the City Dance Party on the Streets of America. Here guests will have the opportunity to get down with a DJ playing great music and activities for the whole family.

The “Party” starts at 12:30 pm each afternoon and lasts through the evening.

Spring Break in the City Dance Party At Disney’s Hollywood Studios is a post from the TouringPlans.com Blog. Signup for a premium subscription today! Or get news via Email, Twitter, & Facebook.

Lillian Macko, a Touring Plans researcher, is a retiree from Vermont who moved to Orlando with her husband, Richard, in 2003.   Some months later, she fell in with the wrong crowd – us – never guessing  the variety of work that was to come.  Lillian has inspected hotel rooms and tested touring plans, rode buses for hours, measured ride wait times at the parks, and  assisted with resort photos.  She’s also reviewed spa treatments at WDW and Orlando-area spas.

I had my first “journey” this month at the newly renovated spa at the Grand Floridian Resort. The spa is now called “Senses” and I call it a “journey” since that is what they have named their customized treatments: Relax, Renew or Imagine “journeys.” I wanted to have a facial, manicure and pedicure and certainly wanted to relax so that’s the journey I chose.

Beginning with my appointment phone call to the end of my journey, the Disney staff was extremely friendly, professional, competent and kind. Disney did an excellent job with their renovations maintaining some of the Victorian feel of the resort plus updating treatment rooms, showers and lounges to be very modern yet comfortable. The mosaic work in the Wet Room is amazing.

An added touch at this spa is the offering of a small glass of a fruity elixir. Each journey has its own flavored drink and this flavor carries through to the end of your journey when you receive a very small gel that contains the same flavors.

A cast member described the spa as small and intimate as compared to the spa at Saratoga Springs which is much larger. I would agree with this description. That can be a pro or con dependent upon your likes or dislikes.

The lounge where you wait for your treatment is somewhat small. It receives a lot of traffic as everyone must come and go through this room. Therefore, it is not quite the relaxing area that one would like it to be. For instance, the Relache Spa at the Gaylord Palms has a separate Tea Room, Lounge Room and Locker Room so there is no through traffic so one can actually relax prior to having a treatment. Senses’ guests are asked to turn off their cell phones but, sadly, all guests did not do this so again, the “relaxing” part was not so easy.

The facial was delightful and includes a paraffin treatment for your hands as well as a massage of your neck, shoulders and décolleté area. The treatment bed was very comfortable and the new silky-feeling sheets are divine. Special ceiling lighting and soothing music  play a large role in the overall “relaxing” feeling.

The Hand and Foot Spa has been totally renovated and was formerly a part of the entrance Lobby which was walled off to create this area. The treatments were excellent and included hand/arm and foot/leg massages. You also receive a goody bag at the end of your treatment which contains all the implements used plus the bottles of nail polish.

My second Relax journey was a week later when I had a Swedish massage. The very comfortable treatment bed was heated this time and at the end of the soothing and invigorating massage, I was delighted to find that my robe had been warmed. What a nice finishing touch!

A 20% gratuity is automatically added to your bill but if you mention that you are an Annual Passholder, 10% is taken off your treatment price. You do have to be sure to mention this, however. There was absolutely no mention of purchasing their products on either of my visits but I was asked if I wanted to put “add-ons” to my visit when I called the second time. You have use of the spa for the whole day should you choose to do so but it was on to other projects for me! I would give this spa an excellent rating and would highly recommend taking a magical “journey” there!

Review Of Senses Spa At Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort is a post from the TouringPlans.com Blog. Signup for a premium subscription today! Or get news via Email, Twitter, & Facebook.

This post was written by Joe Bouchard, a long time Disney fan who has visited Walt Disney World over 30 times. He and his wife (also a Disney lover) do a weekly YouTube show called See Ya Reel Soon.

One of the largest expenses when it comes to planning our Walt Disney World vacations has always been food. The cost for a family to eat at The World for a week can easily reach into the thousands of dollars. The sticker shock at each meal can even be an unpleasant experience to many guests. Balancing the cost with the enjoyment that dining out while on vacation can bring is often a challenge.

In 2005 Walt Disney World introduced its Dining Plan, an option that allowed guests to prepay a set amount in exchange for “credits” to be used at dining establishments throughout Walt Disney World property. The Disney Dining Plans have undergone many changes throughout the years and as the costs continue to rise many people, myself included, have started to question if it is the best option for them.

In 2009 after graduating college I planned my first trip to Walt Disney World as the primary planner, no longer tagging along with my parents. The planning was overwhelming to say the least. Whether it was when to go, where to stay, or how much to plan for each day it was a lot to digest. One way I found to ease some of the stress was to purchase the Disney Dining Plan. It made it easy for me to budget and let me focus more on planning the rest of our vacation. In the end it was a wonderful 2 weeks where I asked my now-wife to marry me during Wishes.

The next year as we were planning our Disneymoon, for the sake of saving time and minimizing stress I decided once again to get the Disney Dining Plan, after all this time we were offered “Free Dining”! It was great to order whatever we wanted on the menu, not worry about eating at more expensive restaurants and think to myself, “Wow this is free!” When the bill would come and I would see $70 for just the two of us it even made me feel like I was getting away with something.

It was in 2011 when we planned our next trip that I started to seriously budget. This time, I was more familiar with the costs of dining and started running the numbers, as I’m sure many others have. I mapped out where we planned to eat, looked at the menus, made some estimates and came out with a number quite a bit lower than what the Disney Dining Plan would cost. This got me thinking. Maybe the Disney Dining Plan wasn’t a good idea for us after all. Maybe we could save money by paying out of pocket for our meals.

Ever since then we have decided against the Disney Dining Plan. It just doesn’t mathematically work out for us. We are just 2 adults with no kids and we rarely eat dessert. This got me curious as to who the Disney Dining Plan benefits the most. To help me figure this out I started building a spreadsheet in Microsoft Excel. It started out simple, but to be able to figure out as many variables as I wanted, the spreadsheet grew into thousands of complex formulas. The end result was a simple, user friendly spreadsheet that can be tailored specifically to each individual that uses it.

The calculator is quite simple to use. All you need to do is input the number of Adults and Children in your party along with where you plan to eat each meal. After that you choose from a few options such as how often you order drinks or desserts and what percentage you typically leave as a gratuity. After that, the boxes below will populate with estimated costs for you based on each of the 3 primary Disney Dining Plans as well as using no Dining Plan or if you qualify, using Tables in Wonderland.

A second tab of the spreadsheet will show you a list of your planned meals in descending order of expected costs, that way if you have more meals planned than you have credits to use, you know which are less expensive and you are therefore better paying for out of pocket.

The third and final tab is to benefit those who go during a time of the year when Walt Disney World offers “Free Dining”. It can often be tempting to take that offer but in order to get “Free Dining” you would have to pay rack rate for your hotel room and pass up any potential room discounts. This tab will help you decide which of those is more likely to save you the most money based on your specific itinerary.

Those who would like to test out this calculator, it is available to download for free on my website http://www.seeyareelsoon.wix.com/seeyareelsoon and there is also a video there that will walk you step by step through the entire process of using each tab.

So who, through my personal experiences, does the Disney Dining Plan benefit the most? The more children under age 10 that you have, the more the Disney Dining Plan starts to save you money. The Dining Plans are usually a great deal for kids. The cost for the plan is low for kids and the costs of many character meals and buffets are high. Also, those who eat Table Service meals for Dinner instead of Lunch can benefit, remember Dinner is often more expensive than Lunch, while requiring the same amount of credits.

Of course, there is also something to be said about it being prepaid. For many people, not having to look at the prices on the menu will allow them to be more relaxed and more carefree. If the Dining Plan doesn’t save money or even if it costs more money, the peace of mind while on vacation may be worth it. Dining at Walt Disney World can be an experience in and of itself. If you’re anything like me, some meals may be something you remember for years to come, whether it is the food, the atmosphere or both. Bon appétit!

Disney Dining Plan Calculator Spreadsheet is a post from the TouringPlans.com Blog. Signup for a premium subscription today! Or get news via Email, Twitter, & Facebook.

Unofficial Guide readers will recall the review of Snow White’s Scary Adventures, where we mentioned Ben, an autistic boy whose love of the attraction led him to ride thousands of times. Equally amazing were Ben’s parents, who not only had unlimited patience and love for Ben, but unlimited tolerance for Snow White. Ben’s dad, Ron Miles, said that they coped by re-imagining Disney’s rides with different effects. Their idea for a Stitch-based Tiki room is still the best I’ve heard for that attraction.

Ben’s story is now out in book form. 3500: An Autistic Boy’s Ten-Year Romance with Snow White, written by Ron, tells the story of raising a child with autism, finding Walt Disney World, and the amazing Cast Members who helped make Ben’s childhood a little bit better. It’s funny. It’s emotional. It reminds you that there are patient, good people all around the world (especially The World). Mostly, it reminded me of how lucky I am as a parent. Worth the price of the book alone is the story of Ben getting to be the last person ever to ride Snow White’s Scary Adventures, before it closed for the Fantasyland expansion. Get it today.

New Book: 3,500 – An Autistic Boy’s Ten-Year Romance With Snow White is a post from the TouringPlans.com Blog. Signup for a premium subscription today! Or get news via Email, Twitter, & Facebook.

One question I get asked a lot is – “What’s a good way to celebrate a special occasion at Disney?” In my opinion, there aren’t many better PLACES to celebrate a special occasion, so there have to be some good WAYS to celebrate there, right? Well there are! And here are 10 of them.

1. Birthday or Celebration Button – My first way to celebrate is absolutely free! Do I get bonus points for that? I cannot stress enough how important it is to get a button for your celebration. There are birthday buttons, anniversary buttons, just married buttons, family reunion buttons, even first visit buttons! If any of these apply to your reason for being at Disneyland – get one. You’ll be amazed at how much attention one little button can bring. Cast members and guests alike will wish you happy birthday when they see the button. Occasionally, you’ll even have a cast member go out of their way to bring some extra magic to your trip when they see these buttons. So unless the thought of being spoken (maybe sang?) to freaks you out, get a button.

2. My Disneyland Birthday Party – Disneyland has a party with characters just for birthday celebrations every day at the Plaza Inn! For $16.99 each guest will receive party hats, a souvenir cup, a mini birthday cake to decorate and icing and cake toppings to eat or decorate with. Mickey and Minnie themselves even pop in to join the celebration! The party lasts about an hour and reservations are recommended.

3. Order a Cake – A cake! Of course! What’s a birthday without a cake? At Disneyland you can have a cake waiting for you at any full service restaurant in the parks or at the resort hotels. You can order a Princess Jewelry Box or Disney Pirate Treasure Chest for $15 and each comes with an individual cake. You can also choose from a variety of custom made cakes that include Mickey and Minnie cakes, Princess cakes, classic cakes, and sometimes they can accommodate special requests for characters. Call the Dream Makers at 714-300-7526, option 2, and see what they can do for you! Be sure to give them at least 72-hours notice!

4. Order a Gift Basket – The Dream Makers also have several gift baskets to choose from! If you’re staying at a Disney resort, they can leave the gift basket right in your room on check in day. If you’re staying offsite, they can leave the basket at the check-in desk for you. There are several baskets to choose from. They start at around $35 for Mickey ears, autograph book and pen. They range all the way up to $162 for a spa themed gift basket. The Dream Makers will send you an email that lists all the options and details. They’ll customize too! Just call and ask!

5. Order Room Service – There are some great treats you can order from room service as well if you’re staying onsite. Like a bottle of champagne! Or sparkling cider! Does anything say celebrations like chocolate covered strawberries? How about chocolate covered tuxedo strawberries? Selections will vary by hotel and the Dream Makers can help you set something up here as well.

6. Decorate your Room – If you are staying at a Disneyland Hotel, the Dream Makers (they’re very handy those Dream Makers) can have your room decorated for you! They need at least 72-hours notice, and these are not cheap options! They start around $200 and work their way up to $400. The least expensive option includes a personalized package from Mickey, a banner on the wall, and balloons in the room. Mickey even leaves a pre-autographed autograph book! The most expensive option includes not just a personalized package from Mickey, but some from his friends too! How excited would your child be to step into the room and find the whole room decorated?

7. Have the Dream Makers do Some Personal Shopping – If you give the Dream Makers enough notice, they can do some shopping for you! You can let them know what you need and for a $40 fee, plus the cost of the merchandise, they’ll have it waiting for you. Give them at least 7-days notice for this one!

8. Special Birthday Hat – If you want some extra attention, or you want to make sure someone else has some special attention, buy them a birthday hat! Disney sells a giant hat that looks like a birthday cake, as well as birthday-themed Mickey ears. Wear one of those bad boys around for a little while and see what happens!

9. Fantasmic Dessert Package – If you want to treat yourself, or the person who’s celebrating, how about booking a Fantasmic Dessert Package ? No waiting for hours to see the show, you’ve got VIP seating! And dessert to boot! You can book Dessert Packages 30 days in advance at 714-781-7469.

10. Happiest Picnic on Earth – This option is for those with healthy wallets and lots of friends! You can essentially rent a whole venue with a catered meal in one of the parks. In Disneyland, you can have 100-300 guests at the Big Thunder Ranch, or 300-1,000 (1,000!!) guests at the Festival Arena. At Disney California Adventure, there are two indoor venues. One seats up to 150 guests and the other 500. Go big or go home right? Contact Disney for details on this one – at 714-520-7034.

Do you have any celebration ideas for the Happiest Place on Earth?

10 Ways to Celebrate at Disneyland is a post from the TouringPlans.com Blog. Signup for a premium subscription today! Or get news via Email, Twitter, & Facebook.

The oft maligned Nescafe Coffee will soon be leaving Disney Parks.  Disney has entered into a long-term agreement with Joffrey’s Coffee and Tea Co to provide the standard coffee at Walt Disney World, Disneyland, and Disney Vacation Club properties.  In addition, Joffrey’s will develop special blends exclusive to Disney and resort hotel rooms will all have a catalog where guests can purchase Joffrey’s products to take home.  These changes will be complete within the next few months.

What do you think about these changes? Excited? Will you miss the Nescafe? Let us know!

Joffrey’s Coffee Will Replace Nescafe As The Standard Coffee At Disney Parks is a post from the TouringPlans.com Blog. Signup for a premium subscription today! Or get news via Email, Twitter, & Facebook.