Are you ready for Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party? Every year at Magic Kingdom Mickey and his Disney friends celebrate Halloween in style. This wonderful Disney World Halloween party is held on select evenings at Magic Kingdom in September and October every year. You will find all your favorite Disney characters, a special Mickey’s Boo To You Parade, and the amazing Hallowishes fireworks. You can even dress up in your favorite Halloween costume and go trick or treating .

Would you like to trick or treat with Mickey Mouse at Disney's Magic Kingdom this Halloween?

This is the only time that Disney allows guests over 9 years of age to dress up in Disney costume in the parks – so if you want to dress as a Disney Princess or even a Mouse then this is your big chance!

Disney World has special decorations at Halloween time, but if you want something extra special then you may want to think about getting a ticket for Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party.

The MNSSHP event is a separately ticketed event. What does this mean? Well, even if you have a ticket and attended the Magic Kingdom on the same day, you need a Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party ticket to get you in to all the fun. The party starts at 7pm and goes on until midnight, but party guests are able to enter Magic Kingdom at 4pm.

You can always make your own Disney Halloween pumpkin carving!

Tickets are discounted if you buy in advance so it does pay to buy at least one day ahead of the event. Certain dates are priced as premium dates. October 31st is already sold out. It tends to sell out every year as soon as the tickets go on sale.

Premium Dates (in advance or on the day)
$49.95 + tax (Ages 3-9)
$55.95 + tax (Ages 10+)

Advance Purchase Price
$42.95 + tax (Ages 3 – 9)
$48.95 + tax (Ages 10+)

Day-of Event Price for Non Premium Dates
$49.95 + tax (Ages 3 – 9)
$55.95 + tax (Ages 10+)

Annual Passholders and Disney Vacation Club Members Discounts for Non Premium Dates Only

$39.95 + tax (Ages 3 – 9)
$45.95 + tax (Ages 10+)

You can buy tickets online, at the parks or call 407 W-DISNEY (934-7639).

A special Halloween parade for the MNSSHP

So it Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party worth it? Well I am not a big fan of Halloween but I still really love this event. It has a great party atmosphere and the Disney Hallowishes fireworks are amongst my very favorite firework displays in any of the Disney parks. The parade is a lot of fun, and the different shows are worth seeing. But if you go there expecting that the lines will be much shorter then you may be dissapointed. The lines for the rides certainly can be a lot shorter, particularly if you go to one of the mid week MNSSHP events. But weekends do tend to be quite busy.

If you want even more information, lots of pictures and even videos showing you exactly what to expect from Mickey’s party then I have written a full guide at Halloween at Disney World.

A very special thank you to Photos B Wyscan on Flickr for allowing me to use his fabulous photos here!

Tags: disney costume, disney halloween, mickeys not so scary halloween party

Disney’s Sleeping Beauty movie is almost 50 years old and the DVD is due to be released from the vault once more to delight a whole new generation. Princess Aurora is one of my favorite Disney Princesses.

The movie itself was made in 1959 and was a big gamble for Walt Disney. Surprisingly it wasn’t a great success when it was first released. It was Walt’s most expensive movie to date in 1959 costing $6 million. With the initial box office and of course all the subsequent DVD releases and Sleeping Beauty merchandise it has become one of the jewels in the Disney crown.

The famous castle in the at Disneyland is of course Sleeping Beauty’s castle. The original idea was that the castle would belong to Snow White, but the Imagineers decided that it should be dedicated to Aurora as the original movie was being made at the same time as Disneyland opened.

Sleeping Beauty was fully restored and digitally remastered for the release of the DVD in 2003. And now the Sleeping Beauty DVD is set for a new release on October 7th 2008 with lots of extra features.

So what does the all new Sleeping Beauty (Two-Disc Platinum Edition) offer?

All-New Digital Restoration With Enhanced Picture And Sound

All-New 5.1 Disney Enhanced Home Theater Surround Sound

All-New Once Upon A Dream Music Video, Performed By HANNAH MONTANA’S Emily Osment

Sleeping Beauty Castle Walk through A Fully Immersive Virtual Tour

All-New Enhanced Dance Game With Help From Briar Rose’s Forest Friends, You Can Learn How To Dance

Never-Before-Seen Alternate Opening

Deleted Songs

All-New Making Of SLEEPING BEAUTY Featurette

Tags: disney princess

Would you like to dine with a Disney Princess? Or perhaps have breakfast with Mickey Mouse? Well of course you can on a Disney World vacation. But what is a Disney World character meal really like. And where can you find a character dining restaurant at Disney World?

Would you like to dine with a Princess?

There are a lot of choices for your Disney World character meal. From breakfast to brunch, dinner to lunch. Meals can be buffet, menu or family style ( where all you can eat choices are brought to your table). The quality of the food does vary but in general it is high – particularly for buffet food. Another advantage is that there are always special menu choices for children. So even the pickiest of eaters and going to be happy. Who wouldn’t be happy when Tigger is bouncing around the table, or a Disney Princess is asking what your favorite dessert is?

So how do you choose? Well the best way to start is to think which characters you would prefer to see. So if you want to see Mickey Mouse then Chef Mickey at Disney’s Contemporary Resort is a great choice. Or if you want to dine with a Disney Princess then check out the Princess Storybook Breakfast in the World Showcase at EPCOT.

But one word of warning. Always double check with the restaurant who will be appearing. Don’t promise to your child that they are going to see a particular character unless you are really sure they are going to be there. No amount of mac and cheese will make up for the disappointment if Cinderella isn’t there like you promised!

You will find Disney character dining at each of the parks and some of the Disney hotels.

1. Disney Magic Kingdom
   Cinderella’s Royal Table
   Crystal Palace
   Liberty Tree Tavern
2. EPCOT
   Akershus Royal Banquet Princess Dining
   Garden Grill
3. Disney Hollywood Studios
   Hollywood & Vine
4. Disney Animal Kingdom
   Tusker House
5. Disney Resort Hotels
   1900 Park Fayre – The Grand Floridian
   Cape May – Disney’s Beach Club Resort
   Chef Mickey’s – Contemporary Resort
   Ohana – Polynesian Resort
   Gullivers Grill – Swan Resort
   Garden Grove Cafe – Swan Resort

For complete information on the locations, menus and how to choose a Disney character dining experience I have written a Comprehensive Guide to Character Dining for you to check out free. It includes lots of great pictures and even videos who that you can choose which venue is the right one for you!

What happens when you mix the Disney World magic with the world of the Animal Kingdom? You experience Disney’s Animal Kingdom theme park! Over 1000 animals in a park of over 500 acres Disney’s Animal Kingdom takes the concept of an animal park to a new dimension. An original theme park and certainly more than a zoo – this theme park is a celebration of animals with more than a hint of the Disney magic.

Disney’s Animal Kingdom is a huge park – almost five times the size of Magic Kingdom. A visit can take some planning.

The Tree of Life is to Animal Kingdom what Cinderella’s Castle is to the Magic Kingdom. As you approach from a distance you slowly catch glimpses of the magnificent tree. As you get closer and closer you can see why this is considered one of the greatest Disney theme park creations. The Tree of Life is 145 tall with 325 individual carvings of animals in it’s trunk – all incredibly detailed. The Disney story and mythology behind the creation of the tree is that it was the first thing here in Animal Kingdom and it brought the source of water and life for the whole of the Animal Kingdom park.

Walt Disney himself always insisted that his animators learn as much as they possibly could about their animal subjects when creating characters for the Disney movies. He strongly believed that this was necessary to bring the animated Disney characters to life. The Disney attention to detail is certainly dominant in Animal Kingdom. Whilst many Disney themes are about make believe this one is rooted in reality. The Imagineers had to work with a new challenge. Real animals!

The Animal Kingdom is home to one of the most popular shows in all the Disney theme parks. The Festival of the Lion King show. The show tells the story of a traveling troupe led by the well loved characters from the Lion King. Spectacular acrobatics and show stopping musical entertainment have made this a must see.

And don’t miss the newest Disney mountain. Expedition Everest – Legend of the Forbidden Mountain. The structure for the ride is huge, and one of the most complex that Disney has ever undertaken. The result is worth it. You must ride Expedition Everest. Just get to the ride as soon as the park opens, or head on over to the Fast Pass kiosks to make sure that you don’t spend too much time in line. It is a very popular attraction!

My personal favorite is the Kilimanjaro Safari. Just to get a sense of the size of the land for this attraction it is 110 acres of space. Or to put it another way, the same size as the whole of Magic Kingdom! This is your chance to go on a safari without every having to leave the comfort and safety of your Disney safari vehicle. The attention to detail here is amazing. The Imagineers went on photo safaris is Africa to help them with the design process. The result is spectacular. You will see hundreds of animals in a very natural setting. Try and get to the Kilimajaro Safaris early in the morning. Not only is there less likely to be a long wait, but the animals are very much more likely to be active.

You can always see your favorite Disney characters at Animal Kingdom. If you would like to learn even more about the Animal Kingdom theme park then I have written this online free guide with more pictures, tips and even video of Expedition Everest!

Windsor Palms, Windsor Hills and Solana have facilities to rival many expensive hotels in the Orlando area. Vacation homes already make a lot of sense in offering value to families looking for a great place to stay. But when you also look at all the hidden extras which often appear on your hotel bill it makes Windsor Palms and Windsor Hills look like an even better option!

Hotels seem to have started more and more to ‘hide’ the fees that they charge. I am not sure why they think that we won’t notice when we check out that all of a sudden there is a long list of extras. Perhaps they know that by the time we check out it is too late to make other choices!

Recently I stayed in a great hotel in California. One of the best I have ever stayed in. But it came at a price! The room rate looked good. Well that is the ‘headline’ room rate. The one that you see before you start adding the tax, the ‘resort fee’, the wireless internet access fee, the extortionate phone charges…….

But the charge that made me most annoyed was the valet parking fee. $25 a day plus tips! Was there a choice? Not unless you were prepared to put your car in the parking lot across the busy street about a 10 minute walk away. Will I stay at that hotel again? Probably not as they just didn’t seem to be being honest with me about how much it was going to cost. Why aren’t they just upfront about it?

So an added bonus to staying in one of my vacation homes? The resort facilities are free. No charge for the Windsor Palms community pool, spa, tennis, gym,basketball, volleyball or even the movie theater! No charge for all the fabulous community facilities at Windsor Hills or Solana.

Many of the homes that I offer also have free wireless internet, game rooms (no need to feed the pool table with money) and free international phone calls.

Oh, and of course parking is always free. On your own private pool home drive.

So when you are working out the amount of money you save on an Orlando vacation home as compared with an hotel remember to think about all the ‘hidden’ hotel fees. You are not going to get a big shock at check out as everything is already covered. So just check in, relax and enjoy the benefits of your smart choice.

Now I do not usually suffer from writers block. I usually have a million and one ideas and the words flow off the page and after all this is how I make my living. But I have to admit that this was a difficult post to write. Why? Because it was the first one on my brand new blog.

I decided a while ago that the needs of Orlando vacation home guests were a little different from other visitors to Disney World. They have made a smart choice by deciding to rent a vacation home. But there really isn’t much out there to help them make a choice of home, or how they can get the most out of their vacation home when they get there.

So I guess this is a new place that guests thinking about renting a home, or those visiting for the 10th time, can come and see what Orlando has to offer them. You will find tips about homes, Disney World, Universal Studios ( yes there really are other parks in Orlando) and everything from where to find the best take out pizza to how to save money on your Disney World tickets.