Healthy Disney...Walk your vacation off!

The Princess Half Marathon at Disneyland.

Walt Disney World is HUGE!  Yes...I know...surprise surprise!  Well, I don't just mean that to try to win me the title of Captain Obvious!  I literally mean the park is quite massive.  Even taking into account that you can go from park to park or from resort to resort on the Disney Transportation System, there is still quite a bit of ground that you have to cover.  That can be both a positive and negative for most people.


Let me try to shine a bit of positive light on this aspect of your Disney Vacation.  One of my clients...we'll just call her A....was concerned about the amount of food in the Disney Dining Plan, as most of the character meals that they would be attending are at All-You-Can-Eat establishments (Crystal Palace, Akershaus, Chef Mickey's, etc.).  Couple that with a quick service meal that in most cases could easily feed two people, and the snack, of which Disney is famous for stretching the definition, that can be a bit intimidating.  I reminded her that they would be walking quite a bit.  In fact, my in-laws have a clip-on pedometer that is linked to their computer to track their steps, and on their most recent trip to WDW, they logged miles...not steps...MILES of walking!  My client...A...emailed me back that they were planning the same thing (bringing a pedometer) because their health plan gave them credit for exercise (we'll explore that in a second).

That got me thinking.  First of all, how much walking do you actually do, on average, on an average length Disney vacation?  Can you really walk your vacation off?  We've all been on vacations where we go, indulge, and come back with what I'm going to call the Indulge Bulge.  Those few extra pounds that followed you home from your trip.  Let's examine the Disney Vacation.

Assume first that you are staying on property at one of the fabulous Disney Resorts.  Even if you happen to get lucky (or request it) and get a preferred room, or a good room spot, you'll still have a bit of walking just to get from your room to the transportation (Sidebar...my wife and I are convinced that we actually walk a shorter distance with a preferred room at Pop Century to transportation than we did when we were on the 5th floor, away from the elevator at Wilderness Lodge...I'll have to check that next time I'm visiting Mickey!!).  Okay...brass tacks time.  Let's say that you walk an average of 3500 feet from room to transportation.  Then, let's assume you'll be going to one of the smaller parks...say Hollywood Studios.  Well, depending on your resort, the bus stop alone could be as much as 3000-5000 feet from the gate.  Let's also assume that you'll be on your feet, walking for most of the day, rope drop to fireworks, so let's say that will be roughly 8 hours.  If you walk at a slow to moderate pace, you'll end up walking about 1.5 miles per hour.  Yes, yes...before you fill my inbox with all kinds of comments, I know you won't be walking that fast for 8 hours straight.  Let's assume of that 8 hours in the park, you're moving for about 1/3 of that, or about 2 1/2 hours.  That's fair, right?  Okay...lets math it out! :)  2 1/2 hours times 1.5 miles equals 3 3/4 miles.  Add the 8500 feet (or 1.6 miles) and you're at 5 1/3 miles.  That could equate to anywhere between 300 and 600 calories burned!  Okay...you're not going walk yourself thin eating buffets and walking Disney, but it certainly helps.  And, I'm only speculating here.  Do you own math!  My in-laws said they logged over 15000 steps per day!  PER DAY!!!  That huge!  While each person is different, it certainly doesn't hurt that you're walking that much while on vacation.

Courtesy of Fitbit.com

Now, I mentioned above that my client, A, said they would be logging their steps for their health insurance and that they would give you credit for those logged steps.  How do you do this?  Well, first off, buy a pedometer.  Don't skimp on this, guys.  The more you spend, the more accurate it is.  There are plenty...actually too many to mention...available at sporting goods stores, department stores, and online, but there is one that I really love.  My in-laws have it, as do many of my friends.  It's called the Fitbit.  It's available with different options, various accessories, and can even be linked to a smartphone app.  It's easy to use, easy to install, and will track all your activity daily.  It will even link up to your computer even without being in the dock via WiFi.  Then, all you do is have it on you every day, all day, and you'll get all the activity logged. 

Then, just upload to your health plan and Ta Da!  Credit for being on vacation!  :)  Isn't that great!    Who would have thought that you'd get credit for going to Disney?  You may be asking what plans allow you do this...logging your exercise for health credit. My client's plan is partnered with Virgin Heartmiles Program, but check if yours has a plan that is correlated with your insurance.  Most do, but it's definitely a case-by-case and sometimes state-by-state basis.

So, in short, don't worry about the calories.  They don't count when you're on vacation anyway, right?  Well, if I'm not right, then you can enjoy and even indulge with little worry as you will definitely work off some of those extra calories!

Make it a magical weekend!!

-Jason

Character Autograph Books...Create the Magic!!

 

So, one of my family's favorite memories when we go to Disney is the Character Greetings, whether that's in a dining situation or just in the parks.  When you meet the characters (even the ones who shouldn't be able to write), you can get them sign an autograph book.  Disney offers these at almost every gift shop and merchandise outlet in the parks, as well as on Disney.com.  They are a great option for first timers, or if you don't do anything fancy (like I'll explain below) for your autographs. 

Autograph Book  from www.Disney.com

This example is direct from the Disney merchandise site on Disney.com.  It contains blank paper pages with a photo pocket in the front cover so you can place a picture of the trip after you get home.  It also has an elastic loop for holding the pen (which you can also get on Disney.com or in the parks).  This is about as basic as you get, but it will definitely do the job fine for wanting the autographs of your favorite characters.

Photo and Autograph Book

This particular example combines the ability to get signatures, as well as putting pictures of each character in the book.  For example, if you meet Tinkerbell, and you get her to sign on a blank page, when you get home (assuming you've taken my advice and gotten the PhotoPass!), you can then print out a photo of your little prince or princess meeting Tink and place it in the protective pocket, opposite her signature.   I like this option because you can get the connection from each signature to each character.  If you wanna take it to a different level, our little one actually began to read by associating the picture with the signature and sounding out the letters.  Always find those teachable moments, right? :)


Now, if you are the creative type, or even if you're not and you're just into creating the most magic you can out of your trip, you can make your own.  There are plenty of ways to do this, from basic decorated spiral notebooks to elaborate scrapbooks containing Disney related graphics and fonts.  Our favorite thing to do is to make an actual book out of the photos from our previous trip.  We have to credit our friends Matt and Melissa for turning us on to this idea.  We use any one of the online photobook companies (i.e. Artcow, Mixbook, etc.) and actually create our own books.  You can also make them in local places (I know that Costco does great photo books).  Also, search for coupons on places like CouponDiva and Coupons.com for those online sources.  We use pictures from previous trips, add captions, graphics, and other visual aids, and then place a blank page opposite the picture for the autograph.  If there are characters you've not met yet, go ahead and create a page for them anyway, with graphics and fonts, leaving the blank page.

Having this type of book does a few things for you and your magic creation.  First, it puts the great memories from the previous trips on your mind every time you look through them.  Second, you form a connection to the characters immediately.  If I may share a few stories here...our friends Matt and Melissa have given their custom books to "real" characters (not in full costume with heads) and they've looked through the books and found their friends, and sometimes even themselves!  We had a Tinkerbell find herself (we happened to meet the same person twice) so she actually had a conversation with our little princess about how much she's grown, and has she been good.  One time, we were meeting Chip and Dale and Chip refused to give the book back until he finished looking through it.  He actually gave my wife "The Hand"...you know..."Talk to the Hand?...until he was finished.  Those memories are absolutely priceless and have made for some great magic long after we completed the trip.

It's completely up to you whether or not you get the autographs.  They are certainly not unique, not high in monetary value, but the pricelessness of the memories outweighs any uniqueness that can be offered from other traditional autographs (i.e. sports stars, movie stars, vintage autographs, etc.).  As I'm fond of saying, take the time to do a bit of research.  The Disney autograph books are less expensive if you purchase them prior to your trip.  The custom books generally take 5-10 weeks to produce, so proper planning is important.  I promise...the memories of meeting your favorite character, from Mickey to Minnie, or Goofy to Mater, will be one of the longest lasting memories your prince or princess will have for their entire life!

Until next time, Have a Magical Day, and Always be looking for your Enchantment Destination!

-Jason

Disney's PhotoPass + ....worth it or Disney Hype??

So, one of the newest offering from Disney for the 2013 season (actually, it was talked about in November of 2012, but who's counting!), is the additional option of the PhotoPass + that can be added to your vacation.  For those unfamiliar, let me start with a little bit about photos at Disney...and if you'd like to read more, I reviewed the PhotoPass previously on another blog entry, so feel free to peruse that as well, as I'm more than likely going to miss something.

For most Disney vacationers, the biggest memory maker is the photos.  Taking pictures of the scenery, the magic, the fireworks, and the general jubilation that comes from a Disney vacation.  For us, the photos provide the needed fodder for next year's autograph book (look for my next post for this info!), or at the very least, our scrapbook/photo books that we keep of each trip.  One big issue, however, is that either me or my wife are out of almost every picture!  Of course we are!  One of us has to take the photo, right??  Well, the PhotoPass along with Disney's very talented group of professional photographers makes this an issue of the past.  Throughout the parks (both at the Disneyland and Disney World parks, as well as Aulani), there are wonderful cast members with tan photographer's vests that are set up at the best locations to take pictures.  They are also at all the character greeting spots, character meal experiences, and parade/fireworks locations as well.  The process couldn't be easier.  Unlike those other photographers in other parks that pressure you as soon as you walk in for a photo, these photographers are no pressure.  In fact, you'll soon find your self waiting in a line to get your photo taken!  Weird..I know...but totally worth it.  When you get your first picture of the trip taken, ask for a PhotoPass Card and then hang on to it.  Each card has a unique QR tag that the photographers log each time they take a picture.  Just get with a photographer and hand them the card.  Do it every time!  With out Fail!!  Don't lose the card!!  Then, when you are done with the trip, all of those pictures are available for purchase/download when you get home.  You can customize them with borders, or special messages, and you can even get some stock Disney images that you can use (privately, of course) in your memory books.

I know what you're thinking....Why would I pay for photos when I own an awesome camera???  Well, you may be right, but somewhere, somehow, you are not going to get the shot you want.  As I said before, someone is out of the picture, or you have to trust someone else to take the shot for you.  At Disney, I honestly feel most people can be trusted, but just in case, it's always better to hang on to your own property and leave the photos to the professionals.

Okay...lets get down to brass tacks, shall we?  What is the cost for this Magical service from Disney??  Well, the good news is the card is free.  Yes...free.  Completely Free!!!  The pictures are even taken for free!!  Where the costs come in is when you want to download or print the photos.  Even then, Disney offers an option to pre-purchase a CD with all the photos you take during a 14 day period as well as many stock photos just for giggles.  The current price of the CD is $119.95 pre-order, or $169.95 on sight or after.  Definitely pre-order this CD.  It's worth it...trust me!! 

**Quick Tip!!  If you, your family, or your close friends are all visiting at the same time or close to the same time, get a separate card for each group or family.  Then, after pre-ordering the CD, you can link each of the cards up to one PhotoPass account and then get copies of the CD made for your family.  Then you can each have everyone's pictures from the trip..all on one CD!

The other option available is the PhotoPass+ option.  This is another case of pre-order prowess and, in this blogger's opinion, well worth it.  The cost is slightly higher (although, with the pre-order pricing, it's not bad at all for what you get), $149.00 per, but the benefits are definitely there.  Here is what the PhotoPass+ option gets you:

All the Benefits of a standard PhotoPass CD Plus:
1) Additional Stock Photos unique to PhotoPass+
2) Photos from selected Character Meals included (this is an extra cost for standard PhotoPass holders)
3) Downloadable photos from selected attractions (again, an extra cost for standard PhotoPass holders)
4) Photos from other Disney Experiences, i.e. Bippity Boppity Boutique, Pirates League, etc. (again, not included in the standard PhotoPass.  Also, these experiences are an extra cost above the park entry.)

And others.....

Should you get it?  Short answer is yes.  If you are planning on photo's being any part of your memories of your Disney Vacation, then either of these is a great options....I might even go a MUST HAVE for your Magical Vacation.  Explore the options, do the research, do your due diligence before you go.  The PhotoPass and PhotoPass+ options are two that make the Magic happen at Disney.

I've included a few pictures below of my own family and some of the things you can do with the options on the PhotoPass. 

Until next time, Make Each Moment Magical, and Always be looking for your Enchantment Destinations!!

-Jason

New Exciting Changes....

So I'm now the proud owner of my very own domain names!  I've never had my own domains, so it's quite exciting.  Obviously, you're here reading, so it redirected, but the new address for the blog is:

www.disneysuperfreak.com

Also, for those interested in Disney Vacation Planning, my new address for Enchantment Destinations is:

www.enchantmentdestinations.com

You can also link to that with the page listing above.

This is huge for me!  I'm excited to push on to the future!!

I'll be back this week with a look at the PhotoPass Plus, which has become very popular these days.

Have a great weekend!

And, as always, Make it a Magical Week!!

Jason

A Daily Funny for travel with children.

I'm not going to go too much into this right now...I'll post a bit more later...but I had to jump on and get this picture out there. 

I've been traveling since I can remember.  I, in fact, had my second birthday in 1978 in South Africa while there traveling with my parents.  Truth be told, I've only had a handful of birthdays total at home, or, more to the point, in this country.  I'm, what you'd call, an expert (self-proclaimed, of course) in air travel.

From those of us who've been traveling a while to those who've never been on a plane, kids on airplanes are a HUGE red flag!  And this is from someone who has a young child!  Of course, we all would like to have the best case scenario...a child that behaves, is quiet, and does the trip like most of the adults on the plane (even though there have been adults on air flights that have acted worse than ANY child EVER on an airplane).  In a worst case scenario, you are dealing with the constant crying, kicking of the seat, air sickness, and general malaise that is associated with children in these situations.  Personally, I've not had much of that, but I know that it exists, or the picture below wouldn't have the impact that it does.

Which leads me to this point.  Parents!!  I'm talking with all parents of children, whether it's a newborn or a teenager.  Control and decorum must be maintained on a flight.  99.999999% of people on that flight already assume that you're child will cause a problem.  It's your job to help the situation as much as you can.  Bring distractions, interact with your child, schedule cockpit visits, ask for items from the fight crew...anything to help the time go faster. 

This set of parents, however, deserves a prize for their solution.  They've taken the "Baby on Board" concept that lets you know if there is a child in the car to a new level.  They've created a pre-fabricated, ice-breaking, absolutely GENIUS handout for the flight.  Take a look:

I apologize for the blurry and grainy texture of the pic...I found it on iFunny.  But this is fabulous!  They took what has the potential to be a hot button situation on that flight and turned it into not only something funny, but something that basically takes the fight out of everyone on that flight!  Well done, parents!  I wish I would have thought of this (although my little princess has been wonderful on our flights :) ).

You can come up with your own wording (we had Vidiya at Disney refer to us while she was talking with my daughter as "The Rentals"...that would be funny), your own inclusions, and take it as far as you'd like to.  It can be expensive, sure, but I think its a small price to pay for turning a situation that can cause much strife into one that embodies the old adage "It Takes A Village....". 

I wish I knew who this was because I would definitely shake their hand and thank them for their thoughtfulness. 

Until next time, have a Magical Day!

-Jason

Photopass...a definite must have!!

So today, I'm going to talk a bit about the Photopass at Disney.  For those who don't know, the Photopass is a photo card that is available from any Disney Portrait Photographer anywhere in the parks.  It's a small card with an electronic scan signature that logs all your professionally taken pictures to one place for you to have, use, or leave behind.  The card itself is free, however, getting the pictures has a small fee associated with it, depending on what you choose to purchase.

First off, one small bit of advice for those going...and I'll be as subtle as I can....GET THE PHOTOPASS!!!!  Okay...not so subtle...but I believe this is the best..the absolute BEST thing that Disney does to help you get the most Magic out of your trip.  The card is free, and taking pictures is free, so there is no harm in it whatsoever.  The best part is that these authorized photographers (like my college friend Dan!) have the best spots for picture taking in all of the parks!!  It is a win win for all involved, so definitely stop, get a picture taken, and get a card.

Next bit of advice would be to pre-order a CD of your pictures.  This, again, is a small cost, but very worth it.  The CD includes all pictures associated with your Photopass ID# as well as some stock photos that are included for you to use (with certain limitations outlined in the CD's use policy).  As an added bonus, you can associate multiple cards to one CD.  For example, our good friends and neighbors Allen and Mairo as well as Melissa and Matt and us all went to Disney within about 4 weeks of each other.  We all got Photopasses, and linked each of our cards together, but only ordered one CD.  Then we copied the CD for each other and all had a great time looking at each other's pictures.  It saved costs as well as got us some great pictures of our close friends.

Many times, it's these professional photos that are the most memorable.  The best photographers will keep snapping pictures of you, your family, or your kids in various situations, linking them all to your Photopass account.  Lots of the best "candid" shots we have of our little princess are the ones where the photographer just kept snapping pictures while our girl was interacting with the characters or while we were waiting for something else (like a crowd to move out of the short, or something similar).  It's definitely a more magical thing to see these photos, not knowing that they were taken.

Another great feature is the ability for you to go online after the photos have been uploaded by Disney (within hours in some cases) and be able to edit, right there on their website, the photos for your use.  For instance, you can add things like borders, characters, messages, backgrounds, or even change it from color to B&W, all before you place the order for your CD to be delivered. 

Lastly, and this is very specific to the pass itself, for those who are like me a lose things all the time, the pictures can even be retrieved if you lose the card.  We lost ours at Hollywood Studio once, and all my wife had to do (yes...she did this...she was actually the one to lose the card.  Normally, it's me....) was head to the nearest Photopass office (generally at the front of the park) and ask to find the pictures.  As long as you know the last time (approximately) you took a Photopass picture with a photographer, they can search and you can then retrieve all the pictures to be linked to a new card.  How cool is that!  No worries about losing a memory card, erasing a memory card, losing a camera, running out of film (I know...who uses film any more!) or anything like that.  It's all there, ready for you when you get home to make a great scrap book of your trip!

I'm sure there is something I missed, but that gets you the gist of  it.  Definitely worth the time and money, and I think it only adds to the Magic. 

Until next time, have a Magical Day!!

-Jason

Disney Discount....Myth or Reality?

A funny title, I know.  But it's quite true.  Sometimes, even for travel professionals, it seems that nothing we do or nowhere we look will gather discounts for us and our clients.  I have a friend...we'll just call him MS for now..however, who seems to have most of the answers when it comes to discounts.  He is nothing short of amazing when it comes to finding deals and then taking advantage of those deals to make a magical trip for his family. 

Here are a few of his tips to finding the best deals....and then I'll add my own below! :)

1) Register on the Disney Website and make sure you log in and are active.  Price trips, save trips, order planning DVD's.  All of these things get you noticed and will, occasionally, prompt them to send you special Pin Numbers via email for various room/package discounts or even free dining (without it being public!)

2) Be active on all the message boards.  Disboards, Disdads, Allears, etc. all list multiple places where you can look for discounts and special offers.  It never hurts to look, and sometimes you'll get lucky.

3) Be patient!  If you are looking to plan a trip, begin looking early.  Know what you'd LIKE to pay and be prepared to book when you see it.  He's going in November and just booked air a bit ago at, what I believe, will be the lowest we will see.  He knew what he wanted, waited for it, and pounced when it was available. 

4) Be quick to act.  If a discount comes along, it's definitely not there forever.  If you see one you're looking for, book it right then...don't wait!  Disney routinely offers only a certain number of discounts for each promotion, so if you don't book right away, it's possible the discount won't be available to you later.

5) Try to travel off season.  By his admission, this is harder now that our kids (we have kids the same age) are in school.  It was much easier when they weren't in school and days off didn't matter as much.  Mid Spring, and Mid Fall on weeks that don't fall on events such as The Flower and Garden Show or the Food and Wine Festival are great times to travel, and you can usually find great deals!

6) Take advantage of Bounce Back deals.  When you finally do pull the trigger on the your magical vacation to Disney, before you check out, ask about Bounce Back deals.  Many times, if you reserve a trip for another time before you leave, they can offer great rates, or even free nights.  It never hurts to ask.

I think that's all I've learned from him.  If he gives me any more, I'll be sure to steal them....uhhhhh...post them here for you all to see. :)

One of my biggest tips would be (and this is in no way self serving...I've taken advantage of this before as well) is to use an Authorized Vacation Planner.  A Disney Vacation Planner can take your reservation and, if a discount comes along for the time you are going to be there, can apply the discount to your reservation with no hassle.  Sometimes...not all of the time...if you book  yourself through Disney.com or another travel site, it's difficult to add the discount to the package because you've paid your entire balance.  Using a travel planner, you can pay a deposit, and then not pay the full balance until closer to your travel date.

Do you have any tips for finding discounts??  Feel free to comment below.  I'll try to compile them for everyone and post them here.

Have a magical day!!

Jason

Am I tall enough, Mom??

So, my daughter is almost 6, but she's been going to Disney since she was 2...actually she turned 2 the day we left the first time with her to Disney, so she's a Disney veteran like myself.  One thing we've had to learn (and with some disappointment at times) is which rides are appropriate, height wise, for her and our other cousins/friends who have come with us. 

Today, I wanted to share a chart that has been floating around among Disney bloggers, travel planners, and Disney Professionals.  It's pictured below, and it has all the height requirements for all the rides at Disney World that have them.  Boy...would this have been helpful before!

The first question I've been asked about this is "Where are all the other rides?  That's not all that Disney has!!"  You're right...there are plenty of other magical rides at Disney...but those don't have height requirements...just hop on and go!

Anyway, enjoy, and use to your liking! 

Disney Resources...first of many posts.

Happy Friday!!

I've been busy booking clients for the summer with Disney's incredible Monstrous Summer Rates, so I've not had a chance to post much on the blog.

Today, I wanted to give you all a bit of a start to help you plan your vacation.  As I mentioned in a previous post, there is no shortage of reference materials related to all things Disney, from guidebooks to TV shows, to DVD's to travel professional, like myself.

Of course, your first step should be speaking with a professional.  We have all been trained by Disney to offer superior customer service, information, and vacation pricing, and are all very happy to do it.  Look for the Authorized Disney Vacation Professional logo at your local travel agent or online.  When you see it, you'll be comforted to know that you are working with a Disney professional.

Another great source of information is the Disney planning DVD direct from Disney.com.  You can order it after you create an account and enter your shipping information.  It's, of course, a DVD designed to show you just the highlights and benefits of a Disney vacation, but it will, at the very least, provide you with a good starting point for your vacation and start you on your list of questions for either Disney directly or your travel professional.

Books are everywhere about Disney, but my favorites are still the Passporter Books by Jennifer, Dave, and Allison Marx.  Their website is also quite amazing, having travel information for Disney World, Disneyland, beyond Disney, and Disney Cruises.  Additionally, they have an amazing forum on their site...but I'll get to that below in a minute.  Other great sources include Fodors, Frommers, Hidden Disney, Birnbaums Guides, and The Unofficial Guide (but, as I've said before, there are comedic entries in the Unofficial guide, so don't trust everything).  Look for any of these at your local bookstore.

The internet is probably the best source these days, with various sites, forums, and information sources that are available to anyone.  Each of the book sources I listed above has an online version (Passporter even has their books available as Ebooks so you can take them with you on your favorite tablet device).  Additionally, Allears.net, disboards.com, and disdads.com are some of the sources I use frequently to get user generated advice and tips.  Many times, you can find these sites will provide you with special pins and codes for extra percentages off, as well as tips to make the most of your vacation.

There are many more, and I'll probably review some later on, but that should get everyone started.  Explore the options.  Most people think of Disney as a once in a lifetime opportunity, as the costs appear to be very high.  The truth is, it's no higher than any other comparable trip, and the memories will last a lifetime.  If you've never been to Disney, you truly don't know what you are missing.  If you've been, you can't wait to go back.  If you're like me, you are already planning your next visit to the Most Magical Place on Earth!!

Have a great weekend, and until next time, Have a Magical Day and always search for your Enchantment Destination!!

Jason