So it’s been awhile since the last post so I have a few updates. First of all, D23- kinda what we expected! Club with perks, but not enough perks for me to join! If I planned on going to the convention I would consider the membership but since I am not then it’s a no go for me! Second, the new Characters in Flight is set to open soon in Downtown Disney. It’s basically a tethered hot-air balloon ride. The balloon is yellow and red with various characters in black. It looks fun and I can’t wait to try it out next trip! Thirdly, Free dinning is extended for selected dates thru the fall! Purchase a regular priced room/ticket package and get the dinning plan added free!

There is a new campaign out there and all the info we have is “Are you 23″    March 10th ….. lots of speculation as to what this is from the release of 23 classic movies on Blu-ray to an exclusive club called Club 23. Click Here for the website from Disney. All there is is a count down to March 10th and Tink flying around….hmmm…..they have got me curious!!!

This deal has been extended to go thru the summer months. The dates available are most nights between Feb. 15-March 9; March 17-April 4; and April 19-Aug. 15. If you go after March 30th and stay at Old Key West or Saratoga Springs you get a $100 gift card.  The $200 gift card is still availble for the dates before March 30th.  Remember this includes hotel and park tickets! It’s a great deal but you must book by March 29th!!!

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Ok folks. Crazy story. We went to the Studios on Jan. 15th. Walking in the gates people were asking if we had any singers in our bunch. My brother-in-law is a singer. We said yes, and they gave him a card to take back to try out for the American Idol Experience. You were allowed to have one other person go with you so my husband went with him. They called and said he made it past the 1st round and that he had to learn a song for the next round (the show). He got to work with a vocal coach and they had hair and make up and everything. If you are in the show you get 6 VIP tickets for your family to sit in the VIP section. The sections if off to the side of the theatre and not sure what’s so VIP about it?? He was in the 2 o’clock show and competed with 2 other people. He won that show got to come back to the finale show at 6 0′clock that night. At the 6 0′clock show there were 7 contestents. Some of them were Disney employees since it was still in soft opening. He ended up winning the finale show too! It was so much fun! The only bummer is that since the show was just in soft opeing he didn’t get any prize. Here are some pics from the whole experience. Was any one there that day to watch?

A cool thing they had was a little sensor tag that attached to your clothes that keep the spot lights on you.

He got this to wear around between the 2pm show and the 6pm show. However he didn’t have much free time b/c he had to be back early to prepare for the show. If you don’t want to spend your whole day doing the American Idol Experience then DON’T TRY OUT. It takes up most the day.

This is right after he was annonced as the winner. The judges, host and other contestents come together on the stage. He was the first winner of a finale show. The show had been testing before today but this was the first “FINALE” show. Pretty neat experience for the whole family. We had a blast cheering him on!

This is the 1st year in a long time that we haven’t been to the parks around the Holidays! It’s nice to have a Christmas at home, but I sure do miss the beauty and magic at Walt Disney World! Merry Christmas to everyone. May you have a blessed Holiday Season!

Disney will release Beauty and the Beast in 3-D in 2010. 3-D movies are the “new thing” for Disney! Watch for many more movies in 3-D from the Mouse in the next 2 years….

HAPPY 80TH BIRTHDAY MICKEY MOUSE!

Sounds to good to be true doesn’t it? If you book a 4 day trip for travel select dates between Jan. 4th 2009 and June 27th 2009 and book before Dec. 20th, 2008 you  will get 3 days added on for FREE!!! This is 3 free nights of hotel accommodations and 3 free days of tickets added on!! Also, if you travel Jan 4th thru March 29th you will get a free $200 Disney gift card good for dining, mechandise, etc.  This is an offer you can’t refuse! Hopefully everyone can take advantage of this and don’t forget if you go on your birthday you can get in free or get the gift card for the value of a one day ticket!!!

Now your dream can come true! Both Disney World and Disneyland have a meet and greet area for the fairies! The timing is to go with the release of Tink’s movie that was released Tuesday (Oct. 28th). Disneyland remodeled an area for the meet and greet and did a little more “plussing” to their version. The Disney World version is set-up more like the Princess meet and greet in Toon-Town. You get to meet Tink and her fairy friends, which rotate, in Pixie Hollow. I am glad we no longer hear the excuse that we can’t meet Tink due to her small size. I mean really, wouldn’t a giant mouse be just as strange.

Well, today’s announcement was as some expected. The new slogan for 2009 was announced but there is a perk. “What Will You Celebrate?” is promoting travel celebrations. How else would you like to celebrate your birthday, reunion or other celebratory occasion. The other part of the slogan is “Celebrate Today.” So even if you don’t have a special occasion, you can celebrate, today! The big exciting news is that you can visit Walt Disney World or Disneyland on your birthday and get in free!! This is a fabulous deal for the locals! If you have an annual pass or multi-day ticket you will be using you can choose from a “birthday fun card” for the value of the price of a one-day addmission ticket for merchandise etc at select locations at WDW, a FastPass badge or a One day Magic Your Way ticket to be used any time before your next birthday. The “birthday fun card” and FastPass badge are only good on your actual birthday, no way around it. Also you must show proof by an ID or  birth certificate. Hope everyone get to use this perk. I know it will benefit the locals but maybe we can all try to plan a trip around someones birthday and get a chance to “celebrate” with Mickey!