Disney Lingo 101

In today's internet focused world, there seems to be an entire language that has been created for anyone who blogs or texts or even sends e-mails these days. It took me a long time to figure out what "LOL" meant or TTYL. I didn't want to seem out of touch with the ways of the world so I just played along and tried to ignore the short-hand for while. Then one day I was texting a friend who wrote something back followed up with an "LOL." Since this was a close friend, I decided it would be safe to finally ask, "what in the world does 'LOL' mean?" This friend then sent me a list of acronyms and their meanings so I would be safe from any embarrassment in the future.

Well it wasn't long after becoming a Disney Travel Specialist that I then learned there was an entire new set of acronyms and sayings that are only relevant and useful within the world of Disney. Once I too became savvy of their meanings and could use them all properly in a sentence, I also realized there were people that are still new to this phenomenon and may not know what I am saying when I start throwing this new lingo around in my letters, texts, or e-mails.

So I wanted to devote this post to familiarizing everyone with the Disney vernacular.

Let's start with the list below. You will see these on Disney discussion boards and chat sites.

1. MK=Magic Kingdom
2. AK=Animal Kingdom
3. DHS=Disney's Hollywood Studios
4. EP=Epcot
5. TSM=Toy Story Mania
6. FL=Fantasyland
7. WS=World Showcase
8. FW=Future World
9. ToT=Tower of Terror
10. RnR=Rock n Roller Coaster
11. TT=Test Track
12. SpM=Space Mountain
13. SM=Splash Mountain
14. EE=Expedition Everest
15. ITTBAB=Its Tough to be a Bug
16. KS=Kilimanjaro Safari
17. KRR=Kali River Rapids
18. FP=Fast Pass (see photo)
19. KTTWC=Key to the World Card (see photo)
20. WT=Wait Times
21. DME=Disney's Magical Express
22. ASsp=Allstar Sports Resort
    
23. ASMo=Allstar Movies Resort
    
24. ASM=Allstar Music Resort
    
25. Pop=Pop Century Resort
    
26. OKW=Old Key West Resort
    
27. Poly=Polynesian Resort
28. GF=Grand Floridian Resort
29. CBR=Caribbean Beach Resort
30. CSR=Coronado Springs Resort
31. CR=Contemporary Resort
32. POR=Port Orleans Riverside Resort
33. POF=Port Orleans French Quarter
34. AKL=Animal Kingdom Lodge
35. WL=Wilderness Lodge
36. YC=Yacht Club Resort
37. BC=Beach Club Resort
38. BW=Boardwalk Resort
39. FW=Fort Wilderness
40. CRT=Cinderella's Round Table

This should be a good start to getting your eyes and head used to seeing all of these terms as you do your own perusing of the internet to learn and discover all that is "The World of Disney." Naturally I am here as well to answer questions and offer tips and advice for making your next Disney vacation the best it can be.

Walt Disney World Pop Century Resort

Here is a little video walk-through of the Pop Century Resort at Walt Disney World. This resort gets a huge thumbs up from me. In fact, if we were trying to decide to stay at either a "Value" resort or a "Moderate" one, we would choose the Pop Century over any of the higher priced Moderate resorts on Disney property. The food court had a great variety and the 3 pools were never overly crowded. The bus system was a quick as it would be at any of the Moderates. The only negative is the room size. The rooms are smaller than the Moderates which we for sure noticed as soon as we entered the room. If you have a party size of 3 or 4, you will need to be prepared for the tight quarters. But I will say that I am not sure the slightly larger rooms at the Moderates are worth the higher price. The only other thing that you get at a Moderate resort, that is noticeable, is at least one table service restaurant option. But reviews have shown that they are not the most desirable when considering all of the other table service choices throughout Walt Disney World.

The Pop Century is divided up into decade sections which is where the resort gets its name. The theme of the resort is pop culture. You can stay in the 50's, 60's, 70's, 80's or 90's building. Each building is then themed for that particular decade. For example, the 70's building has a huge "8-Track Tape" at the end of each building. The 80's building has a huge "Rubik's Cube." Music from each decade plays throughout the resort's common areas like the pools and "Everything Pop" which is the shopping and eatery area in the main building.

If you are on Facebook...stop by and become a fan of my travel page and you can see more resort pictures posted showing some of the detail that Disney has put into the grounds, the buildings and the rooms... "Operation Destination Vacations."

Disney Dining Review 2009

I wanted to write a quick review of the dining experiences we had during this last trip to Walt Disney World. Dining is a big part of anyone's trip to the "Happiest Place on Earth." If you are someone who also takes advantage of Disney's "Dining Plan," you also know how important it is to have your all of your reservations planned out well in advance of your actual trip date.

So with that said, here is my summary and critique of the dining venues we chose to visit during our stay.

Our first advance dining reservation (ADR) was at "The Sci-fi Dinner Theater" in Hollywood Studios. The experience is what you pay for here. You are seated in a mock 1950's car where you face a big movie screen which is playing old 1950's black and white sci-fi movie trailers. The inside of the restaurant is constructed to feel like you are outside at an old drive-in theater. Everyone seated in one of the "cars" is facing forward so a party of 6 in a car would all be looking forward out the front of the car towards the movie screen. It is just a overall fun experience. The food, on the other hand, was mediocre. The dinner menu choices were somewhat limited and offered what I will call an eclectic selection. I had the butcher steak which came out over cooked and the veggies were already cool by the time my food arrived. So the food there does not really get a passing grade from me. The shakes, on the other hand, do. My wife commented that her shake was one of the best she ever had. So if you just want a fun place to dine during your trip, then this might be the place. We will probably look to other places now that we have experienced it this one time.

Our next ADR was a character breakfast at the Tusker House inside the Animal Kingdom (Donald's Safari Breakfast). This gets an overall grade of A+ from us. The buffet was well laid out so you never had to wait to get something on your plate. The food was hot and kept plentiful on the buffet line. But here is where it really makes the grade; for you who have children, the characters made their rounds quickly and easily. Everyone had the chance to get their picture made and autograph books signed. The staff also encouraged the children to join in on a parade with one of the characters around the restaurant. Just a great experience and one we will probably try to book again in the future.

Next...we had an ADR at The Coral Reef in Epcot. This was our most expensive meal during the trip. The main choices are either fish or steak. Since it is a ocean-themed venue, we chose to try a couple of the fish selections and were both fantastic. I would grade the food here an A-. The restaurant has a huge glass wall looking into a giant fish aquarium. It was nice to just sit there and watch the variety of fish swim by and our view was fine even though we were seated about as far away from the aquarium as you could get. The only major issue I had with the experience is that it was loud. You pay a lot of money to eat here ($80+ for 2 without dessert or alcohol) and you sort of expect a nice quiet dining experience. But since it is a restaurant on the dining plan, you will get large groups and families which can make for a not-so quiet experience and lacks the ambiance that you would expect for a $80-100 meal somewhere else. But I have no problem recommending this restaurant to someone else and we will probably visit it again someday.

Our last ADR was at Mama Melrose in Hollywood Studios. This is an Italian themed restaurant with a California twist. The decor is Italian intermingled with items representing Southern California. As with every ADR on this trip...we were seated quickly, but our service was very slow. This ADR was on a Sunday afternoon and was a part of the Fantasmic Dinner Package. The package includes a fixed price menu where you can select one appetizer per person, one entree and one dessert and a non-alcoholic beverage. The package also then gets you into a reserved seating area for watching the show "Fantasmic" (more on that in a bit). The food, once it arrived, was good. We were a little surprised to see the lack of actual pasta dishes in the menu (no typical lasagna offering or spaghetti and meatballs), but our choices were still good. For the price though, as a part of the package, it was not worth the extra money. Because they have now cut the Fantasmic show down to only a few nights a week, they still recommend those who pay for the package to line up at least 1 hour early which to me negates the value of the dinner package. Overall...the slow service and loud 60's California-themed music took away from the experience for us at this restaurant. We might give it a second chance on a future visit.

Those were the 4 table service restaurants (TS) we chose to eat at during our trip. The dining surprise on our trip were those places outside of the parks, but still on Disney property. I cannot say enough good things about "Everything Pop" which is the food court area inside the Pop Century Resort. Keep in mind I am speaking of counter service meals now versus the table service venues above, but we actually felt like we got more of our money's worth at the Pop then we did at any of our ADR's minus the character breakfast. Everything Pop had choices ranging from Salmon to beef stir fry to pizza to a bacon double cheeseburger. And on each night, they offered a "Mom's special" featuring some form of comfort food that your mom would have made back at home. We tried Mom's fried chicken and it was fantastic. Breakfast choices were also abundant ranging from omelets to pancakes to healthier choices. Some may disagree with me, but I feel our money was better spent eating back at the Pop then in most of the TS venues we chose on this trip. I haven't even mentioned the dessert choices yet at the Pop which ranged from a "tie-dyed cheesecake to hand made sundaes.

The next "out of park" meal that we had was at Downtown Disney. This meal was our best meal during our trip. We ate lunch at Wolfgang Puck's Cafe. Since it is on Disney Property, you can still eat there as a part of the dining plan or pay using your resort room key. We got seated immediately for lunch on a Saturday without any need of an ADR. Our service was what you expect at a place where the lunch is going to cost $40+ for 2. And the food was the best on our entire trip. You have to try their bacon wrapped meatloaf. All I can say is WOW! Their wood-fired pizzas are also fantastic. Don't overlook the dining choices at Downtown Disney during your trip. It was a nice break away from the crowds and noise of most of the venues inside the parks.

The 2 counter-service restaurants I will mention are Flame Tree Barbecue inside Animal Kingdom and the Columbia Harbor House in the Magic Kingdom. Food is good, not great, but the thing we like is the abundance of seating. Flame Tree's seating goes way back, further than people think and it is all mostly in the shade. In fact...I saw one man sitting on a ledge eating because he did not realize how much seating there was further back.

Columbia Harbor House is a step better because its seating is indoors. This counter service venue has seating upstairs as well as down and it is huge. We have gone during peak lunch times and have never seen every seat filled. We can usually find a window seat overlooking either part of Fantasyland or Liberty Square.

This concludes my short dining review. Next I will be writing a note which gives details of actual food costs and then comparing that with the "actual cost" of the Disney Dining Plan.

Walt Disney World Vacation Review 2008 part 1

This post will give a detailed review of our latest trip to Walt Disney World. The dates of our trip were August 24th through the 30th. We arrived late Sunday night in Orlando (approx. 10:00PM). We headed straight for Disney's Magical Express desk where we were once again greeted warmly and promptly directed to the line where we could board our Disney Bus to Disney's Caribbean Beach Resort.

Here is a tip...if you book a late flight, don't assume that will mean less of a crowd on Magical Express. Because we were later in the evening, the buses were waiting much longer than usual to make sure they had as many guests on board as they could get since they run less frequently that late at night. We waited on the bus almost 45 minutes while they allowed more passengers to check in at the desk and get on board.

We then were on our way and arrived at the resort very close to 11:45PM. The crowd at check in was very light due to our late arrival and since most other passengers on the bus were headed for other resorts. In about 15 minutes we were checked in and waiting outside for the resort internal bus to take us to our assigned building. We were in "Aruba" which seemed about half way between the Custom House (where you check in) and Port Royale (where you go to eat and shop).

We got in the room at about 12:30AM and were very pleased with the size and decor of the room. Our room was a "Garden View" which really means you have some flora outside your window that pretty much blocks your view to anything else.


Here is another tip...when arriving this late to the resort, plan on packing your bath necessities and your next day's clothes in your carry-on bag so you will have what you need to get you through until the next afternoon. Then call the front desk when you arrive to your room and tell them to hold your bags until the next morning. If you don't, you will have to stay up until the bell service delivers them to your room which, in our case, was not until roughly 1:30AM. We were exhausted by the time they arrived and wished we had planned better for such things.

We had an early character breakfast reservation at Disney's Hollywood Studios which also meant we got little sleep before our first day in the parks, but it always seems like adrenaline kicks in when you get to a park and it manages to carry you through the day. We awoke at 6:15AM ready to get to our bus stop to catch one of the less frequent buses (so we thought). We understood that the buses ran only every 30 to 45 minutes if it was more than an hour before the parks were scheduled to open. Our reservation was for 8:00AM at Hollywood and Vine so we figured we better be at the bus stop to catch a bus that might be there around 7:15 or 7:30 in case another did not come until closer to 8:00AM. Well...we got at the stop around 6:50AM and the bus pulled up right at the moment for Disney's Hollywood Studios so we jumped on and a whopping 10 minutes later there we were right outside the gate of the park at an ever so early 7:00AM...a FULL HOUR before our breakfast reservation. Lesson learned! :)

Hollywood and Vine is a great place to eat breakfast in the park. It was a full breakfast buffet with an abundance of choices including some healthier fare. There were also characters from the Little Einsteins and JoJo's Circus present which seemed to be a hit among the children.

After breakfast...we headed out to get in the line forming for the official opening of the park. The good thing about having an early morning breakfast reservation in the park is that you do get to bypass the lines forming outside in the turnstiles and you end up about half way up in the crowd that is waiting or the rope to drop.

Tip: If you are visiting Disney's Hollywood Studios in the next few months, plan on heading to their newest attraction, Toy Story Mania, first. It seems to now be more popular than the Tower of Terror or even Rock N Roller Coaster.

The crowds were pretty good considering the time we traveled was also during Disney's free dining plan offer which is available to resort guests during a certain time of the year (usually the end of August until late September) and at select resorts. For those not familiar with the dining plan, here is how it works. You get 1 table service meal, 1 counter service meal and 1 snack per person, per night of your stay. We were staying 6 nights so we got 6 each. This dining plan works well if you plan on eating a lot of food. If you usually have a dessert item for lunch and dinner, then the plan will save you money overall. If you don't...I am not sure it is a benefit. It demands that you plan your meals well in advance of your trip. If you do not use your meal credits by the end of your stay...you lose them. We had to make advance reservations at 5 table service restaurants (The Hollywood Brown Derby is a signature restaurant so it required 2). If you wait until you arrive, the chances of getting into some of Disney's more popular sit down restaurants is pretty slim. We made our reservations about 90 days before our trip.

What has changed recently with the plan is that you no longer get an appetizer with your table service meals, only one non-alcoholic beverage, one entree and one dessert. Also tips are no longer included in the plan so make sure you tip each server accordingly.

I will post more about the meals and the other aspects of our trip in part 2...

Walt Disney World Review

This review will cover the parks in general as well as the 2 hotels that we stayed at during our trip which were the Swan Hotel of Disney's Swan and Dolphin Resort and Disney's Polynesian Resort.

We arrived December 6, 2007. The trip was arranged as a Land and Sea Package through Disney which includes all of their transportation as well (I will cover the cruise in a separate review). When you book a stay at a Disney resort you get Disney's Magical Express as a free transportation option which means you get the luxury of checking your bags in at your point of departure and never have to touch them again until they arrive in your room at your hotel. In addition, most Disney resorts now offer airline check-in service. We checked our baggage in with Delta Airlines at the Polynesian on the day of our departure and avoided those long lines when we arrived at Orlando's International Airport. Disney offers a lot of perks that do not show up on a budget sheet sometimes but can save you a tremendous amount of time and headache.

Disney is very efficient. We arrived a little earlier than scheduled (around 11:30AM), made our way directly to Disney's Magical Express desk, and waited a few brief moments as they readied us to board the bus. We were on our way to the resort within 30 minutes of our plane landing.

We arrived at the Swan Hotel, checked in, received our park passes (a 7 day park hopper pass is included in your land and sea package), took a brief look at our room and we were off to to Disney's MGM Studios by 1:30PM and were on our first ride by 1:45PM. It could not have gone any smoother. I give Disney high marks for their organization.

After a fun day at the park, we headed back to the Swan Hotel. The Swan and Dolphin are in close proximity to EPCOT and MGM Studios. You can access either park by Disney's boat service or by a short 15-20 minute walk. We did both. Walking to MGM from the Swan takes a little longer than the boat ride since there are not stops that the boat has to make between the 2. It is actually a little quicker to walk to EPCOT from the Swan since the boats make 2 additional stops along the way at Disney's Boardwalk Resort and Disney's Yacht and Beach Club Resort.

The Swan's location is ideal for taking advantage of the 2 parks as well as the Magic Kingdom since you can catch a ride at EPCOT on Disney's Monorail service. It is also adjacent to Disney's Boardwalk area which includes several restaurants and other night life venues.

We also found the Swan to be a quieter place to stay compared to the Polynesian. It seemed to be more popular with the business crowd which tended to be less noisier than the resorts that cater to families. Some may find that to be a negative and find the Swan to be less "magical" than the other Disney resorts (The Swan is actually run by the Westin Hotel group). However, it will probably appeal more to the younger couples or those who travel without children. The Swan still has a breakfast on the weekends in which several Disney characters make an appearance.

Overall, it is a beautiful hotel inside even though the outside seems to be a bit over the top you might say. The rooms were comfortable, but nothing special when you consider the price paid. The restaurant choices were abundant though and we never waited in any line for any of our meals. For a quick, but good breakfast, we recommend trying Picabu over in the Dolphin side of the resort. I do give the staff high marks for their friendliness and smiling faces. They may have not been "cast members," but they were still great and provided great service.

We left the Swan on Sunday the 9th for our 4 night cruise. We returned back to WDW on Thursday the 13th and checked into the Polynesian. This was a totally different experience. The staff is very friendly and more oriented around spreading the Disney magic. Aloha's were heard everywhere as cast members greeted guests. Check in went smooth even though our rooms was not yet available, but it was only 9:00AM so we didn't expect our room to be ready quite that soon. We checked our baggage in with the bell captain and made our way upstairs to the Monorail. That's right...Disney's Monorail picks you up right outside the main door upstairs in a covered area. How convenient is that?! :)

By 9:30AM we were once again in a Disney park, this time we went to the Magic Kingdom for the day. We spent most of the day in the park and headed back around 6:30PM, after the Wishes firework display, and checked out our room. Our room was in the Tahiti building which was quite a walk from the main "Ceremonial House." The positives were that it was away from the main pools and made it a quieter spot and it also had larger rooms than the other buildings. Our room was big considering it was not a suite. It had 2 queen beds, a bathroom with double vanities and a large sitting area with 2 chairs and a couch. The rooms have been upgraded to also include LG flat panel TV's. The negatives were once again the walking distance from the main buildings and restaurants and the building had an old musty smell inside. Our room also a leak underneath the bathroom sink that went unfixed during our stay.

We ate at both Ohana's and the Kona Cafe. Ohana's is very popular for several reasons, one of which is the view of the Magic Kingdom were you can actually sit, eat and watch the nightly fireworks show. It is family style dining and the food just keeps on coming. We found it to be way too much considering we were a table of 2. We had to tell them to quit bringing food. The dessert was awesome however.

For the same price, 2 adults can eat at the Kona Cafe and actually have a better dining experience. We found the food there to be of better quality and the service was at par with Ohana's.

The crowds are where we saw a huge difference between the 2 hotels. The Polynesian drew numerous visitors who were there to see the resort as well as visit Ohana's. That coupled with the numerous families that were there made it feel much more crowded with noise levels quite high in the general areas. We did like the shops in the hotel which carried a wide variety of Disney apparel and gifts. I have to say that the real positive to me for this resort is that it is situated on the Monorail line. It makes it very convenient to get to the Magic Kingdom or EPCOT.

I am not sure however that the close proximity to the Magic Kingdom will cause us to want to stay there again. We prefer the other deluxe choices closer to EPCOT and Disney's MGM Studios.

We visited every park (minus the water parks) on this visit. We really enjoyed them all, but found ourselves wanting to go back and visit the rides in Disney's MGM Studios and EPCOT. The thrill rides in those 2 parks are worth the visit which includes Tower of Terror, Soarin, Rockin Roller Coaster, Mission Space and Test Track. We rode these rides multiple times and could not get enough of them. The newest thrill ride in Disney's Animal Kingdom is the ride called Expedition Everest. It is also a must do, but the walking within that park got the best of us by the 3rd day.

The things you cannot miss if you go to these 3 parks are (knowing not everyone likes thrill rides):

1) It is Tough to be a Bug
2) Festival of the Lion King
3) Soarin'
4) Illuminations (EPCOT's Fireworks show). Start looking for a spot at least 45 minutes before the show begins.

Magic Kingdom is in its own category. Because of the time of year that we were there, the crowds were fairly light which meant we had rode all of the rides that were on our must do list by 3:00PM that same day. It is really geared towards the younger crowds and large families who want to go have a "magical experience" together and aren't as interested in today's version of thrill rides. The fireworks show Wishes is a must see though. Start looking for a good viewing spot about 30 minutes before show time.

One word of advice for all of the parks...get there when they open. The crowds were noticeably lower for at least the first 2 hours that the parks were open and we had rode most of the rides at least once within those first 2 hours. Also try to plan your meals during off peak eating times such as 11:00AM or 1:30PM. That will allow you the ability to ride some of the most popular rides while others are eating their lunch. We also noticed much smaller lines during the scheduled parades that Disney puts on during the day in each park. Find out when those times are when you first enter the park and plan your day accordingly.

If you have specific questions regarding any aspects of Walt Disney World please send me an e-mail or post your question here on this site.

Stay Tuned...

My wife and I leave in one week for a 10-day trip to Walt Disney World and 4 nights on the Disney Wonder. This trip is a part of Disney's Land and Sea package. We will be staying 3 nights in the Walt Disney Swan and Dolphin Hotel. During the 3 days we plan on visiting 3 of the 4 Walt Disney parks. Then we leave the afternoon of the 9th on Disney Cruise Line's Disney Wonder for 4 nights to the Bahamas with stops at Nassau and Disney's private island called Castaway Cay.

We arrive back in Orlando then on the morning of the 13th and will be staying an extra day at Walt Disney's Polynesian Resort Hotel and then coming back home on the 15th of December.

So stay tuned for a detailed trip review in the days to follow.

Happy Travels!