The 2012 Disney Deal – Florida Girl Post
Disney are always coming up with new deals so people can spend less on their holiday, but sometimes the deals can make you feel a bit deceived.
This years one at the moment is book by 7th March and get free dining with £150 spending money, as well as 14 days for the price of 7.
FREE DINING
I think the gist of the free dining is if you stay in a Disney hotel and want the basic Disney dining plan (2quick service) you can get it for free. This is a fantastic offer if you want 2 quick service meals a day. However if you want a few sit down meals you have to pay extra (a better dining plan). So make sure you know what you want and what you can afford before you book.
£150 SPENDS
£150 per family. Probably guessed this anyway and a very generous deal, but not fantastic if you have a family of 4 or 5. If you are a couple or there are 3 of you then fantastic for extra food or drink, but if there are more of you then thus amount won’t go very far. Again a lovely idea but still a catch.
14 DAYS FOR THE PRICE OF 7
Brilliant offer. This is great for everyone, and can’t really be criticised. 2 weeks for the price of 1, wow! However if you can’t stay out there for more than a week then you might feel a little cheated when you have to pay the same price.
Disney are amazing for trying to help out families who can’t afford a lot, and if you are looking for a cheap holiday, then amazing, but my advice to you is always read the details!
Universal Studios And Islands Of Adventure Fail To Come Up With Anything New In 2012
Some of you may have seen the recent webcast video that Universal Studios held, if you have you will notice that there is a distinct lack of attractions coming to the parks this year. Lets take a look at what was announced and exactly what it will mean for the parks.
Despicable Me Minion Mayhem
Although it might sound like Universal are going all out on a brand new attraction that is focusing on the Despicable Me franchise (new movie is on the way) in actual fact it looks like Universal are doing exactly what they did last time with this ride space.
I am not expecting anything special to come out of this attraction and it will likely end up being a re-skinned Jimmy Neutron attraction with nothing new other than the décor and film that is playing during the attraction. If I am proved wrong when I ride this in the latter part of this year then I will openly admit to being wrong.
Universals Cinematic Spectacular
A night-time event hosted on a regular basis at Universal Studios, that sounds fantastic right? Surely based on what the press release states this is going to be something brand new and unique to the Universal Studios Park:
“Relive Universal Pictures’ most beloved films during this multi-media nighttime show that projects legendary movie clips onto cutting-edge waterfall screens. Narrated by award-winning actor Morgan Freeman, the experience will take you on a journey through epic cinematic moments filled with heroes, horror, laughter, good, evil and triumph.”
STOP! This sounds like it is going to be a lot like World Of Color and Fantasmic! (performed at California and Hollywood Studios Disney parks).
Surely you can come up with a idea of your own Universal? At least it can’t get any worse right?
Universals Superstar Parade
Oh… it just got worse. Now Universal are planning on running their own parade, one that looks to be a complete copy of the Pixar Block Party Bash at Disney’s Hollywood Studios… notice any similarities in the two?
Not only is the parade a blatant rip off of what Disney are already doing but the costumes look awful, the dancing is terrible and too cheesy and who on earth has even seen the movie Hop? Why are they making this one of the four major parts of the parade?
Added Effects In Spider-Man
The one good thing to come out of 2012 seems to be that Universal are updating the film on the Spider-Man to improve the graphics and make the ride more awesome than it already is. I am tempted to say this is a copy of what Disney did with the Star Wars attraction in 2011 but the changes don’t seem to be anywhere near as detailed as what Disney were up too and as far as I can see, the ride itself is not changing.
The Verdict
Overall it looks to be a very disappointing year for new attractions at the Universal Studios and Islands Of Adventure theme parks. Since the launch of The Wizarding World Of Harry Potter in 2010 I really don’t think that Universal have come up with something original, even Harry Potter is mostly based on what’s already there in the films and books.
Come on Universal Studios, pull your finger out and starting working on something new that people are going to want to ride, how about a new Back to the Future attraction?
What Is Happening With The Jaws Space At Universal Studios?
Now that the Jaws ride at Universal Studios has been closed for nearly a month it is time to look into exactly what is likely to replace the fan favourite. There have been some interesting theories over the past few weeks, here are just a few of them.
Transformers Attraction
Although Universal are opening a Transformers attraction in two of their other theme parks across the world there are currently no plans at all for an attraction to open in either of the Orlando parks. This does seem incredibly stupid when you think of how popular the franchise now is and considering a fourth movie is likely to happen (even if Bay steps down as director).
Replacing Jaws with a Transformers attraction could well happen but it is far more likely that Universal will close E.T and replace with Transformers (Spielberg is executive producer on the Transformers movies).
Harry Potter Expansion
Out of all of the ideas and rumours that have been put out on the forums I think that this is by far the best. Rumours have it that Universal are planning a Harry Potter expansion, one of the ideas that has been suggested is that Diagon Alley will be placed where Jaws is (imagine a Gringotts Bank “underground” attraction) and that the Hogwarts Express will take guests from “London” to Hogwarts castle.
Although this would be fantastic it would involve a lot of building into an area that is otherwise restricted to guests (the train would need to go through here to get from IOA to Universal and back again) and would be a multi-million dollar project. Due to the success of The Wizarding World Of Harry Potter this project isn’t impossible but it is far more likely that Universal will simply expand further into The Lost Continent which is already located in IOA and really has nothing of interest at this current point in time.
Something New
The most likely thing to happen is that Universal will announce a new attraction (something water based as the atraction is already in place) that will open in 2013.
If you have any thoughts on what Universal plan to do with the Jaws space then please let me know in the comments or Tweet me @ryanogs.
Disney Pin Collection – 40th Anniversary Mickey Mouse
This pin was just one in a collection of pins released in 2011 that marked the anniversary of Disney World. This one I picked up simply because it had Mickey Mouse.
Although the collection is no longer available the pin was available for $8.95.
Kilimanjaro Safaris To Replace ‘Little Red’
Disney announced this week that the scene at the end of the attraction Kilimanjaro Safaris containing the animatronic baby elephant (Little Red) will be removed from the attraction later this year with a new Zebra section replacing it in the latter part of this year.
So why have Disney decided to drop the back-story to this attraction?
Animals Are The Attraction
The key thing to remember is that this attraction is not the Jungle Cruise, it features real animals, that’s why the attraction is so popular! Although it is great to have a side plot about poaching as it teaches kids about just why some of the animals featured in the attraction are in endangered in the wild, it just isn’t needed. There are animals to see all of the time on both sides of the vehicle, guests are far too busy trying to take pictures to really care about a predictable poaching plot.
To Benefit The Staff?
There are certain attractions that I feel really sorry for Disney Cast Members on and Kilimanjaro Safari is one of them. To have to repeat the same thing hundreds if not thousands of times in just a week must be truly awful and removing the story from the attraction must come as a huge relief to all of the cast members that drive the vehicles. Their time can now be focused on keeping an eye out for good photo opportunities for the attraction guests.
Will Little Red Be Missed?
Although some park guests will of course miss the plot of the attraction, it can only be a good thing that Disney are adding more animals to an attraction that is supposed to simulate a real life safari. I just hope that Disney do not get rid of the bridge that “almost collapses” when you are driving over it as that is good fun!
Will you miss the poaching plot and Little Red?
Disney Dining Plans – Florida Girl Post
Brilliant invention made by Disney. Money saving, easy to use and less worry.
There are three types of Dining Plan, all seeming to have great value.
The main point is that if you are staying in a Disney Hotel you can pay extra in your package to receive a Dining Plan, and then no more costs at the parks! No more worrying about paying for food, just a little bit if you want extra drinks or snacks etc.
The different Dining Plans consist of:
- Two quick services(going up to counter), two snacks(drink, or snacks) per day-cheapest.
- One quick service, one table service(sit down meal), and one snack per day- slightly more expensive.
- Three table or quick services, two snacks-most expensive.
When my partner and I go to Disney we always get the middle Dining Plan, and we both agree it is completely worth paying the money, we don’t use all of it per day but it gets carried over and when we want extra snacks etc we don’t end up paying extortionate money. It is perfect for families and couples as there are three choices to fit your preferences, depending on the food you enjoy and how much you can eat per day.
Piece of advice: If you get a plan involving table services, make sure you book the restaurants months in advance on the website as they book up amazingly quickly.
It is a brilliant scheme as it saves money in the long run and helps people to stop worrying about money for food, meaning they can spend it on merchandise and enjoy their stay!
Disney Pin Collection – Mickey In Tron Outfit
This pin mixes my favourite Mouse with one of my favourite movies from 2010, TRON: Legacy!
This pin was released on 11/04/10 at a retail price of $6.95.
Disney Releases “Disneyland Explorer App”
Disney have just released a cool interactive app that can be downloaded for the iPad so that people can bring all of the happiness experienced in the parks straight into the living room! Although not as cool as Disneyland Kinect, the Disneyland App is pretty awesome; with some fantastic images, videos and stories to interact with, there are over 100 unique activities to keep you occupied with until you end up walking down Main Street U.S.A again!
The only problem with this App is that it currently is only in existence for the Disneyland Park in California (although I am certain that if enough people purchase the App that Disney will develop something similar for Walt Disney World). If you want to have a look at the App before purchasing why not take a look at the video. Any thoughts on the App would be appreciated in the comments section below.
Disney Pin Collection – Link Hearthrob As Han Solo
Over the past few years I have collected a fair number of Disney Pins and the collection seems to grow every month thanks to places like Ebay. Starting from right now I thought it might be a good idea to share every pin that I have with everyone!
The first one on the list has simply been chosen because it is the first in my pin book collection. Although almost everyone will recognise the character as Han Solo from the Star Wars Universe, there are a lot of people that won’t recognise the Muppet portraying him, Link Hearthrob. Although Hearthrob isn’t one of the most famous Muppet characters, his arrogance and love for himself meant that he was the perfect Muppet to put into the shoes of the infamous smuggler!
The pin is part of the Muppet Star Wars Collection released on 05/06/10 and each pin retails at $12.95.
