More Disney World Discounts Through 10/1/11

We are starting to see room discounts for late Spring and early Fall at Walt Disney World.  These are the first discounts other than free dining to be released this late into 2011.  Some sources have indicated that these rates cannot be booked until January 3, 2011, however, I was able to get pricing today and the Castmember indicated that these rates were available for booking right now.  The booking code is YW3.

The promotion is valid for stays between April 28 – June 14, 2011 and August 16 – October 1, 2011.  Savings from April 28 to June 14 range from 15% to 35% off of non-discounted prices on select Disney resorts.  From August 16 to October 1, the savings range from 20% to 40% off non-discounted prices on select Disney resorts.

Availability is limited and there may be a minimum stay requirement for Friday or Saturday arrivals.  The discount is subject to availability and any restrictions imposed by Disney.

Disney Visa Kids Free offer from WDW

Today Disney released its latest promotion – Disney Visa Kids Free.  With this promotion, children 3-9 years old will stay and play for free.  Basically this means that their park tickets will be free.   Minimum stays are not available at this time.  This promotion cannot be combined with other offers and availability is limited.   A deposit with your Disney Visa is required at the time of booking.

Travel dates for this offer are February 17 to October 1, 2011 with black out dates between April 17 – April 27 and June 15 – August 13.  Dates prior to April 16, 2011 must be booked by February 13, 2011 and the remainder of the dates must be booked by March 27, 2011.

As with most Disney Visa offers, we expect that this will be available to the general public, likely as soon as Sunday or Monday.  If you are interested in this offer, please indicate in the notes of your quote request that you have a Disney Visa.  Otherwise, we cannot book this offer until it is released to the general public.  For your quote, please follow this link http://travelonadream.com/quote.html.

Where Do You Want To Go in 2011?

With a new year and a new decade just a couple days away, I thought I would pose this question to all of you.  Where do you want to go in 2011?

2011 will bring new opportunities for us at Travel On A Dream.  We will be one of the first to experience Disney’s newest ship, the Disney Dream on the Christening Cruise in just a few weeks.  From everything we have seen from this new ship, we know it is going to become a fast favorite!  The Disney Fantasy will be the same basic layout so this will also give us the opportunity to start making plans for the ToaD Fantasy sailing in Fall of 2012.

We will also be making our first trip up to Alaska, along with Disney!  From Los Angeles to Vancouver and then Vancouver roundtrip to see Tracy Arm, Skagway, Juneau and Ketchikan Alaska, this will be an amazing trip!

We are looking to put together a day trip to Sonoma or Napa Valley while in San Francisco for cruisers and folks in the area that just want to join us.  It should be a great time!

We are also hoping to experience one or two more cruise lines in 2011.  Maybe Princess, Holland America or MSC in the fall, we shall see.

With a little more encouragement, we are also hoping to get a guest blogger to do trip reports.  Would you like to see more of this?

We are also looking forward to planning trips with many of you!  Where do you want to go in 2011?  We can help get you there, just drop us a line or give us a call!

DCL Pacific Coast & Alaska Port Adventures Released

At long last we have a list of Port Adventures (shore excursions) from Disney Cruise Lines for the Pacific Coast & Alaska cruises on the Disney Wonder summer of 2011.

The Pacific Coast excursions were released on Christmas Eve.  The repositioning cruisers who are in suites or are Platinum Castaway Club members were allowed to book these starting today if they were paid in full.  In both San Francisco and Victoria, there were a lot of city tours, covering various areas of the city.  Of course, I was interested in the wine country tours!  We thought about the Monteray & Carmel tour, but it didn’t actually go to any wineries, just giving you time to shop on Cannery Row (which is very close to my favorite winery – Baywood Cellars).  This tour however was 11 to 11.5 hours long because of the distance to Monteray from San Francisco.  The tour to Sonoma sounds pretty good.  What I was most interested in was the trip to Napa Valley.  This included two stops at wineries with backstage access to how the wine is produced, plus special tastings.  Between the two stops was a trip to the Culinary Institute of America with a three course meal.  Unfortunately, this trip was a bit too pricey for me at approximately $340 per person.

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

As I sit here typing this blog, it is snowing outside.  We were having a white Christmas before this, but it’s even more special when the snow falls on Christmas Eve.

We want to wish each and everyone of you a very Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays and Happy New Year!  We look forward to many new adventures in 2011 and hope you will join us as well.

Thank you for your support and business in 2010.  We look forward to helping you in 2011 and beyond.

New Year’s Eve at Walt Disney World

Dining, dancing, fireworks and more will be on the ticket for New Year’s Eve at Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, Florida.  Here is a list of what is going on in and around the resort.  Note that all events are subject to change without notice.

Magic Kingdom:

• “Move It! Shake It! Celebrate It!” Street Party at 11 a.m., 2 p.m. & 5:15 p.m.
• “Mickey’s Once Upon a Christmastime Parade” at 12 p.m. & 3:30 p.m.
• “Main Street Electrical Parade” at 7 p.m. & 10:30 p.m.
• “Holiday Wishes” fireworks at 8:30 p.m.
• “Fantasy in the Sky” fireworks at 11:50 p.m.
• Park Hours: 8 a.m.-2 a.m.

Disney’s Hollywood Studios:

• “Block Party Bash” parade at 3 p.m.
• “Fantasmic!” nighttime extravaganza at 6:30 p.m., 8 p.m. & 10 p.m.
• Live performances by in-park band “Mulch, Sweat and Shears” at Mickey’s Sorcerer’s Hat at 8, 9, 10 and 11 p.m.
• “Lights, Camera, Happy New Year” fireworks starring “Mulch, Sweat and Shears” at 11:55 p.m.
• Park hours: 8 a.m.-12 a.m.

Epcot:

• Special version of “IllumiNations: Reflections of Earth” at 7:30 & 11:40 p.m.
• Park hours: 8 a.m.-1 a.m.

Disney’s Animal Kingdom:

• “Mickey’s Jingle Jungle Parade” at 3:45 p.m.
• Park Hours: 8 a.m.-8 p.m.

Bay Lake and Seven Seas Lagoon:

• “Electrical Water Pageant” at 10:25 p.m.

Cirque du Soleil at Downtown Disney:

• 6 p.m. and 9 p.m. performances of La Nouba
• Special New Year’s Eve champagne toasts
• Guests will receive a limited-edition La Nouba pin created for the New Year’s Eve event
• More info: 407/939-7328 or cirquedusoleil.com/lanouba

DisneyQuest at Downtown Disney:

• Ring in the New Year at DisneyQuest with favorite cyber attractions and games, a DJ Dance Party with a New Year’s Eve countdown, party favors and a coupon for a personal pizza and soda at FoodQuest
• Party Hours: 8 p.m.-1 a.m.
• $39 per person, advance/$45 per person, day of
• More info: 407/934-7639 or disneyworld.com/disneyquestparty.  Tickets may be purchased online or at the DisneyQuest Box Office.

Atlantic Dance Hall at Disney’s BoardWalk:

• Dance into the New Year at Atlantic Dance Hall at Disney’s BoardWalk
• Party Hours: 8 p.m.-2 a.m., ages 21+
• $35 for access to the main floor of the Dance Hall, party favors and a champagne toast at midnight
• $75 for a VIP ticket that adds a private upstairs area with seating; limited viewing for Epcot fireworks with guaranteed seating and coffee, tea or hot chocolate with dessert bar and a premium bar
• More info: 407/WDW-DINE

Special Dining Experiences…

La Hacienda de San Angel at Epcot:

• La Hacienda de San Angel is offering a special six-course prix-fixe menu and live music starting at 9 p.m.
• $199 per person, or $225 with wine and spirits (plus tax and gratuity), $49.95 ages 3 to 9
• Epcot admission required
• More info: 407/842-1107 or e-mail lahaciendadesanangel@me.com

Bistro de Paris at Epcot:

• Bistro de Paris is offering a special prix-fixe New Year’s Eve menu
• $150 per person, $225 with wine pairings with each course
• Epcot admission required

California Grill at Disney’s Contemporary Resort:

• California Grill will host a New Year’s Eve party featuring food stations, an open bar, a casino-style  game room, DJ, dancing, Disney characters, live entertainment and a great viewing location for the Magic Kingdom fireworks
• $525 per person, all inclusive
• More info: 407/WDW-DINE

Disney Cruise Line Onboard Credit Offer & Fantasy Changes

Disney Cruise Line anticipates that the Disney Fantasy will be ready ahead of schedule so it has changed the Maiden Voyage previously scheduled for April 7, 2012.  The Maiden Voyage will now be on March 31, 2012.  Those booked on the original Maiden Voyage date will be allowed to switch to the March 31, 2012 date, which will be a Western Caribbean sailing, before this date opens to everyone else.

As Disney Cruise Line welcomes the Disney Dream to the fleet, they are offering an onboard credit, exclusively available through your travel agent.  For 3 night sailings on February 3 and February 10 or 4 night sailings on January 30 or February 6, you may qualify for an onboard credit of $200 from Disney Cruise Line.  This is only valid for new bookings made between December 21, 2010 and February 9, 2011 and must be made through your travel agent.

Holiday Wishes from Disney

And for the final installment of our Holiday pictorial, we bring you holiday photos from Disney World Resorts and Disney Cruise Line.

Holiday Greetings from Epcot & Hollywood Studios

Today we continue our holiday pictorial from Epcot & Hollywood Studios!

Happy Holidays

We thought we would take a little break from writing and give you a little holiday cheer from Disney, starting today with the Magic Kingdom.