Once your custom experience is created, you are asked to register (for free).  You are then told if you are an instant winner of your customized vacation or one of 55 secondary prizes that include 15 complete Disney vacations and 40 pairs of roundtrip airfare vouchers.

Note that prize packages all appear to be for groups of 2 or 4 people.

To receive $150 off qualifying Disney flight + hotel packages booked through Orbitz, use Coupon Code ORBDISNEY150.  Trips must be booked between 10/20/2008 through 11/23/2008 for five or more nights and for travel between now and 1/31/2009.

Follow the link to enter to win a Disney vacation from Orbitz.

Post from: The Disney Traveler

The North Orange County Harry Potter Meetup Group is holding the second annual Unofficial Harry Potter Day at Disneyland in California on November 2nd.  There will be pictures, games, costumes, scavenger hunts and more all day.

Check out the event MySpace page for all the details!

Hat tip to Wired for this story.

Image: Flickr

Post from: The Disney Traveler

Pre-party interview and clips from the purple carpet, etc.

ABC News Footage at the Party

Purple carpet, performance, Mickey Mouse and 5,000 guests sing Happy Birthday to Miley Cyrus and fireworks

Post from: The Disney Traveler

Miley Cyrus will also perform a few songs for the crowd.  While the Hannah Montana star doesn’t actually turn 16 until November 23rd, Disney is hosting the party tonight before holiday decorating begins at the park.

I’m sure there will be many happy Miley Cyrus fans at Disneyland tonight.  If you get to go to the party, stop by The Disney Traveler after the festivities and let us know how it was!

Image: Flickr

Post from: The Disney Traveler

The Magic Kingdom Mini Guide and the Disneyland California Mini Guide are interactive and allow users to find restrooms, ride restrictions, quick navigation, useful information about attractions and dining, descriptions of attractions, FastPass attractions and more.

I haven’t tried either of these apps because I don’t have an iPod, but for $0.99, they might be worth it for Disney theme park novices to try. 

What do you think?

Image: UPinPoint.com

Post from: The Disney Traveler

That’s not all Disney and Johnny Depp are working on together these days.  A new version of Alice in Wonderland will be created by Tim Burton with Johnny Depp in the role of the Mad Hatter.

In other entertainment news from Disney, a 3-D motion-capture remake of A Christmas Carol starring Jim Carrey and a hand-drawn animated film called The Princess and the Frog featuring the voice of Oprah Winfrey are underway.  Tron 2 featuring Jeff Bridges and Race to Witch Mountain starring Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson will also be released soon.

Disney also announced today that Cars 2 will be released in 2011.

With all these great entertainment options coming, there is no doubt there will be events to help promote them at the Disney theme parks around the world.  Looks like we should have a lot to look forward to!

Image: Flickr

Post from: The Disney Traveler

The official launch of the Halloween Haunted Mansion and the other Halloween events at Disneyland will happen on Friday, September 26, 2008. Here’s an overview of what’s going on at Disneyland and Disney’s California Adventure for Halloween this year:

• Redecorated Haunted Mansion
• Ghostly guests at the Hollywood Tower of Terror
• Woody’s Halloween Roundup where kids can hear spooky stories, create Halloween arts, crafts and cookies, and more.
• Candy Corn Acres at Disney’s California Adventure where giant candy corn grows wild.
• Special Halloween treats throughout the Disney theme park stores.
• Special Halloween Time pins and merchandise

Mickey’s Trick-or-Treat Party is also being held this year, which is a special event and requires a special ticket to enter. Entrance is limited only to guests who purchase the special party ticket.

The party includes candy treat stations for trick-or-treating, music, crafts, activities, a Character cavalcade, and free parking. Tickets are $29 (except for Halloween night when tickets are $37), and children under 2 are free. Guests are encouraged to dress in their Halloween costumes and really get into the spirit of the holiday.

Mickey’s Trick-or-Treat Party will be held this year on October 3, 10, 16, 17, 22, 23, 24, 28, 29, 30 and 31st. On Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, the party goes from 6:30 p.m. to 10:30 p.m., and on Friday, the party goes from 7:30 p.m. to 11:30 p.m. To purchase tickets, call 714-781-4400.

Read more about Halloween 2008 at Disney destinations around the world on The Disney Traveler:

• Walt Disney World’s Magic Kingdom Decorates for Halloween – Part 1
• Walt Disney World’s Magic Kingdom Decorates for Halloween – Part 2
• Disneyland Paris and Halloween – A Great Combination
• Halloween at Hong Kong Disneyland

Image: Flickr

Post from: The Disney Traveler

Follow the link to register for free admission on your birthday in 2009 to a Walt Disney World park.

Follow the link to register for free admission on your birthday in 2009 to a Disneyland park.

According to the Disney website, the steps to register are as follows:

• Register your birthday—and other household members’ birthdays too, if you want.
• Print the confirmation message you receive after registering your birthday.
• You will also receive an email reminder two weeks prior to your birthday, which you can also use to redeem your free admission on your birthday.
• Bring proper ID and your confirmation message to the gate at one of the Theme Parks at the Walt Disney World® Resort or Disneyland® Resort on your birthday in 2009.
• If you are a Passholder or already have a Multi-Day ticket you will use on your birthday, you can register and bring the free admission on Your Birthday confirmation and proper ID to the gate so you can choose another gift from the following:
  • A birthday fun card in an amount equal to the price of a 1-day Magic Your Way (or One Day/One Park at Disneyland) base ticket* for you to use on your birthday for merchandise, recreation or fun activities at select participating locations at Walt Disney World® Resort (or Disneyland); or
  • A special birthday FASTPASS® badge+ for certain attractions at the Theme Park you visit on your birthday; or
  • A 1-day Magic Your Way (or One Day/One Park at Disneyland) base ticket for you to use any time until your next birthday.

If you’ll be at Walt Disney World or Disneyland on your birthday in 2009, don’t forget to register so you get your free Disney park admission!

Image: Susan Gunelius

Post from: The Disney Traveler

Last month, our little family took our first official vacation and guess where everyone wanted to go – Disneyland!  As Canadians, we aren’t always privy to some of the flight deals or other discounts U.S. residents can take advantage of so I thought I would share how we were able to do it economically without sacrificing any of the fun!

How We Traveled

After looking around for flights for a few days, we decided to go with Alaska Airlines.  At the time, prices were extremely high for when we wanted to travel and they had the best deal.  For a family of five, we paid just over $1900 which breaks down to about $385 per person.  The only thing was that we agreed to change planes in Seattle which, in the end, was okay considering it saved us about $1000 but it was far from fun on the way home since our stopover was 2 hours long. 

The service on the airline was excellent even though the planes are small and/or don’t have any real frills.  It would have been nice to have a movie to watch but it was nothing a good book and some crayons couldn’t fix.

Where We Stayed

This was the tough part of the trip and the one thing that I will always regret.  Just before booking a hotel, someone mentioned staying at a vacation rental.  I always thought it would be too expensive but it actually makes a trip more reasonable, in my opinion.  I first found a condo, the Anaheim Sunset, that had great rates and looked nice but it didn’t seem to have enough room so I eventually let it go for a larger house I found in Huntington Beach.  All of my warning bells went off when the owner asked me to give her a non-refundable deposit of $1000, but I ignored my own misgivings.  As the date approached, she sent the contract and the cleaning costs differed from what was in the advertisement and, suddenly, the internet access was no longer an option (the owner claimed that part of the ad was a “mistake” even though days later it was still in the ad) and that the property did not have a telephone.  I began to mistrust the whole thing and decided to cancel, even though it meant losing that deposit.

I decided to call back Serin, the manager at the Anaheim Sunset, to see if anyone had booked for the dates we needed.  Unfortunately, the first two days were booked but the remaining five days were available.  I was so grateful!  The best part?  Since this was the first year that they were renting out the condo, July and August bookings enjoyed a 25% discount AND they even threw in two adult Disneyland passes!!!!  I could hardly believe my luck since that almost made up for the money I lost on the deposit for that other vacation home. 

When we got to the condo, I was really pleased.  We had stayed at the Embassy Suites LAX South in El Segundo and we really hated it.  The room was absolutely disgusting, there was a hole punched in the bathroom door and the hide-a-bed sheets had not been changed.  The pool was not in great shape and the one place outside next to the pool where guests can lounge was actually smaller than my backyard and had scary sounding power lines all around it.  Not great. 

Okay, back to the condo.  It was literally 2 blocks from Disneyland and was in a complex with a shared pool.  You aren’t going to be blown away by the exterior (although it’s perfectly acceptable!) but you can tell that the condo owners have made significant efforts to update the inside to make their visitors comfortable.  In the livingroom and kitchen area, there are hardwood floors, new-looking furniture, a flat panel television and a fireplace.  The full kitchen had such a great microwave that I am contemplating ditching mine for an upgrade.  The best part was walking in to this place and seeing “Welcome Dupuis Family” scrawled on a dry erase board and a basket filled with goodies waiting with our name on it.  There are all kinds of examples of these small touches that really add up.  For example, each bathroom and kitchen had good-quality, antibacterial handsoap and there were nice cleaning products (like Lysol Wipes) under the sinks and the shower had two heads – one for little people and another for adults.  We also had a washer and dryer (Serin provided laundry detergent for two loads!) connected with the bathroom downstairs.

That’s another thing!  We had no idea there was a second floor!  As expected, there were only two bedrooms (we have three kids – two girls and one boy – so we had hoped for three bedrooms) but it turned out to be more than enough space.  The “kids room” had a bunk bed which it was perfect for us because the lower bunk was actually a double bed while the top was a single.  Our son (11) took the top bunk while the girls (5 and 14) took the lower one.  They didn’t complain once!  The master bedroom was quite large and included a walk-in closet (perfect for all those suitcases), a television and a computer!  Yes, a functioning, connected-to-the-internet computer whereas the other, far more expensive vacation home, wasn’t even offering internet access!  The flooring upstairs was a decent carpet – I’m very picky and I had no complaints.  The bathroom could be accessed from the hallway but also had a “cheater” door to the master bedroom.  The towels were great quality (and there were plenty of them!) and my husband and son had a great time at the pool.

I only have a few words of caution.  The first is that this property is very close to Disney so the fireworks (which happen almost every night) are LOUD.  So loud, in fact, that it sounded like a canon was being shot at the condo (we were able to laugh it off while our five-year-old was so pooped from sightseeing that she didn’t even notice)!  Second, the master bed is very hard so if your back can’t take it, consider sleeping in the other room.

Visiting Disneyland

We planned ahead for as much as we could so that we didn’t have to think about anything but having fun once we got to Disneyland. 

We bought the “Unofficial Guide to Disneyland 2008” by Bob Sehlinger and we really loved it.  In addition to detailed explanations of the rides and parks, the book included information about nearby hotels, restaurants and sample day plans for making the visit go smoothly.  We also purchased the RideMax software to help us have the shortest wait times (it is quite customizable).  Between the two, we stood in line for very short amounts of time and really enjoyed ourselves.

I don’t normally wear fanny packs but I bought one for the trip and was really thrilled.  It was perfect for storing lip balm, hand sanitizer and FastPasses.  We also brought a backpack for storing water bottles (be aware that they search your bags every time you enter the park). 

For one day, we bought Park Hopper passes which allowed us access to both Disneyland and Disney’s Grand California Adventure park.  The latter is not as kid-friendly but we went so we could ride California Screamin’ or the Tower of Terror.  Things are more spread out and there are fewer rides so be forewarned if you are traveling with little ones.

We also ate in Downtown Disney twice and, both times, ended up going to the ESPN Zone.  We tried the House of Blues but the wait was long and it was dark inside.  We had burgers and fries all around and were pleased with the service, the portions and quality of the food.  There is also an ESPN gift store and arcade and we were given scratch cards with our meals (we got 15% off store purchases).  Being a sports-lover, I got a t-shirt from the shop but hockey fans will be disappointed to learn that the ESPN Zone should actually be called the “hockey-free zone” (in fact, pretty much most of Anaheim is, despite the presence of the Anaheim Ducks NHL team).

Of course, we also spent a small fortune at the Disney shop.  If you look carefully, you can find some really great items (a gorgeous zip-up sweatshirt was 40% off and I snatched it up!).  Just make sure it can all fit in your suitcase!

Other Noteworthy Places to Visit

We rented a van so it was really easy for us to get around.  We totally took advantage and explored Los Angeles and Orange County.  We took a stroll on Hollywood’s Walk of Fame (if you take pictures with any characters you meet, they expect tips!) and played in a fountain near Mann’s Village Theater. 

We drove to Irvine, California (about 30 mins) to the Irvine Spectrum Center where we found great deals on video games ($21 for three xBox 360 games!).  We hadn’t been to an outdoor mall before so it was a lot of fun (we were so tired from being in the sun for so long, though!). 

We also visited the Disney Character Warehouse in Fullerton (find a great coupon here!).  It’s not the most recent stuff and the store isn’t all that pretty but we found a jacket my daughter had spotted at Disneyland for $15.00 less.  She also got plush toys of Pluto, Mickey and Goofy for under $20 combined!  You may not find what you are looking for but I think it is worth visiting.

We aren’t “beach people” but we stopped by Manhattan Beach and really enjoyed it.  It’s a beautiful location (just outside Los Angeles), the beach is kept looking great and there are a lot of restaurants in the neighborhood (parking is atrocious, though.  Make sure you have change!).

Booking and Planning Tips

Before you commit to a flight, check Kayak.com to make sure there isn’t one that is cheaper.  Kayak allows you to look at other days in a month so you can see which times are least expensive.

If at all possible, consider renting a vacation home/condo.  We were pleasantly surprised by the rates, you save money by being able to prepare some of your own meals and there is more privacy.  Two sites that I recommend are VRBO and HomeAway.

One other thing that we found helpful was having directions to points of interest.  Use Google Maps or whatever resource you prefer and print out the route from the airport to where you are staying.  You can also predetermine some of the places you wish to visit or some of the restaurants you want to try and print out the directions from your accommodation.  We also created a list of the nearby pharmacies, grocery stores, clinics/hospitals, etc.. before we left home.  It really simplified things and I’m happy to say that we didn’t get lost once!

In the end, a lot of work goes into planning a vacation but if you take the time to get organized before you leave home, your trip will go a lot smoother. 

Have a Disney story to share?  Follow the link to learn how to submit a guest post to The Disney Traveler.

Images: Jeanne Dupuis

Post from: The Disney Traveler

Disney is denying the rumors related to the movie’s title or setting but not the fact that there is an original script they’re working from – no details provided. 

We’ll have to wait and see if there is any truth to the rumor or not.  What do you think?

Image: Flickr

Post from: The Disney Traveler