Disneyland Hong Kong to be expanded.
Following criticisms about the size of the Hong Kong Park,

(and a rather upset public after many were in the past refused entry on the Chinese New Year due to overcrowding)

Hong Kong Disney is to  have three new theme areas.
These will be called Mystic Point,Grizzly Trail and Toy Story Land.
This will expand the theme areas from four to seven areas with a construction cost of $450 Million

This should solve the overcrowding problems.

As Disneyland Hong Kong is the smallest Disneyland, this move is seen as also answering the proposed Disneyland Shanghai which will be a huge theme park scheduled to open in 2014

This is still in the negotiations and planning stages.

[caption id="attachment_628" align="aligncenter" width="250" caption="Captain Hook is happy to sign Autographs"][/caption]

Here are some of my photos of Disneyland Paris.
It really does look the same as the US Disney Parks.

Magic Weddings at the Magic Kingdom

Did you know you can get Married at Disneyland ?

Disneyland offers wonderful Elegant Weddings at a cost that may surprise you
(It is certainly less than a Luxury Hotel with the bonus of your wonderful surroundings)
Your wedding day should be the happiest day of your life.
The happiest day of your life should be at the happiest place on earth.
Disneyland has an excellent complete wedding service at Disneyland Weddings.

Most ladies start dreaming of their weddings from the
time that they are a small girl and play at dressing up..
A fairy tale wedding can be yours and it will be truly unique,
It will be romantic, and enchanting
Disneyland weddings include a magical ceremony and a creative reception that you only available in Disneyland.
You can safely leave all the details to your Disney Wedding Planner who is very experienced in giving the best possible service.
.
There is only one small snag - You have to book in advance..
Disneyland weddings are not last minute events.
You must start planning your wedding at least one year before the date
of the wedding with a meeting with the Disney
wedding planner, a site tour, and a selection of the
possible locations for the wedding. (usually at Disney Resort Hotels)
You will be offered several complete packages at various prices but these can be added to.

Basics of a Wedding Plan:

Eleven Months before the Weding – sign a letter of agreement and return it with your deposit
Ten Months before the wedding sned announcements to the invited Guests.
Eight Months before – you are going to be busy talking to the Wedding Planner
Discussing the ceremony and the reception details.

One Month before your wedding you have to pay the final payment due and you have to give the Final Guest List at least four days before the wedding day

Would you like to arrive at the Wedding in Cinderellas Coach ?
Or perhaps have a Major Domo holding a Glass Slipper containing the Rings ?
And of course no Wedding at Disneyland would be complete without Mickey and Minnie in full formal attire.
A Harpist can play during the Ceremony.

There are lots of options from a sit down meal with a Wedding Cake and landscaping of the surroundings and a disc Jockey for entertainment, to a really lavish seafood dinner, lots of flowers, Heralds can trumpet the entrance of the Bride (and groom !)
All in all a real day to treasure for the rest of your days.

The Disney Wedding Planner will arrange everything that you request.
A wedding cake will be like nothing you could imagine
in your wildest dreams, which you choose from a variety
of choices It can even have a white chocolate model of the Castle on top !
There can be an open bar, champagne, chocolate covered strawberries and beautiful
Table linen, place cards, white gloved staff and really elegant table settings.
A violinist could play during the reception and dinner if you wish.
All of the usual wedding services are available including a photographer.

All in all Disney have the PERFECT Wedding Package for your happy day.

The cost – well that depends on you !
Whatever you want it seems that the Disney Planner can supply.
And of course Disney offer wonderful honeymoon packages too !

For more details of a Disney Wedding please contact :

Disney Fairytale Weddings

Mickey Goes Welsh !
Each of the WINNERS from this year’s Urdd Eisteddfod will get the chance to take part in a Welsh Festival at Disneyland Paris.

Mickey Mouse came to Cardiff yesterday to the festival to announce an exciting deal between the Disney organisation and the Urdd.

Five of this Eisteddfod winners will be offered the opportunity to jet off to Paris next March to take part in the Welsh Festival at Disneyland Parisl.

Eisteddfod Director Aled Siôn said the finalists will be selected from the best of Wales’ performers participating in song, drama, dance, poetry and arts.

As Mickey Mouse was mobbed by exited children on the Eisteddfod

For the past four years, Disneyland Paris has celebrated all things Welsh at its annual Welsh Festival, where Mickey and Minnie appear in their traditional Welsh outfits, St David’s day fireworks lighting up the sky over Sleeping Beauty Castle and guests can have their face painted whilst enjoying an extensive array of festivities over the three days.

The Urdd have organised trips to Disneyland Paris for several years.

Yesterday’s Disney announcement marked the most successful international Urdd Eisteddfod for years.

Mr Siôn revealed the Urdd are expecting competitors from as far away as Singapore this year. A regional Eisteddfod for competitors outside Wales was held at the end of March with preliminary rounds for those wishing to compete in the National Eisteddfod.

The full report of the festival is here :
http://www.dailypost.co.uk

Most theme parks are offering substantial discounts this year because of the Recession.
Why not ring Disneyland/Disneyworld and see what is available for today ?

Most Discounts are for residents of that state so if you are a Florida or California resident why not take advantage of what is being offered ?

Disney Character Fun

Disneyland Paris Girls with King Arthurs Sword

Disneyland Paris best Vintage Mickey Review

I visited Disneyland Paris last Week and was delighted to see all the kids who had dressed up for the day !

Most small girls had dressed as either a Princess or as Alice and fairy wands were waved at just about everyone.

Boys mainly had Mickey Sorcerer Hats (and that included many boys of around 18 to 59 by the way !) or as Jack Sparrow from Pirates of the Caribbean.- I did not know there were that many pirates around nowadays...
The Pirates of the Caribbean is a great attraction – unmissable in my opinion.

Lots of the girls waited in line to meet their favourite Princess (with Cinderella and Prince Charming being the hot favourites)
Almost all were themselves in costume and there was great competition to get a full Princess makeover including dress, shoes and wigs.
It certainly made those girls have a very special day indeed.

They have seriously extended Disneyland Paris since I last visited and I was pleased to see that (when it started it was looking a little on the Spartan side)
The Pirate area is much bigger and Captain Jack was signing signatures (but he did seem to have a problem deciding which was the working end of a ball point pen !)

There are now lots of restaurants and a huge cowboy BBQ which was one of the most popular eating places.There is even an evening dinner show at Buffalo Bills WIld West show - 6.30 pm and 9.30pm

The most popular attractions were Sleeping Beautys Castle with a GREAT dragon in the dungeon..Followed swiftly by The Haunted Manor (the haunted House ride) ,Idiana Jones and the Temple of Peril (A great action rollercoaster-style ride)
All of the oher popular rides were there plus the upgraded Space Mountain where get get Fired from a gun (Jules Verne Style –well it IS in France !) on a dark rollercoaster ride.

The only thing I did not like was the entrance with dozens of ticket booths with only a few manned – and the fact that only a dual park ticket was shown on the entrance fee boards whereas you can actually buy a ticket for one park alone (although I did get the 2 park ticket I thought this was a bit misleading by Disney and should be changed)
The Fastpass ticket system is in operation so please take advantage of that.
Although there were 15 or so characters roaming around the park to give authographs and happy to be photographed,I found that the main characters are only to be seen at the Disney characters Eat n Greet restaurants

You really do need a two day visit with an overnight stay at Disneyland Paris as there is now SO MUCH to see and do – especially with the Walt Disney Studios Park as well – that is where the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror attractions is sited. .
There is lots of evening entertainment to see as well. I wished I had stayed for the two days.
Instead I stayed in Paris and visited Disney on the RER railway (well signposted and only about 17 Euro return fare).It drops you right at the entrance gates of Disneyland Paris and you do not have an extra journey to the park like in the Parks in America – you just walk right in.

How did I rate Disneyland Paris - 5*****
The problem over buying tckets was soon solved but they DO need more tcket booths to be open.
Did I have a good time in Disneyland Paris – you bet !

Disney Savings Banks

Walt Disney produced many savings banks for children.
These were mainly based on Disneys cartoon characters.
Mickey and Minnie of course were the big sellers .
Other known character banks include:
101 Dalmatians
Buzz Lightyear
Disney Castles
Cinderella
Country Bear
Disneyland Paris
Donald Duck
Dopey
Eeyore
Flounder Bank
Lady and Tramp
Mickeys Car
Mrs Pots
Original Princess
Pinocchio
Pluto
Pocohontas
Princess Belle
Princess Jasmine
Rocket Banks
Simba
Sleepy
Snow WHite and 7 Dwarfs
Stitch
Tigger
Tinkerbell
Winnie the Pooh
Uncle Scrooge
Zurg
The early metal Banks are the ones to look for (especially those with a combination lock) Cast Iron and Tinplate banks are also popular with collectors
but later banks are known in Glass,Plastic and Ceramic
There are also Disney Banks with Gumball machines,moveable arm models,
alarm clock models and other imported models.
Banks were of course originally designed to encourage Children to save regularly
and very early ones had to be broken to get to the savings.
A novel idea was the automatic savings banks which were usually made of cast iron and the simple action of placing a coin the the mouth or hand of the character triggered a mechanism which moved an arm or other part of the character and deposited the coin inside the savings bank.

Disneyland Ticket Care

To enter Disneyland you must have a valid Ticket.
You will also need the ticket to get FastPass tickets.
See my article on Fastpass tickets for details.
You need to keep both your Disneyland Ticket and Your Fastpass tickets
in a secure place.

As well as the Disneyland ticket, you also need a safe
place to keep money or the Disneyland Merchandise
Card.

A wallet or purse is not very practical at Disneyland.
Think about buying a FastPass holder –
It is rather like a pass holder for work !. You can get these cheaply at most Disney stores.
Before you say you do not want to spend your cash
on the FastPass holder, you might want to think about
what a new Disneyland ticket would cost.
If you were to lose your Disneyland ticket, You would have to buy another ticket to get in.That is quite an expensive mistake.

When you look at the small cost of the Disneyland FastPass holder,
you will see that it is well worth it for peace of mind.

Now I hate to say this but not everyone who enters Disneyland is totally honest.
A small number of pickposckets and con artists do manage to get into Dsneyland now and again.
Remember not to keep your wallet in a visible place.
Every time I go to Disneyland I am quite shocked at how easy people make it for thieves.
I constantly see men in shorts with wallets in their back pockets or ladies with their purses resting on the top of their handbags

Please be careful with your wallets and digital cameras in Disneyland.

Fastpass at Disneyland
Why spend all day waiting in line at Disneyland ?
Fastpass is the answer.

There are machines near the rides that accept Fastpass.
It is really scheduling a time slot in which you can go on the ride.

You can freely visit other rides and attractions until the time slot you receive.
A Fastpass ticket gives you a one hour time in which to enjoy that ride
(its not transferrable to other rides !)

So if you get a time slot of 11.oo am to 12.oopm you can show up and go
to the head of the line in between those times.
You must have your Disneyland Ticket with you in order to get a Fastpass Ticket.
You can get Fastpasses for the following rides and attractions :

Splash Mountain

Indiana Jones

Big Thunder Mountain Railroad

Roger Rabbits Cartoon Spin

Buzz Lightyear

Space Mountain

As Space Mountain has recently been upgraded this ride is very popular at the Moment.
The other top attraction seems to be the Tower of Terror.

For security I suggest you buy a Disney Ticket Holder for a couple of dollars.
This is just a wallet with a neck cord but it will keep your ticket and Fastpass safe and secure while you visit the rides.

Why wait in long lines when a little planning can smooth your Day Out in Disneyland amazingly.
Some days are definitely better than others at Disneyland.
If possible avoid public holidays and school vaction days.
Although if you love fireworks though DO go on Public Holidays as Disney puts on Spectacular displays
(try to get a viewing place where you get the Castle in the foreground for your photos)

What are you interested in ? Attractions or Entertainment ?
The days when line will be shortest (and popular rides have lines well over an hour each) are Tuesday Wednesday and Thursday.
This is simply because there are fewer people in the Park then.
There is however less entertainment provided in the evening on those nights.
(Disney caters for lots of people with more entertainment in more areas on busy nights)

Weekends (Friday Saturday and Sunday) are the best days for entertainment.
The park is very busy then and you will definitely need a FASTPASS (see my other article on Fastpass !)

Entertainment is seasonally adjusted though and there is far less entertainment off-season.

Off-season is when much of the maintenance is done on the rides so some may not be in operation then.
Regular maintenance is usually done daily but major improvements are made off-season.

For those who love the exciting rides, the best plan is to stay at a Disney Hotel and you will then get early access to the Park before the general public.
Rides lines are shortest early in the morening so if there are rides you REALLY want to ride then so go on those as soon as you enter the Park.
Remember that it does take time to park your car (remember to write down where !) and then get transport from the car park to the Theme Park itself.
Buying tickets also takes up time and it is sensible to buy your tickets the day before you want to visit the Park.

Can you still enjoy Disneyland if you are disabled ?

You can certainly enjoy Disneyland and Disney have already made
arrangements for those with disabilities.
if you are unable to walk too far then you can still enjoy Disneyland. If you have problems walking then perhaps you would like to journey around Disneyland on one of their scooters that you can rent.

That costs $35 per day. for a scooter. A modest deposit is also required.
To be able to rent a Disneyland Scooter you must have a
valid drivers license and you must be eighteen years old or older.

If you are younger than 18 then you can rent a wheelchair.
(Or if you do not have a driving license)
These are not electronic or battery powered.They are regular wheelchairs.
There is a rental fee for a wheelchair of $8
per day, and a $20 deposit.
You can also get a Guest Assistance card which does help in the Park.

A more cost effective way is to rent a scooter or wheelchair from a private company.
Local private scooter rental companies can deliver to your hotel room
and this may well be cheaper than renting a Disneyland scooter.
Before you decide to rent privately please consider what happens if you lose (or someone steals) the scooter.
Disneys Policy seems better than most private companies. Please see below.

Most entertainment areas and all restaurants are wheelchair accessible.
The main problem you may have at Disneyland is with a number of
the rides which are not wheelchair accessible.

Some rides are just not accessible and these include:
Donalds Boat
Sailing Ship
Tarzans Treehouse.

The following attractions ARE available :
Disney Gallery
Disneyland Monorail
Disneyland Railroad
Tiki Room
Golden Horshoe
Its a Small World
Mark Twain Riverboat
Tom Sawyer Island

There are other attractions that will need you to be transferred from your scooter/wheelchair to the ride or attraction.
These include Alice in Wonderland,
Indiana Jones
King Arthurs Carrousel.

Cast members and service personnel are happy to help wih Guest Wheelchair Transfers so that is not a problem for you.

If you should lose a wheelchair or Disneyland Scooter that you have rented
from Disney , simply show your rental ticket and Disney will supply you with another one.

If you rent from a private company then that is a different matter.
If you lose a private company scooter then you may well have to pay them
the full retail value of the scooter or wheelchair.
I suggest that you rent from Disneyland as this is much simpler and you have less exposure to a loss claim.
This is a serious consideration when deciding where to rent a wheelchair or scooter from.

Whether you can enjoy a ride in your wheelchair, or
you must be transferred from your wheelchair to the
ride, you can actually enjoy most of the rides at
Disneyland.

Do not allow the fact that you are not able to walk
around the park keep you from coming to Disneyland.

Disneyland was designed for everyone to enjoy and they have sensibly taken
into account the needs of anyone with a disability.

Have a Fun Time at Disneyland.

Fun with Disney Characters !

Disneyland is a great day out but you usually only get to meet characters either
In the Town Square when you arrive or see them in a parade.

If you would really like to have fun with Disney Characters you should consider
Having a Disney Character Meal.
It is seriously the only way to spend a reasonable amount of time with your favourite characters.

To ensure you get a Disneyland Character meal you should make a reservation (you can do this up to 2 months before you arrive)
Book through the Disneyland Vacation Planning Services Department.

If you wait until the last minute you may not be able to make a reservation.

Many of the restaurants in Disneyland have Character Breakfasts and for these you do not need to make a reservation.

My favourite is at the Disneyland Hotel and that takes place in Goofys Kitchen.
Kids under 3 get to eat FREE ! You can make a reservation or you may have a long wait in line ..
At this Character breakfast you will always meet Goofy and Pluto (my personal favourite after Mickey !)

If you prefer to take your meal with a Princess then you should consider Ariels Grotto. This is a more elegant restaurant with 3 course meals and a Princess will always spend a little time at your table (but only one Princess at a time !)
It is a good idea to make a reservation here to – its quite popular.

If you want to see the characters and do not mind that they will not spend time individually with you then Storytellers Café is a good choice (the charcters will spend some time with children though)
This café has a buffet option and you might be lucky enough to find yourself at a character breakfast with Lilo and Stitch or even Minnie Mouse. Minnie gets very popular so make a reservation please.

Mickey sometimes makes a surprise appearance at breakfasts but you never know when that will be

If you are travelling with children then it really is something special for their day out in Disneyland and they will be talking about it for months to come afterwards

It is quite important to make a reservation for meals as many guests want to take advantage of meeting Disney Characters.
Out in the Park, characters sometimes get almost besieged by autograph hunters and then they do not have enough time to interact with as many guests as they would like to.

Did you know there was a Special 75th Anniversary Edition of Mickey Mouse Monopoly ?
This was to commemorate 75 years of Mickey Mouse in 2004.

It was produced under license by USApoly from Disney and Hasbro
In this version of Monopoly the Railroads are changed to Mickey Mouse Club,
The Wonderful World of Disney,The Mouse Factory and the House of Mouse.

Community Chest became Original Mickey and Chance became Present Day Mickey.
Income Tax transformed into Magic Broom Flood Damage and Luxury Tax became Dog License.
(look out Pluto they are after you !)

The Electric Light Company became Mickey Avenue and the Water Works was Walt Disney Studios.

You remember the Old Boot in the original Monopoly Tokens (we all fought for that one..)
The six Pewter Tokens were changed to :
Mickey Mouse
Minnie Mouse
Donald Duck
Daisy Duck
Pluto