Ok, I just can't help myself. Check out these new photos of the Disney DREAM!!!




This is the bow in its unfinished state at the ship yards. But you can tell it is going to have a very similar feel to the MAGIC and the WONDER. Construction started over a year ago and it is fun to see the pieces starting to come together. The maiden voyage is scheduled for January 26, 2011. Tell me again why I am not booked on that???? I am currently scheduled for 3 and 4 night cruises (back to back) in October of 2011. But I am starting to think that won't be soon enough. Come on....who wants to join me in early 2011 to check out this amazing ship!?!?

Originally Posted by Orlando Sentinel

Walt Disney World is about to begin building its first new hotel in seven years, a 2,000-room resort that will open in 2012. Disney’s Art of Animation Resort will feature 1,120 suites with room for as many as six people each and another 864 traditional hotel rooms, with a design theme based on four of the company’s most popular animated movies. The complex will be priced as a “value” hotel, at the low end of Disney World’s scale, similar to Disney’s Pop Century and All-Star resorts, where standard rates begin at $82 a night. The announcement is one of the strongest signals yet from Disney that it thinks a sustained recovery is under way from the long travel slump brought on by the global recession. Disney executives, who have been weighing construction of a family-suites hotel for several years, finally approved the project in January.

The Art of Animation Resort will be built on a 65-acre plot across a lake from Disney’s Pop Century Resort. The location will allow Disney to use a pair of long-neglected, unfinished buildings that Disney originally constructed as a second phase of Pop Century but which it abandoned amid the 2001 recession. Pop Century’s first phase was completed in 2003. Plans for the new resort show 10 wings of rooms and a separate building housing the check-in lobby and restaurants. The hotel wings will be separated into four distinct groups, each with a theme from a different animated movie: The Little Mermaid, The Lion King, Finding Nemo and Cars.Each section will have separate courtyards anchored by icons from the movies — such as a 35-foot-tall King Triton presiding over the Mermaid section — and the entire resort will use bright-color palettes evocative of the lush scenery of animated movies. Hotel designers say they have been soliciting input from artists at Walt Disney Animation Studios and Pixar Animation Studios on everything from building elevations to which scenes to depict at the swimming pools.“The hope is you walk into this courtyard and you’re kind of like seeing it as a character in the movie,” said Frank Paris, a senior project manager with Walt Disney Imagineering, the company’s in-house attraction-design unit.

Yahoo! A new Disney resort! You can bet I will be trying this one out in 2012!! Plus, the addition of more family suites will help a lot of larger families be able to do a "value" Disney vacation! Way to go Disney World!!!

Ok, this is enough to make me want to get married again! (Again to Kermit, I mean...!). Check out the new Pirate wedding reception you can have at Disney World....

As if I needed one more reason to take a Disney Cruise...! Look what's coming to the MAGIC and WONDER this spring!!

AHH! It's a new Dooney & Bourke collection created especially for Disney Cruise Line!! This colorful collection features Disney Cruise Line inspired characters on some of Dooney & Bourke’s most popular silhouettes. These are only available on the Disney MAGIC and Disney WONDER. Who wants to go shopping with me???

Disney Cruise Line was running a trivia challenge....I played every day (5 times a day!) for a month! The first prize was a 4 night cruise (!!) which I sadly did not win. However, prizes are awarded for the top 200 finishers and I finished 81st!! So guess what is on it's way to me as I type?? This sweet DCL clock. Now, who doesn't need this??!

YAHOO!!!

Christmas in Disney

I am now only 16 days away from my Disney World trip! I am taking Addie this year and we are staying at the Yacht Club. I got a great travel agent deal so we will be staying on the concierge floor. We can't wait!! If I really get techie, I may try to post some pictures from my phone to this blog---but it's a long shot! :)

Anyway, I love going to Disney over Christmas time and I thought I would share with you a few of my favorite things! So for today, here is my FAVORITE Disney Christmas tradition....

The Candlelight Processional

What is this, you may ask? A Disney tradition now in its 39th year (2009), the Candlelight Processional is a presentation of the Christmas story in readings by a celebrity narrator and music by a mass choir and 50-piece orchestra. This event takes place in the America Gardens Theatre in World Showcase in Epcot.

It begins November 27, 2009, and runs every evening until December 30. Shows are approximately 40 minutes. Each evening there are three shows -- 5, 6:45 and 8 p.m. That's the technical description anyway! This is a wonderful, musical presentation of the Christmas story. The entire thing is moving but when they close with the Hallelujah Chorus, well, it is truly awe inspiring.

So who will I be seeing this year?? Steven Curtis Chapman!!! In fact, I scheduled my flight for really, really early in the morning so I could make it for his last night of the Processional. I just can't wait to see him! I heard him do the Processional a few years ago and he is by far the best narrator I have heard!

Here's the list of who else will be narrating this year:

November 27-29 -- Isabella Rossellini

November 30, December 1-2 -- John O' Hurley

December 3-5 -- Steven Curtis Chapman

December 6-8 -- TBA

December 9-11 -- Andy Garcia

December 12-14 -- Vanessa Williams

December 15-17 -- Abigail Breslin

December 18-20 -- Whoopi Goldberg

December 21-23 -- Brian Dennehy

December 24-26 -- Edward James Olmos

December 27-30 -- Angela Bassett & Courtney B. Vance

If you ever have the opportunity to see the Candlelight Processional, do it! It is not to be missed in my opinion!

Steven Curtis, here I come!!

Disney Dream Ship Sets Sail in 2011

So, if you don't sit at your computer and wait for Disney podcasts (like some of us!) you may have missed the BIG annoucement Disney made this week. Beginning in January, 2011, Disney Cruise line will have THREE ships in it's fleet. The brand new Disney DREAM will set sail on January 26, 2011 and will take over the route that has been done by the WONDER for the past 10 years. It will alternate between 3 and 4 night cruises with a few 5 nighters thrown in during the summer of 2011. I am bummed that there won't be any longer cruises but I'll take what I can get! I will definitely be on the DREAM in 2011!! If you would like to join me, mark off October 16-20, 2011 and let's start planning!

Disney has only let some of the details out of the bag so far. But the ones we know about look amazing! Here are a few of my favorites!!

The AquaDuck!

Guests aboard the Disney Dream will get swept away on an exhilarating high-speed flume ride featuring twists, turns, drops, uphill acceleration and river rapids - all while traversing the upper decks of the ship.

AquaDuck stretches 765 feet in length - more than two and a half times the length of a football field - and spans four decks in height.
Guests slide 13 feet over the side of the ship in a translucent "swing out" loop allowing them to look down on the ocean 150 feet below. Guests experience coaster-like thrills as high-powered water jets push them upwards and forwards at 20 feet per second. AquaDuck continues through the forward funnel, encounters a 335 foot stretch of river rapids and splashes down to an end on Deck 12.

A Virtual Porthole for Inside Staterooms

Disney Cruise Line introduces another stateroom innovation with all inside staterooms on the Disney Dream featuring a Virtual Porthole that provides guests with a real-time view outside the ship. High-definition cameras placed on the exterior of the ship feed live video to each Virtual Porthole.As guests observe the impressive outside views, they may glimpse a magical surprise: animated characters such as Peach the starfish from the Disney-Pixar hit film Finding Nemo, or Mickey Mouse may pop by the Virtual Porthole.

New Kids Clubs

Only on a Disney Cruise Line ship can children become immersed in their favorite Disney stories with the help of caring counselors, beloved Disney characters and a sprinkling of pixie dust. The celebration of children's creativity rises to a new level on the Disney Dream with nearly an entire deck of youth spaces designed to inspire, entertain and unlock the imagination of children. There are two main spaces for children ages three to 10: Disney's Oceaneer Club, where children can play among larger-than-life characters from Disney-Pixar's Toy Story in Andy's Room; explore the Laugh Floor with lovable monsters Mike and Sully from Monsters, Inc.; and dive under the sea with Nemo and friends or visit Tinker Bell's fairy forest.

Disney's Oceaneer Lab, where children feel as though they are embarking on a great seafaring adventure in a room filled with maps, maritime instruments and swashbuckling artifacts. Here, children can try their hand at animation, become a pop star or navigate ships through digital seas. Both venues offer magical interactions with the animated characters such as Crush, the sea turtle from the Disney-Pixar motion picture Finding Nemo and Stitch, the mischievous alien from Lilo and Stitch. The characters chat, play and joke with children in live, unrehearsed conversations from their digital undersea and intergalactic environments via 103-inch plasma screens.

Chill-Out Zones for Tweens and TeensLocated inside the forward funnel is Edge - the lounge just for tweens (ages 11 to 13). This tween pad is filled with a multitude of hi-tech entertainment including the ability to create and star in photo postcards and video karaoke using green-screen technology.Teens have their own exclusive club aboard the Disney Dream with Vibe - a trendy and inviting indoor/outdoor space created especially for guests ages 14 to 17. A "teen-only" swipe card provides access to the nearly 9,000-square-foot club. Teens can create and edit videos, play computer games, access the onboard social media application or try their hand at spinning and mixing dance tracks. Teens have their own private outdoor deck area with chaise lounges for sunbathing, two wading pools, misters and pop jets for cooling off, and deck games such as ping-pong and foosball.

New Restaurants

Personal Touches with Rotational DiningDisney Cruise Line continues its innovative rotational dining concept onboard the Disney Dream with elaborately themed restaurants, distinctly Disney touches, and world-class cuisine to create a magical dining experience. Throughout the cruise, guests "rotate" through three different restaurants for dinner - with their servers accompanying them, providing guests with friendly, familiar, personalized service each night. The rotational dining restaurants include:

Animator's Palate, a signature Disney Cruise Line restaurant that brings the magic of Disney animation into the dining room for a unique experience that will captivate the entire family.

Royal Palace, an elegant restaurant inspired by the classic Disney films Cinderella, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Beauty and the Beast and Sleeping Beauty.

Enchanted Garden, a whimsical, casual restaurant inspired by the gardens of Versailles and featuring a dining environment that magically transforms from day to night.

Oh and there is so much more! But these are just a few of the things that have me really exciting about the DREAM! I'll post more as information becomes available!!