Song of the Week-- The Silly Song

Disney Family Man Weekly Round Up

Here is a quick run down of the blog posts and stories about Disney that caught my eye this week...

The Disney Driven Life has a video on the 2010 Disney Mom's Panel Training

The Daily Disney posted a story on the politicians that are the biggest benefactors of Disney political donations

The folks over at Disney Dream Depot have begun to post podcasts of their weekly chat on to iTunes... Check them out

Disney rolled out next years campaign-- "Let the Memories Begin" I found the event to be a combination of boredom and "duh" comments (did you know parents take into account family memories when planning vacations?!) Would be interested to hear what you all think. Katie's got some good reactions over at DVC Life.

DVC News posted pictures of the new DVC vinylmation-- I will be picking one up!

Of course we are only a week away from #EpicOctober! Let me know if you're coming so we can meet up.

Song of the Week-- Dig a Tunnel, Lion King 1 1/2

DVC Vinyl Announced...

DVC News has a post up on the DVC Member vinylmation that comes out September 24th.

I've already been informed by Jenn that I will be buying her one.

Disney World... Without the Parks?

So last week I had the opportunity to join the fine folks over at Disney Dream Depot as a guest host on their Thursday night chat. I had a real good time and hope that everyone enjoyed the show that Dreamer Shaene and I put on.

During the chat I brought up the point that Jenn, the boys and I actually spent an entire day at Disney World without even going to a park! In fact, we spent a great deal of time doing activities that didn't involve stepping foot into one of the four parks at Disney World.

Here is a highlight of a few activities we did outside of the parks:

• Resort Hopping: We love the resorts as much as we love the parks at Disney World, so we took the time to check out a few we had not been to before. We checked out Saratoga Springs, where we recently bought a contract the DVC by Resale, and Old Key West. We loved seeing the other pools, checking out the other shops and getting a vibe for the resort.
• Golf: We actually did two golf activities. For the family we hit up mini-golf at Fantasia Gardens and enjoyed the course-- though there is zero shade. On my own I did a DVC Member golf clinic at the Lake Buena Vista Golf Course. For only $15 I got an hour of instruction from a golf pro along with one other DVC Member.
• Water Parks: This trip we purchased the premium annual pass, which included admission to both Disney water parks. This trip we hit up Blizzard Beach, which the family absolutely loved! We especially liked the lazy river, Cross Country Creek, and the family water slide Teamboat Springs. The boys also enjoyed the kids areas there for both lil guys and tweens.
• Disney Quest: Along with the water parks our premium annual passes also included admission to Disney Quest. This "indoor interactive theme park" features arcade games, bumper cars and virtual reality adventures for the entire family. We liked this so much that we went back several times!

These are just a few of the non-theme park activities we did during our time at Disney World, but there are plenty more! Feel free to tell us your favorites in the comments or leave any questions about the things we did.

Epic Mickey

Don over at the Duckman's Blog posted the trailer for the new Epic Mickey video game. Looks awesome, so go check it out!

Disney Dream Depot Chat-- Tonight at 9pm

So the nice folks at Disney Dream Depot have asked me to join them tonight on their weekly chat at 9pm to discuss our family's recent visit to Disney World.

As you may have seen I've begun posting a few things about our trip on this blog, but I thought it might be a good idea to put up a few general topic areas I'll touch on tonight. If anything interests you, or you have any specific questions, feel free to hit me up on twitter or leave a comment below. I will be sure to answer anything submitted.

• Tips on Driving to Disney
• Review of Port Orleans
• Staying at DVC-- The "Value Way"
• Premium Annual Pass-- all the non-park things to do
• Our new Vinyl addiction
• Pin trading
• Advantage of late August travel

Make sure you follow @DisneyDreamDepo on twitter. They will post the chat link as we get closer to 9pm.

Disney Gets into Orange County Race

Most of you know that my professional life is in the political arena and whenever my two passions collide, if even for a brief second, I get excited.

Today the Orlando Sentinel is reporting that Disney is backing Teresa Jacobs for Mayor of Orange County. Disney had previously remained neutral in the race while Universal and Sea World backed Jacobs opponent.

From a purely political perspective this move makes complete sense for Disney. Jacobs won the first round of voting with 42%. Her run off opponent secured 23%. This means Disney has lined up behind the horse they expect to win-- always a good move for a major business in local races.

To me local races are always interesting to watch. People tend to think the race for President, Congress or Governor is much sexier than anything on the local level. What we often fail to realize is your local Mayor, Supervisor, Commissioner, Alderman, etc has a bigger impact on our lives than most Federal politicians ever will.

Our Families Newest Addiction… Vinylmation

For the past several months my wife and I have been hearing a great deal about vinylmation from our friends in the Disney Twitterverse. We’d been seeing vinylmation during our last several trips to Disney World and decided to take our first plunge into them last week.

For those of you who aren’t major Disney fanatics like us you might be asking, “what is vinylmation?” Vinylmation, or vinyls as they’re called for short, are vinyl toys that are shaped like Mickey Mouse, but carry different designs on them. They are not Mickey’s themselves, rather the shape is used as the canvass for the artist to paint their interpretation of some other aspect of Disney.

Vinyls come in several different sizes, but the main size for sale is the 3” vinyls. When you purchase a vinyl you have no idea what’s inside, instead you pick a particular series (or theme) you are interested in, pop open the box and see what you get! If you do not like what you received, there are vinyl trading areas in every Disney store that sells the items and at several of the resorts during your stay for you to exchange with other available vinyls.

So, those are the nitty gritty facts on vinyls for all you beginners like our family. Now, what about our experience?

As I said in the beginning we’ve been noticing vinyls at Disney World over our past few trips. We never really “got” the concept and were always curious what these weird Mickey’s were we saw in all the stores. Over the past few months we began researching vinyls and gathering a great bit of info from the Disney Twitter world (For vinyls I suggest following @marciodisney @WDCCDuckman and @AKL4Me). Finally we broke down and decided we’d buy one vinyl for each family member on this trip and see how we liked them.

During one of our first nights at Disney World we went to Downtown Disney and on the recommendation of some friends stopped by D Street, a sort of urban art clothing store that has also become the center of vinyls on property.

Here we learned a little more about the various series available in the vinyl collection. We found out that each series contained 12 vinyls, but in true Disney fashion they only showed you pictures of 11 vinyls. The 12^th vinyl in each collection was a mystery!

So, we rolled the dice. I bought the first three vinyls our family ever had. For myself I chose the Park Series #3 collection and for my DS3 I picked up a brand new Toy Story collection vinyl.

As soon as we got back to the room we all checked out the vinyls and it was done—we were now addicted to the craze!

Over the next week we quickly amassed a small army of vinyls. I picked up several more from the Park Series #3 as well as a Mr Toad Passholder vinyl.

My wife dove into the Cutester series on the recommendation of @WDCCDuckman and loves every single one she picked up.

DS10 followed his typical style and picked up a little of everything along the way—Park Series #3, Urban #2 and Urban #3.

Along the way we received a few duplicates and vinyls we didn’t like, so we set off searching around the Magic Kingdom, Hollywood Studios and Animal Kingdom Lodge for possible traders. By the time the trip was done we were satisfied with everything we got!

My lovely wife has already told me I have to lay off the vinyls during our October trip, but I know she’ll break and we’ll come back with several more! We’re definitely a family hooked on vinyls.

Song of the Day-- "I'll Try"

For some reason this song has been in my head all day. Probably one of the best, but least known, Disney songs of past 20 years. I think this song really defines the character of Jane in Peter Pan 2.

I'll Try by Jonatha Brooke

Tomorrow it Begins...

That time of year has arrived ladies and gentlemen... Time for the Disney Moms Panel Application Process.

Some of you might ask yourself, what is the Disney Moms Panel? Well, it is a group of "moms" (which includes several dads!) that provide Disney trip planning advice for anyone willing to submit a question online. Check out this years panelist and some of the questions they answer.

Some of the key requirements you must meet in order to apply:

• Visited Walt Disney World in last 12 months
• Answer 25 questions per week
• Not current Disney Cast Member
• Available to travel to Disney World Dec 10-13

Since I am a huge Disney nerd who also happens to love helping people learn about everything Disney World has to offer, I plan on applying for the panel this year. I'll let you all know how the process goes. If you're applying please let me know in the comments section and feel free to share your experience along the way.

Mr Toad Trivia-- The Results and The Answers

Our big winner is....

DizneyDreamer

Congrats Jenn on winning the Mr Toad Vinyl. She got all 21 questions correct!

Here are our other top finishers:

2.)JL_Davis (18)

3.)MarkyMarc70 (tie-17)

4.)ShariJ (tie- 17)

5.)JimGarth (16)

And if you're curious about the answers, here they are by each day:

Day #1

1.) Animal Kingdom

2.) Tower of Terror

3.) Red Cross, drove an ambulance

Day #2

1.) Expedition Everest

2.) Disneyquest

3.) Julius

Day #3

1.) 7 years

2.) Animal Kingdom Lodge-- mural inside the shower

3.) Yen Sid, sorcerer from Fantasia and character in upcoming Epic Mickey game

4.) Disney Brothers Studio (Laugh-O-Gram went bankrupt before founding Disney Company)

Day #4

1.) Kimba the White Lion/Jungle Emperor

2.) Fantasia Gardens-- minature golf

3.) 3 E Tickets

Day #5

1.) Faline (Bambi's love interest)

2.) 53 years old

3.) Hollywood Tower Hotel (aka Tower of Terror)

4.) Wednesday

5.) Haunted Mansion (MK- Liberty Square, DL- New Orleans Square, Tokyo- Fantasy Land, Paris- Frontier Land)

6.) Disney's Asian Resort (Polynesian already existed)

7.) Discoveryland

8.) Fauntleroy

Mr Toad Trivia... THE FINAL DAY

Well here comes the last day of the trivia contest. I will be posting new questions through out the day. All answers will be due in by 9pm tonight and I hope to declare a winner by the end of the Cowboys game.

Picture #6

Name this classic Disney character:

Question #5

How old was Walt Disney when Disneyland opened?

And your bonus questions for the day...

Which hotel at Disneyland does not accept guest reservations?

What night of the week did the Disneyland TV series originally air on ABC?

What Disney ride exist in four different lands at four Disney parks?

What resort was originally planned for the site of the Grand Floridian?

What land does Disneyland Paris have instead of Tomorrowland?

And the FINAL question...

What is Donald Duck's middle name???

Mr Toad Trivia-- Day 4

Question #4

What Japanese anime TV show do many claim the Lion King is based on?

Picture #5

Where am I now?

Bonus Question:

In a big ten ticket book, how many E tickets would you receive?

Abigail Disney- Third Generation Activist

My fascination with all things Disney comes from several different places in my complex mind. There is the obvious attachment to childhood fantasy and the desire for my children to experience the same feelings. There is the parks and all they offer from an entertainment/leisure perspective.

I also find the company and family that built it to be amazing. The thought that a young man in his early 20's with relatively little education and his older brother who was being protective gambled everything they had on a dream that has grown into a global mega company amazes me. I consider myself to be an extremely driven person, but I would never have the gumption to do that things Walt and Roy did.

Well during our most recent trip to Disney World something by chance caught my eye related to the Disney family. Abigail Disney, granddaughter of Roy and great niece of Walt, penned an Op Ed for USA Today on the Estate Tax. While I won't get into the political/policy discussion related around the issue, the article itself got me to do some digging into Abigail. I was especially interested to know what professional path she took since her father, Roy E., was the last family member to be involved in the company until his death.

Well I found this interesting Forbes piece on the philanthropic work of Abigail, in particular on global woman's issues. One interesting piece is towards the tail end of the article where Abigail states that while her ideological views do not necessarily align with her father and grandfather (they were much more conservative), the family did impart the lesson that when one knows their values action should be easy.

He (grandfather Roy) built Disney World for Walt [after Walt's death]; it was the biggest civilian building project in U.S. history, and he did it without debt. When I went to Disney World with my kids, it was the first time I'd been there in 20 years. I saw a clean, safe town, with clean streets and good schools. I realized that this was [my grandfather's] social good. He and Walt were maybe more conservative than me, but both lived their values

Interesting read overall and a slightly different angle by which to view the Disney family. I think Abigail is a credit to the family legacy in the fact that she has taken her position to impact some form of social good in areas she cares deeply about, hard to say the same for so many other third generation multimillionaires.

Mr Toad Trivia-- Day #3

Question #3

Before releasing to home tapes, Disney would re-release its classics in theaters every ____ years.

Picture #3

Where am I now?

Picture #4

Name this Disney Character

Today's Bonus Question:

What was the original name of the Walt Disney Company?

Mr. Toad Trivia-- Day #2

Welcome to day #2 of Mr. Toad Trivia. Had a great response yesterday and look forward to a few more interesting responses to today's questions. Remember to be on the look out mid-day for a bonus question.

Question #2:

What is the tallest attraction at the Disney World Resort?

Picture #2:

Where am I now?

Bonus #2:

In Walt's original series, the "Alice Comedies", what was the name of the cartoon cat that interacted with the live Alice?

Staying at DVC-- The "Value" Way!

As most of you know our family joined the Disney Vacation Club in May of 2009. Our home resort is the Animal Kingdom Villas (AKV) and we bought into the Jambo House phase of the project.

We chose AKV for several reasons when we made our purchase. First, the decor and ambiance felt so much more like "home" to us than the Bay Lake Tower at the Contemporary Resort. The warmth seemed so much more inviting to a young family. We also loved the idea of being able to walk outside and be right in the middle of an African savanna and the African music and culture was great. Finally, we noticed that for the type of vacationing we wanted to do AKV offered us the fewest points per night out of the available resorts. So, when we finally made the plunge last May we bought into Jambo!

Now you might be asking, what's the distinction of AKV-Jambo? The DVC option at the Animal Kingdom Lodge was built in two phases. During the first phase the much of the fifth and sixth floors of the existing lodge were converted into DVC Villas. This phase became known as Jambo and came onto the market first. The second phase of the project was a brand new building known as Kidani Village, which is a DVC-only area much like the separate DVC portion of the Wilderness Lodge. Other than the timing of the contract purchases, there is no difference in owning Jambo over Kidani.

As we learned more about our new DVC "home" we also discovered another bonus to purchasing at AKV-- the "value" category. When Jambo was being converted into DVC, the existing space could not accommodate the full size DVC rooms that were designed. So, at the end of each corridor you now have slightly smaller rooms that may have a different shape than the normal DVC rooms. These particular rooms fall into the "Value" category, but provide almost no noticeable difference. Here is a size comparison:

Room Value Regular

Studio 316 Sq ft 365 Sq ft

1 BDRM 629 Sq ft 710 Sq ft

2 BDRM 945 Sq ft 1075 Sq ft

During our recent stay we had a 1 bedroom value room. The only noticeable difference to us was that the Master Bedroom is not as wide as a regular room. You also do not get the option of the fifth person sleeper chair.

The points cost however is considerably different. During our one week stay a 1 bedroom value cost 167 points, but the same 1 Bedroom regular room cost 200 points....

But here is where the real value comes in...

Member Services will not volunteer to you that a large quantity of the available Value rooms actually have a full on savanna view! This category is not determined by the view, but by the size of the room. So, we lucked out and got one of the savanna view value size rooms, which means we paid 167 points to eat breakfast with the giraffes while the room next to us paid 242 points for the exact same view! That 75 points swing can equate to anywhere from $750- $1000 in rental point cost to make up the difference... You can keep the sleeper chair and a few extra feet for that cost.

So there is a little family secret we use in order to maximize our DVC points and our experience. By staying in the Value 1 bedroom over the regular we get left with enough points for a long weekend in a Studio each fall or winter. We also occasionally luck into the savanna view like we did this last trip.

The only bad news on this secret-- like many other DVC gems it is nearly impossible to get outside of the home resort booking window, so if you want to take advantage your best shot is to own at AKV!

Mr. Toad Trivia-- Day #1

Question #1:

What is the largest of the parks at Disney World?

Picture #1:

Where am I now?

Bonus Question:

Walt was rejected from Army service during WW I, what service did he undertake instead?

Be sure to DM or e-mail me your answer by 8pm! And be on the look out for new questions tomorrow.

It's Trivia Time...

So as I pull together our trip reports from our last adventure down to Disney World, I wanted to begin to lay the ground work for the first ever Disney Family Man Trivia Contest (h/t @Shaene_o_mite)

Here is the concept... Every morning beginning tomorrow through Sunday I will post a trivia question on my Twitter feed (@RWhitneyJr) and this blog. The question will be Disney focused, but not always relate to the Walt Disney World Resort. I'll also mix in a few bonus questions featuring pictures, you'll need to identify where the shot was taken. All answers for each day are due to me by 8:00pm. You can either DM me over Twitter or send your answers via e-mail to rwhitneyjr @ gmail. com.

If I have time, I will try and keep a running leader board so people know how they're doing.

So, what do you win? The trivia contest winner will get a Mr. Toad Annual Passholder vinylmation. As of now you can only buy these on Resort and you of course have to have an AP.

If you win I will mail it to you next week. Below is the official vinylmation photo, I''ll post the one I took when I get home this evening.

So, get ready for trivia. If you want to play and have not yet sent me a DM or e-mail please do so I can add you to my spreadsheet. You're also welcome to let me know in the comment section.

Question launch tomorrow morning, so be on the look out!

UPDATE:

Here is what Mr. Toad looks like, though the winners box is still in the bubble wrap!

UPDATE #2:

While these question might be difficult, I think most Disney folks with Google could figure out the answers. So with that in mind, I ask all participants to answer honestly without the aide of the web. I know it is tempting, but let's just have fun with this in the spirit of Disney (just not the giant corporate titan part of Disney).

We're Home...

After 10 days on the road and at Walt Disney World we are finally home. Over the next few days I'll be throwing up pieces of the trip report on a wide variety of topics. Here are a few ideas I am pondering, let me know if any interest you or if you'd like to hear about anything I missed.

• Review of Port Orleans- French Quarter
• Living DVC... The "Value" Way
• Our First Time at Whispering Canyon
• Disney World, Without the Parks
• Our New Family Addiction-- Vinylmation
• The Conquering Pin Traders

Also keep your eyes open for a Disney Trivia contest. The winner will get a limited edition Mr. Toad vinylmation only available to Annual Passholders.