An update from Guest Relations
— Read on disneyparks.disney.go.com/blog/2020/05/planning-your-disney-parks-vacation/
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Our Love of Walt Disney World
Disney Nirvana
The Mature Mouse™️ has found a tremendous amount of Disney Magic since my first day. I will certainly post on all those moments. However, this has got to be the pinnacle. My personal table at the Happily Ever After fireworks dessert party.
The Magic of Disney’s Tinker Bell
During my 
2015 solo trip, The Mature MouseTM had the pleasure of meeting Mickey Mouse. My inner child leapt for joy, as the adult could not stop smiling. I set out on this recent solo trip with the goal of meeting many more Disney characters; to bring joy to my inner child.
The Mature MouseTM had the opportunity of meeting the magical pixie known as Tinker Bell. The pixie was friendly during this meeting, greeting The Mature MouseTM as one of the lost boys. Tink then asked me if I had stolen pirate’s treasure in my backpack. Later that evening, Tinker Bell was seen flying across the hub, from atop Cinderella’s Castle.
The Disney Corporation may have all started with a mouse, but Tinker Bell has become the icon for the magic of Disney. According to the History of Tinker Bell, after her appearance in Disney’s 1953 animation classic, this little fairy “went on to be featured in many Walt Disney ventures. [Tinker Bell] made appearances on television in the show Disneyland, which was [created] to promote the new theme park Walt Disney was [working] to complete. In addition, she appeared on Walt Disney Presents, Walt Disney’s Wonderful World of Color, and finally, The Wonderful World of Disney.” These were new venues for the Disney Corporation. Although Mickey Mouse often made appearances, he was not the symbol of Walt’s new enterprises. If these new ventures failed, Walt Disney did not want Mickey to fail with them. Tinker Bell, as one of the newer Disney’s characters, was expendable.
Peter Pan tells Wendy, John, and Michael that they, too, can fly. All it takes is faith, trust, and just a little bit of pixie dust. From her first appearance in Disney’s Peter Pan, Tinker Bell has become a delightful success. She has helped to keep the magic of Disney soaring toward the second star to the right.
Please use this link to visit The Mature Mouse™ store for logo merchandise. Many of the items would make great gifts for the Disney fan in your life.
Make sure you consult Jennie Nowers about your next Disney vacation. She will assist you in all your vacation planning. Tell her that The Mature Mouse™ sent you and receive a special gift from Jennie with your next booking.
Days 4 & 5 WDW Solo Trip Recap
The fourth day of my solo trip was a busy one, and the next two days were spent traveling home and visiting family. Then, I headed back to work. I finally have a moment to give you a recap of my last days at Walt Disney World.
The Mature MouseTM took advantage of the Extra Magic Hour at Epcot, arriving at 7:45. After a ride into the past on Spaceship Earth, I enjoyed several of the exhibits of the Flower & Garden Festival. Very few Future World attractions, restaurants, and stores are open during Epcot’s Extra Magic Hour.
My afternoon and evening were spent in Adventureland, Frontierland, and Liberty Square at Magic Kingdom. I had planned my three visits to the MK to focus on specific areas of the park. This minimizes walking, and allows for flexibility in experiencing these areas.
Mark Twain once described golf as “a good walk spoiled.” The Mature MouseTM finally rode Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. And, to paraphrase Mr. Twain, BTMR is a well themed attraction spoiled by a thrill ride. This rollercoaster never slows down long enough to enjoy the scenery created by Disney’s Imagineers.
The Mature MouseTM also had the opportunity to ride the Liberty Square Riverboat, something I have not done since my first visit in 1972. This ride down the Rivers of America afforded me a great view of Frontierland and Haunted Mansion.
I make every attempt to make appropriate FastPass+ selections each day of touring the parks. Because I used one of my FP+ for Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, and the other two were used for the Haunted Mansion and Jungle Cruise, I had to wait about 15 minutes in the stand-by line for Pirates of the Caribbean. This attraction is always worth the wait.
The morning of my last day at Walt Disney World was spent roaming All Star Music Resort. If you are planning a WDW vacation with a very tight budget, All Star Value Resorts are a good choice. I did not take advantage of the pools or play areas, but many of the guests did and they looked to be enjoying themselves.
The Mature MouseTM will be posting more detailed reports from my experiences during this trip.
Please use this link to visit The Mature Mouse™ store for logo merchandise. Many of the items would make great gifts for the Disney fan in your life.
Make sure you consult Jennie Nowers about your next Disney vacation. She will assist you in all your vacation planning. Tell her that The Mature Mouse™ sent you and receive a special gift from Jennie with your next booking.
It all started with a mouse…
Dreaming of Home
Disappointed by Disneyland 60th Celebration
The Mature Mouse™ was disappointed in The Wonderful World of Disney: Disneyland 60. Maybe I missed something in the promos for this special, but I was expecting a celebration of Disneyland. Instead of an overview of the creation, evolution, and future of Walt Disney’s original theme park, ABC and Disney delivered a two-hour promotion of all things Disney.
There were some bright spots, like the appearance of Dick Van Dyke dancing to Step In Time; Idina Menzel singing Let It Go; Elton John singing Circle of Life; and, Kermit the Frog singing The Rainbow Connection. Of course, Kermit’s song was done as a duet with a singer I am not familiar with, but I know she had not yet been born in 1979 when Kermit first sang the song in The Muppet Movie. These were the sole ‘original’ performers singing/dancing to the songs they made famous. However, other than Elton and Idina performances in two separate park locations, the other Disney performers were unfamiliar to me. And, NONE of these performances had anything to do with Disneyland Park.
Walt Disney created The Wonderful World of Disney to promote Disneyland, as well as his animated creations. However, he featured the park in many of the episodes, which were always my favorite shows. This 60th Anniversary show had little to do with Disneyland Park.
This is my idea of a celebration of Disneyland: Walt Disney’s tour of Disneyland. Now, I realize Walt is unable to give us a tour of his park today, but this type of show is a better way of honoring Walt’s dream.
Celebrate Disneyland’s 60th
The Wonderful World Of Disney celebrates Disneyland’s 60th Anniversary this Sunday, February 21. For more information, click here. Will you be watching? I have already programmed my DVR.
The Mature Mouse™ returns to Walt Disney World
Magical News: The Mature Mouse™ returns to Walt Disney World this April. This will be another solo trip that will feature my first experience at the Epcot® International Flower & Garden Festival. I have heard that this springtime event has incredible Disney themed flower and garden displays, along with live concerts and unique food offerings. Although the displays contain Disney characters, it appears to be geared toward the older Disney guests.
As much as I would enjoy sharing my trips to WDW with family and friends, that cannot happen as often as I wish to visit. A solo trip offers an inexpensive way for me to return to WDW more often. There are numerous articles about the pros and cons of taking a solo trip to Walt Disney World on the net, like this one by Zach Basler on the WDW Prep School website. I do not want to focus my blog on the reasons why you might want to consider a solo trip.
I will share my steps in planning for this solo trip over the next few months. Hopefully, my steps in preparing for my visit will help you prepare for your next trip, regardless of what type of Disney vacation you will be taking. Of course, I will be posting reports while at WDW, and I will be gathering information, photos, and videos to share after my visit. Although I cannot promise, I might try Periscope while in the parks.
Normally, one would begin their planning by deciding when to visit Walt Disney World. However, as a high school teacher, my choices are confined to school vacations. I have now traveled to WDW twice in June. As I have researched WDW for this blog, I have considered a visit in April to enjoy the cooler weather, the Epcot® International Flower & Garden Festival, and, hopefully, “lower” crowd levels. April vacation can be a very hectic week at WDW, especially if it falls in the calendar around Easter. This year, Easter is early, so the crowd levels during the third week of April are lower, normal (if there is such a thing at WDW). An additional incentive for traveling to WDW this April is that Disney is offering a spring discount.
Not having to decide when to visit, my first step in planning for this trip to WDW began with setting a budget. This decision would guide the decisions for my length of stay, type of a resort, possible meal plan, and flight options. My goal was to put a package together that would fit my budget of $1500. Yes, it is possible to make a trip to WDW for so little. A low vacation cost is a major perk to a solo trip. Of course, to assist me in this endeavor, I made a call to my travel agent, Jennie Nowers. Given her knowledge and experience with Walt Disney World, Jennie knows the best way to create a vacation package to meet each guest’s unique requirements.
My original goal was a 5-night/6-day trip, but this was not possible with my budget. To keep costs low, I realized that I would need to stay at a value resort, but which one was the question. So, after some research and many email discussions with Jennie, I settled on a 4-night/5-day trip, and booked my stay at Disney’s All Star Music Resort. I considered returning to Pop Century, but it cost almost $10 more a night than the All Star resorts. When dealing with a tight budget, it all adds up. I was in a position to include the quick-service meal plan, which worked well for me during my last solo trip. I also included park-hopper tickets to afford me flexibility in developing touring plans. So the final package, before adding the cost of round trip flights, was just under $1000.
Fortunately, after a lot of online research, I was able to purchase round trip airfare for just under $600. Here is a tip: Google Flights. All things considered, even though I broke my budget of $1500, it is still a very inexpensive trip. Searching for, and booking flights first can be helpful. Being able to adjust your trip dates affords you the opportunity to find the best price on flights. However, as in my case, I have a fixed window of travel days.
In my next post, I will discuss my next steps in the planning process. This involves consulting Touring Plans, and other crowd calendars, to determine which park to visit on each day of my stay at WDW. There will be a lot of time planned for Epcot and World Showcase to experience the Flower and Garden Festival. And, of course, I will plan as much time as possible in Magic Kingdom, just because. I will find time to visit Disney’s Hollywood Studios, before the park, as we know it, completely disappears. However, I am considering not taking the time to visit Disney’s Animal Kingdom.
Please use this link to visit The Mature Mouse™ store for logo merchandise. Many of the items would make great gifts for the Disney fan in your life.
And, make sure you consult Jennie Nowers about your next Disney vacation. Tell her that The Mature Mouse™ sent you and receive a special gift from Jennie with your next booking.
The Mature Mouse™ 